(BEEP) Edited (BEEEEEP) Songs

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE Satellite radio. From someone who despises terrestrial radio, SR is probably the best thing since Cable Television and $1.99 4 hour porn compilations. It's almost impossible to have SR and not love it. It has more choices than one would possibly know what to do with. For me personally as a Sirius Subscriber, I get Howard Stern and Bubba The Love Sponge. As a huge old school rap music fan, I get Backspin 43. A channel dedicated entirely to the old school. I'm also down with the 80's channel, the 60's channel, and the Gold channel as well. Of course I'm down with Sirius Love for those special occasions in the car in the Target parking lot as well but I digress.

As with anything, nothing is perfect. SR is no exception. However I am going to focus on one aspect right now. Backspin 43 - My old school haven. I'm not going to bitch about the fact their play list tends to be limited and repetitive despite having 20 plus years of good old school to choose from. No, my beef is with the fact that they play the edited versions of some songs.

See, I play 12.95 a month so I can here unedited radio. Whether its Stern. The Wiseguy show (Mafia Wiseguy) on RawDog, or Old School favorites on backspin 43. And don't get it twisted. While my man might say I like rap music because of the swearing…that’s not the case. I swear. However, if a song has a swear work in it, or some type of unsavory saying, I do not want it bleeped out. I'm a grown ass man paying to hear this service. I don't pay for HBO to watch an edited version of "Bad Boys II" ya heard? I mean that would cut out half the dialog and the movie would lose something. And see, not every song is edited on backspin and that might drive me even more insane. The perfect example of this is as follows. They play the edited version of "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Ole Grandmaster Melle-Mel doesn't curse at all in this track, however they bleep out the word "pissing". "People piBLEEEEEEEEEP on the stairs, you know they just don't care…". Really? I have to hear a "beep" because they want to bleep out "pissing"? Its not like the unedited version (a term I use very loosely) isn't available like ohhhhh everywhere. So after hearing this song one day, they follow it up with "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A. A song that has "fuck" in some form or another more times than anything, and it was unedited. Here is Verse 1.

Straight outta Compton crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube
From the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes
When I'm called off I got a sawed off
Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off
You too boy if ya fuck with me
The police are gonna hafta come and get me
Off yo ass that's how I'm goin out
For the punk motherfuckers that's showin out
Niggaz start to mumble, they wanna rumble
Mix em and cook em in a pot like gumbo
Goin off on a motherfucker like that
with a gat that's pointed at yo ass
So give it up smooth
Ain't no tellin when I'm down for a jack move
Here's a murder rap to keep yo dancin
with a crime record like Charles Manson
AK-47 is the tool
Don't make me act the motherfuckin fool
Me you can go toe to toe, no maybe
I'm knockin niggaz out tha box, daily
yo weekly, monthly and yearly
until them dumb motherfuckers see clearly
that I'm down with the capital C-P-T
Boy you can't fuck with me
So when I'm in your neighborhood, you better duck
Coz Ice Cube is crazy as fuck
As I leave, believe I'm stompin
but when I come back, boy, I'm comin straight outta Compton

Wow. Lets edit "pissing" then follow it up with the uncut Compton cut. And hey, I like that song. I don't want to hear the edited version. I don't want to hear a track from Uncle Luke edited. "pop that ….. Pop pop that …." or "face down "hey" up, that’s the way we like to "hey"". I don't want to hear Everlast edited out for "smacking the hoe".

Seriously, if I wanted to hear the edited versions of songs, I'd save my skrilla every month and just listen to terrestrial radio and find a channel (good luck) that plays what I want to hear. That means I would go back to burning CD after CD of what I want to hear. This means I would be stealing more and more music and the RIAA would come after me. At that point I would then (in true pass the buck fashion) blame Sirius for including edited records in their play lists. Ya hear me Sirius. Watch out now. I'd hate for the RIAA to be unleashed upon thee. Not that it would ever happen, but for the sake of my rant, its perfect.

As SR continues to grow and improve, here's to hoping that one thing they square away is this BS involving edited tracks. Look, if I don't want my kid (should I have one) listening to bad language I will block out the channels he might encounter it on his receiver. Yes, as a parent I would actually take responsibility to teaching my kid! Anyway, help my neck twitch go away…give me people pissing on the stairs because they just don't care!!!

Oh The Horror - Smoking in Tom and Jerry Cartoons!

I'm 30 years old and I love Cartoons. I have no shame in admitting that. However I like the classics. Scooby Doo. Warner Brothers (Bug Bunny, Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn etc). Hanna Barbara. I even love some 80's cartoons. G.I. Joe. Voltron (to a point), and especially The Transformers. But recently one of my all time favorite classics is now coming under fire. And no, its not Bugs Bunny for the way they portrayed a couple of Japanese Characters back in the late 40's or early 50's. No, this time its Tom & Jerry!

Across the pond in Britain, Tom & Jerry have come under fire after complaints about smoking that is seen in their cartoons. WHAT? This from the country that collectively masturbates over telling Americans we over react to everything? They get off on bitching about the fact we always sue each other. They complain about our policies, our country etc like it effects them any. This country is now the proving ground for removing smoking from a couple of Tom and Jerry Cartoons well over 50 years old? Perfect. Perhaps they should take some of that free time they have on their hands and mix in a trip or twenty to the dentist to get their chompers looked at. The world just keeps sinking lower and lower.

Don't get me wrong. I find smoking reprehensible. I find nothing at all redeeming about it. Its gross, its disgusting. There aren't too many things worse than sucking face with some chick who is a smoker. It's like licking a bubbling tar pit. Hell, taking a look at some chick with a heater hanging out of her dick holster or dangling in one of her cock tongs is far from a turn-on. However, in the anti-smoking campaign that I proudly support, there is such a thing as taking it too far. I have the complete T&J cartoon set on DVD. Smoking included. There are a handful of cartoons that have smoking. You know, Texas Tom the Cowboy rolling up a heater in front of a hot cowgirl cat in which he takes a big puff and exhales the word "HOWDY". Then there is Tom's buddy/enemy, the alley cat who is sucking on a stogie that looks like the end exploded. Look, I'm all about sending the right message to kids. Smoking is wrong. It should be minimal if at all in movies and such. But smoking in a cartoon more than 50 years old…let it go. I watched T&J all through my childhood and never once did it make me want to go grab a heater and see if I could exhale "howdy" for the chickie-babe down the street. Just like it never made me want to get a shotgun and take shots at a mouse, or start a fireworks war, or try and slice up a mouse with a sword etc. Just another perfect example of political correctness screwing things up for the rest of us yet again.

Oh, and there is a simple solution to this. And unlike in Britain, it doesn't involve removing all smoking for T&J cartoons and (check that AND) reviewing all cartoons for smoking references. Actually, the solution is for the parents to actually take responsibility for the actions of their children and teach them correctly. I know if a kid is going to smoke, they are going to smoke or try it etc. But how simple is it for a parent to educate their kid on smoking…especially when it is seen on a 50 plus year old cartoon. Its not that difficult to explain that 1.) its just a cartoon and 2.) don't do it. Its for entertainment purposes only. Much the same way a parent (hopefully) would explain that a murder in a movie is not okay, but its just a story and not real. However, that doesn't make it acceptable to go out and whack someone.

All I can do is shake my head over all of this. Well done Britain. What, was rioting over Soccer getting a little boring so you thought this would be a great diversion? Go ahead and eat your fish and chips, drink your warm beer, oh, and leave cartoons alone.

Refreshing AM Radio in Rochester

For the past week and a half or so, the radio waves here in Rochester New York has been remarkably better than they have been for years. Why you might ask? That’s easy. It's because the "local" host of a sports radio talk show from 9am to 12pm is no longer on the air. The Brad Davies Show is no more on Rochester's only Sports Talk Station - 1280 WHTK. And while its unfortunate that Brad basically received a promotion as he took a new job in Houston Texas, at least he and his lame show are no longer on the Rochester Airwaves.
If you have never heard of this asscan, you're probably asking yourself what's my beef with him? Well, the list could go on and on, but I will drop a few here. Oh, and I hate this guy so much that I would rather console Terry Tiffee after making his 4th error of the game to cost the Redwings a spot in the playoff's than be forced to piss on Brad Davies if he was on fire. Anyway, I digress.
1.) If you are going to have a legitimate Sports Talk Show, you cannot be bias or at least show bias. Mr. Davies failed greatly at this. Dude is from Uttica where he had a talk show until Rochester came calling, however this Uttica native has a favorite team in each of the 3 major sports…and hockey. He was never shy about pimping them. Attacking listeners who had opinions that went against his own (in relation to his team), and he spent a lot of time bashing the local favorite teams. The only exception were the Buffalo Bills. He never bashed them like he did say the Yankees (at one point), the Mets this year etc.
2.) In conjunction with #1, Brad Davies is what you would call a fair weather fan. At least on one of his teams. Lets take a look at his favorite teams. In Hockey he is a NY Rangers Fan. In Basketball, he is a NY Knicks Fan. And while those teams are far from impressive, his criticism of them is usually lost by his excuse making as to why they suck. In Football, he is a NY Giants Fan. Now I know what you're thinking. "This guy is a bastion of NY sports" right? Wrong. Dudes Favorite Baseball team is the NY errrrrrrr Atlanta Braves. That’s right sports fans. Mr. NY Sports is a "diehard" Braves Fan. Right. Now I know we all have our stories about why we like certain teams. Generally I have been fans of teams from all over the country. Brad however seems to like ALL NY Sports except baseball. Mr. Davies is around 34 years old, so lets drop back about 15 years. The Braves are emerging as a perennial power while the Yankees were mired in mediocrity and the Mets were on a downward swing. 19 year old Bradley jumped on the Braves Bandwagon. I'm surprised he didn't blow out a knee in doing so. Scumbag. He has spent his time on the air here in Rochester attacking Chowd Nation (well, that’s okay). Last year he spent the year piling on the Yankees and their fans. This year with the emergence of the Mets as a powerhouse again, he has been all over the Mets team, the mets players and the Mets Fans. All while continually pimping the Braves or making excuses for them. The way this guy talks about the Braves one would think they have won 10 of the last 14 World Series. Never mind the fact they cannot sell out their own yard for a playoff game. Never mind the fact the Braves have no Third Basemen, what with Larry hurt yet again when he can pile on budding Superstar David Wright. Even one of Davies co-hosts who is a Yankees Honk is a Wright Fan because he likes the kid, his game, and doesn't need to bash him because he is a rival. Listening to one sided Sports takes with a fair weather twist got old and ridiculous. The best Brad Davies Shows were the ones Brad Davies weren’t a part off.

3.) The Show Format Sucks. The only good feature about the show was his weekly call form Bruce Markinson - formerly of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Dude knows more info about baseball past and present that I could ever hope to know and he was a great interview. Davies Friday Football "Spectacular" where he spent the show taking callers pics (4 of them) for the upcoming NFL games was dull and boring. His recycled takes and stolen show bits and ideas from other broadcasters were tired and lame. I almost wish I could hear his show in Houston. His fair-weather attitude and lame gimmicks are not going to last in the 7th biggest market in the country.
4.) Brad is not funny. He acts otherwise, but he just wasn't funny. I get that it’s a sports show and not laughfest at the Apollo, but that didn't stop him from acting like and thinking he was funny.

I could go on and on. While we wait to hear who will be the official replacement for Brad here in Rochester, I'm giving my vote to Ben Turchen (I know I spelled the lat name wrong) because this dude gets it. He has been hosting all week and on Monday he was talking about although he is a Yankees Fan, he cannot show bias towards them if he is going to operate a major (for this market) sports talk show. I also saw that as a shot against that dilznik Davies as well…and I loved it.
Whoever ends up replacing Davies here in Craptown won't have to do too much to eclipse what Davies left behind. Things that include a fair weather syndrome. A litter of pathetic insults against the Mets and Yankees and their Fans. Lame takes. Worse jokes. Before I go, let me just say one final thing…..
Houston, you have a problem and here it is…


Coming Soon!

More info on Craptowns Soccer Debacle errrr Stadium
Some Wedding Photos
More Useless Opinions of Mine