We keep getting a commenter named 'curious' who asks, ". . .and this has what to do with talk radio?"
Must we say it again? local talk radio, interest of which is what brought us to found this blog almost seven (7!) years ago, has almost disappeared from the Seattle market.
Foremost in the market is KIROFM, which is very hard listening for deep intellectiuals such as ourselves. They have very successfully propelled themselves to the top once again with some very smart programming decisions. (Note we didn't say smart programs). They've done it by doing what we've long preached to do. They went after a younger, broader demographic and they did it by dumbing stuff down and making the station into tabloid news talk. The celebrity gossip, the YouTube audio, the shallow outrages and weird news gleaned from the Net is nearly unlistenable to the great minds who write BlatherWatch.
Yet we have listened. And written about Dori ad nauseaum. Ron & Don until they came out our ears. About John Curley more than his spotty attendence on the show deserves. We've been kinder to Dave & Luke, because we like them better, though it seems to us that Dave's just putting in his time... that his CBS columns are still the pithiest moments on KIRO. We know you do what you gotta do in any business, and they've saved the station, but listeners like us have been left in the dust. Fuck pith, they've said.
And so be it.
KVI is history. KKKOL is business talk. KOMO is audio wall paper. Maybe we're wrong, but we hearken unto the theory going around that when John Carlson (m-f 9a -12p) and Ken Schram's (m-f, 12-3p) contracts are up, they'll be gone too. leaving the station to the news.
They run old fashioned talk shows over on KOMO, but need to address some of the same YouTube issues of the day to stay relevant in today's terms. John & Ken do it more tediously than the "stars" on KIRO.
The rest, but for Dave Boze's (KTTH m-f, 3-4p) afternoon moments, is syndicated talk beamed down from afar, almost never in the time slot in which it actually happened
And that bores the shit out of us.
So ... we do as we please around here. When talk radio interests us, we'll write about it. Otherwise, we'll write about farts, Republicans, Moammar Quadaffi's back zits, NPR, and other edifying subjects.
Truth. It is all truth.
Posted by: Ryder | October 24, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Preach it. Ra-men.
Posted by: Pete | October 24, 2011 at 12:31 PM
Sad but true, blathering michael tells it like it is. My man Dori RULES the airwaves and can't really focus on him any more than this blog already does. So, other worthy topics arise and fall. Ho hum.
Posted by: StarTheWonderDog | October 24, 2011 at 01:27 PM
Mainly true. Seems like there is a cumulative burn-out from talk radio. Seattle has become a dead spot for it and maybe it is because it is one of the most cynical markets. Portland is better for variety and maybe even Spokane is.
Posted by: KS | October 24, 2011 at 07:11 PM
At first Dave seemed like he was having trouble stooping down to Luke's level, but today he was a natural. He's getting the hang of things.
Posted by: The Original Andrew | October 24, 2011 at 10:51 PM
Original Andrew nailed it. Dave was the only source of listening pleasure on KIRO. Now he is almost the passive dori. His co-snarking about the OWS protestors, goading 'conversation with 'some say' rhetorical questions for luke to riff off. He has actually struck a wimpier nerve of annoyance that dori naturally embodies..
curley is consistently and totally unlistenable.
Posted by: james chan | October 25, 2011 at 09:48 AM
Dave and Luke: Engaged and witty conversation between people who read and are actually reasonably intelligent. Their show is *way* better than conventional talk radio, because neither host is faking outrage, and there are no callers to be idiot foils for the hosts.
Of course it's not as high brow as KUOW because they don't tend to have interesting guests, but in the end it is much more entertaining.
Posted by: daily libtard listener | October 25, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Ya I'm not saying Dave has dumbed himself down, rather he's figured out how to be snarky on the radio. He had been proper and composed for so long that he seemed stiff when originally paired against hipster Luke, but that was cool too, they were like an odd couple.
Now they seem to riff more naturally, but it's still great listening because they come from different generations and backgrounds, and have very different personalities. It's fine radio, and I'll be sad when it ends.
Posted by: The Original Andrew | October 25, 2011 at 04:55 PM
Is there really an audience of young(er) listeners? Who the hell cares anymore about talk radio? I've been a listener of Dave Ross for over 20 years. I still like Dave for about 45 minutes with Luke.
Showing my age here, but Pat Cashman was my favorite.
Oh well, time marches on, and I'm following the clean-up crew.
Posted by: PlaneJ | October 25, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Now that they're on FM you can pretty much trip over them.
Posted by: The Original Andrew | October 26, 2011 at 12:14 AM
"I......live in the Seattle area.....yet I BROADCAST in Los Angeles."
Gene "Bean" Baxter of the #1 Kevin and Bean Show 106.7 KROQ FM.
BTW- the demo follows the content. The myth of "the kids don't listen" is disspelled by the Adam Carolla Show's page views.
Posted by: Darksecretplace | October 27, 2011 at 12:27 PM