21st Century Schizoid BaD

First to ID the reference without Googling -- honor system -- and I'll send you something.  I don't know what, but something.  I'm sure I've got something sitting around somewhere I could send you.

I didn't hear Dan twist off on the intern.  But we've heard his on-air downdressings before.  The event prompts some thoughts.

The first thought I had was -- do all the shows have interns?  Are they station interns, or are they hired specifically for BaD?  Is the reason BaD seems to have so many interns is that its the only show that talks about them?  Whenever I hear interns referenced on other shows, it's always a reference to a BaD intern doing something inappropriate.   Or does BaD have some special deal where only they get interns?  (I seem to recall references to Norm interns, too.)  Why does BaD need interns?   Why does BaD need other people to feed them?  Run their personal errands?  Is it the mankilling hours required of Ticket hosts?

I don't really care if BaD has interns and other shows don't.  All part of the deals, I guess.  I just don't understand the function of the intern.  I thought maybe they do research.

But I didn't really intend to make this a column about interns, although I'd be glad to have information about this unsung breed.  Perhaps we should pay more attention to them.  You know, I should be cultivating the intern.  Would be an interesting source of Ticket information, with pretty much nothing to lose if he or she got found out.

Oh, yeah -- get a female intern for Bob and Dan.  I dare ya, Cat.

No, here's what I wanted to write about -- my BaD schizophrenia.

I've been able to tune in more often than usual the past few weeks.  (Less Musers/Hardline, more BaD.) 

And sometimes I hear segments that are as good as anything I've ever heard on the station, sports-talk wise.  I thought the Ron Washington segment a couple of days ago was excellent.  Crisp, thoughtful, balanced.  Mostly Bob, but Dan usefully contributing.  And when I hear segments like that, I think -- you know, I've really come around on BaD, I should write a column about my growing admiration for that show.

Then I hear a segment like the recent El Chapo segment (El Chapo -- the Guzman cartel CEO that just got hisself captured) that was just chaos, and not good chaos.  It bogged down from the first syllable.  The discussion was whether "chapo" meant "shorty," which had already been pretty well established by every single news story on the event in all forms of media.  And while everyone was talking at once, you hear this dial tone, and you think man, that's annoying, Mino needs to fix that.  And it went on and on, and eventually you realize that it's not just an apparently unfixable irritant,  Dan is calling someone.  You don't know who it is.  Someone answers the phone.  No identification of who it might be, none that I heard anyway.  Dan starts talking to the woman in a familiar, flirtatious way, as though she should know who he is, and maybe she does, but doesn't sound ecstatic to hear from him.  He asks for "Mishrod," who I eventually figure out is Michelle Rodriguez (her Twitter ID is @michrod), who I eventually figure out is a fellow Cumulus radio host.  Maybe I should have known that's who Dan was calling, maybe you all knew, but irrespective of my ignorance of non-Ticket Cumulus stars, I was able to perceive that she wasn't a whole lot more interested in hearing from BaD than the receptionist had been.  Dan tried to chat her up, but she wasn't playing along.  The segment lurched to a close.

I was talking to  someone about BaD after that ratings book that showed a dip during some of the Norm-BaD hours.  This individual was as skeptical as we all were that this was anything more than anomalous blip, but he did say that maybe it would prompt BaD to sharpen up the show, especially the first segment or so.  And I thought of that remark when someone commented on the last thread that the segment after the intro was pretty much always burnt.

But every show has its rocky segments.  Why BaD's emerge more vividly for me, I can't say.  I've always liked Bob a lot, and I've warmed up to Dan more and more over the past couple of years.  A big Donovan supporter, too.  So I can't tell you why I punch out on BaD more than all the other shows combined.  And for all  those Chapo fails, there are segments that are brilliant.  And not just sports segments, but segments intended to be funny, and are.  Then Dan shows up a one-step-up-from-a-volunteer kid for insufficient attention to the details of his personal requirements.

See, Bob and Dan are like a railroad track.  They're separated from one another like
these rails here,  and no matter how far they go along together they never
get any closer.   And yet, they succeed perfectly well in their intended purpose.

Nothing like a well-turned metaphor -- actually, I guess I styled it as a simile --
to set off another incisive column.

On balance, if anyone's keeping track, it is the case that I'm a bigger fan of the show than I used to be.  (I know this will please BaD greatly to hear.)   I have been guided in my efforts to appreciate the show by the admiration expressed by many Confessors, who name it their favorite.

I guess where I come out is -- it's a damned weird show rendered entertaining by a mismatch that somehow usually works.   Yes, I do punch out from time to time -- but when I'm by the Philco from noon to three, I'm punching in.

I know that's a long way to go for not much payoff, but I haven't given you much content lately so thought I'd just ramble a bit while I had a few minutes.

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Here's that album cover cactusflinthead refers to in the first comment below ("In the Hall of the Crimson King").  Love Robert Fripp, man.  Solo on the tune is amazing, but my favorite of his is on Eno's "Baby's on Fire."  [CORRECTION 2-28-14:  A commenter points out that the name of the album is "In the Court of the Crimson King."  I regret the error.]