'Retto Ruminations
By: Amy Sciarretto
Last updated July 1st , 2010

My very good friend Seth W. says things that make sense a lot. He's got that quiet, simple wisdom that speaks volumes and decibels louder than all those pseudo intellectuals who like to hear themselves talk. His observations are often quite profound and leave a lasting impression on me.

We're both huge metal and sports fans, and we were drawing parallels between the sports industry and the music industry. It posed a lot of questions. Why is sports radio thriving and still interesting in the terrestrial sphere, while music-driven radio is a dying format, one that no one listens to anymore when they can pre-program their own customized radio stations since the advent of iPods? I am not about to launch into a tirade about how radio can be saved, especially since that is something that I hope for, since I have a radio background, and know and respect tons of people in radio who are ground breakers teeming with passion and knowledge for the format. I'm pointing out why sports radio works for me, and I am not its target demo of 18-54 male. 

Seth W.'s assessment was a simple one: in sports, the bad guys sometimes win. You know, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Lakers. Those are all dynastic teams with huge payrolls, a string of championships and star, max players with rings on every finger of both hands and perhaps a few toes, that are able to dominate smaller market teams out of competition and contention with their wads of cash. These teams and front offices make winning look easy and they make me root even harder for the underdogs doing it with less cap space, less capital investment and less "America's Team" front runner mentality.  In sports, there's always a "bad guy," real or perceived, to talk about the next day or after the buzzer sounds to indicate, "GAME OVER." That's why people tune in to sports radio. And you know what? His assessment is totally fucking right. Nail, meet head.

Let me backtrack a little and sum up my perception of the current state of terrestrial radio. Active rock radio specialty shows are going the way of the T-Rex; JACK and JILL FM stations are a train wreck of disconnection that I just don't get, especially since I could just do an iPod shuffle if I really want to listen to songs I love without a measure of unpredictability, right? I don't need some program throwing some early '90s hip-hop, like Naughty by Nature's "OPP" next to Scandal's "Warrior" or The Bangles' "Eternal Flame," you know?

Modern rock radio? Well what the hell is that anymore? It used to be Fall Out Boy a minute ago. Now it's what? I am not sure. Alternative? What falls under that class? Oldies stations and '80s stations provide the most interest to me, for nostalgia, maybe, as well as any metal specialty programming that usually comes on after midnight and on weekends.

I also listen to satellite radio not solely for the music programming, but for Howard Stern. I listen to the show from stem to stern, switching to the West Coast Feed at 9 AM ET every single morning.  But that's on my computer while I am working all day. It gets me through my days and I laugh about 20 times an hour, and I hope he never ever retires, or I will be lost and there will be a hole in my world, one that I am not sure I'd know how to fill. 

When Howard goes on one of his many vacations, I listen to Philly sports radio on my computer while working. When driving into the office, I listen to ESPN Radio, specifically Mike & Mike in the morning. Because sports and talk radio are interesting to me. Howard Stern is the best talk radio host and interviewer ever, and Ryan Seacrest should take cues from him, since whatever pop culture starlet or waste of time reality stars he has on every day just doesn't do it for me, since he lobs softball questions, whereas Howard asks the questions that are percolating in all of our minds. He gets down, and dirty. And so does sports radio.

Talk radio is what thrills me, what makes me laugh, whether it is Stern or it is a sports commentator. Sports generates arguments. In terrestrial radio, when it comes to music, there isn't as much argument. If you report on a show or a band coming to town, it's a little more factual, and you've got a talented DJ with a lot of personality and commentary butted up against a certain amount of time in between the outro of one song or commercial and the intro of another. The restraints of commercial radio are strangling DJs that are the commentators of the region and that you want to hear.  I worked on satellite radio as  a DJ on Sirius/XM's Liquid Metal when it was called Hard Attack and was pre-merger, and it was one of the most freeing, creative experiences I have ever been a part of. I loved it like a fat kid loves cake. The way things are done in the satellite radio sphere is groundbreaking, all the while still following some of the old guard radio constructs.  I hope that all those specialty shows on commercial and college stations are able to keep breaking ground like they do. Because they are often contained in the old guard rules, which aren't bendable. 

But back to my original point, which I always seem to drift from a little bit, but always end up at: It's also harder to argue about music in that format – there's such a specter of opinion there. In the sports world, there's always a winner and a loser, and how the winner notched the "W" and how the loser got saddled with the "L" often sparks heated, heated debates and arguments where people nearly come to blows. Now, I am not saying that music doesn't inspire people or ignite passions, since we all know that people can engage in bouts of fisticuffs over who is the better Black Sabbath singer - Ozzy or the late Dio! The point I am making is that the game nature, the win and the lose, is what makes sports talk radio such an interesting, attention holding thing for me. It's due to their being less objectivity and opinion and more spinning of the facts that happened and at hand. 

So if you get a chance, take a listen to local sports and talk radio in your town. See if you don't get sucked in. ~ Amy Sciarretto 

[Tags] Metal, Rock

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