Author Topic: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors  (Read 60936 times)

mackro

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #165 on: February 19, 2010, 02:58:34 AM »
well, one Best Show episode gets more international listeners than most college radio stations do in an entire year.  OK, maybe that's hyperbolic, but Best Show is pretty popular.  And I certainly don't mean to put other college radio stations down!  But even before the internet, I had heard of WFMU in southern California, before anyone there could hope to listen to it... add Best Show to that, and you have a phenomenon.  So, yeah, there is a major factor there you're leaving off, scratchbomb. :)

Also, it's far less settling to be on the air on the phone than it is to be in a studio where you can (usually) sit down and relax, talk to real people sometimes, be the controller behind the helm and all that.


put_it_away

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #166 on: April 16, 2010, 12:37:22 PM »
My first call was two weeks ago, although to be fair it was to the Mike and Therese Show. I was insanely nervous. I was streaming the show on my phone, so when I called obviously the streaming stopped and I had NO IDEA what was happening on the air from that point until my call was taken.

It went pretty crappily, I think. I called about a bad date I had in college - went to see Braveheart, had a nosebleed and then had my car broken into.

My problem was that sometimes I would talk over Therese because I couldn't hear her very well. I sounded like a bit of a jack ass.

Calling Tom would make me even more nervous, although it is encouraging to hear that I can at least hear the show while I'm on hold. I'll call when/if I have something to add.

Bryan

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #167 on: July 14, 2010, 09:55:49 PM »
Good work, Chad. It was nice having a glimpse into Milo's world.

Also, I thought it was really funny a couple of weeks ago when Milo nervously asserted that "you're not that kind of people" - i.e., the kind that normally shop at Wal-Mart.

betheboy

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #168 on: July 20, 2010, 01:32:31 AM »
Milo's Dad, you did very well.

Rhymes with Don Draper

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #169 on: September 07, 2010, 10:54:33 PM »
I just called in.  I was the guy with the terrible phone reception who then called-in a second time to apologize on a better sounding line.

It was fun, if not a little embarrassing and nerve-inducing.  Because I had a funny story to share with him I wish I had an actual conversation with Tom, but it was still fun to have him sing his own version of "Roll Over Beethoven" to me over-the-phone.  I also liked  saying the words "Professor Scharpling Takes a Sabbatical" to him.

I chalk it up to a "Fun Spill" and I will call-in again!

davidgoeschatting

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #170 on: September 08, 2010, 10:00:28 AM »
Rhymes with Draper, last night was my first too. Usually I've got nothing, so I just sit and listen. But I thought if he really wants to start a band, I could actually offer something, even though I'd be probably about 10 deep in line for drummers he could use. Ah well, he sang Vampire Weekend to me. It was nice.
It's the latest thing to be nowhere. You can turn into the wallpaper.

Rhymes with Don Draper

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #171 on: September 08, 2010, 11:15:30 AM »
Yes, it is strangely nice to have Tom sing to you over the phone the first time you speak to him.

I have a good story to tell Tom and I was hoping to get to that, but it'll have to wait another Tuesday night.

Paydirt!

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #172 on: November 25, 2010, 04:23:20 PM »
Aw man. Reading this whole thread has cheered me right up after my first couple of calls (Peter/Paydirt/Paydah from Tasmania). I guess they didn't go so badly (stuttering aside) but I am a little bit privately embarrassed that I sent Tom an email after my first call apologising for my phone dropping out. Then called straightaway after my second call to apologise to Mike for my phone dropping out. Turns out my phone didn't drop out! :-[

My partner made the sensible point after my last call that naming some bands that Tom might like probably wouldn't be especially interesting for, y'know, everybody else listening. And I have resolved, if I call again, to skip the part where I explain how nervous (or not) I am and how I'm not listening to the show live. Anything else I should keep in mind? I've considered asking Mike what everyone's been talking about, but I don't want to take up too much of his time. Thoughts?

fonpr

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #173 on: November 25, 2010, 05:17:25 PM »
Dear Dirt.  I would suggest something along the lines of:

"Hello Michael.  I hope you are well.   Is there a topic?  Put me on hold please.  Thank you, mate."
"Like it or not, Florida seems dedicated to a 'live fast, die' way of doing things."

Paydirt!

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #174 on: November 25, 2010, 05:27:28 PM »
"Thomas speaks highly of you."

JustNicole

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #175 on: November 26, 2010, 04:09:01 PM »
Paydirt! Nice to see you on the board. Just call from a good connection, be yourself and know that pretty much all of us have been gomped or hung up on.
Doing it Mentos style.

Matt from Springfield

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Re: First Calls: The Thrills, The Spills, The Horrors
« Reply #176 on: January 02, 2011, 02:34:39 AM »
My first call to BS was on June 8, 2010. I had thought of this idea earlier in the week (a sign of a BAD idea) and called in once the music portion of the show ended. The Black Hollies band was becoming very well known, yet did not have their own Wikipedia page, and I wanted to challenge the listeners to see if someone would do it before 11:30 that night, otherwise I would start one. I had never called in to a radio show before, so everything was very new to me. I was surprised that such a popular show had only one line going in--I kept getting busy signals every time I dialed. After almost 10 minutes trying I decided to try 3 more times to see if I could get through.

Finally I heard ringing at the 2nd of those attempts. Mike answered but mumbled "MHTIMST"? (FOTs say Mike answers as "Best Show?") He vetted me, asked if I had something for the topic, which I didn't - it was just announced a few minutes before when I was still trying to dial. Suddenly I heard the show over my phone, jumped forward in time without the radio Delay! I switched to speakerphone because I was on hold for like a half-hour or something, always answering "Hello, Tom?" after every "'FMU, you're on the air". Eventually he got to me, and I was so excited. I listened to the Archive days after to listen to my call objectively, and actually I handled it well for the first half, but while I was waiting to call in I never thought about whether my call would make good radio. When that idea flopped, I made the second mistake of not having any backup idea. I floundered on the air, and Tom mercifully killed that call.

My phone was off the hook before I figured that out, so I turned up my computer speakers again to hear his "commentary": I didn't mind being called "Willy Wonka" because I love the movies and my unreasonable request kind of fits into that, but what really hurt was 10 seconds or so of DEAD AIR before he moved on to other calls. I love the BS and wanted to be a part of it, instead I fucked up even after I went off; I realize how bad dead air is in radio. Well the past is past, I learned what doesn't make a good call; I still want to come in with a good call, I'll just wait till I think of one.

"Matt from Springfield" [Virginia]