Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Cirque Quick Hits -- AMENDED

Liking the sound of CDS this morning.  Nice paced conversation.  Funny, relaxed.  No forced radio wackiness or multitracked voicings.  Compare and contrast:  Ben + Skin.

Happy Birthday, Machine.



Laugh:  Mike (I think) discussing his early grilling attempts, and referring to the instrument used to pick up meat from the grill (in this case, trying to keep something from falling through the grate) as "tweezers."

Laugh:  A Sirois (again, I think Mike) referring to the Indy 500 trophy as "frozen face nipples."  (Could become as Ticket-legendary as "Green Tail Shiner.")

I may have missed this guy in the past, but where has John Fahey been?  Perfect Tickers.  Is he a Cumulus guy sitting in?  A long-time fill-in guy who has just escaped my notice?  Great cadence, and a Ticket-ready voice with a smile in it.

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LATER IN THE DAY:

Liking That Shake Joint Thang a lot.  I only got to hear maybe an hour of it off and on, but what I heard was strong on substance with a good balance of humor, quirks, and general personality.  Strong offering.

An early commenter below talks about David and David (Newbury and Moore) "failing," but I think The Boomtown is always a first-rate show.  Especially for those who gripe about the lack of actual sports on The Ticket.  (Not me, but you're out there).   I have no idea what the Confessor was talking about. 

So tell me, good Confessors:  Let's say The Ticket hosts all disappeared tomorrow and you had to hear today's lineup every day.  Would you listen to The Ticket or would you spend a whole lot more time with ESPN and The Fan?   For me, no question:  Today's shows were all better than anything I pretty much ever hear elsewhere.  Now having to do one show with time to prepare may not give us a good indicator of how these guys would all do on a day-to-day basis, but we've heard enough of all of them over the course of the last few years to know that they're very consistent performers. 

(Maybe the more exotic hypothetical would be:  What if a rival spirited away today's shows and lined them all up against Musers/Norm/BaD/Hardline?   Have you thought about it?)

*     *     *

Guessing Ticket salaries is a fool's errand, so my qualifications are impeccable.  Re Danny:  Pretty sure his base dollars are pretty close to where he claims.  Low-mid five figures.  The only question I would have is whether he gets some small extra duty pay for The Orphanage.  Glad to see the chap getting some endorsement dollars, local merchants banking on his legendary sincerity. 

*     *     *
Everyone:  Remember, remember.

36 comments:

  1. It's 10:20am and no "African babies need to get fed" by JakeZ yet.

    Hey Plainsman, do you like Christina Hendricks? How about Bryce Dallas Howard?

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  2. On topic: Thumbs up on Memorial Day fill-ins (until David and David-failing)

    Off topic: Does anyone else find it ironic that we have to tread lightly with our criticisms of the Ticket or risk being labelled a troll while the Ticket hosts are often ruthless critics? Case in point, Danny's trashing of the band Ratt who are just out there trying to earn a living and he even goes so far as to call the audience "scum of the earth" (excluding himself, of course).

    Also off topic: Does anyone know what happened to the fart drops? Did Grubes take them with him? I have never thought these were funny after the age of six, but we had to endure them for years, then suddenly-gone. THL even had a segment a year or two ago when they said how everyone loves fart drops and if you don't there's something wrong with you. They even talk about how fart humor is an important part of their family lives. I'm just wondering if fart humor was so foundational, what happened to it?

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  3. frozen face nipplesMay 27, 2013 at 4:14 PM

    Weird thought I had. I count myself as a big fan of the CDS show. So should I be more happy that they were picked to fill in for morning drive time show or more pissed that with that early shift my hungover sleeping butt only heard a little of it?

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  4. We still have the fart drops, and I use them from time to time. But sometimes less is more. The occasional fart is funny, but a full-on carpetbomb not so much. I know for a while I tended to overuse them, so I pulled back a bit.

    And who knows? Maybe Jake just doesn't like to use them.

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  5. Been meaning to ask this for a while....
    Which Cumulus higher-up does David Moore have naked pictures of? He is boring, not funny, and has the most annoying voice in the world....
    Why does he keep getting air time on the station?

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  6. I think David and David bring the Boom Town, and what's more, I welcome it. So yes, welcome to the Boom Town. Pick a habit we got plenty to go around.

    I'd listen to D&D and The Shake Joint. CdS, maybe from time to time, but more often than not I'd go elsewhere (but not to B&S). After having listened to CdS for a couple of years now, I still can't tell their voices apart. I know they're brothers, but I don't care. You have to be able to discern who is saying what. I think the thing someone said about B&S applies to CdS: I'd like to see them either paired with someone else or go solo. CdS is basically one opinion coming out of two voices that sound exactly alike. Does that sound confusing? Exactly my point.

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  7. Wondering if John Fahey is a crossover from WBAP. I heard a guy doing morning drive sports there filling in for Steve Lamb then doing tickers at KTCK. Might be the same guy.

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  8. If all of the current shows were gone and the new lineup was today's full time, I would listen to The Shake Joint and that's it. Music the rest if the day.

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  9. Interesting. I have on my list of topics a David Moore piece, and I think he's great. Knows the inside poop but isn't wedded to his access the same way that, say Mickey Spagnola had to be. Like David a lot, like the other David a lot, and love The Boomtown.

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  10. @gopher

    Fahey is a UNT guy. When I left the station he was doing weekend overnights on the board. Good dude.

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  11. OK, I heard part of BnS in the car on radio.com for kicks from approx. 4:00-4:55.

    One of them said (paraphrase), "At our old station, we were confined to just talk sports..."

    Yet the go (back) to CBS Radio where Greggo tells us about how much sports they were forced to talk ? Huh?

    Moral of the story is that radio host have to attempt to be the truthful voice in a matter even if they were terminated. It is just like wrestling and the listening public being "marks".

    I also listened to Ben or Skin call Dwayne Wade a "blouche" on their segment on how to deal with their young children in terms of rooting for local teams and sport.

    If "blouche" is often used, I feel sorry for the Asian community for a baseball player who hurts the Rangers, or any other Latino who impacts the team the cover/root for during the season. Will it be, "Splouche" just to combine Spanish and Latino? This is worse than Corby's "Hispanol" designation.

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  12. DA, you've been making an overarching point in your last couple of comments that, I for one, believe is very important. It's an issue that has been raised from time to time here at MTC: racism.

    B&S "stole" "blouche" from THL. Not the term, but the concept. And really, not so much the concept; as I've heard such things before THL ever began to say them. In case anyone doesn't know what I'm referring to, one puts a "bl" in front of a term, indicating that the person or thing being talked about is either an African American or is somehow related to African Americans. For whatever reason, this seems to be perfectly acceptable to most Ticket employees and from all signs, most all Ticket listeners. The vast majority of which, are white. I honestly think that The Ticket has been EXTREMELY lucky in that there have been no lawsuits or the likes thrown their way. The closest thing I can remember is an Observer article many many years ago that asked aloud if THL was racist. IMO, it really is only a matter of time. Yes the station has been around nearly 20 years and nothing has occurred yet. To me it's more of a law of averages sort of thing. It's not a matter of if, but rather when. What gets me is that it's the supposedly more progressive hosts that are the most egregious in this matter. You never hear Bob or George make any "bl___" comments, etc.

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  13. @DA
    And that should tell you everything you need to know about what Greggo serves up as "truth."

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  14. @Plainsman
    To answer your question about what would happen if all the Ticket hosts were on a plane that corkscrewed into a mountain and we had to start over....
    Let me say that I agree that these shows are funny at times(except for anything with DMoore, I punch out, sorry the monotone voice kills me for some reason, sorry DM) to be a regular show requires a lot of continuous chemistry. What I'm saying is, if you know you're just doing one show to fill in, or if you're filling in for a week, you can throw out all the cool ideas you have. When it has to be a constant, it gets harder to find new things, and I think that's the challenge new shows have. I never have a problem with CDS but to me they're still kinda B&S-y. Down to the point of even Cash being employed by the Mavs. Interesting that the Mavs have at least one employee of some type at each sports station, but the Cowboys play it completely differently.
    Anyways, I like the new blood, TSJ is a thumbs up.
    I would address racism but I think that would be better handled in an MTC post on its own.

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  15. Autocorrect said...
    I would address racism but I think that would be better handled in an MTC post on its own.


    Not only the racism, but the misogyny as well. I know that The Ticket is supposed to be a "guy" station and talk about "guy" things, but they can carry things too far. The Hardline ramps it up pretty high at times - to the point that I would be embarrassed if there was someone else in the car with me.

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  16. Did we get a new segment today at 6 on THL?

    "Corby reads Deadspin"

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  17. @KT: Thanks for the Fahey info.

    @Jer: Thanks for the fart info.

    @DRW1961: Hey, welcome back. Been awhile, no?

    And I agree re the misogyny. I am a Hardline defender, but I draw the line there. It goes beyond a bit -- in Mike's voice, in particular, sometimes Danny's, there is a contempt and loathing that goes beyond disrespect. In fact, it's troubling, as in "what's wrong with these guys?"

    I'm mildly surprised that a feminist group hasn't mounted some kind of sponsor protest against The Hardline. There's more evidence there than there ever was against Bacsik. I guess (1) no feminist groups in Dallas or (2) they don't listen or (3) they don't take it seriously. (PS: I'm not a feminist sympathizer in most things.)

    Yep, I've come to the defense of The Hard Ones on many occasions and will continue to do so, but on this one I step aside.

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  18. I feel like Grubes coined, or at least made popular, the "Bl___". There was obviously no malice behind it, but I can sometimes hear seriousness in Donovan's voice when Corby uses it. Also, they will not be sued over "racially insensitive" comments. They could lose sponsors, though.

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  19. That's a lot of chicken.

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  20. Interesting that the two guys who have been through a divorce are perceived as being the most mysoginistic.

    So let's solve two problems at once.

    They need a black female cohost on the Hardline.

    What's Yolanda doing these days?

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  21. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  22. @Plainsman
    Funny you mention Bascik. I was listening to 105.3 this morning during a Musers commercial and Bascik detailed the "Dirty Mexicans" situation. His undoing was not because of the Ticket not wanting him, but the fact that LULAC jumped all over them and the situation even got a mention on CNN. I think there is a line that can be crossed as evidenced with Bascik, but it's all a matter of media. If you transcripted and tweeted things said on the Ticket, I think there'd be uproar similar to that. That's not something I would ever want but I think Bascik got railroaded pretty hard. Should he have? I think there are other ways to remedy the situation than outright firing, turning a negative into a positive. Bascik said that when this was going down they deleted all the "mexican" drops. I think it would have been more far reaching to have a culture sensitivity powwow with people.
    I'm a white former San Antonian, and I can tell you, the stuff that comes across the Ticket at times would not fly there or even in Houston. The Ticket has found its racially and sexually insensitive honey hole here.

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  23. clicked the wrong button, that's my comment above. If there was any criticism you can direct it to me instead of an anon.

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  24. Part of the KTCK's success is driven by the absurdity of racism and being PC. Has The world has gotten to a point where I am a racist if I don't care what some guys are talking about in a SOC Barber shop ?
    My demographics fit the KTCK's target audience to a T. I've seen just about everything growing up in Big D and traveling the world . The irony is there seems to be a lack of duality in who can can make light of what day to day .
    There is not an overly aggressive racist bone in my body , Evidently it's overt racism in what I find funny .
    Just because I find something funny - doesn't make me a social outcast or racist .
    My generation is one of the most accepting groups that embraced change - but , some things are funny .

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  25. I Monday was our regular Ticket line-up I would be gone. There was nothing there that continually engaged me.

    CdS: I liked the bet payoff segments, otherwise. Merely okay.

    TSJ: Boring. I've never cared for Sean Bass as a host. I think Jake has something, but he isn't quite there yet. I can wait to see where he goes.

    Boomtown?: When they talked sports it was okay, but when they tried to make analogues of each Ticket hos to the HBO Liberace movie. That may have been one of the most painful things I listened to, yet I couldn't stop listening to it.

    I would just be listening to music on my computer if this is what we got.

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  26. therrick just reminded me of the CdS segment with Everson Walls talking Game of Thrones. Loved that and basically anytime they talk basketball because if you read between the lines they are giving some deep Mavs stuff I think. The Chris Paul stuff especially.

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  27. Autocorrect nailed it.

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  28. Shake Joint and CDS could easily be a regular show in a different major market. I've lived in Denver and currently reside in Houston (kill me). No question those weekend shows would blow anything there/here away. You are all lucky to have a great station in DFW.

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  29. Dan wants to be gay with Anthony Jeselnik.

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  30. You're better than that, Shaggy.

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  31. Just listening to THL's review of "Behind the Candelabra". Didn't they do this about 6 weeks ago or was it another Ticket show? I'm pretty sure it was THL and they acted like they had never talked about it before. Strange, but I wouldn't put it past them.

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  32. T4...

    Not saying you're wrong, but that movie just debuted Sunday so I'm not sure how they could have discussed it 6 weeks ago.

    They did talk about it last week but it wasn't a review because they hadn't seen the movie yet.

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  33. True, it wasn't a review, but the way they were talking about the characters and how flamboyantly Liberace was, was like they had never spoken the words before. Thanks for clarifying though.

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  34. Either way..... I mean who really wants to hear a spare HBO movie review on Liberace during their afternoon drive home?? (Long Sighhhhhhhhhhh)

    The radio station preset buttons have been getting a little worn the past few weeks in the afternoon.....

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  35. So Greggo is throwing out Cowboy conspiracy theories and calling Jerry Jones and the rest of them (but mostly Jerry) a pack of liars. Greggo sure seems to see duplicity, lying, intentional misleading, and pretty much the worst in everyone that he perceives as either against him or that he perceives to have done something by proxy that has affected him negatively. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys seem to fall into the latter category.

    I wish Greggo would stop projecting--from all appearances--the means by which he capers through life. Perhaps he believes that it takes one to know one and being one, he knows one when he sees it. Perhaps. I think he believes others operate as he himself does. Which makes sense. That way he, in a sense, justifies his own modus operandi.

    Today marks my last visit to Greggo's blog. It's bad, it keeps getting worse. One "funny" aside: Not only does Greggo's name appear at the bottom of the posting as "written by: Greggo," but also below it you'll find "posted by: Wil Riggs." It pretty much sums up the puerility, and in a way, sadness, of the blog.

    Stay hard, Greggo.

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  36. Well alrighty then. GW has treated his readers to an anti-Catholic screed. Of course, all in the name of telling the "unvarnished truth."

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