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WFMU is proud to announce the addition of another great podcast-only program. Get your DIY on with Bill Zurat's new Raw Sewage podcast!
Raw Sewage will complement Bill's weekly web-only program (which you can catch every Friday morning from 6-9am), featuring live sets, old Killed By Death-style punk rock, rare power pop gems, noise interludes, forgotten synth pop, and basement concrète.
Visit WFMU's podcast page to sign yourself up for a weekly dose of DIY (or any WFMU podcasts).
While most of us were sleeping, it seems that the culture leaped ahead several hundred yards and firmly planted the once outsider artform of hardcore punk squarely in the lexicon of nostalgia. I'm anxiously awaiting Brian Turner's report on the opening night of American Hardcore, but until then, I'm satisfying the jones with Yellow Arrow's streaming video/online documentary/video podcast called Capitol of Punk. Interviews with and anecdotes from all the key players in DC Hardcore's lengthy and nuanced history, plus tales of unsung heroes like the Urban Verbs right on up through lauded kingpins like the Bad Brains, Bratmobile, and Fugazi. Enjoy!
Via Boing Boing and Jon Solomon
WFMU is proud to present another addition to our growing podcast roster: please welcome to the digital era, freeform radio's controversial un-mascot and preeminent grumpy old man, the Old Codger (right). Fond of old-timey music, the Codger spins classic 78s, with effusive mic-breaks that burst with elderly rage and contempt, accented by the charming tone that only a severe underbite could render. The Codger wants you to think he's the Father of Old-Time Radio -- but he's just a sperm donor.
Here's what an anonymous WFMU staffer had to say about the OC:
The Old Codger (Courtney T. Edison) is more than just a piece of ubiquitous Drew Friedman clip art who pops up with disturbing frequency on WFMU's web pages. He's REAL ... or so he claims... the second-oldest living radio personality (after 163-year-old Paul Harvey). The Codger proudly plays 78 rpm discs "like they're going outta style." Fond of Ukulele Ike, Louis Jordan, and the Brox Sisters, he's cantankerous, crude, and known for his colorfully faulty memory. He refuses to divulge his age, but insists he knew H.L. Mencken when the legendary writer was a wee lad, and he habitually taunts WFMU listeners by jeering, "I've got shoes older than you." The Codger is notorious for on-air come-ons to female admirers, often crooning that he loves "younger women -- age 45 or 50." Although never married, Edison has been linked romantically to actress/comedienne Sophie Tucker, vaudevillian Effie Cherry, R&B siren Nellie Lutcher, and TV sitcom vixen Betty Rubble. His collection of 78 rpm discs numbers 48,000, and his "bunker" also boasts 16 functional crank-wound Victrolas and nine overflowing spittoons.
Please visit our podcast page to subscribe to the Old Codger (or any WFMU podcast). Instructions on how to hook yourself up to WFMU's feeding tube via iTunes are available here.
It’s been three months since I've discussed Air America here at Beware of the Blog, and there’s some fresh news to report. But Perhaps more significantly, there’s rumors aplenty flying around town here regarding the lefty talk network these days. In May, I predicted there would be “some drastic changes” at Air America this year, that seems to be coming to pass. And some other prognostications and hopes I tossed around regarding AAR in these pages may bear fruit as well. But one big alleged “fact” that I passed along here seems to have been either misinformation, bad reporting, or that a certain deal was never final in the first place..
I’ll explain.
First, the big headline is that Air America is in fact jumping frequencies here in New York City– moving from 1190 WLIB to 1600 WWRL on September 1, 2006. And like Humpty Dumpty’s tumble from his perch, the results of this fall (note: the broadcast range of WWRL doesn't quite have the coverage of the audible radius of WLIB) may result in local and network AAR programming in a bit of scramble. At least that’s what I’ve been hearing. As you read on, realize that while I’ll link to online sources when I can find other sites that back up what I’m asserting here, other hearsay I’ll offer here is based on innuendo and whispers I’ve heard from people I trust. That said, I also am led to understand that negotiations are ongoing with several of the parties concerned and possible changes being spoke of today could turn into something else over the course of the next two and half weeks when Air America actually makes the switch. If you've listened, you'd know that Air America has always been a New York-centric national radio operation, and if there's going to be a changes in what will be offered here it will probably alter the media footprint of Air America nationally as well.
Now, onto how I have probably misled readers at BOTB when I was basing my commentary on “official” online sources. Contrary to a news story I linked to and discussed, it now does not appear that (the former CEO of Clear Channel) Randy Michaels and his new lefty talk company, Progress First, is actually going to be doing very much, if anything, with WLIB. Yet, at the end of April that was the story and I based what I wrote what I understood to be fact. Then, it was strange. For many weeks, there was no news whatsoever the supposed P1 takeover. As memory serves, when Michaels launches a radio project, he launches big. He's not a coy operator. Something was fishy.
And then early this month Air America announced they were actually going to leap over to WWRL. on the date the story about P1's deal with WLIB said it would have to abandon the frequency. And new reports appeared that Michaels 
“might be interested” in leasing the station, but no longer affirming that it was a sure thing. It makes you wonder where the initial story that P1 was certain to take over WLIB (in MediaWeek and Billboard) came from in the first place?
And now on to get into some more of the unsubstantiated rumors I’ve heard. You know, I know people who know people and I spend too much time Googling the fate of Air America. And from what I understand, the only sure thing about Air America’s move to WWRL is that Al Franken and Randi Rhodes will certainly be broadcasting at 1600 AM in New York come September 1. And that’s not all! According to Mike Malloy’s website, his powerful program will also be returning to late night New York radio with the big frequency switch in September. Good news, but I hear that just like WLIB, WWRL is going to hold onto the six post-midnight hours, as well as the morning drive spot. Which is fairly canny for WWRL I suppose. If they part ways one day as WLIB is about to do, they can maintain their on-air identity in the meantime.
WFMU's International Man of Mystery Award goes to DJ Billy Jam, an Irishman-turned-New-Yorker-by-way-of-California. In addition to his copious travels, basement record-scratching parties with West Coast DJ illuminati, and genre-bending compilation releases on the Hip Hop Slam label, Mr. Jam is also the host of Saturday night's Put the Needle on the Record program, which features hip-hop and beat-happy sounds along with political soundbytes and the occasional noise or punk rock interlude.
If you're not yet a fan of Billy's sonic artistry, trust us, the man has some serious skills. He's been known to reappropriate other WFMU DJs' micbreaks (real audio) and mix together the opening tracks from every WFMU program (real audio) that aired during an entire week.
Now there is yet one more reason to dig Billy Jam: he's created a short, weekly, scratchtastic podcast mix for your enjoyment. Get on board and hook yourself up with Billy's podcast complement to Put the Needle on the Record (or any of WFMU's 18 podcasts) by visiting WFMU's Podcast Central. All you need is iTunes, baby.
Did you know that WFMU now podcasts 17 programs? Interested in filling up your MP3 player with sexy, downloadable, digital freeform? You can follow instructions, right?
1. Fire up the ol' iTunes
2. Go to the Advanced menu and select Subscribe to Podcast
3. Copy any (or all) of the program name links listed below (right-click on a PC or control-click on a Mac, select Copy Link Location), and paste this .xml link into the Subscribe to Podcast URL window in iTunes.
4. Click OK. You are now hooked up, brothers and sisters!
Aircheck
Do or DIY with People Like Us
The Dusty Show with Clay Pigeon
Downtown Soulville with Mr. Fine Wine
The Secret Museum of the Air with Citizen Kafka and Pat Conte
Seven Second Delay with Ken and Andy
Thomas Edison's Attic
Coffee 2 Go with Noah
The Speakeasy with Dorian
Aerial View with Chris T.
The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
Dave Emory
The Antique Phonograph Music Program
Professor Dum Dum's Lab
Audio Kitchen with The Professor
Sinner's Crossroads with Kevin Nutt
The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment
If you are linguistically-challenged and require pretty pictures to go from zero to podcast, we've got you covered! Giddyup, and ride your pony over to WFMU Podcast Central: be sure to check out these easy-to-follow instructions, gratuitous screen-shots and all.
FCC Summer Menu
Just in time for a party-line battle over relaxing media ownership regs, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin posed for a chummy photo (left) with the VP of XM and a high-rolling telecom lobbyist (who also moonlights as Bill Frist's lawyer), which appears in the June/July issue of Details Magazine. With nothing but the playing cards' -- er, the public's? -- best interest in mind, Martin is looking to use his republican majority on the commission to revisit loosening media ownership restrictions (a similar ploy failed to fly past the courts in 2003). The commission's democrats are raising a stink over the issue, hosting community forums that examine big media's ability to deal with local issues and underrepresented viewpoints.
Meanwhile, on the Copyfight Front...
A House committee met to discuss the merits of audio and video broadcast flags, which will prevent consumers from legally "taping" or transferring legally-obtained programming between their satellite radios, MP3 players, Tivo, DVD players, and TVs. Public Knowledge submitted an excellent written statement to the committee in opposition to both flags, which you can read here. Of course, the content industry would like to charge consumers multiple times for viewing/listening to the same work, but that's just because they don't understand how to use the digital revolution to their financial advantage. The RIAA and music licensing industry prefers to send nasty cease-and-desist letters to kids who post fan videos on the internet (how dare you enjoy our music!), while at least a few TV and movie companies have finally embraced digital technologies, discovering new ways to make money and create buzz by partnering with YouTube.
FCC Remixes Doreamon
As you can see in the side-by-side comparison to the right, the FCC's Kidszone page mascot gently samples more than a few qualities from popular Japanese cartoon character, Doraemon. P2Pnet reports that the FCC claimed ignorance when the cartoon's creators raised the issue a few years ago. The Dinosaur Gardens blog uncovered even more fun with the FCC: they've posted an MP3 of Cary Grant singing the federal requirements for station identifications, which you can grab right here (Thanks, Kim).
Embezzlement at Seton Hall
A former director of the very metal student radio station WSOU in South Orange, NJ, was recently arrested for embezzling over half a million bucks. (Thanks Mike and Therese!)
Manilow, Every Single Day
A commercial radio station in New Mexico recently took up an all-Barry Manilow format. (Thanks Bryce!)
WFMU proudly introduces 4 additions to our growing roster of podcasts...
Aircheck: Once again, an hour of radio ghosts recaptured. Once in a lifetime
occurances and remembrances (some from WFMU's own archives). Aircheck seeks out some of the more unusual and
unpredictable moments and personalities in radio that probably wouldn't
get attention anywhere else.
The Dusty Show with Clay Pigeon: Although Clay is taking the summer off from our on-air schedule, we're now offering archives of his show from the past year. Expect multi-sensory soundscapes, intimate monologues, street
interviews from all walks of life, intensive quik-cut sound editing, social commentary, gladness/sadness, cornfields, gravel
roads and urban sprawl.
Do or DIY with People Like Us: The triumphant return of all things avant retard. Found sound, field recordings, and pop culture detritus all woven into a joyous, hour-long audio collage.
Secret Museum of the Air with Citizen Kafka and Pat Conte: This program is no longer being produced but we're re-running it as a podcast. Citizen Kafka and curator Pat Conte scour the world of international 78 rpm recordings to bring you the Secret Museum of Mankind.
For a listing of all WFMU podcasts, check out this page. Hook up your MP3 player with scrumptious freeform in feed form (via iTunes) by following the instructions right here.
When he's not throwing coffee at Jimmy Pursey, renaissance man Johnny Rotten likes to kick back and record fashion commentary for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many museums in NYC and elsewhere are offering their audio tours as podcast downloads, and the Met selected Mr. Lydon as chief expert for their current exhibit, AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion (link to NY Times review).
Curious to hear what an ex-Sex Pistol has to say about British fashion? Download his commentary here (MP3).
Aside from his painful recitation of the lyrics to "God Save the Queen," his blather about safety pins and bondage suits, and quoting Shakespeare, the man unleashes a few zingers:
- I am neither anarchist nor monarchist. I'm a monanarchist.
- If you have no comprehension where I stand on the subject, then you are not really clearly listening.
- I'm a stand-up bloke, and you should be, too.
Internet and Satellite Radio: Copy-Protection at any Cost
A new piece of legislation is swirling around the Senate cesspool, aimed at eliminating any possibility for a listener to record audio from internet or satellite radio. If the Perform Act is passed, MP3 streaming will be put to bed, and a new (no doubt, worse-sounding) DRM-laden technology will be forced upon web radio stations. Rather than taking advantage of new technologies and revamping their business model, the RIAA (read: lobby dollars behind the Perform Act) prefers to punish all who listen to music via suing the pants off of customers and coming up with far-reaching restrictions for the radio stations that help their records sell. Read more about how the RIAA and the U.S. Senate want to ruin your fun here.
Indecency Update
Last month, the FCC left us all dumbfounded by their latest batch of indecency rulings for television (click to read a legal interpretation of recent FCC fines). We thought it wasn't possible for the definition of indecency to become any murkier, but oops, the feds did it again. Luckily, broadcasters aren't going to take millions of dollars in fines lying down. CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox have all united against the FCC, filing several lawsuits calling the indecency rulings unconstitutional. Chairman Martin, whose term was just extended for another 5 years, asserts that the FCC's indecency standards are clear. Yeah... In any case, we're excited to see that this issue is finally headed to court; and backed by major network dollars, to boot.
Other Radio News Headlines
- Payola
- Profile of a prison radio station (thanks, Monica!)
- Replacement replaced: David Lee Roth
was fired from CBS Radio, to be replaced by XM badboys Opie and Anthony
- Air America loses flagship NYC station
- Creative Commons has released an in-depth Podcasting Guide
- Feast your eyes on these PBS Auctions
A couple weeks ago on this blog, I mentioned a number of podcasts related to shortwave and DXing that I've been sampling. While I don't have time to listen to as many I'd like, I thought I mention a couple other podcasts I try not to miss.
If you don’t already know, “podcasting” is a very simple method to “subscribe” to an ongoing radio show or audio program and have your computer automatically download each new one as it is posted online. For years, it’s been possible to capture or digitally record streams and snatch audio archives from the internet-- IF you knew what you were doing. Now it's much easier. I use a PC program called iPodder (which is now called “Juice,” I hear). Very simple. There’s others I haven’t tried, but in general it’s not hard science. However, if you don’t have an “always on” broadband connection it could be problematic. With dial-up, you won’t be able to subscribe to many programs, and downloads could take a lot of time (and cost you some bandwidth).
Podcasting allows you to time-shift listening to radio shows you can’t usually catch, and gives you access to all sorts of amateur programmers who are going online with a wide variety of good, bad, and ugly programming. While lots of mainstream radio content is either unavailable as a podcast or requires you to give up some money to do so, there’s PLENTY of choices when it comes to subscribing to free podcasts. Too many really.
There's been lots of WFMU chatter in the press this month, both online and in the less fashionable (but better smelling) ditto format. What follows is a rundown of exactly which of our mischievous activities grabbed the attention of the public recently, and what lies in waiting for you as we join hands and sprint desperately into the first full month of Spring...
Firstly, WFMU shares the honor of being ranked as one of the top five "websites that play cool music" by Entertainment Weekly. Specifically, their dubious "What's hot!" section namechecked our "Random-Play Podcasts", which no one here is aware we had, but is probably a hazy nod in the direction of this. Hey, any press is good press, and we're happy to be honored by the fabled EW glitterati.
Speaking of our podcasts (in a less cryptic fashion), WFMU's Antique Phonograph Music Program got a stellar writeup in the Anchorage Daily News, fer cryin' out loud. The article affirms that although programs like the APMP and its brother on the WFMU airwaves ("Thomas Edison's Attic") play what is inarguably some of the very oldest music ever recorded, the thirst for its presence in the world of iPods and podcasting is epic in scale. (Both programs average somewhere north of 1700 downloads a month.) You can read the full story here, and find out all about WFMU's myriad podcasts here.
For a complete gear change from scratchy old wax cylinders to the very latest in counter-cultural doom and gloom, I'd suggest clicking your way over to Dutch Listener Emile's blog, which features an extensive interview with our own Belly of the Beast host, Stefan. You'll thrill to un-imagined delights as Stefan sounds off on the history of his program, his musical and political genesis, and the menacing genres that he calls his favorites (and how many CDs comprise the "noise-pain" section of your music collection, eh hippy?)
This episode of this series continues from my evening of scanning the shortwave bands March 1, 2006. This time it’s the next hour and the next band. This is the 41 meter band (7100 to 7350 kHz), another popular chunk of the shortwave frequencies. Again, this recording is an unedited slow motion frolic through the signals using my BCL-2000, sitting at my kitchen table in Brooklyn.
And I want to again thank reader Ralph who contributed some edifying comments in last week’s post. Now I have a better grasp on tracking down “images” of stronger signals which pop up on nearby erroneous spots on the dial. This is perhaps the greatest fault of the BCL radios, and an inherent problem in single-conversion radios in general. Dual conversion sets effectively filter most images and are generally a bit more expensive.
A couple years ago, when I was shopping around for a higher end old portable I was scouting ebay and I had pretty much decided I was going to hunt down one of two classic receivers– the Panasonic RF-2200 or the Sony ICF-2010. Both are discontinued, and in good shape they generally go for about the same price on ebay– about two-hundred bucks (although a mint 2010 in its box could go for a hundred or two more). My analog instincts led to me to go after the RF-2200 and I don’t regret it. It’s a hell of a rig and it pulls the weak signals out of the ether, and is a great radio to DX the AM band. It's also dual-conversion. However, after the 2010 was mentioned once or twice in the comments section here, it's gotten me to take a second look at it. The 2010 is not as nearly as handsome the 2200 and doesn’t have that golden glow of frequencies, but I’ve come to realize that the 2010 is just one amazing device. And now my gadget lust has launched a little feedback loop in my radio heart. I want one. I really want one. However, I really don’t have the cash handy right now. But I’m looking at ‘em on ebay... Someday. You can read some reviews of this mighty little digital gadget here, here and here. It's 1984 technology that Sony happened to really get right (It was manufactured for almost 20 years!). However, If you've got some cash on your hands and you want something new, many think the new Eton E1 improves on this radio's legacy.
Continue reading "Adventures in Amplitude Modulation - Part 13" »
I’m giving my DXing series on the WFMU blog a rest this week, because this last weekend has been my first opportunity to really test the reception possibilities here in Brooklyn. With the rest of the family off on a Florida vacation, I’ve set up a radio listening post in the kitchen for the last couple of nights. I’ve even been serious enough to keep a log of sorts. Over the coming weeks I’ll go over the recordings, and sort it out for future posts.
So, as I’m dumping the cassette audio into my laptop for all that, I’d like to talk about some of my more conventional media intake for a moment. In fact, this post is a follow up to a couple of my previous posts regarding AM talk radio that I actually care about. Like Lionel. I’ve said enough good things about Lionel’s show on this blog, and you can read the posts here and here. His program has been has been as sharp and manic as usual, and I continue to recommend it. However, I’m just mentioning him again here to let you know that WOR is now offering a FREE podcast of this show. It’s a commercial free hi-fi MP3 delivered to your computer within hours if you subscribe with this link. Or you can just download the individual hours of each show on the this page. Check it out.
On the other hand, Air America just started charging for their podcasts. They now require that you subscribe to their “premium” service to subscribe to their podcast (like Rush). And if you get lucky, you might be able to stream a live video of Jerry Springer doing his radio show right on your home computer! Now that’s entertainment.
Speaking of that, experiencing Air America on WLIB here in New York lately has gotten kind of depressing in general. Both Al Franken and Mark Riley sound lost without the original co-hosts who gave their show weight and substance. And somebody must have told Randi Rhodes that her recently perfected George Bush impression was either accurate or humourous. Because it’s neither, but she just continues working it into her monologs. I have to turn the radio off.
As if the future weren't already terrifying enough, WFMU has recently unveiled the latest tactic in our quest for Total Media Pervasiveness and Notoriety (TaMPoN). Yep, you can now listen to WFMU on any web-enabled cellphone or PDA.
And you thought horseless carriages were a bad idea. Don't you feel silly?
As this badly botched Photoshop exhibit (left) indicates, these sorts of technological advances are kept safely out of my hands and left to those who've got the skills to make such digital miracles a reality (mainly Bill Zurat, whose been burning enough midnight oil around this place to make our esteemed overnight airstaff staff quake in their collective clogs.)
In case you missed it, Station Manager Ken recently outlined all the details of this alarming new technology right here. Definitely read that before you attempt to listen to WFMU on your cellphone while driving, during a meeting, during your boring American Studies seminar, or while sending text messages to your pal from the Charles Grodin fan website. Coming next: WFMU gum that allows your mouth to absorb the entire Most Recent Archives page directly into your tastebuds.
Continue reading "Update on WFMU Mobile, Podcasts, & Busted Archives" »
We've all heard the hype about how podcasting puts the power of broadcasting into the hands of anybody with a computer and an internet connection, but did you know that this freedom applies to The Man as well? That's right, the White House has a whole slew of podcasts available, from Dubya's weekly radio address, to interminable symposia from the Office of National Drug Control. Even The Pentagon, NASA, and the Air Force have their own podcasts! (Alas, no podcast from the NSA. Yet.) The beauty of all this is that all publicly released government material is in the public domain, so this is a remixer's dream. The time is right for a re-podcast of Dubya's weekly radio address - just subscribe to the weekly radio address, remix it and then re-podcast it. It would be perfectly legal, due to the government's audio belonging to the public domain. I drunkenly mentioned this idea to The Professor at the WFMU Holiday party, and he tried to flush my head down the toilet.
Now if only the government could adopt some audio production standards in its podcasts, remixers would have some better working material! I mean, why does Dubya only get 64 kbps in his podcast (twice as much as Rummy and Cheney's chintzy 32kbps allotment) but the drug office is awarded a full 128 kbps?! Where's the justice in that? Wake up and smell the bitrate, people! And can't someone in the whitehouse find a nice quiet room somewhere to record these things in so you don't have to hear the federal ventilation system whirring away in the background?
Here's some samples from the federal government's roster of podcasts:
Sample Podcasts (MP3s):
President's Weekly Radio Address: Sample 1 | Sample 2
Pentagon Channel: Dick Cheney Podcast | Donald Rumsfeld Podcast | Rucksacks and Rations
Office of National Drug Control: Podcast 1
(Thanks, Listener Ken in Denver!)
Chris T. buried Communication Breakdown Unshackled on December 23. The 3-hour web-only show was great fun but Chris isn't down with getting up at 4 AM. He thinks he can handle 6:30, which is why "Communication Breakdown World-Wide" is on the horizon. Set to begin Friday, Jan. 13, the show will webcast live 8 - 9 AM (prime-time in Tokyo) and consist of phone calls to and from far-flung corners of the world via the standard phone line and Skype. The Skype address for the show is "commbreak" and voicemail IS available - so why not call NOW? All you need is the Skype software and a microphone hooked up to your computer. "Communication Breakdown World-Wide" will also be available as a podcast after the initial web-cast. You can find out more about Communication Breakdown here, and read about WFMU's ever-growing roster of podcasts by clicking here.
Just added to our growing roster of podcasts: The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment! Have the podcast version of Ed's weekly thematic misadventures, glitched-out interviews, and A.D.D.-ridden pop euphoria automatically zapped to your MP3 player by visiting our recently revamped podcast page.
Special thanks to Volunteer Ed Word for p-castifizing the show!
Station manager Ken forwarded me an email from the Netherlands which said: "Could you slip this to Amanda?"
Sounded great, until I found out "this" was a giant icy penis with its own parking space. Cold, people, cold.
The email continued: "I think this one will fit nicely in her most informative blog."
(Editor's note: The pic purportedly ran in a leading Dutch newspaper, and blog is the Dutch word for...something giant penises fit nicely into.)
Grandmaster of Iron Crotch Tu Jin-Sheng pulled a rental truck around a parking lot a couple times with his penis. I don't know why it is important that the truck was a rental.
There oughta be a law. There is, and it is the best law ever. A judge in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, makes guys who get busted for peeing in public apologize in public--in a letter to the editor in the Fond du Lac Reporter. For example, Michael Huebner of Madison, Wisconsin, wrote: "I am so terribly sorry for urinating outside of a public place in your city. It was not a very intelligent thing to do." Amen! You could revitalize certain dormant political parties with this stuff.
Things you didn't know you needed to worry about. Your labia should be tan, but your anus should not, especially if you want to "keep your
bum-hole looking younger." If I could see it, maybe I would care more.
mp3s of radio commercials for schlocksploitation movies. This is the best thing I am slipping you this week, so go check it out at toestubber.
Continue reading "This Week in Sex: Baby, It's Cold Inside" »
(Read pt. 1 of this post here)
"Has anyone ever heard of Rachel Maddow?"
- Rush Limbaugh
Yeah Rush, we sure have. And by now, so have of you.
That little quote has been an oft-played sound bite at the beginning of The The Rachel Maddow show since it debuted on Air America last April. And the fact "El Rushbo" hadn't discovered Ms. Maddow last spring can probably be based on two things-- For one, Limbaugh most likely knew nothing about Air America, beyond that fact that TV stars Al Franken and Janine Garofalo were a part of it. And the other reason Maddow was probably off the Limbaugh radar back then was his comment came at the dawn of Maddow's new sub-career as a liberal TV pundit. And it isn't hard to imagine that most of Limbaugh's media intake (beyond the likely emailed orders from Rove staffers and the heralded "stack of stuff" his staff prepares) would come only from television.
For most people, Maddow's program airs when they're unconscious. On the radio from five to six in the morning from the Air America studios in New York, The Rachel Maddow Show is a hot coffee jolt of headlines, breaking stories, and some news almost no one else is talking about. And twice each program, you get 2 off the wall satirical newscasts from Kent Jones. The hour goes by fast, and by the end you feel a little smarter. She's like that.
Rachel Maddow is a unique and powerful new media entity, and a young honest voice in the age of Bush II who offers challenging facts instead of raw malice against all the madness the administration propagates. Maddow is a Rhodes Scholar and a proud "out" lesbian who comes across on the radio as warm, sincere and a little fierce. Her approach to radio has a paced athletic quality that makes her a bit of a current events trainer on the radio. I imagine it's the perfect show to accompany a gym regimen. Maddow never goes over the top, but the pace is rapid, and to the point with context. She maintains good humor and spirit in the face of bad news and strange times. Combined with the sharp humor of Kent Jones, her program is an informative and practical way to deal with the onslaught of nauseating news, and to keep up with the bad guys.
Continue reading "Air America's Next Big Mistake (part 2)" »
