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GerdaWordyer

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
1,052
The "After Dark" radio show seems to have devolved into a conspiracy loons arena. But I was hoping that since it's October they would have more spooky topics, but so far, no ghostie or EVP shows. It seems to have a more political righty bent too. And it's loaded with those Carnvora infomercials.
So I miss Art Bell.
 
Carnvora infomercials?
 
Lean, Mean Fat-Grilling Machines?
 
The "After Dark" radio show seems to have devolved into a conspiracy loons arena. But I was hoping that since it's October they would have more spooky topics, but so far, no ghostie or EVP shows. It seems to have a more political righty bent too. And it's loaded with those Carnvora infomercials.
So I miss Art Bell.

You're not the only one who feels that way, by a long shot. Coast To Coast AM was never the same without Art Bell, who was just the person you wanted to hear telling creepy stories and fielding weird calls in the middle of the night. The rightward conspiracy bent was always there but I imagine it's even more so now. I haven't had the nerve to listen to it lately, I can't escape Alex Jones as it is :rolleyes:

Does your internet server support video now ? If so, there are loads of Art Bell's various radio shows on YouTube, including his famous Halloween ghost programs. I know it's a sad substitute, but at least they're available.
 
News story about Art Bell from 1999:

Art Bell Explains Why He Left Airwaves
PAHRUMP, Nev., May 28 (UPI) -- Nighttime radio talk show host Art Bell has revealed the reason for his extended absence from the airwaves last year. Bell and his attorney, Jerry Fox, of the Los Angeles-based law firm Fox, Siegler & Spalane, disclosed today on the nationally syndicated show that false accusations of child molestation on a shortwave radio show based in Davidson County, Tenn., prompted him to quit. Bell has filed a defamation suit in Nashville against the station and its host and guest.

More text at https://www.konformist.com/1999/artbella.htm
 
I don't miss Art. Yes, he was better at what he did than anyone I know of who came after him, but he was (and probably still is) full of shit.

He's had several more abortive attempts at returning to a regular radio presence, but has sabotaged each with his erratic behavior. He got dumped from Sirius XM soon after he started, for insisting he had the right to post his previous shows on his web site. After he got canned, he left a lot of people hanging, and I don't know what became of the site. I'm sure a lot of people lost money. After that, things got crummier and then well into the batshit crazy realm. Even his SXM show featured the "usual suspects", a handful of cranks, frauds, and proven BS artists.

You can still hear him on HAM radio, no doubt, blasting out of his high desert bunker with (most likely illegal) great power and a giant antenna farm. He's a real piece of work.
 
Carnvora infomercials?
Carnivora.
From their website:
President Ronald Reagan used Carnivora successfully in 1985 when he had it sent to the White House
Source: "German ****** Therapies", pg. 101
Author, Dr. Morton Walker - Winner of 27 Journalism awards
------------------------------------------------------------
We can play "Guess what word they made ******" !
 
Art is still associated with the Midnight in the Desert podcast, he does some spots and promos for them. It's a subscription podcast. The host Heather Wade was Art's producer when he started the podcast and took over for him after an intruder came to his property a few times and threatened him and his family by firing shots at Art's house and studio (this activity was confirmed by the local police on Facebook, not something made up by him).
 
He's had several more abortive attempts at returning to a regular radio presence, but has sabotaged each with his erratic behavior.

I've heard someone claiming that one of his (Art Bell's) recent comebacks ended as he was unhappy with being forced to rely on Skype etc. for interviews (pretty much the usual technical solution for internet 'radio stations').

If this is true I can understand his position. I've lost count of the number of podcasts I've switched off due to the low audio quality, constant dropouts and that annoying whooshing noise gate effect muddying the beginnings and endings of words. It's a good thing, in theory, that 'broadcasting' has been opened up to those without access to professional studio set-ups, but a lot of these paranormal / conspiracy shows, although potentially entertaining, are exhausting to listen to. Particularly as presenters and contributors often see no reason not to go about their everyday business on an open mic - you hear people chewing and crunching, slurping drinks, clicking lighters, smoking and vaping and so on. One show that I actually did want to listen to the other day was made inaudible by one of the hosts having a coughing fit for about two minutes and a few minutes later by someone noisily doing the washing up.*

It is amusing though how technical problems such as a VoIP call dropping or becoming unintelligable are frequently held up as evidence that 'they' (security services or 'The A.I.') are listening in. I've heard this explantion many times on one show in particular which I won't name (rhymes with 'Nev Shaker').

Label me a snob if you like, but I really don't accept anyone calling their hobby a 'radio station' if they can't manage to achieve the most rudimentary production values. And if they're not actually on the radio.

I can see why Art Bell might feel the same.


...and the version I was listening to, on YouTube, had allegedly been edited!
 
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No argument here on that score. Poor audio quality has been a pet peeve of mine for decades, and the main reason I don't bother with podcasts anymore. It's hard to take even the "professionals" seriously when you can hear people, pets, and machinery in the background, making the already marginal sound quality into hash. But Art's self-inflicted problems go far beyond that, and I daresay he wouldn't be dealing with things like Skype if he could just stay at the job he claims he loves so much. All he had to do was read the contract he signed with Sirius, and follow the terms and he'd still be on the air if he wanted to be. Their other hosts don't seem to have any trouble doing that. I heard one of them say all you need is a T1 line and a good computer to do a show on Sirius. The streaming quality is generally good, and other technical aspects seem to be of reasonable quality.

As I recall, Art's career at Sirius ended up with a standoff for two years. He stopped doing a show for them, they stopped paying him, and he whined that he was prevented by that contract from doing any other show. Something like that. I gave up on Art years ago.
 
Yes, I think he has a reputation as a man who likes to have everything his own way - not neccessarily a disasterous personality trait for a broadcaster dealing with controversial topics.

But some of his interviews have seemed decidely lacklustre to me: he'd often challenge a guest on the details of their testimony apparently at random, thereby interrupting the flow of a narrative, and yet I've heard him blandly indulge people who - in my judgement at least - appear to be obvious fantasists.

For example, a guest may say, "...and that's when the 15 foot tall male praying mantis explained that he was in fact my mother", to which AB would reply "Oh?...." or "Huh. Your.........mother?". And that would be that, and on to the next extraordinary claim.

Obviously as a presenter one has good shows and bad - and times when distracted by tiredness, illness, worries over real-life preoccupations, or just feeling bored or 'not really into it' that night....but that's where the professionalism should come into play.

Having made the above minor criticisms I'd like to say that I have enjoyed many of his shows over the years very much and would listen to him again if he were to reappear.
 
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The "Oh, really?" delivered in a blase fashion seems to be the thing George Noory has seized on. It does not seem to have hurt his career, but I never listen to him.

I don't mean to sound dismissive of Art's work. I did enjoy his show for several years, and he had the first good UFO website I encountered. There were other ones I would have liked better if I'd known about them, but Art's show and website were accessible and interesting. He seemed to get burned out about the time of his first "permanent retirement", and things never did get better. I'm sure a lot of his troubles were very real back then, but the drama got old fast. That, and keeping the flakes and flim-flam men on regular rotation long after they had been exposed really turned me off.
 
Carnivora.
From their website:
President Ronald Reagan used Carnivora successfully in 1985 when he had it sent to the White House
Source: "German ****** Therapies", pg. 101
Author, Dr. Morton Walker - Winner of 27 Journalism awards
------------------------------------------------------------
We can play "Guess what word they made ******" !

My instinctive guess was schizer, but we're an asterisk short.
 
The "Oh, really?" delivered in a blase fashion seems to be the thing George Noory has seized on. It does not seem to have hurt his career, but I never listen to him.

I don't mean to sound dismissive of Art's work. I did enjoy his show for several years, and he had the first good UFO website I encountered. There were other ones I would have liked better if I'd known about them, but Art's show and website were accessible and interesting. He seemed to get burned out about the time of his first "permanent retirement", and things never did get better. I'm sure a lot of his troubles were very real back then, but the drama got old fast. That, and keeping the flakes and flim-flam men on regular rotation long after they had been exposed really turned me off.

Ha ha! You are quite correct. I'd forgotten about Noory!

The habit seems to have spread to many younger podcasters too - who will listen to a long-winded-credibility-stretching anecdote about Angels reprogramming somebody's DNA when they were time-travelling Supersoldiers who had inadvertently caused the Mandela Effect and respond with:

"Huh."

It's not Pulitzer-winning journalism is it? ;)
 
My instinctive guess was schizer, but we're an asterisk short.

:)

Yep, Carnivora's radio adverts make the same remarkable claim about Reagan! I doubt they'd get away with such advertising on this side of the pond.
 
The show was meant to be a forum where people could report experiences without ridicule, so I think that's where the "I see" and the "Oh really?" came in. Entertainment, not journalism.
 
Does your internet server support video now ? If so, there are loads of Art Bell's various radio shows on YouTube, including his famous Halloween ghost programs. I know it's a sad substitute, but at least they're available.

We can afford only the cheapest dial up so we're stuck with broadcast radio. If only NPR would launch a paranomal/Fortean late night show
:Givingup:
 
News story about Art Bell from 1999:
Yes, I think he has a reputation as a man who likes to have
But some of his interviews have seemed decidely lacklustre to me: he'd often challenge a guest on the details of their testimony apparently at random, thereby interrupting the flow of a narrative, and yet I've heard him blandly indulge people who - in my judgement at least - appear to be obvious fantasists.

For example, a guest may say, "...and that's when the 15 foot tall male praying mantis explained that he was in fact my mother", to which AB would reply "Oh?...." or "Huh. Your.........mother?". And that would be that, and on to the next extraordinary claim.

Having made the above minor criticisms I'd like to say that I have enjoyed many of his shows over the years very much and would listen to him again if he were to reappear.
I liked the way he balanced a bit of dismissive skepticism (That's the way I heard his "Oh?...." or "Huh. Your.........mother?"type remarks) with his obvious fascination with some creepy stuff. Noori fawns on all his guests with credulous "Aw!. . . Geez!" type responses.
 
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He did semi-retire in 2003 and then retired in 2007 from C2C. It was good while it lasted. I never followed him after he left, but as it goes...the show is never quite the same when the innovator leaves the stage.

"West of the Rockies, turn your radio down"

(Live call-in shows have a few seconds delay to cut off any crank callers. A radio going on in the background introduces an echo.)

Gene
 
Update:

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg, whose office in Las Vegas handled the medical examination, said Bell had the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone, the sedative diazepam and the muscle-relaxant carisoprodol in his system.

High blood pressure and the lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder were additional "significant conditions" in Bell's death, Fudenberg said.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article...rce=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#photo-15687588
 
Very sad, don't think anyone could fill his shoes really. Listened to a good episode of MonsterTalk this morning dedicated to Art, https://www.skeptic.com/podcasts/monstertalk/18/07/25/

MonsterTalk host Blake Smith looks back at the career and impact of radio-host Art Bell who passed away on April 13, 2018 at the age of 72. Bell’s influential radio show Coast to Coast AM (still being produced today with George Noory at the microphone) was the launching pad for thousands of stories of the bizarre, the mysterious and the conspiratorial. Was he simply an entertainer? Was he harmful to the American radio listener? Some thoughts on the cultural impact of this titan of the night.
 
I'm quite surprised that there hasn't been an obituary for Art in Necrolog yet, he passed away about four months ago now. I know he was not as well known in the U.K. as in the US but I'm sure a fair amount of U.K. forteans have listened at least once to Coast to Coast AM online. There have been plenty of obituaries in FT over the years for more obscure people. Considering Art's legacy and massive contribution to the field of paranormal radio and the impact he had on the hosts of many current fortean podcasts, I think he deserves a page or two in the mag.
 
If you search your favourite podcast provider for Art Bell Archive, or Classic Art Bell Podcast, you'll find loads of old episodes from his radio show, including one with a nice Timothy Good interview that I listened to earlier.
 
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