Underground Garage is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt to present rock 'n' roll and garage rock on radio. Both outlets play a mixture of garage rock both old and new, and the music which influenced today's garage rock. On both the Sirius XM channel and on the syndicated show, one song is regularly proclaimed as "The Coolest Song in the World This Week."
Station overview, shows
;Little Steven's Underground Garage One of the outlets is a weekly syndicated radio show – broadcasting under the full title Little Steven's Underground Garage – heard on over 200 terrestrial FM radio stations in 130 major cities in the United States and in many countries outside the US. The two-hour show is written, hosted and produced by Van Zandt. The show debuted on approximately 30 US stations in 2003 and has become one of the fastest-growing syndicated music radio shows in the US. It is heard by approximately one million listeners in the US each week. It is currently distributed by Sun Broadcast Group. ;Underground Garage radio channel , known as a guitarist and actor on The Sopranos. The other outlet is a 24-hour satellite radio channel heard nationwide in the USA & Canada on Sirius XM Radio channel 21 and via Dish Networksatellite TV –- and heard worldwide on Sirius/XM Internet Radio. In musical terms, the radio channel is an extension of Van Zandt's own weekly radio show and shares the same philosophy. The radio channel is programmed and run by Van Zandt. The programs are hosted by a team of personalities personally selected by Van Zandt. On-air hosts on the channel include, or have included, original Rolling Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, punk rock singer Handsome Dick Manitoba, The Mighty Manfred, New York singer/songwriter Jesse Malin, television actor Michael Des Barres, veteran FM radio deejays Kid Leo and Bill Kelly; rock entrepreneur Kim Fowley; and musician/producer Genya Ravan. "Chris Carter's British Invasion", hosted by Chris Carter, appears on the channel each Sunday. As of February 19, 2007, Van Zandt began hosting a regular spot Monday through Friday at 11am, 3pm, and 7pm in between each program. ;Live shows Little Steven's Underground Garage periodically co-sponsors shows, and two events in late April 2014 are scheduled to feature bands with "Coolest Songs," including The Connection, John & Brittany, The Jellybricks, and Palmyra Delran. The shows will be hosted by Underground Garage DJ Handsome Dick Manitoba.
Approach to music history
The music format of both the weekly terrestrial radio show and the 24/7 satellite radio channel is based on Van Zandt's approach to rock 'n' roll history. Van Zandt believes that rock 'n' roll is a continuum from the early 1950s onwards and that it is artificial and counter-productive to segregate music by the decade it was created. So the Underground Garage presents music from every decade since the beginnings of rock 'n' roll in the early 1950s to the present day. Stylistically, the format's offerings span such genres and categories as garage rock, acid rock, girl groups, British Invasion, psychedelic music, rockabilly, surf rock, Motown, proto-punk, power pop and punk rock. The music is fully integrated so that listeners hear recordings by rock pioneers such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard and Elvis Presley juxtaposed with records by present-day garage bands like The Contrast – and multiple artists from the four decades between. Van Zandt has stated that he hopes to draw younger listeners to hear the historic acts that paved the way for today's rock. And older listeners to hear the artists who are carrying on the tradition. He has described the format playlist as featuring "the bands that influenced the Ramones, the bands that were influenced by the Ramones, and the Ramones."
"The Coolest Song in the World This Week"
On both the Sirius XM channel and on the syndicated show, one song is proclaimed as "The Coolest Song in the World This Week." At the end of 2006, listeners were invited to choose among the 52 songs to pick the year's best. The results were as follows:
The same concept was applied in 2009, with listeners voting at the end of the year for their favorite "Coolest Song in the World This Week." The 2009 results are as follows:
The Noisettes: "Never Forget You"
Tinted Windows: "Take me Back"
The Doughboys: "I'm Not Your Man"
The Raveonettes: "Last Dance"
The Chesterfield Kings: "Up and Down"
Locksley: "There's a Love"
The Yum Yums: "Too Good to be True"
The Verbs: "Burnt Out Star"
Cocktail Slippers: "St. Valentine's Day Massacre"
The Silver Brazilians: "Kate Winslet"
In addition to selecting a "Coolest Song in the World This Week" and voting for "Coolest Song in the World This Year," at the end of 2009, Little Steven also posted his "25 Coolest Albums of the Decade" and "50 Coolest Songs This Decade." The top 10 Coolest Albums of the decade were:
