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PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 10:25 pm
  

Radio is really in decline right now---Everybody on it is either a Stern or a Limbaugh wannabe.

There was a Steeler play-off game a few years ago where the TV cameras were showing pictures of our coach's young daughters cheering for him. They were maybe 8 or 10 years old. The next day Stern was on the radio speculating as to their sexual activities once they got to college. I thought that was uncalled for. Too much radio humor today is aimed at people who don't deserve to be the subjects of that kind of humor.

I have a sense of humor, but I am not to be confused with a Stern fan. I agree with Pat here. I'd rather hear Bob Newhart talk about being an accountant or Alan King talk about his mother-in-law or Johnny Carson talk about Ed McMahon's drinking than listen to the crap on radio that's presently passing for humor. When we listen to it, we contribute to the deterioration of our culture.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 11:15 pm
  

Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Sep 12, 2000
Posts: 1386
Location: usa
I to prefer the public radio or at least oldies, but sometimes Howard can be funny, at least sometimes but to be honest I can not hear him here in the bible belt...

I never heard Howard talking about young kids, but I would agree, leave the kids out of it, in fact, I feel that Howard is like Springer, if they are silly enough to be there then and only then are they fair game.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2001 11:30 pm
  

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Joined: Aug 25, 1999
Posts: 1384
Location: Long Island, NY
Oh, it's not just those who are volunteering. Howard gets everyone and he doesn't just aim for those who put themselves in the limelight, or the powerful or anything like that. There is no depth he won't go to and no one too vulnerable to screw with. He might be funny occasionally, but the ratio of funny to stupid and/or cruel is just too poor. Bob used to listen to him - not devotedly, but KRock was the classic rock station then and he was on all morning anyway. Bob said the same thing - he could be funny sometimes. Then he heard him commenting on Christopher Reeves after the accident that made him quadripelegic - whatever Howard had to say about that caused Bob not to ever listen to him again. Howard is the perfect embodiment of the American Dream, though. He's rich and famous just for being an asshole. Nice work if you can stand it.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 12:02 am
  

I don't know when I first noticed the decline in humor; I think it happened while I was in law school & was too busy to pay attention.

As you know, Dennis Miller is a Pittsburgh native & got his start in some comedy clubs around here. At one point in the early '80's, some friends dragged me to a comedy club to watch him. I was turned off, as he was making fun of people from the South & others that I thought didn't need to be picked on. The audience was enjoying it, but, strangely, they weren't laughing at the jokes--they were pumping their fists in the air or high-fiving each other.

At about that same time, a friend lent me a tape of Andrew Dice Clay. I had no idea who Clay was, & after listening to the 1st minute I was sure I didn't need to hear any more. He was making fun of cripples & retarded people & I thought it was sickening.

With the advent of cable TV, I noticed humor being designed for the viewer who is impatiently sitting there with his remote---everybody on TV is afraid that if they're not insulting somebody or launching F-bombs every 2 seconds, you'll click to another channel. Thus, gone were the great story-telling comedians, the ones you had to listen to for 2-3 minutes before you got to the punch line. I remember an Alan King appearance on "Ed Sullivan"----King was late getting there when the airline badly screwed up his travel arrangements, so King scrapped his planned monologue & talked about what had happened. It was funny---King & Sullivan got sued, by the way----but it would never be on TV today because programmers are afraid we'd hit our remotes one-third of the way into the story.

I guess I also started to change my mind about stuff once I had kids of my own. I used to have a lot of arguements with younger coworkers about "South Park" & how it wasn't fit for children. They'd tell me that the creators did their job by putting a disclaimer at the beginning of the show, & I woulda thought the same way 20 years ago. Today I realize that this is done with a wink & a nod---they market "South Park" toys, & who are these for? Adults?

I don't know where I'm going with this post, but that's never stopped me before. The history of comedy according to Joe.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 12:49 am
  

You do not want to start me on the decline of broadcasting in the United States. Trust me you don't. I don't become argumentative as much as POSTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Image

There's a strain of scared maleness in radio -- don't know what else to call it -- like, I mean, there was a female liberation movement 35 years ago, and ever since we've been stuck with jacked-up trucks, backwards ball caps, and this kind of radio, especially on AM where you can tune across the band and hear 6 different men whining about the same imaginary threats (all the time ignoring the real threats that are killing them softly with their song).

Stern as a phenomenon seems directed right at PC. This would bother me, maybe, if I was PC but here a PC is a type of microcomputer, and I'll call a spade a spade every time. It occurs to me that PC in general was a disinformation campaign against the left -- just more neo-con jargon. It jumped on certain linguistic dysfunction among the humor-impaired in certain university circles, and generalized it to the whole left.

I suspect that if someone was on the AM radio every day making fun of all Republicans as sexless billionaires who eat poor children for breakfast, he'd be assassinated. Physician, heal thyself.

-Z


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 2:05 am
  

Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Sep 12, 2000
Posts: 1386
Location: usa
I rather enjoy humor directed at the way we humans act sometimes, but I do try to make myself the butt of the joke unless Larry is handy.

All too often do we pretend that some of the less then nice things just do not happen, why I can remember when the fact that a woman was with child was spoken of in hushed tones and if you wanted to be real rude you might even go so far as to say she was PG, now that's not a way to be but a rating, what's with that?

I think we do need an openness about who we are and life in general, or at least some humor regarding it, but I did post it here rather then elsewhere because if you know who Howard Stern is then you don't get too
upset to quickly.

but I must say it's all Arnie's fault so please blame him, heck why not e-mail him at www.backhalf.org??


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 8:28 am
  

Hey, Nathen, I thought your stuff about masturbating on the bus was hilarious.

In my first year of college, I had an English professor who's humor often went over the other kids' heads. Maybe it was too early in the morning. He'd often describe a writer he was discussing as a "master debator."

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by joe bloggs on Aug 20, 2001 ---</FONT></center>


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 9:38 am
  

Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Feb 16, 2001
Posts: 1129
Location: the church
listen to what you want...and i'll listen to what i want.

i turn off howard more often now than i used to. it's just tiresome at times..

smoking bod!
nice ass!
are they real?
hot piece of ass!!

over and over and over and over..........


CLICK!


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2001 12:19 pm
  

Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Feb 16, 2001
Posts: 1129
Location: the church
'I was gonna clean my room before I got high,'' sings Afroman in a
catchy, hip-hop/doo-wop style. ''I was gonna go to class before I got
high ... I was gonna make love to you, then I got high ... I wasn't
gonna run from the cops, but I got high ... I messed up my entire life
because I got high.''

Boston Globe


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 3:41 pm
  

User avatar
Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Aug 25, 1999
Posts: 1883
Location: Wantagh, NY
todd's got the right approach...


if you don't like what you see or hear... "click!"

if you don't want your kids exposed to that kind of sophmoric filth and crap... "click!"

I don't have a lot of tolerance for parents who complain about what their kids beg and plead for them to allow or to buy... since the word "no!" still exists in the language, and the words "that is not appropriate for you at this time" still carry tons of weight. Parents are the guides and they are responsible for the direction their kids will take. You don't hide the crap, you explain WHY it's crap, and let your feelings be known, and let the rules of the house be known (no crap on TV or Radio!!) And don't think your child will be ostrasized if he/she doesn't come to school wearing the same hot ($$$$$)sneakers, or playing the same cool electronic handheld game, or talking about the same less than mediocre talk show they saw last night (waaay after bedtime!)

But as an adult... I find Stern provocative at times, and still (but not as much as he used to be) a loose cannon. And THAT'S what I enjoy the most about his show... since FM radio is anything but spontaneous anymore, and there isn't a station (barring a few college stations, such as WFUV) that doesn't swear by the play-list, someone who can break the rules (even while playing within them) is still worth paying a little attention to.

but then again, we don't pay any attention to nathen, do we????


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 3:48 pm
  

You're absolutely right, Arnie. The word "no" is used often with our kids. We don't run out & buy them all kinds of useless crap like their friends have, & we monitor what they watch on TV. My point was that people like these "South Park" creators aren't making my job any easier.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 3:55 pm
  

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Joined: Aug 25, 1999
Posts: 1883
Location: Wantagh, NY
actually they don't make it any harder joe... cause if you're being successful with your kids, they'll come to you and say, "dad, that show just suuuuuucks!" or at least, they'll come and tell you WHY they think it's awesome, and invite you to sit with them and watch it thru their eyes... so even crap tv can generate kodak moments!


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 5:22 pm
  

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Joined: Aug 25, 1999
Posts: 1384
Location: Long Island, NY
Having kids listen to things has never been my problem. Don't have any little ones and when I did, that just wasn't a big deal. If it was out there, then we could talk about it.

I just think people like Howard are not a good thing. I don't think he should be silenced and I believe in free speech, and by all means listen to what you want, but I do think that every so often it's a good idea to say - this guy is an asshole. He's not doing anything revolutionary. He's playing to the lowest instincts we have and making a fortune at it. For every person who believes he's out there being a parody of something, I'll bet you anything there are 10 or 100 or 1000 who are saying, "yeah!" to his insults and cruelties. Other than that, I'm a big fan, of course.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 5:39 pm
  

Arlo Fanatic

Joined: Feb 16, 2001
Posts: 1129
Location: the church
pat posts;

If it was out there, then we could talk about it.

__________

still can...mike is free to bring up or discuss anything...anything! how could it
ever be any other way?


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2001 6:20 pm
  

User avatar
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Joined: Aug 25, 1999
Posts: 1883
Location: Wantagh, NY
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by todd:

pat posts;

If it was out there, then we could talk about it.

__________

still can...mike is free to bring up or discuss anything...anything! how could it
ever be any other way?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

certainly!! cory brings up subjects at the dinner table just as easily as he brings up spaghetti thru his nose!! (and his defense of that is, "can Michael Jordan do THAT?")


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