Thursday, December 20, 2007

Talk Radio Review

I have spent many hours in my car over the years and have listened to alot of talk radio. Much of it is predictable and boring but I find it more entertaining than most music stations. I'd like to rank the national radio hosts I've heard over the years with a very brief summary of each. Warning: This will be my most boring entry to date, but I can't help making lists and ranking things, so I just have to get this out of my system.
1. Dennis Miller-Dennis Miller tops my list. His program mixes pop culture, movies, sports, and politics. He's also the most talented linguist of the bunch. His vocabulary is amazing and his comedy is very cerebral. You almost need footnotes for all the references he makes during a rant. I always laugh when I hear him start to giggle when he knows he is saying something funny. For most people laughing at your own jokes is taboo, but it works for Miller.
2. Glen Beck-His show is funny, entertaining , and creative. He addresses serious issues, but doesn't take himself too seriously. It is nice to hear someone with common sense. His program is easy to listen to except for the lame segways he does into the live commercials.
3. Michael Medved-I enjoy him because he is very intelligent. I agree with him most of the time, but there are a couple issues I wonder about. I first came to know about him when he was just a movie critic. He is very knowledgeable and he is probably the best debater of the bunch. How can you not like a guy who really believes in Sasquatch?
4. Phil Hendrie- I haven't heard him for years so I'm not sure if he's still on the air. He has one of the strangest talents. He fools his audience by having controversial conversations with himself. He has a handful of character voices he uses. He is Radio's version of a ventriloquist, but he usually goes too far with his skits to shock his listeners so they will get mad and call in to complain.
5. Rush Limbaugh-Rush has been the king of talk radio forever and I agree with him 90% of the time, but I have a hard time listening to him for very long. He is too confident and seldom has guests or others on the show to give it variety.
6. Dave Ramsey- His topics are not as exciting since he focuses only on finances, but he has great advice and is often harsh in his conversations with his callers. His advice is great but it hits home hard if your finances are not in good shape. (Not that I know this personally)
7. Jim Rome-He is the dominant sports talk radio host. He's rude and brutal but often has valid and funny insights. The show is geared to insensitive male jocks and armchair quarterbacks. The best part of his show are his caller's funny e-mails he reads.
8. Bill O'Reily-He's almost as cocky as Rush and is probably the least likable of the bunch. I like his hard stances on some issues, but I don't care for the fact that he will give away a free no spin key chain or newsletter to his grand prized callers. Whoopee! Come on!
9. Michael Savage-When I'm angry with how messed up things are in the world I like to hear him vent and say the things I would never dare say out loud. If I were him I would fear for my life. He is never politically correct and always honest with his thoughts, but it wears me out listening to him yell. You can hear the veins in his neck bulging as he yells at callers who he doesn't agree with. If he's in a bad mood he is impossible to listen to.
10. Dr. Laura-I really like her and admire the values she promotes, but she is by far the most painful to listen to. Her show is so formulaic. A lady calls in and thanks her for taking her call. She says she's such a big fan and has all her books. Then she explains that she wants to get back with her meth addict boy friend who used to beat her kids. Dr. Laura start to rip her a new one, but the clueless caller continues to interrupt her since she thinks she is the exception to the rule. The anticipation of the verbal beating she is about to receive stresses me out. I find myself physically flinching and grimacing as I await to hear what she is about to unleash on her. How can these women be such big Dr. Laura fans and not yet be so clueless about what sets her off? It would be more relaxing to have someone with a stretched out rubber band pointed at my eye than to listen to the dialogue between her and her callers.
11. George Noori-If you are ever driving at 2 AM you may have heard his show. He sounds like a nice enough guy, but his show focuses on the nut jobs of society. The topics range from ghosts, conspiracy theory, spontaneous combustion, telepathy, big foot, out of body experiences, the Illuminati, teleporting, etc. If you like callers with no credibility this is for you.
12. Sean Hannity-I used to be able to listen to him more, but he takes things too seriously. He is very one sided and I don't think he's nearly as talented as the others. I get the feeling I'm listening to a broken record if I listen too long.

3 comments:

Mary said...
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Beckalita said...

What ever did happen to Phil Henrie? He was hillarious!

Tom said...

Just a disclaimer. Over the last year Glenn Beck has gone down several spots. The show used to be funny, but he is too serious now.