OK, so it was either Poisoned Pistachios or Confounded Conficker. Anyhow…

Air America woke up with wood this morning. At least they ought to be getting some at noon, since wood is the traditional fifth anniversary gift, and it was five years ago today at noon that Air America Radio hit the airwaves (in a couple of markets, anyway) and the Internet (except the stream was constantly crapping out) with the O’Franken Factor. We heard Ann Coulter (who sounded suspiciously like Bebe Neuworth) getting locked in the closet, Michael Moore plugging his soon-to-be-released film, “Fahrenheit 9/11”, and Al Franken telling for the first time what would become the same jokes over and over and over again. We also heard “oh, Al!” from Katherine Lampher (sounding a bit like Laura Petrie) for the first of many times to come. And I was probably the only one out there digging the Grateful Dead button music.

Randi Rhodes came on to do a four hour show all by herself (if anybody’s got a big enough mouth to do four hours solo, it’s Randi), and later that evening we were treated to the Majority Report, with Janeane Garafalo and stammering Sammy Seder. I remember sitting at work (in a crappy little basement “office” that was more like a computer storage closet, fiddling with trying to get the AAR audio stream to work (it was almost like the olden days, fiddling with the shortwave trying to get the BBC).

Ah, those were the days. Filled with promise and potential. I couldn’t wait for Air America Radio. Now, I couldn’t even tell you what the lineup is. The only thing they have on that I’m even mildly interested in listening to is BRL, and I almost never find myself in a position to watch/listen to it.

Still, you have to give AAR a certain amount of credit just for hanging in there for five years. Evan Cohen, the person who put together what I consider to be some of the finest radio ever (and I’m a bit of an old time radio connoisseur) – or at least had the good sense to put Lizz Winstead in charge, and let her run with the ball, assembling some of the best comedy writers in the business – turned out to be a lying crook. Danny Goldberg came in to save the day, and began the process of gutting all that was good from the network, and the Green boys came in to finish the job. Ah, but there was some really good radio there, for a year and a half or so.

On the bright side, I listen to a lot more music these days.