Re: Today's LTAR

[Aaron Read <aread@speakeasy.net>]

At 07:29 PM 8/17/2003, Bob Nelson wrote:
>A couple comments regarding today's Let's Talk About
>Radio:
>
>--Bob and Dan wondered if there would be enough
>material for an all comedy radio station--after all,
>aren't most comedy albums kind of dated now? Maybe so;
>there are very few these days, though I will admit
>that Jerry Seinfeld did one recently and I heard bits
>of it--not bad. They could use stuff like that and
>edit it if necessary for language, etc.

I think that's actually part of the problem.  Recently I read Drew Carey's 
book...far from heavy reading, but entertaining nonetheless.  He makes an 
excellent point in it, that he started his stand-up career doing more 
"clean" jokes and got respectable laughs.  Then he started doing more 
raunchy stuff and got bigger laughs.  Then he started talking to his 
audience the way he does to his friends over beer at the pool table at the 
nasty local bar, and got huge laughs and a multi-million dollar TV show 
that's been on for 8 years and running.   He says it's less about being 
"dirty", and more about being honest with your audience.  You don't hold 
back on your jokes with your friends in private; that's why they're funnier.

It's oversimplified, true...but you don't get the really big laughs by 
pulling your punches.  I've heard old Carlin tapes that were "cleaned up 
for broadcast" and they were mildly amusing at best.  The regular tapes of 
his shows, big and small, have me on the floor.

THAT is the only reason why I would think a successful comedy station on 
AM/FM will be a hard sell.


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