Month: January 2004

XM Bootcamp II Schedule and Scorecard

For each channel, I’ve included a link to its home page on XM’s site; I’ve also predicted the grade I’ll give to each channel; I updated each channel’s listing after I visited it with my actual grade and with a link to my discussion of the channel in my blog. I’ve also written a Bootcamp Retrospective, complete with awards.

Date Channel Channel
Name and Home Page		 Category Expected
Grade		 Actual Grade and Blog Link
1/6/2004 4 The 40s Decades C B
1/7/2004 5 The 50s Decades B- C
1/8/2004 6 The 60s Decades B- A
1/9/2004 151 Laugh USA Comedy B B
1/10/2004 121 Fox News News    
1/12/2004 28 On Broadway Hits B- B
1/13/2004 7 The 70s Decades B C
1/14/2004 22 The Mix Hits D- C
1/15/2004 9 The 90s Decades D- F
1/16/2004 21 KISS XM Hits F F
1/17/2004 122 CNN News    
1/18/2004   Aguila (90)/Vibra(92)/Tejano (93)** Latin    
1/19/2004 169 The Power Talk & Variety D D
1/20/2004 74 Bluesville Jazz & Blues C B+
1/21/2004 65 The Rhyme Urban F F
1/22/2004 48 SquiZZ Rock C C+
1/23/2004 10 America Country C B+
1/24/2004 123 CNN Headline News    
1/25/2004 30** Special X Hits   B
1/26/2004 161 Discovery Radio Talk & Variety C B
1/27/2004 70 Real Jazz Jazz & Blues B A-
1/28/2004 40 Deep Tracks Rock A A
1/29/2004 113 XM Pops Classical A A
1/30/2004 115 Radio Disney Kids C D
1/31/2004 124 ABC News & Talk News    
2/2/2004 16 Highway 16 Country C C
2/3/2004 25 The Blend Hits C B-
2/4/2004 53 Fungus Rock C+ C
2/5/2004 54 Lucy Rock C+ B-
2/6/2004 101 The Joint World C C+
2/7/2004 125 Weather Channel News    
2/9/2004 162 E! Talk & Variety D F
2/10/2004 13 Hank’s Place Country C B+
2/11/2004 73 Frank’s Place Jazz & Blues C+ B+
2/12/2004 91 Caricia Latin C C
2/13/2004 23 The Heart Hits C C
2/14/2004 127 CNBC News    
2/16/2004 52 Unsigned Rock C- C+
2/17/2004 61 The Flow Urban D C
2/18/2004 8 The 80s Decades C- B+
2/19/2004 82 The System Dance D B-
2/20/2004 20 Top 20 On 20 Hits F F
2/21/2004 129 Bloomberg News News    
2/23/2004 165 Ask! Talk & Variety D F
2/24/2004 50 The Loft Rock B B+
2/25/2004 31 The Torch Christian F F
2/26/2004 60 Soul Street Urban C B
2/27/2004 51 XM Music Lab Rock C B-
2/28/2004 130 MSNBC News    
3/1/2004 166 Buzz XM Talk & Variety D F
3/2/2004 14 Bluegrass Junction Country C A-
3/3/2004 67 The City Urban D D
3/4/2004 80 The Move Dance D D+
3/5/2004 156 VH-1 Radio Talk & Variety D C-
3/6/2004 131 BBC World Service News    
3/8/2004 163 Sonic Theater Talk & Variety C I
3/9/2004 44 Fred Rock C B-
3/10/2004 64 The Groove Urban D C-
3/11/2004 12 X Country Country C B-
3/12/2004 32 The Fish Christian F F
3/13/2004 132 C-Span News    
3/15/2004 27 Cinemagic Hits B B
3/16/2004 72 Beyond Jazz Jazz & Blues B B-
3/17/2004 15 The Village Country A A
3/18/2004 116 XM Kids Kids C C+
3/19/2004 24 Sunny Hits C D
3/20/2004 134 CNN en Espanol News    
3/22/2004 164 Radio Classics Talk & Variety C I
3/23/2004 110 XM Classics Classical A A
3/24/2004 49 Fine Tuning Rock A A
3/25/2004 83 Chrome Dance D C+
3/26/2004 45 XM Cafe Rock C+ B
3/27/2004 140 ESPN Radio Sports    
3/29/2004 152 Extreme XM Talk & Variety D F
3/30/2004 47 Ethel Rock C C-
3/31/2004 66 Raw Urban F F
4/1/2004 150 XM Comedy Comedy C D
4/2/2004 42 XM Liquid Metal Rock D F
4/3/2004 141 ESPNews Sports    
4/5/2004 171 Open Road Talk & Variety D D-
4/6/2004 41 Boneyard Rock C C-
4/7/2004 71 Watercolors Jazz & Blues B B
4/8/2004 94 Caliente Latin C C+
4/9/2004 170 Family Talk Talk & Variety D F
4/10/2004 142 Fox Sports Sports    
4/12/2004 33 Spirit Urban F C-
4/13/2004 102 Ngoma World D C
4/14/2004 76 On The Rocks Jazz & Blues C+ B+
4/15/2004 46 Top Tracks Rock B+ B+
4/16/2004 11 Nashville! Country C C
4/17/2004 143 Sporting News Sports    
4/19/2004 103 Audio Visions World B B-
4/20/2004 81 BPM Dance D B-
4/21/2004 29 U-Pop Hits C C-
4/22/2004 100 World Zone World C A-
4/23/2004 112 Vox! Classical B- C
4/24/2004 144 NASCAR Sports    
4/26/2004 155 MTV Radio Talk & Variety D D
4/27/2004 62 Suite 62 Urban D B-
4/28/2004 75 Luna Jazz & Blues C A
4/29/2004 43 XMU Rock C B-
4/30/2004 26 XM Live Hits C+ B-

** Channels removed 1 February 2004

Bootcamp Day 14 — The Rhyme

When Shibby set up the bootcamp, he gave us advice:

How can I listen to a channel I know already I won’t be able to stand?

Well, of course, you can simply avoid the channel. Short of that, here’s some tips that may help you survive a day you think is going to be hell:

  • Go in with a good attitude, or at least no attitude. If you are convinced that you absolutely cannot stand a certain type of music, there’s not going to be much room for discovery. Keep an open mind.
  • Turn the volume down. Sometimes, allowing the music to fade into the background brought me good results. If you focus on something other than the music that’s playing, you just might find yourself tapping your foot to the beat to a type of music you thought you couldn’t stand. For me, this was particularly useful during the Country and Urban categories.

When I read that advice, I knew that it would apply very directly to today’s channel, The Rhyme.

I tried. I listened in my hotel room, with the volume down and the air conditioning up. And, if I couldn’t hear any of the words, it wasn’t totally intolerable most of the time. But when I got close to the speakers, or when the air conditioning stopped, and the words became clear, I was not a happy camper.

I think I’ll listen to other channels when I get back to the hotel.