Fungus, branded on air as Fungus 53, was a Commercial-free radio station on
XM Satellite Radio, 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
Special X was a Commercial-Free channel on XM Satellite Radio that played Novelty music with a "weirdness" theme. the Special X channel was on Channel 30 on XM Radio and on Channel 848 on DirecTV. In its early days, the channel was hosted by a cha ...
. 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
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
.
*Oi!sters - Two hours a week dedicated to
Oi!.
*Complete Control Radio -
Joe Sib hosts a weekly radio show, where he picks the tracks from his punk library at his
Los Angeles studio.
*Hee-Haw Hell - Airtime devoted to
rockabilly and
cowpunk music, some of which is also heard on XM sister channel
X Country
X Country was a Commercial-free Music channel on XM Satellite Radio devoted to progressive country music. It was available on channel 12 on XM Radio and channel 810 on DirecTV.
Artists on the playlist included Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, John ...
.
*Duped - A show devoted to punk and ska covers.
*Slam-a-lot - Hardcore music for a whole hour.
*Skanorreha - An entire show of
ska, 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
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...
song from one of
NOFX
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
's
7" of the month club
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
program.
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
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
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
24/7. This is the first single artist micro-channel that is preempting channels on both the XM and Sirius platform.
Punk 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 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
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fungus (Xm)
Defunct radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2001
Radio stations disestablished in 2008