RIP Toucher and Rich Show ... It was fun while it lasted

Myt1

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If that’s the case I’m with Fred
If I’m reading that right, was she flying coach and did he not go back there and offer his first class seat to the person next to her so that he could hold her hand?

Because, if so, yeah, pretty tough to side with him here.
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
I'm almost entirely sure that Fred would not get up or offer his seat or whatever he expected the other person to do if the situations were reversed. With this and the bizarre insistence that the first time dad of a newborn grovel at his feet for congratulation, it's like he's aging backward into toddlerhood. I could go on with more examples but it would be pointless.

...just so you guys don't think I'm a random hater, I think it sucks that my first post on this forum that I've been reading for years is to bag on the host of my favorite show but he's missing work because he can't keep it together. I've been listening to this show since Shazowie's and I lived in Atlanta and caught him on morning X back then too. My favorite moment of the show was "congratulations JACKASSES, go hide under your desk" after they beat down D&C in the ratings the first time. I've read this entire thread twice. Thanks for reading my first post!
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I'm almost entirely sure that Fred would not get up or offer his seat or whatever he expected the other person to do if the situations were reversed. With this and the bizarre insistence that the first time dad of a newborn grovel at his feet for congratulation, it's like he's aging backward into toddlerhood. I could go on with more examples but it would be pointless.

...just so you guys don't think I'm a random hater, I think it sucks that my first post on this forum that I've been reading for years is to bag on the host of my favorite show but he's missing work because he can't keep it together. I've been listening to this show since Shazowie's and I lived in Atlanta and caught him on morning X back then too. My favorite moment of the show was "congratulations JACKASSES, go hide under your desk" after they beat down D&C in the ratings the first time. I've read this entire thread twice. Thanks for reading my first post!
Welcome to SoSH (or at least posting). Post more don’t just throw some Fred critiques and never post again and we won’t label you a drive by troll. This thread is much better when it’s about the positives of the show, which there are tons of. Unfortunately lately it’s been so inconsistent we get a lot of Fred hate posts.

I’m terms of Fred moving his seat, I hope he would but prior evidence doesnt give me that feeling. Honestly asking people in first class to be inconvenienced at all and to move to another seat is the point. You paid extra, maybe Fred had a window and the mover had an aisle.

If someone came up to me and nicely asked me to move in an apple to apples because of a kid I would 10/10 times. If someone’s getting thrown off a flight I’m assuming they were upset or a dick in the first place and then flipped out. I don’t have a ton of faith in the public but if a girl was losing their shit in a panic attack a solution could have been found outside of kicking someone off the plane
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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Welcome to SoSH (or at least posting). Post more don’t just throw some Fred critiques and never post again and we won’t label you a drive by troll. This thread is much better when it’s about the positives of the show, which there are tons of. Unfortunately lately it’s been so inconsistent we get a lot of Fred hate posts.

I’m terms of Fred moving his seat, I hope he would but prior evidence doesnt give me that feeling. Honestly asking people in first class to be inconvenienced at all and to move to another seat is the point. You paid extra, maybe Fred had a window and the mover had an aisle.

If someone came up to me and nicely asked me to move in an apple to apples because of a kid I would 10/10 times. If someone’s getting thrown off a flight I’m assuming they were upset or a dick in the first place and then flipped out. I don’t have a ton of faith in the public but if a girl was losing their shit in a panic attack a solution could have been found outside of kicking someone off the plane
I'm curious as to whether his kids came off the plane with him? I assume so but will wait for his explanation. I feel especially awful for his daughter. Just an all-around shitty situation that I hope could have been avoided.

As for the show, today wasn't the greatest. Mostly just Rich trying to tell funny stories about his trip to Canada and Wallach and RJ laughing along. Not really his forte. That is ALL Freddy T's lane. I just look forward to maybe getting a "full Voltron" tomorrow and that Fred's voice is ok!
 

NortheasternPJ

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I'm curious as to whether his kids came off the plane with him? I assume so but will wait for his explanation. I feel especially awful for his daughter. Just an all-around shitty situation that I hope could have been avoided.

As for the show, today wasn't the greatest. Mostly just Rich trying to tell funny stories about his trip to Canada and Wallach and RJ laughing along. Not really his forte. That is ALL Freddy T's lane. I just look forward to maybe getting a "full Voltron" tomorrow and that Fred's voice is ok!
If your kid is in a panic attack to the point you get kicked off a plane, I'd have to assume she'd be off too. If you are in a real panic attack and your dad is thrown off a flight, the panic attack must be awful. I feel for any kid in that situation.

I can't imagine being a kid at all and your dad being thrown off a flight and staying on the flight, even if your mother and brother were on it. I'd be so ashamed if I got thrown off a flight in front of anyone, never mind my 9 year old or my wife.
 

hube

New Member
Apr 4, 2010
235
I'll say this, RJ has gotten a LOT better since filling in for Wallach regularly. He was always so boring with Flynn, or even as a fill in, but he seems to have developed some semblance of a personality and rapport with the other two (whoever they may be on any given day)

Also, were I any sort of celebrity, I would absolutely avoid social media completely. The responses to Fred's insta post (I know I should never read them, but I couldn't help myself) border on the insane. Of course we're all totally normal and well-adjusted in here
 

NortheasternPJ

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I'll say this, RJ has gotten a LOT better since filling in for Wallach regularly. He was always so boring with Flynn, or even as a fill in, but he seems to have developed some semblance of a personality and rapport with the other two (whoever they may be on any given day)

Also, were I any sort of celebrity, I would absolutely avoid social media completely. The responses to Fred's insta post (I know I should never read them, but I couldn't help myself) border on the insane. Of course we're all totally normal and well-adjusted in here
I always liked Johnston & Flynn, so I disagree. He's always been quick witted, pretty funny and a deep knowledge in garbage like 80s' movies
 

Mahkis Smaht

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Feb 15, 2023
55
My screen name comes from how I imagine Mark Gemelli talking about the Celtics (in retrospect I wish I went with Al Waffid), so I'd like to think my criticism comes from a place of love. This is my favorite radio show.

I mean I can hate on Rich too - like sometimes I can hear the back of his throat. I especially notice when he does it on "...the rangellllhhhhhh" but once you hear it there you hear it in places you don't want to, like sometimes when he laughs or just enunciates things a certain way. Other than Fred's sporadic and unexpected absences I think the show is consistently better in the last year than it's ever been...or maybe it's just I've become parasocially codependent on these guys.

My favorite bit is brookline 911. I really enjoy segments like the one a couple weeks ago when they were bagging on Megadeth ("Whattya mean I hoit ya feelings? didn't know ya had any! Ha cha cha!") and in general when they're talking about music they're better and more fun than anyone except maybe Harvilla (I love the Sound Opinions guys but the show is as much fun as a homework assignment). I also really like when Fred gets into the history of radio and things he's experienced on the other side of the mic and like how misguided consultants are with the whole "guys like gadgets and dames" stuff.

My favorite part of their sports talk is easily when they hate on Matt Patricia. I also like the Finebaum stuff and the new Syracuse Boys bit Rich is doing. I don't like when they try the more traditional sports talk stuff like this morning when Rich was saying Mazzula is bad because he plays Tatum too much as though it's not obvious why he has to do it. I can get sportsing done better from Felger and Callahan in the afternoons.

I have been flying regularly for probably 35 years and the one time I have ever seen someone removed from a flight it was because she was catatonic. My read on the situation, given the frankly embarrassing amount of time I spend listening to the show, is that Fred is probably the one who had the panic attack. It seems to me like he felt entitled to something that belonged to someone else (regardless of his reasons) and when he didn't get it he threw a full-on tantrum and got himself tossed. If his daughter were uncomfortable and he made an honest attempt at modeling calmness and restraint (it's a lot to ask of anyone, I know, but bear with me here) he probably could have put her at ease, and if not, they could have left the plane voluntarily.

There are two reasons things like this really suck. For one, it hurts the integrity of the show when their most talented guy is unreliable like this, like I don't know how much longer they can keep it together. The other is more personal. I used to be able to empathize with Fred's rants - like I said, I loved when he went off on EEi after they took the #1 rating - but lately there have been a lot of things where I'm thinking "what is wrong with this guy? Isn't he a grown man?" Using this situation as an example: like you're going to tell us how much you hate when people disrupt flights, like just sit down! and shut up!...but it's OK for me to do you know you just have to understand my situation please agree with me! Look at literally the first post in this thread. This guy hasn't figured anything out in almost 14 years and he wants us to feel sorry for him? Imagine if Crash demanded we take him seriously.

And NEPJ I'm sorry...I'm sorry. If things were fine I'd just be merrily lurking like always but I had to make an account and get this off my chest. I don't live in Boston so you guys are the only ones I can talk to about this. If it's bothering me this much I imagine other longtime fans are starting to feel the same unease that I am. Otherwise if I come across as a mere hater, I hope I come across as a diligent and hard-working hater.
 
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joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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If your kid is in a panic attack to the point you get kicked off a plane, I'd have to assume she'd be off too. If you are in a real panic attack and your dad is thrown off a flight, the panic attack must be awful. I feel for any kid in that situation.

I can't imagine being a kid at all and your dad being thrown off a flight and staying on the flight, even if your mother and brother were on it. I'd be so ashamed if I got thrown off a flight in front of anyone, never mind my 9 year old or my wife.
I find it difficult to believe that the person sitting next to a stranger having a panic attack wouldn't agree to switch seats with that stranger's father. Or that a crew announcement/request couldn't get two people to agree to help out. Plenty of people are assholes, but the odds are against *everyone* on his flight being an asshole.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I find it difficult to believe that the person sitting next to a stranger having a panic attack wouldn't agree to switch seats with that stranger's father. Or that a crew announcement/request couldn't get two people to agree to help out. Plenty of people are assholes, but the odds are against *everyone* on his flight being an asshole.
I 100% agree. I'm sure it won't be Fred's fault at all tomorrow on the radio, but the sounds like a there 3 sides to every story type of situation. Fred's been very annoyed at bullshit on flights like flight attendants hiding in the overhead bins, choirs singing, ukulele's on the way to Hawaii and all this other nonsense. I can see him losing it on a flight. I hope I'm wrong but I don't know how you get thrown off a flight and you're not the asshole or at least one of the assholes.
 

redsoxedmunds24

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If I’m reading that right, was she flying coach and did he not go back there and offer his first class seat to the person next to her so that he could hold her hand?

Because, if so, yeah, pretty tough to side with him here.
I scanned his explanation that was posted here and didn’t give it much thought. Further thought my guess is Fred is probably exaggerating a bit and was an asshole in some way. Not necessarily intentionally, just that he hates travel so much it’s easy to see him losing it and blowing up.

Whatever the case I hope things settle down for Fred soon. I’m in and out of my car for the entire show every day so the show is a big part of my daily routine. It’s going to get a shock when it finally comes to an end someday.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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I drive my son to school on Monday's, takes 20 minutes. Usually I stream T&R but I didn't plug in my phone today since I knew Fred was out. After a couple minutes this morning he blurted out "where is Toucher and Rich?!". Cracked me up. Count one teenager in their demo.

FWIW, a couple weeks ago they were doing their Jim Irsay bit and he was literally crying with laughter.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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And NEPJ I'm sorry...I'm sorry. If things were fine I'd just be merrily lurking like always but I had to make an account and get this off my chest. I don't live in Boston so you guys are the only ones I can talk to about this. If it's bothering me this much I imagine other longtime fans are starting to feel the same unease about this. Otherwise if I come across as a mere hater, I hope I come across as a diligent and hard-working hater.
nah. You write gud. You should write on other subject, too.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Sounds like Fred got a word from Beasley yesterday about getting his shit together, stop being home and stop missing work. It’s ironic since he spent half the pandemic ripping on his office job friends who “worked from home” And claimed they didn’t do shit. Now it’s him.

He softened the whole plane story. Even in his version he got into it with the person at the counter and then was swearing at people on the flight so he deserved it. I feel bad for him. He clearly sounds lost / depressed and is trying to hold his life together.
 

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
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His heart to heart with himself/the other 2 really hit me in the feels. Sounded very sincere. Whether it was Beasley, Stephanie, Rich or whomever got him to attempt to get it together, it sounded legit.
 

Rusty13

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Nov 3, 2007
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Sounds like Fred got a word from Beasley yesterday about getting his shit together, stop being home and stop missing work. It’s ironic since he spent half the pandemic ripping on his office job friends who “worked from home” And claimed they didn’t do shit. Now it’s him.

He softened the whole plane story. Even in his version he got into it with the person at the counter and then was swearing at people on the flight so he deserved it. I feel bad for him. He clearly sounds lost / depressed and is trying to hold his life together.
Yeah — The thing that jumped out to me was he admitted that he was already getting into it with employees and passengers BEFORE he got on the plane. Because they were making fun of his name? He must have been red flagged right off the bat.

Also his voice sounds even worse than before vacation, and he is going to be doing the show all week from home the very week he gets back from vacation (because Stefanie is going to a convention?) He’s on thin, thin ice there no doubt. I really hope this is his rock bottom, and he gets back on track.. The show is really suffering as a result of this. We need old Freddy T back and well!
 
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8slim

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Right from the jump I don’t understand what Fred was thinking. Given his daughter has that bad of an anxiety problem, you don’t switch your seats without knowing for certain that you can sit next to her. Swearing at the woman at the gate because “she was making fun of my name” just shows that he was already keyed up, only bad things were going to happen from there on out.

But I’m sympathetic. He clearly loves his kids more than anything, and I respect that a lot of the time he’s been out of the studio is because of them. His comments to Rich and John about letting them down were very genuine.

Although I will say… just have your kids get an Uber to school, or find another parent to give them a ride. They’re not elementary age. Hell, hire a driver for a few days. I know divorces aren’t cheap but the guy makes a decent buck (as evidenced by chosing the $700 cab ride to Miami to get another flight).
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
Sounds like Fred got a word from Beasley yesterday about getting his shit together, stop being home and stop missing work. It’s ironic since he spent half the pandemic ripping on his office job friends who “worked from home” And claimed they didn’t do shit. Now it’s him.

He softened the whole plane story. Even in his version he got into it with the person at the counter and then was swearing at people on the flight so he deserved it. I feel bad for him. He clearly sounds lost / depressed and is trying to hold his life together.
For real, man. There's a whole "missing missing reasons" thing going on with this. In this case, he's eliding pretty heavily over how he treated the gate agent and exactly what he said to the fellow passengers. I suspect he knows that most of his fans would find his behavior unacceptable if they knew the truth. Probably his cohosts don't like that he's missing work for stupid reasons. I can't imagine the sponsors are hearing these stories and thinking "that's a guy people can trust!"

"My daughter hates flying - it gives her anxiety attacks...so anyway, after we get her on the plane and into her seat..." wait, stop right there and tell me where he went wrong.

When I said earlier that "I could go on with more examples" I was thinking of the same generalized phenomenon of what you said is ironic. Fred will go on and on about how he hates when people do X, and then a couple weeks later he'll be talking about something he did that's basically the same thing and complain that anyone has a problem with it. I want to be on his side but, dude, that's toddler logic.

I love their bit on Boondock Saints and the concept of "Boston Manliness Porn" this morning. No one else is this much fun. I find the whole thing frustrating because this is my favorite show but I can't imagine T&R will be together next year if Fred keeps doing things like, oh I don't know, missing the show after the Super Bowl because he smoked too much and his voice is shot.

Thanks for reading if you got this far. I have a lot of pent-up frustration. I have a lot of dread at the prospect of "Rich and Murray in the Mornings".
 
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Andy Merchant

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Aug 2, 2010
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I feel bad for his kid, I totally get being stressed out by flying. :( I'd probably be begging my parents to do something local for school vacation if I were that age.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
19,363
I feel bad for his kid, I totally get being stressed out by flying. :( I'd probably be begging my parents to do something local for school vacation if I were that age.
Or ask your father not to yell at the person at the desk, then yell at the people on the flight, then get kicked off the flight, then have to get a $700 ride to Miami for another $700 flight.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I didn't hear the explanation this morning, so excuse me if he went through this already or if got anything wrong.

He and his daughter went to Florida by plane alone.
She has anxiety when flying.
He and her have different seats (she's in coach and he's in first class).
She starts getting nervous and Fred wants someone to switch seats.

Questions:

1. Does Fred want someone in First Class to switch seats with someone in coach or is the other way around?
2. If it's the former (daughter sits with him in First Class, his seat mate moves to coach), he understands that's an insane ask, right?
3. If it's the latter and provided that the person he's asking is alone, I can see why he'd get pissed. An upgrade from coach to First Class and get away from anxious kid? That's good luck.
4. Why wouldn't Fred spend the extra money to assure that his daughter is sitting next to him? (How old is she anyway?)
5. Failing all of that, Fred understands that unhinged customers (no matter where they are) usually don't get special privileges, right? Like I'm sure if he said, "Listen, I fucked up. My daughter is afraid to fly and I would really like to be near her. Is there anything that can be done? Please, I'm asking you from one parent to another."

I think that reading through this thread and seeing his IG post, this falls a lot on Fred to have at least have some foresight in planning out a trip. His idiocy (might be harsh) shouldn't make this an issue for the rest of the passengers on the plane. And I can guarantee if the shoe was on the other foot, he'd spend an hour laying into what an idiot the father was for not getting a seat next to the kid.
 

mtm2025

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
25
For real, man. There's a whole "missing missing reasons" thing going on with this. In this case, he's eliding pretty heavily over how he treated the gate agent and exactly what he said to the fellow passengers. I suspect he knows that most of his fans would find his behavior unacceptable if they knew the truth. Probably his cohosts don't like that he's missing work for stupid reasons. I can't imagine the sponsors are hearing these stories and thinking "that's a guy people can trust!"

"My daughter hates flying - it gives her anxiety attacks...so anyway, after we get her on the plane and into her seat..." wait, stop right there and tell me where he went wrong.

When I said earlier that "I could go on with more examples" I was thinking of the same generalized phenomenon of what you said is ironic. Fred will go on and on about how he hates when people do X, and then a couple weeks later he'll be talking about something he did that's basically the same thing and complain that anyone has a problem with it. I want to be on his side but, dude, that's toddler logic.

I love their bit on Boondock Saints and the concept of "Boston Manliness Porn" this morning. No one else is this much fun. I find the whole thing frustrating because this is my favorite show but I can't imagine T&R will be together next year if Fred keeps doing things like, oh I don't know, missing the show after the Super Bowl because he smoked too much and his voice is shot.

Thanks for reading if you got this far. I have a lot of pent-up frustration. I have a lot of dread at the prospect of "Rich and Murray in the Mornings".
you seem a little too wound up over a morning show. I love the show, listen all the time, went to the live events, but geez - pent up frustration over Fred? can we go back through all of your work history and go over with a fine tooth comb about what days your too for vacation and what days you called out sick? Everyone does it, fred just gets amplified because to talks about his personal life more than anyone else. They are the highest rated morning show in boston, I don't think sponsors care about anything else short of a racist or homophonic rant. He admitted that he needs to tighten it up, everyone spends way to much time speculating over everything the man does.
 

mtm2025

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
25
I didn't hear the explanation this morning, so excuse me if he went through this already or if got anything wrong.

He and his daughter went to Florida by plane alone.
She has anxiety when flying.
He and her have different seats (she's in coach and he's in first class).
She starts getting nervous and Fred wants someone to switch seats.

Questions:

1. Does Fred want someone in First Class to switch seats with someone in coach or is the other way around?
2. If it's the former (daughter sits with him in First Class, his seat mate moves to coach), he understands that's an insane ask, right?
3. If it's the latter and provided that the person he's asking is alone, I can see why he'd get pissed. An upgrade from coach to First Class and get away from anxious kid? That's good luck.
4. Why wouldn't Fred spend the extra money to assure that his daughter is sitting next to him? (How old is she anyway?)
5. Failing all of that, Fred understands that unhinged customers (no matter where they are) usually don't get special privileges, right? Like I'm sure if he said, "Listen, I fucked up. My daughter is afraid to fly and I would really like to be near her. Is there anything that can be done? Please, I'm asking you from one parent to another."

I think that reading through this thread and seeing his IG post, this falls a lot on Fred to have at least have some foresight in planning out a trip. His idiocy (might be harsh) shouldn't make this an issue for the rest of the passengers on the plane. And I can guarantee if the shoe was on the other foot, he'd spend an hour laying into what an idiot the father was for not getting a seat next to the kid.
he was flying home with both kids. its a small plane from key west, not a normal size plane. They wouldn't allow them to pick seats ahead of time. He asked to be seated by her at the gate, didn't happen. He asked one person and they said no because they also anxiety, fred didn't pursue that. he asked people to the other side and they ignored him. He got worked up. the pilot said he didn't want him on the plane so they got off the plane. Why would you post so many questions without just listening to a 5 minute segment?
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
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he was flying home with both kids. its a small plane from key west, not a normal size plane. They wouldn't allow them to pick seats ahead of time. He asked to be seated by her at the gate, didn't happen. He asked one person and they said no because they also anxiety, fred didn't pursue that. he asked people to the other side and they ignored him. He got worked up. the pilot said he didn't want him on the plane so they got off the plane. Why would you post so many questions without just listening to a 5 minute segment?
Because I don't have a morning commute and wanted to understand what the hubbub was all about. That's kinda what this board has been known to do from time to time.
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
Well I can't really defend myself. I am indeed a little too worked up over a morning show. I'm a huge fan. Despite my complaining I find it consistently more entertaining even on a per hour basis than supposedly more produced podcasts that run once a week.

This is why I dread "The Morning Spread with Rich and Murray" or whatever is going to succeed this. The pent up frustration is just because I've been lurking a long time and wanted to say stuff but didn't have an account. I am still on the steep part of the frustration ventilation asymptote.
nah. You write gud. You should write on other subject, too.
By the way, thanks! One of my favorite moments of reading this thread through the years was trying to figure out what "Lose Remerswaal" meant.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
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Nov 4, 2007
62,317
Well I can't really defend myself. I am indeed a little too worked up over a morning show. I'm a huge fan. Despite my complaining I find it consistently more entertaining even on a per hour basis than supposedly more produced podcasts that run once a week.

This is why I dread "The Morning Spread with Rich and Murray" or whatever is going to succeed this. The pent up frustration is just because I've been lurking a long time and wanted to say stuff but didn't have an account. I am still on the steep part of the frustration ventilation asymptote.

By the way, thanks! One of my favorite moments of reading this thread through the years was trying to figure out what "Lose Remerswaal" meant.
I kinda thought you were Fred’s subconscious wrestling with yourself here.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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I did enjoy the instagram comment on Fred’s post about getting kicked off the plane - “it’s a rite of passage”
 
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JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
20,632
I agree that Fred (and the show itself) gets an outsized amount of shit relative to most other media personalities. He probably didn’t need to share the story at all, as he noted in the open. In any case, it’s clear that the last couple of years have been a grind. Hopefully this turns the page.
 

JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
20,632
Because I don't have a morning commute and wanted to understand what the hubbub was all about. That's kinda what this board has been known to do from time to time.
If I recall correctly, he was in first and asked to switch seats with another first class passenger to get in the same row as his kids. He clearly went way too far, but it doesn’t like anyone else was doing the situation any favors. The whole thing seemed avoidable as he admitted.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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he was flying home with both kids. its a small plane from key west, not a normal size plane. They wouldn't allow them to pick seats ahead of time. He asked to be seated by her at the gate, didn't happen. He asked one person and they said no because they also anxiety, fred didn't pursue that. he asked people to the other side and they ignored him. He got worked up. the pilot said he didn't want him on the plane so they got off the plane. Why would you post so many questions without just listening to a 5 minute segment?
I didn't listen. I never listen. I still think he's lying.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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I didn't hear the explanation this morning, so excuse me if he went through this already or if got anything wrong.

He and his daughter went to Florida by plane alone.
She has anxiety when flying.
He and her have different seats (she's in coach and he's in first class).
She starts getting nervous and Fred wants someone to switch seats.

Questions:

1. Does Fred want someone in First Class to switch seats with someone in coach or is the other way around?
2. If it's the former (daughter sits with him in First Class, his seat mate moves to coach), he understands that's an insane ask, right?
3. If it's the latter and provided that the person he's asking is alone, I can see why he'd get pissed. An upgrade from coach to First Class and get away from anxious kid? That's good luck.
4. Why wouldn't Fred spend the extra money to assure that his daughter is sitting next to him? (How old is she anyway?)
5. Failing all of that, Fred understands that unhinged customers (no matter where they are) usually don't get special privileges, right? Like I'm sure if he said, "Listen, I fucked up. My daughter is afraid to fly and I would really like to be near her. Is there anything that can be done? Please, I'm asking you from one parent to another."

I think that reading through this thread and seeing his IG post, this falls a lot on Fred to have at least have some foresight in planning out a trip. His idiocy (might be harsh) shouldn't make this an issue for the rest of the passengers on the plane. And I can guarantee if the shoe was on the other foot, he'd spend an hour laying into what an idiot the father was for not getting a seat next to the kid.
A detail that it seems wasn’t explained to you… Fred had three seats in coach, presumabl next to each other (or most likely 2 next to each other on one side of the aisle, and 1 on the other side). It was a plane with a 2X2 setup in coach (possibly 3x2), and 1X2 in first class. Either way, originally they were together.

He got an offer the day before the flight to upgrade all three seats to first, but no seat assignments until he got to the airport. When he got to the gate they had all three of them in the 1 seat rows.

Like I said upthread, his first mistake was doing the upgrade to begin with. No way do you do that when your daughter has that bad of an anxiety problem and you can’t guarantee you can sit next to her.

Seems like everything went downhill from when the gate agent “made fun of his name”. Which I’m guessing was most likely a dumb but innocuous comment that Fred went off on because he was already really amped up.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,613
Seems like everything went downhill from when the gate agent “made fun of his name”. Which I’m guessing was most likely a dumb but innocuous comment that Fred went off on because he was already really amped up.
Or, far more likely, the gate agent asked him to repeat his name, because the gate agent thought they misheard when he said "Toucher." In the desperate retelling by a seemingly desperate man, the agent "was making fun of his name."
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,919
Unreal America
Or, far more likely, the gate agent asked him to repeat his name, because the gate agent thought they misheard when he said "Toucher." In the desperate retelling by a seemingly desperate man, the agent "was making fun of his name."
Desperate man? Geez dude, WTF? Why the hell would you even post if you don’t listen to the show.
Weirdo.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,613
Desperate man? Geez dude, WTF? Why the hell would you even post if you don’t listen to the show.
Weirdo.
"Desperate" in the sense of desperate to avoid looking like an absolute batshit moron asshole, so he blames someone for "making fun of his name."
I don't listen, but like so many other threads, this thread is pretty informative. And the show is a popular part of the culture.
The last few pages of are full of posts suggesting that fred seems to need some help of some kind. In fact, it seems to be a recurring theme. I've got nothing against him. He doesn't seem to traffic in the usual toxic radio shit, so I hope he gets it together
 

mtm2025

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
25
"Desperate" in the sense of desperate to avoid looking like an absolute batshit moron asshole, so he blames someone for "making fun of his name."
I don't listen, but like so many other threads, this thread is pretty informative. And the show is a popular part of the culture.
The last few pages of are full of posts suggesting that fred seems to need some help of some kind. In fact, it seems to be a recurring theme. I've got nothing against him. He doesn't seem to traffic in the usual toxic radio shit, so I hope he gets it together
"I don't listen or care about the show, but I'm going to give my 2 cents anyway because of my need to inject myself and receive attention" talk about desperate.
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
I do wish Fred would stop whining about how people don't like the sound of his voice, as though "you're not taking care of your voice" is unfair criticism of someone whose entire job is to talk on the radio. Maybe he could quit smoking.

I think this is what's been bothering me: Fred is just a whiner.

Definitely in his 99x days and probably in his BCN days up to maybe a few years ago he was simply a great observational comic. He was mostly able to keep a lid on his more self-indulgent impulses, or at least he was capable of self-awareness about them. The first time I really noticed a change was when Fred was seriously berating Brrd for not calling Fred in the morning to wake him up. I don't know how much Fred makes all in with his bonuses but I imagine it's somewhere between 3 and 700K - certainly more than enough to get yourself out of bed. Somehow Fred regularly not getting to work on time was not Fred's fault but the fault of the guy who is barely smart enough to tie his own shoes.

Speaking of which, Fred didn't show up on time for the show open today. Maybe Nick should have called him. He's got nothing going on right?

I don't know if any of you have seen Chris Rock's latest live show "Ego Death" but I had a similar experience there. Chris Rock talks about how expensive it is to date middle age women vs dating 20s women (for example you have to buy them a new roof instead of new shoes to get them to put out) but then has a line where he addresses women and says, something like "you can have a law degree and a big job or whatever but Men only care about Two THings: what you Look Like and how you Treat Us" (capital letters added to denote Chris Rock staccato). I'm no great feminist but I most certainly do care if my beautiful girlfriend who treats me right sounds like Adolfo. Since I didn't really buy into the premise about all men I didn't really find many of the ensuing punchlines funny. At the end of the show he reiterates that he doesn't care if you have this great job or accomplishments because "I just want to take care of you, I just want to take care of you". At the very least it's bad craftsmanship to say you prefer women be financially dependent on you after basing a bit on complaining about how dating is expensive. Otherwise, he's missing out on what I think the funniest part of his situation which is that it's all his fault (it could also be that Chris Rock is trying to pick up ladies from the stage. If that's the case I think it's a terrible idea.)

With Fred it's like he expects us to agree that it's unfair people complain about his voice sounding like shit or it's unfair that plane guy didn't give up his seat or it's unfair that he has to get up early to show up on time for his morning show or its unfair that people want him to pick his dogshit off the street in front of their house or whatever. I'd say, "hey, this is his bit now: local guy gets himself into situations he can't handle and sees how much worse he can make them without realizing he's the problem" but you don't get yourself kicked off a plane and miss a day of your show to do a bit for your show.

Thanks for reading this far if you have. T&R is still better than anything else on the radio.
 

Patriot_Reign

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2011
1,158
I've had a hard time listening to the show in anything other then short bursts. Fred's voice issues are so distracting and when he's dropping jokes the humor gets lost on me as his voice is just awkward to listen to.
 

mtm2025

New Member
Feb 13, 2023
25
I do wish Fred would stop whining about how people don't like the sound of his voice, as though "you're not taking care of your voice" is unfair criticism of someone whose entire job is to talk on the radio. Maybe he could quit smoking.

I think this is what's been bothering me: Fred is just a whiner.

Definitely in his 99x days and probably in his BCN days up to maybe a few years ago he was simply a great observational comic. He was mostly able to keep a lid on his more self-indulgent impulses, or at least he was capable of self-awareness about them. The first time I really noticed a change was when Fred was seriously berating Brrd for not calling Fred in the morning to wake him up. I don't know how much Fred makes all in with his bonuses but I imagine it's somewhere between 3 and 700K - certainly more than enough to get yourself out of bed. Somehow Fred regularly not getting to work on time was not Fred's fault but the fault of the guy who is barely smart enough to tie his own shoes.

Speaking of which, Fred didn't show up on time for the show open today. Maybe Nick should have called him. He's got nothing going on right?

I don't know if any of you have seen Chris Rock's latest live show "Ego Death" but I had a similar experience there. Chris Rock talks about how expensive it is to date middle age women vs dating 20s women (for example you have to buy them a new roof instead of new shoes to get them to put out) but then has a line where he addresses women and says, something like "you can have a law degree and a big job or whatever but Men only care about Two THings: what you Look Like and how you Treat Us" (capital letters added to denote Chris Rock staccato). I'm no great feminist but I most certainly do care if my beautiful girlfriend who treats me right sounds like Adolfo. Since I didn't really buy into the premise about all men I didn't really find many of the ensuing punchlines funny. At the end of the show he reiterates that he doesn't care if you have this great job or accomplishments because "I just want to take care of you, I just want to take care of you". At the very least it's bad craftsmanship to say you prefer women be financially dependent on you after basing a bit on complaining about how dating is expensive. Otherwise, he's missing out on what I think the funniest part of his situation which is that it's all his fault (it could also be that Chris Rock is trying to pick up ladies from the stage. If that's the case I think it's a terrible idea.)

With Fred it's like he expects us to agree that it's unfair people complain about his voice sounding like shit or it's unfair that plane guy didn't give up his seat or it's unfair that he has to get up early to show up on time for his morning show or its unfair that people want him to pick his dogshit off the street in front of their house or whatever. I'd say, "hey, this is his bit now: local guy gets himself into situations he can't handle and sees how much worse he can make them without realizing he's the problem" but you don't get yourself kicked off a plane and miss a day of your show to do a bit for your show.

Thanks for reading this far if you have. T&R is still better than anything else on the radio.
Fred is complaining about people like you. Dude, take a breath, go outside, listen to some music for a change or something and lighten up on the novels about Fred’s psyche.