He Lost That Lovin' Feeling

Funny Headline of the week:

“Trembling Spector, shrunken shadow of former genius”

This is hilarious. I mean c'moon...Spector has been a has-been since the John Lennon years wound down, if not before (River Deep Mountain High, anyone?).

Love that hair, though…

To Lissa - My Better Half...

Half a year ago I took the marital "plunge".

So far it's been an absolute blast.

Here’s to six great months on our way to forever together.

I love you.

The Devil Made Him Do It…no, it was Darwin…or Richard Dawkins…or Nancy Pelosi…or that Sanjaya kid…

It had to happen. Every time we have an incident like V-tech, those stupid this-is-what-happens-when-you-kick-God-out-of-the-schools emails start circulating. This time is no exception - read about it here.

The assholes who put out this junk are...well, they're assholes (bear with me - it's been a long week). These neo-Pharisees can't even wait until the bodies are cold to start with their medieval, fundamentalist agenda (the politicians and gun control people - on both sides of the issue - are no better).

And of course, the true belivers never kill anyone...do they?

The Ghost Of Charlie Whitman, or: Who Are We To Say The Boy's Insane

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, author Gary Lavergne remembers a similar incident in Texas. I especially like the following:

Before we identify and learn the lessons of Blacksburg, we must begin with the obvious: More than four dozen innocent people were gunned down by a murderer who is completely responsible for what happened...While we painfully learn our lessons, we must not treat each other as if we are responsible for the deaths that occurred. We must come together and be respectful and kind. This is not a time for us to torture ourselves or to seek comfort by finding someone to blame. ..as long as we value living in a free society, we will be vulnerable to those who do harm -- because they want to and know how to do it.

Kinky Friedman said pretty much the same thing in his own eloquent way...

Radio Ga-Ga

Radley Balko at reason.com has penned a pretty good column on how the National Association Of Broadcasters is "trying to kill radio."

Read it here, then discuss...

A Very Quick Thought On The Imus Mess

I don't think the real problem here is so much racism or sexism per se as who the I-man chose to attack. Slamming the Rutgers team (who had done nothing to deserve such an slam) puts him in the role of bully.

As anyone who remembers Joe Pyne or All In The Family can attest, bigoted jerks can be a lot of fun to watch and listen to. But nobody likes a bully.

The real lesson here: pick on someone your own size...

Clash Of The Titan Egos

I didn't watch the O'Reilly/Geraldo clash.

I have no interest in watching the O'Reilly/Geraldo clash.

Actually, I did catch a few seconds of the trainwreck on one of the tabloid shows and saw it for what it was: a pair of self-promoting yo-yos-with-egos grandstanding for ratings. Even the hardcore BO fan (or hardcore Geraldo fan, if such an animal exists) has to admit there's a gratuitous quality to the whole affair.

All of which would be forgivable if there was anything even remotely entertaining about it.

What really saddens me is the number of my compatriots in the "talk radio" biz who will no doubt watch this silliness and decide to emulate it...

So What's The Problem?

My pal Perry Simon does a pretty good job of describing much of what is wrong with the spoken-word radio biz in this recent blog posting. And I’ll say it again: somewhere in the vast ethereal gulf between Hillary’s Black Helicopters and Bestiality Dial-A-Date, there is a large and growing audience of would-be listeners who are not getting what they want from the radio.

One of the major problems is that a lot of “talk hosts” don’t think they’re part of the problem.

Let’s put it this way: If…

You insist your station/show is relevant because you use Fergie for bumper music…

You actually care what state Hillary Clinton is in today…

You call your format “FM Talk” solely because you’re simulcasting on FM…

You use WORLD NET DAILY as a primary source of show prep…

Your idea of “station promotion” is yet another bus trip to yet another anti-immigration rally…

You’re a PD/GM who has opened a job interview by asking the prospect his/her political affiliation…

Your take on the tainted petfood story is how it relates to NAFTA…

You actually believe the “articles” in TALKERS magazine have anything to do with the true state of the industry…

You have ever seriously considered running for office…

Your station has Rusty Humphries anywhere on the schedule…


Then you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem...