Daniel Pinkwater once said that Scott Simon was "without question the best-liked person on NPR, admired and looked up to by his professional colleagues and trusted by the audience. He is as nice a guy as he seems to be on the air.” Yes, it's a well-oiled sound that Simon broadcasts: touchy, feely and very comfortable with US crimes abroad.
Today offered a nifty little glance under the slick Simon veneer. He moves into tabloid, slash mode when he wastes some airtime to mock and ridicule the self-destructive life of British singer Amy Winehouse.
Simon: "Earlier this year Miss Winehouse had to run off a stage mid-song to, regurgitate. She didn't have the flu. At an awards ceremony in London, she got drunk and heckled Bono. In music that's a little like heckling Nelson Mandela....At this week's concert she showed up late, stumbled, and didn't sing very much.....She said to all of those booing, just wait till my husband gets out of incarceration."
It was all played for rather mean-spirited yucks. Yes Simon, someone with eating disorders and substance abuse problems is just sooooo funny - and such a daring target to take on.
7 comments:
Mercifully, I must've slept through that one. I seem to remember that Scottie thought that we (that is, the general public) were all very, very naughty for reacting to the Larry Craig saga as the wacky and absurd circus it is, yet he tut-tuts the unfortunate Winehouse with parochial superiority. Like most power-tipsy personalities today, hypocrisy means absolutely nothing to the Simon. I pity his adoptees for the 'nice guy' paternalism they will be subject to as they mature. Fortunately for them, he will be quite elderly when they achieve independence. Too cutting? Perhaps, but it's only because he's inflicted us with so many examples of his judgmental sentiments that he's already set his own standards, then he cherry-picks them when applicable, to show off, apparently. I'm always wary when purported 'nice guys' demonstrate that they are rigid ideologues at heart, but fancy themselves as pretty clever as to how they come off. There are plenty of these types of people in life, but Simon just happens to have the platform to 'publicly' flaunt himself.
Sorry for the unnecessary and time-squandering analysis. In short, I just think he's jealous of Winehouse's success, and now, because she's having problems with fame, he might as well finish her off. Nice guy.
OK, OK, I've got leaves to rake today . . .
Hmmm, do I not recall from broadcasts of yore (back when I was misguidedly concerned enough to tune in & pay attention) how Simon would occasionally put on the air (exceeding the 10 min allowable maximum time slot!) his personal history of growing up in a dependent household and of his own recovery?!
A titch more sympathy please, Mister Nice Guy.
OK: I HATE Scott Simon. I think he's a slimy, pompous douchebag. But the only thing I hate more than Scott Simon, even more than Scott Simon's greasy empathetic hushed-tone interviews with wounded guests, are Scott Simon's greasy, self-rightous "morality" rants. Every time I hear one, I think of the shit he wrote about Michael Moore around the time of the onset of the Iraq war in the WSJ.
I HATE this guy; he's an embarrassment to NPR. (ok, more than almost everyone else) Look: he's had this gig since the mid 80's. Who does he think he is, Dan Schorr? Will NPR listeners be stick with him on Saturdays until mid-century?
[argh: stuck.]
And don't forget that stint he did with the Today Show sometime back. Suited him well, I thought - hangin' out with all the other plastic plants.
Anonymous, who hates Simon's "greasy empathetic hushed-tone interviews with wounded guests," what an awesome description. That' the exact thing I've hated about him ever since he interviewed some poor crack mom back in about 1995, but I haven't run into anyone else who noticed this. I like your moral standards, keep fighting! Maybe we can get Daniel Zwerdling to come back and replace him, that guy has character.
Anonymous, who hates Simon's "greasy empathetic hushed-tone interviews with wounded guests," that is awesome. I have hated the exact same thing about him ever since I heard him interview some poor crack mom back in about 1994. He's disgusting. Anyway, I've never run into anyone else who noticed or was bothered by this, so, nice to meet ya.
I wish Daniel Zwerdling would come back and replace him, that guy has character.
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