Extra skin around the elbow

Or, why doesn’t anyone knee Joe Jackson in the groin?

So weird day for radio/podcasting yesterday.

KFI pre-empted Rush and Dr. Laura to cover the Michael Jackson memorial. Bill Handel and Gary Hoffman, followed by John and Ken, definitely provided unique coverage. I liked it. I love it when Eric Leonard (LOVE him!!) is out in the crowd with the lunatics, Steve Gregory is enduring icy cold stares whilst clandestinely calling in on his cell phone, Bill Handel knows nothing about the event he’s covering, and John and Ken criticize everyone and everything.

So here’s where I admit something. I realized yesterday that I don’t know what anyone looks like. Since I only listen to talk radio news and I only watch 10-year old British TV shows, I don’t know the difference between Al Sharpton and Jermaine Jackson.

Oh wait. My brother once thought that the photo of Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make the accent marks) on the back of my copy of 100 Years of Solitude looked like Al Sharpton. I guess I could process-of-elimination it if I had to…

Later last night the Pretty Good Podcast celebrated their fortieth podcast with some special guests. Oh nothing, just a coupla major studs named Timmy Conway, Jr. and Brian David Whitman, maaaan.

Congratulations, Randy and Gina. I almost had to blast away at you last week (two weeks ago?) when you started with the Paltalk. But you guys seem to have figured out that it sucks.

So job well done on the first forty shows and I look forward to many, many more.

(And, Gina, I’ve never seen you in person but I’m sure you have just the right amount of skin around your elbows.)

Nerdcasting

So today I took my son to JPL’s Open House. We go every year. And, seriously, if you live in Southern California, you need to take your kids there at least once. Everything is free and it is amazingly educational and fun.

My son is a major science nerd. I am not, but I love going. Why? The people. They’re enthusiastic and brilliant and they’re just dying to answer your questions and teach you everything they know.

How does this relate to podcasting? Well, podcasting provides nerds all over the world a vehicle by which to spread their passion and knowledge. Not just to the already initiated, but to new people as well.

The king of the nerdcast is, of course, Leo Laporte. This guy is a huge stud and does like eight or nine podcasts. Do I care what the best antivirus software is, or how to Skype from Asia? Uh, no. But Leo makes it all sound so exciting.

Nerds are the best.

I haven’t been this happy since Reagan was elected

So remember that episode of Family Ties where Alex was a DJ at the school radio station? He played all those old swing records and fell in love with a 40-year old lady caller. If you don’t, I’m sorry to tell you that is not one of the 63 episodes available on Hulu. (Check for yourself. It’s episode 31 – Sweet Lorraine.) Probably because of those super annoying music copyright rules.

Anyway, those were the good old days. DJs could play what they wanted and music radio shows were just that – shows. You listened because the DJs were interesting and they were passionate about the music and you learned something from them. It wasn’t just random idiots talking up a prescribed list of songs and trying to hit that post. (Not you, Brian. You’re the best.)

OK, I know this blog is about talk radio, not music radio. And I know that was a school radio station, not a real one. But I see the same thing happening in talk radio. Unique local hosts are being replaced by mostly lame syndicated hosts. 

Let’s learn our lesson before it’s too late. We don’t need more Mark Levins. We’re all stocked up. We need more Doug McIntyres, Frosty Stilwells, April Winchells, Tim Conway, Jrs. (Jr.s? Jr.’s? – How do you write the plural of Jr.? A google search returns a bunch of matches for plural marriages.) Anyway, more people like Tim Conway, Jr. 

I bet we’ve been together for a million years…