Weekday with Steve Scher (KUOW m-f, 9-11) had an in-studio “hootnanny” of Northwest tugboat songs replete with a banjo, dobro and guitar (or GIT-tar).
(It was the kind of segment that gives both folk music and public radio their dubious reputations among actual human beings).
NPR listeners are known for TSL like tantric orgasms, but that was challenged Thursday by rude subjection to an acapella tenor, a hearty but dubious soprano, stringed instrumentalia all interspersed among a flat barrage of tugboat lore and historical society gossip. (Nothing, we always say, like a frank discussion of 'freight' in the morning!)
(How Steve Scher managed to fit this in his public issues talk show during the key gardening season escapes us. Doesn’t he know it’s time to prune the lilacs? We thought Weekday was a current events program!)
Folk music is the “not-so-silent killer.” Victims are legion; ear canals jangled chronically by banjos and mandolins.
(photo: this folk music sufferer is but 22 years old!)
Arthritic digits, brains and neural channels calcified by repetitious lyrics (in a folk song, singing a line 20 times is thought to be twice as good as singing it only 10). Other symptoms include acute tedium, premature aging, hair loss, stiff joints, osteoporosis and atherosclerosis.
We gotta agree with Tom Lehrer who said long ago that the reason folk songs in general are "so atrocious is because they're written 'by the people."
Come on Steve, let's get back to porpoise anatomy and raised beds... don't think we have the stamina for more folk music!
god, that show this morning sent me racing for kplu...
Posted by: pivot | May 27, 2010 at 12:17 PM
That looks like Lyndon Johnson on fiddle.
Posted by: Dori | May 27, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Yeah, I agree; it literally made me 'recoil' and quickly turn to KIRO.
Posted by: Duffman | May 27, 2010 at 12:21 PM
Lyndon knew all the words.
Posted by: pivot | May 27, 2010 at 12:41 PM
Can't you say something nice? Those were very nice people who were very interested in a harmless subject. Everyone should get a chance at seeing if the subject interests them too. Gardening on week days? What a concept! Maybe because KUOW doesn't cafe about their ratings is why they get such great ones.
Posted by: Cynthia Neuberger | May 27, 2010 at 03:32 PM
This triggers priceless memories of pre-blog Bla'M plucking sonorous bluegrass on his genuine ukulele! How quickly we forget, my ultra-critical blogmeister!
Posted by: Fremont | May 27, 2010 at 06:14 PM
He looks like a ukulele kind of guy..
:)
Posted by: sparky | May 27, 2010 at 06:22 PM
"a frank discussion of freight" - made me laugh! Great writing!
Cynthia, they were nice people. The problem is that everything about KUOW is "nice." God, can't they be naughty once in a while.
Hey, y'all, duffman not only listens to Dave, Dori and Rush (and ron and don and shiers and Luke and boze and medved...) but he listens to KUOW AND spends the day on this blog as well. Gee, duff, when do you have time to eat, drink, sleep and work?
Maybe you should be writing the columns.
Posted by: joanie | May 27, 2010 at 08:24 PM
I listened to a little of the podcast to see if it's as bad as everyone says it is - and it is. Two full hours of some old guy whispering into the microphone about tugboats and out of key singing.
If I turn to KUOW these days I'm actually hoping to hear their national and international news bits. All of the local programming dry and unentertaining.
The other thing that is making me switch off KUOW (and TBTL) lately is any interview with some uknown musician where they talk about their new and exciting musical project and ask the nobody what inspired them to write some song I've never heard, and the musician says something like "oh I don't know, I was just like, thinking, all the people, if you take one thing, and I reflected on, la lalala" In other news, the worst environmental disaster in US history is still unfolding before our eyes and ears.
Posted by: Andrew | May 28, 2010 at 03:57 AM
Our POTUS officially took responsibility for the disaster yesterday and I thought that was big of him. We will get thru this...and largly because we have a President who aspires to the 'yes we can' philosophy. Kudo's ta ya Mr President - you've shown us that the buck certainly stops at you.
Now, will you please do something 'bout, Iraq, Afghan, Iran, N Korea, the economy and that nasty smoking habit you 'still' have.
Posted by: Duffman | May 28, 2010 at 05:41 AM
Are you still punking out and voting for Rossi?
Posted by: Coiler | May 28, 2010 at 08:37 AM
The POTUS just deflected and obfuscated. He is standing up there looking pretty while behind the scenes, all the kings horses and all the kings men are busily contemplating their belly buttons. Obama is not a leader. He is nothing more than a figurehead, much like a mermaid on the front of an old schooner, or the bitch on the radiator of my old Rolls. Symbolic, but useless.
Posted by: Chucks | May 28, 2010 at 09:00 AM
In answer coils I think Dino may be the most 'electable' of the candidates opposing Sen Murray. I don't care for Sen Murray...ergo Rossi will likely get my vote.
Having said that however, I'm very disappointed at Rossi's lack of 'passion' and I have said that unless he changes that somehow very soon, he doesn't stand a very good chance of defeating her as incumbent with a perceived decent track record.
Posted by: Duffman | May 28, 2010 at 09:13 AM
the tea baggers choice is Clint, I doubt they will vote for Rossi
Posted by: Coiler | May 28, 2010 at 09:53 AM
I think you're right coils, the tea party advocates will likely vote for Clint and from a practical and pragmatic standpoint I would favor him also. However, from an electability standpoint I doubt that Didier would garner the support needed from 'West of the mountains'.
Posted by: Duffman | May 28, 2010 at 09:57 AM
Jake Tapper politely whammed him with a question about the disconnect between his saying all that could be done about the hole was being done and the list that Tapper had of things experts had proposed and help offered from 42 countries that his admin, had blown off. Obama went all arrogant (what a surprise), in that slick manner of his and said, in essence, that he never said he and his people were perfect , just damn wonderful, that's all.... the people of the US are tiring of this crap and the press is starting to probe through the cracks in his mask of slick, glib arrogance....
Posted by: Tommy008 | May 28, 2010 at 10:07 AM
I think you're right T008...I believe that Mr Obama is doing a good job at 'looking/acting' Presidential but, Oh My - 'Why Oh Why' couldn't we have elected Ms Clinton!
May be next time???
Posted by: Duffman | May 28, 2010 at 10:14 AM
Obama scoffs at and shows contempt for the press'es comparisons to Katrina (as he did yesterday at the p.c.) at his own peril....
Posted by: Tommy008 | May 28, 2010 at 10:20 AM
Time for Rahm to go.
Posted by: sparky | May 28, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Dave Ross is being an ass againas an advocate for illegals, riiculing the border wall idea, saying it won't cant work...saying there would have to be armed guards there (a lie).... Ask Israel whether a wall works...of course it will work,,...will there be an individual or two who somehow might get past the wall, once in a blue moon ? who would ever deny that and who cares?.... Dave i went to bat fo r you this time against the bastards above you, but you're really startign to annoy me.....
Posted by: Tommy008 | May 28, 2010 at 10:28 AM
Thanks to the SCROTUS and the ruling about corporations now being classified as a "person", Rove and his Chamber of Commerce lackeys have been able to collect over 30 million so far which will be used to fund anonymous hit piece ads against political candidates they do not like. Our election/political system just got worse, if that is possible.
Posted by: sparky | May 28, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Again, those who think that our political system might need room for improvement might want to study THIS a bit. :)
Posted by: Duffman | May 28, 2010 at 10:57 AM
That is OK sparky, as long as they only use that money to destroy liberal Democrats before the liberal Democrats destroy the nation.
(OK, I kid)
What we need is a Constitutional Amendment that defines "persons" as human beings. How many of our embedded politicians, on the right and the left would be inclined to support and actively work to attain such a goal while sitting on their campaign war chests, funded by unions and corporations?
The law says they are persons. We need to get the law changed. The Supremes got it right. We need to get the law changed to eliminate that issue.
Posted by: Chucks | May 28, 2010 at 11:03 AM
As long as you don't tell the Mexicans trying to sneak across our borders about our Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Also don't let on that such things as boats exist. I think the fence is a fine idea as the US border is only about 1,000 times bigger than Israel's.
Of course we will still have people coming in with Visas at our ports and overstaying but that's no problem as long as we take care of those brown people.
Posted by: ExPatBrit | May 28, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Glenn "leave the children of politicians alone" Beck today performed a "cute" little skit pretending to be Malia Obama complaining about the oil spill to her father.
Nice display of "family values."
Posted by: sparky | May 28, 2010 at 01:20 PM
boats...haahaha the se Mexican peasants and serfs wil hit the wall and go back to their f**king villages...the little brown bastards aren't going to be getting on boats....get real....yeah, they're bastards ...working half to 2/3 price up here for criminal, sleazebag bosses who can use that advantage to screw over legit business competition and legit legal labor.....
Posted by: Tommy008 | May 28, 2010 at 01:24 PM
Ross gullibly quotes a wage some consrtuction contractor tells him, rtuthfully, that he pays his illegal Mexcian workers....Ross says wow that's pretty good money not realizing that this is a wage that is a result of busting down the original much, much higher wages that prevailed when the constructio workforce was pretty much legal......Mexican/hispanic workers (80-90% illegal) have busted down whole sectors of the construction industry, and become the only people now working in them, practically speaking ...tile setters, painters etc.
Posted by: Tommy008 | May 28, 2010 at 01:34 PM
"Jake Tapper politely whammed him with a question about the disconnect between his saying all that could be done about the hole was being done and the list that Tapper had of things experts had proposed and help offered from 42 countries that his admin, had blown off."
That's why Dennis Miller calls him Tap-Tap the chieseler. One of the few objective and professional-acting news reporters (a WH correspondent).
Posted by: KS | May 28, 2010 at 04:34 PM
Glenn "leave the children of politicians alone" Beck today performed a "cute" little skit pretending to be Malia Obama complaining about the oil spill to her father.
Nice display of "family values."
Posted by: sparky | May 28, 2010 at 01:20 PM
That's mighty rich coming from Sparkles aka the 'Twig Truther' of this website.
Back in 2008 you sure had a lot of 'fun' with that and those rumors about Palin infedelity. How'd all that work out for you? Still proud of that?
All in all, a nice display of hypocrisy, Ms. Kettle. You do not disappoint.
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 28, 2010 at 04:58 PM
Dangit putz..if you had just posted this on the correct thread, I would have won my bet. KS beat you.
Cooperate, next time, ok?
Posted by: sparky | May 28, 2010 at 05:03 PM
sorry sparkles, wrong thread but right comment. i can live with that.
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 28, 2010 at 06:13 PM
Time for Rahm to go.
Sorry, Sparky. Time for Obama to be his own man. If he's still letting Rahm be the decider, then Rahm should be sitting in the oval office.
Time to charge Obama with the responsibility of leading this country.
Face it. We voted for Republican lite. I'm no party person. I thought I voted for a common sense kind of liberal. I was wrong.
Posted by: joanie | May 28, 2010 at 06:29 PM
Exsqueeze me, Common sense liberal is an oxymoron. Once upon a time it was not, but we do not live in those times.
I have a hunch Rahm is the fall guy here - a Chicago deal was made and Rahm probably wants out anyway. The decision likely came from Obama, but he is no more truthful than an Islamist- who lie to save face - even though that is not his current religion. I'd rather see Rahm as POTUS or a number of other Democrats who show leadership- Rahm would have governed more along the lines of Clinton.
Posted by: KS | May 28, 2010 at 06:41 PM
You people are idiots. What will it take to open your eyes and grow a few brain cells?
Posted by: joanie | May 28, 2010 at 07:29 PM
Back at ya - Ms. Ph(J)oanie. It is known that alcohol can kill a lot of brain cells. Try looking in the mirror and thinking for a change before you spout off. I know that is asking a lot of you, but try it for the sake of BW !
Posted by: KS | May 28, 2010 at 07:42 PM
How do you know someone drinks alcohol? Is this from family heritage?
Posted by: Coiler | May 28, 2010 at 07:46 PM
Face it. We voted for Republican lite. I'm no party person. I thought I voted for a common sense kind of liberal. I was wrong.
Posted by: joanie | May 28, 2010 at 06:29 PM
If you think Pres Obama is repub lite now, just wait until you don't have those super majorities.
Once again the Dims managed to squander victory away and will look back at 2008-2010 with a, WTF?
Name a bill that has been passed that the Left is satisfied with?
Is the left really satisfied with the Healthcare Bill, Cap and Trade, the triple down on the War in Afghanistan, Gitmo still open for business, the handling of the Oil Companies; etc
Now you have the mid terms with the Repubs getting back some real power.
They'll soon be partying like its 1994...
Oh well, at least the usual suspects can go back to standing on the street corner with the signs that read, 'Kucinich 2012'
Hey Coils, how'd that 50 state 'stretegery' work for you? Don't you just love those Blue Dogs? lmao
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 29, 2010 at 06:24 AM
How do you know someone drinks alcohol? Is this from family heritage?
Posted by: Coiler | May 28, 2010 at 07:46 PM
We can tell from painfully close observation. Of course, it could be worse and due to some serious mental illness.
At least with Alcohol you can always get the cure at Shick Shadel. Just give 'em ten days and they'll give you back your life.
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 29, 2010 at 06:26 AM
The usual suspects believe in utopia and that communism and the feudal system works and might as well embrace UFO's too.
When you break it down, liberalism is the pathway to the feudal system reinvented, which is the modern day welfare state. Not sure if Shick Shadel can cure that engrained belief system in ten days, but the 12-step program may spark some curiosity, which they can use more of to be more functioning and happier in life.
Posted by: KS | May 29, 2010 at 09:44 AM
Hey KS
to 'spark some curiousity' you are assuming that the usual suspects have the intellectual kindling to even light up an idea...
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 29, 2010 at 10:48 AM
So true, PutS. As I stated (it applies to all of the usual suspects); "Try looking in the mirror and thinking for a change before you spout off. I know that is asking a lot of you, but try it for the sake of BW !"
Actually, the above is true for everyone, especially those who live in glass houses and throw stones.
The "suspects" would try and label the above comment as hypocritical and they'll try to evolve that barb into a pissing match or a mudslinging fest, with intellectual ideas and curiosity being absent from the discussion once again.
Posted by: KS | May 29, 2010 at 11:28 AM
or, i might add, a sense of humor...
Posted by: Puget Sound | May 29, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Once in a while they show brief flashes in an apolitical topic, but otherwise when it is at the expense of their perceived political opposition.
Posted by: KS | May 29, 2010 at 12:55 PM