Special X was a Commercial-Free channel 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 ...

that played

Novelty music A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

with a "weirdness" theme. the Special X channel was on Channel 30 on XM Radio and on Channel 848 on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

. In its early days, the channel was hosted by a character named Generalissimo Stacio Ortega, a creation of station programmer

Lou Brutus Lou Brutus (born November 10, 1962) is an American radio personality, program director, voice-over talent, musician, and photographer. He is best known as the host of the nationally syndicated rock radio programs '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' a ...

. Some of its featured content included "Parrot Training Records," "Wax My Woody" (surf music), "Polka Party," "Wabbit Trax" (cartoon music), along with syndicated content such as

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

. During certain holidays such as St. Patrick's Day and Halloween, Special X would change its programming to feature related music. On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, they broadcast all historical recordings and testimonials, including three original ones from XM programmers Russ Davis (Audio Visions and Beyond Jazz), BK Kirkland (The Groove), and Bill Wax (Bluesville). The channel would temporarily change its name to "Special XMas" during the

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

and play nonstop offbeat holiday music and programming, from songs like "

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is a novelty Christmas song. Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the then-husband-and-wife duo of Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg in 1979. Lyrics The lyrics tell the story of a grandm ...

" to shorts like "A Very (Charlton) Heston Christmas". In January 2004 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), XM announced that several channels would be eliminated to make way for new programming including Special X, which would end programming on February 1. During the final few weeks of broadcast, station host Generalissimo Stacio Ortega was featured in

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s that

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

d the decision to discontinue the station by the "

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s" and made reference to the

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campaigns that fans were raising to convince XM not to eliminate Special X. On the final night of air, a six-hour special was played featuring a compilation of the best of programming from Special X. In-between songs, The Generalissimo would update listeners on the war involving his final stand against the "enemy" who was trying to yank him from the air. The "enemy" made their way into the bunker and Generalissimo was finally killed in

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fashion, only to wake up and realizing it was all a dream (now parodying '' The Wizard of Oz''.) The final segment involved the Generalissimo promising that the "army of weirdness" would rise again. Following the conclusion, Special X left the air and was replaced with The Blend on XM 25. Program Director Lou Brutus would go on to program for

Fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

on XM 53, one of the new stations announced at CES.{{Cite web, url=http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=17548&highlight=special++ces, title=Special X - got a form letter from Lou Brutus -XMFan.com Following the demise of Special X, some of its featured content was moved to other channels. "Wax My Woody" was moved to 60s on 6 while Dr. Demento was moved to Deep Tracks. "Special XMas" continued to appear annually in the XM lineup during the Christmas season as it had when Special X was broadcast. Later that year, Special X would return as an online-exclusive channel to XM's new online streaming service. However, the channel lacked the hosts and special programming that it had on satellite and only aired music and programming on auto-pilot. On April 17, 2006, Special X moved from XMRO 30 to XMRO 154 in order to make room for XM Hitlist. It continued to be heard on XMRO 154 and on

channel 848. In mid-July 2008, all XM online-only channels were terminated during the XM/Sirius merger, and Special X was included in this purging. The "Special XMas" channel was also omitted from the satellite lineup that year.

References

Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2001 Radio stations disestablished in 2008

See also

References