As you might’ve heard, 9/11 conspirator/fiend Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced earlier today to life in prison without the possibility of early release.
The jury’s decision didn’t sit well with Fox Sports Radio’s Chris Myers, who asked his fellow legal analyst Ben Mallard (cough) “is there any way we can appeal this thing?”
Presumably, Myers would like to see Moussaoui put to death and thought his afternoon sports chat program the appropriate venue for such thoughtful mutterings as “…our legal system….I dunno.”
For the sake of consistency, I do hope that Fox Sports Radio interrupts all future programs when mass murderers’ trials come to an end, just in case the host on duty would like to volunteer to flip the switch.
In another lovely development in the land of sports yack radio, Joe Gross informs us that a new recording by the reformed Replacements (sans Bob Stinson or the drumming of Chris Mars) will receive its World Premiere on the Jim Rome Show. I know you’re counting on some remark like “color me unimpressed” or perhaps a suggestion that “Left Of The Dial” receive a re-write, but honestly, I have no problem with this. If Rush Limbaugh can do his part to bring the music of Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Famer Chrissie Hynde to his devoted audience of neo-facists, why shouldn’t Rome be allowed to do the same for his?
I don’t listen to Rome often, but I happened to catch him a few weeks ago when he described why he was such a huge Replacements fan (including a funny, self-deprecating story about meeting Westerberg backstage after a show as a kid and making a poor first impression.) Whether you’re a fan of his schtick or not, you can’t refute his passion for the band. (Does Limbaugh even know who Chrissie Hynde is?)
That’s not a bad song selection for the, uh, “greatest hits” album. If I were limited to 20 songs–including the obligatory two new ones to hype it–I’d have cut “Shiftless When Idle” (half a dozen songs from “Sorry, Ma…” are better) and “I’ll Be You” (even “Achin’ to Be” is sort of like the Devil Rays’ All-Star player), added “Favorite Thing” and “I.O.U.” and substituted “Someone Take the Wheel” for “Merry Go Round”.
Damn, that makes me feel old.
I prefer a young Gerard Cosloy’s impression of hearing the Replacements song “Alex Chilton” played at a Clippers game (and I paraphrase) “A song about a loser by a loser for losers.”
As for the band reforming with its frontman and guitarist only, well, their covers of KISS classics will be a lot less ironic now.
Ben
Ed,
I have no problem with Rome digging the Replacements. Bands can’t pick their fans, and if they could, some of ’em would ask me to stop coming to their shows. And like I said, there should be nothing preventing Rome from spinning whatever he likes to his sickening army of acolytes. Whether or not any consideration should be made towards college radio stations who were playing the Replacements back when Rome was applying his scrot-tee with a magic marker, is not for me to answer. I mean, for one thing, some of those people are no more capable of spinning records than Bob Stinson is of recording with Paul.
Ben,
That’s a very interesting recollection. Bill Simmons, eat your fucking heart out.
“Bands can’t pick their fans…” And a good thing, too, or I suspect we’d all be disinvited on a regular basis. Or maybe that’s just me.
But are there still “college radio stations” that even give a shit about the Replacements? I have to imagine that Rome’s aging demo overlaps more substantially with the Replacements fan base than, say, KUSF’s (which is the only college station I’m even glancingly familiar with these days, so perhaps I’m totally off base here.)
And I have to cop to liking Rome. It’s a guilty pleasure, to be sure, and the adulatory callers are the dreariest aspect of the whole enterprise, but his dead-air-laden, mock-outraged routine amuses me.
“But are there still “college radio stations†that even give a shit about the Replacements? I have to imagine that Rome’s aging demo overlaps more substantially with the Replacements fan base than, say, KUSF’s (which is the only college station I’m even glancingly familiar with these days, so perhaps I’m totally off base here.”
I don’t think you’re totally off-base. But there are more than a few aging motherfuckers still doing college radio shows. In the overall scheme of things, i wouldn’t imagine the Replacements would mean a ton to most contemporary college radio schmoes in the year 2006, but records like ‘sorry, ma’ and ‘hootenanny’ are more likely to be heard on such outlets than any commercial broadcasters I can think of (or satellite for that matter).
and as I said above, some of the programmers in question are in no more position to help the Replacements than the band’s deceased dress-wearing guitarist. ie. they’re too old, decrepit or dead.