This week has been good without Opie. No management talk, I get really sick of that because there is nothing the listeners can do. Fire your shitty agent and move on.

I'm sure it will all be back to normal once he comes back.

The bitching pisses me off to no end, I just stop listening when they do that. I'm so sorry your making tens of millions of dollars and work 4-5 days a week with vacation time, full benefits, stock options etc. I know CEOS are making more money then they ever have before but the rest of America is hurting.

I go both ways with this. I'm a huge fan so I understand how management is really handicapping the potential of the show. Zero promotion and stops any bit that is edgy. And to a certain extent bitching makes some changes, although minor.

Making the audience suffer through it all should not be the solution, though.

The show can function without Opie, but it's not the same. This might sound crazy, but he's my favorite out of the three, even though he's the least funny. I think he just thinks like me, so I relate with him the most.

yeah mean opie needs to make a comback for sure. middle aged dad opie is really not entertaining.

i think they need sandy kane to come back to the show. she was always an amazing mean opie catalyst.

The "joke interviews" of old need to come back, too. I don't want to see O&A interviewing big-name celebs.

Do you realize what you're saying? You don't want them to be successful.

I think there definitely USED to be a point where the show needed Opie to run it.

I can still remember a show back somewhere around '04 where Op left an hour before the end, and things just derailed completely while Ant let Al Jorgunsen tell one story after another. On the bright side this eventually resulted in the "I know a guy that tried to fuck an ostrich" story, but mostly it was a bunch of boring stuff and Ant laughing.

Between then and now, we've seen a new addition to the show. I call him "Radio Jimmy". I speak of the way Jim Norton behaves either when Opie is out, or when he clearly has no faith in either other host's ability to do a proper interview with a particular celebrity. He steps up and behaves a lot more like a host, keeping things flowing from one topic to the next. It's such a dramatic change in role and behavior that I almost consider it another of the characters in Jimmy's stable.

I love the nopie shows. He used to keep the show moving better, but when Ant was out last month, Opie derailed and entire hour to talk about how balloons like like "boobies." Terrible.

Who does that appeal to?! 8 year olds?

I've always defended Opie. He has his place and when he's funny it's usually brutal.

Not anymore. If he left and it remained Jimmy and Anthony, with various 3rd mic guests, I don't think would miss Opie.

Opie constantly bitching about management and pushing his twitter and youtube all while saying "I'm a private person" isn't good radio. Don't care if it's a bit, it isn't funny if it is. I don't think Ant or Jim care for it either. Whenever Opie goes off on a rant they usually keep quiet till it's over.

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He brings some structure, and knows when it's time to move on to another subject

I find that he's increasingly likely to try to steer the show back into something he feels like talking about, even if Ant and Jimmy are kicking ass on it. I think that Uncle Paul/Sandusky bit nearly got derailed a few times because of Op.

my impression was that opie felt like jimmy had run out of steam a couple times, and op would start talking again only to have jim/uncle paul think of another line or two and keep going with the bit. didn't seem pointed or selfish or anything on opie's part to me, it's just his job to -- like the guy above said -- keep the show rolling.

When I head uncle paul and the 'game over' book interview... I thought to myself, somehow Opie would fuck this up. Glad he wasn't there.

Ha... yeah.

Opie constantly bitching about management and pushing his twitter and youtube all while saying "I'm a private person" isn't good radio.

It's a bit, silly.

The second he said "I'm a private person" I knew he gave more to Sam and Jess than Ant did.

I'm just the opposite. If Anthony left I'd be OK, whereas I really enjoy ol' sweatpants and jimmy.

Out of curiosity, when did you start listening? I feel that Anthony is the strongest "character" on the show.

hmm, a year or two after they signed with XM. Around 8 years I think now.

I Love all 3 of them. However, I do get the chills from Opie, quite often. "Ice Cuuuh" was one of my favorite things ever. The only thing that really bothers me about Ant is when he bitches about politics and taxes. I mean, I get it, nobody likes to pay taxes, but it's really hard for me, as a lower-middle-class citizen to sympathize with a multi-millionaire when it comes to money problems.

You know what bugs me about Ant? He completely lost his roots. He's completely forgotten that it was an excruciating stroke of luck he's not still banging tin and it's as if he was owed this all along. He should wake up every day and kiss the whole crew's ass for being there, but he doesn't, he's an insufferable prick. If you've ever seen one of those "my lottery winnings" shows that's what I always think of when he's yammering about his "stuff." I mean, of course a lower middle class wop bought a shelby and a mansion the second he had two nickels to rub together.

To be honest, I think he's so flamboyant about what he "deserves" because he remembers being poor. He admits he is Long Island white trash, and Colin Quinn cuts him down eloquently.

Growing up poor, I know I'd be a bit like that if I was ridiculously rich. Buying stuff I don't need, indulging in my hobbies to excess.

When he says "Bring me my soup! I am a fancy man!" I don't take it too seriously. It's all for the radio.

THAT I don't take seriously at all, it's funny and a parody of himself.

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Funny, in the /r/wisconsin they make me out as a Republican douche nozzle.

I like the the morning JAM with Jim and Sam.

Agreed. They have great chemistry. Sam does well at the Op role- not so much when he's expected to provide comedy.

I guess I'll be the counterpoint. I LOVE the management bitching. I can truly relate. It cracks me up every single time he calls them "babysitters" because I have exactly the same at my cubicle IT job. I've started using the term "skillset" all the time and it's beautifully insulting.

Ant and Jim together, while definitely the outright funniest guys just seem to ramble on too much for me. As much as I love watching Live From the Compound, I find myself tuning out waiting for a point. Like it or not, Opie keeps things moving and on track.

And to add another downvote, I actually like Sam too, but the shit-show can be hit or miss depending on if he uncovers something good. I like him chiming in more during the regular show.

That being said, I loved Jim and Ant interviewing the Sandusky book guy. Fucking hilarious shit.

The best was when Troy started hitting on Intern Sean's GF... And then Anthony/Jimmy paid for him to take her out to dinner, A Brazillian Steakhouse if I remember correctly, and apparently ended up fucking her. That shit made me pull over to the side of the road and laugh.

EDIT: Ahh fuck i messed it up... It was Troy stealing Sean's GF

link?

In my opinion the show is at it's best when Anthony isn't going on about race and/or politics. Actually I'd say when none of them are going on about it, but Anthony is usually the key figure in those discussions.

I enjoy these discussions as well, but I much preferred it when Patrice was in to serve as a counterpoint to Anthony. Patrice was willing to concede some points and defend others until Anthony worked himself into a frenzy. Great radio.

Opie has the shitties

By far the best comment in this thread

ugh... i was seriously thinking about signing back up to SiriusXM because I haven't heard O & A or R & F in over a year. This thread kind of reminded me of why I left.

it seems like the show reverts to their 102.7 days when it's Ant, Lil Jim, and a third guest. It feels like they're just a bunch of funny fucks hanging out and there happens to be a mic on. I feel like as much as management sucks ass, they are also kind of complacent now. Some of the best moments were the AFRO shows when they were drunk, just shooting the shit. Now the guys are out the door within minutes of the show ending, off doing their own shit, spending their millions (which is understandable I guess, spending money you actually have sounds awesome). I still love the show & listen every day, but would like to see that fire up their ass again.