Sam Seder and Marc Maron; Air America's Wrestlemania Meets American Idol. What if You Threw a Contest and No-One Came?

Welcome to our very own American Idol-ish...sorta contest...In which we vote for our favorite voice of the left while Howie Mandell holds a phone up and excitedly makes offers from some "banker" dude. Vote early and vote often, kids! Stream it live and leave comments at Air America, (and check out the Sammycam, while you can, here. For a short version of the long story of the Sammer look here.) And there is always the comments accepted by PCollins@airamerica.com which may or may not ever register. Who knows? For someone who earned his chops in interactive media, he is certainly not all that interactive, even in a got your mail, thanks for the comment. auto-mail sort of way.

Such is the pathetic state of one of the very few outlets for the liberal voice left in this country. To watch the unraveling continue is heart wrenching...to see a "contest" where talented, passionate voices are akin to sheep to the slaughter (and Simon Cowell's name is even mentioned in the mailer advertising this little game,) and into the corporate grinder of another possibility that looks to be much like the last possibility was...well, lets just say that hope is not winning out anymore....and if the Whoopie Goldberg Happy Show doesnt sound feasible to soothe the masses, well, think again.

First of all, I should say that the choices are a little uncertain...who is actually in the running here? I don't know for sure. In the wake of the Randi Rhodes debacle, the new suits need to fill the 3-6PM slot, and its not enough for them that they have, under their very noses, the most shuttled around, loyal, and excellent, Sam Seder, but they have felt compelled to try out some celebrity hosts who couldn't possibly want the gig, and who have pretty much sucked so far. Just to recap for the latecomers; we have heard from Roseanne Barr, Joy Behar, Richard Belzer, and still to come is the duo of Ron Kuby and Ron Reagan, which might only be half bad, but, hell, all things equal why not just give Kuby a show late night or very early morning somewhere, not prime drive-time, fer' Christ's sake, and be done with it?

This week, our heroes, Marc Maron and Sam Seder, share the slot on alternating days. This whole thing is seemingly an audition for Maron, but there is no comparison between him and any of the others, except Seder, who is from the same crowd of comedians and comedy circuit. Their long relationship lends itself to a very nice shorthand and knowing grin sort of back and forth that works. Maron used to think that the two of them together might be too "Jewey," but I don't get that as much as I get their long relationship as very different brothers who approach things differently, but have the same jumping off point.

They each have a different approach which has its points, with Maron leaning more towards culture and variety with politics thrown in, while Seder is straight up politics with reflections on the work-a-day life we, most of us, share. Maron does more sketch comedy and is more inside his own head, which either reflects our collective neurosis, or just seems funny to the more balanced of us out there. Both are funny and real, and more importantly, both are Air America originals, and are actually what was that hopeful, new, edgy voice. When either of them appears on the network, the fans come out in droves. This is a no brainer, and why a competition is being set up is either high concept from around a conference table with communications school grads who think they have some creative edge, or some money making priming of the pump. Maybe celebrities impress advertisers? Only so long as listeners tune in.

The idea of audience input in this decision is quaint, to say the least, to those of us who have attempted to communicate with that organization in large numbers only to be ignored. In fact, the newsletter that broached this little experiment didn't even specify how one would vote for one or the other, and since, as far as I can see, the contest is between Maron, Seder, and possibly Kuby, I suppose they could be counting streams, or emails or...it just doesn't seem like they planned it too well. So, in case there was a question over in the home office, yes we want Maron back on the air however we can get him and within his own west coast constraints. Yes we want Seder in a 5 day per week slot. No we don't want any of your celebrities.


In any case, Sam Seder hosted Monday the 5th, and will host again on Wednesday the 7th. Marc Maron will host Tuesday the 6th, Thursday the 8th, and Friday the 9th. We were to hear a tag team of the two of them on Friday, but some glitch prevented it...too bad; these two are excellent together in their weekly VOD-cast, here, on Tuesdays at 11AM,EST.



My favorite Air America Radio sweatshirt says "...because we couldn't make this stuff up..." across the chest. The story of AAR will no doubt be told beyond what we know from the Left of the Dial documentary, which was full of hope at the raw talent and creativity of those early days of the creation of what was to be a strong voice for the left. Late last week on Hardball, the bland Mark Green, third "owner" of AAR, compared a John McCain presidency to Herman's Hermits; "Second Verse, Same as the First," with a stiff chuckle and nod to "pop culture." I was struck by how far removed he is from the current of modern society and what the meaningful touchstones of what remains of our culture might be, outside of the incestuous world of NYC politics, and the level that he just cant seem to get past. When I think of this guy and his ilk, I get a vision of furniture and lamps covered in plastic and slick young guys standing by the ropes of Studio 54, never to get in because of those damned bridge and tunnel shoes and gold chains. Its not something that I find necessarily bad; its a culture all its own, and a Brooklyn upbringing that I understand because I also grew up there. But it is like a time capsule and there is a sort of mentality and taste implied there, born of Tony Manero, rented limos, and power hungry failed politicians, picked last for the team time and again. New York City is a hard place to make your mark, and at some point maybe its best to stop trying so damned hard and look at the reality of whats in front of you.

The news that "new owners" were once again climbing aboard the sinking ss. AAR gave me little hope, especially when I heard that Green was being kept on. Still, I heard from a couple of different people on the inside that the new group seemed pretty smart and that there might yet be hope. I don't know; hope seems so distant these days in light of a paralyzed senate, unable to effect any real change without enough votes or enough balls to even speak up about criminals in the White House... and the infighting in the party which doesn't seem to have any sort of logical basis....the partisanship within the democratic party which was so clearly reflected in AAR management.... So, I didn't expect much, especially when the network seemingly set up and then took down Randi Rhodes. The whole episode was a horrible example of what is wrong with an entity like AAR being run by a bunch of pseudo politicians who are really home shopping moguls, posturing and posing as they try to figure out how to present the "left" side of things in as palatable and soothing a way as possible, so as to make money while appearing PC. Start-up media outlets seldom make money in the first 5 years. Outlets with a controversial message tend to need ongoing financial support; just ask Rupert Murdoch.

Whatever is going on over there resembles the divide in the democratic party in that someone's idea of how to fill a slot left empty by the network's biggest draw who is a concise, on point, broadcaster, that knows her stuff, is with guest "celebrity hosts" who are not only a little old and soft, but not especially up on the issues, while popular originals stand by. The messages from each of these categories of hosts is so completely different as to be almost representative of the differences between candidates.

AAR would be lucky if any of the original Air Americans or the celebrity guests would even consider a job with an outlet with this track record. I guess that performers, commentators, and the like are every bit as masochistic as their fans, and the message has to get out one way or another. I have no doubt that the cream will rise to the top here or elsewhere, and if this is where I part ways with AAR, then so be it. I lost my ability to care a long time ago....but I will stream the show...I will vote equally for Maron and Seder...and I hope that when this thing is over that AAR might be able to give a nod toward mistakes made, and start to rebuild what was once a pretty damned great line-up.

c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

Another Chance for Air America Radio?

Why doesn't anyone know this? The news that Air America Radio is under new management once again came as no surprise to me, but then I guess nothing surprises me anymore. Surely its been a sweet deal for the brother Green who gained control for a minimal layout of money, and has now sold out...its sorta like flipping a building, huh?

The Greens have been a pretty big disappointment for those of us who were hoping for a return to the original groundbreaking Air America formula of edgy, smart, talent that was breaking through the old ho-hum radio of yesterday, and leading the charge into America's next chapter. As a new media outlet, Air America deserved the luxury of the years that it takes for any new venture like this to start turning a profit, and ever since Danny Goldberg cut that off at the knees, what has been needed is new management that could see what happened and try to roll back a bit and try to once again give the brilliant formula a chance. This thing is a long term investment, not a moneymaker....and flipping the mostly empty shell doesn't count.

Mark Green is not what you'd call a beloved New York icon, and his continual run for office and compulsive push towards the klieg lights, with his brother's endless financing, made his view of public service seem like more of a vanity project than an honest move to further the liberal voice or help his constituents . Y'know, we're fighting for our lives in this country; things have never been this bad...maybe it will never be the same...and we need a voice. What we don't need is the cronyism that Green brought to this vital programming. This cronyism brought in a New York programmer on board, who brought his friend "Lionel" along with him. Jerry Springer was a dream compared to this guy, who barged into a morning slot with a bad attitude towards the die hard fans of AAR, and made it quite clear that he didn't like them. Nor did he feel like a liberal himself...some voice for the progressive movement, huh?

Meanwhile the brilliant programmer just couldn't find a far enough corner to stuff Sam Seder into. For some reason they have a problem with an intelligent, funny, and truly progressive host who can hold his own against any veteran broadcaster, even as he remains fresh and new enough to be edgy and fresh. Seder who easily holds a place among the breakout stars of this thing, has been shuffled around until realizing his upwards book trend involved piecing together 3 different slots, managed to keep his rabid following intact despite the best efforts of the management; currently, he fills in for hosts on damned cruises, and oversees his own little corner of Sundays with his take on the week and the Sunday shows. His fans are waiting patiently to get him back into a daily slot. The fans may be willing to wait but how long is the very talented Seder going to take this shit. Lets hope that the new management rights this immediately.

Surely, the new management of Air America Radio must realize that Seder and Marc Maron are experimenting with a video cast show that already has an impressive following in its beta stage. The show still involves quite a bit of hilarious technical difficulties, but beyond that there is the original, concise political commentary and topical humor that is reminiscent of the golden early days of working out the kinks and moments of sheer brilliance that was the mark of early Air America . They must realize that Maron's following has not given up hope that he might return to radio. They must see that the original formula needed time to gain ground, and that the biggest mistakes made along the way involved yanking shows, shuffling them around, and replacing what had become the branded AAR hosts with what seemed to be "established" shows but were just fillers that alienated the growing audience.

Enter Charlie Kireker, a Vermont investment specialist who has an eclectic background and an iron in quite a few fires. He has done government work, sat on boards, and has consulted on an array of companies. From what I've heard, Kireker is a sharp guy and is someone who could be a good fit with AAR. That remains to be seen, but Kireker's Pendulum Media is in the process of buying Green Family Media, and for the time being Mark Green is still acting as President; the money brother is still sitting on the board as well.

The interesting thing about the team that Kierker is bringing with him, is that
it ranges from founding members of AAR to an array of individuals who each bring very strong backgrounds in business, investment, marketing, and hopefully, common sense, to the table.

Most notable is Phillipe Collin, who has an extensive background in the management of digital media, and who seems to realize the strong connection that Air America has with its audience. If the plan is to tap the possibilities of Internet Broadcasting and the interactive model that is being explored by Maron and Seder, among others, then this is a good place to start and a promising line up.

The fact that this news has not been all that widely reported and has remained underwhelming is testament to the fact of how low AAR has slipped in their interaction not only with the audience, but also as a force and presence in media and the ongoing political conversation that is going to be so vital during this coming political year and further. Unraveling the mess that the neocons have made of this country is going to be a huge job and the progressive voice is going to be ever more important as we move into our next phase.

So, here is my advice to the new guys: Get Maron back under contract. Do whatever you need to to smooth out the crap that he has been through. Get Seder back on 5 days per week for a few hours; how about the empty morning slot? How about the 9-midnight slot? He has been on early and late and his fans seem to follow. Don't dump the mornings; that's a mistake. Get someone like Maron in place and give him a few years to work though the curve. Look at the very real possibility that Rachel Maddow might have better things to do sooner than you think, and that those things may entice her more than a 3rd hour. Be sure to at least have some hosts on board to fill in, so that you're not scraping around for someone after Seder has worked 7 days in a row.

Understand that some of your hosts are a little tired, and really look at how insane some slots have become; lots of screaming going on. But mostly, lets have some humor back in this thing! The thing about AAR that saved so many of us from pulling our own hair out, made so many of us more politically active, and worked in concert with the netroots to bring about real change in this country, was that it mixed the Daily Show funny with really intelligent commentary. It inspired so many people who were in despair and got people off the couch and into elections, onto the net, and out marching and voting. Along the way, many of the shows were on an upwards trend. You are not going to be profitable for years...I cant imagine that you are unless you've got some sort of magic business plan. Just put something good in place and let it grow. Go with the edgy and new, rather than the old tired Springeresque Lionels out there. Your audience is not stupid...don't treat them that way. You've got something that was very special for a long time; don't fuck it up.


Anyone wishing to contact Air America to let them know how you feel about the current lineup or what you'd like to see, should write to Phillipe Collin

Sweet Jesus, I Love MSNBC!

It snowed in Baghdad yesterday.
In a scene straight out of solemn black and white stories of cease fires at Christmastime, residents of the war torn city marveled at the beauty of the white crystals falling, even if they melted upon hitting the torn apart streets. It hasn't snowed in Baghdad for as long as anyone can remember.

We are living in strange times, my friends.

This past week has been backwards crazy like that; on the heels of Olbermann's O'Reilly puppet theater the other night, in which O'Reilly unsuccessfully messes with Obama security, and then reports of Hannity being chased through NH by Ron Paul supporters, stirred up because Faux News didn't allow Paul to participate in the debate... Along came Dan Abrams complaining that he felt lately that Hillary was being shoved at us by the media! Oh really? The sweet indignation of just realizing what has been happening all along.


....and now Obama is suddenly the second coming!? What was Dan thinking when he was the program director of this very station and he supported the chronically low ratings of Scrappy-doo-Tucky-Carlson, the Libertarian fool, and the non stop rantings of Tweety Matthews, acting as if Hillary was a done deal and there was no point in even discussing other candidates. So sure were the M$M pundits about Hillary, that I started switching it off, because I am just fucking weary of being told what to do by pasty white men.

Yeah, Abrams' outrage rings a little hollow. NOW Dan is with us, in the face of the big bad M$M machine? Well, its possible, I suppose, since MSNBC is maybe the best of the worst of the M$M, but God, who in their right mind allows the likes of Willie Giest to ascend to the role of snide janitor, much less sidekick to the repugnant Morning Joe, and who kept Carlson employed against the usual formula of ratings and sponsors? I wasn't a fly on those walls, but if appearances mean anything, Tucker rode along on his relationships rather than ratings, long after it was clear that any retooling could help him in any way, and once the suits got involved there were slap-downs of Tucker and the "rumors" that Tuckie was on his way out (...also, didn't Tucker thank his 10 viewers on air, and then get reprimanded for it by the bosses?)

Granted, they have got Rachel Maddow on every show in a row, just about every night! (and, having quietly shot a pilot already, maybe she can get Kent Jones a gig there...he is sorely missed on Rachel's AAR show!) One good move doesn't clean the slate, but if they do start to build a decent lineup based around Keith, with Rachel taking the nine o'clock slot, it could be great programming for the upcoming Democratic majority! If New Hampshire is any indication, the snotty conservative pundits who used to have a stranglehold on all of the airtime they wanted, haven fallen from favor, along with their masters in the White House...

After writing the above rant the other day, I was surprised, pleased, and honored to receive an invitation to join Jill's newest project: a blog called Sweet Jesus I Hate Chris Matthews!
Not only was I pleased that she would consider my pitiful missives that are coming pretty irregularly lately, but also I'm kinda thrilled that we are all on the same page about this thing. I spend alot of time wondering if I'm just a crazy fool who was born at the wrong time, in the wrong world, and when I get any sort of confirmation of my sanity and/or remaining humanity around me, I feel so much better! Thats what got me started writing this opinion sort of stuff (and who watches more MSNBC than me??) and thats whats allowed me to go on through the morass of the Bush years and the press playing along like some sort of hired PR team.

And, it wasn't only me and Jill; it was also the entire newscycle, that left old Chris, by last Thursday, saying things like "the popular feeling is that the media...well, me actually..." influenced the outcome of the elections.... So, after years of being a sort of political kingmaker, in servitude to whosoever's stock was going up, and manipulating the American people by playing along with the farce that is his shtick; that no one could have known that any one thing or another was gonna turn out badly in this nightmare called the Bush years; no one could have known? I knew! So many of us knew! How come there were printed bumper stickers, way back then, that said "ATTACK IRAQ? NO!!," (to which has been added a new horrific array of other versions and countries,) right here in my neighborhood?

And regardless if who Tweety Matthews has ever written a speech for or been on staff with, it is an inarguable fact that he, and most of the other M$M pundits were decidedly leaning towards the talking points that were coming out of the White House in their reportage of the news leading up to this fiasco, and ever since. Its not even like any of the press would have had to look far or confirm all that much of the reams of information that was being dumped in their laps, already having been researched and confirmed. The only would have had to put their jobs on the line to report it.

So, when Tweety Matthews and his producers felt it prudent to give the stage to Michelle Malkin, as if she deserved to be on any show further towards the mainstream than the Jerry Springer Show; when they chose to allow old Tweety to literally drool on Ann Coulter, as if this is the kind of woman that anyone (especially a college crowd, which he was entertaining that week,) should aspire to be like some mean trannie with an ax to grind and books to sell, its so far beyond the pale, and begs some programming and social questions at the very least....Unless, of course, MSNBC aspires to be more like Fox News.

The pale? Well, here is a guy who finds all of this politics stuff so fun and interesting, like alot of us do. He rubs his hands together and turns all red, practically jumping up with anticipation of the upcoming primaries and what they could possibly mean. But somewhere along the line, he seems to have disconnected with the reality of what he is doing ,and what it means in the life and death struggles of not only our soldiers around the world, but of the growing number of Americans who are suffering due to the economy and our lack of health care.

So, even with the turn back towards the middle, and the network's seeming attempt to start to show a little deference to what is actually happening in the country, there is still a bit of problem with the ongoing bipolar swings of not only Tweet, but the bunch of them. When you start to wish that all pundits could be as stable as old Pat Buchanan (even if you disagree with him,) you're in trouble. When you start to think from time to time that Morning Joe has a point or two right, you're in big trouble...but across the board, we all think that something is wrong, and getting wronger, with Tweety.

On the heels of this week, came word that Timmeuh Russert is going to give Hillary an entire hour on Sunday; and entire hour! Not only was Timmeuh featured on Hardball to promote this hour, but Tweet went on about how it was going to be the hardest hitting, most important interview in the whole wide world!! And this, as part of the umpteenth time that Tweety was musing on how Hillary should and would concede; bow out of the whole show, gracefully...you know, back off.

It makes me think of how Kos has supposedly been trying to manipulate the republican primaries by having dems vote for Romney...met by such outrage! Such venom!...on both sides....But How are we supposed to view a 1 hour "hard hitting" commercial for Hillary to display her newest self? And how are we supposed to take an entire segment of Timmeuh and Tweet's delight at being able to present her newest self?

Crazymaking; after so many months of beginning every interview with anyone even remotely involved in the election process with a question like "With Hillary as the obvious candidate of choice for the democrats, what do you think of....?" Then planning her fall...now he views this interview as the most historic, interesting, and hard hitting thing to ever happen!
Either he is just trying to go with the flow as he sees it day by day, he is seriously bi-polar and not in control of which way his mania is leading him on any particular day, or this has all been a plan to try to shape the discourse....And, if so, I don't think that its working. Its clear anyway that he is not all that fond of Hillary...or women in general.

The feeling that I'm getting is that in the shadow of being so wrong all the time lately, fearing that his power is slipping as a new generation of more liberal pundits makes their way into his world, and the reality of electing a woman as president looms large, he is very confused about how to act, but is sure that he must keep being the boisterous Chris Matthews that he always was. Whats clear is that something is wrong. Ive watched him almost daily for years, as something that I turn on in the background while I putter in the evening, and something that my entire family watches, and there is something amiss there.

Look for Tweety to pull out some of his personality to match Hillary's new campaign of showing people more of who she is emotionally. I want to start a pool about tears; the tears of Hillary, the tears of Tweet, the tears of all the clowns! (cue: circus music)


c/p Sweet Jesus I Hate Chris Matthews!

The Tipping Point...

If life is commerce is art is politics...well, The Tipping Point has arrived:


Shot in the Andes, this is the most expensive commercial that Guinness has ever made.
The creators, as seen in the "Making Of" video below, seem to have inadvertently piled the things of life into what might, here in America, be construed as a huge social statement, where a simple game turns into a domino rally that becomes a deconstruction or disassembly of life in a town that holds the dusty remains of a post apocalyptic America.

OK, OK...its just two silly Brits sitting around and making things up, and a bunch of special effects guys figuring how to rig it, but to me there is something about things falling, falling, falling , and ending in a huge ...er...beer... that smacks a little close to home these days.

Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Liar!

The "water carrier" Limbaugh is weakly protesting the exact syntax of his disgusting comments, meant to shut down discourse by our soldiers, and what is he doing on Armed Forces radio anyway?
As much as I don't like the tit for tat senate time waste of debating this crap, I think that we should all speak out against the brand of hate speech that Rush Limbaugh is the daddy of.
Like Dave Johnson, I too am shocked and awed at how deftly the neocon talking heads have managed to twist this thing into a Rush-as-victim scenario, all the fuckin' way up to and including the NY Times!
As Brad says this morning, the NY Times Petraeus ad wouldn't have even be seen by many people outside of NYC if not for the Right's screaming protest at the entity that put the ad up. Of course, in a fight that is really about MoveOn having balls enough to raise some money and run and ad, and Rush having the constant platform of a national radio show that spews venom at everyone who doesn't agree with him, AND which is broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, when we know that they are not exactly getting fair and balanced, much less equal coverage of both sides of the debate in America, there is no comparison.
This is not tit for tat, its about 2 groups using their free speech on their own audience, but one is much more far reaching and reaches, in fact, to the captive audience of the people that he is telling to shut up.
And what can we say about a guy like Rush who use their own free speech to try to shut others down? I don't know. Its an insidious problem that he can even get the ratings to stay on the air when he wont honestly talk to opposing side or do anything that is not carefully controlled from his cocoon.
This is something that I like about the Sam Seders and Marc Marons of the world; they welcome conservative voices because they want to try to understand them and argue with them too. Its such better radio when you have an honest debate as opposed to a producer screening your calls to make sure that only certain types of callers get through.
The thing is that when the conservative callers call in to Sam's show, (Marc is currently on the air in a new video-cast with Sam that is live on Tuesdays at 11AM EST here,)their knowledge seems to consist of the very line of crap spewed by the likes of Rush and O'Reilly, and their brethren....and the logic, information, lies, and pressure points are often what we see in the White House daily briefing room and via the "talking points" that we know are sent out to certain conservative operatives to make sure that they are all on the same message. My question has always been, what are they so freakin' afraid of? If they are right about all of this, then what is the problem with some upstarts who have different ideas? isn't that what this country was founded on anyway? If Rush and his ilk were actually as patriotic as they claim to be, they would welcome dissent and other voices.
How did the media world get to be so one sided?...Oh yeah...the fairness doctrine used to make it sort of lawful to present both sides...and not so much in separate shows and on other networks either...
I'm tired of Rush Limbaugh in his locked world telling everyone to do as he says and not as he does. I think that from what is going on in the republican party, its clear that the underbelly of that line is usually pretty sordid. And, when in doubt, its safe to say, that the gentleman doth protesteth too much.
So who is the victim here? The soldiers who have to rely on limited news sources and who might feel cowed into not speaking their minds...and us...the American public should not have to spend a minute on this crap. But apparently we do in order to remind everyone that there are two sides out there, and that THEY are not controlling the information anymore.