HOWARD STERN SHOW NEWS
Here's a really good bio about Howard Stern.
MINISTER OF CULTURE
Visionary Stern off to shock new world
December 16, 2005
Michael Heaton
Plain Dealer Columnist
Today is Howard Stern's last day on terrestrial radio and I have nothing but praise and gratitude. Howard Stern is a brilliant comedian, performance artist and the most innovative, groundbreaking mind in the history of modern broadcasting.
No one on radio in my lifetime has been more popular, more misunderstood and more unfairly scapegoated than Howard Stern. He is the grown-up, real-life embodiment of Holden Caulfield, the fictional protagonist of J.D. Salinger's evergreen coming-of-age novel "The Catcher in the Rye."
The phony adult world- aided by a complicit media- sickened Howard Stern to the bottom of his soul. On the air, he used his microphone like a gun and his sense of humor like an endless belt of bullets to decimate the pervasive world of glib happy-talk that reigned on the airwaves across America. Striking a blow for intelligent, adult listeners everywhere, Howard Stern set about the work of exploding every sacred cow in sight. He went after the mindlessly accepted conventions of modern society with gleeful zeal. He refused to repeat the boring platitudes employed by the lazy, self-satisfied broadcasters who came before him. They were there merely to maintain the status quo for the sake of their public popularity and oversized paychecks.
Howard Stern became a millionaire by refusing to be bought off. He created the world of Howard Stern's Brain, a labyrinthine multiplex of unfiltered, uncensored and unadulterated audio theater. He spoke the Gospel of the First Thought. So we heard Howard on sex. In fact, Howard on sex a lot. But there was also Howard on marriage, Howard on race, on Playboy Playmates, on politics, the economy, the people in his office, what he saw on TV last night or had for breakfast that morning. Plus the personal stuff that polite people rarely share with anyone, much less a nation of laughing listeners.
So we drove to work every morning with Howard by our side. We laughed while Howard riffed on all aspects of American life that bummed us out or made us crazy. He railed against every institution that tied us up, held us down or made us feel powerless. Howard made fun of idiot celebrities and pompous politicians. And yes, there was sex. Always more sex.
Before The Howard Stern Show, the famous thrived on personal exclusivity. You could never hang out with icons like Jordan Monroe. They lived in some other world. But Howard Stern invited all his fans into his personal life to celebrate his own naked dorkiness. We were invited to embrace his lack of self-esteem, his larger-than-life fears and existential dread. While you wanted to be like celebs because they were cool, you liked Howard because he was so honestly uncool.
Then in 2004, the Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime show sent the spineless nitwits of the FCC looking for a fall guy. Howard Stern was tailor-made to die for their sins. And to save their own necks they drove him from the rotting corpse of radio. Good riddance to radio. They killed one of the few golden geese left in an ever-shrinking flock.
Come 2006, I see him up there on Sirius Satellite radio like some superhero exploring new galaxies of entertainment. I see Howard pioneering new forms of mirth and laughter. God speed Howard Stern. A grateful nation of your faithful salute you.
Keep telling the truth Howard. Keep making us laugh. See you on the other side.
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