Democracy for Vancouver

I used to listen to Imus back in the day - circa the Clinton regime. It was mainly due to the fact that he was the only morning radio show I could listen to at work that wasn’t of the Morning Zoo, chucklehead variety, nor was he a right wing turd like Rush. Also, streaming, online radio and file-sharing wasn’t yet a widespread phenomenon or as technologically feasible in my work situation yet.

I liked that he was an alternative to most radio which was geared towards socially retarded adolescents and cranky middle aged crackpots. I also liked some of the frank discussion of not only news stories, but also the apparent behind the scenes look into the newsroom and the spin process. I even found Imus’ mythology fascinating; original shock-jock, his trials and tribulations in the radio biz, his downfall to drug and alcohol addiction, his redemption and phoenix-like rise back into the radio biz. I was also sucked in by his rubbing elbows (and grinding elbow into the soft nether-regions thereof) of some big-time news pundits. His Clinton jabs were mean, but so was his Rush Limbaugh bit, and both parties certainly had it coming.

But eventually, I grew tired of the schtick. Grew tired of the incessant jibber jabber of Bernie, the analingus of straight-man Charles. Additionally, the depth of the political discourse was veneer-thin. I don’t mean that in a mainstream news talk show sense either- wherein a conservative world view is presented and a slightly left of conservative view is injected and called the ‘other side’. I mean that political issues seldom were explored beyond Imus’ ability to insult the participants in a childish manner. I eventually came to the realization that Imus’ schtick with which he carved a niche into the edifice of talk radio was that of a down-to-earth political junky, a Hunter S. Thompson-esque critic of the grotesque pantheon of the big news cathedral.

So, daily, he could have on big name journalists from the New York Times, NBC, CBS and vent outrage and hurl invectives with them, but seldom make any substantive commentary about it. And his ability to hob-nob with said real live journalists and insult them cruelly really helped make his Connecticut cowboy in Manhattan act seem genuine. At times he seemed like the old time senior VP of sales who could insult the CEO in front of the board because they had a long history, but you eventually find out that on the green, he carries his clubs and picks up the tab for cocktails. It was choreographed and became tedious.

He would also embrace political candidates on the flimsiest of principles, if indeed there were any. He famously turned on the Clintons and later carried water for Bush and John McCain. When news of the Rutgers debacle hit, I thought the comments sounded no different to something I would’ve heard back in ‘95 or so.No doubt his ratings must’ve not been so strong, or his story would’ve been bulldozed over by the next incoming trainwreck.

He can now make a comeback again, this time on satellite. He can talk about it as if it’s something out of The Book of Job. Like how Howard Stern’s rage against the Bush administration started the day the FCC stepped on his toes and probably ended when he made the switch. I say probably because I find him just as just as irrelevant (as opposed to irreverent) as Imus and don’t care to listen to his blather.

But radio has neither lost its Lenny Bruce - as Stern would like to have us believe about his plight - nor has it gained a victory against racism and hate. Glenn Beck still spews his cancerous swill daily. The Savage Weiner is still diligently churning out homophobic propaganda (what’s up with that? What’s his game, eh?). Rush is the beached whale on the radio coastline; those who want what he has to offer can swoop down and dig in, while those offended by his stench can walk a wide path around him.

So, so long I-Man, and take a few like-minded comrades with you and don’t let the door hit you where the good lord split you!