I read a Talkers.com article yesterday, one also posted by Art Bell, about fans of the talk radio show host joining together through social networking to do advertising on his behalf.The way that Bell has regained his notoriety and fame has become quite an organic and real process.
A few years ago, a post was entered onto Bellgab.com, then Coastgab. The poster said “Art Bell Quits Coast” on the forum, and the thread became a multi-year drama.
Bell quit Coast to Coast AM and Premiere. This website, the HORROR REPORT, has documented the long process from George Noory telling Bell fans that “he’s done folks” to Bell’s return to Sirius and then quit exit. And now speedy return (2 years delayed because of the Sirius non compete) to the netwaves and airwaves.
And now, what exists after all of this time, is a nightly-must-listen.
Bell keeps listeners’ attention with his style of broadcasting. Listening to him gives you the feeling that nothing much has changed since the 1990s—Bell is as good as ever.
If you’re not listening to Midnight in the Desert, you’re missing out not only on great radio but also enlightening conversation. Unscripted as well.. No cue cards. No product placements.. no corporate-style broadcasts with multi-commercials purposely placed to dissuade deep conversation over the air.
Just this week, a series of amazing shows were broadcast, including last night with Kevin Mitnick, a famed hacker who brushed with the FBI multiple times, Tess Gerritsen, the REAL author of GRAVITY, a person claiming to having a recording of Bigfoot, a professor speaking about the potential scientific realities of time travel, and an open lines forum with a special phone number for people claiming they married an alien. All in a week.. all on streamed and saved for paying ‘time travelers.’
I have written before and will say it again: The Sirius stint seemed to feature a touchy Art Bell. Who can forget his long friendship with Nostradamus expert John Hogue going sour over the air during one of his Dark Matter programs?
This time, Bell is having fun. He’s being natural, he’s calm and collective, and he’s letting it all just happen.
Sure, there was the recent exit of his newsman in dramatic fashion—Facebook becomes a source of gossip not only for high schoolers but also radio employees, as we saw with Leo Ashcraft.
Midnight in the Desert is just fun.
Upcoming will be a Halloween show.
The last two times Bell left the air was after a Halloween show, in 2010 and 2013.
If we make it through October, Midnight will survive.
So three cheers for an amazing show!
And with the amazing nature of the Midnight show, let’s all sit back and listen, and hope there’s many more Halloween shows to come.