Goodbye Radio Days

By Thomas Willett

There are a lot of things that I never get to talk about on this blog simply because it seems inappropriate. These entries are designed to share opinions of popular current culture. What shaped my younger days is not necessarily going to achieve me the most readers. However, this Friday marks the end of one of those keystone influences. It may contribute to why I took up podcasting in the first place. After years of casual listening, it will be the last time that I hear Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps cohost their show on 95.5 KLOS.

I contemplated doing a different subject this week, but I knew that talking about the KLOS show was the best call. When else am I going to share a tribute to this? While Brian Phelps may carry on, it is the departure of Mark Thompson that will be sorely missed. Their chemistry together woke me up on many mornings with skits that weren’t done by professional voice acting, but it was the camaraderie that sealed the deal. I know that this is the formula that every radio show has, but for the most part, the Mark and Brian Show was one of a few shows that shaped the way I perceived radio as an art form.

The reason that these morning shows clicked is because I grew up being driven to school. For years I woke up to the sound of radio DJ’s, got dressed, and headed to the car. For 40 minutes, I listened to these people talk about whatever they wanted. There were days when I longed to hear interviews with guests, which sometimes resulted in me being late for school. I was fascinated with the conversation, even if I would forget it in the long run. Since my parents were the drivers, they often preferred KLOS, and I began to see them as the radio equivalent to Johnny Carson. This may not be true as I’ve never seen an episode of the Tonight Show with Carson, but the sensations that I’ve heard about from Carson enthusiasts is how I feel sometimes when listening to KLOS.

I decided to approach my mother about why she enjoyed the show. What she told me has also persuaded me to think that they are similar to Conan O’Brien. She claims that the legacy that they’ll leave behind is not any particular moment, but the choice to end each day with the line “Be good humans.” The reason she felt comfortable playing them in front of us was simply because they were inoffensive and polite. It is true that they did some wild stunts, but like the Monkees, they were just too busy singing to put anybody down.

She also admired the show because it managed to lack the egotistical vibes that are often associated with Howard Stern and other shock jocks. They managed to create a relationship with their audience and make them feel significant by putting on free events such as concerts and blood drives. Their last hoorah, which happened today at House of Blues in Anaheim, featured the likes of Garry Marshall, Luke Perry, and Carlos Mencia and drew out a crowd that estimated 175,000 people. You don’t get a crowd like that without some sense of rewarding fans over the years.

As time progressed, I have found new appreciation simply because I could have been listening to worse. I grew out of the habit of listening every day, but that was because life happened and sleeping in is so sweet. It wasn’t until I began working at CCMN on a weekly show that I regained appreciation for the medium. Sometimes we couldn’t even fill an hour. These DJ’s have to fill four hours a day, five days a week. Add on top of that that they start at 6 AM, and then you have me beat entirely. While this is not exclusive to KLOS, the connection to my childhood fascination with radio shows felt like a logical progression into my fascination with podcasts.

If you are interested in listening to past episodes, they have them archived in hour by hour podcasts on their website. However, the task is too tedious to wade through that many hours of content to recommend significant moments. Another reason that KLOS stood above the others is that it was communal to my family during holiday seasons. We listened to Arlo Guthrie “Alice’s Restaurant” (Warning: It is 23 minutes and once you press play, you’ll find stopping is impossible) on Thanksgiving, and we enjoyed the dropping of the yule log during Christmas. These are touchstones that still excite me, and with the recent addition of Morgan Freeman reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” last year, it reminds me that they still have awesome moments up their sleeves.

If all of this wasn’t enough, then there are the charity CD’s. Like KROQ, KLOS released a bunch of holiday related skits and songs through compilations like “All of Me,” “You Had to Be There,” and “Little Drummer Boys.” Since their last album was out in 2000, I didn’t have as much of a memory of buying it from a Best Buy like I do a handful of Kevin and Bean charity CDs. And yet, like the show itself, we would pull these out during the holidays and just enjoy ourselves. It was no “Dr. Demento Presents: Greatest Novelty Christmas CD,” but it was close enough.

To say the least, Mark and Brian have also been incorporated rather successfully into pop culture. In the past ten years, I have come to blanket radio DJ’s as more local legends than celebrities. They are recognized around their respective areas, but never called upon to appear in movies or TV shows. In reality, that isn’t true. I knew that Howard Stern had Butt Bongo and Private Parts in the 90’s, but for the most part, I cannot remember DJ’s having commercial appeal. That is why I was surprised to remember that they had a TV show at one point.

While many personalities these days transfer from TV to radio like Ryan Seacrest, I haven’t heard too many instances of the reversal. The Adventures of Mark and Brian was a reality show that ran one season and showed the two having whacky adventures. From what vague sense I can pick up from Youtube clips, it feels similar to An Idiot Abroad in that it is about people learning about culture. I was also amazed that they appeared on the Arsenio Hall Show, as I never associated radio personalities with having late night appeal. I think what added to their charm was that they worked on presenting an image and promoting themselves through casual guest spots.

Maybe it was because the 90’s were a different time and the lack of competing technology allowed these personalities to be better known. I keep forgetting that Mark and Brian are broadcasted nationwide. However, I can still remember seeing the Princess Diaries in theaters and when they cut to the beach scene hearing Mark and Brian’s voice sending me into shock. That’s how long I’ve been listening to them: way before I knew who Anne Hathaway was. Their credits also include appearances on Married… with Children and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Not the most impressive, but they got around.

When I listened to David Cross’ “Diarrhea Moustache” (Warning: Very crass) for the first time in 2009, I learned what would be called Morning Zoo radio. I somehow related to Cross’ ramblings about annoying radio DJ’s with unnatural levels of energy. I would recognize that joke as it would appear on podcasts and most recently on an episode of Louie. It always made me laugh, though it could be because I have yet to listen to a Morning Zoo type show.

The closest that I came to Morning Zoo is the Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ. For most of my childhood, I went back and forth between the KLOS and KROQ shows depending on my mood. KLOS appealed to a more mature crowd who weren’t as impressed with goofy sound effects. They were the classic rock guys to the modern rock equivalence of KROQ, who dedicated whole segments to making fun of reality TV and being frat boys. I will admit that there was some appeal, and KROQ did produce the likes of Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, and Ralph Garman, but I eventually grew out of it. I wanted order and structure, which was not KROQ’s strong suit.

I think Mark and Brian, and maybe more in general my parents, saved me from a youth of listening to DJ’s whose gimmick was that they were shocking. At least from what I heard, they were not Morning Zoo. I am sure I wouldn’t be recalling their 25 years of radio with such fondness if they were loud and obnoxious. They crack jokes and are sometimes juvenile, but never in glaringly off putting ways. They’re just two hosts that enjoy what they do.

While podcasts have since taken up most of my listening habits, I feel that a lot of it is shaped by Mark and Brian. Shows like the Best Show on WFMU and WTF with Marc Maron would probably not appeal to me if I hadn’t felt a personal connection with radio DJ’s as a child. I know that most perceive talk radio as political AM jabber, but I see it as so much more. You don’t have to be opinionated to be a guest. You just need to have something to say, even if it is as mundane as talking about what you did that afternoon. Podcasts are a free form, uncensored extension of that and while syndication is a dream for most of these shows, I believe the ability to create content for casual listening at any moment is more effective. The simple task of making Mark and Brian episodes available for download has given me a chance to listen during lunch breaks at work.

I still listen to KLOS on occasion to hear Mark and Brian. They don’t have the spark of their heyday, but there is still the chemistry. I can remember a lot of their bits from the 90’s better than my elementary classes. I can even recall a sketch called “Attack of the Colognes” that parodied Star Wars: Episode II through cologne puns. The prank phone calls, the quiz shows, the skits, the guests. To me, this show is one of the reasons that I fell in love with all of them. I know that a lot of other people were doing these as well, but it wasn’t the same as your first love.

I know that Brian is going to be around for a while, but the absence of Mark is going to be felt. I have no idea if a radio show will ever replace them for me, if just on the level of influence. There have been many that have come and gone (the Mighty Morning Show with Dicky Barrett on Indie 103.1 was rather great but only lasted a year), but to see one of the titans finally retire is something you’re not prepared for. As their final show approaches this Friday starting at 6 AM on KLOS, I find myself clamoring for every last second of new material they have before it is all a memory. I will miss them, though hopefully with Brian sticking around; it won’t be the last that we hear from these two.

You can read Thom’s blog every Wednesday and hear him on Nerd’s Eye View every Tuesday and Thursday at nevpodcast.com. Send your thoughts to nevpodcast@gmail.com. You can also read Thom’s movie reviews for Cinema Beach at cinemabeach.com.