Sirius is opening up the archives of The Howard Stern Show and showcasing the most memorable musical performances from the past 25 years.

Starting on Friday, February 16th at 3pm ET and running all weekend long, Howard 101 is airing performances from music's biggest names, with commentary from musicians who have stopped by the show, along with memories from Howard and his cohorts, plus bits from inside the studio and off-site parties and road shows.

You'll hear the in-studio performances by legends such as James Taylor, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, AC/DC, Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and Willie Nelson as well as classic performances by superstars like Dave Grohl, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, and Stone Temple Pilots, among many others.

Recorded musical performances from 25 years of birthday shows, international shows and road shows will also air. Highlights include songs from Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, Tom Jones, The Wallflowers, Sting and Bryan Adams.

And to add to the coolness, over the past 2 months interviews were conducted with artists (like Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Grohl, Steven Tyler, Rob Zombie, and Perry Farrell) to accompany their performances, and their commentary about their songs and experiences will also air.

Howard will also share which musicians and moments stood out to him from this remarkable collection. Robin, Fred, Gary, Artie, Scott the Engineer and Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling are just a few of The Howard Stern Show crew that will also reveal their favorite stories and memories.

There have been some truly great performances over the years, and this sounds like something that shouldn't be missed by any past or present Stern fan.

[Press Release]
Thanks Lee!

Related:

• A look at Stern's deal with Sirius
• Bubba The Love Sponge to air Friday mornings
• Howard Stern engaged to Beth O

Sirius Satellite Radio's "Blog Radio" show on Left of Center (ch 26) has been awarded the 2007 PLUG! Music Award for "Specialty Show of the Year."

Music lovers participate in the PLUG! Music Awards, which are held every year to celebrate the best in independent music. Writers, DJs, bloggers, artists, filmmakers, managers, indie retailers and fans gather for PLUG! to celebrate indie artists.

"Blog Radio" airs weeknights at 10pm ET and is hosted by influential music bloggers who provide insight into the indie rock scene. Brooklyn Vegan, one of the contributors to "Blog Radio," also won the PLUG! Music Award for "Best Music Blog." Fellow contributors/blogger Gorilla vs Bear and My Old Kentucky Blog were nominated in the same category. Sadly, it doesn't seem that Product Shop NYC (another Blog Radio cohort) was nominated for anything.

Congrats to Sirius and to all the bloggers involved. It's well deserved. 

Snuggle up with that special someone this Valentine's Day, while you sip fine wine by the fire, and have Sirius in the background setting the mood.

This V-Day, Sirius is going to get you all mushy inside with a slew of Valentine's Day programming. From "Trailer Park Love" on Outlaw Country (ch 63) to "Deepak Chopra Kama Sutra II" on Sirius Stars (ch 102), Sirius plays your wingman while you turn on some sweet looove.

But if you're more into professing your love to the satellite nation, forget naming a star after her and let Sirius' Jam_ON (ch 17) say it for you, by sending a Jam-Gram to your heart's desire. Or send out a Valentine's Pledge on Sirius Love (ch 3) where you can pledge your love to the one you love over the air. Grrrr...

[Sirius' Valentine's Day Schedule] 

Sirius Satellite Radio and Frank Sinatra Enterprises are teaming up to create a new channel dedicated to the music, time and spirit of Frank Sinatra: Siriusly Sinatra. A move that wrestled the Sinatra namesake away from XM last month.

Entitled "Siriusly Sinatra" the channel is the only on the radio that is produced by the Sinatra family. Featuring a weekly show hosted by Nancy Sinatra, rare live concert performances, and special programs of archived material.

Another incredible feature on the Siriusly Sinatra channel will be "The Chairman's Hour," which is hosted by Frank himself out of on archival material both spoken word and music.

Siriusly Sinatra will also air other artists from the big band, swing and traditional pop genres.

[Press Release] 

UPDATE: According to the NY Daily News, Nancy Sinatra will be at Sirius today for the official unveiling of the channel (which will happen at Sirius' studios in Rockefeller Center).

Nancy also said the arrangement with XM was made "when there was only one network operating." Though Jonathan Schwartz, PD for XM's High Standards (formally "Frank's Place") said there will be no change in the Sinatra content of XM's channel.  

The boys at Sirius Uplink have learned from a "reliable source" that there's going to be some lineup channels in the works, though admittedly a time-table is apparently lacking.

First up is Reggae Rhythms, which supposedly will be taking the place of the beloved The Who Channel at channel number 98. Then Sirius Disorder will reportedly move into Reggae Rhythms' spot at channel 32.

And then the good news (because I know you're still crying over The Who Channel), a new channel - supposedly a 90s Alt-Rock channel - is rumored to be arriving on channel 24. So turn that frown upside-down Frank, everything's going to be alright.

[Sirius Uplink] 

Every year, Edison Media Research features their selections for the "most intriguing stations" for the year. This year, Sirius Satellite Radio's pop-hits channel Sirius Hits 1 (ch 1) was selected as part of the proud few.

Interestingly enough, Edison's Sean Ross felt that both satcaster's Top 40 offerings weren't all that interesting in the infancy of satellite radio. "In the last 18 months, however, both satellite Top 40s have become more adventurous," he wrote in his article.

Acknowledging Sirius' departure from traditional Top 40 templates and use of cross-media platforms "from MySpace (early support of Hellogoodbye) to Country to TV (re-adding 'The Grease Megamix' to tie in with 'You're The One That I Want')," he also selected Sirius Hits 1 because of it's widely visible platform.

[Edison Media Research]
Thanks Matt!