What's the deal with Knapp? He tries to announce/backannounce every song like a top 40 jock... kind of weird for a talk show.
It's his inner Casey Kasem, I don't mind it, especially compared to the boob from Monday to Friday who wouldn't know Lennon from Lenin(he knows neither,actually)
My sentiments exactly. Knapp respectfully acknowledges things; Noory is wantonly oblivious of everything.
And coincidental that you mention
the inner Casey Kasem. Some time ago, I opined about the Kasem - Noory connection in another forum. Here it is:
...Lately I've been listening to old "American Top 40" shows from the '70s. Hosted by Kemal "Casey" (remember that name?) Kasem, the Detroit-born reputed "friend" of the Noor. The jingles on and ads for that show really played up the personal angle toward Kasem, informally calling the show "Casey Counts 'Em Down" and "Casey's Coast to Coast." The guy had/has a sickeningly overdone radio voice, by the way --very proto Noory. Then years later, Noory gets the shot at a show called --what?-- "Coast to Coast." How could he help but to try to make it all about him? [Jingle]
"Georgiee's Coast to Co-o-oast!" He has to live up to and surpass Kasem's lead; imagine the chiding he takes from mom and dad Noory for being on so late that their geriatric Lebanese friends don't believe that their boy Georgie really has a national show, like that wonderful Kasem boy had!!!
Kasem made the show "his" by pretending (given unlimited production time and god knows how big a staff) to know and expound on bits of very-obvious pop-music trivia; in fairness to the Noor, I guess he
does take the
occasional non-scripted call, so his Team does occasionally have to do some 'net searching on the fly to try to make Georgie look "knowledgeable." Georgie sez: "Bwowee, if Ahyy heyud a week to russurch one cwall owur leddur each week, Ahyy cwuld lwook eyuz smwart eyuz Cyasey! Dwarn hyim!"
Kasem would read letters to the show (i.e., to "him), all of which began "Dear Casey," and which were usually nauseatingly feel-good and/or wanna-be heart-tugging, either wanting to share with the other folks at the campfire through, or seeking the benediction of, wise and kindly Uncle Casey. All about
him.
Callers to the Noor are (I'd bet anything) coached by the screeners to begin with "How are
you?" (the live radio version of "Dear George"), and so many proceed to babble and expose their ignorance, while sharing their wonderment with, or seeking some sort of salvation from, the perpetually-amazed yet all-knowing Noor. All about
him.
Kasem presented "Pop Music" as an esoteric world of amazing secrets, and himself as the Great Explorer-Mediator, to anyone un-hip enough back then to buy it that way. But for all his "expertise," Kasem so often sounded befuddled and like he was doing a cold read as he would read the names of songs or bands. Downright "square," reading those post-psychedelia-, disco-era names in a voice designed to soothe granny. Patronizing too, usually saying "the band XXXX" or even "a band called...XXXX" so you, dumb listener, would understand that "XXXX" was the name of a band and not some random noun he had dropped into the sentence. There's a whole heap of Proto-Noorishness in all that.
In sum, Noory is trying to create the illusion of the nationwide funsy campfire (excuse me: "keeyumpfwayur"), with him as the Scoutmaster genial and wise, who nonetheless never fails to share in the wonderment of all his simple little charges [which ain't easy, when you're never listening!]. The insertion of his phony life details are supposed to make us, by way of the guests, think he is right there with us in all we do. You know, like God -- omnipresent, omniscient. It just occurs to me that phony-ass phony-voiced Kasem is somehow his model in this-- consciously or not.
* Noory's in the odd position of trying to seem like a "man of the people" to the rubes on the radio while also trying to look enough like a jet-setter to fool the folks who see him at the Greek restaurant. Like Groucho Marx once observed about club memberships, Noory is just smart enough to know that he doesn't want too much contact with anyone marginal enough to think he's "great" in any way.
* What do you suppose Georgie thinks of "Casey," consciously or not? What might he think
that name befitting of...?
Poll