Morning Radio

Michelle Malkin is posting on the dearth of wholesome family fare on the radio, especially in the morning and evening drive timeslots. I believe she lives in DC.

Like Michelle, I'm not a big Stern fan. I don't like Don and Mike much either, and I detest Opie and Anthony. I can listen to their shows, but it is with the awful fascination of passing by a horrible car accident. The kind where blood and oil are sprayed across the asphalt.

Anyway I try to find lighter fare. I have a fairly dark and cynical sense of humor though, so I don't want the Care Bear Morning Show or anything like that. What I want is a a morning show that has the general level of decorum and consideration of an adult office water-cooler conversation. It actually isn't that hard to find in the Philadelphia and Baltimore markets.

I previously listened to the excellent Barsky show on 96.5 out of Philly, but that has been gone almost two years now. It was good, then the station changed formats and now it is gone. I miss it. I fill the gap with Preston and Steve on WMMR, which is a good show with good music in between the conversation. I like it, but the stations broadcast range isn't up to my morning commute into the boonies of Maryland. So I listen to JoJo and Kenny out of Baltimore. They aren't as good as the others and the music is awful. Their playlist is tiny and completely mediocre. No amount of good banter will make up for the fact that Avril Lavigne is not punk and Holla Back Girl is a horrible song.

So yes, it is tough to find good talent to listen to. And that is what working clean takes: talent. Make dick and fart jokes all day isn't hard, which is why I don't respect the shock jock genre. It is cheap. A copout. They make a living not by being clever, but by simply doing things that people with higher standards wouldn't. If you aren't funny enough to work at least one clean set, you aren't actually funny. Which is why I can respect Richard Pryor, but can't really respect Howard Stern.