Two major sources of Americana music have either vanished or been drastically changed over the past few months....what is going on!
1. The Americana station on Music Choice (DirectTV's music only service) is gone without a trace. This was the best non-Internet source of music I knew off and the only reason I had upgraded to DirectTv's PLUS package. Bluegrass lives on but Americana offered the more diverse sound.
2. The Border on Sirius Satellite Radio was also excellent. It was replaced earlier this year by "Outlaw Country." OC is a strange and annoying beast. They do dedicate aboutr 40% of their airtime to artists like Steve Earle, Buddy and Julie Miller, Uncle Tuepelo, Old 97's etc. They also play classic country artists and original outlaws (faves seem to be George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings etc.) all these artists are great but when they take up nearly 50% of the programming the station begins to feel a bit schizophrenic. Then there are country influenced selections from the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and others and the occassional true oddball like the Stray Cats...huh?
They seem to be programming for two different demographic markets and failing both...alt.country minded folks with a healthy respect for the classics aren't offered enough of what they came to hear and those who prefer the traditional outlaw sound, most of whom are probably not interested in the more diverse sounds of alt.country at least not in large doses. The nearly 50/50 split is not working for anyone!
The truly annoying feature though is the caricatured Looney Tunes inspired roughneck cliche who does recorded promotion and song intros when there is no studio DJ. I need to get a sound file for you to truly appreciate the grating nature of this guy. Just another sign they don't know their potential audience.
UPDATE: This article is almost a year old but points to some of the issues at work here.
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