Why do you still listen?

[WOTR]

I actually don't.... I haven't since Art came back, and when he left again I didn't go back.

That makes two of us.  I used to listen because it was Coast.  I used to listen because I received 4 radio stations at work (who can listen to "classic rock" or country every night?  It was Coast or the CBC and I listened to both.)

Later I listened because "it has to get better... Hell, there is even a campaign with that name (yes, it was aimed at the LGBT community- but still.)  Then I started listening less and less often- but it had a value as comedy.  Finally when Bell returned for those short few weeks I was cured.  When I hear coast now it is only because the radio was left on or I forgot to turn the station.  Eventually George says something so stupid I sit up, take notice and turn the radio off.

***All of the above excludes nights with Knapp or certain other hosts.***

[Jackstar]

I quit. I am done with Snoory. The last straw was when he asked, "What is hemp clothes look like?" and then he had the George Harrison channeling guy on, which I cannot tell would be in worse taste if it were real, or faux.

Anyway, fuck it, I don't care if he has Hoffa back from the grave telling me that he died while doing speedballs with Kennedy, and he's gonna give out the recipe as an exclusive. I AM OUT.

Hurting stops now. George Noory sucked.

[Jojo]

Haven't listened for at least a year, not even for a laugh. I've even been skipping the gns thread recently. Does that mean he's sucking less, or more?

It depends.  "What's she look like, that's the question!" (03/16/17).  If she looks like Elizabeth Montgomery (03/12/17) or Victoria's Secret models (02/13/17) he might suck more. 

Also, he might suck in Vegas.  "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" says GN.  "Every time I hear that song I take a Vegas vacation!" (03/22/17).

Or maybe he sucks less!

[Robert]

If you are sincere about understanding this, you should probably examine some of the things you quit listening too and never looked back on.
C2C would be one of those, but how about some other things?

For example, I don't watch or listen to basketball, and I haven't for something like 11 years. The tipping point for me was the organization of the game; I hate the last 30 minutes of commercials and free throws. I watched the Kings-Lakers playoffs in 2002 and felt the entire sport was rigged. So I just left and never came back.

I used to watch some world soccer with some friends, but after I moved and the friends were gone, I never watched or listened to soccer again.

Maybe C2C is like that for all of you, Art was your friend, and when your friend left you just lost all interest.

What are some of the things you have quit listening to, and what was the tipping point?

In my case the transitions are more subtle, and there's no tipping point, interest just gradually fades to nothing.

I practically never listen to a Noory-emceed show any more, but that's an easy choice for me, being in the Eastern time zone.  It was a special effort to either stay up or wake up, so it's been very easy to go back to my old sleeping habits.  I'm not naturally a night person the way many of my friends are.  Neither is the housemate I moved in here with 6 mos. ago.  For that reason I wind up not listening to Knapp either, even though in some cases I try.

I can recall long-running TV series I gradually lost interest in.  Simpson cartoons would be an obvious example.  Married With Children was another; the interesting episodes became few enough that it stopped being worthwhile watching regularly.  A starker example was Smallville, a show that should've had a limited run anyway; I was engrossed in it when Gough & Millar were writing it at the beginning, but as their role became more distant it became less interesting, although I didn't really stop watching until some time in the 4th season IIRC.  I was shocked to learn years later that Smallville was still running.

Football's an interesting case.  I stopped being a fan or watching as a mere spectator some time after I started coaching.  It didn't happen right away, took a few years.

In none of these cases was there ever a point I could see as decisive.  Usually there's something good to start with, or a taste that waxes over time, & then it becomes habitual, carrying on from momentum as the rewards become sparser.

[pate]

Huh?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcdQk7JBPzQ

[Jackstar]

08:18:18

[Dyna-X]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTZsCCxx17w

[Dateline]

I like some of the long and thoughtful responses.  I think the rewards and interest diminish over time.  I have pondered, have I lost interest in the genre?  No, I am looking for alternatives, including Clyde Lewis. 

It has just become so surface, no deepness, no enlightenment during the week.  Last night was an example.  I don't want to get upset with the host during the interview at that time of night for leading the guest off into a topic in the wilderness. 

Compare reading an average novel with flash fiction, that is what Coast has become in my ears.

No interest in the host, no interest in the show, all I want to do is sleep.

[ninjashoes]

I will listen but only if I have extinguished all available podcasts and Netflix shows and I literally just need something to be on the radio to prevent the shadow people from creeping in from the darkness.

I barely pay attention but I do hear George saying "people are acting strange!" over and over in between flirting with every female caller.

I still can't get over how he slammed that poor guy who came on to talk about Krampus years ago. George got him off the line and then practically made the guy sound like some child torturer meanwhile there were two movies about Krampus coming out at the time, makes so much sense...

[Dyna-X]

I like some of the long and thoughtful responses.  I think the rewards and interest diminish over time.  I have pondered, have I lost interest in the genre?  No, I am looking for alternatives, including Clyde Lewis. 

It has just become so surface, no deepness, no enlightenment during the week.  Last night was an example.  I don't want to get upset with the host during the interview at that time of night for leading the guest off into a topic in the wilderness. 

Compare reading an average novel with flash fiction, that is what Coast has become in my ears.

No interest in the host, no interest in the show, all I want to do is sleep.

Anthony Sanchez of UFO Highway fame has decided to start a show. He's a bit rough now, but the good news is that:
1) He is literate and aware of world politics and general knowledge.  He would know what season it was in the Southern Hemisphere.
2 Has a voice and can properly pronounce words and does not cackle after every third statement.
3) Has the coordination to run his board.
4) Desire to investigate topics.
These are the prerequisites for a listenable show in 2017.

https://www.patreon.com/strangeradio

[WildCard]

Huh?

kooter? is that you? can i please have my boots back?

[Dyna-X]

I will listen but only if I have extinguished all available podcasts and Netflix shows and I literally just need something to be on the radio to prevent the shadow people from creeping in from the darkness.

I barely pay attention but I do hear George saying "people are acting strange!" over and over in between flirting with every female caller.

I still can't get over how he slammed that poor guy who came on to talk about Krampus years ago. George got him off the line and then practically made the guy sound like some child torturer meanwhile there were two movies about Krampus coming out at the time, makes so much sense...

Daniel, at risk of exposing my creeping Rooneyism* I will say that 30 years ago the standards were as such that folks like Noory, Wade and Church wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks in a long form radio show. Noory came in as a wonky DJ and rose via the Peter Principle.  Church would have remained a sports reporter. Wade might have made ads for concert events and such.

Looking up to someone who can conduct an interview look to the folks at 60 minutes, like Mike Wallace. I would suspect he was one of Art's role models. And Wallace came into TV as a former radio guy.

BTW, this explains why so many here now gravitate to George Knapp. Hes got the experience of a real journalist, because he is.

*60 minutes curmedgeon - look up Andy Rooney on youtube and you'll see where we are all headed after middle age.

[Robert]

Daniel, at risk of exposing my creeping Rooneyism* I will say that 30 years ago the standards were as such that folks like Noory, Wade and Church wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks in a long form radio show. Noory came in as a wonky DJ and rose via the Peter Principle.  Church would have remained a sports reporter. Wade might have made ads for concert events and such.

Looking up to someone who can conduct an interview look to the folks at 60 minutes, like Mike Wallace. I would suspect he was one of Art's role models. And Wallace came into TV as a former radio guy.

BTW, this explains why so many here now gravitate to George Knapp. Hes got the experience of a real journalist, because he is.

*60 minutes curmedgeon - look up Andy Rooney on youtube and you'll see where we are all headed after middle age.

I'm past middle, my friend John's even older, & he says that indeed is why Knapp is good.

[Dyna-X]

I'm past middle, my friend John's even older, & he says that indeed is why Knapp is good.

Indeed. Do you notice he is not afraid to ask a hard ball question when needed and his question is phrased based on the guest's response?
Wade, for instance seldom asks hard questions and just sits there all doe-eyed "Wow!" Yet,she treats callers that are not regulars like she is above it all. Complete chicken shit radio. Noory is incapable of asking a pointed and spontaneous question. Church? He's all show and little substance and thinks the show is all about him.

Other shows spend 15 minutes on "happy talk" as they call it in the news business, and its not even interesting happy talk. Often it sounds like people in a bar or the hangover the next day "I got wasted last night".  Nobody wants to hear about the host's wart removal or technical problems with a microphone - or worse hear sirens outside. Put the dog in the next room and give him a bone, so he doesn't bark in the background. Then they give a long intro that describes every show and every award since the third-grade award the guest has won. (Yawn). Keep it to a few sentences and give a website and move on.

Then start the fuck-bombs. One that slips through isn't a big deal, but I listened to a show out of the UK that had 55 of them in a one hour show. It was basically the UK version of Truth Theorem Radio.  (Yes, clones of bad shows exist.) The content could have been written on a couple of index cards and discussed in 10 minutes. The rest was all garbage - digital clutter not worth the drive space the saved it to.

Here's an example of how to do an interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpKkHCVbSyw

[zeebo]

...Other shows spend 15 minutes on "happy talk" as they call it in the news business, and its not even interesting happy talk. Often it sounds like people in a bar or the hangover the next day "I got wasted last night".  Nobody wants to hear about the host's wart removal or technical problems with a microphone...

This kind of stuff is so inane I'd almost just rather hear them recite the digits of pi.  At least that would be slightly informative while satisfying the same result - which is simply letting you know another life form is out there somewhere.

[ItsOver]

Indeed. Do you notice he is not afraid to ask a hard ball question when needed and his question is phrased based on the guest's response?
Wade, for instance seldom asks hard questions and just sits there all doe-eyed "Wow!" Yet,she treats callers that are not regulars like she is above it all. Complete chicken shit radio. Noory is incapable of asking a pointed and spontaneous question. Church? He's all show and little substance and thinks the show is all about him.

Other shows spend 15 minutes on "happy talk" as they call it in the news business, and its not even interesting happy talk. Often it sounds like people in a bar or the hangover the next day "I got wasted last night".  Nobody wants to hear about the host's wart removal or technical problems with a microphone - or worse hear sirens outside. Put the dog in the next room and give him a bone, so he doesn't bark in the background. Then they give a long intro that describes every show and every award since the third-grade award the guest has won. (Yawn). Keep it to a few sentences and give a website and move on.

Then start the fuck-bombs. One that slips through isn't a big deal, but I listened to a show out of the UK that had 55 of them in a one hour show. It was basically the UK version of Truth Theorem Radio.  (Yes, clones of bad shows exist.) The content could have been written on a couple of index cards and discussed in 10 minutes. The rest was all garbage - digital clutter not worth the drive space the saved it to.

Here's an example of how to do an interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpKkHCVbSyw

Just excellent.  Wallace AND Serling.  None better.

[zeebo]

I will listen but only if I have extinguished all available podcasts and Netflix shows and I literally just need something to be on the radio to prevent the shadow people from creeping in from the darkness....

This is pretty much in-line with my reasoning.

I still can't get over how he slammed that poor guy who came on to talk about Krampus years ago....

What a doofus move.  There was another host who had a Krampus guy on - I think it was Connie W. - anyway it was last holiday season and was quite entertaining.  Edit:  Yes I remember now, it was Connie ... She kept speculating how great a Krampus movie would be with a Lord-of-the-Rings size budget lol   

[WOTR]

I will listen but only if I have extinguished all available podcasts and Netflix show...

Does this exhaustive list include EODR with your favourite host, Myke? 

[ninjashoes]

Daniel, at risk of exposing my creeping Rooneyism* I will say that 30 years ago the standards were as such that folks like Noory, Wade and Church wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks in a long form radio show. Noory came in as a wonky DJ and rose via the Peter Principle.  Church would have remained a sports reporter. Wade might have made ads for concert events and such.

Looking up to someone who can conduct an interview look to the folks at 60 minutes, like Mike Wallace. I would suspect he was one of Art's role models. And Wallace came into TV as a former radio guy.

BTW, this explains why so many here now gravitate to George Knapp. Hes got the experience of a real journalist, because he is.

*60 minutes curmedgeon - look up Andy Rooney on youtube and you'll see where we are all headed after middle age.

I can explain that, Knapp has passion for what he is talking about. I read his book about Skinwalker Ranch, when you have that passion it really shows through the airwaves because you aren't phoning it in so to speak.

I also find George to be very passive aggressive to some people then gets all hot and bothered by female callers and suddenly becomes interested, he will also roll out the red carpet for certain guests that got over during Arts time in order to try to keep the core fanbase.

The Dark Matter Network had potential but Art guaranteed its awfulness by putting that Keith Rowland in charge who lost out on a lot of good shows due to his pickiness and alienating of good hosts. Keith literally burnt every bridge in his bad handling of talent and dangling of carrot sticks.

[ninjashoes]

Does this exhaustive list include EODR with your favourite host, Myke? 

No, I would rather listen to the walls creak and the crickets chirp.