Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Royal Wedding

Okay, I know a few of you just came in here because of the title. You are wondering, "What the hell is he doing writing about the Royal Wedding?" Well I am glad that you asked. You can all blame Nate Milton for this one, he got me started last night and I can't stop thinking about it. Oh, not the actual wedding.. I could care less about that. I guess that is actually what I am here to say.

Prince William is getting married to some girl named Kate. Why do you care? I was watching The View yesterday (because being retired, I have that kind of time) and they were showcasing Royal Wedding underwear. What in the blue hell is that all about?? Who is Prince William anyway? Is he the one that dressed up like a Nazi and gave us all something to laugh about? Is he the one that is an officer in the British Military? Nay nay...he is "the other guy". Suddenly I am overtaken by the spirit of the Spin Doctors...."One two, princes kneel before you, that's what I said now, princes..princes who adore you, just go ahead now" But back on track..didn't we declare independence from these people a couple of hundred years ago? Didn't we even have a document written for such a purpose in 1776? Yet all they have to do is hold a wedding and we are slaves to them yet again. This is insane. Wake up people! You don't know these people. Are you going to send a wedding gift? Are you expecting a thank you card? Nay nay...these are people who THINK that you should be watching them because they are royalty, so they tell the media that you should be watching...the media tells you to watch..and like mindless drones....YOU WATCH!!

How about a list of other Princes whose weddings I think would be more interesting. Prince Paul..not the Yugoslavian prince from the early 1900s..but the super producer. Imagine his guest list! Stetsasonic, Gravediggaz, De La Soul, and 3rd Bass. Now that is a wedding party! You not only attend the ceremony of a Prince, but you get to meet a Prime Minister! How about another Prince...Prince Markie D! You know he is going to have a killer buffet at the reception! The artist formerly (and currently) known as Prince! I think that would be the wedding of a lifetime. Seeing a 4 foot nothing guy wearing purple getting married to....who knows...Madonna?? I would even rather watch the wedding of Freddie Prinze Jr. (not the father, he is dead....or there would be so many more episodes of Chico and the Man!). There are so many other Princes out there that would have cooler weddings than this Prince Billy. And they would all be by Americans!

What I am trying to say here, true believers, is that just because the media is telling you that you want to, nay...NEED to be watching this garbage doesn't mean you have to believe them. Go find a repeat of Welcome Back Kotter or BJ and the Bear. The entertainment value will be higher and you will be more familiar with the characters. You all know Vinny Barbarino and the Sweathogs, none of you know Prince Billy. I know this was a short post, but I don't want to glorify the wedding any more than the media already is. Until next time...remember...Sweathogs good...English weddings bad. Stay Salty boys and girls...

-Salty Dog

Monday, April 11, 2011

Mike and Bob

Good day and welcome back true believers. What brings the Salty Dog to his keyboard today? Is it this mess that happened last week with the "Government Shutdown"? Is it the Yankees losing 2 out of 3 to the hated Red Sox? Is it "you got your chocolate on my peanut butter"? Nay nay! What brings me out today is local outrage. For those of you who do not live in (or have not visited) the greater Hampton Roads, Virginia area...you may not be familiar with the topic of today's blog, but I believe that many of you can empathize.

The local "alternative rock" radio station here in the 757 has the most popular set of DJs. Their names are Mike Powers and Bob Fresh (Frantz). They host a show called, strangely enough, the Mike and Bob Show. This show was the most popular "afternoon drive time" show in the entire area. They were young enough to be in touch with the "club crowd", yet old enough to be in touch with the over 30 crowd (which includes your friend and humble narrator). They could fill 4 hours of radio without skipping a beat. They had interns that became famous around town..their producer was known to all by name...their program director was a local celebrity. The show was so popular, the station did away with a nationally syndicated show (ManCoward) and moved the boys to the mornings to take down the local juggernaut in that time slot. A mission that they not only accepted, but took on with zeal. No question as to what happened...they buried their competition. For ten years this crew ruled the airwaves in this area. Until Friday.....

96X has decided (once again) that they need a format change. Even though they have tried this in the past and failed miserably...they are going to Top 40 (douche bag radio). I am sure that MD is out there somewhere on the left coast laughing at the station, yet crying for Mike and Bob. Too many good people have fallen under the mighty machine that is Sinclair Communications. MD, Fan of the Game, Manny, and now the Bread Winning Brothers...Mike and Bob. This is the radio equivalent of Sony deciding to abandon the Playstation and go to a cartridge based gaming system. Do you remember the Punk Show on Sunday nights? MD and Justin playing your punk requests (damn you Justin and your Mr. Coffee!!) for 3 hours...that was awesome...alternative even. Or the Fan of the Game and his Debacle. These were quality shows, and great people....kind of like the Mike and Bob show. Quality show...and great people.

I understand that I may be biased since I know all of the people that I have mentioned in the blog, but look around...take a poll...these were all great shows and better people. For a radio station to take a proven formula and throw it (and the people who made the station famous) away is unspeakable. So for all of you that loved 96X and even more...loved the Mike and Bob Show...let yourselves be heard! Get on your Twitter accounts and use the hash tag #boycottsinclair. Send your letters...yes I said "LETTERS" to the address below. Let Mr. Sinclair know that he is making a huge mistake...tell him how much the Mike and Bob Show means to you. Hell, tell him that nobody wants to listen to douche bag radio...bring back the alternative! And let me know when he starts to listen, because I will be listening to Backspin....all XM all the time from this point forward. Until I hear from Mike or Bob telling me that they are back on the air, I am boycotting 96X. Until next time kiddies...Stay Salty

-Salty Dog

 Send your letters to:


Bob Sinclair Sr
5th Floor
999 waterside drive
Norfolk VA 23510