May 29, 2007
It wasn't so long ago that I received a thorough butt-kicking in these parts for [daring to suggest that I enjoyed listening, sometimes, to 96.5 "The Buzz."][1]Things changed soon after, not because of anything dramatic, but for a variety of reasons:¢ I stopped driving to work, and started walking or bicycling. Without the car time, Buzz time was greatly reduced.¢ The thing I had praised about 96.5 - the MyList Mornings, where listeners had a chance to choose 10 songs each to play - disappeared with the new, stupid "Dick Dale" show.¢ I got an iPod and started listening to podcasts from [KEXP in Seattle][2], [the "Sound Opinion" guys][3] and ["All Songs Considered,"][4] among others, opening me up to music from the group Beirut, Low, Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars, Viva Voce, Explosions in the Sky, M. Ward ... and so on and so forth. Good stuff that has been fun for me to explore, in other words.Still, it's not like I banned 96.5 from my life or anything. It's just that my listening moved on to other places.That's changing, though.My wife and I were in the car Saturday, flipping through channels, when we settled briefly on The Buzz because it was playing an old Ben Folds song. Then came the commercial.I don't recall the precise wording, but it went something like this._This Memorial Day weekend, the Buzz asks you not to beat your wife - even if she deserves it._Hardee-har-har.Maybe I'm just getting old. Or maybe it's because I'm married. Or maybe it's because I've seen, as a reporter, what domestic violence does to somebody's life.I've covered several cases involving domestic violence. One ended when the woman shot her husband to death - on Valentine's Day, no less - while he napped on the couch. In another case, I visited a woman who slept in a chair, with a shotgun propped across her lap, waiting for her abusive common-law husband to return after authorities had failed to put him away.The terror and pain felt by these women remain among the more visceral memories I have from my 13 years as a reporter and editor. It wasn't funny.Let's say that again:It wasn't funny. It was horrifying.This isn't some Imus-like situation where one DJ made a stupid, off-the-cuff announcement. This was a corporation deciding to advertise itself through humor so ugly it would make a frat boy blush. If you think I'm being humorless, let me ask you this: How many chuckles would you find in your mother being beaten? Your sister? Your daughter?Your wife?So: The Buzz is banned. The music sucks, anyway. [1]: http://www.lawrence.com/blogs/mathis/2006/dec/20/democracy/ [2]: http://kexp.org/home.asp?noflash=true [3]: http://www.soundopinions.org/ [4]: http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/
Comments
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j_d (Jason R. Dunavin) says...
This is addressed to what will no doubt be another horde of commenters: He's right. And it might not be a bad idea to listen to the Buzz for a couple more days -- so that you can send this post to its advertisers.
May 29, 2007 at 8:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says...
Shock radio is dead.
May 29, 2007 at 10:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CafeSiren (anonymous) says...
I'd like to officially welcome you, Joel, to the ranks of "humorless feminists" (or, at least, fellow-travelers). But don't worry: we're much more fun to hang out with than those other folks.
I don't know anything about this "Buzz," but thanks to your blog, I now know enough to politely invite them to bite my fanny.
May 29, 2007 at 11:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Meatwad (anonymous) says...
Have you seen the movie "Idiocracy"? It's a good one.
There are instances in our society that make me realize that we ARE moving toward this type of society. Hearing that commercial was one of them. It won't make me ban the Buzz (although KEXP and KJHK are a million times better and I barely listen to the Buzz anymore anyway), at least they do shuffle weekends and play better music than most other stations---that's not saying a lot.
But the point is that, as the years go by, the masses are increasingly embracing this type of lowest common denominator thinking.
If you haven't seen "Idiocracy"... you, and everyone, REALLY need to see it. You'll see it, then you'll see it around you.
Banning the Buzz just gives those lowest common denominator types fuel to make fun of us. I'd rather just point out how they are helping propel us, as a society, toward idiocy.
May 30, 2007 at 12:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
Meatwad: As it happens, I saw "Idiocracy" over the weekend, and yes, the parallels came to mind.
That said, I don't need 'The Buzz" anymore. It's possible I've aged out of their demographic anyway, so they might not care, but I don't care to reward a commercial enterprise with my support when it's that stupid.
May 30, 2007 at 5:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OhioJayhawk (anonymous) says...
I have absolutely no thoughts about this topic, but I feel compelled to say that "Meatwad" is definitely the funniest user name ever.
May 30, 2007 at 7:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Andini (anonymous) says...
Here's a couple more stations for you to listen to Joel.
MPR in the Twin Cities.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radi...
and WOXY out of Cincinatti
http://woxy.lala.com/
Niether one is as bad as the Buzz.
May 30, 2007 at 8:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
Mmm. Looking at the WOXY playlist - New Pornographers, Violent Femmes (which, in the context of this discussion, heh) - looks good.
I also listen to KCRW out of LA from time to time, and they do a great job with live performance podcasts, but the overall vibe is just a little too California-mellow to suit my tastes....
Thanks for the recommendations!
May 30, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
funkdog1 (anonymous) says...
Frankly, this surprises me about the Buzz. I'm in my mid-30s, married, with a kid and I love, love, LOVE the Church of Lazlo show in the evenings. What's so sweet about it is it's edgy and political and funny, but it's a couple who does the show---Lazlo and Afedra (spelling?)---and he ALWAYS insists that callers and guests are polite to her. I don't think they're married but they've been together like, forever.
Shame on those poo heads at the Buzz.
May 30, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says...
Since I'm not from around here, and everybody knows I'm an asshole anyway, and it's none of my business (whether I'm 19 or not), and not to align myself with any particular moral group, I can safely say that the name of local band "Dead Girls Ruin Everything" gives me the same creepy creepy. Like I say, none of my business, so no one need even bother kissing my ass.
May 30, 2007 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
That's a lot of prefacin', dotdot.
May 30, 2007 at 10:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Shelby (anonymous) says...
Funkdog, that strikes me as ridiculously hypocritical for that Lazlo moron to insist that anyone be polite to anyone.
That said, 96.5 has proven time and again that they are not above, and are in fact embracers of, 7th-grade, degrading and derogatory humor. Call it "edgy" if you want, but a rose by any other blah blah blah...I hate how they try to present themselves as intelligent and witty when they're anything but.
May 30, 2007 at 10:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says...
Joel:
And a bit of postamble. You shoulda seen what I edited out. Not my original idea (you know who you are), but there ought to be a meter next to each commenters name giving them credit for all the stupid comments they DIDN'T post.
On radio, don't tell anybody that I find myself agreeing with Shelby again. I hate it when that happens.
May 30, 2007 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slowburn (anonymous) says...
trainstop9 just notified me of this blog. She's rolling her eyes.
May 30, 2007 at 10:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
feeble (anonymous) says...
Eh, Lazlo and all of his ilk on 96.5, as well as stations serving up similar content, are by no means "edgy." What's edgy about insulting some semi-anonymous caller, talking about how cool some prank is/was/or will be or just plugging some new bar or the next artist to peak into the Top Ten? Nothing, it's tired and stale.
If the Church of Lazlo is "edgy," "This American Life" is a freshly honed razorblade hovering a hairspace away from your carotid artery.
May 30, 2007 at 11:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OtherJoel (anonymous) says...
I will say that, while as a DJ he is a jackass (and I do believe he and Ephedra are married), I occasionally stop the tuner during "Lazlo's Hard Drive" because there's often some relatively (by Buzz standards) obscure/good 80s-90s stuff that you don't typically hear on the radio.
May 30, 2007 at 11:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emilyhadley (Emily Hadley) says...
Thanks, Joel.
That is completely lame. I recently heard a couple throwback tunes (Debaser was the last) after my iPod battery died.
I thought maybe they were evolving into something decent (as the Lazer did after Elena got her grubby hands in the stacks). I hadn't given them too much credit, since they are just pandering to my old alt-/indie-rock demographic, but that -- especially being a generic station spot rather than an advertiser's -- is plenty to make me never have a good thing to say about them again.
I do know that Lazlo isn't in Kansas City, he's in Seattle, the home of my beloved KEXP, so his content has little or nothing to do with what the Buzz decides to use as self-promotion or advertising. If you like him in particular, maybe you should contact him and let him know what you think about this. Maybe even ask the Loveline guys what they think about being paired with such sentiments?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KRBZ
May 30, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
To catch up:
JD: Thanks. And thanks for the link from your blog.
CafeSiren: You were ALWAYS entertaining.
Shelby, Dotdot: Stop agreeing with each other.
Emily: Nice ideas, and if anybody else wants to do it, that's cool. I don't need to campaign, personally -- turning off my radio is enough for me. Thanks for the link though -- I'm 34, which is (barely) still inside the demographic. I'm not consigned to the dustbin for another 10 months or so...
May 30, 2007 at 12:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnB (anonymous) says...
Kinda sorta related:
From this
http://philnugentexperience.blogspot....
lengthy but worthwhile post on the Don Imus Show show:
"For decades, Imus has trafficked in bile, giving the boobs in the listening area a vicarious thrill by saying stupid, ugly things into a mike because it's easier than actually being funny. We know for a fact that he's not a good person, no matter how much fucking charity work he does on the side, because a good person just doesn't say this shit, just as, my late aunt to the contrary, there probably aren't any really nice guys in the Ku Klux Klan for the simple reason that it's hard to imagine the circumstances under which a really nice guy would join a violent, racist terrorist organization. Yet people probably do assume that, to the same degree that Republican politicians' racist appeals are "just politics," the ravings of someone like Imus don't stamp him as a "real" bigot, because they're "just entertainment." One could ask what kind of person besides a bigot would find the spectacle of a mean-spirited, dim-witted old man grunting about those different from himself at a level of wit that never rises above calling politicians "lying weasels", but that would risk getting us into uncomfortable territory."
May 30, 2007 at 12:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OtherJoel (anonymous) says...
Afentra. Ah. Not Ephedra, the diet drug.
May 30, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
OJ: I actually thought you were making a joke...
May 30, 2007 at 1:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says...
TRAINSPOT! I new it was you!
That skill and 5 bucks will get me a cup of coffee these days.
May 30, 2007 at 3:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
funkdog1 (anonymous) says...
Okay, I'm going to try once to defend my liking of Church of Lazlo and then I'm going to shut up and go away.
feeble: I like Lazlo precisely because he DOES NOT pull that lame crap of making prank calls or insulting callers. He engages in lots of debate, but he never makes anyone the butt of a joke just for the hey of it, like Howard grasshole Stern does.
Shelby and feeble: fine, maybe I'm the one who's lame, but I happen to like Lazlo and Ephedra's anti-Bush, anti-war rants and generally anti-religious stance. It makes me laugh. While most DJs think that telling poo-poo and pee-pee jokes is being "edgy," Lazlo and Ephedra will actually discuss an issue that's in the news and debate it with their callers, not just call people names. And they're not afraid to say that they think Jesus freaks are freaks. This appeals to me.
The guy I absolutely hate is that dumbass who buries himself every year for charity and thinks he's some sort of biker... Johnny Dare. As if.
May 30, 2007 at 3:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
Dotdot: New?
Finally.
May 30, 2007 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Andini (anonymous) says...
I just wish the Lazer would become "The clubhouse" again and bring back Spacin' Jason....now he was real.
May 30, 2007 at 4:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OtherJoel (anonymous) says...
"OJ: I actually thought you were making a joke..."
Nope, not that clever. Or cruel, depending on how you look at it.
And my beef with Lazlo has nothing to do with his politics. He and I probably technically agree on most issues. He just gets on my nerves. Not really sure why.
May 30, 2007 at 4:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tarrant (anonymous) says...
God I miss Spacin' Jason and the rest of the old Lazer crew. And don't bash Johnny Dare. He makes no qualms about what his show is about and does a TON of charity work around KC and the area. Unless that's a bad thing all of a sudden anyways.
May 30, 2007 at 6:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Shelby (anonymous) says...
For the record, I wasn't saying anyone was stupid for listening to the station.
Lots of my friends seem to designate 96.5 as their "go-to" station. I also listen to the station probably a little more than, say, a total of two hours a month. I do like the 90's throwbacks, and Lazlo's harddrive certainly is an enjoyable show. For because, though not as important or genuine as something like a local-music show, it's absolutely vital to a small community that popular radio stations (and other media) scribble at least a little outside the lines, a la Lazlo's harddrive.
And I mean to say it's a truly important facet of our society, literally--not just something nice to have in a college town.
Am I stoned?
May 30, 2007 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alm77 (anonymous) says...
Jumping in here a little late, but let me say
Good for you, Joel!! We don't listen to enough radio to even matter and when we do, it's KJHK and NPR.
And feeble, your comment about This American Life was dead on.
thetomdotdot: I thought the same thing of the name of that band. But after you hear it over and over and over and over, it loses its creepiness and you don't even realize what you're saying until you say it to someone who has never heard of them, then there is that uncomfortable silence followed by an awkward explanation. And I don't even listen to their music...
May 30, 2007 at 8:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says...
Joel:
You got me. Good thing I'm not an editor or some such.
alm:
"...after you hear it over and over and over and over, it loses its creepiness.." Exactly. Thats what's so creepy.
Guys in the band:
Just do it. Change the name. It's all right. You'll survive it.
May 30, 2007 at 10:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CafeSiren (anonymous) says...
Joel: Entertaining. Yes. But humorless. Very, very humorless.
May 30, 2007 at 10:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChrisKnudsen (anonymous) says...
To the Moon, my friend, to the moon.
May 31, 2007 at 8:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alm77 (anonymous) says...
Oh, and why has nobody mentioned the fact that there is this "wife beater" image/stereotype and some people are actually cashing in on it? Have you never heard a men's white tank top called "a wife beater"? There was a website that were selling these as such and actually giving a discount if you could prove that you'd been charged (or maybe it was convicted) of domestic battery.
Anyway, I'm not sure what to say about that, but there it is.
May 31, 2007 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wbabbit (Will Babbit) says...
Shelby: Yes, you are
May 31, 2007 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
smingram (Sean Ingram) says...
I miss the early 90's Lazr and Spacin' Jason. A lot. I mean a whole lot.
May 31, 2007 at 7:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wbabbit (Will Babbit) says...
He moved to L.A...damn him...
May 31, 2007 at 8:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joel (Joel Mathis) says...
Apparently he's doing public radio in Chicago now...
http://www.wbez.org/about/bios/marck.asp
May 31, 2007 at 9:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
godjilla (Jill Ensley) says...
do do doodoo do doodoo doo doo doo
June 1, 2007 at 12:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spacinjason (anonymous) says...
Dear Larrytown:
I can't believe that you remember me...and with such fondness. I know that I was on KJHK for 5 years, followed by 7 years at the Lazer. But in this "everything's disposable" world, I'm truly thrilled that, just by being myself and trying to play decent music, I would have made such a long-lasting impression on people in a town I love so much. I'm currently producing and directing what I think is an amazing show called "Eight Forty Eight" for Chicago Public Radio. [Cheap plug I know, but you can listen on the web, or podcast it. It's very Chicago-centric, so you might not dig everything. But I put many segments together and get to pick out all the music.] But I always dream about coming back to Lawrence and taking over KJ, or the Lazer, or some other local station and bringing back that DIY spirit we had in the late 80's and early '90's when Lawrence had the best music scene in the country...a spirit I tried to tap into in my radio endeavors. Thanks again for the love, and keep me in the loop on music/radio happenings in Lawrence.
"Spacin" Jason Marck
jmarck@chicagopublicradio.org
June 4, 2007 at 11:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
godjilla (Jill Ensley) says...
Awwww!
Thems were the days....
June 4, 2007 at 11:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
akabilly (anonymous) says...
This Memorial Day weekend, the Buzz asks you not to beat your wife - even if she deserves it......hahahahaha that is awesome. I'll have to tune in to this station more often.
I wish I could be insulted so easily
February 13, 2008 at 11:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )