Week One Wrapup...

[morphiaflow]

I'd say it went terrifically well, wouldn't you all agree?

[onan]

I'd say it went terrifically well, wouldn't you all agree?

Art 4, dave 0.

[aldousburbank]

The New Testament

[rangerdavid]

He knocked it out of the park every night!!  I'll be listening to the re-runs tonight on Sirius!!!


I actually deleted c2c from the favorites on my computer today.  I don't even care who Snoory has on any more.  He's just boring.....

good weekend all!!


RD

[PB the Deplorable]

Toward the end when Art was filling in just once in awhile, I'd tune in to hear news and updates and usually didn't listen to the rest of it because the topics were lousy and Art seemed rusty or just not his old self somehow.

Listening to the first minute of the first show this week I could hear it in his voice that the old Art Bell was back.  Listening to it just seemed normal like he'd never gone away.  And yet I kept realizing how special it was. 

Then he came back the next night and did it again.

[smitty9999]

Art even made the RCH interview enjoyable.

[jinwicked]

Toward the end when Art was filling in just once in awhile, I'd tune in to hear news and updates and usually didn't listen to the rest of it because the topics were lousy and Art seemed rusty or just not his old self somehow.

Listening to the first minute of the first show this week I could hear it in his voice that the old Art Bell was back.  Listening to it just seemed normal like he'd never gone away.  And yet I kept realizing how special it was. 

This was my feeling as well.

[bateman]

Toward the end when Art was filling in just once in awhile, I'd tune in to hear news and updates and usually didn't listen to the rest of it because the topics were lousy and Art seemed rusty or just not his old self somehow.

Listening to the first minute of the first show this week I could hear it in his voice that the old Art Bell was back.  Listening to it just seemed normal like he'd never gone away.  And yet I kept realizing how special it was. 

Then he came back the next night and did it again.

It really is astonishing to hear. He hasn't missed a beat.

Art even made the RCH interview enjoyable.

What a fun listen. I honestly can't remember ever enjoying a Hoagland interview before.

Art 4, dave 0.

I'd give a 3.5 and a 0, respectively. Half a point deducted for Greer, but, no fault of Art's.

[jazmunda]

Art must be an angel because I died and went through a portal to heaven.

[guildnavigator]

Art must be an angel because I died and went through a portal to heaven.

This made me laugh hard!

[ItsOver]

Art 4, dave 0.

Yep, a sweep.  Art won the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA championship, the NCAA tournament, and the BCS championship, all in one week. 

[guildnavigator]

The New Testament

Yeah... the first week was glorious.


Stomps on his later coast shows from the end of his time there... I remember listening to all four hours of those shows from the Manila, thinking "this is not the same" but still sticking through it just in case. I think that the commercial breaks towards the end of his Coast duties were too darned long, and I'd lose interest during them. Especially the natural disasters show, which was a low point for me.

But this week was full of amazing shows for all four nights. First week played like a "best of" compilation. I WANTED to tune in and hear Art Bell as he was at the top of his game. But I didn't really expect it. He delivered. And now he's poised to raise the bar even higher. Unbelievable.

[SaucyRossy]

This first week surpassed all of my expectations. I was gonna give him a week or two to get into stride. It took him about halfway into the first episode with Dr. Kaku.

It is so obvious how much fun he's having, it's infectious. He's having fun with the bumper music, he loves having Ross Mitchell back, he loves how few commercials he has (I'm glad he has some because the bumper music and breaks really are apart of the whole setting of the show), he loves his new studio, he loves having Keith back. The guy is having a blast and we are all in for a treat.

[Usagi]

I actually deleted c2c from the favorites on my computer today.  I don't even care who Snoory has on any more.  He's just boring.....

Yep... and I went ahead and finally 'unliked' the C2C Facebook page.  I had always kept it up just in case there was a guest I gave two damns about (or to make the occasional disparaging remark against Dave).  But now said two-damns worthy guests would be on Dark Matter anyhoo.  C2C can now be safely tossed in my mental dust bin.

Sorry, George Knapp. 

[Sardondi]

I must say I had already prepared myself for a decade's diminution in Art's skills - it's only natural after all. But surprisingly, there was none. Art wasn't even nervous. But neither was he giddy or manic: he was comfortable, at ease, a pro at the top of his game. He sounded to me like a man who knew who he was, what he had accomplished and what he was worth; and he wasn't too concerned about what other people thought, so long as what they based those thoughts on were the truth. We should all be so lucky as to have this attitude as we draw close to 70.

What I don't understand is the choice in first-week guests. Now, I am confident that the guests for the first week were chosen as part of a plan. And this was a plan that Art had spent time on. So it wasn't random or a plan drawn from a hat that resulted in Michio Kaku, Steven Greer, Jonathan Reed or Richard Hoagland as the first week's guests.

But damned if I understand it. And apparently I'm not alone to go by many of the comments. Because each of the guests pissed off a noticeable segment of Dark Matter listeners who posted at BellGab. So far, all I can come up with is, that the lineup is to tell us that Art is not going to give a damn about what we or his broader listening audience or Sirius thinks. I think he might be telling us that he is going to please himself. Which I guess I can live with, although I'd love it if he was trying to please, well, uh, me. But since that won't happen, I'll have to make do with schadenfreude about CoasttoCoastAM .

[jinwicked]

Yep... and I went ahead and finally 'unliked' the C2C Facebook page.  I had always kept it up just in case there was a guest I gave two damns about (or to make the occasional disparaging remark against Dave).  But now said two-damns worthy guests would be on Dark Matter anyhoo.  C2C can now be safely tossed in my mental dust bin.

Sorry, George Knapp. 

George Knapp is on Facebook. I am not sure if you can subscribe to his public posts.

He always posts a little teaser before one of his C2CAM shows.

[SciFiAuthor]

I expected Art of the last five years of his time on Coast. Good, but not quite what he was in the 90's.

Instead, we got an Art Bell every bit as good as he was in the 90's, and a show that should easily produce nights that equal or surpass his best coast shows. At any time we could have another Mel's Hole or Area 51 caller and it's making for riveting radio that you can't miss. Thankfully SiriusXM makes it easy to listen if you do miss one.

Art's delivery is as good as it ever was and he sounds like he's having a blast. The chemistry behind the scenes must be good on all fronts, and I hope it stays that way.

The only thing I would change is the weekends. I'm hoping that Art is having such fun that he decides to add an open lines night on Friday like the old days. I can't see how SiriusXM could be anything less than dumbfounded and blissful over last week, so I'm sure they'd be on board if he decided to do it.

So does anyone know anything about the listener response SiriusXM is getting? I wish they had comments and likes on the pages for these shows, I'd love to see how the new listeners happening upon the show are reacting.

[SciFiAuthor]

What I don't understand is the choice in first-week guests. Now, I am confident that the guests for the first week were chosen as part of a plan. And this was a plan that Art had spent time on. So it wasn't random or a plan drawn from a hat that resulted in Michio Kaku, Steven Greer, Jonathan Reed or Richard Hoagland as the first week's guests.

But damned if I understand it. And apparently I'm not alone to go by many of the comments. Because each of the guests pissed off a noticeable segment of Dark Matter listeners who posted at BellGab. So far, all I can come up with is, that the lineup is to tell us that Art is not going to give a damn about what we or his broader listening audience or Sirius thinks. I think he might be telling us that he is going to please himself. Which I guess I can live with, although I'd love it if he was trying to please, well, uh, me. But since that won't happen, I'll have to make do with schadenfreude about CoasttoCoastAM .

Well, you know, I pointed out that it would happen like that for some people. I think the plan was simply to create an opening lineup of guests that had yielded overall good listener results in the past and had a high likelihood to provide good radio. There's a reason why all of them were on multiple times with Art back in the day, so those reasons must still be valid today. There's also not a huge guest pool to choose from these days, and even less for classic guests because a number of them have passed away.

Here's the trick question. If you could have booked Art's first week, who would you have chosen?

[shell88]

What I don't understand is the choice in first-week guests. Now, I am confident that the guests for the first week were chosen as part of a plan. And this was a plan that Art had spent time on. So it wasn't random or a plan drawn from a hat that resulted in Michio Kaku, Steven Greer, Jonathan Reed or Richard Hoagland as the first week's guests.

  It could be as simple as Art taking back what he originally built, including their guests. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Art's just showing C2C he's the king of this genre of radio. He has been and probably always will be.  Not to mention bringing in guests he knows and is comfortable with is easiest slide in for him.  Being naturally innovative and competitive, not to mention progressive, I don't think he'll disappoint. I just think we need to be patient.

[popple]

Art gets better with age! Imagine how great the show is going to be when he is 120! Expect life extension technology in our lifetime There were so many great moments just in these 4 shows. I couldn't ask for more. & I wouldn't worry too much about finding new guests. I'm sure Art has looked around and enjoys the hunt for interesting people. We also never know what open lines will bring us.

[Scully]

Art Unbound is awesome. You just can't strangle genius as Premiere was doing. It's the old "goose that laid the golden egg" premise.

Thanks, Sardondi, for supplying that great word, "schadenfreude," which was eluding me as I gloat at Coast's misfortune.   

[setoadivadnhoj]

He's back! You can tell he's missed being on the air and is enjoying himself. Really enjoying these new shows. Top marks.

[Jnthn932]

First I'll say that it feels like 1998 again, I'm 13 years old and cowering under the blanket because an Art Bell show is scaring the crap out of me. He's definitely back and back in a big way. However, I'm not crazy about the last two shows. Yes they were entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I'm just not happy with the format. Open lines and callers talking to and sometimes challenging guests was a very important part of the show. I know it's only four hours but I hope Art figures out a way to get more callers and varying opinions on.  How are we ever going to get a JC/Mel's/Area 51 type caller if there's no open lines!?!?

[PB the Deplorable]

... Open lines and callers talking to and sometimes challenging guests was a very important part of the show. I know it's only four hours but I hope Art figures out a way to get more callers and varying opinions on.  How are we ever going to get a JC/Mel's/Area 51 type caller if there's no open lines!?!?

Nothing has changed.  When Art has a guest on, he wants callers to ask the guest questions specifically about the topic.  Open lines are before the guest, or later in the show when they are done with the topic. 

I would love to see him do an occasional show of just open lines - he probably will.

[Jnthn932]

I get that he wants the callers to ask questions pertaining to the topic. I'm saying the last two shows he hasn't had open lines at all. The guest was on for the full four hours.  Maybe I've been listening too to many classic five hour shows and I've been spoiled.

[PB the Deplorable]

I must say I had already prepared myself for a decade's diminution in Art's skills - it's only natural after all. But surprisingly, there was none. Art wasn't even nervous. But neither was he giddy or manic: he was comfortable, at ease, a pro at the top of his game. He sounded to me like a man who knew who he was, what he had accomplished and what he was worth; and he wasn't too concerned about what other people thought, so long as what they based those thoughts on were the truth. We should all be so lucky as to have this attitude as we draw close to 70.

What I don't understand is the choice in first-week guests...

Art prepared well and is in top form.  But there was no way to know that for sure ahead of time.

Having familiar guests to start off made it easier just in case there was a bit of rust.  Plus there must be plenty of people that have not heard some of these guests and stories, so why not revisit them to start things off.


4 nights a week for, say, 50 weeks a year is 200 shows.  He needs guests to provide content.  He's not there to debunk them, just have a conversation and get what he can out of them.  No one is going to come on if he's adversarial all the time.

From what I remember, the times Art got annoyed was when guests wouldn't answer questions - either they were clearly lying and their story didn't hang together, or they had a book to sell and would respond to every question by telling him we'd have to buy the book to get the answer.

[Nucky Nolan]

All four shows were great. Seven might have been an embarrassment of riches, but that was my only disappointment. I already caught two on-demand shows since I missed a few things when they first were aired. I learned that you shouldn't use Dark Matter as background chatter when you read or work out. It required attentive listening. It was chock full of authentic and organic discussions, not non sequiturs from crib notes. It was great to hear real conversations where the host was engaged. It definitely wasn't a shallow infomercial.

[Spinner]

Art has truly exceeded even my high expectations. His voice sounds just wonderful, and he is witty and sharp as ever.

I don't even remember the last time I enjoyed listening to radio as much as the last few days. It's been years. Listening to Art's show seems to have re-ignited a "fire" in me and a new sense of optimism. I guess it has to do with ending the day with a big smile on my face.

[conbrio]

Welcome back old friend I have missed you so much, an excellent first week. yea yea, even Hoagland brought back many memories.  ROSWELL a trillion times ROSWELL.

[morphiaflow]

Do any of you get the same sensation I do, listening to "Dark Matter", where it suddenly hits you...this isn't an old archival show we've heard about 50 times already...but a brand-new show that's happening right now (or at least, that happened a short while ago, if listening to replay or on-demand)?