Coast to Coast AM
This is for those of you who listen to Coast to Coast AM. Those of you who don't won't know what the hell I'm going to be complaining about in a minute here. Educate yourself.
I've been listening to Coast since around 1995. I've given George Noory a fair chance - more than fair, actually. Is it just me, or does anyone else suspect he was selected by Clear Channel for his mundanity, lack of smarts, and reluctance to break from the formula? Now don't get me wrong, he seems to be a hell of a nice guy - the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back and knit you a matching sweater, but as a broadcaster, he's got to be the worst I have ever heard. It's obvious that he cannot comprehend what the guests are talking about unless it's the most sickly-sweet touchy-feely new age fluff. For example, he'll never really grasp the concept of alternate dimensions, let alone the difference between parallel universes and spatial dimensions. His constsnt misuse of the word "dimensional" is a testament to this. He's constantly making reference to "dimensional beings", meaning extradimensional or otherworldly beings. We're *all* dimensional beings, George! We exist within three of them! Arrg! He continually asks the same questions over and over or else asks questions for which the answers have already been given earlier in the interview. And he always, always fails to ask the next logical question - the one that's on the listeners' minds.
Heaven forfend that you should call in during open lines with anything remotely interesting or intellectual to talk about. George will completely misunderstand you, cut you off, and move on to the next call. He'll spend 10 tortuous minutes talking to someone about their job driving a limousine to such fascinating places as the Denver Chophouse. He's also obviously focused on getting as many callers on as possible and it's often painfully obvious that he's not listening to a caller because he's trying to read the information about the next caller forwarded to him by his call screener.
It's rare that George can get more than three sentences out without stumbling over words. Even when he's just reading from a prepared script, he has a lot of trouble speaking. George! You're a *broadcaster*. You should have learned this stuff a long, long time ago. He also - oh, this *really* ticks me off - steps all over guests and callers while they're trying to talk and it's almost always just to say something dumb.
Guest: "Well, George, with regard to the UFO sightings - "
George: "But I mean - "
Guest: " - sightings over Anchorage Ala - "
George: "But I mean - "
Guest: " - Anchorage Alaska, there were sev - "
George: "But I mean, what do - "
Guest: " - several eyewitnesses - "
George: "What do you - "
Guest: " Sorry, what?"
George: "What do you think the aliens like to eat for breakfast?"
I feel badly for the guy. I find myself feeling embarrassed for him. You know his staff are constantly rolling their eyes and smacking their foreheads. You can tell when he hasn't been paying attention or doesn't understand, because he continually pipes up with a Noory catchphrase in order to buy himself some time:
"Ya never know."
"No doubt about it."
"So true."
Very often, these catchphrases are completely inappropriate as a response to what the guest has just said. For example:
Guest: "There are two main theories concerning what we term 'ghosts'. One is that they're simply psychic impression that have been recorded on the environment itself; the other is that they're the actual disembodied souls of the dead."
George: "No doubt about it." (Then, without missing a beat, it's on to the next question on his prepared list.)
What's really been harmful to the show, is that he has attracted a whole new audience of people with even less intellectual capacity than he has. I want to scream when these people call.
I miss Art Bell. Oh, how I miss him.
I've been listening to Coast since around 1995. I've given George Noory a fair chance - more than fair, actually. Is it just me, or does anyone else suspect he was selected by Clear Channel for his mundanity, lack of smarts, and reluctance to break from the formula? Now don't get me wrong, he seems to be a hell of a nice guy - the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back and knit you a matching sweater, but as a broadcaster, he's got to be the worst I have ever heard. It's obvious that he cannot comprehend what the guests are talking about unless it's the most sickly-sweet touchy-feely new age fluff. For example, he'll never really grasp the concept of alternate dimensions, let alone the difference between parallel universes and spatial dimensions. His constsnt misuse of the word "dimensional" is a testament to this. He's constantly making reference to "dimensional beings", meaning extradimensional or otherworldly beings. We're *all* dimensional beings, George! We exist within three of them! Arrg! He continually asks the same questions over and over or else asks questions for which the answers have already been given earlier in the interview. And he always, always fails to ask the next logical question - the one that's on the listeners' minds.
Heaven forfend that you should call in during open lines with anything remotely interesting or intellectual to talk about. George will completely misunderstand you, cut you off, and move on to the next call. He'll spend 10 tortuous minutes talking to someone about their job driving a limousine to such fascinating places as the Denver Chophouse. He's also obviously focused on getting as many callers on as possible and it's often painfully obvious that he's not listening to a caller because he's trying to read the information about the next caller forwarded to him by his call screener.
It's rare that George can get more than three sentences out without stumbling over words. Even when he's just reading from a prepared script, he has a lot of trouble speaking. George! You're a *broadcaster*. You should have learned this stuff a long, long time ago. He also - oh, this *really* ticks me off - steps all over guests and callers while they're trying to talk and it's almost always just to say something dumb.
Guest: "Well, George, with regard to the UFO sightings - "
George: "But I mean - "
Guest: " - sightings over Anchorage Ala - "
George: "But I mean - "
Guest: " - Anchorage Alaska, there were sev - "
George: "But I mean, what do - "
Guest: " - several eyewitnesses - "
George: "What do you - "
Guest: " Sorry, what?"
George: "What do you think the aliens like to eat for breakfast?"
I feel badly for the guy. I find myself feeling embarrassed for him. You know his staff are constantly rolling their eyes and smacking their foreheads. You can tell when he hasn't been paying attention or doesn't understand, because he continually pipes up with a Noory catchphrase in order to buy himself some time:
"Ya never know."
"No doubt about it."
"So true."
Very often, these catchphrases are completely inappropriate as a response to what the guest has just said. For example:
Guest: "There are two main theories concerning what we term 'ghosts'. One is that they're simply psychic impression that have been recorded on the environment itself; the other is that they're the actual disembodied souls of the dead."
George: "No doubt about it." (Then, without missing a beat, it's on to the next question on his prepared list.)
What's really been harmful to the show, is that he has attracted a whole new audience of people with even less intellectual capacity than he has. I want to scream when these people call.
I miss Art Bell. Oh, how I miss him.