Fungus, branded on air as Fungus 53, was a Commercial-free radio station on
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
, launched in early 2004 and was specialized in playing Uncensored Punk rock, Hardcore rock and Ska music. The channel was one of nine on XM that is marked with an ''xL'', which is the Channel is Uncensored, and indicating frequent Explicit Language. The channel was programmed by
Lou Brutus, who is also host of the nationally syndicated radio show, ''Harddrive'', and former program director of
Special X. Lou and
Russ Brown were the two DJs on the channel.
Shows That Were on Fungus 53
*Rancid Radio - A weekly, hourly show hosted by the members of the group Rancid.
*Kingdom of Swine - Fungus' longest show, Kingdom of Swine dedicated three whole hours to
industrial music.
*Oi!sters - Two hours a week dedicated to
Oi!
Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was ...
.
*Complete Control Radio -
Joe Sib
Joe Sib, former frontman for the punk rock band Wax, as well as punk rock supergroup 22 Jacks, is the co-founder (along with Bill Armstrong) of SideOneDummy Records
SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. I ...
hosts a weekly radio show, where he picks the tracks from his punk library at his
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
studio.
*Hee-Haw Hell - Airtime devoted to
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...
and
cowpunk
Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matte ...
music, some of which is also heard on XM sister channel
X Country.
*Duped - A show devoted to punk and ska covers.
*Slam-a-lot - Hardcore music for a whole hour.
*Skanorreha - An entire show of
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
, which mixes in several older songs from the 1990s and 1980s that are not usually rotated into the channel's daytime playlist.
*Kowabunga Uber Alles - A weekly show devoted to surf music.
In popular culture
The station was the subject of the first half of the Fungus/I'm a Really Huge Fan of
Bad Religion song from one of
NOFX's
7" of the month club program.
Fat Mike expresses his thoughts on the station, mentioning that "I hate the radio but I like Fungus/The only punk rock station, it's humongous".
AC/DC Radio and the end of Fungus
Between 2008 and 2009–15 and 2009-01-15, the channel features the music of Australian band
AC/DC 24/7. This is the first single artist micro-channel that is preempting channels on both the XM and Sirius platform.
Punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
on the Sirius platform is being preempted as well. It is being reported
[http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=96597] that the channel
Boneyard
Boneyard may refer to:
* Cemetery or graveyard
Comics
* A character in the Malibu/Marvel Comics publication ''Mantra''
* ''Boneyard'' (comics), a horror-themed comic book series by Richard Moore
Film and television
* ''Boneyard'' (TV series ...
will replace AC/DC radio on channel 53, meaning Fungus 53 has been retired from the Sirius XM lineup.
Faction became Fungus's successor on November 12, 2008, although Faction is now XM channel 41.
See also
*
XM Satellite Radio channel history
This is a list of former channels on XM Satellite Radio, in addition to information on format changes of existing channels. Also included is information on temporary channels and seasonal channels.
Before the Sirius and XM channel lineup merger
Th ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fungus (Xm)
Defunct radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2001
Radio stations disestablished in 2008