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Art Bell

Started by sillydog, April 07, 2008, 11:21:45 PM

Usagi

Ayup.  Like Onan, I done gived up.

I'm willing to recognize now that Art is never going to happen again.  I'm even having to come to terms with the fact that great late night radio is never going to happen again.  Perhaps ever.  At this point, I'm just going to do my best to forget to be honest.

Aside from a small handful of more or less tolerable one-hour weekly programs, I've begun listening to audiobooks during the activities that I would otherwise prefer to do with the radio on.  It'll have to do.  I don't have the time nor the inclination to seek out and sample internet radio hosts.  I'm always just disappointed by one aspect or another in the end and it just isn't worth the effort.  Ive even failed to download or listen to Knapp hosted programs recently.  Just seeing the rest listed rankles me.

Maybe one day I'll hear about some great radio show that I've been missing out on.  Maybe I'll give it a try.  Maybe I won't.  Until then, I give up.

Quote from: Usagi on May 07, 2013, 08:18:08 PM
Ayup.  Like Onan, I done gived up.

I'm willing to recognize now that Art is never going to happen again.  I'm even having to come to terms with the fact that great late night radio is never going to happen again.  Perhaps ever.  At this point, I'm just going to do my best to forget to be honest.

Aside from a small handful of more or less tolerable one-hour weekly programs, I've begun listening to audiobooks during the activities that I would otherwise prefer to do with the radio on.  It'll have to do.  I don't have the time nor the inclination to seek out and sample internet radio hosts.  I'm always just disappointed by one aspect or another in the end and it just isn't worth the effort.  Ive even failed to download or listen to Knapp hosted programs recently.  Just seeing the rest listed rankles me.

Maybe one day I'll hear about some great radio show that I've been missing out on.  Maybe I'll give it a try.  Maybe I won't.  Until then, I give up.
I hope Art drops by sometime and reads your post, Usagi.  Terrestrial radio is dying.  I understand his reasons for staying away, but hold on to the hope that he will come back, just for a while, and remind everyone how it is supposed to be done.  I don't like the way he left - a good bye tour is needed, so that everyone, especially Art, can have real closure.

Meanandnasty

Art, I don't blame you.  The hours are harsh, and your daughter is only young once.
I don't want to speak for MV, but give an interview and tell us what goes on behind the mike at Premiere.


saab93driver

Classic Art Bell is....well classic, even timeless to listen to even today, the guy was a master, but later shows just didn't have the same edge to them.   Either the format got overplayed, times changed or the rust started to form and Art ran out of gas, I don't know.  I can listen to some of the 90's and early 2000's shows and still be charged up but the shows from Manilla and even when he came back here weren't the same anymore.  I can only take so much Michiu Kaku and string theory and the GFS.  I want him to come back as much as the next person but I do wonder if the product could live up to the standards of the old  shows.  At this point to me he will be missed but remembered.  I'd be happy with maybe a fairwell interview done by someone really good or a single fairwell open lines show for old times sake and then move on.  Or not, and I'll still move on.   

The General

Quote from: RealCool Daddio on May 07, 2013, 08:28:06 PM
I hope Art drops by sometime and reads your post, Usagi.  Terrestrial radio is dying.
Man, I couldn't agree with you guys more.  Usagi, you got it exactly right. 
With rare exception, terrestrial radio has become such a wasteland.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: The General on May 07, 2013, 09:39:46 PM
Man, I couldn't agree with you guys more.  Usagi, you got it exactly right. 
With rare exception, terrestrial radio has become such a wasteland.
It's almost every imaginable facet that is in decline as well. From music to talk to sports...and I blame the conglomoration of recent decades ultimately for the steep decline in quality. The only music stations I can listen to are tiny indies or college radio, talk radio has become a boil on the scrotum of media.

Pragmier

Is it possible to be nostalgic, wistful really, for a time & place not experienced first hand? Cause that's how I feel  :(

morphiaflow

Quote from: saab93driver on May 07, 2013, 09:28:43 PM
Classic Art Bell is....well classic, even timeless to listen to even today, the guy was a master, but later shows just didn't have the same edge to them.   Either the format got overplayed, times changed or the rust started to form and Art ran out of gas, I don't know.  I can listen to some of the 90's and early 2000's shows and still be charged up but the shows from Manilla and even when he came back here weren't the same anymore.  I can only take so much Michiu Kaku and string theory and the GFS.  I want him to come back as much as the next person but I do wonder if the product could live up to the standards of the old  shows.  At this point to me he will be missed but remembered.  I'd be happy with maybe a fairwell interview done by someone really good or a single fairwell open lines show for old times sake and then move on.  Or not, and I'll still move on.   

I think we can say that the difference began gradually when he retired from being the full-time guy and GN took over in 2003, and Art went to the weekends; but the REAL shift came with the tragedies he endured in 2006 and his subsequent life changes. The pre-Manila shows from that year have an almost desperate edge to them--he was clearly using this as his therapy, distraction and escape. The Manila shows do have a different quality. I won't ever accuse Art of "phoning it in" (even if he was literally doing so in this case), but they definitely didn't have the edge they once did. The final shows, from 2009-10, have an increasingly defeated quality--I will always point to the July 2010 Climate Change show where he was repeatedly berated by Nooryite climate change deniers who seemed unaware or not to care that this was the man who CREATED THE SHOW. He sounded almost literally broken that night, as he PLEADED with listeners to understand this concept of "agree to disagree". This was followed a few months later by the unworthy swan song of the lackluster G2G 2010. I would absolutely hate for that to be his final turn on the mic. But for now, other than those who may be able to hear him on HAM--it's what we have.

But let's put this in perspective. How long did Larry King broadcast? What about Paul Harvey? Art is 68--I say he's ONLY 68. His daughter is six now; he understandably wants to give her as much attention as possible. But that doesn't mean one of these days, maybe when she's a teenager, he might pick up the mic and say "what the hell".

I'm not expecting that or even hoping for it. The door is definitively closed, for now and the foreseeable future. But it's not slammed shut and locked. But in the meantime, I'm not looking at it and waiting for it to open again, even with the little peak-outs of "See, I'm still here!"

We have the classic archives and an occasional Knapp or Ian show. Those will have to get us by. In the meantime, I wish Art and his family nothing but the best. Missed, but never forgotten.

Irritates me even more knowing Georje's clitoris has prob been quivering since Art's confirmation.

Morgus

Quote from: b_dubb on May 07, 2013, 07:37:08 PM
I was going to post Shatner's SNL sketch "Get A Life" but couldn't find a decent example. Instead replace Shatner with Art and ... well ... you know ...

Did Art ever have Shatner on the show?
No, but Noory did.
Though Art Bell did have Leonard Nimoy (Spock) on for an hour back in the late 90s.

jazmunda

Quote from: morphiaflow on May 07, 2013, 09:59:23 PM


We have the classic archives

Let me take this opportunity to once again remind everyone how important the SIT shows are. They are our last source of new classic Art Bell material. They are episodes that most likely have not aired since they were originally broadcast. The majority of them are not in personal available archives or on the torrents or You Tube or even the Fine Art Stream. As much as we hate Prem Rad they are supplying us with our last link to new classic Art material.

Just a question:  How much do you all think that Art's shows declined without Ramona there to do the background work?  I understood him to say at one point that Ramona did the scheduling and research for each show.  I am sure that Art's final broadcasts suffered due to depression and stress related to life changes but I also wonder if Ramona was such a big part of the equation that her absence made the shows less desireable.  Perhaps C2C really died at the same moment Ramona died.  Maybe Ramona was the true "unknown" star of the show that we all loved so much.

Juan

Quote from: SomeVelvetMorning on May 08, 2013, 12:29:43 AM
Just a question:  How much do you all think that Art's shows declined without Ramona there to do the background work?  I understood him to say at one point that Ramona did the scheduling and research for each show.  I am sure that Art's final broadcasts suffered due to depression and stress related to life changes but I also wonder if Ramona was such a big part of the equation that her absence made the shows less desireable.  Perhaps C2C really died at the same moment Ramona died.  Maybe Ramona was the true "unknown" star of the show that we all loved so much.
I think there's a lot to this.  From my years in broadcasting, I know that good things happen when there is synergy between a good producer and a good on-air talent. We hear the opposite of that every weeknight.

BobGrau

Quote from: SomeVelvetMorning on May 08, 2013, 12:29:43 AM
Just a question:  How much do you all think that Art's shows declined without Ramona there to do the background work?  I understood him to say at one point that Ramona did the scheduling and research for each show.  I am sure that Art's final broadcasts suffered due to depression and stress related to life changes but I also wonder if Ramona was such a big part of the equation that her absence made the shows less desireable.  Perhaps C2C really died at the same moment Ramona died.  Maybe Ramona was the true "unknown" star of the show that we all loved so much.

I don't mean to go all backlashy, but it's worth bearing in mind that C2C really died the moment Art sold it to the Big Guys.

Sardondi

Quote from: UFO Fill on May 08, 2013, 04:29:58 AM
I think there's a lot to this.  From my years in broadcasting, I know that good things happen when there is synergy between a good producer and a good on-air talent. We hear the opposite of that every weeknight.

All I know is it made me feel good to hear them talk...or yell from one room to another...to each other on the rare occasions it happened. Nice to know they were a "team" from time to time.

jazmunda

Quote from: Sardondi on May 08, 2013, 05:21:48 AM
All I know is it made me feel good to hear them talk...or yell from one room to another...to each other on the rare occasions it happened. Nice to know they were a "team" from time to time.

That was always a highlight for me. Made it feel like you were a part of their lives. Also the fact that Art broadcast from home made the show feel more personal. Hell he could have been doing the show in his pyjamas if not for the webcam.

bigchucka

Quote from: Meanandnasty on May 07, 2013, 02:12:29 PM
Scorp Rock will be telling tales to all of his Asian/Scorpion offspring about his being the leader of the Scorpion Army.


Oh please God, don't condemn that sweet little girl to that future.....

MV/Liberace!

Quote from: Georgie For President 2216 on May 07, 2013, 08:04:04 PM
I think the guy who played Chekov was on the show with some unflattering things to say about Shatner, but I don't remember the host.


http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2005/07/28

Quote from: SomeVelvetMorning on May 08, 2013, 12:29:43 AM
Just a question:  How much do you all think that Art's shows declined without Ramona there to do the background work?  I understood him to say at one point that Ramona did the scheduling and research for each show.  I am sure that Art's final broadcasts suffered due to depression and stress related to life changes but I also wonder if Ramona was such a big part of the equation that her absence made the shows less desireable.  Perhaps C2C really died at the same moment Ramona died.  Maybe Ramona was the true "unknown" star of the show that we all loved so much.

It seems to me that was around the time I lost interest and stopped listening to Coast for a number of years.

ItsOver

Quote from: jazmunda on May 07, 2013, 11:57:30 PM
Let me take this opportunity to once again remind everyone how important the SIT shows are. They are our last source of new classic Art Bell material. They are episodes that most likely have not aired since they were originally broadcast. The majority of them are not in personal available archives or on the torrents or You Tube or even the Fine Art Stream. As much as we hate Prem Rad they are supplying us with our last link to new classic Art material.


Of course, Art wanted PremRat to stop airing SIT but I hope they keep broadcasting Art's old shows for as long as possible.  It's amazing that I can listen to one of Art's old shows from the '90s and they're still stellar radio. 

morphiaflow

Good points about the sale of the show and about Ramona.

I think we can break it down into a series of paradigm shifts, each of which contributed to moving Coast further and further away from "Pure Art" or "Coast As Art Founded". Yeah, the sale to Premiere was the first. GN taking over as main host was the next. But I'd argue it was still "Coast". But losing Ramona was a huge blow to Art and to his continuing broadcasts of Coasts, and--I was trying to be coy and polite about this, since I do know that Art looks in on this forum and I don't want to seem disrespectful, but--I think she was/is the missing ingredient and why the Manila broadcasts never quite had the same bite.

Quote from: ItsOver on May 08, 2013, 11:53:03 AM

Of course, Art wanted PremRat to stop airing SIT but I hope they keep broadcasting Arts old shows for as long as possible.  It's amazing that I can listen to one of Art's old shows from the '90s and they're still stellar radio.

In my estimation, the current shows are still from the 90's :P.  I left the program for quite a number of years, and then came back to check it out more recently.  And what did I hear?  The same tired old guests saying the exact same things.  In fact, the first thing I heard after coming back was the voice of Steven Quayle.  I immediately was brought back several years in my memory and I knew the next sentence would be his all knowing and condescending "People have GOT to understand..."  I was not disappointed.

ItsOver

Hahahaha.... the current Noory shows are from radio hell.  ;)

How did this topic get moved from the sticky section? I assumed that if a topic gets big enough, it stays there. (Certainly I would think once it gets past 100 pages at least.)

morphiaflow

Quote from: stlcoastfan1985 on May 08, 2013, 05:04:03 PM
How did this topic get moved from the sticky section? I assumed that if a topic gets big enough, it stays there. (Certainly I would think once it gets past 100 pages at least.)

I noticed it move out of the sticky section after Art's first announced potential return earlier this year fell through. You'd have to ask MV, but I suspect at that point--more than 2 years after the thread started, with several false starts and a pretty clear idea that Art wouldn't be back anytime soon--it ceased to be viewed as sticky-worthy. But that's just MY guess. MV?

Pragmier

Quote from: FightTheFuture on May 07, 2013, 12:53:19 AM



I think he just doesn't have the interested, as I don't see a big time conflict. The kid in school excuse doesn't make sense for several reasons. One, he can rest mornings because she's in class. Two, she goes to bed early which leaves him the late evenings to work if he chooses. Should not be difficult to broadcast while she sleeps and to sleep when she's in school. And three, Art can make his own schedule. Where does it say he must compete in the C2C time slot? And does he really need a big payday at this point?

jazmunda

Quote from: morphiaflow on May 08, 2013, 05:11:44 PM
I noticed it move out of the sticky section after Art's first announced potential return earlier this year fell through. You'd have to ask MV, but I suspect at that point--more than 2 years after the thread started, with several false starts and a pretty clear idea that Art wouldn't be back anytime soon--it ceased to be viewed as sticky-worthy. But that's just MY guess. MV?

I actually think it should be merged with the sticky Art Bell thread.

It seems pointless that every time Art farts that we need to check two threads.

bigchucka

Quote from: Pragmier on May 08, 2013, 05:14:25 PM

And three, Art can make his own schedule. Where does it say he must compete in the C2C time slot?

In the two offers that were made to him.....

That's why I brought this up a couple days ago about what time slot would Art accept....

Apparently not 1-5 am (EST), cause that would crush Coast.  I hope not 10pm-1am because I like Jim Bohannon and Clyde Lewis (who does a similar show to Art's style, which is why he thanked him for being the forerunner to shows like his.  I don't think he deserves to have climbed to the top of the hill only to get taken down by Art, unless that facilitated a move to replace George with Clyde.)  Most of the big markets I think have their own local guy to do morning drive-to-work shows.  There are a lot of sick twisted freaks listening about 9am to noon (EST).... 

Funny story... I heard Glenn say one time "C'mon, this is a guy who gets his science from Art Bell."  Funny thing was Art's guest the night before was Michio Kaku.

I heard that Cumulus might be dropping Rush at the end of the year.  That would open a syndicated time slot up...

bigchucka

Quote from: jazmunda on May 08, 2013, 05:34:44 PM
It seems pointless that every time Art farts that we need to check two threads.

Maybe that's what Art meant when he said "Long Live the Hot Air."

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