Radio Beamed from Lofty Heights
Music critic Stephen Holden has found the missing mystique of pop radio. The raw, eclectic magic of 1960s underground radio, which Paul Simon once called the "deep forbidden music," has emerged in digital form, broadcast directly from satellites.

In a recent New York Times article, Holden describes "being transported to a land of sonic dreams" that he hadn't visited "in decades." The vehicle was not an old Chevy overflowing with 8-track tapes, but his subtly high-tech bedside radio, which is usually tuned to XM Satellite Radio's channel 50, "The Loft."

Holden decries the "corporate homogenization" that has "smothered" pop radio in recent years. On what is now known as "terrestrial radio," to distinguish it from its near-space neighbors, DJs are "increasingly relegated to announcing songs selected by market research."

In the past two years, XM and its major competitor Sirius have launched pay services offering digitally perfect CD sound and hundreds of channels (many with few or no commercials). But Holden's excitement about satellite radio comes largely from the lack (so far) of record industry people "beating down its doors to influence programming."

This leads to such discoveries as XM's "The Loft," brainchild of music enthusiast Michael Marrone, whose "boundless enthusiasm is matched by his fantastic taste." (Marrone was one of the first DJs in the US to play Norah Jones' first CD, weeks before its commercial release.)

On Marrone's channel, which spotlights four decades of singer-songwriters, listeners can find a varied stew of Cassandra Wilson, Jonatha Brooke, Rufus Wainwright, Coldplay, Joni Mitchell, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn, Laura Nyro, Damien Rice, and countless other artists whose music is rarely heard on any radio, much less alongside such eclectic neighbors.

The Loft is one of XM's 100 channels, which span music, news, sports, talk, variety, comedy, and children's programming. Rival Sirius has a similarly wide range, along with a chamber music channel and a somewhat stripped-down NPR channel.

Holden predicts that the new radio system will lead to a "new golden age" of radio, and not just because of the clear, clean sound. "When presented by an authority, it is not just a sound. Driven by a passionate music vision, it becomes a compelling story that draws you into an imagined world where music harmonizes with your deepest dreams."

Read the Dec. 26, 2003 New York Times article [fee required]

Visit Sirius radio or XM, home of "The Loft"