The Ringer

Foxy42

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I could not have been more confused than the past 20 seconds after thinking I read The Ringer hired Warren Sapp and on top of it JC was saying how much he liked the hiring.
 

Kliq

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I could not have been more confused than the past 20 seconds after thinking I read The Ringer hired Warren Sapp and on top of it JC was saying how much he liked the hiring.
I also originally read it as Warren Sapp.
 

Leather

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Jul 18, 2005
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Sorry I can’t help myself: “Dazed and Confused” Rewatchables. Simmons says on three occasions that “1976 was a top three (or five) year for music!” Offers no reasons why.

It....really wasn’t. Not even close.
 

mandro ramtinez

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Sorry I can’t help myself: “Dazed and Confused” Rewatchables. Simmons says on three occasions that “1976 was a top three (or five) year for music!” Offers no reasons why.

It....really wasn’t. Not even close.
Aerosmith may have been the #1 priority of the summer but I’ll take just about any rock and roll year leading up to it ahead of 76. Nevertheless, Dazed and Confused is a gem of a movie and has a killer soundtrack.
 

johnmd20

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Sorry I can’t help myself: “Dazed and Confused” Rewatchables. Simmons says on three occasions that “1976 was a top three (or five) year for music!” Offers no reasons why.

It....really wasn’t. Not even close.
You decided to post this comment about a throwaway line in a podcast that is two years old?

It. . . .really wasn't necessary. Nobody is pretending Simmons has his finger on the pulse of music, except for Simmons.
 

Leather

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You decided to post this comment about a throwaway line in a podcast that is two years old?

It. . . .really wasn't necessary. Nobody is pretending Simmons has his finger on the pulse of music, except for Simmons.
It hasn’t aged well and was not his Apex Mountain. 1971 would have been a better casting choice.
 

johnmd20

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It hasn’t aged well and was not his Apex Mountain. 1971 would have been a better casting choice.
Simmons' music takes are definitely not his apex mountain. I just thought it was funny you were ripping on his comment in a Podcast that is 2 years old. Definitely a pick of a nit.
 

Leather

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Simmons' music takes are definitely not his apex mountain. I just thought it was funny you were ripping on his comment in a Podcast that is 2 years old. Definitely a pick of a nit.
I know, I know. I won’t do it again. For awhile.

I like the podcast but I’d give anything to be able to say to him “Dude, no! Com’mon!” just once.
 

johnmd20

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I know, I know. I won’t do it again. For awhile.

I like the podcast but I’d give anything to be able to say to him “Dude, no! Com’mon!” just once.
Rusillo is the only guy who occasionally pushes back on Bill. And he's witty about it.

But he's also shifty enough to laud him constantly, as well. So for every push back, there is one glowing commendation. But Bill is the boss. Not many people rip into their bosses.
 

Bozo Texino

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Sorry I can’t help myself: “Dazed and Confused” Rewatchables. Simmons says on three occasions that “1976 was a top three (or five) year for music!” Offers no reasons why.

It....really wasn’t. Not even close.
Simmons on music is the height of comedy. I remember some old Page 2 article where he was acting like he was edgy for putting on The Killers during some road trip with his friends.

As for '76, I've got Jailbreak, Rocks, and Ramones. That's pretty much it.
 

Leather

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Simmons on music is the height of comedy. I remember some old Page 2 article where he was acting like he was edgy for putting on The Killers during some road trip with his friends.

As for '76, I've got Jailbreak, Rocks, and Ramones. That's pretty much it.
Yeah. It was kind of a trough of a year, with the classic rock stalwarts like the Stones and Zeppelin fading but before punk and the next wave of rock artists like Springsteen, The Police, etc. really took off. Any of the previous 9 years or subsequent 3-4 were more interesting/better. I mean, even symbolically, The Last Waltz (which is basically a requiem for the golden era of rock) was filmed in ‘76.

there was some good stuff, of course (Bowie’s Station to Station, Stevie Wonder, Dylan’s Desire, etc...) but, because this is a Simmons thread: it’s basically the 2005 Patriots of years for rock music.
 
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johnmd20

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Simmons on music is the height of comedy. I remember some old Page 2 article where he was acting like he was edgy for putting on The Killers during some road trip with his friends.

As for '76, I've got Jailbreak, Rocks, and Ramones. That's pretty much it.
I think it was Kings of Leon, not the Killers.

And please don't besmirch the Killers, they are an utterly fantastic band. But certainly not edgy.
 

shaggydog2000

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Yeah. It was kind of a trough of a year, with the classic rock stalwarts like the Stones and Zeppelin fading but before punk and the next wave of rock artists like Springsteen, The Police, etc. really took off. Any of the previous 9 years or subsequent 3-4 were more interesting/better. I mean, even symbolically, The Last Waltz (which is basically a requiem for the golden era of rock) was filmed in ‘76.

there was some good stuff, of course (Bowie’s Station to Station, Stevie Wonder, Dylan’s Desire, etc...) but, because this is a Simmons thread: it’s basically the 2005 Patriots of years for rock music.
I was going to say there are a few great albums that year, but I don't think Simmons has ever heard any of them. Station to Station, Ramones, Priest's Sad Wings of Destiny, Rush's 2112, Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox, Rainbow's Rising, and Tangerine Dream's Stratosfear. I'd be surprised if he'd even heard all of Rocks.
 

Carbo Loading

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1976 was a pretty good year for music but not for the mainstream stuff that Simmons would follow.
Waren Zevon - Warren Zevon
Genesis-Trick of the Tail
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees
Bob Marley Rastaman Vibration
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
Graham Parker - Howlins Wind
The Modern Lovers
Joan Armatrading
ZZ Top - Tejas
Jaco Pastorious
Joni Mitchell -Hejira
 

johnmd20

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1976 was a pretty good year for music but not for the mainstream stuff that Simmons would follow.
Waren Zevon - Warren Zevon
Genesis-Trick of the Tail
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees
Bob Marley Rastaman Vibration
Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
Graham Parker - Howlins Wind
The Modern Lovers
Joan Armatrading
ZZ Top - Tejas
Jaco Pastorious
Joni Mitchell -Hejira
This list is littered with mainstream names.
 

8slim

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Simmons’ music takes are so bad they’re kind of endearing. Sometimes I just want someone to tell him that it’s OK, music isn’t your thing, you don’t have to have a take about everything.

I listened to the Dangerous Minds episode today and, in fairness to Bill, all three of them (Shea Serrano, Van Lathan) totally whiffed on the music aspect. They spent five minutes taking about Gangsta’s Paradise, and what was the first instance of a hip hop track being used to sell a movie. They all riffed on a couple of early 90s movies, but not one mentioned Fight The Power from 1989’s Do the Right Thing. And Serrano wrote a book about hip hop. Just an egregious whiff.
 

Leather

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Yeah, the point is that Simmons heard the Dazed and Confused soundtrack, he and his brahs played it a lot, he found out all the songs are from 1976, so in his mind 1976 is “A top-three music year.”

If the movie was set in 1975, or 1980, or whatever, he would have said the same thing. It’s not the music, it’s that Simmons likes it and can pinpoint the year, that makes that year “great.”
 

Leather

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Simmons’ music takes are so bad they’re kind of endearing. Sometimes I just want someone to tell him that it’s OK, music isn’t your thing, you don’t have to have a take about everything.

I listened to the Dangerous Minds episode today and, in fairness to Bill, all three of them (Shea Serrano, Van Lathan) totally whiffed on the music aspect. They spent five minutes taking about Gangsta’s Paradise, and what was the first instance of a hip hop track being used to sell a movie. They all riffed on a couple of early 90s movies, but not one mentioned Fight The Power from 1989’s Do the Right Thing. And Serrano wrote a book about hip hop. Just an egregious whiff.
Does Krush Groove count? Disorderlies?
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

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Yeah, the point is that Simmons heard the Dazed and Confused soundtrack, he and his brahs played it a lot, he found out all the songs are from 1976, so in his mind 1976 is “A top-three music year.”

If the movie was set in 1975, or 1980, or whatever, he would have said the same thing. It’s not the music, it’s that Simmons likes it and can pinpoint the year, that makes that year “great.”
The songs on the soundtrack didn’t come out in 1976, though.
 

Bozo Texino

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The songs on the soundtrack didn’t come out in 1976, though.
Linklater was ADAMANT that all of the songs heard in the movie had to have been released before May 28, 1976. So yeah - even if there had been tracks from 1976, they'd have to have been from the first five months of that year. I think "Cherry Bomb" and "Hurricane" are the only tunes in the movie that qualify. I'm guessing the Frampton tracks in the movie were live versions from Frampton Comes Alive. If so, those count, too.
 

shaggydog2000

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It's easy to make fun of Simmons for his pedestrian music tastes, but we have to remember the generation of writers before him only listened to Bruce Springsteen. His musical variety above replacement writer for the era was huge. Huge.
 

Leather

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It's easy to make fun of Simmons for his pedestrian music tastes, but we have to remember the generation of writers before him only listened to Bruce Springsteen. His musical variety above replacement writer for the era was huge. Huge.
I don't think they even listened to Springsteen, they only started saying they did circa 2002 after The Rising came out and they got comped tickets to that tour. For all of Peter King's mush about Springsteen, he's never once (as far as I can recall) said anything that wasn't basically '"Born to Run" is a great album!' or "He's the best live!" I'd bet anything he's got no more than 4 Springsteen CDs, and one of them is the Greatest Hits and the other is The Rising (and the third is probably Born in the USA).

Sportswriters say they like Springsteen because they feel safe in that the meatheads who read their column still think Bruce is PRO USA ALL THE WAY! But also know that, especially in the past 15 years, he's kind of settled into a respected elder statesman role in rock music so music snobs won't turn up their nose. Pearl Jam is the heir apparent.
 

Marciano490

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What was Bill’s line comparing Fugazi to REM or something in terms of being independent? That still cracks me up.
 

CantKeepmedown

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How about the Bruins not allowing them to wear their gear/logo? Not surprising, I guess, but what a whiff by Jacobs. Compared with the Red Sox and MLB letting them do all of the stuff inside of Fenway.

And I know it was mentioned in this thread, but The Town is one of the better episodes of The Rewatchables. Ryen Russillo's first episode I believe
 

JCizzle

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Ringer is bringing on Jackie Mac for a podcast. Like Russillo before they hired him full time, she'll still be an ESPN employee as well. If nothing else, Bill makes some great hires.

View: https://twitter.com/ourand_sbj/status/1306568972586889216?s=21

Jackie MacMullan will host a narrative NBA podcast for The Ringer and has committed to make regular appearances on other Ringer pods. Her first appearance comes later today on Simmons’ pod.
 

shlincoln

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Somewhere an underpaid Ringer staffer punches a wall as yet another outside person is brought in to host a podcast.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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If this were radio or TV airtime, I guess I could see where an "underpaid Ringer staff member" might be frustrated by an outside hire taking up an opportunity that otherwise could have been theirs. But we're talking podcasts. Anyone with a computer, tablet, or smartphone can create a podcast. If there's a staffer at the Ringer who aspires to be on a podcast, they can simply start their own. I don't mean that to sound dismissive, but podcasting is one area where any ambitious person can prove themselves to their bosses without those bosses giving them a specific opportunity to do so. If they're good, then they'll quickly have a product to sell those bosses on.
 

shlincoln

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So, who do you think will draw more ears to the podcast, Jackie Mac, or next underpaid Ringer staff member up?
That was mostly a joke at seeing the Jackie Mac news at roughly the same time the Ringer Union posted a tweet thread of testimonials about how the rank and file feel trapped in their positions with no clear path to advance their careers at the company.
 
the Ringer Union posted a tweet thread of testimonials about how the rank and file feel trapped in their positions with no clear path to advance their careers at the company.
Isn't that...what rank-and-file people in journalism have always felt, right up to the point where the cream began rising to the top? Or - like Simmons himself at the Herald - leave their current publication to start something new?
 

Spelunker

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I guess since it came out before 1980 nobody at The Ringer has ever seen The Friends of Eddie Coyle, the actual most Boston movie ever and one of the best crime films of the 70's if not ever.
I mean, it is name-checked in the article as an explicit reference point.

I know you're reacting to the "ultimate" part of the lede, but eh: the 'most' of something is ephemeral. The Town- even with its (purposefully) dated view of Charlestown- reflects current Boston much better than Coyle does.
 

Lazy vs Crazy

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If this were radio or TV airtime, I guess I could see where an "underpaid Ringer staff member" might be frustrated by an outside hire taking up an opportunity that otherwise could have been theirs. But we're talking podcasts. Anyone with a computer, tablet, or smartphone can create a podcast. If there's a staffer at the Ringer who aspires to be on a podcast, they can simply start their own. I don't mean that to sound dismissive, but podcasting is one area where any ambitious person can prove themselves to their bosses without those bosses giving them a specific opportunity to do so. If they're good, then they'll quickly have a product to sell those bosses on.
I'm sure there is a non-compete in their contract prohibiting personal podcasts.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Isn't that...what rank-and-file people in journalism have always felt, right up to the point where the cream began rising to the top? Or - like Simmons himself at the Herald - leave their current publication to start something new?
The Ringer has a long history of trapping the rank-and-file...since 2016, when it was created.

Journalism is a weird industry, it's like big changes have to happen season to season. I'll take my position advancements every 4 or 5 years in the construction industry and be quite happy, thank you.

Am thinking a lot of this is the reality that "holy shit we got bought for a fortune by Spotify" and that this will result in zero or little bump for the rank-and-file. The Jackie Mac situation is repeated constantly by ESPN, they'll layoff dozens of lower paid employees then give Stephen A. Smith a record contract, hire Woj, etc.