Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Let's All Raise Our Breakfast Joe High in a Toast to Jeremy Moran

Michael Gruber is the acknowledged maestro of the drop.  He is the Jackson Pollock, the Picasso of their orchestration, cramming his shows that were his canvas with deadly snippets from remarks, farts, fights, robotics – you name it.

But if Michael was Pollock or Pablo, then Jeremy Moran is Paul Klee.  He draws on the white, uncluttered canvas of the Morning Musers.   He doesn't interlard the hosts' conversation with prerecorded hilarity at every turn – one might suspect Gordon wouldn't stand for that anyway – but when he does, it's choice, witty and to the point.

Why do I sing the praises of Jer today?

Well, partly because he checks in with this site from time to time and I'm pretty much in the tank for any Ticket guy who takes the time to share some information with the Confessors.

But partly also because of what may have been the best drop I've heard in several years from yesterday's Muser showgram.

Gordon was reciting the story of the viral video in which a couple of guys who seemed to be French enticed a squirrel to what appeared to be the edge of the Grand Canyon with a trail of food, and then kicked it off the ledge into the abyss.

Now that is not a funny story.  Nor, really, did the Musers treat it that way.

But then, with what must have been almost unbelievable adroitness at the board, we heard Jer string together:

     --  Some men speaking French in excited tones, followed immediately by
     --  A whoosh (kicking?) sound, followed immediately by
     --  A frightened, extended, squeak.

Followed by – silence.  Not the silence of a layout.  The silence of the Musers convulsing in breathless laughter.  No one was quite sure where the drops came from:  The French may have been some kind of altercation at the Tour de France.  The whoosh was probably a golf swing.  I don't recall any explanation for the terrified squeak.

It was the sheerest kind of Ticket greatness, issued in this case by the grossly undersung Jeremy Moran.  Ladies and gentlemen, raise your mugs, I pray you, to the Morning Master Who Is Big and Strong.

18 comments:

  1. We should also raise a glass to the great Mike Sirois who got Norm to say moose knuckle at least twice on the air this morning.

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  2. Shaggy, I just authorized posting of your comment that Junior got after Jer for some substandard drops in a pre-planned segment. Don't know why it didn't appear. Maybe it will appear after this.

    Anyway, if you're talking about the "laugh" segment, I didn't think Craig was down on Jer for anything. I took it more as regretting that a lot of old drops have either disappeared or gotten lost, the enduring legacy of the botched move to Victory. Also, the segment was burnt crispy by the fact that we've heard those laugh drops a lot -- not much new there.

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  3. Jeremy is the best. I can't stand listening to amateur hour(s) in the afternoon where it sounds like David Mino is a toddler pushing the buttons at an electronics store.
    A true drop master is a skill, and its quality, not quantity.

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  4. I agree, Plainsman. Not only is Big Jer a master of the timely, subtle drop, he will also make very funny off-mic comments.
    I agree with the earlier poster...Mino seems like a good dude, but he uses a more "shotgun" approach to his drops.
    There is rarely a clever or timely drop mixed in.

    I've said it before - I know board ops are not highly paid at a radio station, but the guys at the ticket should be an exception. Drops are a huge part of the station, and a guy like Jer should be paid many times what a normal board op is paid.

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  5. Well my lost Jer comment also sang the praises of Mino, so I'll repost. He's been great. He's been consistently cracking up THL (and me) lately.

    How can you not love the Dan alarm?

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  6. I also heard the squirrel story live and I was laughing as hard as the Musers were. That was drop mastery. Being able to play the right drop at the right time is art, but pulling together 3 different drops within 20 seconds and playing them with tight precision like he did is the next level. Bravo, Popon.

    He explained that the 1st two drops were spectators at the TdF a few years ago and a golf swing. He never said what the 3rd one was.

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  7. If they play another 'turn down for what' drop in the afternoon i will switch over to the fan. mino sucks.

    I miss shoopy. Jer is greatness too.

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  8. There are those who would argue that Jer is the master, and Grubes the upstart - but I like your approach of articulating the difference in their respective styles, Pman.

    Anyone mind telling me in which segment this occurred? I was in the shower during the O-Deck, busy during Muse, and I think I was in a meeting during The Corner. I'd like to go back and listen...

    351

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  9. @Deezy

    If memory serves, Grubes posted a Tweet with link to The Unticket for 2:57:00 in on 8/5

    P1Rick

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  10. The combo drops are a Jer signature for sure. My other favorite Jer signature (which doesn't get much airtime lately) is playing a song with appropriate lyrics from the start. You don't hear the lyrics, but if you know the song, it's hilarious. And it's equally funny to listen to George, Craig, and Gordon try to figure out the reference.

    One example I can remember is Gordon reading a story about a man having a heart attack on a plane, and paramedics having to come. Jer plays Motley Crue's "Kick Start My Heart".

    If you listen to the clip referenced by The Plainsman, right before the squirrel story, Gordo talks about the death of James Brady. At the end, Jer plays the opening riff of "The Brady Bunch" theme. Similar signature, more recognizable.

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  11. For some reason today's Fake Jerry Jr. really had me LOL'ing. I think it's because that character is the Venn diagram intersection between Fake Jerry, Fake Billy Tubbs and Fake Tiger. When he gets quiet and says, "... my daaaad..." and George groans and says, "on no", you know what's coming and that makes it even funnier. Maybe (absolutely) I'm simple-minded, but that really gets to me.

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  12. I did the research online (a.k.a went through Grubes twitter timeline) and here it is:

    http://www.theunticket.com/usave-it/

    Click on Musers 5/8 and start around the 1:57 mark and let it work its way up to it.

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  13. I dig Mino, good stuff...and I'm old

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  14. birq, I too cracked up laughing at the fake[I thot it fake Stephan] regardless, it was funny! I caught it on The Top Ten. Gordo gets slammed by some, but I for one appreciate the greatness of Gordon Keith! What was his nickname once? Something "deer"?

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  15. I'll sing the praises of Jer too. He's an integral part of the Musers and Norm. Think about that shift in content. Jer still has to come up with some pertinent drops at times for Norm. It isn't the same catalog nor does he get the freedom the Courage Boys afford him, but he still manages to add something to the SPORTS! fiesta that is Uncle Norm.

    I miss Expo goading them at times. I'd love it if somebody got Corby's goat every day at least once. Particularly in reference to the clock when he has bogged down yet again on an E-news story tangent. Mino hasn't earned that right yet. Kid is still a rookie in the Chair of Fun. He already had one high-profile failure there. I can give him time to settle in to the job. Jake seemed reluctant to poke at Corby, though he knew exactly which buttons to push. Expo had no problem with doing it.

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  16. Jeremy is greatness. Part of what makes his great is that he lets the game come to him. He's also great on twitter. Always responsive. Look live Big Strong.

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