Annoying Thought of the Day

LAUNCHcast on Yahoo was something I discovered after becoming tired of my CD collection and frustrated over the local radio stations getting screwed out of the internet. It helped me get acquainted with Miles Davis and create a world where Creed never existed.

Even despite its faults--still waiting for a Beatles and Lennon selection over here--LAUNCHcast has the potential to give you a better selection on your personalized radio station than any ten radio stations over two states (and I speak as someone who has driven from Massachusetts to Rhode Island pretty frequently throughout my life). They even had a good selection of spoken word albums to choose from. It's worth the small annual fee, I have to say.

So what's irking me? Well, recently LAUNCHcast finally added Bill Hicks to their library. And hearing him and Joe Rogan pretty regularly prompted me to try out something I never tried on LAUNCHcast: the specialty stations. Specifically the all-comedy station.

Ooooh. Big mistake.

Thanks to my fast-fowarding, I was treated to samplings from nearly all the Blue Collar Comedy library, at least five Comic Relief albums...and Jimmy Fallon.

Let me emphasize that last one. Jimmy Fallon. A man whose standup routine shows a complete lack of timing and wit. It only makes sense if you think you're listening to someone doing an impression of a comedian with a complete lack of timing and wit. Even then you might say he's not doing a very good acting job.

Not one single sampling of Hicks, Rogan, or even Richard Pryor (whose selection is almost five times that of Hicks and plays on my personal station constantly). Fallon? The same track, through multiple clicking, actually came up two or three times. I swear to you that this never happens to LAUNCHcast listeners on their regular stations, even if they pick the same track (one they actually like) three times off of three different albums. You're more likely to spontaneously combust than hear your same favorite song twice in an hour.

I'm glad LAUNCHcast has opportunities for people who know where to look. It just really bugs me that what they consider mainstream comedy could actually bore mainstream listeners.

I've been thinking about stand-up comedy a lot after watching the fascinating Comedian documentary with Jerry Seinfeld. I might actually do a piece related to that movie, if I can just get the rest of my essay ideas started and finished.