Re: Gene Simmons, KISS, WBUR, Fresh Air

["Aaron [Bishop] Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 12:51 PM 12/30/2002, you wrote:
>Should we say "so much for NPR setting a higher tone in radio (compared with,
>say, Howard Stern or Bubba the Love Sponge)?" Also, can you say "pandering"?
>Still, I bet that Terri Gross's little gem has brought plenty of 
>contributions
>into NPR's coffers. Nevertheless, is it really a good strategy for NPR to
>flaunt this interview like some kind of medal (a Purple Heart, maybe)? 
>Does NPR
>REALLY want to be known as a purveyor of high-end shock radio? That NPR 
>should
>have aired this crap in the first place is one thing. That the network 
>appears
>to take pride in it seems to me to destroy a lot of the credibility of NPR's
>claims to be producing a higher quality, more thoughtful product than does
>commercial radio.

You're kidding right?  This interview is about as civilized as Gene Simmons 
gets...and frankly given who he is and his reputation both as a performer 
and an interviewee, he was quite civilized.  It's not like he was ranting 
and swearing and having an on-air coronary from shouting or 
anything.  Granted, he's an obnoxious guy and makes no apologies for it, 
nor does he make any bones about the fact that he is a shrewd marketer of 
himself and his band as a product and entertainment.  But he at least he's 
actually put some thought into his answers and has rational discourse on them.

I don't really agree with Gene on a lot of things (although he had Terry 
nailed fair and square in the last line of the interview **), and obviously 
neither does Terry, but he's got his story, he's got his reasons, and he's 
sticking to them and he's doing it in a very erudite way, actually.   I've 
heard far, far worse on Stern's show (and Imus for that matter) which 
frequently devolve into juvenile name-calling without any actual thought 
behind it.

For that matter, I personally feel that Fresh Air has become WAY too 
sanitized.  Yes, Terry is a good interviewer, but she's fielded way too 
many puffball interviews that were the real-life inspiration for Ana 
Gasteyer's hilarious "NPR Ladies" skit on SNL  ("Oh it's nice, it's very 
nice...lovely caller, thank you for calling").   The show was getting 
rather soft and far too frequently it was dull as dirt.   Gene was a great 
antidote to that...he wasn't about to conform to any mold that Fresh Air 
normally puts it guests into.   Terry kinda needed a little verbal smacking 
around to keep her sharp.   And it helped - I've noticed Fresh Air has had 
a lot more interviews with people that were in really gritty situations and 
the interviews were amazing; brought back the "glued to the radio" feel.  I 
doubt you could attribute all of it to Gene, though...maybe there's a new 
producer?


** If you didn't listen to the interview...the last question Terry asked 
Gene was that she hoped the obnoxious person she'd just been speaking with 
was just a performance that Gene always does and that the "real" Gene at 
home with his wife and kids (so to speak) was much nicer.  To which Gene 
responded without missing a beat that he'd like to think that the boring, 
dull Terry he'd been speaking with was a lot more interesting and life-like 
when she wasn't behind the mic. (I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that's 
the gist).   Terry wasn't quite speechless, but she was pretty 
close.   That was exactly the right answer for any guest, but esp. from 
Gene...if you're gonna wander out into the battlefield and fire shots, you 
better be ready to be shot back at!   :-)

____________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
FriedBagels Technical Consulting / Boston, MA
www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron