Every Sunday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern, Matt Sebastian hosts "Dark Wave" on Sirius XM’s 1st Wave on Channel 33, a three-hour program that puts the darker side of classic ’80s alternative on full display.
The show runs live for three hours and the most recent two episodes are available to subscribers to stream via the Sirius XM app, giving listeners a way to catch up on playlists that reach back into vintage goth, post-punk and industrial.
For proof of the show's focus, the playlist across recent broadcasts included Joy Division’s "Decades," Depeche Mode’s "Dangerous," The Cure’s "Underneath the Stars," Ministry’s "Burning Inside" and The Jesus and Mary Chain’s "Amputation." Those selections underline the program’s appetite for shadowed textures and era-specific rarities rather than contemporary crossover hits.
Matt Sebastian, who hosts the program for Slicing Up Eyeballs, opens the door for listeners to weigh in: "Got a request?" he asks — and the show will consider incoming picks for future airings.
That invitation comes with limits. Requests will be considered for future episodes, but there is no guarantee they will be played; they must fit the show’s format and fall generally within the 1st Wave era. The policy keeps the playlist anchored to a particular moment in music history even as it allows room for listener suggestions.
Context explains why the show feels distinct on the satellite dial: 1st Wave’s programming centers on classic ’80s alternative, and "Dark Wave" drills into the subset of that period known for its noir mood and abrasive textures. The program’s blend of vintage goth, post-punk and industrial places it at one end of 1st Wave’s stylistic spectrum, offering late-night listeners a focused alternative to broader old‑alternate playlists.
The tension in the format is simple and structural. Sebastian solicits requests, but the show’s editors retain final control; a pick from a subscriber still has to pass the show’s era-and-format test before it reaches air. That creates friction between the democratic appeal of listener participation and the curator’s duty to preserve the program’s specific sonic identity.
For listeners outside the live-window, the Sirius XM app currently carries the most recent two episodes, allowing a short archive that can be replayed on demand. That streaming availability makes it easier to track what the show is doing week to week and to decide whether to submit a request that fits the playlist’s timeframe and tone.
Ultimately, "Dark Wave" is doing what its name promises: carving out a late-night space on Channel 33 where the gloomier corners of the ’80s are not an afterthought but the point. With tracks from Joy Division to Depeche Mode and an open, if selective, policy on listener requests, the show has made itself a predictable destination for anyone who wants three hours of deliberate, era-specific darkness every Sunday night.
