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The End of the Dr. Demento Show On Radio

Posted by kdawson on from the aka-barret-eugene-hansen dept.

damnbunni writes "Dr. Demento has announced that his long-running comedy radio show will be ending (except weekly in and around Amarillo, TX). Modern 'format' radio has been less and less friendly to oddball and offbeat programming, and after years of declining station membership the Doctor announced on June 6 that his radio show will be no more. He will still stream weekly shows on Saturday from his website, drdemento.com. While I'm sad to see the show go, nearly 40 years is a good run."

13 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. I'm ignorant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    I'm not trying to troll but why is this relevant? Why is this Dr. Demented important? What is being lost?

    1. Re:I'm ignorant by geekoid · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have an email folder full of emails from NPR on how they wanted to support low power radio.

      You are full of shit.

      I have dealt with both organizations. Clear channel is full of entitled ass holes who think cities should do what they say because they own the radio stations.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. RIP for the Dr Demento Show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I grew up on Dr D in the 70s and even saw a live version in the 80s. Heartbreaking that it's fading into the sunset and that the current generation won't know the Dr. When I was growing up the big things on radio were the top 40 show and Dr Demento. While he had a show the truly twisted had a home. Without shows like his it's hard for such things to stand out. These days there's entertainment overkill. Unless it's a Youtube hit the odds are you'll never hear about it. Shows like Dr Demento gave a forum for such works long before there was a web. It may be giving him a place to continue on but it'll never be the same.

  3. fishheads, fishheads,... by Cragen · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lovely little fish heads! The only place that song EVER got played. Perhaps "They're coming to take him away. ha-ha. ho-ho. hee-hee..."

    1. Re:fishheads, fishheads,... by billsayswow · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, funny enough, they played that song on BBC 6Music about a week or two ago. Oh wait, they're probably closing that station too... Be right back, I have some weeping to do.

    2. Re:fishheads, fishheads,... by GrahamCox · · Score: 3, Informative

      The only place that song EVER got played

      Not quite true. It was played occasionally on Anne Nightingale's Radio 1 request show (1980s, Radio 1, UK, Sunday evenings) which in itself was a national institution, and where I first heard the song. It now has a permanent place in my iTunes collection as a result (along with Kristina's version of "Is That All There Is?" and "Win a Night Out With A Well-Known Paranoiac" by Barry Andrews).

    3. Re:fishheads, fishheads,... by brunes69 · · Score: 2, Informative

      They used to play the video for that on Much Music in Canada all the time, so I guess you could say it was basically main-stream up here. Back on topic, I am unsure why everyone is so upset. He is continuing the show online, which may make it more popular than ever before, and have much more of an impact. Things go viral online now, not based on radio shows. Any good act he promotes has the potential to be twittered / facebooked / dugg ad-infinitum within minutes.

    4. Re:fishheads, fishheads,... by Pikoro · · Score: 2, Informative

      don't forget... deaaaaaaad puppieeeeeeeeeees... deaaaaaad puppieeeeeeeeeesss. dead puppies aren't much fun.....

      --
      "Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
    5. Re:fishheads, fishheads,... by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Informative

      That was probably the only show that played Captain Beefheart, but "they're coming to take me away" was actually a pretty big hit when I was a kid in the early sixties. I had the 45, the B side hade the song played backwards.

      Oh, for the youngsters here, a 45 was a 45 rpm vinyl record that was slightly larger than a CD and would hold six or seven minutes worth of music per side at most. Most were two to three minutes per side. Usually but not always the A side had the song that you heard on the radio.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  4. Re:Radio? by Bill+Dog · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's as dead as dead puppies. And dead radio shows aren't much fun.

    --
    Attention zealots and haters: 00100 00100
  5. Re:Where is the archive? by damnbunni · · Score: 2, Informative

    The archive is right here. http://drdemento.com/online.html

    It's not complete, and it's not free, but it's there!

  6. Re:I wrote a column on Dr. Demento by idiotnot · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nice write-up.

    I agree he'll be missed, but, really, he hasn't been around for most stations since he left WW1. Music radio today doesn't even begin to resemble music radio in 1990. By the late 80s, most music stations didn't have network affiliations, much less run regular programming. The AOR formats of the 70s put a nail into that, as well as shows like Dr. Demento's. The stations who still do have significant network ties are overwhelmingly news/talk outlets. Why put on Dr. Demento when you can run three hours of Art Bell repeats free of charge?

    I used to listen to him as a kid on AFRTS. Was always enjoyable. At nearly 70 years old, the Doc probably should be hanging it up, and enjoying retirement.

    Wonder if he could guest with Joey Reynolds; that would be a ton of radio history to hear!

  7. Re:I wrote a column on Dr. Demento by idiotnot · · Score: 2, Informative

    WW1 was the big dog for a long time, but much of their reach was through the CBS and Mutual (how's that name for a blast from the past?) radio affiliates. Many of the music stations don't have any network connections at all these days. Many of the shorter network features that stations used to buy sat equipment for now come via mp3. Why spend #20k setting up a dish and a receiver, when you can just download all the history of rock morning prep clips over the internets? Pretty simple economics, unfortunately.

    But the radio networks have also undergone several major upheavals. I can remember scanning the SEDAT channels back in the late 90s for talk programs. Today, pretty much everything's encrypted, and there's only four shows on live -- Premiere/CC, CBS/WW1, and then the sports networks. There's probably 150 stations in the US with the same lineups 0900-1900 Eastern (9-n Beck, n-3 Limbaugh, and 3-7 Hannity). Certainly didn't see that back when Dr. Demento was getting syndicated.