Yesterday, however, there was a segment that framed the issue of the OverCorby.
Corby opened The Presentation with a tale about his iPod Nano. It had gone missing, but Mrs. Davidson eventually found it on top of an outdoor fireplace (cue Masterpiece Theater music) where it had lain under the last-to-disappear of the layers of ice and snow from the Super Bowl Storm of 2011. Of course, the iPod worked fine. Nice story, entertaining back-and-forth during its telling, perfectly good segment.
Next -- What's on Mike's Mind?
Mike noted that Corby's story was timely because what was on his mind was a book he was reading about the development and marketing of the iPod. The book is "The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness" by Steven Levy.
There was some discussion of Mike "coming around" on the greatness of the iPod family of products (although that may have come at the end of the Corby-Nano-fireplace story, don't clearly recall.) Mike noted the work of "some Euro professor" on the subject of coolness.
But whatever was on Mike's mind about this book stayed in his mind, because at this point, Corby jumped in and jacked the entire segment. He started talking and did not stop. There was barely another offering by Mike or Danny until it was almost time to go to break. And his remarks were not extremely enlightening.and, if I am recalling correctly, a continuation of his thoughts on the reliability (or not) of iPods. There was nothing wrong with this speech -- but it wasn't what was on Mike's mind.
In Corby's possible defense: Mike himself seemed not entirely prepared to proceed. At one point he said that maybe the topic -- or perhaps it was only the subtopic of "coolness" -- should be put off to another segment. Perhaps he was signaling Corby that he needed some support on this. Hard to say, but it did occur to me that maybe Corby wasn't Corjacking the segment as much as he was rescuing it.
But mainly I wondered: What was on Mike's mind as the Corjacking proceeded? The book sounded pretty interesting. I'll bet P1's would liked to have heard what Mike had learned about iPod history and philosophy. Did he perceive that the segment which bears his name and promises the contents of his mind had escaped his grasp? If he did, what was his reaction to that?
All right, all right, I know -- it is kind of ridiculous, and even unfair, to take ten minutes of broadcasting and put it under a scanning electron microscope like this. But I thought it was a perfect miniature of the biggest complaint this site hears from P1's about Corby (next to his musical tastes).
And it illustrates the point that I think must, in fairness, be made: This is not just a Corby issue -- it's a Mike issue, too.
Theater of the Mind: Try to imagine a segment called "What's on Bob's Mind?" Imagine Bob beginning to talk about some topic that had attracted his interest lately. Imagine Dan jumping in about two sentences into it and talking nonstop. What would Bob's reaction be? I'm guessing it would not be silent acquiescence (although I am always willing to be corrected on BaD etiquette by their many Confessor fans).
Corby's two-segment contribution on iPods didn't wreck the show -- I'm not even sure it wrecked the "Mike's Mind." I listened; I heard nothing that made me want to punch out. It was perfectly good content. But it wasn't what was on Mike's mind, and it did strike me as a real-time illustration of how (1) The Hardline (which, to my ears, has been very sharp since drydock mainly owing to Mike's increased participation) can sometimes lose its balance, and (2) it s not really a Corby issue -- it's a show issue.
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I would ask commenting Confessors to maintain their equanimity in commenting on this STD. (Christy -- you have your usual license to comment off-topic.) Corby is one of the tallest lightning rods of The Ticket -- but please be respectful in your remarks. The Hardline isn't the only enterprise that benefits from balance. Many thanks.
