THE BASEBALL TRAVELOGUE

Big weekend for Baseball. Because we’re tied to the hip with the Major Leagues, great seats are relatively easy to acquire. So, took full advantage of that and on Saturday went with Kurt Gilchrist (Decades Sr. Programmer), Bill Evans (Program Director Program Director of Café) and Bart Taylor one of our Production aces, to see The White Sox play the Orioles at Camden Yards. Interesting game. 36 hits as my Sox won 13-11. It was also Latin Day, celebrating Latin culture. I don’t think they did a very good job of that as you’d hear “Latin” songs like Papa does Mambo by Dean Martin between innings. I believe while Dino worked that 50’s “Latin Lover” thing, he’s about as Latin as Sinatra. Then you’d hear “Oye Como Va” quite a bit. In all, the most Latin thing about the game was the great Hispanic ballplayers that dominate both teams. Camden Yards though, has a real baseball feel to it, just blue collar enough to have character. That's what I never liked about the Cubs (other than the fact they are from the wrong side of Chicago--The SOUTH side is where it's at)! Cubs fans seemed to be in it because it's cool to like the Cubs, whereas the Sox were more about the working man's history of Chicago. The walls of the old Comiskey park smelled like Al Capone's cigars...it was REAL Chicago. Anyways, this Cubs/Sox thing is going nowhere, so let's move on...

So Sunday morning took Joe Verbrugge, one of our corporate guys in my Cirrus down to Atlanta to see the Braves play the Mets. Joe’s an interesting guy. He used to focus on the “business” side of our Exclusive Music programming like Artist Confidential. We almost had him (He’s not an MBA—He’s DOCTOR of Business…no shit) converted to the Rock n Roll side. A few dinners with Don Henley and Bob weir almost had him converted. Then, he went to work exclusively with Hugh Panero on more traditional business matters and he slipped back into his World. Great guy and definitely a closet rocker. He brought his neighbor who’s a Government guy. He had NO idea what we were talking about when we’d veer toward XM conversations. Nice flight down to Atlanta. We went to the Varsity a 50’s style Drive In, to soak up local culture. I can only imagine what that place grosses. 10:30am and it was PACKED. Then off to Turner Field. Met up with Dave Dannheiser, and old friend who used to be the Warners AOR guy, and still lives in Atlanta. We talked a lot about the state of music and Atlanta radio. Having lived in Atlanta from 74-88, it was good to see him and briefly check out the city again. Radio was pretty unlistenable, though I found WSB AM pretty together and V103 was viby and pretty cool once you got past the ads. Speaking of ads, Turner Field struck me as one big Ad. They must be doing something right because there were 40,000+ on hand, but it’s more like Disneyland than a baseball stadium. Camden had a baseball buzz, Turner had a commercial buzz. I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear “Now batting Carlos Beltran…brought to you by Home Depot”.

I really wanted to root for the Braves, but couldn’t. Firstly, when I lived in Atlanta, they sucked. Phil Neikro and Dale Murphy. That was it. Then the second I left, they became a major contender. But the real reason is that abound 1990 I did a dinner presentation at Brown University. I was opening act for Ted Turner. He didn’t like that. They told me I’d have 40 minutes, but 10 minutes into it I kept getting these “Mr. Turner is upset…end now” messages. I didn’t. After about 30 minutes he was going to “walk out”…so I ended it. Then he goes on and does a tirade. I ASSUME it was the alcohol or medication talking because he didn’t make much sense…rambling about how WTBS is so good for America and so quality driven. Then a Brown student calmly asked him why, if they are all about quality, is WTBS all about Andy Griffith and the Beverly Hillbillies in prime time. He did another tirade. He also bashed Morley Safer and some others who were on hand. I certainly respect what he has done…and he’s outrageously successful and obviously talented, but that night he sure was pretty nasty. Then he goes and marries Hanoi Jane Fonda who I never cared for, so it was hard to like the Braves. OK—Time Warner owns them now, but what really put me over the top other than the brash over commercialization, was that damn “Chop”…the tomahawk thing they do whenever there’s a rally threatening. To me, it’s more obnoxious than The Wave.

But anyways, despite my over sensitivities, it was a great weekend for baseball. After the Braves game, we flew to some VERY small airport in Georgia to pick up Eric Logan who’s family has a nice spread down there. It takes Eric a few hours to drive to Atlanta to take a Delta flight home, so this was an easy way for him to get back to DC without that hassle. There were 4 big guys in the plane, a lot of fuel and Eric’s golf bags and other crap (he DOESN'T pack light)in the luggage compartment. It was also 98 degrees and the runway is short, so with our best “Flight of the Phoenix” impersonation we limped into the air for an uneventful flight to DC with Eric constantly plugging his PSP audio into the sound system so we could hear how his simulated Yankees games were coming along from the back seat. Whenever we complained, he’d chime in the stats on how the gaming industry is growing faster than any medium. OK…we put up with it and his simulated Yankees took another game from Toronto.

Back to music, our BLISTERING LICKS CD is out. We have a deal with Concord records to create different CD’s. This one is distributed at Starbucks. The concept is “mind boggling virtuosity”. in other words the fastest most complicated playing possible. Like the stuff you’d hear on Music Lab (which I hope we bring back sooner than later). The kinda thing that the Jazz fan will “get” but also something that a Rocker who thinks Jeff Beck can wail, will be blown away by. Sales are brisk. It’s a cool package..

Last week we recorded Artist Confidential with Gamble & Huff. Man, those guys have some stories! BK Kirkland, who handles The Groove for us, took the hosting reins as BK is closer to the R&B scene than George Taylor Morris the regular Artist Confidential host. BK did great. G&H rolled through their stories and performed workshop style on the Steinway. Earlier in the week we had Amy Grant who was wonderful to work with. It’s so nice to run into wonderful artists who are professional and flexible. They don’t HAVE to be and many aren’t. Her set and her stories were just great.

Getting close to debuting SongStories with Graham Nash. Another wonderful person and artist. He’ll be discussing the greatest songs of all time with the writers. Real artist to artist stuff without any goofy “interview”…two artists talking music. Modeled after his book. We also had Stephen Stills in for an Artist Confidential a few weeks ago. That was interesting.

Nice visit from Janet Jackson. I have to credit our guys with getting her HERE. It would have been easy to accept the cattle call with 150 other local stations and get in line for a 5 minute “interview” but instead we hosted her for a few hours and really got some amazing stuff that SHE liked and her fans will drool over.

Had Pink in for an Artist Confidential. Didn’t know what to expect. She was cool. And our pal Marty Stuart is hosting the International Bluegrass awards in late September. This is what I love about Satellite radio. The diversity. Yeah I know we’ve had more than a few issues with bandwidth, losing channels, a “XM is going FM” perception. I hear about it. I know it. We all know it. It’s a sleep loser. I can talk til I’m green in the face trying to convince some people that that ain’t the case, so I’ll just say that ain’t the case. If XM is like FM, why would ANYONE pay for it??!! Plus—FM kinda sucks…why emulate that? Anyways, I ‘get” the comments and I think one of the reasons I’m here is to guard against that….and I’m not alone. There are things out of our control that have forced some decisions, but looking forward the LAST place we want to go is BACKWARDS toward the old FM M.O.


Then there’s Bob Dylan. That show IS amazing. His baseball show he did was inducted to the Hall of Fame…and his shows just get better and better. Besides the magic of him being Bob Dylan, he has NO preconceived notions about play lists and how radio is “supposed to be done”…so the result is not only his musical point of view, but is totally free of any clichés. It might not be for everyone but anyone who is an explorer will certainly be more than satisfied with what he delivers. On September 2, he’s playing at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown NY at the Hall of Fame. THAT should be pretty cool. Me, Jim Mc Bean and Dan Turner are flying up for that one. In mid August I’m going up to see Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood up in Massachusetts with Paul Bachmann, who along with Martin Goldsmith run our Classical channels. Yo-Yo is a guy we’d love to do something with.

Carried the WHO press conference on Deep Tracks. For a first generation Who fans like me, this is exciting stuff. The downside is that XM’s Lou Brutus is even a bigger fan than I am and calls me at 3am to see if there’s an update on the tour. Who Sell Out was THE Who album for me. EVERY track is so brilliant. It might have been that it just caught me at a time when I was ready for this kind of magic, but whatever it was, it still holds true today. It was SO damn “clever”...and honestly done clever usually works.

ACCESSING THE GEORGE MARTIN GENE...AND MADONNA

Last week was "jingle week" at XM. Jingles can be kinda hokey when used on the wrong channels, but on the right channels they add to the listening experience. The ultimate example is 60's on Six where they contribute mightily to the authenticity factor, where we are trying to re-create a Top 40 station in about 1966. We believe that this is infinately more satisfying to a fan of that era than doing an "oldies station" that sounds a 2006 radio station playing old songs. Few things bring that sound back better than properly using those old PAMS jingles. So, we had Jonathan Wolfert who owns JAM Productions who in turn owns the rights to all those old PAMS jingles. We worked out a deal to further mine their archives and acquire a wide range of sound that'll put our decades channels on sonic steroids. We also use some of the real old ones on channels like XM Comedy. These jingles are so absurdly dated, they are actually funny. Then we were looking to acquire some jingles for our young pop stations. That was hard. We couldn't really find anything that didn't sound like everything we try to avoid. SO--We challenged our own producers to create something internally. At first I figured they "might" succeed. After all creating a vocal thing is not something radio producers normally do, and doing it in a high quality way might be difficult. Well, they REALLY came through. I'm pretty blown away. Really says something about our "Audio Animators" when they are focused on a challenge. that's in sync with our style

It's all about accessing your "George Martin Gene"......George of course is best known as the Beatles producer, but what inspired me most about his work was that he seemed to have a cliche proof work ethic. While his background was classical music, he was able to help the Beatles re-invent the "sound" of pop music with such incredible taste, vision and quality. Whether it's backwards tapes, mellotrons or whatever, there was a revolutionary new sound in every groove. His production saved us in 1964 from a life of Bobby Vinton production (I like Bobby Vinton, but the production was more slick and pretty than earth changing)...then again in 1967 from a life of Tommy James production.(Again, nothing against Tommy, but it wasn't really too challenging) But just listen again to the timeless strings on Eleanor Rigby....backwards lines on Rain...the sound paintings on I Am the Walrus...the end of Day in The Life...the trippy Blue Jay Way...etc.....George with some help from a few other creative guys CHANGED SOUND. Helped take already brilliant pieces of music and propel them to yet a higher level. No barriers...no cliches...always fresh...used the whole universe of sound not just drums, guitar bass and keys...Those songs that the Beatles wrote kinda helped, but HOW those songs were delivered to the speakers, through inventive production and THINKING is what changed sound.

Man--If only radio production was attacked with that same vision! Most production is done by the book. Can you imagine if the Beatles produced music by the book? The piano at the end of a Day in the Life would have been cut because some bozo at the record company felt it wouldn't get Top 40 Airplay--too weird. Just like a modern day PD might reject an inventive piece because it clouds the "imaging statement" or something mindless like that.

AND---it's important to note that this isn't some old guy reminiscing about the good old days. This is timeless stuff. Ask any gifted artist in 2006 what they think of George Martin/Beatles intellect and inventiveness and you will find complete reverence. It's about the approach one takes to sound...and that is evergreen.


So--I believe engaging the "George Martin gene" that's somewhere in every producers makeup is what XM MUST DO TO FULFILL THE SOINIC POTENTIAL. Our production sound MUST be genius, clear, fresh, new, never-before-heard. I can't bloody stress this enough. We gotta open our minds in order to open the ears of America. We gotta release ourselves from everything you've ever heard on radio. I am totally not kidding. I am totally trying to impress the importance of this. We will blow it if we fail to make the sonic magic our minds are capable of. When we DO make this magic...look out. Making it consistently is the trick.

The magic to making XM truly revolutionary is to balance:

STATIONALITY: Character, spirit, attitude, vibe that is totally in sync with a channels goals & target
MUSICALITY: Perfect music, The perfect mix for the format goals & target.
...now the magic third piece of the puzzle is
SONICS!: Sonics..production...imaging whatever you call it, it is the magic between the songs...it can create excitement or enhance a mood....
It is what can give XM a radically new sound that like a George Martin production, LIFTS everything to a higher level..

The trick? RE-INVENTION (AFDI!)

We don't want to evolve the production sound, we want to COMPLETELY RE-INVENT IT.

Production must be a trademark for XM....a sound you can hear a mile away and know it's XM.
Sound that transports the listeners, whether its to Main Street in Bluesville or to Alpha Centauri on Audiovisions.
This ain't going to happen unless we RE-INVENT radio sound.
We can't underestimate the critical importance of this.
Production is part of the listening experience...not an "ad" for the station. Back to consistancy---XM has some brilliant pieces...AND some "ads for the channel"---

What is the XM Sound..or what should we strive for it to be?
...It's Audio Disneyland. You turn on XM and you're in this Audio Wonderland....Dreamscapes, Heady, Futuristic....Ten years ahead. Clear, totally powerful in both subtle and intense ways.
And each format has it's own distinct Sonic attitude,.......Fine Tuning is very BBC........XM Cafe is educated and cool......XM Kids is a big cartoon...Bluesville is....the Blues
America (the channel) is the wide open Montana prairie .Each format must be SONICALLY DENSE. Lots of sound...let the listener get absorbed in swirls of sound.

"Promos" tend to be ads, whereas there's the potential for these 'ads' to be much different and less invasive. Great production isn't invasive...but instead it ADDS to the channel's listening experience.

XM Production is "Theater"......CREATE PICTURES. Traditional production hits you like a hammer....XM Production should in your mind.

The XM Tools include:
Accents!!!! Magic. Pure magic. British, Asian, Russian Jamaican. African....exotic accents! Real ones. USE THEM. Chicken shits stick with traditional "been there--heard them"radio voices...we should not be Chicken Shits.

The Walrus Factor. Go ahead..listen to "I am the Walrus" in headphones. It's worth the exercise.

Sampled Instruments. Bagpipes...Harps...YES! Even on Rock stations. Exotic sound works.

Modified. Backwards, Sped Up, etc....

Song Bits (Out of Format especially)

Orchrestral, New Age and Electronic Recordings. A gold mine of sound!

Scanners, Short Wave Radios...

Radio Drama! Westerns, Detective, Sci-Fi. Loaded with camp and brilliant SFX

Nature. The power and sweeping vista of a Thunderstorm recording is magic. On Rock, Country...anywhere

Endings. Day in the Life was cool....you're next

Morse Code. Why not?
...most importantly, activate your George Martin gene.

DO NOT GET LOCKED INTO WHAT YOU THINK YOUR FORMATS SOUND PARAMETERS ARE!!! Open up...use the World of sound.

Yes, you need to have a sonic point of view for your format, but there is NO reason Cartoon soundtracks can't be used on Smooth Jazz (well, it's a reach..but you never know)....or Harps on Metal formats. Go tell Metallica or the Led Zeppelin you cant use strings (they used 'em)..... The point is--No barriers. Re-write the playbook. Think in stereo.

TV, Film and Commercials do a better job than Radio in the Sound creativity area as we demonstrated on the CDs.
Radio has de-evolved to being:
Dumbed Down
Cliche
Infected by cheezy Production "libraries"
Dated
Sheep like inventiveness
well.....it is our responsibility to BRING SONIC BRILLIANCE BACK TO RADIO.....

It starts with thinking BEYOND RADIO. DO NOT USE CURRENT RADIO PRODUCTION AS A MODEL. Forget it totally. Lose it.
Blow it up. WE MUST START FROM SCRATCH.

DO NOT EVOLVE SOUND...DO NOT CREATE PROMOS THAT ARE "KINDA LIKE" WDVE, LOOP, YSP or KSCS or WNUA or whatever.
While these stations may have done good production...But the goal is to COMPLETELY CHANGE THE SOUND....Not simply evolve or update.
The point: We can't evolve these stations...we must forget they exist. Forget radio exists...and start creating sound from scratch.

Pretend it's 1921 and radio production has NEVER been done before. OK? Great. Now...GO!
Ambient, Big, Quirky, Funny, Campy, Intense, Sick, Dreamy...anything but "radio"...
You are a media artist...not a radio producer.
Set your sound creative meter in the George Martin, Eno mode.
Think like a music producer, not an radio producer

RADIO PRODUCTION CLICHES:
Sex. Pleeeeeeze. Overdone. Yes, Sex sells in certain formats, but it's also the #1 cliche next to lazers.
Humor. Be careful. Every production guy tries to be funny. Rarely works....
Bombastic.
Star Wars
Pissed Off
Big Claims (no cred)

VOICES:
Again...accents. reality. the age of "the big radio voice" is dead.
Female
Hick
Whispers
Aged (like John Lee Hooker RIP)
Real (street people)
Stars
ANYTHING BUT "Radio" --meaning the same old...

XM Doesn't have Prod Rooms...We have Sound Labs

How you say things is critical:
W-NNNNNNNN-BC (so bad it IS funny)
THIS IS CNN (pretty cool)

You can have a style of saying the format name

The more background a format is, the more you must rely on a heavily repeated audio signature.
Sound Occurs everywhere on XM!
Break rules. Go between spots, songs, under voices...everywhere SONIC DENSITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOUR AUDIO SIGNATURE IS YOUR ....SIGNITURE

Oh...and Artist IDs. Anyone doing an ID that says "I'm_______and I listen to XM" should be keel hauled.

The important thing is GO THERE. Where is there? Hell if I know, it's up to people to re-invent "there".... Thats how revolutionary radio is made.

Finally---Madonna has sold 8 million records Globally, 1.5 million here and is selling out big venues everywhere, but is having trouble at radio. I'm not a big Madonna fan, and I really can't say I care about the Dixie Chicks, but what is this thing about NOT playing major artists?
It's asinine. Like Programmers taking a rifle and aiming it directly at their foot and pulling the trigger. There's a quote from a program director in a big city that I saw over the weekend that was all about the reasons not to play her.

Talk about voodoo. Reminds me of the trend among programmers that started in the 80's--Charts, graphs, theories..impressive sounding stuff for a radio convention, but if you picked through it, it made NO sense. I recall one "Big Name Program Director" who had a horrible rating book and actually convinced his owners that it was a pre-planned "cume cleansing" which is basically saying "I deliberately blew off all the listeners" and then he proceeded with charts and graphs to show why the "AQH will be recycled into affirmative dayparts and coordinated with a proactive marketing offensive to re-establish P1 listenership in the key dayparts amongst a 20% inactive yet active cumulative audience of listeners in the underserved ADI where Class A signals fail to penetrate"...That's not programming that's voodoo shit.

Anyways, seems like a good idea to EMBRACE an artist like Madonna if a station has a history with her, but I guess the charts and graphs tell a different story (?)

SYD BARRETT...IS ROCK DEAD...AND OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS

Some random thoughts...

SYD BARRETT: If you look at the charts, you won't see much on Syd Barrett, but I think his influences are monumental and his character is certainly worthy of a mini series. If you don't know who Syd Barrett is, find out. If you do know then I think it's in your best interest to re-familiarize yourself with "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" the early Pink Floyd masterpiece. The thing about Syd is that he really only had a brief moment in the spotlight, the rest of his life is stuff of legend. The ultimate fragile, mis-understood artist. To me, Piper at the gates of Dawn not only set Pink Floyd into motion, but epitomized the UK psychedelic sound which in turn influenced more than a generation of some of the must powerful music of our era. The thing about this album is that it wasn't acid induced ramblings that went no-where (though the epic "Interstellar Overdrive" on side 2 of that album kinda goes there, but does it with style and a memorable opening riff. The rest of the album are clever, fairy tales, performed with melodies, wonderful lyrics and a sound that was unmistakably original and memorable. It was the foundation of Pink Floyd. I encourage everyone to celebrate the madness of Syd Barrett and re-live Piper at the Gates of Dawn in memory of this genius.

IS ROCK DEAD?: Well, maybe. Who cares, it'll never go away. Is Jazz dead? Nope, even though we are well beyond "The Jazz Age". What will keep Roc alive for the foreseeable future is the fact that historically people form their lifelong musical game plan between the ages of 16-20. Before 16 one often goes with the popular flow based on fashion, what's cool that moment or whatever, but come 16 and you become an expert. When I was that age, there were fist fights over who's better Cream or the Rascals. Who's a faster guitarist Clapton or Beck. everyone is an expert that is protective of THEIR personal musical vision. There were people in their 30's or 40's, who in 1969 were convinced that Hendrix was a fad....the Hendrix fans would soon find their way out of the drug induced Hendrix state and come to their senses and "grow up". It never happened, guys like Hendrix were the soundtrack for this era of 16-20 year olds and now n '06, Hendrix is still revered with the same passion as in '69. Talk to someone 50 today and ask them the music they like. If they like "AC" then I assure you that when they were 16-20, they were into The Carpenters and Bread more than Zeppelin or Tull. People don't turn 25 and go "Oh--I'm an adult now...I guess I like Adult Contemporary" all of a sudden. This 16-20 thing ain't new. Talk to an 80 year old and they'll tell you that Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey were the greatest ever...they were THEIR Led Zeppelin. Talk to someone who was 16-20 in the 80's and it might be Metallica, 90's Nirvana. The point is that music that people love between 16-20, the musical formative years, are what one likes for life.

The period of 65-75 was an interesting era musically. The fuel was there. Drug revolution, sexual revolution, chaos on the streets, Viet Nam, Moon landings and a true revolution in musical technology with the advent of 16 track recording, sound modification through effects (Fuzz tones and beyond), synths, and an arms race in terms of amplifier wattage. ALL of this happening in a relatively short period of time contributed to the intense period of musical adventure that propelled music for 30+ years. At some point THIS movement runs out of steam. There’ll most certainly be another period of this explosive musical growth and in fact it may be happening now, though probably in it’s developmental stages. One thing that’s happened is that people tend to be discovering traditional artists like Johnny Cash or Ray Charles. I find many people have a built in desire to be challenged musically, and if it’s not happening with current music, they go back to other eras and sounds to meet that challenge.


As long as there are Rock artists making memorable and powerful music to TODAY'S 16-20's, Rock will survive. And you can say this for ANY genre. The point with Rock is that Rock RADIO is dead, but Rock music is really in the hands of the artists, IF they stop delivering to the days' 16-20's then indeed Rock will die. That's not a bad thing, every music form has it's day, in 50 years there may be books (or whatever the medium is then) where people joyfully remember "The Rock Age"...tine moves forward, I just hope that inventive music stays around and that there are always places to hear it!

DISCO DEMOLITION: I had the luxury of being involved in the WLUP CHICAGO of 1979 as discussed in a prior blog. What made that station go to #1 12+ was it's positioned as an Industrial strength Chicago style ROCK station in an era where a lot of Guitar fueled Chicago guys were looking for an Army to join. Loop was that army. New Wave and Disco were happening and personally I appreciated both styles, maybe more than the latest from Nugent and Cheap Trick. But---I was playing with a sizable investment from owner Cecil Heftel and we needed to deliver a large passionate audience of FANS for him, so the station adapted a "Rock or Die" plan. The idea was to be completely focused on 1979 ROCK. Everything about it. Oozing sweaty festival seating Rock in every moment. I brought in Steve Dahl who oddly enough was working at WLS-FM...THE DISCO STATION! Met Steve in Detroit at the old W-4...Stern was brought in to replace Steve after he re-invented the Morning Show there. Steve was actually the first whacked Rock radio morning guy, though Sonny Fox & Bob Leonard at WYSP in Philly were the first true "funny morning team" on FM . Those guys were out there. Sonny used to do his show from his bedroom which was filled with characters, TV monitors for News and hangers on. ONLY in 197 could this happen. More on that later. Sonny is now PD of XM Comedy Channels. Anyhow, Dahl immediately GOT the Rock thing. Started blowing up Disco records on his show. This was SYMBOLIC of the LOOP's commitment to the Rock mission. It was all very military in strategy as Disco was looked upon as the enemy and LOOP was the army that would liberate Chicago from this menace. Rock listeners viewed this with the same fervor as Europeans looked at the liberation of their Countries by the American GI's in WW2. Some viewed this as a "book burning". C'mon! It was radio theater at it's best. It was all tongue in cheek. eventually a deal was put together with the floundering White Sox to hold Disco Demolition NIGHT at Comiskey Park. The rest is history. The aftershock of that night was incredible, complete with Point/Counterpoint interviews on TV with Baseball experts, Dahl countering with the fact that the Sox have NEVER gotten that many people into Comiskey Park since 1959....and a forfeit with The Tigers had no impact on their fight for last place. Interesting times. A RADIO station was headline news. That station qualifies as one of the greatest moments in broadcast history. They were unbeatable, though eventually they beat themselves through visionless management (They fired Dahl because he was "difficult"...) and a renegade internal situation that is the blueprint for how NOT to handle runaway egos. However, for a fleeting year or so, WLUP, THE LOOP defined the idea of turning listeners into fans.

RADIO PASSION EXPLAINED: No doubt I'm a huge fan of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour. Here's a commentary that appeared in the Austin Statesman by a College professor. I really think what he said is pretty powerful, and that while his POV is that of an older Dylan fan, WHAT he says is timeless:

Bob Dylan Reminds Us of Our Common Dreams
by Tom Palaima
this commentary appeared in the Austin American-Statesman, July 15, 2006.

Just over two years ago Bob Dylan offended many old fans by appearing in a Victoria's Secret lingerie ad. Victoria's Secret outlets sold a special compilation of his painfully honest love songs, spanning some thirty-five years of his experiences with life and love. He stood accused of selling out. A few voices were raised in his defense, including mine right here at Common Dreams.

Well, Bob Dylan is breaking the hearts of Americans again, mainly those born between 1925 and 1955, and he is doing so on a weekly basis. If you are smart, you will give him a chance to break yours. Let me explain.

Take a look around. In the 1930's through the 1960's, an empowered federal government, its protective laws, unions, effective consumer-advocacy groups, graduated taxes, and the Supreme Court pulled us out of the Great Depression; enforced protections for workers and all citizens against the hiring, labor and sales practices of big corporations; and overrode states-rights-based racial discrimination against minorities. The Supreme Court also gave women some control over their own bodies and lives. We won a major world war by uniting behind it, paying for it, and engaging in universal symbolic citizen sacrifice: "Bye, Bye. Buy Bonds. Save Chicken Fat. And Join the WACS." We protested against an undeclared war in a distant land, and again relied upon the judicial system to make sure that the executive branch of government did not act against or beyond the law.

These lessons are now forgotten. These achievements are undone or under attack. We are waging a large-scale undeclared preemptive war by raising our debt, not our taxes. The U.S. senator from Texas, John Cornyn, denigrates the U.S. Supreme Court, declaring that five people, also known as a majority of Supreme Court justices, should not determine what the people of his state can do about the American flag, or, by implication, any other such issue. This is a shameless act of divisive political pandering by a former justice of the Texas Supreme Court, who has sold his soul now to Karl Rove's political strategizing.

Life is rootless and impersonal. Citizens feel powerless. With hundreds of cable stations, we no longer share a common experience at the one communal hearth we used to have: television. Remember three national networks, Huntley and Brinkley and Uncle Walter Cronkite? People are entrusting the most important aspect of their lives to services like selectivesearch-inc.com. It promises to "take the labor out of finding love" by applying to personal lives the vetting process methodology that is "so effective in corporate America."

And now Bob Dylan breaks our hearts. How? By his weekly Theme Time Radio broadcasts on XM satellite radio, warm evocations of old-timey radio. In each hour, Mr. Dylan covers a chosen theme: Mothers, Fathers, Baseball, Coffee, Weddings, Divorce, showing how the common musical traditions of the United States shaped our lives in song and lyric. The broadcasts are one-hour lessons in the history of who we were and are.

Mr. Dylan's succinct commentary makes the music shine. He is witty, gently humorous, erudite and always reverent about the music he is playing. We hear the sounds of big band, country swing, rock-a-billy, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, jazz, Nashville, MoTown, Sun Records, Frank Sinatra, the Ink Spots, Bob Wills, Prince La La, Dirty Red, and Kitty Wells. Interspersed he gives plainly spoken information about the artists, where they came from, where they went, who influenced them and what influence they had. He recites lyrics, painting pictures of our lives in sound.

Mr. Dylan doesn't peddle himself or anything else. No product placement here. Period commercials are spliced in to set the mood. A listener asks on Theme Time Coffee: "Why do you play so much old music? Do you have something against new music?" Mr. Dylan replies, "I like new music. But there's more old music than new music."

Mr. Dylan retrieves many classics and brings to light many should-be-classics. On Theme Time Mothers, he plays Buck Owens' "I'll Go to Church with Mama," and tells us an old joke from Buck's t.v. show "Hee Haw." He spins Ernie K. Doe's 1961 chart-topper "Mother-in-Law," and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," explaining its ultimate origins in the African-American insult-song contests known as the "dozens".

Theme Time Radio is hip, but not Tarantino's jaded hip, or William Shatner's self-mocking hip. Mr. Dylan respects the music we and he loved. He respects the artists who created it, even lived it.

Mr. Dylan tells us that Billy Stewart, who poured his soul into his version of the Gershwin Brothers' "Summertime," died in a cars crash at age 32, in the summer time. And Bobby Hebb wrote the beautiful "Sunny" overwhelmed by the assassination of JFK and the death of his own brother in a knife fight the very next day. Hebb needed to pour his soul into something good in life, a song, and then pour it back out for us.

Another listener writes that she likes to listen to baseball broadcasts at night, but that bothers her boyfriend. Mr. Dylan's solution, "Put the radio under your pillow and rest your ear on the pillow. That's what it's made for." Remember listening to ball games like that, or music programs from distant cities at night? These shows are so humane, so out of time, they will break your heart.

Bob Dylan is still protesting. He is protesting our fast-paced, dehumanized present by calling us to gather round the hearth of old time radio. He is reminding us that we are in this thing called life together and that America is many different voices. Stop and listen to Theme Time Radio. Listen to life in all its crazy beauty.

Theme Time radio reminds us that we share common problems, common sorrows, common joys and common dreams..

Tom Palaima is Dickson Centennial Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin


Onward….

GROWING PAINS?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed here. Shit is happening from all sides. Personally I kinda like it. Activity. Growth. Intensity. Beats being bored. You might read things and think the world is caving in, but it’s not…makes good press though. It’s just a crazy world out there, especially in ANY media. It used to be so mellow…rolling along under the radar. Now, the radar is full tilt on XM, Sirius, The music Industry, digital technology—you name it. There’s some evil stuff, there’s some futuristic stuff, there’s brilliant stuff, there’s cheesy stuff… there’s “stuff” overload. At XM, it’s easy to get pissed off and whiny as the percentage of brilliant to average changes, and that’s one counter productive mode I’d rather avoid. What I mean by that brilliant to average ratio thing is that when you are small everything it’s easier to maintain quality on…when you get big in terms of both your own growth and the audience growth it’s more difficult for EVERYTHING to be brilliant. I think it’s the same with every growth business. A guy who makes 10 guitars a year will probably turn out 10 amazing guitars. If production ramps up to 1000 guitars a year there’ll be some lemons in there. The brilliant to average ratio just needs to clearly lean toward brilliant. Gotta just get in there and do the best ya can. Can’t lose the focus or faith. Gotta keep pounding the message INTERNALLY. There’s something I admire about a McDonalds type company—just in sheer consistency. But McDonalds ain’t about creative…it’s a commodity. Gestapo like operational standards won’t fly in a creative environment or in an entertainment company. Well, actually they could, but you’d throw out the magic in the process. That spontaneity…that character

So it’s easy to get frustrated. With 1000 cylinders they realistically ain’t all going to fire. Does XM have ones that don’t fire? Yep. Drives me and a lot of us nuts, but as long as ya stay out of denial, I think you’re going to be OK. I certainly saw that at AM and later FM. Denial that there are problems brewing is not good. Accepting and attacking without ego issues and bullshit is what keeps great ideas moving forward. Roadblocks and down periods are a reality, just like great artists hit lulls, but constantly evaluating and re-thinking is where its at. That’s certainly the intention here. But again, it’s a complex business moving at light speed and as much as I wish everything was perfect, it isn’t. Is it bad? No. It gets back to that Brilliant to Average ratio. If EVERYTHING at XM was average, THAT would be bad, but there are a lot of brilliant things XM does…and a lot of average stuff, but overall leaning to brilliant I hope. I won’t get into what is average…or worst, much of that is either obvious or in the eyes and ears of the beholder. But anything that ain’t right IS our problem. Gets back to pounding the mission. We have some brilliant people at XM, but not everyone has the creative DNA. In fact, it’s a good thing some don’t. I don’t think our rocket or finance guys wouldn’t operate too effectively if they were creative whacko-s, just like I’d worry about an audio animator/production person with an accounting degree. But the fact is that EVERYONE here, in my opinion, needs to be plugged into the mission. The look, feel and smell that XM needs to project….and it starts within.

One thing that comes into play is the empathy thing. It’s very hard to understand the diversity of the audience if you are not here. The other day I received four consecutive letters, paraphrased, they were:

*Quit playing esoteric music, play songs we know.

*Quit playing hit songs, let’s hear some deep stuff

*Why do you have all those Jazz channels, no one listens to Jazz

*You need more Jazz channels, get rid of that Country stuff, no-one listens to Country anymore.
…you get the point. It’s a juggling act. But I have no complaints about that…comes with the turf. There’s a reason for every listener argument and every listener kudo. The goal is to take every bit of input, balance that with your interpretation of that input, keep things in balance and adjust and deliver to the highest standard possible. It’ll drive you nuts…but it’s a good nuts. My biggest fear is people getting overwhelmed, or consumed to the point where one forgets about the mission. I don’t see that happening, but it CAN happen…anywhere.

OK---enough of that---We have a cool show coming with Graham Nash. Just locked that. Quality artist. A very different approach to artist hosted shows…that debuts soon. Then we have Janet Jackson coming in. THAT will be interesting. The problem is that about 8 of our Pop channels all want a piece of her (time). We gotta figure out the most fan friendly way to do this. And a big month for Artist Confidential series--Pink, Chicago, Amy Grant (kinda diverse, eh?). If you haven't heard these Artist Confidentials, check them out. Rush, Randy Newman, Santana, David Gilmour, Paul, etc...We've done about 50 of them....they're cool. We also just started running Joe Walsh Offstage, Joe doing a one off radio show--this guy is amazing...and is re forming the James Gang.

There's ALOT going on from growth nuisances to heavy workload to staying on the edge in today's media environment.....Here are a few "thinking points" to remind us at XM about the "core" of our mission..things that at the end of the day, are what truly AMAZING and genuinely REVOLUTIONARY radio programming is all about......and something EVERYONE at XM in all creative departments, in my opinion, needs to breathe and live:

*OTHER THAN PLAYING THE MOST IMPORTANT SONGS FOR YOUR LISTENERS AND TASTEFULLY PROMOTING XM CONTENT, THERE ARE NO CREATIVE RULES.

*RADIO IS LIKE FOOTBALL: THE DEFENSE IS THE SONG FAMILIARITY FACTOR...THE OFFENSE IS THE TURN ONS, THE DJ CONTENT AND THE EAR CANDY....THE SPECIAL TEAMS ARE THE FEATURES. BALANCE WINS.

*THE MODERN FM FORMAT WAS CREATED TO SERVE AND CHEAT ARBITRON. THIS IS WHY THESE FORMATS ARE OBSOLETE IN XM'S ENVIRONMENT. SERVING AND CHEATING ARBITRON IS IRRELEVANT.

*WINNING BIG USUALLY CREATES TWO THINGS: EXHAUSTION & PERSONAL SUCCESS (both are worth it)

*PRODUCTION IS WHAT TURNS BLACK AND WHITE SOUND INTO TECHNICOLOR. SOUND IS TO THE EAR WHAT COLOR IS TO THE EYE.

*IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR MUSIC DJ'S TO ONCE AGAIN BECOME RESPECTED, ADMIRED & LOVED.

*THE SONG/SONG/DJ/SPOT/BUMPER/SONG/SONG TYPE ARCHITECTURE STILL WORKS, BUT IS CRYING FOR RE-INVENTION.

*PROGRAMMING IS A BALANCE OF ART/SCIENCE/EMPATHY/STREET SMARTS/MUSICALITY. LACKING ANY ONE OF THESE FACTORS IS DEADLY. EMPATHY IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN "READING" LISTENERS WITHOUT BIAS.

*FACTORY WORKERS DO SHIFTS..PERFORMERS DO SHOWS.

*AMERICA LOVES "SPECIALS" THAT DIG INTO CAREERS BELOW THE SURFACE.

*IN RADIO AND MUSIC, ASSHOLES & EGO CASES ARE ALWAYS SECOND TIER PLAYERS. TRUE WINNERS EXUDE CONFIDENCE AND SWAGGER NOT BAD VIBES AND HOSTILITY.

*PART OF MUSIC RADIO'S MAGIC IS BEING TURNED ONTO TO NEW SOUNDS*THE OTHER PART IS THE COMFORT OF SONGS YOU KNOW AND LOVE

*IF WE DON'T AGGRESSIVELY SEEK AND DELIVER A NEW SOUND...NO-ONE WILL.

*WE ARE OUTGUNNED 300 MILLION FM RADIOS TO 6+ MILLION XM RADIOS. THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN.

*MORE COLORFUL-ER...HIP-ER.....BADD-ER.... LIKE IN FOOTBALL--IF THE OTHER GUY FUMBLES, WHO CARES UNLESS YOU RECOVER....... AND RUN FOR A TOUCHDOWN!

*THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT XM THAT IS SIMILAR TO FM. DESPITE THE CHALLENGES AND PAIN OF BUILDING SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH, THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE EMOTIONALLY, CREATIVELY, STABILITY WISE OR, IF WE ALL DELIVER, OVER TIME, FINANCIALLY THAN RIGHT HERE....THAT GOES FOR LISTENERS AND EMPLOYEES

*BRILLIANT RADIO IS 10% LUCK. 10% SMARTS AND 80% SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE EXERCISE OF "RE-THINKING" EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU EXECUTE IT. IS IT PERFECT? CAN IT BE BETTER? IS IT UP TO XM STANDARDS? IS IT THE BEST YOU CAN DO WITH THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE?

*BASIC GOOD RADIO (THE FOUNDATION) IS OFFENSE/DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS......EVOLVING TO BRILLIANT REQUIRES A BALANCE OF INSANITY AND DETAIL IN THE EXECUTION.

*IN MASS TERMS--DUMB STUFF PEAKS FAST (BOY BANDS). SMART STUFF LASTS (SIMPSONS). ELITE STUFF NEVER GETS OFF THE GROUND.

*IT'S OUR JOB TO TURN CUSTOMERS INTO FANS.

*DENIAL KILLS. IF SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT. DO WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIX IT.....ADMIT IT--WE ALL CARRY SOME DENIAL.

*WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS. THE LIBERATORS. XM IS BIGGER THAN YOU AND I. XM IS SERVING A MAJOR FUNCTION IN CHANGING AMERICA......

AND FINALLY AFDI.......

TRAVELOGUE #3 AND MUSICAL EMPTHY

So me, Ray Knight, our Senior Country programmer and Randy Ezratty, master of live production and the guy who runs XM Productions, fka Effanel, and I pile into the plane and head to Nashville. Getting to the local airport was a trip as half of DC was flooded from the storms, but we got there and took off at 7am into the heavy humid Summer air. Once at 10,000 feet it was cool and clear as we made our way across the Smokies into Nashville. Upon arrival the first stop was The Country Music All of Fame. XM has a facility there and we checked in with the local crew and then walked over to the Ford Theater which is on site. We do ARTIST CONFIDENTIAL from both Washington and New York at the amazing Jazz at Lincoln Center facility. But half of the Country superstars live in Nashville so it’s time to mobilize that facility for more live music. The Ford Theater is perfect. 200 intimate seats..great acoustics, nice green room, easy load in, etc….It passes Randy’s smell check and we agree this is the place. We’ve done Dicie Chicks, Clint Black, Willie Nelson of course, Amy Grant (soon) and some others from DC and New York, but a Nashville location will really get Artist Confidential into the live Country game big time.

Randy Ezratty is an interesting guy. XM bought his Company Effanel to facilitate our commitment to remote live music. I asked him about the name figuring there was some guy named Effanel somewhere down the line. Nope—means Fear and Loathing. Cool. Any Hunter S Thompson reference works for me. I even got addicted to Dunhill cigarettes for awhile because he smoked them. Figured it would help my Gonzo factor. I stayed away from the guns and other stuff. Speaking of guns, years ago when I was at ABC we wanted to hire a “Rock Star” to be a syndicated AM personality. We talked to Ted Nugent. He ended up doing a two week trial on Z-Rock, our Hard Rock National station. He was unreal. An opinion about EVERYTHING. Often—SO bizarre, they made sense. Government cant pay for Education? Fine—Close the jails, shoot the prisoners and put that money into building schools. Ted is INTO guns and hunting. Every day after his show, cops from every district were standing in line to have Ted ride with them….reaction to the show was ridiculously positive. He could easily have been elected Governor of Texas. I’m going to chronicle that two week experiment soon, too much to cover now, but it was bizarre and it was memorable. Anyways, back to Randy. Randy rocks. He oversees our “big” live events. with intense experience and expertise Having him sign off on The Ford Theater is a good thing. He’s worked with EVERYONE and has made our shows with hardened vets like Santana go like clockwork.After the Ford, it’s off to see Marty Stuart up in Hendersonville. Went to his office where nearby he has this SHRINE to Country Music...not Modern Country, but REAL Country. we were mesmerized by his collection. All real stuff. Picture the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but all Traditional Country. He pulls out a box (one of about 3,000). In the box were things like a telegram to Mrs. Williams stating: Hurry Home. Hank is Dead. Chilling stuff. He had original lyric sheets written on whiskey stained hotel stationary from some of the greatest songwriters...the costume Johnny Cash wore at his first Nashville performance back in the 50's. Miles of aisles of this sorta stuff. Immaculately cataloged. we were blown away. I still can't stop thinking about it. After settling down we talk to Marty about some ideas he has to interact with XM. really from-the-heart passionate stuff that was really good. He is motivated...and so are we to do something together. Traditional Country music is the soundtrack to the American Odyssey. Along with R&B and Jazz, the American heritage is so incredibly rich and powerful. It's critical for XM to tap into this. You gotta put the hits aside for a sec and remember where it all came from. Everyone involved in music should step back and listen to Howlin Wolf...and Woody Guthrie. The trip to Marty's place was educational and inspirational. We've just done a deal where Willie Nelson has "bought" our Hank's Place channel.Aligning with these guys is good. Just like aligning with Quincy Jones. They are the history. You can't grasp the future until you understand the past. I think passion for the future is driven by a respect for the past. I was always into Patton or Montgomery as Generals and think programmers can learn from his vast knowledge of past battles. It's an exercise in thinking...in anticipating...in understanding the timeless nature of battles--whether radio or military.

After Marty's we decide to head back to DC. It's 105 degrees as we sit on the taxiway waiting for six 737's to land. Nearly passed out from heat exhaustion. Once airborne it was a 2 and a half hour ride to DC. Typically in the Summer there were thunderstorms all around, but we were able to avoid them with the radar images on the plane. Once we landed I rushed Randy off to Dulles to get his flight to NYC...and the skies imploded with storms. Good timing.

Once back in DC at XM, we are looking at filling some PD positions. Damn! That's hard. When we first launched XM, we talked to 500 people, 450 of them may have been smart but just didn't get it...or at least were square pegs for our round hole. Same thing now. Talented people out there but it takes a certain mindset...a certain willingness to un-learn and re-learn..and to invent. That's why a lot of channels at XM are not as good as other channels at XM. Program Directors get a great deal of creative leeway, but some Programmers have grasped the new way faster...some instinctly know in their heads when something is sub par or average. Others are still so conditioned to the FM way that they struggle. The goal is 100% "XM way" and 0% FM way. There ARE some tings that are evergreen..but so much that isn't. I liken it to musicians--some know how to stretch the boundaries...others need a lead sheet to deliver more of the same. Patience is important as long as the programmer is learning and moving in the right direction. Listen to EARLY works of some great musicians and you'll hear crap....but then it gets better and in some magic cases they evolve to creating amazing and original music. Most artists never get there..some do. Same with radio people. Some get there...the vast majority don’t. I just hope we have everyone here getting there, and staying "there"...that magic mind space that inspires new thinking and new ways to revive a tired medium.

XM is a challenging place to work. It's a mission to most of us...but man, it gets complicated. There's SO much going on. I figure we have around 13 million listeners since there are a couple of listeners per subscription...then you add AOL, DirecTV, the three airlines and the number goes way up. The bigger you get the more complex it gets. I guess my main job is to insure that we stay on vision. literally every cool "thing" gets big, goes corporate and makes money but goes to hell. I always think are we going to become this big thing that's as customer friendly as an Airline or Utility Company, or are we going to grow into this big monster that eats its customers. I know that EVERYONE here wants it to grow big gracefully and with the integrity and standards in tact. I'm confident we will...but it takes work! The barriers are simply how much is going on..in every department, and the natural problems that come with serving so many different fans. A lot of people don't realize that our bandwidth is limited. It's a lot, but there are limitations. Fortunately new technology has allowed us to grow. Before XM launched we were planning on 50 channels. 25 music, 25 Talk. Then--the tech heads figured out a way for 100...now 160+...I'm hoping that sooner than later it'll be 200+.

The thing we gotta keep in mind is musical empathy. IT'S HARD and a pure music fan doesn't need to worry about it, but anyone dealing with programming to the masses must deal with it, or ya ain't gonna be around very long. Empathy is really just understanding and accepting that there's something good in just about everything musical and that everyone's tastes are different, and both respecting and catering to that. Personally I detest a lot of songs, but ya gotta separate the personal from the reality. I learned this in '70. Put on one of the first Top 40 FM's at WMYQ in Miami---along with Buzz Bennett, the late Al Casey, Robert Walker and others...we all pooled our $200 a week salaries and rented a mansion in Coconut Grove known as the "Q" house. We were ALL pot fueled youngsters who had absolutely nothing in common with our Partridge Family playlist. This is the place where I put the finishing design touches on an "AOR" format I had hoped to and soon after did launch. I really didn't care for 80% of our playlist at WMYQ, and overnights would sneak on a "cool" Santana song. Well one night I did just that and the phones lit up with ANGRY listeners---"How can you play that??!!"--play Bobby Sherman!...Play "Edison Lighthouse"....so I figured, I'm 17, I NEED this gig, an FM Major Market success story will make it easier to do what I WANT TO DO, so--OK...I'm gonna figure these "teenyboppers" out and give them some pleasure. So, I led two lives...at the station I was a 16 Magazine reading student of the David Cassidy sound. Then at night I was discovering the Mahavishnu Orchestra on personal time. Lowering my standards? Bending my integrity for mass consumption? well...yeah. It was the best lesson I ever learned. Actually, the inspiration was Buzz Bennett. An absolutely brilliant programmer. He'd do three hits of LSD, snort a pound of coke and wax on about the psychographics of the Osmond Brother fan. Then I kinda realized that the more you "get" the mass audience, regardless of what you think is cool, the better chance you can not only touch the American listener, but "change" them...on THEIR terms. That AOR format I created was NOT about blowing up Underground radio, it was about taking the Top 40 listener and introducing them to the emerging music, but in a way they could relate to. Literally changing the familiarity factor from his SONG to artist...so there was accessibility but also a degree of familiarity and comfort that they could actually relate and listen to. Haven't heard from Buzz Bennett in years, but one day there'll be a movie about him.

OK back to XM. Gotta remember empathy. There ARE a lot of people who like hits and DON'T want to be challenged musically...then there are those who like the hits, but are ready to be challenged, then there are the fans that are of varying degrees of sophistication where hits are completely irrelevant. You can pretty much divide XM channels into these categories:

HIT DRIVEN: Comfortable familiar songs

DEPTH DRIVEN: Do you like Springsteen? Yes! Do you want to hear "Born to Run" Again?...no. It's about playing careers not just hits.

SOUND DRIVEN: It's abut the sound. Like Audiovisions. Who or what it is is irrelivent as long as it has the "sound"

EXPLORATORY: It's about EXPLORING a genre

EXPERIMENTAL: Fine Tuning is a good example.

ENVIRONMENTAL: It's about the atmosphere the channel creates.

In any case, it's SOOO important that XM does it with originality, quality and integrity. I believe there IS a way to play even the cheesiest disposable pop single in a caring and positive way. Thank you Buzz Bennett.

We gotta deal with it and maintain a connection with the listener. I like to think that our Marketing Department gets us customers, and programmings job is to turn customers into fans. My personal mission is to help us stay organic. It IS a business...a big one...but big doesn’t HAVE to mean strict and overly driven by the traditional business M.O....look at Record Companies, the big ones have gotten big--and not always so gracefully. I still catch a "music spirit" at some of them, but generally you walk into a big label and it's got the vibe of a bank. Radio stations are worse! There is more magic in the lobby of Southwest Airlines Headquarters than most Music and Radio companies. And we're in the entertainment business!can XM get like that? Sure...will we? I really doubt it, but that balance of art and business XM is a critical part of our mission that needs to be WAY on the top of our minds...with empathy and quality. It ain't easy.