Unsigned

When I first got XM I thought a channel for unsigned artists was a good idea but I had one reservation. As anyone who's been to an open mike night or two at a local bar knows, sometimes there's a good reason that some musicians are left unsigned. However after one listening of Unsigned I was relieved to hear that few if any real clunkers get on the air. For the most part the songs are polished and interesting. I try to catch the Radar report on Friday nights. It's a 'best of' show that's usually pretty good.

I like to listen to Unsigned while online. That way if a song especially interests me then I can check out the group/artist on the internet. Tonight for instance, "Butterfly Collection" by Sour Deluxe sounded catchy so I visited their web page ( Sour Deluxe ) and downloaded a few more of their songs. Also Unsigned's web page links to a lot of the artists' web pages.

To me Unsigned is what XM is all about, introducing me to new music that I would have trouble hearing anywhere else. Unsigned plays a wide spectrum of musical styles and sometimes it jumps around a bit much (a singer/songwriter followed by a punk band), which is my only problem with the channel. However if you like variety in music and you can form your own opinions about songs then give Unsigned a listen. If you're a teenage lemming that just likes the 'hits' then Unsigned may be too scary for you, in which case you should avoid it and go to top 20 on 20 or the City.

Unsigned, unsigned artists, XM 52
My previous experience with channel: it's a preset, I usually check out the Radar Report.

Heard on Unsigned:
"Pretty People", Dexter Freebish; "Boomerang", Nectarphonic; "Holy One", Bittersweet Mani; "Daylight", Getaway Car; "Raining Peace", ANC; "Best Friend", King Street; "Sunspot", God's Little Joke; "A New Taste", Gooser; "Stay with Me", Celldweller; "Butterfly Collection", Sour Deluxe; "Beautiful Lunatic", Trevor Hall; "Outside the Lines", Dani; "Choking on the F", Mantis; "Red Mist", Nurotica; "Jezebel", Alicia Grant; "Conversion", Christia Mantzke; "Radiant", Early May; "Upside Down", Steve McWilliams; "Ice Cream Van", the Shivers; "Fire That Burns", Switchback.

Time spent listening: about an hour.

Tomorrow: Boneyard, hard rock, XM 41