Dave Alvin, the Grammy-award winning roots rock legend, will join XM Satellite Radio as host of his own show "9 Volt".

"9 Volt" will premiere the week of September 18th on XM's Americana music channel X Country (ch 12). Named after his song dedicated to his transistor radio listening days "Plastic Silver 9 Volt Heart," the hour-long show will feature Alvin paying homage to all styles of music, from the Blues to R&B to Folk to Roots Rock to Rockabilly and more.

Dave Alvin’s "9 Volt" will air the third week of every month on X Country; Mondays at 11am, and replays on Thursday at 7pm and Saturday at 11am.

Jessican Simpson is making the rounds with the satcasters - first she hosted a recent SIRIUS Hits 1 Weekend Countdown (on a Thursday, ironically) - and today she spent the day at XM Satellite Radio studios in DC to talk about her latest album "A Public Affair" (released August 29th).

Jessica sat down for an interview with XM’s Top 20 on 20 host Michelle and also visited XM's dance channel BPM to chat with DJ Alan Freed. All for the ride was her dog.... Daisy.

Of course, no mention of Jessica Simpson should be without a plethora of photos, so g'head and check them out after the jump...

Singer/songwriter Graham Nash will be hosting a new music program exclusively for XM Satellite Radio, entitled "SongStories with Graham Nash". The half-hour show spotlights Nash interviewing many of music's most talented and successful songwriters about the stories behind their songs, their overall creative process and the art of songwriting itself.

The interviews grew from the conversations held while writing Nash's book, "Off The Record." The book presents the text of 25 such interviews along with rare photographs and handwritten manuscripts of the lyrics for the featured song.

Carole King, Paul Williams, Waylon Jennings and Ben E. King are among the artists who will be featured during the first several episodes.  

The premiere episode features Nash's conversation with Steve Cropper about "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay," the GRAMMY-winning #1 Cropper co-wrote with the legendary Otis Redding. It also features Graham and Grace Slick discussing "White Rabbit," Slick's psychedelic hit from Jefferson Airplane's classic 1967 LP Surrealistic Pillow. Future episodes will feature Carole King on "I Feel the Earth Move," Waylon Jennings on "Good Hearted Woman," and Ben E. King on "Stand By Me."

"SongStories with Graham Nash" debuts Monday, August 21st on The Loft (ch 50), with new episodes airing every other week and encores airing throughout the month.

XM Satellite Radio will premiere Bob Dylan's first studio album in five years, Modern Times, on Monday August 28th.

XM subscribers will be the first to hear the world premiere of Modern Times the day before it’s released to the public, at 12 midnight ET on XM’s Deep Tracks (ch 40), The Village (ch 15) and Hear Music (ch 75), with encores also airing on these channels throughout the day at 6am, 12-noon and 7pm. 

XM will also simulcast the world premiere of Modern Times to partners that feature XM channels - including AOL, DirecTV, AirTran Airways and JetBlue.

And with the record’s release on Tuesday August 29th, purchasers of Modern Times (and any other Bob Dylan CD) will receive a bonus disc featuring the popular "baseball" episode of Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" on XM at select retailers, including Circuit City stores. Click to view the Marketing Bulletin (PDF) detailing this.

In addition to baseball-themed songs, the one-hour episode also contains Dylan singing an a cappella rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Back in June, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum added the "Theme Time Radio Hour" baseball episode to its archives. 

After the world premiere and CD release, XM Satellite Radio will air a "Theme Time Radio Hour" marathon, broadcasting every episode of Dylan’s "Theme Time Radio Hour" back-to-back, starting September 1st at 6pm ET on The Village (ch 15) until 12 Midnight ET on September 4th. 

View the full track listing of Bob Dylan's Modern Times after the jump...

"IT." That thing that makesa a pop-song more than just popular. That song that just has something as indescribable as "it." That makes you lose your voice from singing in the car. That you'll see a pack of girls dancing and singing to while stuck in a freeway traffic jam.

XM Satellite Radio is celebrating all the songs that have "it" starting on Friday, August 18th, with a special rolling countdown of every hit song, decade by decade, spanning multiple music channels.

From the 40s on 4, to the 50s on 5, 60s on 6, 70s on 7, 80s on 8 and... yep, the 90s on 9. Starting off with music from the Roarin' 20s, all the way until through end of the millenium, and finally concluded with a countdown of the hit songs from 2005.

IT: History of Pop on XM Satellite Radio will be a musical event you won't want to miss. Check here for the full schedule and details.

XM Satellite Radio's 50s on 5 is commemorating the 29th anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley with an all-day tribute.

Elvis was born on January 8, 1935 and died on August 16, 1977 - so 50s on 5 host Ken Smith is paying tribute to The King of Rock 'n Roll all day long on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006.

Every hour, you’ll hear a vintage interview with either Elvis himself or someone close to him, as well as stories and more about the legend throughout the day.

Nelly Furtado is taking over XM Satellite Radio’s interactive hit music channel, 20on20, to play her favorite picks.

XM's 20on20 typically lets subscribers take control of the playlist, but this time one of the hottest ladies on the planet will take control of the DJ seat to play her top 20 favorite songs.

Tune in next Saturday, August 19th at 1pm ET to hear this special Nelly Furtado broadcast.

XM Satellite Radio and Starbucks Hear Music are releasing a new CD of performances by top artists recorded during XM's "Artist Confidential" original music series on August 29th.

Produced by XM Satellite Radio exclusively for Starbucks Hear Music, XM Artist Confidential, Vol. 1 features live renditions of songs by Coldplay, Willie Nelson, Tori Amos, Robert Plant and many others recorded in the intimate XM Performance Theater.

Check out the complete track listings of XM Artist Confidential, Vol. 1 after the jump...

The Grammy award-winning band Chicago will perform live at the XM studios in Washington, D.C. tomorrow (August 8th) for the latest episode of the XM Satellite Radio original series Artist Confidential.

Chicago will perform for a select audience of fans inside the XM Performance Theater, where XM on-air host George Taylor Morris will interview the band and take questions from the audience.  This episode of Artist Confidential will air on XM 70’s (ch 7) and The Blend (ch 25) the week of October 2nd.

Here's some quick facts about Chicago:

• 2006 marks the 39th anniversary of the band.
• Chicago has sold more than 120 million records and an astonishing 50 hits in the U.S. alone.
• Chicago has 18 gold albums, 13 platinum, and 12 in the top 10, and 5 have hit # 1.
• Chicago has 20 Top 10 hit singles, 5 #1 records and 5 gold singles.