I am a long time Howard Stern fan, so much so that most of my friends say, “All stories end with Howard Stern” each time I open my mouth. They know that I will likley quote Stern or someone from the show. I am a long time listener but I am not the “typical” listener. I am female, in my 30s, highly educated (I have a Masters degree), a lover of the arts (I attend the opera at least once each season) and I consider myself to be somewhat of a feminist. I am also an unapologetic Howard Stern fan! I find the humor to be intelligent, and I in no way, find him offensive or demeaning to women (unless they ask). My favorite sort of humor is the kind where you beat a dead horse….over and over again.
When Howard moved to satellite radio, I knew I was going along for the ride. I had grown tired of the censorship that the show was forced to endure. I can still remember HOW excited I the first show to air. I was so happy to be able to listen in a non-censored platform.
Howard has been on Sirius XM for almost four years and since that time, I have discoverd a variety of other stations that I love. I probably listen about 20 hours or more a week. I set my clock an hour early each morning so I can lay in bed and listen to Stern. But Stern is not all I listen to, there is SO much more! Alt Nation, where you may find Quentin Tarantino guest DJ. Or, Faction where I often find myself tuning into Bam Margera or Tony Hawk’s radio shows. I once spent an entire day listening to French Punk Rock, the fact that this is a possibility is why I love Sirius XM!
I had been a long-time Howard Stern listener when he was on terrestrial radio, but I did not make the initial switch to satellite with him. When I recently received a Stiletto 2, I immediately tuned in to Howard Ch. 100. I hadn’t listened to the Stern show in over three years, yet it felt that I had re-connected with an old friend and we just picked up where we had left off. Once again, listening to Howard in the morning is part of my daily ritual. As far as the other Sirius channels, it feels like it did when you got cable for the first time…almost TOO much stuff to listen to. The Stiletto has usurped my iPod as my primary source of music. Every week, I record several hours of music from an ever-expanding selection of choices ranging from my old favorites (Classic Vinyl Ch. 14, Grateful Dead Ch. 32), to the current stuff the “kids” are listening to these days (Alt Nation Ch. 21, SiriusXMU Ch. 26), and even trying music that I never spent time listening to before (this week its Bluegrass Ch. 65). Even if (God forbid) Howard does retire in the next two years (Personally, I think its just posturing….he has ALWAYS played hardball when nearing the end of a contract), I intend to stick with satellite. I only wish I’d made the switch sooner.
I’m a dork, always have been. The only thing that makes me “cool” is that I listen to Howard Stern. Other than that, total nerd. In high school I watched pro-wrestling, played computer games and stayed locked in my room listening to music.
I love music. I’m the guy with the big CD collection. I’ve got everything from ACDC to the Quad City DJ’s and Prince to Warren Zevon. So I used to get excited when I saw those early XM commercials advertising tons of music channels.
At the time, I was a broke teenager with no car. So I couldn’t buy it, but I always said when I get older and get the money, I’m going to buy it. Well, fast forward and I never bought it. In college I was too busy investing in “recreational” paraphernalia.
Then a few years after college, my hero Howard Stern announced his move to Sirius. Now all of a sudden I HAD TO HAVE satellite radio. A month before Howard started his Sirius show, I bought it and—next to few a ladies of the evening—it’s the best money I’ve ever spent.
I don’t listen to “testicular” radio anymore. No need! I got Howard 24-7 and more than enough music channels. Like Howard, I’m a big Coffee House fan and dig Faction too. So nowadays the only regular radio I hear is Howard’s old tapes from K-rock.
Last month in Atlanta, Ga. I rented a car that included a sirius radio, I got hooked on it, so much that when I returned to Puerto Rico I ordered a unit, had to sent it to my parents house and forwarded to my current address in PR, ordered the home docking station, works like a charm, in the vehicle there are some interruptions but the programming is so good that I don’t mind. Also got the internet access to listen all my favorite programs and music in the office. Now when I travel to the mainland I can listen to the programming… Specially NRA news on ch 144. Now everywhere I go my Sirius radio follows.
I don’t know why I resisted listening to the guy for so long- probably becuase I really liked Carolla and Leykis.
Of course, that ended in Feb or so, and so for a few months I was rocking CNN and Fox news (I really wish Sirius carried MSNBC so I can catch Keith Olbermann, but I digress…..).
But for the past few weeks I gave Howard a try, and I’m glad! Too bad I missed Denise Richards, but I caught Coppola. I even listen to the recap show! I can only wonder at all I’ve missed in the past 2 years.
Imagine if he retires in 18 months…what a void to fill!
Like many others, I think the programming on Sirius XM is better than anything out there. Plus, being able to get your favourite stations nationwide is such a great idea, terrestrial radio is trying to copy it! But there’s another reason I love Sirius XM; the impeccable customer service.
When I purchased my Sirius S50 December of ‘05, I unfortunately had problems after only a few months. Sirius customer service was easy to get ahold of, responded quickly, and within a week, my new S50 was at my door. When it happened again within the warranty period, with no complaint or question, the customer service rep sent *another* replacement to my door.
I was able to upgrade to my Stilletto 100 about a year ago, and when my valiant unit gave up after the 10th time I klutzily dropped it, I purchased another. I tried to use the website to activate my new one and deactivate my old one, only to find there was no option for such! I sighed, activated the new, and called customer service to deactivate the old.
Within minutes, a rep named Mark had my new unit activated, my old unit deactivated, and had a credit on my account for the extra money i’d paid to activate online! He offered to send a check for the difference, or hold on to the money and apply it as a credit. How many companies offer you your money back without a fight?? None I can think of offhand.
The customer service is second to NONE, and that, more than anything, is why I love Sirius XM.
I was first introduced to Sirius while I was working at an electronics store. We had a Sportster playing all day long because we sold them there. I was amazed at the number of channels it had and how cheap the subscription was. At the time I was paying almost $85 a month for cable television that was full of *non-entertaining* reality TV. I hate reality TV. I now LOVE my Sirius because of the vast amount of *ENTERTAINING* programming. It’s now my companion! Whether I am at work, at home cooking or just chilling out surfing on the internet I always have it on. I will also be upgrading soon to either the Stiletto 2 or the XMP3 so I can run and bike with it while I train for my next triathlon. If I go with the XMP3 I will get the “Best of Sirius” package so I can still have Howard. All the other channels I listen to regularly are now shared in the line-up for both Sirius and XM. All my buddies I bike with have Stiletto 100’s or the Stiletto 2 so I know they will be jealous of an XMP3!
Back in ‘05 in the final days of Stern on KRock I dreaded having to obtain satellite radio hardware and pay a monthly subscription fee. However, I changed my tune almost immediately. The Stern show was amazing on Sirius both in sound quality and content, and I could hear the show replay later that day.
Eventually I obtained a Stiletto and recording was a breeze - record an entire 6 hour time slot with a few touches of a button. Because I can’t listen live at work I bring in my Stiletto and listen to recordings. For the commute home I’m back listening live via the car kit, and once home I can record or listen live anywhere in the house.
I quickly learned there was much more to satellite content than Howard Stern. I sometimes look forward to when Howard and the gang are on vacation because it gives me time to listen to the other programming on SiriusXM - and it’s fantastic. Around-the-clock commercial free music of every genre you could ever want. Some of my favorites include Little Steven’s Underground Garage, BB King’s Bluesville, Deep Tracks, and First Wave. The improvement over terrestrial radio is incalculable. As any devoted satellite radio listener will tell you, you cannot go back to listening to regular radio.
One of my other favorites on the radio has always been listening to NPR. But instead of having a few hours a day of NPR programming, I now have the choice of two entire NPR stations broadcasting continually on SiriusXM. The lineup of NPR programming available to me is far more extensive than without satellite radio.
As others have noted, the monthly fee for satellite radio is a fraction of what other things cost, and gives you so much more! My monthly cable bill (no premium channels) is more than four times what a SiriusXM subscription costs, and I watch TV far less than I listen to satellite. With cable TV I feel like I’m throwing my money away. SiriusXM really is that rare, true great deal!
