The Radio Experience is Dying

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

With technology advancing leaps and bounds on what seems like a yearly basis, one form of media that used to be considered the coolest of all, radio, is now dying and is unrecognizable compared to what it once was.

It took several decades for radio to hit it's peak, but once rock'n'roll gained popularity it seemed like it would never bottom out. Radio represented youthful rebellion to teenagers and college-aged kids.

Elvis.

Jerry Lee Lewis.

Little Richard.

It was the medium that reached out to the kids. They looked forward to listening to the radio to catch the newest hits. This was where radio DJ's gained celebrity status. They were the gatekeepers of "cool" for the youth. Their personalities were big and some DJ's such as Wolfman Jack became just as famous as many of the music artists they were playing.

In the last decade and a half, radio has seen rough times. A combination of new technology, streaming, and the deregulation of media have nearly killed off radio entirely.

With devices such as iPods and smart phones being produced, many people are turning to these devices for their entertainment needs. The rise of the computer hasn't helped either. Computers are now in nearly every household, and can store and play music easier than ever before.

What has hurt radio is the act of streaming. Not necessarily on the small scale it was a decade ago, but the way it is now with Pandora, Spotify, and iHeart radio. With services like this you can simply type in the name of an artist and listen to their music or the music of similar artists. You can do this for free as long as you listen to the occasional advertisement or pay a small amount of money to listen to your music commercial free.

The problem with this is that there are no DJ's. It's robot/computer controlled. The kids are missing out on the personalities that once hosted their favorite music and everything is becoming more generic. The fun is gone.

Also with streaming, you are now just a target to these large companies. A local DJ used to be able to play a local artist who might be performing somewhere nearby and talk about how you could see them if you liked the music. With streaming, you discover the music the corporations tell you to listen to. If you're lucky, you may get to listen to new music from a local artist to you, but most people aren't that lucky. Plus unless the artist advertises with the company, then you won't know where to find them unless you search for them yourself online which most kids don't do while listening to streaming music.

Streaming on the internet didn't initially start off as a bad thing either. Radio stations such as KRock-Echo gained the attention of a million plus listeners a month, remaining commercial free in the process, and having world famous DJ, Scott Free, host the music. He played new artists, independent labels, and songs by artists that were great, but not necessarily their hit songs that the labels picked out for you to listen on mainstream radio. This had the feeling of early rock'n'roll radio in the fifties mixed with new technology. Unfortunately this didn't last long.

Radio lost it's soul. AOL Music, Pandora, and other streaming services ditched DJ's shortly after the United States deregulated media, forcing thousands of DJ's out of work.

When radio deregulated, it was the death knell for DJ's. Many stations would lose their flair, robotizing their on-air play and eventually homogenizing music as a whole. For kids today to discover new music, a major corporation would either have to tell you what to listen to or the kid would have to do some work and find the new artist they don't know exists yet. Most kids won't do the legwork though. They rely on entities such as American Idol and The Voice to tell them who the good, new artists are.

Technology is a good thing. When it advances, it usually improves the quality of humanity's life. Unfortunately radio is one of the casualties and kids will never know again what it's like for radio to become an experience, not just background music while they do their chores or homework.

Greatest Baseball Announcer of All-Time

Picture: Screencap of Bob Uecker (left) as seen in the movie Major League

The love of baseball has led to many debates over the years. Who was the best pitcher of all-time? Which team is the best to ever step foot onto the field? What rules are pieces of...well you get the point. But one of the aspects of the game that many fans have an opinion of, but rarely get in debates about is--who is the best announcer the game has every had. Well, I give you a count down of the best announcers currently in the game.

5. Jack Buck: Famous for being the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, some of Buck's most famous calls include Ozzie Smith's game winning homer in the deciding game of the 1985 NLCS (viewable in the clip below), Kirby Puckett's game 6 homer in the 1991 World Series, and Kirk Gibson's historic game 1 homer in the 1988 World Series. His voice talents have led to his induction in multiple Halls of Fame: National Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, the National Radio Hall of Fame, and in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. In total he covered 18 Super Bowls and 11 World Series.

4. Mel Allen: Most famous for making the famous home run call when the Pittsburgh Pirates' Bill Mazeroski hit the homer in game 7 to end the World Series, Allen was the premier play-by-play man for the Yankess in the heart of some of their best seasons. He was known as the best of his profession in the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's, he's still known as the "Voice of the New York Yankees." As baseball gained more and more air time on television, he became even more famous for being the original host of This Week in Baseball which he hosted from 1977 until he passed away in 1996. To cap off his career he was also the very first recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award in 1978.

3. Ernie Harwell: A baseball announcer for 55 seasons, Harwell is most widely known for his work as the announcer for the Detroit Tigers. He was so good at what he did that he became the only announcer that was involved in a trade when the Brooklyn Dodgers' Branch Rickey traded a catcher to the Atlanta Crackers in return for Harwell's contract. He only announced for the Dodgers for two seasons before eventually finding his way to the Detroit Tigers in 1960. He announced for them for 31 years before management decided to let him go in 1991. He called for the California Angels in 1992, but because of the outcry by Detroit fans and a new ownership change, Harwell was brought back to the Tigers in 1993 until 2002.

2. Vin Scully: Scully holds the record for longest tenure with a single team, announcing for the Dodgers since 1950 during their days in Brooklyn. He called Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series, Hank Aaron's 715th homer, and Bill Buckner's famous error in the 1986 World Series. Considered the gold standard, Scully signature introduction to games may be the most famous in sports, "It's time for Dodger baseball! Hi, everybody, and a very pleasant good evening to you, wherever you may be." Joining the Dodgers when he was only 23, Scully was a pupil of fellow legendary announcer, Red Barber. An odd note about Scully is that for many years he had not attended a baseball game that he was not the announcer for. It wasn't until 2004 when he and then Dodgers owner Frank McCourt attended a game together in Boston.

1. Bob Uecker: Originally a former catcher for the Cardinals, Braves, and Phillies, Uecker was a man of many abilities. He was a comedian and frequent guest of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, spokesman for Miller Lite, starring actor in movies and television shows such Mr. Belvedere, and obviously the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1971 to present day. He wasn't the greatest catcher when he played, leading the National League in passed balls in 1967 despite playing only 59 games. This was partially due to catching knuckleball legend Phil Niekro in which Uecker was quoted as saying, "The best way to catch a knuckleball was to wait until it stopped rolling and pick it up."

After retiring from Major League Baseball in 1967, Uecker found himself doing comedy in 1969 which led to his over 100 appearances on The Tonight Show where he would often go on just to entertain Johnny Carson instead of trying to plug something he was doing. Carson dubbed Uecker with his nickname, Mr. Baseball. His comedic abilities led to his being hired by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971 which he still does to this day.

A likable personality, he would go on to be a spokesperson for Miller Lite which would then lead him to a career in acting. He played George Owens on Mr. Belvedere which was a sitcom that aired on ABC for 6 seasons. He would also be known for his role as Harry Doyle, the announcer of the Cleveland Indians in the Major League trilogy of movies. Not one to shy away from TV, he also hosted two separate shows about the lighter side of sports and even participated in the WWE's (then the WWF) WrestleMania III as an announcer and WrestleMania IV as an announcer and backstage interviewer who was choked by Andre the Giant. Even the WWE placed Uecker in their very own Hall of Fame.

Not to be outdone, Uecker authored two autobiographies, Catcher in the Wry and Catch 222. He was honored by the Brewers with a statue outside Miller Park alongside Hank Aaron, Robin Yount, and former owner Bud Selig. In 2003, Uecker was also awarded the Ford C. Frick Award.

People Like Feeling Angry

 

"We hate love,

        We love hate,"

   Marilyn Manson

 

 

Usually when I write something on here, it's in third person or closer to a news article style of writing. In this case, this is more opinion based and I don't have a wealth of studies or polls to back my writing up. Agree or disagree, it's up to you, but be kind in the comments.

 

 

America has thrived over the years of being a country of hope and happiness. There have been time periods where fear has been sprinkled in the mix such as the 1950's after the USSR launched Sputnik into space.

 

 

In recent years though, there has been a shift in the mentality of people. Maybe it's because the online/internet persona of hiding behind keyboards has risen from the anonymity to the real world or maybe it's just something that we as a country were destined to evolve to. The world is following as well.

 

The mentality has shifted into anger. People seem to love being angry now. Many will actually seek it out through their actions. Instead of finding ways to become happier through their actions or through other means, people will find ways to intentionally spread hatred and angst among their fellow man.

 

The most prominent place that people attack others is on the internet. The act has become so common that it has been given a name...trolling. People will purposely start fights on the internet, often on social media or message boards with the intention of angering others and in turn becoming even more angry themselves. People look forward to doing this on a daily basis. They look forward to fighting and in the process becoming angrier themselves. If they didn't like fighting and the anger that comes from it, then why do it?

 

The same thing happens in person now. At baseball games for example there have always been fans of opposing sides attending, but other then some banter, there was no worries of leaving the stadium on a stretcher. A San Francisco Giants fan named Brian Stowe wore his team's apparel found out the hard way that in some stadiums this is no longer the case. Dodgers fans nearly beat him to death for just being a fan of their rival.

 

The same happens all the time now at soccer events. There are actually gangs associated with Argentina soccer teams that seek to hurt and even kill opposing fans at matches.

 

Obviously this has carried over into politics as well and there are still hate groups out there that have existed for years, but the number of people who appear to love to hate have risen to what now seems like the majority.

 

America needs to change. The world needs to change. Hate and anger are strong emotions, but in the end can't be fulfilling. When was it that people forgot this simple piece of knowledge?