Ric Chetter - From Radioland

Episode 273: Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude is a great word. A German word which has found its way into our vernacular. Although you don't hear it too much, it does describe a fairly everyday emotion. Finding the joy in watching someone fail. It's a cruel world out there and as much as you want to believe it is sweet and nice, it is not. In this episode, Ric explores the idea behind schadenfreude and how it is nearly impossible to shut it off. There is a reason for that. Also, Ric takes a look at what happened at the 145th running of The Kentucky Derby. Something stinks and it ain't all that horse manure.

NEXT WEEK: Your Mom wants to kill you, apparently.

Episode 272: The Heavyweight Chumps

In a first for this show, Ric sat down with The Heavyweight Chumps. These guys host a podcast about pop culture, wrestling and all sorts of fun things. Several weeks ago, Ric was a guest on their show and to return the favor, The Chumps stepped in to Studio C for a few moments with cocktails to discuss all sorts of things from their perspective on the future of the podcast genre to the future of terrestrial radio and what the hell happened to television. Also, some stories from the world of wrestling, their thoughts on the WWE, the XFL and other sports entertainment. Plus, they played favorites. Also in this episode, Ric talks about the phenomenon of social media influencers. 

NEXT WEEK: The Joy of Witnessing Failure

 

Episode 271: The Emergency Room Emergency

What happens when an artist, performer, entertainer... a show biz type gets sick? Most of those people don't have insurance. Even if they did, it's not all that great. There are a couple things that go through the mind of these folks. "Oh my God, I have to go to the doctor to get that looked at..." followed immediately by, "This is going to cost me more than anything I have..." It's the fear some people out there can't wrap their heads around. Recently, Memphis lost two musicians, one who was an elderly man with cancer and the other, a man in his late 30's who got sick from something that might have been curable. How many more benefits and crowd funding efforts are going to have to happen before we don't have to worry about this stuff any more? Plus, the ridiculous plot to move Graceland out of Memphis.

NEXT WEEK: The Heavyweight Chumps

 

Episode 270: Jerre Dye & Marie-Stéphane Bernard

Opera singer Marie-Stéphane Bernard returns to Radioland bringing her friend Jerre Dye. Jerre is originally from the Midsouth and now lives in Chicago. He's an actor, director, producer and writer. Jerre has taken on the one woman show Sounds of A Dream starring Marie-Stéphane. It is a biographical look at her life and career from Paris, France to Memphis, Tennessee and all the points in between. In this episode you will hear a demo of one of the songs in the production as well as how one writes such a story. Plus, they play favorites. 

For more, head over to Marie-Stéphane's Facebook page.

NEXT WEEK: Graceland

 

Episode 269: Stream This

A good number of us cut the cord some time ago. We thought we had it all figured out. We'll stick it to the cable companies and get what we want. For a while, that worked pretty well. That is until the broadcasters figured out what was going on. They'll have you pay them directly for the content you want. Soon, you are right back in the same boat we were in with the cable companies. It's the next big front in the war over your television. That is, until they find out the number of people who actually own televisions is falling, rapidly. Also, are people having enough of the raw, unfiltered live streaming videos?

NEXT WEEK: Life hacks and Jerre Dye.

Episode 268 - The Unravelling of An Idiot

One of the beautiful things about The United States of America is the ability for all of us to be critical of those who bring us the news. Of course, "news" can be defined in all sorts of manner. In this episode, Ric takes a look at what has been happening with Alex Jones of Infowars fame. He's currently being sued by some family members of those who were killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting. Jones, in the past has claimed the shooting was "staged" and was nothing more than a "false flag" for reasons you'll soon hear. The end result was Jones' followers who had been hounding the parents of those children who died. But the real story here seems to be the incessant pointing of the finger at what Jones calls the "main stream media", whoever that is. There is a bit of a warning here, some of the audio you are going to hear is a bit difficult to listen to.

Additional audio courtesy Katie Mettler of The Washington Post and Kaster, Lynch, Farrar & Ball, LLP.

NEXT WEEK: Was SNL ever relevant?

Episode 267 - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

It's all the rage right now on the internet. ASMR. Apparently, certain sounds can trigger certain responses in the brain akin to "a brain orgasm". In this episode, Ric is going to attempt to recreate those triggers with a few self made ASMR sounds. Is there anything to this? Why are there all these channels on YouTube devoted to this subject? Why are these people making so much money on these videos? It all points to very thing that drives the internet. Content is king. No matter how ridiculous that content may be. 

NEXT WEEK: Adaptation in a strange new world

Episode 266: Brooke Fair

If you ever wanted to get into the head of a 14 year old songwriter, here's your chance. Brooke Fair came to the studio with a new song. Brooke is someone who has lived quite a bit for her 14 years in life. Sarah Simmons brought her to Radio Memphis to show just how talented Brooke is. You'll hear her new song which was produced at Langston Studios. Also in this episode, Ric talks a bit about St. Patrick's day and just how messed up it really is and how it has earned it's title as "rookie night". 

NEXT WEEK: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

Episode 265: Sarah Simmons-Langston & Gregory Langston

From the world of pop music comes Sarah Simmons. She was on The Voice. What was that experience like? In this episode Sarah and her husband Greg will talk about that and what it can mean for a young artist trying to make their mark in the music industry. Also, this couple run a studio (Langston Studios) where they show young artists what actually goes on inside such a place from how to make music and recordings to how to become a better musician. Plus, Ric talks about some of the things people in show business have to deal with on the psychological level. And, they play favorites.

NEXT WEEK: Marie Hutton

 

Episode 264: Marie-Stéphane Bernard

In this episode, Ric sits down with a world travelled opera singer. But, not just any opera singer. Marie-Stéphane Bernard. Originally from downtown Paris and now residing in Memphis (for the most part), her talents have put her literally on the world's stage. Having performed on stages in France, Austria, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and many others. She came to Studio C for a conversation with Ric to talk about the life of a performer in opera. This is fun conversation as we learn about this difficult and entertaining end of show business. For more and to see a few selections of her work, take a look at her website.

NEXT WEEK: Sarah Simmons-Langston and Greg Langston