I Speak to You Today of Celeb-Sniffing, and of Corby's In Particular

This topic has been rattling around up there for awhile, and in light of the comments from the previous post about Coach Switzer's interviews with The Hardline, I thought I might unburden myself of a few thoughts.

I'm not a famous person.  (In one sense, I'm not a person at all.)  I doubt whether many of my readers are, except maybe that anonymous guy who was floridly and intemperately critical of one of my posts or comments, and who I referred to as a jamoke in my colorful rebuttal, and who subsequently asserted that if only I knew who he was, I'd know he wasn't a jamoke -- maybe he's famous.  (Ah, the private suffering of the anonymous jamoke.)

The Ticket hosts are kind of famous, but, thanks to maladroit marketing by Cumulus and its predecessors, not too.  Yes, there are the Marconis, but I doubt whether anyone in that room that night not associated with Cumulus after that third Marconi was announced could name a single one of the hosts. In general, they're not even regional celebrities.  Local, sure.

That's one of the reasons we like them, I think.  One of the reasons I do, anyway.  They're just guys sitting around talking with their voices being picked up by radio microphone devices.  In fact, they're not just guys -- doing what they do and making it sound like just guys sitting around talking with their voices being picked up by radio microphone devices -- and being entertaining in the bargain -- is a rare gift.

Corby always takes grief for the Barry Switzer interviews.  He overlaughs, he kisses ass.

I think that's OK.

First, Corby ALWAYS overlaughs at remarks that are moderately amusing throughout the Hardline showgram, and sometimes remarks that are not so amusing.  If you don't like Corby's overlaughing at only moderately-or-less amusing remarks, you can't listen to any of The Hardline (and some of you don't), but we're talking here about one particular segment.  To criticize the Switzer interviews, you have to factor out the overlaughing because it is not unique to that interview.

I'll get to the ass-kissing in a moment.

Like Barry Switzer or not, he's a fun listen.  If Corby and Mike didn't interrupt from time to time, the man would go on for the entire segment.  And I must tell you -- I don't like anything I know about Barry Switzer, which is not a lot, but I find the man very entertaining in these segments.  I caught most of the interview on the Top Ten tonight, and I thought it was terrific.  The phone story (which I assume has been told before, which Corby reprieved this time around), the Dak Prescott story -- very fun.

So that takes care of the overlaughing and the merits of the interview.

Let's get to the ass-kissing.

It is my opinion that Corby kisses no more, or, if any more, only a tiny bit more, celebrity or sports-star or presidential ass than any other host on The Ticket.

ALL of the hosts kiss the ass of celebrities who give of their time to appear on a show.  BaD builds entire bits around snaring the famous to appear on their show, and when they get snagged (obviously thinking of Guest Booking League here), they're welcomed with great warmth and familiarity.  The Musers -- same.  Norm -- holy poop.  Corby is not worse or less listenable in this regard than any other (except, maybe, when Dan annoys someone almost completely off the phone).

But -- and here's where I'll probably hear from the respectful Confessor -- I don't really consider it ass-kissing.  Say what you will about Lee Corso, and whether Dan was being a Big Jerk or not (I don't even remember what he was supposed to have done that was so awful), he was right that most of these guys come the shows for no pay because they're good guys, as Corso says, to "help out" the sportsy station.  (Sometimes, of course, they have something to hype, and sometimes they have a sponsored segment, like J Witten.)  What we may think is ass-kissing is, for the most part, common courtesy.  And it's common courtesy because our hosts are decent human beings, not themselves famous or on a par with the people they're interviewing.  They treat these busy and notable persons as they should, as having scheduled a part of their busy day, or interrupting their own private lives, to make themselves better known to us.

And besides, Confessors -- if by virtue of your position as a host on one of the most popular radio shows in the world you develop a personal relationship with a public figure you admire, would you reject that opportunity?  We're not looking to The Ticket to break big stories or dig up dirt on celebrities; we're looking for some anecdotes, some glimpse of the human behind the image.  Joshing around with the rich and famous -- The Ticket is pretty good at that, and Corby is an absolute freakin' master.  Shaq and Parcells come to mind.  Doesn't bother me a bit.

So I guess all I'm saying is that (1) I don't mind the celeb-sniffing on any of the shows, and (2) I don't find Corby any more cloyingly obvious in that regard than any other host.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

I know we have some Myrna Loy fans out there.

Dan, you can be a Big Jerk with me anytime.

 

That Tony Call-In -- How Did They Know?

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Pretty cool of Tony Romo to spontaneously pick up the phone and dial The Hardline.  And The Line did a nice job with the on-the-fly interview.

Danny described the call-in on The Orphanage this morning.  I was wondering how, when they get an unsolicited celebrity call, they ensure that it's the real guy.  I guess it doesn't happen too often, but I do believe I heard Danny say that that is a concern when this they get an unexpected call from somebody claiming to be  .  .  .  somebody.

Tony Romo hoping to delay diaper-changing duties during a glittery
DFW function by dialing up his pals at The Hardline

I wonder how they handle it?  You don't want to offend a major catch for the showgram by showing too much skepticism, but neither do you want to be scammed.  So do you just chat for awhile and hope you can convince yourself that the voice is right?  (Actually -- I thought the voice did not sound a whole lot like the Tony we hear interviewed on the teevee -- although not doubt it was him.  Just saying the producer faces a difficult task.)  Do you ask some identifying question, and if so, how would you ask a question that any follower of the news wouldn't know the answer to?  Do these stations have secret lists of phone numbers of the Local Famous they can check against the incoming call?

Anyway, if any insiders can give us some anecdotes on schmoes trying to call in as notables, please let us hear from you.

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The Song of Tyrone

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On Wednesday, I heard the Musers' beachside interview of drifter/homeless/panhandler Tyrone.  You can hear it here on the Incomparable UnTicket.  Its riches are hard to describe, it must be heard.

I am conflicted about things like this.

By "things like this," I mean (mostly) Gordon and Corby interviewing people who are -- how can I put it?   These interview subjects are not all the same.  Some are just less fortunate.   Some are afflicted.  Some are addicted.  Some are  of well below average intelligence.  Some have a poor grasp of English.  None of them has asked to have his or her words broadcast to the metro and disseminated worldwide online.

So part of me doesn't like the ambush wireless mic/recorder interviews of the drunk black man or the thickwit white girl.  

But I gotta tell you:  On Wednesday morning, the other part of me just about drove off the road laughing at Tyrone's rap about drinking, his teeth (or absence of), and, of course, women: his preferences and an unexpectedly bitter conclusion to one particular encounter.

There was melancholy, too -- a four-year-old daughter he has never seen.

So I'm conflicted.  Not sure where to land on this one.   Unfortunate, unwell, and inarticulate people are out there.  A lot of us never encounter them.  A lot of us would prefer not to know they exist.  I'm not saying that Gordon/Corby are performing a public service, but I am saying that it's not necessarily unfair to target people who look like they might provide a unique interview experience.  (Now in this case, of course, Tyrone approached them for a handout, which he eventually got, so they didn't necessarily seek him out.)

I'd prefer, though, that they not be antagonized, subtly ridiculed, and badgered with schtick.  That happens, and it's cringe-inducing when it does.   But that didn't really happen in the Tyrone interview (we'll put aside Gordon's serial attempts to get him to sing, which he finally abandoned), so maybe that's why I'm not feeling all that hostile toward the exploitation of the inarticulate as I write this Friday evening.

Or maybe it's because it was hilarious.

June 5, 2012

7:52 a.m. --  Isn't it amazing how well Junior disguises his utter disgust at having to interview Hulk Hogan, Peter Gammons, and other notables imposed on The Musers?

Let Us Now Praise Corby Davidson

First, apologies to the Nation for my relative neglect of this site lately.  It may continue for awhile.  I've been away and just not able to devote time to composition.  Hope that changes in the next few weeks.  Very much appreciate the good comments on a variety of topics.

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I haven't done a careful survey, but of the Ticket personalities, the one who takes the most thrashing from Confessors is Corby Davidson.   Dan McDowell is a not-so-close second, with Gordon Keith and Craig Miller somewhat further back.  Your Ticket Confession strongly favors Corby, while occasionally regretting the OverCorby.

This is somewhat stale -- again, sorry -- but I was reminded of one of Corby's strongest broadcast skills during the visit to Rangers training camp.   Get ready, Nation, for an STD:

When he plays it straight, Corby is one of the best interviewers of any kind on any broadcast media I have ever heard.  I actively dislike some of the prank interviews, but when called upon to get information out of a guest he's hard to beat.  (Dan has his interview partisans, but I'm less familiar with his body of work other than those that get mentioned on other shows, usually where the guest leaves mad, which is probably not always indicative of a bad interview.)

It helps if Corby has a good interview subject, but even when he doesn't, he's in there slugging with interesting questions and interesting ways to put familiar questions.  Where he needs to set up a question, he usually does so succinctly and clearly (contra:  Bob Sturm, who should not be allowed to conduct interviews).  He has a naturally engaging way with people he's never met, including scary types like Bill Parcells and Shaq.  I admit that I have occasionally heard him preface a question with a too-lengthy oral essay, but it's rare.

The one that really caught my ear was the interview with David Murphy (I think -- I didn't have my notepad handy to write it down).   Murphy wasn't a bad interviewee, but it seemed to me like he -- Murphy -- got better as the interview progressed largely because of Corby's skill in putting him at ease and exploring subjects Murphy felt comfortable talking about.  The other Ranger interviews (I recall Kinsler, but I believe Mike jumped in on that one from time to time) were also very good.


This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's not intended to be:  Corby succeeds as an interviewer largely because he has no equal in selling insincerity.  Let's face it, hosts of all kinds, in all media, interview stars and public figures because they have to, not because they have a personal burning desire to get answers to mundane questions the subject's heard dozens of times and may even resent.   So almost every interviewer has to mask an inevitable lack of interest in the proceedings.  Corby is great at that.  Because we know Corby so well, we can hear the difference between his Cobra-Snake personality during segments and his warmer "interviewer" personality.  But he makes that transition very naturally, and of course many (although not all) interviewees don't perceive any difference at all.

Along with Rich and Gordon, I think Corby may be the Ticket guy most likely to be able to succeed in other formats.  A televised talk show, for example.  He would be an interesting news correspondent, too, if he stayed away from anal bleaching topics and Woodford Reserve diets. 

Fortunately, relative pay scales likely means we will have be enjoying his talents on The Little One for years to come.  It will be interesting to see how -- and whether -- he matures as his fifth decade ticks away.