Yes! I couldn’t agree with him more.

At its essence, radio is about the communication between the listener and the person on the other side of the mike. That person plays the music the listener wants to hear and provides information about the songs and the artists that keeps the listener plugged in. Additionally, that person provides a sense of companionship and community for the listener. Radio is the social network with a voice.

So as I sat there thinking a bit about radio and the definition of radio and of how radio is evolving, I began thinking about satellite radio. I listen to a lot of satellite radio here in the U.S. and I must say that there are many things I either hear for myself, or hear about through cross-promotion, that get me excited about listening. Things that give me the sense that the “true mission” of radio is being fulfilled there. I’ve written a few times before – here, here and here – about my fascination with and fondness for these “micro-channels” that both XM and Sirius do. To me, these channels kind of sum up what the benefits of satellite radio are for the listener, providing a snapshot of the best that satellite radio can offer.

The other day while I was driving home I tuned into one of Sirius’ such channels, the all-Springsteen “E Street Radio” channel. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon the beginning of an hour that featured a guest DJ, something that the channel regularly does. However this hour wasn’t featuring just any guest DJ, it was none other than long time member of the E Street Band, pianist Roy Bittan. I sat there in my car captivated as Bittan not only played songs that featured his playing – songs in Springsteen’s catalog as well as those by other artists – but also as he discussed in depth the particulars about each track and why it was so special to him. It was pretty incredible radio – hearing Bittan introducing “Born To Run” as he spoke about his first ever gig with the E Street Band back in 1974; about how the classic piano-outro on “Backstreets” came about; how the sessions for Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” album came to be and his experiences in the making of that classic album; how he came to record with David Bowie and his experiences with recording the “TVC 15″ track; about how the band recorded many of the tracks on “The River” in a live fashion and many others. Now keep in mind that each of the songs he played during the hour I’ve heard a thousand times – but hearing them with the context he provided enabled me to hear each song in a different way. Powerful stuff.

As I was driving along and listening to this incredible hour of radio, I was thinking to myself, “This is exactly why I subscribe to Sirius. I couldn’t hear this type of radio anywhere else.” And yes, it’s just one small example, for I don’t pay $13/month so I can hear Roy Bittan do one hour of radio. The fact of the matter is that the hour of radio I just described above is representative of not only what is happening on the “E Street Radio” channel, but what is happening on many other channels on the Sirius platform not to mention with what’s going on across the XM platform.

NPR calls them “car moments” – radio programming that is so compelling that you sit in your car to keep listening even after you reached your destination. The Roy Bittan guest DJ program provided me with a “car moment” as I sat in my driveway to listen Bittan introduce the last of the songs he was to play for the hour. And truth be told, I would have sat there in the car for another hour if he had kept on going – and that is the true testament to the power of great radio.