Mattew Henry
2016-02-13 03:34:30 UTC
When I bought Cornelius in August 2005, I had a choice in satellite
radio providers: Sirius and XM. Sirius had OutQ and XM had Air America
radio. Trying to be the good leftie, I opted for XM, to support the new
talk network. Sadly, after Air America crumbled, SXM tried to water
their progressive station down with canned talent, from Randi Rhodes, to
Lionel, to the Young Turks.
After the merger with Sirius, the service went to shit. The music
channels were bland and watered down. "Fred," which was once a crown
jewel for new wave/80's alternative, was replaced with "First Wave," and
it's 300-400, Clearchannel-approved playlist of mainstream new wave
songs.
But I got OutQ. That was the silver lining, I thought.
I can't lie that it was weird to hear at first. My first exposure was an
episode of The Morning Jolt, where Keith Price was in full "oh,
sistagirl!" mode, the PSA was for an AIDS shelter, and Larry Flick was
gushing about the cycle of American Idol that was about to start.
And all I could think was "my god, I took all those ass-kickings in the
early 90s...for this?" It took me a few weeks to realize that we're all
out and celebrate it in our own ways, and I eventually warmed to the
station..well, some of it. Signorile was the most classic of gay body
fascists and never passed up a chance to take a swipe at fat people, but
his news research made that side tolerable. Frank DeCaro's toilet humor
never set well with me, and I always thought that Derek and Romaine
represented the ugliest side of the "community," giving a voice to the
toxic underbelly of queer space--two nasty, narcissistic people who
confirmed the same stereotypes I'd spend decades combating. Weekend
programming was always hit and miss. "The Focus Group" was almost always
a sonic circle jerk for upper-middle class and social climbing gay men.
Judy Gold's show never stood a chance. Even "Lance Bass (hey he's gay
now!) and his obnoxious, privileged friends" brought nothing to the
channel.
But it was "our" radio, so I supported it.
Signorile was moved to the rebranded "Progress" channel and that started
OutQ's slide. There was never an "intelligent" replacement for his
afternoon slot--just rehashed weekend content spread across the
vacancies and more Frank DeCaro.
...because you know, Doria Biddle scolding Frank for toilet humor is
cutting edge and never gets old, right?
Derek and Romaine were axed (no big loss), and the weeknights were
filled with more recycled content. In spite of it all, Larry always held
his own at least and was really the only consistent show on OutQ.
So now, this...
I have no idea what SXM plans to do with the channel, now that they've
gutted the programming. Given the reaction of the various fanbases for
the shows and channel, I can't see them rebuilding it.
Maybe there's no need for queer radio anymore? Has marriage equality
really been that devastating for our awkward alliances along G, L, B,
and T lines?
Sadly, this is likely the end of the line for Sirius-XM and I. The
channel has cut content to the point where there's just nothing left to
interest me. Fred is now First Wave. OutQ has been dismantled. The
"SiriusXM-con" channel is gone, having been replaced by fluff coverage
from "EW" radio. Progress and the Grateful Dead channel just aren't
worth $140 a year.
So long, OutQ. So long, SiriusXM. What a long, strange trip it's been...
http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2016/2/10/gay-bloodbath-sirious-outq
radio providers: Sirius and XM. Sirius had OutQ and XM had Air America
radio. Trying to be the good leftie, I opted for XM, to support the new
talk network. Sadly, after Air America crumbled, SXM tried to water
their progressive station down with canned talent, from Randi Rhodes, to
Lionel, to the Young Turks.
After the merger with Sirius, the service went to shit. The music
channels were bland and watered down. "Fred," which was once a crown
jewel for new wave/80's alternative, was replaced with "First Wave," and
it's 300-400, Clearchannel-approved playlist of mainstream new wave
songs.
But I got OutQ. That was the silver lining, I thought.
I can't lie that it was weird to hear at first. My first exposure was an
episode of The Morning Jolt, where Keith Price was in full "oh,
sistagirl!" mode, the PSA was for an AIDS shelter, and Larry Flick was
gushing about the cycle of American Idol that was about to start.
And all I could think was "my god, I took all those ass-kickings in the
early 90s...for this?" It took me a few weeks to realize that we're all
out and celebrate it in our own ways, and I eventually warmed to the
station..well, some of it. Signorile was the most classic of gay body
fascists and never passed up a chance to take a swipe at fat people, but
his news research made that side tolerable. Frank DeCaro's toilet humor
never set well with me, and I always thought that Derek and Romaine
represented the ugliest side of the "community," giving a voice to the
toxic underbelly of queer space--two nasty, narcissistic people who
confirmed the same stereotypes I'd spend decades combating. Weekend
programming was always hit and miss. "The Focus Group" was almost always
a sonic circle jerk for upper-middle class and social climbing gay men.
Judy Gold's show never stood a chance. Even "Lance Bass (hey he's gay
now!) and his obnoxious, privileged friends" brought nothing to the
channel.
But it was "our" radio, so I supported it.
Signorile was moved to the rebranded "Progress" channel and that started
OutQ's slide. There was never an "intelligent" replacement for his
afternoon slot--just rehashed weekend content spread across the
vacancies and more Frank DeCaro.
...because you know, Doria Biddle scolding Frank for toilet humor is
cutting edge and never gets old, right?
Derek and Romaine were axed (no big loss), and the weeknights were
filled with more recycled content. In spite of it all, Larry always held
his own at least and was really the only consistent show on OutQ.
So now, this...
I have no idea what SXM plans to do with the channel, now that they've
gutted the programming. Given the reaction of the various fanbases for
the shows and channel, I can't see them rebuilding it.
Maybe there's no need for queer radio anymore? Has marriage equality
really been that devastating for our awkward alliances along G, L, B,
and T lines?
Sadly, this is likely the end of the line for Sirius-XM and I. The
channel has cut content to the point where there's just nothing left to
interest me. Fred is now First Wave. OutQ has been dismantled. The
"SiriusXM-con" channel is gone, having been replaced by fluff coverage
from "EW" radio. Progress and the Grateful Dead channel just aren't
worth $140 a year.
So long, OutQ. So long, SiriusXM. What a long, strange trip it's been...
http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2016/2/10/gay-bloodbath-sirious-outq