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Kevin Alfred Strom

On 3/10/2011 3:28 PM, David Kaye wrote:
wrote:

but nothing on the airwaves anymore? not even
worldwide airwaves?

Oldtime radio has a very very very limited audience. I remember a station in
Portland that used to run this stuff and the Arbitrons looked really strange.
The audience was nearly 100% male, ages 12 to 17 and 60+ with nothing in the
middle. This was in the pre-Internet days, so I suspect the 12-17 age group
has dropped off and the 60+ has now become 90+. Seriously.

LIstening to this stuff it just doesn't hold up.

Same thing with silent movies. I was going to go to the Balboa Theater's 85th
anniversary party last Sunday night in San Francisco, but I saw there was some
obscure Rudolph Valentino silent movie on the bill. I realized that I really
hate silent films. Now that we have sound and better production techniques,
and better acting for that matter, the stuff is really rank.

Well, oldtime radio is like that. Some things like the old Jack Benny shows
hold up, and Fred Allen does a little, but Jack Armstrong is garbage, even
Burns and Allen did not wear well. Gunsmoke comes out pretty well, tho.

Lum and Abner has kind of minimalist Zen aura about it, and it still
works.

And the Goon Show is still insanely funny.

All the best,

Kevin, WB4AIO.
--
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