Nobody really complained about my last post. In fact, I had nothing but support from the female community both here and on my MySpace. It could be that a few of you were offended and didn't feel like getting into an argument with me. That's okay too. I realize I'm mean. Obviously I don't think we should totally ban Romantic Comedies. That would sort of go against my free speech stance a few posts ago. I'm a bit of a hypocrite because, not only do I have Can't Hardly Wait listed as one of my favorite movies, but I tend to scoff when people in the media or congress attack movies or video games for causing violence (even though I almost ran over a homeless guy one time after playing too much Grand Theft Auto). Truth is, movies do affect us, whether we realize it or not. I was glad to know that several of the women I know do realize the effect that movies can have and are careful not to take them too seriously. Kudos, ladies. And as for us guys, as I briefly mentioned, and as my friend Austin explained in more detail, movies definitely affect guys too. I wonder if people were less screwed up before recorded fiction.
At any rate, I'm going to attack something today that shouldn't anger anybody. What can I say? I like easy targets.
You've all been there. You get tired of whatever cd you have in and flip on the radio, hoping to hear some decent music. Little did you realize that it's before noon. Instead of hearing a song, you discover people talking. About nothing. On the air. Is this the news? The dj killing time between songs? Are they having a contest? No, it's everybody's favorite, a morning show.
The format is pretty simple. There's two guys or a guy and a girl or two guys and a girl and they sit around talking about random crap. It's basically water cooler conversation. They'll discuss the latest world news and celebrity gossip in a manner not unlike you and your friends would, if your friends were ignorant, middle-aged douche bags. If you come across the morning show on, let's say, an oldies station, it's all very genial. Just nice folks discussing life and talking about what's going on in the community. "Ooh...there's a watermelon festival in Aiden? That sounds exciting." On the more rock oriented stations, however, they've taken a page from Howard Stern. Not only do they mock and make crude comments about whatever celebrities are in the news, but they have listeners call in and they make fun of them too. Here's how the typical conversation goes:
caller: I think my husband may be cheating on me. What should I do?
DJ #1: Divorce him, ya' stupid slut.
caller: But I'm not really sure that he's cheating on me.
DJ #2: If you suspect it, he's probably cheating on you. That's how guys are.
caller: I love my husband though. We've been married five years.
DJ #2: Look, ya' stupid whore, slash his tires, throw all of his stuff away and then divorce him because he definitely doesn't love you, skank.
caller: But, but...
DJ #1: He's right. Your husband's probably cheating on you because you've gained weight. You're fat, aren't you?
DJ #2: Yeah...I'll bet she packed on a bunch of weight and doesn't give it up anymore. Isn't that right, fatty?
caller: Actually, I only weigh about 110 and I get hit on by guys all the time.
DJ #1: Oh really? Honey, I'd like to help you get back at your husband. Stay on the line while we go to commercial.
You get the idea. They treat their callers like they're idiots and dispense Dr. Philesque "keep it simple, stupid" advice that's probably hurts more people than it helps. They're perfectly happy bashing whoever's on the phone (usually some well-meaning person who is upset and actually needs advice) for the sake of laughs and ratings. I caught a few minutes of the local rock station's morning show of choice the other day and I was appalled. Whoever they were talking to on the phone was a regular caller apparently. He informed the hosts (Lex and Terry I think it is) that, after several treatments for lung cancer in the past, it looks like he's finally going to die this time. As usual, they showed absolutely no sympathy. "Good." "About time." "That'll teach you." Now I don't really listen to the show for more than a minute or two at a time, so I have no idea who this caller was. Maybe he's a jerk. Maybe he was only joking. He sounded serious to me though and he didn't sound too happy about the whole thing. I've always said that if something's funny then it doesn't offend me and, when it comes to humor, it takes a lot to piss me off. There was nothing funny about that though. Even if it was all just made up, what about the listeners out there who might have cancer themselves or who might have a loved one with cancer? What purpose is this show serving? Who flips on the radio hoping to hear a dj making fun of people who are hurting and saying, "good riddance," to someone dying? It must get ratings or they wouldn't keep it on the air, but who listens to this crap? Again, I'm not a fan of censorship and I guess it's no worse than "Jerry Springer" or "Cops" or a lot of the other trash that passes for entertainment, but it really worries me that people enjoy that. When did being a jerk to everybody become an acceptable way to make a living?
Stupid morning shows, too many commercials and of course this insane urge to know as much as possible about everything have lead me to be a listener of NPR (the real one). However, on Sunday they have shows I don't care for so I flip back to mainstream to catch up on the latest Beyonce and JayZ collaboration.
ReplyDeleteSam, we need to disagree on something soon... this is scary.
ReplyDeleteI definately agree with you on this one. A while ago, I used to listen to Howard Stern and it does seem like most rock stations are basically just trying to do what he does. Usually, this does mean some pretty vulgar humor, offensive comments, etc. Every now and then I'll catch something funny on a morning show, but usually, I'll just change the station when people start talking.
Some of these morning show DJs seem to just try to push the envelope as much as they can- again a Stern tactic. Let's see how offensive we can get without getting in real trouble. No thanks, I'll stick to my XM music-only for now.
I complain about this on a regular basis, so I'm glad to know it pisses somebody else off, too. The DJs don't even have to be talking about something vulgar - as long as they're talking at all, I'm not happy. I want music. The biggest listener scam of all is that all the radio stations play commericals at the same time. At this point, I start fishing around in my backseat for a CD and almost wreck my car trying to find one. Could I sue the radio station if I did, in fact, wreck while trying to find said CD? Wouldn't that be on the same level as somebody suing McDonald's for serving hot coffee? Hmmmm...
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