Nina Blackwood is delivering some Motley Crue news ahead of introducing Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

It feels like 1985. It’s 2023. And Blackwood isn’t on MTV, but DJing on SiriusXM channel ’80s on 8.

While many associate SiriusXM with Howard Stern — and maybe Howard Stern only — I’ve been more impressed with the other terrestrial DJs (and VJs) the satellite and online radio company has recruited. The company’s stable of veterans has made me do something I didn’t think possible: (partially, temporarily) outsource my music curation.

As someone who has spent decades recommending music to people, both professionally and on the amateur level to any friend who would listen, I have opposed letting unvetted sources influence my listening. This means I long ago gave up on corporate FM radio. It also means I was skeptical of SiriusXM. Then I listened.

Blackwood and a handful of MTV vets got me in the door. With so much talent presenting doses of nostalgia, it was fun to rewind with ’80s on 8 and ’90s on 9. From there I found myself exploring odd sonic poles with ace DJs who know a lot more about sonic niches than I do.

I knew the name Richard Blade but never underwood how important the alternative rock DJ was until recently. Blade spends his time spinning wonderful throwbacks from Depeche Mode, the Cure, New Order, and more on the 1st Wave channel. But he spent his formative years in radio at Los Angeles’ legendary KROQ. Much like Oedipus did at Boston’s WBCN, Blade introduced Southern California to, well, Depeche Mode, the Cure, New Order, and more. (Blade recently got a shoutout by the New York Times as one of the DJs who broke Depeche Mode in the States.)

I had no idea who John Clare was, and still really don’t. But I’ve divided much of my time on SiriusXM between Blade spinning Pet Shop Boys and Clare playing Bach. Clare hosts mornings on Symphony Hall with loads of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms fun facts and a wonderful warmth — he’s constantly hoping listeners are having a nice morning while they are running errands, coming back from yoga, or making flapjacks (yes, he thinks were are making flapjacks at 8:30 am on a Tuesday, and I love him for it).

SiriusXM has its eyes on listeners who aren’t interested in Blackwell, Blade or Clare’s music choices. The company just unveiled a fresh logo and mid-December-due new app with cheaper streaming plans ($9.99 per month down from $10.99). The rebrand rolls out with new channels aimed at a younger market — it includes Kelly Clarkson and John Mayer channels and a James Corden audio series.

This is smart business. Millennials and Gen Z are the future. But what’s smarter is adding young stars to the dozen channels and new and veteran DJs I fell for.

The Beatles are immortal so it makes sense to keep a Beatles channel, especially when you give TikTok sensation and Fab Four fanatic Caitlin Larkin a show. The same goes for recruiting modern rock god Phoebe Bridgers to create a series featuring her favorite tunes on XMU and millennial punk queen Kelly Ogden’s work with Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel.

Using any single source (a radio station, streaming service, music magazine, me, weird uncle) to discover new favorites is a mistake. You gotta use them all. But it’s nice to know corporate radio can still be part of that mix — the contraction of FM playlists has come with the expansion of SiriusXM channels (often by bringing in radio vets who fought against the contraction of those FM playlists).

Oh, and who doesn’t want their Motley Crue news delivered by Nina Blackwood, now or in 1985.

TikTok sensation Caitlin Larkin brings her love of all things Beatles to SiriusXM. (Photo Adam Cooper)