Specials

Starting this coming Monday Snoop Dogg Nation, a commercial-free channel featuring music, interviews, and specials celebrating the career of the hip-hop icon, from his early days with Dr. Dre to his newest album, Malice N Wonderland will be taking over Hip Hop Nation on Sirius (ch. 40) and XM (ch. 67).

Snoop Dogg Nation, hosted by Snoop Dogg himself, will feature everything from his early collaborations with Dr. Dre, to Snoop’s first release in 1993, Doggystyle. Listeners will hear Snoop Dogg host an audio tour of his entire catalog, sharing stories about each album, including a track by track listen of his latest album. Snoop Dogg Nation will also feature a special countdown during which Snoop will count down his top 20 favorite hip-hop songs of all time.

Additionally, Snoop Dogg, will sit down with Hip-Hop Nation host Renada for an in-depth and revealing interview. Snoop will discuss creating his new album, his life as a ‘family man,’ his views on the music industry and more.

Based on what I have seen of Snoop Dogg on his own TV series Fatherhood and his episode of Man Caves, this should prove to be some interesting and compelling radio. One can only hope that Snoop gets interested enough in satellite radio that Shade 45 gets bumped for an all new Dogg Pound 45.

Sirius XM Radio announced it will launch Halloween Radio, a channel devoted to all things Halloween, offering listeners of all ages the ultimate 24/7 Halloween soundtrack. Halloween Radio, Sirius ch. 126 and XM ch. 120, will launch October 26 at 10am ET and run until November 1 at 6am ET.

Leading up to Halloween, from October 26-29, Halloween Radio will air themed segments including favorite holiday stories and memories from a variety of Sirius XM hosts such as Martha Stewart, Cousin Brucie, Jane Pratt, Jay Thomas, Judith Regan, and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. The channel will also feature classic scary stories, music, listener comments, stories and personal Halloween memories, and a special appearance by Rosie O’Donnell, whose Sirius XM daily morning show premieres this fall.

On the eve of Halloween the channel will begin to broadcast catchy, creepy, fun, scary sounds beginning at 5pm, including creaking doors, wolves baying, footsteps, bubbling potions, a fog horn, breaking glass, the sounds of being chased through the woods, eerie screams, the echo of dripping water, a heartbeat and thunder to help set the mood for Halloween parties at work or at home and to set the mood for trick-or-treating.

Visit sirius.com/halloween to sample Halloween Radio by playing with the spooky sounds on the interactive soundboard.

I have long been a Monty Python fan. In fact, I was watching their skits and movies long before I should have. Monty Python will always carry a special place for me. In my youth, movies such as The Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and The Meaning Of Life became classic staples of school conversations, with one liners and scenes that simply resonated and have lasted throughout the years. I am such a fan, the John Clease is the navigation voice on my Tom Tom that guides me as I drive.

Sirius XM’s Monty Python channel launched late last week, and will continue through October 25th. Once again, I can hear the classic comedy that carries a place for anyone who has ever seen one of their movies, or watched their television series. Who can forget the frenchman saying, “Your mother is a hampster and your father smells of elerberries”

If you have not caught the Monty Python channel yet, make it a point to tune to Sirius channel 105 or XM channel 151. If you have a favorite Monty Python moment, you can request it during special “Monty Python Request” shows that will air each day. Tune in, and bring back all of the troops classics.

This Friday, August 14th, Sirius XM Radio will launch The Woodstock Channel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair held at Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York in 1969.

The Woodstock Channel will start Friday and run through Sunday, August 16 on Deep Tracks, Sirius ch.16 and XM ch. 40. The show will be devoted to the historic music festival featuring music, interviews and memories from the artists who were there, including Graham Nash, Leslie West, Arlo Guthrie, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Joe Cocker.

Sirius XM subscribers will hear music from artists in the exact order that they performed at the festival each day beginning with Richie Havens and ending with Jimi Hendrix. The Woodstock Channel will also feature complete performances from Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, Johnny Winter and Jefferson Airplane as they happened at the original 1969 festival.

During the limited-run channel, listeners will hear content from Woodstock – 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur’s Farm, the new 6-CD boxed set to be released on August 11 and also exclusive interviews with the stars and filmmakers of Taking Woodstock, the new comedy about a man who inadvertently played a role in making Woodstock into the famed happening it was.

For more information about The Woodstock Channel, you can visit sirius.com/deeptracks.

The holiday weekend and radio seem to go hand in hand. Barbecue on the grill, friends and family getting together in the sunshine as the radio plays. It is holiday weekends where the value of radio comes to life, and Sirius XM have the capability of offering more than any other radio format. Sirius XM is dishing up some great content for every taste imaginable with special programming all Memorial day weekend long. There will be special concerts, performances and interviews across SIRIUS XM’s commercial-free music lineup.

The entire schedule for the weekend can be found at www.sirius.com/memorialday or www.xmradio.com.

Memorial Day weekend broadcast highlights after the jump…

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Today Sirius XM announced that it will launch yet another niche limited-run channel and this time it will be devoted to the music of Paul McCartney, in celebration of his new album recorded under his alter ego, “The Fireman.”

Paul McCartney’s Fireman Radio is set to premiere on Feb.14 and will air through Mar.13 on The Bridge, Sirius ch. 33 and XM ch. 27. The channel will feature a rare in-depth and revealing interview were Paul McCartney, the legendary artist, will share his inspiration behind his secret Fireman projects. He will speak candidly and openly about every track and will shed new light on this acclaimed music project, which for years has been shrouded in secrecy.

In addition, subscribers will be treated to weekly fireside chats where McCartney will discuss music, politics, news and any other topic he feels compelled to discuss. You can’t get that kind of programming on regular radio! More information and a few in-studio video interviews can be found at sirius.com/fireman.

For those of you who will not be fortunate enough to park yourself in front of your television tomorrow, Sirius XM Radio will offering extensive front row live coverage of the historic inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

Anchors Tim Farley and Joe Mathieu will broadcast live bringing listeners the entire inaugural program from start to finish along with interviews from Americans in attendance. P.O.T.U.S. can be heard on Sirius ch.110 and XM ch.130.

For those of you who may be interested in other specialty programming there will also be other various coverage and interviews across 16 other channels including Sirius Left, Sirius Patriot, Outq, CNN, CNN En Espanol, Fox News, Oprah & Friends, The Power, and Foxxhole Radio.

Bruce Springsteen will be guest hosting a special on E Street Radio, his exclusive commercial-free channel dedicated to the himself and the E Street Band. The Bruce Springsteen special will air on E Street Radio Sirius channel 10 and XM channel 58. This should come as no surprise as Bruce’s new album “Working on a Dream” is slated for release on January 27th.

Bruce Springsteen sat down with Dave Marsh, to play hand picked from his personal record collection. The Boss will be sharing how he discovered each song and what he likes about the music in his commentary. Subscribers will hear Bruce playing a variety of music ranging from folk songs to contemporary music including hip hop and progressive rock. I have to admit that I will be tuning in just to hear what kind of “hip hop” is in Bruce’s personal collection.

The first edition of the Bruce Springsteen guest deejay special is set to premiere on Monday, January 19 at 4 pm ET and will be rebroadcasting all month long leading up to the second special. The second edition of Bruce’s guest deejay special will premiere on Monday, January 26 at 4 pm ET and will also be rebroadcasting all week long so get your stiletto ready.