Who(m) Did You Expect?
While sitting in the green room in Sirius's studios and waiting for an interview with Howard, Pete Townshend heard Stern's on-air elaboration of potential subjects for their imminent interview and, according to Page Six, stormed out after he'd heard enough. Howard reportedly proposed discussing the guitarist's kiddie porn allegations, past homosexual experiences, and exclaimed "Uh-oh, Yoko!" when told that Pete was bringing his Who-tune-co-writing girlfriend.
Not arguing that Howard was gonna be crass in that Q&A, but wtf did Pete expect? A puff piece about Endless Wire? We'll admit to getting in on some Sirius action when Howard gave us a free radio in Union Square a few years back, but we don't listen to the thing -- and haven't checked in with the King Of All Self Promotion in a good while. He used to have us in fits when he was terrestrial style, but having a cross to bear gave him some twisted importance as a media voice. With cause and innuendo as relics of the past, we're not sure what he's about.
Have you checked in with Artie, Robin, and the crew recently? Is the show's swear-friendly format worth the price of subscription? It would be one thing if there were other good stations -- but from what we remember of Left Of Center (the only indie-friendly station then), it was just like Clear Channel, only swapping The Shins, Bloc Party, and Iron & Wine for singing starlets and Diddy.
Posted at 9:55 AM
Tags: The Who
LOC is still good but I find myself listening to Radio 1 (in fact they're playing a live Magic Numbers song recorded last night, right now!) or Shade 45 or Area 33 more and more these days.
Wish I could comment on Howard, but I never listened on terrestrial radio and still don't listen now.
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It's 2006 not 1993, Listen to O&A! Didn't know Pete's gf was writing for them, ICK! worst..
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'Left of Center' is still essentially as you described, although they mix it up with older cuts occasionally. They do tend to dwell on particular tracks to long, instead of getting deeper into albums. I find it painful to listen to many of their cheezily-nicknamed dj's (the morning guy really needs to dial it down a bit), and their promos are embarrassingly bad. The experiment with 'Blog Radio' was a nice try, but it's not on often enough.
As someone who rarely listened to Stern until we got Sirius, when it's on it's very on, the uncensored interviews are refreshing, and the interaction between the staff are what keeps me checking it out. But the stripper/Sybian rides/porno stuff gets real old, real fast.
Oh, and about the Townshend incident: He was actually in a studio in London setting up for his acoustic performance when he heard the pre-interview banter about the 'allegations' and the 'Yoko' comment. He bailed, but his girlfriend hung around a bit ('you called me Yoko!') and Roger Daltry came on the air to take Pete's place. Daltry was supposed to be a surprise guest, but ended up doing the interview solo. And it was Robin who brought up the kiddie porn stuff.
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Pete was in London. In fact Pete, his lass, and Roger were hooked up over an ISDN line (not sure what that is, but teh Who wasn't in NYC/Stern's greenroom). There's plenty to listen to. Something for all ears, I'm sure.
Left o' Center is good. Underground Garage and classic vinyl happen to be more my taste.
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Sirius is fucking awesome. Matter of fact, today is the last day to stream it online for free. Just go to www.sirius.com
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The Greatest Entertainment Show in the History of the Universe is now infinitely more entertaining. It's not even the fact that they can curse; it's that there are shorter, less frequent commercials. Interviews and bits can go on as long as they need to. Howard 100 is a great channel as well, offering solid entertainment and laughs. But now that they can be completely uncensored, there are no limits at all, and it's addictive. It's worth it just to hear Crazy Alice and Artie go at it every week.
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I have Sirius, and I def. think it's worth the $130 a year. There's no commercials on any of the music stations, and not much DJ banter, except sometimes at night when they give people shows, like Bam & Tony Hawk.
I'd say I only ever listen to 15 or so channels, but it's worth it to me.
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This story is incorrect. Townsend was in a London location linked to Stern via telephone. While he did bounce from the interview and what was going to be a live performance of a few songs, Roger Daltry stayed on the air for what can only be described as a hilariously irreverent interview. Fred and Artie yelling at him for not singing a cappela. It was all in good fun and more than an adequate replacement.
As for the show its been better than ever. I love my sirius, and knocking left of center is knocking blog radio too. Do you hate BV, GVB, and ProductshopNYC? Why do make blogs cry stereogum?
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i just started listening again at work and it is pretty fucking funny. roger daltry stepped in for townsend and was interviewed,it killed. i think sirius is worth it.
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stern show is better than ever. yes he dropped the fcc cross when he switched over and as a result there is far less complaining and political ranting. the show is happier, healthier, and funnier as a result. it goes from 6am to 10:30 or 11 with about 20-30 minutes of commercials total. so there is more show than ever before and there's a flow that didn't exist before.
as for what the show's about, lets see... farting, sex, self analysis, farting, self promotion, anal sex, etc... basically the same stuff it always has been. if he had you in fits on terrestrial, it's well worth the price of admission. it's true that my sirius is essentially a howard stern machine (aside from the amazing c-span station) - so i pay $14 a month to laugh out loud every morning.
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Indeed, O&A have been consistently more entertaining than Howard's since both have been on competing satellite mediums.
As for the music content, XM and Sirius basically have become Coke and Pepsi. Only slight differences.
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I always found Stern's free speech martyrdom rants to be the most tedious part of the show. Now that he can just do what he wants, it's great.
Completely perplexed by the criticism of Left of Center; it's great, and they don't just play indie "hits."
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Agreed, Sirius rocks. I couldn't live without it. Howard's better than ever and their music is great too. My receiver recently broke and I had to listen to terrestrial radio for a few days. I couldn't take it, it was awful. Commercial after commercial, terrible static -- yeah it's free, but you get what you pay for. Sirius is the best $12 I spend a month.
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I'm one of two girls in an office full of dudes, and the Sirius (hooked up to large speakers) is always tuned to Howard. For the first month, I HATED it. But now, I'm coming around. He is a smart guy, and his interviews are always interesting and not the same old questions we expect. What still bothers me is the repetitive nature of the show, but I guess its always been like that (not just on Sirius). While I don't always enjoy the content, I love the fact that he has the freedom to say and do what he wants.
But I could do without the soundbyte of a girl gagging on a blowjob.
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Exactly how many music blogs are around, Merry Swankster? I think it's getting a bit ridiculous that every indie music fan has the same prototypical blog. We get it, you want to be like P4K, TMT, Stereogum, Dusted, etc.
As for Howard, growing up in the less-than-great state of Indiana, I was brought up on good ol' fashioned Bob and Tom. These days, I can't stand any "shock" jock gracing any airwaves. Much like indie bloggers, they all repeat the same formula.
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Page Six was really incorrect. Pete was not in a green room or at the Sirius studios at all.
Plus the guys is a bit of a whack job anyway, and they never mentioned what topics would be off limits.
Howard is on point on Sirius and I can not help but laugh everytime I turn on his show. While the subject matter can push the line sometimes I do not consider him a shock jock anymore. You know what your getting in to when you turn on the radio.
Left of Center is ok...I really like Faction.
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stern show is better than ever. yes he dropped the fcc cross when he switched over and as a result there is far less complaining and political ranting. the show is happier, healthier, and funnier as a result. it goes from 6am to 10:30 or 11 with about 20-30 minutes of commercials total. so there is more show than ever before and there's a flow that didn't exist before.
as for what the show's about, lets see... farting, sex, self analysis, farting, self promotion, anal sex, etc... basically the same stuff it always has been. if he had you in fits on terrestrial, it's well worth the price of admission. it's true that my sirius is essentially a howard stern machine - left of center blows. so i pay $14 a month to laugh out loud every morning.
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uh-huh ... he probably was gonna have Oprah and Madonna and the Pope on yesterday as well but they stormed out before they went on the air
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I have sirius and have only begun listening to Howard and his crew in the mornings. they're definitely funny and his show and all the others are definitely worth the price of a subscription.
left of center is pretty cool and totally not Clear Channel-esque.
why don't you guys at stereogum start your own station at sirius?
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Sirius and XM both fucked up (Sirius even moreso) by hiring nothing more than a bunch of lame-ass RADIO and LABEL guys, bringing on-board the very disease they promised an escape from. So, of course it's the same shit as Clear Channel!
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I got on the Sirius train when Howard handed out the free radios, and haven't listened to terrestrial radio since (almost 100% true). Howard sounds great, the endless self promotion machine stopped when he went on Sirius (mostly) and they all sound looser than ever. The swearing-for-swearing's-sake novelty has worn off.
Give it another try. Listen to them for free for today and tomorrow on the internets (c'mon if Geo Bush can use the Googles, you can figure out how to listen to Howard).
As far as music goes, Left of Center is far better than any terrestrial station, First Wave will make you nostalgic (if you're an old fuck like me) and Sirius Disorder will have you scratching your head with all the off the wall stuff they play. BBC1 is pretty humorous for an across the pond view music.
BTW: When could I expect the bling from the People in Planes contest that I won in May?
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O and A are horrible Stern ripoffs...Stern's great and Artie gives the show a huge kick
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They say sarcasm doesn't travel well on the 'net...its true. Dude you take yourself too damn seriously. Smoke a doob or something.
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Howard is better than ever. They are doing free previews right now over the internet so you can listen to sirius and check it out. Stern replays all day on ch 100. The subscription is worth every penny.
There are plenty of stations to listen to btw. They frequently have bloggers spin sets and Sirius Disorder offers the old Idiot's Delight show that used to be on on Sunday nights back in NYC before KRock reformatted yet again.
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Scott, you're way off the mark on Left of Center. They play a whole range of stuff, not just indie "hits". Yesterday afternoon I heard a Neutral Milk Hotel album track, Silversun Pickups, and an old Fugazi track all within the space of a a half hour. Sure, they play current indie singles, too, but guess what, people like that kind of stuff.
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Seriously, Howard has been fantastic on sirius. there's a lot less of the "let's have strippers make out stuff" and its been great. The swearing isn't out of control, but more how real people talk. It's completely worth the $12 a month. For real.
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get XM The Verge and XMU do a very nice indie job and ethel is a decent alt station when u want to hear coldplay interpol killers bloc party arctic monkeys, etc as long as u dont mind the occasional panic or fall out boy or alice in chains/nirvana song
Also howard stern has not been relevent since 1995 opie and anthony is where its at
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I have to say, my husband got Sirius before I did and I never really saw the big benefit in having it. That is, until he got it for me as a gift last Christmas. Since having it (and this is no joke or attempt at flagrantly promoting them, just my own honest to goodness take), I haven't listened to terrestrial radio. They keep adding new stations all the time, which keeps it fresh and they always seem to have new personalities hosting special shows.
As for Stern, I wasn't a hardcore fan prior to the jump but I do like his show at Sirius. He does a good job still and has a bunch of new bits that are great! Occasionally, they'll lose me, but overall from a female point of view, it's worth it!
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XM is owned by Clear Channel. Sirius is better!
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Sirius and XM both fucked up because they went out and hired a bunch of RADIO and LABEL guys, bringing on-board the very disease they promised an alternative to. No surprise the shit sounds like fcking Clear Channel.
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Howard is just like in the old days + swearing.some days I can't quit laughing, other days (strippers! Elliot Offen!) I can't change the channel fast enough.
Meanwhile, most of the time I listen to Radio 1. The brits are always months ahead of us - if you want to know whats going to be a huge hit, start here. PLUS no one does electronic/house/techno/etc. better - from Pete Tong to Gilles Peterson to Bobby Friction and Nihal to Annie Mac, you're getting the best of the best if this is your thing.
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Good thing the pop culture tastemakers have shown up to let us know who is and isn't relevant. Howard singlehandedly shot Sirius' subscriptions through the roof, not an easy thing to do since it takes work to get his show now (hooking up radios, paying etc.) His success and failures are discussed ad nauseum in print. His show is still water cooler talk at my job. "Dancing With The Stars" wanted his girlfriend to perform on Season 2. You think that was because she does commercials and the occasional FHM spread? Me neither.
Define irrelevance, please.
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well,everyone else stated what i was going to say about the botched stern inteerview. daltrey pulled it out of the gutter and its exactly what the show is about, spontanious, engaging radio. perfect? no. thank goodness.
and as far as left of center goes, if it wasnt for them i would not be on this or any other music blog ever.
i normally agree and appreciate what i've seen here, but this post is wayy off on several levels.
bababooey bababooey bababooey.
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I've never seen the appeal of Stern. He's a jackass with nothing funny or worthwhile to say. Like REALLY unfunny. And I'm sad that Artie joined his posse, he was funnier when he hung out with Norm MacDonald. Sirius seems like an even bigger waste, I don't listen to regular radio, even the good college and local indie stations, why the fuck should I pay for it?
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