siruis vs ipod for control of my

Siruis vs. iPod for control of my musical soul

I stand at a musical crossroads.

And no, I am not talking about whether to offer my soul to techno or

country and western (the only way that happens is if I suffer some

horrific closed-head injury and then, well, I couldn't help myself

could I?)

Christmas is coming, and I'm in a pickle to whether to ask for a new

30-gig iPod, or a Sirius Satellite Radio receiver for the car.

My original, first-generation 5-gig iPod is giving up the ghost. It

often forgets its program. It gets to songs that it refuses to play.

In shuffle mode, it'll shuffle for a time, then refuse. Poor little

thing; it's given me years of trustful service, it's got more than

1,000 songs on its brain (punk songs, by virtue of being short and

sweet, has allowed me to surpass its estimated song capacity).

But do I want another one?

Like I said, I've got more than 1,000 songs on it - a 30-gig iPod

would increase that to 7,500 songs - but even I don't want to listen

to a particular song at a particular time (although, yesterday, the

dB's "Any Old Thing" came up and boy, I hadn't heard that in a while

and gave me a big smile). I tend to scroll through the shuffle play to

find something that fits my mood.

(And, please, don't talk to me about playlists; I could make 100

playlists and still find something I don't want to listen to at a

particular time.)

With Sirius, I get new, exciting stuff all the time. If I don't like

the new alternative stuff, I can switch to one of 193 channels of

music, sports or talk radio. All commercial-free.

But, Thom, what about listening to a little Ramones or White Stripes

or The Replacements at work? Sirius is satellite radio for your car.

With the iPod, you just walk in, plug in and listen.

Well, I get Sirius for the car and I also get Sirius Internet Radio.

Fully-streaming music right from my laptop (I've been pirating my

dad's subscription since February).

Here's the biggest dilemma I face: portability.

I can't take Sirius into the grocery store, or in the backpack when

I'm fishing (unless I get the Sirius mp3 player that allows you to

record your favorite songs).

So, I am conflicted.

I do know that I'm leaning toward getting the Sirius radio for the car

(I have Dish at home, so I get Sirius there, meaning I'd have

commercial-free tunes most everywhere I find myself) and a two-year

subscription.

And then saving my pennies for a 4-gig iPod Nano ($199) for the