Sirius/XM yanks BBC Radio 1 - I've got a big problem, here

Ok, I have a bone to pick. It's a rather important bone (!), at least to me, so I figured I'd nix a music post today to talk about it. I'm not sure if any of you are Sirius/XM Satellite Radio subscribers in North America, but if you are--and if your tastes are anything like mine--you've probably realized that the company yanked BBC Radio 1 from their service last week without warning. It's been replaced by some lame disco station. This simply isn't gonna do.

You Brits may scoff, but Radio 1 is very important to me. In fact, it's why I bought the service in the first place. Having lived in England for awhile, it recalls pleasant memories. More than that, though, it makes all the European music I post on this blog real. What I mean by that is, it places it in a real-life context. I don't only like to listen to music for music's sake. I like to understand where it's popular and why. I'm a chart junky and (surprise, surprise) like to know what people are thinking about the latest songs. Given that my taste tends to tilt very heavily towards European stuff, Radio 1 is really the best way to do that. And even though I'm very well-versed in music from around the world, I've made more than one discovery from the channel.

Now, the company's striving to pacify its customers by offering the channel for streaming on their website (a bit laughable, since you can already stream it for free on the Radio 1 website and Sirius charges $2.99 for the privilege), but I don't listen to radio on the internet. I listen to it in my car. I want Radio 1 in my car. End of. I'm paying for it, after all.

I realize this rant won't apply to all of you, but if it does, there's a movement afoot to get the channel back on satellite radio in North America. Heck, even if you're a listener in England and believe us Americans/Canadians deserve access, visit the following link and join the campaign. Email them. Call. I'm serious! >:)

http://www.facebook.com/SaveRadio1inNorthAmerica