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Many of my friends are collectors. I used to collect stuff but now I collect reasons for living. One of the reasons for living that my husband and I share is our unwavering fondness for a particular radio show. The name of that radio show is The Best Show and for us, it is. Formerly on WFMU, it has begun a new life in 2015 as a podcast to be found at thebestshow.netI'm also a person who doesn't read reviews before I see a movie or show because invariably the reviewer ruins my experience by being over-zealous and giving away something I would rather come upon myself. I won't say much about The Best Show here because there are a lot of surprises that will fill watchers of my pages with glee.
For people who have paid a certain kind of attention to a certain kind of rock music in perpetuity (you know who you are), this show allows you to laugh about what's seriously funny in that. I also dare anyone to disprove that Tom Scharpling isn't the most unique and loveable radio show host/curmudgeon alive. He has a broad musical knowledge (he got Big Dipper back together--how amazing is that?!) and unique interests (the Martin Short movie "Clifford," for godsake!) For 3 hours on Tuesday night from 9-12m EST, he plays some great music and interacts compellingly with one-of-a-kind callers, many of whom are Superchunk/Mountain Goats/Bob Mould's drummer Jon Wurster.
When we can't listen live we download the show and have delighted in up to 15 hours of it at a time on road trips. Try it. You might just love it, and you will certainly understand why I embarked upon my quest to photograph a cadre of his caller/listeners, the Friends of Tom.
Disenfranchised people unite!
