XM and Sirius Merge Stations: Eminem, Bob Dylan, Howard Stern Survive

XM and Sirius satellite radio stations merged today. Each sides' premium channels and talent mostly stayed intact, with stations like Howard Stern, the Grateful Dead Channel and Eminem's Shade 45 all making the jump to XM users, while Sirius listeners acquire Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, Tom Petty's Buried Treasure and B.B. King's namesake blues station. Many of the themed genre stations, however, were either axed or assimilated into one station. For instance, Sirius' college rock mainstay Left of Center is done, replaced by XM's similar XMU. The by-the-decades stations are now categorized as "'60s on 6," "'70s on 7," etc. A pair of Rock Daily's favorite Sirius stations, Lithium and First Wave, thankfully managed to survive, while XM's alt-rock trio of stations Fred, Ethel and Lucy learned their satellite days are over.

Related Stories:
• Sirius and XM Finally Merge, Become Sirius XM Radio
• Eminem Announces New Album Relapse, Plays New Song On Sirius
• DJ Bob Dylan Returns to Airwaves

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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