The Legendary Art Bell

[sean92008]

Listened to an old classic from 98 last night and once again it dawned on me that Art really should have left well enough alone and never, ever, returned to radio after his pre Dark Matter retirement in 2013. Sure there were some good shows in DM and the MITD stint but all the mystique of the guy in the hiiigh desert was gone as he became like just another BellGabber and the curtain completely lifted and a somewhat flawed human being was revealed. Won't even go into the Redacted thing.

- Captain obvious.
- Nerd fanboy
 

...yet a flawed, out-of-date cranky old Art Bell is 1000% better dead than a sNoory is alive.

[GhostRaven]

Listened to an old classic from 98 last night and once again it dawned on me that Art really should have left well enough alone and never, ever, returned to radio after his pre Dark Matter retirement in 2013. Sure there were some good shows in DM and the MITD stint but all the mystique of the guy in the hiiigh desert was gone as he became like just another BellGabber and the curtain completely lifted and a somewhat flawed human being was revealed. Won't even go into the Redacted thing.

- Captain obvious.
- Nerd fanboy
 

I agree. And there's something depressing about hearing Art's "old man" voice so clearly on those shows.

I thought Art was never really the same after his first retirement in 1998 or so. There were a few good/great shows but the "spark" was somewhat gone after that.

But as mentioned, even Art on his worst day was 1,000 times better than Noory could ever hope to be.

[Uncle Duke]

Listened to an old classic from 98 last night and once again it dawned on me that Art really should have left well enough alone and never, ever, returned to radio after his pre Dark Matter retirement in 2013. Sure there were some good shows in DM and the MITD stint but all the mystique of the guy in the hiiigh desert was gone as he became like just another BellGabber and the curtain completely lifted and a somewhat flawed human being was revealed. Won't even go into the Redacted thing.

- Captain obvious.
- Nerd fanboy
 

Hearing Bell on DM, and especially MitD, reminded me of seeing Willie Mays stumbling and bumbling around the outfield his last season with the Mets in the early 70s.  There is a lot to be said about going out on top.

[sean92008]

Speaking of finishing careers, anybody think Tom Brady should have quit sooner?  I didn't watch any of his playoff games... Was he looking bad that last one?

[TigerLily]

Speaking of finishing careers, anybody think Tom Brady should have quit sooner?  I didn't watch any of his playoff games... Was he looking bad that last one?

No. He was great. Didn't you notice how everyone referred to playing "Tom Brady" and not "The Bucaneers". He, personally, didn't have a great game but he was carrying that whole team on his back

[TigerLily]

Listened to an old classic from 98 last night and once again it dawned on me that Art really should have left well enough alone and never, ever, returned to radio after his pre Dark Matter retirement in 2013. Sure there were some good shows in DM and the MITD stint but all the mystique of the guy in the hiiigh desert was gone as he became like just another BellGabber and the curtain completely lifted and a somewhat flawed human being was revealed. Won't even go into the Redacted thing.

- Captain obvious.
- Nerd fanboy
 

I agree. And there's something depressing about hearing Art's "old man" voice so clearly on those shows.

I thought Art was never really the same after his first retirement in 1998 or so. There were a few good/great shows but the "spark" was somewhat gone after that.

But as mentioned, even Art on his worst day was 1,000 times better than Noory could ever hope to be.

The *spark* was Ramona. That first retirement was partially about his son. But also the changes in terrestrial radio. We're lucky we have his catalog. Enough have stood the test of time and others are great because of how badly they didn't

[KSM]

I agree. And there's something depressing about hearing Art's "old man" voice so clearly on those shows.

I thought Art was never really the same after his first retirement in 1998 or so. There were a few good/great shows but the "spark" was somewhat gone after that.

But as mentioned, even Art on his worst day was 1,000 times better than Noory could ever hope to be.

Nailed it: @GhostRaven His old man voice so loud and clear, and a little slower from the classic 90's "Hiiigh Desert" zip broadcasting in the normal radio frequencies.

After awhile with all the drama and him and everything else on Coast/BellGab the thrill was gone.  For me the best was up till September 10th 2001. After that it was still damn good but once Ramona died.. That's it! Downhill fast.  Not like he didn't have money at any of these junctions..

There is a lot to be said about going out on top.

Yep. Knowing when to leave the party.

[ItsOver]

Art went from being The King of The Night to The Drama Queen of Pahrump.  When he sold out and became just another PremRat galley slave, things started going downhill.  Ramona passing away sure didn’t help any.  He lost his trusted and competent business manager and Art didn’t like being a PremRat lackey. 

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[Walks_At_Night]

No. He was great. Didn't you notice how everyone referred to playing "Tom Brady" and not "The Bucaneers". He, personally, didn't have a great game but he was carrying that whole team on his back

Yeah. Nothing at all like Peyton Manning's last season.  Brady could keep on palying at a high level if wanted to.
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[PB]

I finally had to stop listening when he was doing the part-time thing from Manilla (or was he still doing some weekend shows after he came back, I forget the timeline).

When Art was just doing just a few weekend shows a month, he seemed to only be doing what must have been his favorite subjects - consciousness, after life, Hoagland, remote viewing, and so on, instead of a broad range of subjects one would need to do to fill 20 some shows a month. 

Turns out the subjects he was most interested in were the ones I had usually skipped in the past.  The last of those I listened to was some new age chick going by Starfire Tor.  I finally had to turn it off and leave it off.

I think I listened to a few Dark Matter shows, and maybe one or two of the After Midnight shows.

After all the begging for him to come back, clearly he should have stayed retired.   But at least we know, instead of wondering what a return would have been like.

[sean92008]

Ramona ran the damn show. She knew how to produce. Hell, she knew how to run a board, and probably the satellite gear too. I swear there's a recording of her show floating around. Maybe Art played it but I have doubts about that.

It must have been tough for Airyn to follow that act and I'm sure she worked hard in trying to keep his focus on her.

I wonder who she's doing... An ex from the Philippines or one of his old buddies. Stories of young Filipinas having their true love waiting in the wings while she is off setting them up financially is more common than we'd think of in the west because of their abject poverty. (Filipina Pea on YouTube addresses that often, including married women doing that to ensnare men and then extorting the American because that's adultery and an enforced law when they feel like it 💲)

When will she get out of that hell hole of Pahrump? When the kids graduate high school? College? After she brings the entire family over in chain migration?

[ItsOver]

When it comes to Art, for me, it’s over.  Sadly, it’s over.  There will never be another quite like Art Bell.

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[sean92008]

When it comes to Art, for me, it’s over.  Sadly, it’s over.  There will never be another quite like Art Bell.

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At the end, even Art Bell couldn't be Art Bell...

[KSM]

Ramona ran the damn show. She knew how to produce. Hell, she knew how to run a board, and probably the satellite gear too. I swear there's a recording of her show floating around. Maybe Art played it but I have doubts about that.

It must have been tough for Airyn to follow that act and I'm sure she worked hard in trying to keep his focus on her.


When will she get out of that hell hole of Pahrump? When the kids graduate high school? College? After she brings the entire family over in chain migration?

Was wondering that myself just a few days ago. It's got to be odd to still live in Art and Ramona's double-wide on the compound!! Just fucking weird.
Agreed, Ramona was a HUGE part of the show in its glory days 94-2000 IMO She picked most of the music too. I still hate some of that music but for the most part I dig it. Year Of The Cat being my fav with that shithole reggae version of I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. Who did that cover? Good God it's bloody awful. Thankfully I haven't heard it since before noory took over.

@PB Loves the Midnight in the Desert song by Crystal. Listens to it while banging his head against the wall when replying to Tiger Lily as he tries to make sense of her arguments.

[ItsOver]

Was wondering that myself just a few days ago. It's got to be odd to still live in Art and Ramona's double-wide on the compound!! Just fucking weird.
Agreed, Ramona was a HUGE part of the show in its glory days 94-2000 IMO She picked most of the music too. I still hate some of that music but for the most part I dig it. Year Of The Cat being my fav with that shithole reggae version of I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. Who did that cover? Good God it's bloody awful. Thankfully I haven't heard it since before noory took over.

@PB Loves the Midnight in the Desert song by Crystal. Listens to it while banging his head against the wall when replying to Tiger Lily as he tries to make sense of her arguments.

Ha!  Damn, now HamsterBiceps will be trying to woo PB with Crystal playing continuously.

Then there’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”  Elvis took it to #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, UB40 (the version you hate) took it to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and Snorge Noory has Elvis spinning in his grave, with his abortion of it.

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Ain’t life grand.