I must confess.
I underestimated Michael Savage as he navigated to a prime-time slot in the midday, (12-3 PM, KSFO and 3-6 PM drive in the East Coast), but after a month, the rambunctious, unpredictable, and occasionally extremely entertaining Savage is beating the bejesus out of his nearest rival, the boring and repetitious Sean Hannity.
As Politico points out, Savage destroys Hannity in big markets like New York, Dallas, Detroit and here in San Francisco.
Moreover, he's beating Hannity with key younger demos. Savage e-mailed this report to me.
Frankly, I was not impressed with the early tone of Savage's program. It consisted of repeated monologues debasing the Obama administration on frequent easy right-wing talking points like Obama Care, the NSA and IRS scandals. Granted, all legitimate subjects, but in the radio talk-show genre, hardly the epicenter of broadcast nirvana. In fact, as I have pointed out, the Groundhog Day gyration that doesn't move the needle, that grates the nerves of those ardent listeners-- Democrat, Republican, who are looking for something far more palpable on the audio domain.
It is that element of Savage's repertoire that captivates me. I could do without politics. Matter of fact, and Savage feels the same, political radio with the standard screamers and routine bits, is frankly, lazy radio. It gets to the point where you know automatically how the host formats their show and what nasty, repetitive thing is coming next. It's not just an Obama deal--it migrates to the left too even though there's considerably less left-wing talk shows on the dial mostly because left-leaning shows don't extract any entertaining radio these days. Stephanie Miller is a bore. Mike Malloy is an annoying twit and we all know how that Air America experiment turned out. Norman Goldman is an interesting listen but he too trolls down the political route much too often and often repeats the same talking points. Repetition radio is bi-partisan.
Savage is best when describing the Indian buffet that gave him indigestion. His Chinese food histrionics at Hunan is, in fact, brilliant radio, worth a thousand laughs. Meat ball recipes trump the pratfalls of Joe Biden. "Teddy", Savage's loyal poodle and his status, is an A ticket to Disneyland. Hillary Clinton and Climate Change are the 4700th ride on the Matterhorn. You get my drift.
There exists a radical lack of creativity on the trappings of AM terrestrial radio in the Bay Area and beyond. Savage at least provides a dramatic detour from the pronounced dreck that is the constant. And while his primetime palate is resonating with listeners nationwide thus far, I say, can the politics and stick to meat and potatoes. Teddy would approve too, Maestro Savage.
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It is that element of Savage's repertoire that captivates me. I could do without politics. Matter of fact, and Savage feels the same, political radio with the standard screamers and routine bits, is frankly, lazy radio. It gets to the point where you know automatically how the host formats their show and what nasty, repetitive thing is coming next. It's not just an Obama deal--it migrates to the left too even though there's considerably less left-wing talk shows on the dial mostly because left-leaning shows don't extract any entertaining radio these days. Stephanie Miller is a bore. Mike Malloy is an annoying twit and we all know how that Air America experiment turned out. Norman Goldman is an interesting listen but he too trolls down the political route much too often and often repeats the same talking points. Repetition radio is bi-partisan.
Savage is best when describing the Indian buffet that gave him indigestion. His Chinese food histrionics at Hunan is, in fact, brilliant radio, worth a thousand laughs. Meat ball recipes trump the pratfalls of Joe Biden. "Teddy", Savage's loyal poodle and his status, is an A ticket to Disneyland. Hillary Clinton and Climate Change are the 4700th ride on the Matterhorn. You get my drift.
There exists a radical lack of creativity on the trappings of AM terrestrial radio in the Bay Area and beyond. Savage at least provides a dramatic detour from the pronounced dreck that is the constant. And while his primetime palate is resonating with listeners nationwide thus far, I say, can the politics and stick to meat and potatoes. Teddy would approve too, Maestro Savage.
*Follow me on Twitter
