Bennington Sidebar 2
0 2016-02-19 by beeseesee
On the heels of my last post about Gail changing her opinions so that they stay in line with her father's (making for terribly boring radio in the process), the most recent show featured the most egregious example yet.
Ron strongly criticized the singing style of popular indie female vocalists like Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose.
I GUARANTEE you that Gail absolutely ADORES and idolizes those female singer/songwriters!
Yet, Ron's criticism was so over the top and aggressive (and stupid) that Gail immediately capitulated.
It was so over the top, so against Gail's entire persona that I want to reserve the possibility that is was a (very weak) bit. Otherwise, there is some Stockholm syndrome shit going down on Bennington.
BTW, I bring this criticism as someone who has listened to thousands of hours of Ron+Fez in all its incarnations, cried during the final Satellite of Love and has listened to every Bennington show in full.
The Bennington Show is very weak.
43 comments
7 IggysGlove 2016-02-19
Take this to ron and fez. But you probably have some weird gay thing for ron and now that a female presence is getting his attention it upsets you.
You think you hate women but actually you just love men.
6 clickclack8 2016-02-19
I'm not sure you need a convoluted middle-school-level psychoanalysis to find out why a user from this sub might make hyperbolic statements based on weak logic to deliberately bash a radio show.
-4 IggysGlove 2016-02-19
I was just insulting him in a way that could hit home. I don't believe in the half assed diagnosis, but there are definitely a segment of closeted fags on this sub.
Gotta play the odds.
1 TheFatMosque 2016-02-19
does it count if I'm just closeted gay for black guys?
-1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
"You're secretly gay!" Clever boy AND a tough guy. Call into O+J the next time Chris Distefano is in with that wit. It might "hit home" then
-5 IggysGlove 2016-02-19
I was teasing before but I really do support your lifestyle dude. Even if your lifestyle is closeted dork.
2 gaycunt03 2016-02-19
The only segment of closeted gays on this sub are the people like yourself that love wrestling and post on /r/squaredcircle to express how much they love wrestling.
-3 IggysGlove 2016-02-19
You are always so upset about it. You are the stereotype of this subs closeted.
You might not literally be closeted. But your experience with women is so small that it makes you insecure to hear.
"HEY! I'm not closted! I'm straight and have never been laid! Fuck this jerk!"
Must be a tough life.
2 gaycunt03 2016-02-19
Yeah I'm the stereotype of the subreddits closeted when it's you who willingly watches greasy men play fight in underwear. Make another lengthy post projecting your faggotry stupid.
1 TheFatMosque 2016-02-19
what is this squaredcircle shit? I don't even know what I'm reading
-6 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Read that more closely. My criticism isn't about Gail. I'm obviously critical of Ron.
4 cakehornnigga 2016-02-19
How exactly was Rons criticism stupid? These Indie singers are ALL doing the exact same thing with their obnoxious affected voices. On top of that, you "guaranteed" that Gail loves these young artists, based on what? I've never heard her mention any one of those artists. Also, why do you give a fuck if Ron can change her mind? She is his daughter, they have similar personalities and she respects his opinions. You seem a bit obsessed.
0 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Dearest Cakehornnigga,
Again, I totally understand a child wanting the approval of his or her parent. I totally understand a child recognizing a neediness in a parent to be idolized despite the parent's flaws and, therefore, agree with that parent, to be on that parent's side. I totally understand that many relationships, not just parent/child relationships are maintained by an unbalanced co-dependence. But that dynamic doesn't make for good radio.
Also, I give you my assurance that Gail idolized the vocalists I mentioned because they are the modern incarnation of her life long obsession with the affected, stylized vocals of 1950's and 1960's girl groups and fit squarely into the aesthetic and cultural tastes that she brandishes as personal signifiers at every opportunity.
4 cakehornnigga 2016-02-19
I stand corrected, not obsessed at all.
-1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Isn't the whole point here- the entire conceit- that we take meaningless nonsense far too seriously? Don't just be sarcastic, play along and make a point.
1 cakehornnigga 2016-02-19
What singers from the 50s and 60s that she idolizes are doing the same thing Indie singers are doing now? The affected voice thing is relatively new. Also, this idea that Fez would challenge Ron on things is ridiculous. Fez did and said whatever he thought Ron wanted. Why does there need to be conflict anyway? Ron is still a genius, and he still has Pepper there to fuck with. Not sure what the problem is.
1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
"Fez did and said whatever he thought Ron wanted."
That is MY point. Ron's overbearing, domineering on air persona (work or shoot) eventually ruined that show and it is ruining the new show.
2 cakehornnigga 2016-02-19
Ruined the show? What are you babbling about. R+F was never better the last few years of its run.
1 drexler57346 2016-02-19
So what should Ron do in your opinion? Tell them outside of the show that he wants them to stand up to him more if they don't agree with something? I think that would be a good move.
It's ultimately on Gail and Chris to have the balls and initiative to do that though, isn't it? It's easier to just agree than to have come up with a counterpoint and argue your case. I don't put all the blame on Ron here, though of course I don't know what's going on behind the scenes.
5 aprosbro 2016-02-19
But to have a more measured consideration of it. Ron is a know it all and there's nothing wrong with the know it all dad act but in the absence of conflict that's not a humorous character. It's a character that needs to stumble every now and then to be humanized. That's why Ron and Fez as a character dichotomy worked - Fez could fluster Ron or at the least be a strong counterpoint/juxtaposition. Gail is funny on her own and also could be such a natural foil but that's wasted.
3 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Exactly right. Even Stern, the ultimate know it all, with an entire staff that is afraid of him, knew to allow Jackie, Gary, Fred and Artie to legitimately argue and fight with him. Robin walked off the show multiple times and used to fight with Howard constantly. Now no one fights or even disagrees with Howard-- and the show suffers greatly because of it.
5 drexler57346 2016-02-19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky9Ro9pP2gc
If this is anything to go by, it looks like Ron is on the money. This is horrendous. WTF.
0 TheFatMosque 2016-02-19
what bro? you don't like how none of the tones of her voice make sense when put together or against the background piano? she's revolutionary
2 drexler57346 2016-02-19
It seems like music for people who want to flit around in a pretend fantasy world. Her voice sounds like it could be good, but that singing style is pretentious and honestly just stupid.
4 TheFatMosque 2016-02-19
listening to that shit just reminds me how much I want to bang fiona apple.
-1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Oh shit! Look out female soprano vocalists! drexler57346 is coming after you! And a word of caution to all you mezzo-sporano's out there: drexler57346 has 5 digits of your number!
drexler, you might be missing my point.
3 drexler57346 2016-02-19
I got your point. Gail kowtows to Ron. I'm just talking about something else.
3 Dagidugidai 2016-02-19
I have a dad I instantly agree with on most shit (except LGBT issues cuz he's old and doesn't get it.) But come on - part of having a good relationship with your father in adulthood is the willingness to agree. I like Gail.
-3 beeseesee 2016-02-19
I love Gail! I lurve Gail! I luff Gail, with two Fs! This post isn't about Gail. Its about the environment that a domineering Ron Bennington has created over the last 2-3 years.
3 Dagidugidai 2016-02-19
but he's a father figure to Gail and Pepper - you gotta kind of respect their respect. Respect? Respect. I'm drunk at 8:47.
1 [deleted] 2016-02-19
[deleted]
1 Dagidugidai 2016-02-19
I'm not fucking Chinese, obviously AM
-2 beeseesee 2016-02-19
I would also suggest Dagidugidal, that you and your father, being oriented towards each other in that way, would not make for very good cohosts of a radio show.
3 TheFatMosque 2016-02-19
I really like Ronnie and I've tried to listen to Bennington but the only ones that I've really liked are when they are trying to figure out what happened to Chris Stanley when he got hospitalized that one time. The rest of it just seems like the king is talking to his advisors that are scared of getting their heads lopped off. So I guess I have the same problem with it.
3 Guinness525 2016-02-19
Fez used to avoid confrontation with Ron too. Even though Ron was always the pot stirrer, calling out Fez and encouraging the others to join in, Fez would dance around those eggshells and only go after Chris, Shelby or someone else. Listen to any fight from that show and you will see this taking place. Nothing new here.
2 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Though it was always hard to tell what was a shoot, it's safe to say that Ronshells are significantly more fragile than Gregshells
2 ISteerTheShip 2016-02-19
One thing that often gets overlooked is that all the guys we loved to listen to, Stern, Ron, Anthony,....these are older guys now. Their mindset has changed from what made us enjoy listening to them. It sucks but, things change. Their best stuff is behind them and we are upset by that.
1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
ISteerTheShip, thats a really smart point. Ugh, we're getting older.
Don't get me wrong, Ron is the bestest , but is the bennington show a step forward from the actual brilliance of ron+fez?
This might be a way to think about it:
If you were trying to explain what was going on on the ron and fez show to a person who had never heard it it would be almost impossible.
Yet, O+J, Howard and the bennington show--- you could easily describe those shows to a brand new listener in 4 or 5 sentences.
1 ISteerTheShip 2016-02-19
Exactly! (said in Iron Sheik voice for shits n giggles)
1 misstheolddaysfan 2016-02-19
Or maybe they share the same opinions because Ron is a strong personality and he raised Gail. I get that you might be hungry for some conflict, but no reason you should be looking for it from Ron's daughter.
1 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Of course it's wonderful that Ron and his daughter do not have interpersonal conflict or even relatively trivial disagreements.
(I just hope its not because Ron is domineering and Gail, Chris and others are subjugated by his judgement.)
I just don't think it makes for good radio when everyone in the room is performing some very-high-degree-of-difficulty gymnastics to agree with literally everything one person says all the time.
At the very least it wouldn't make for a good dinner party.
1 justbabbling 2016-02-19
Ron has always been surrounded by yes-men. Has anyone ever called him out on it?
0 aprosbro 2016-02-19
She should just scream in his face "bob dylan you jowly motherfucker." Those are three very affected vocal styles, Ron will tell you he's on the vanguard of taste but he does a lot of 'kids these days' bitching.
Gail does love 60s girl groups and those are pretty stylized vocal choices.
-1 brmlb 2016-02-19
women's opinions don't matter.
they're just boxes of twat cunt
3 beeseesee 2016-02-19
Exactly right. Even Stern, the ultimate know it all, with an entire staff that is afraid of him, knew to allow Jackie, Gary, Fred and Artie to legitimately argue and fight with him. Robin walked off the show multiple times and used to fight with Howard constantly. Now no one fights or even disagrees with Howard-- and the show suffers greatly because of it.