I know Ty has already written about the subject, but hey, you can never have enough HOT SPROTS TAKES, am I right? But before I get to football, bullying and this entire Miami Dolphins fiasco, let me talk for a bit about pornography. Earlier this year, the site kink.com came under fire from former, um,…
It’s official: we have turned into GIGANTIC pussies! In the same week I wrote an article about Internet vigilante justice—which explains how overly sensitive, easily offended whiners are ruining life—the following news came out: an NFL player has been suspended indefinitely for…BULLYING. Here are the highlights: Miami Dolphins guard Richie Incognito was harassing fellow teammate…
On Soundtrack of the Week, you may have heard me refer to the Internet as “The Great Democratizer” about a couple thousand times over the past four years. Meaning, the global community democratically (and somewhat organically) decides when something morally or socially unacceptable occurs. When we come upon this common ground, we expose and shame…
Ty Fisher Halloween is just around the corner! This is the holiday wear kids get to dress up in costumes, get a boat load of candy, and…well…be a kid! NOPE! Once again, the older generations are sucking the life out of childhood. Schools Now Have Strict Costume Rules. In addition to making trick-or-treating damn near…
Ty Fisher With the government shutdown, the residual effects of the Great Recession still looming and wages still stagnant for the past 20 years, there is a good chance you are broke and in major debt. Turn that frown upside down, because I have some great news! LOL, J/K! Rent Is Up 3% From Last…
Currently, the United States federal government is shutdown because of a “financial dispute” while the rest of the country is still recovering from the Great Recession of 2008 (yeah, it’s still not over, despite what you may have been told). Meanwhile in Switzerland: Yup! Swiss citizens want a guaranteed income of $2,800/mo as a response…
I sometimes wonder why I’m such a big sports fan. I was into it as a kid, but by the time I reached middle school, I abandoned sports for music, drugs and girls. I was only interested in things that “mattered”, and dudes throwing around balls and hitting each other didn’t seem to have as…
October is here, and you know what that means: Halloween! The most difficult part about this time of year is choosing the right costume. It has to be original, but not lame. If your costume is going to be topical, you can’t do something that surely everyone else will do (e.g. your Heisenberg costume will…
Many of you were rather upset—dare I say “butthurt”—over Jay’s “Worst Bands in the History of Rock Music” list. People took to social media with pitchforks and torches, ready to burn Jay at the stake. In addition to making me laugh, this also inspired me to create my own list. Some of you demanded justice!…
On the next Soundtrack of the Week (Episode 152), we will be discussing race and education with one of the hosts of The Reasonable Negro. Not only are we all stupid, but apparently, 100% of us are racist. For many years, people were under the impression that race relations have improved dramatically over the past…
I think about music constantly. Not just what types of music I like or dislike, but which bands are good and bad for the music industry. One day, I’ll focus on the good, spreading cheer and introducing people to some of the greatest musicians the world has ever known. This is not one of those…
After over two years of desperately seeking a full-time gig in radio, I may have just been given the opportunity I’ve been looking for…and I might decline it. Although I have not been formally offered the job, a radio station in Lansing, Michigan has showed extreme interest. When a company asks for you to research…
On the last episode of Soundtrack of the Week, Episode 149: Forever Alone, I got to enjoy listening to my co-hosts spouting off everything that is wrong with me and why no one should date me. Whereas there is a lot of truth in what they said, I would like to say…well…nothing really. They were…
I am about to explain life to you, so I suggest you get comfortable and prepare to have your mind blown. I would also suggest smoking a bowl, but that’s up to you. Life is a tricky little thing and seemingly very complex. However, it’s not at all complex when you break it down, and…
It has been over 20 years since the L.A. Riots, and the LAPD is just as dangerous to minorities today as they were back then. Pretty soon, we may see another race war, but it is not because of the LAPD. Rather, it will be because of an isolated incident that occurred on the other…
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Like those of you who are not in the United States, Thursday was no different than any other Thursday for me. Well, unless you’re in Egypt, in which case you were probably celebrating a new moment in independence. While my fellow Americans were celebrating their independence…
This week was a historical week for the United States on several levels. It all began Tuesday night with Senator Wendy Davis’ filibuster to stop an anti-abortion bill in the Texas state legislature. After 10 hours and 45 minutes of non-stop talking and standing, the Republican-led legislature managed to find a way to stop Davis…
If you take a peek at last week’s Roundup, you’ll notice that the intro monologue was deleted. For reasons I cannot get into, it had to be done. What I can tell you is the underlying issue that caused the shit storm that prompted the removable of the monologue: alcohol abuse. Those of you that…
The opening monologue for this week has been redacted. Sorry. With that said, enjoy the rest of THIS WEEK’S ROUNDUP! It’s tornado season! By now, everyone outside of Tornado Alley is aware of this due to recent, high-profile tornadoes. If the media was no indicator, maybe this is: “Tornado tourism” is actually a thing. For…
Right now, there are some major protests going on in Turkey. Going by the name of Occupy Gezi, thousands of people are protesting against their government for a variety of reasons. Here’s a New York Times ad created by one of the protesters: Over the course of Prime Minister Erdoğan’s ten-year term, we have witnessed…
I usually reserve this opening paragraph for ranting and raving about something that happened to me this week. This week, I want to turn your attention to something that has nothing to do with me. As we are all well aware, the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma left many lives in ruins. Houses were destroyed and…
The big news this week was the tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest. More specifically, the EF-5 tornado that destroyed Moore, Oklahoma. Like every other tragedy before it, people scrambled to social media to let everyone know that they were praying for the victims. Because—you know—praying is exactly what those people need to get their…
After a five month hiatus, I have decided to resurrect the SOTW Roundup. Why? Simply put, I have enough time to do it. Rather than fall asleep at my graveyard shift job, I have decided to do something constructive with my time. Some people would choose to hone a skill that will get them a…
Tragedy struck twice last with two shooting in two different parts of the country. In Oregon, a gunman killed two people inside a mall before taking his own life. Three days later, a 20-year-old male—certainly cannot call him a man—walked into an elementary school and took the lives of 20 children, six adult faculty members,…
After three months of unemployment, I finally landed a job. One month into it and I already want out. It has nothing to do with the work, although the work is less than fulfilling. In fact, I love working. In addition to having a full-time job, I work a part-time job in radio and spend…
The Kansas City Chiefs made headlines again this year, and like all the other headlines this season, it wasn’t pretty. I’m of course talking about the Javon Belcher murder/suicide. Since this made national headlines, I’m assuming you know the story. If not, here you go. Per standard protocol, Twitter blew up, and in true nature…
When I talk about music with people of my generation, I routinely come off as the “get off my lawn” old man, even though I’m younger than Kurt Cobain was when Courtney Love shot him. I almost never listen to new music, and more often than not I look down upon and make fun…
Thanksgiving is behind us, which means it’s time to think about Christmas, effective immediately. Americans would start Christmas the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday. This year, Walmart decided to start Christmas before the enzymes in your body could breakdown the turkey and pumpkin pie in your digestive system by having Gray Thursday. A recent…
Israel and Hamas are going at it. I could spend this time talking about the horrors of war and—really—what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Or I can talk about how this is happening—not coincidentally—a month before Apocalypse 2012: The Mayan Edition. Instead, I want to discuss how Occupy Chicago had a protest march in…
Que “Hail to the Chief” The abortion that is known as a presidential campaign year is now over, so everybody can breathe a huge sigh of relief…unless you’re a conservative/republican. In that case, you will probably be stewing in hate for another four years. This past presidential election revealed how divided this country truly is.…
President Obama winning a second term is the biggest, most important win in decades for a group that desperately needed it. The type of group that had been downtrodden, beaten to a pulp by their leaders and needed that one sign to say it was time for hope and change. The type of people who…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012, is National “Demand Radio Diversity” Day. What is that? Well, I’m glad you asked. Inspired by the documentary film “Corporate FM” (www.fmfilm.com), Soundtrack of the Week has decided to put together a day where everyone calls their favorite local radio stations and demand they play more local and indie artists. Essentially,…
I’m going to spend this time to rant about the evil corporation known as Time Warner. Time Warner has done a superb job of having a near monopoly on local cable television and Internet services. They are quite aware of the stranglehold they have on the market; their terrible customer service reflects…
There is something out there that brings an entire city together. This thing also causes wars between separate cities. It’s a multimillion-dollar industry whose success in individual battles is dependent on the general running the army. I’m talking about sports. Kansas City is widely known as a major sports town…mostly because we have nothing else…
Today, Alex Pappademas wrote a piece for Grantland outlining Tim Burton’s career, and how the director has slowly morphed into a also-ran cover-artist. I’ve seen this type of thought process before, so I guess I shouldn’t be shocked that this storyline is being regurgitated after every new Burton project that every hates is coming out. The same…
Being single is either the greatest thing or the worst. It all depends how easy it is for you to meet someone. For those that are drowning in a tsunami of sex, the single life probably isn’t all that bad. For those of us that have trouble getting a halfway decent person to give us…
As of this writing, I’m still recovering from a Saturday night that should only be reserved for people with a record contract. This was a night where stripping naked in a shared hotel room to take a bath at 3:00am may not have cracked the top 5 most Keith Moon-esque thing I did Saturday. With…
Let me tell you why music sucks. That’s something I’ve been trying to explain for quite a long time, yielding very poor results. Obviously, I still think I’m right, and that modern music is lesser of an art form than that made when my parents were my age, but attempting to tell people why is…
Summer is finally over! Maybe not officially, but the weather change is the barometer I measure by rather than arbitrary date a few people decided on. Actually, it’s not that arbitrary. It has something to do with the sun…and Earth…and probably Jesus or something. We had a brutal summer here in the Midwest. There were…
I was going to spend this time talking about the need to constantly backup your hard drive since I fried mine by 18-months worth of downloading porn stock projections. Instead, I want to talk about something that reared its ugly head the other day: 9/11 conspiracy theorists. These people do not offend me because they…
When we last got together, I was freshly unemployed. I was a little worried due to the statistics that are out there. At the same time, I was a little optimistic since I have a 15-week severance package. Well, six weeks have come and gone, so it’s time to start Part 2 of Diaries of…
After a one-week vacation in Dallas, the SOTW Roundup is back! I’m using the term “vacation” loosely considering I have been unemployed since the end of July. This was the first time in god knows how long since I have left Kansas City. I learned two things while I was away. The first thing I…
The day I thought would never come: Lance Armstrong is revealed to be a fraud. That sentence right there will get about half (so roughly, two) of the people reading this to exit their browser. Lance defenders will simply toss up that the 7-time Tour de France winner has never failed a drugged test. Very…
Election week is just right around the corner! Actually, it’s over three months away, but close enough. Usually, this is the worst time of year, but every now and then something awesome happens. You know, things like suggesting rape can either be legitimate or illegitimate, and that the female body has the ability to tell…
The Toadies and Helmet made their way to the Beaumont Club in Kansas City during their national tour together with opener Ume on August 12th. Although the two headliners hail from the ‘90s, the crowd at the Beaumont included a mixture of young and old. This dichotomy of youthful energy versus maturity would later be…
Unassociated Press 