Features Dec 11, 2008 at 4:00 am

The Best New Radio Show in Seattle Is on... KIRO?

Comments

1
This is a great show. I caught it a couple weeks ago and have been listening ever since.
2
This is one of the best shows on the radio anywhere. Thanks for giving it the attention it deserves!
3
What a ridiculous show. Nice mutual-masturbation piece.
4
As on of the 10's I would like to thank you for your great write up!

Mrs. Smith
5
I've been listening on and off from the very first episode. Proudly one of the tens.
6
Sean is so dreamy
7
When does this show start? I'm still waiting to see the "talent" he's supposedly got. I'm like listening to someelses conversion in a bar near closing time.
8
This show is great! I have listened to radio! I listened to Larry King on the radio too! Me and Luke are close in age. Whats great about the show? Your not being told what to think, how to feel, its NOT pushing your buttons, its like listening in on a conversation, and usually there is someone in "there" room that has your opinion. I think people are tired of shows that keep your attention by pushing your emotional buttons. I feel like I should be drinking slow gin or scotch and maybe reading my Thesaurus and sitting on my whoopie cush'n when I listen to this show! Feel me?!
Blizzard of AuZ
9
Nothing wrong with a show that's irreverent and edgy. But why does Burbank and Company have to make their bits so ploddingly slow? A lot of the show seems made up just to amuse themselves...and if we don't get it, I guess we're not one of the cool kids.
10
Who is this Robin Kierstein person? What have they done with Robin Turner?

heh
11
Really entertaining show. It's just a shame that a sellout like Dori Monson gets credit for self aclaimed No.1 ratings due to the time he happens to be on the air. Keep up the good work! Great show. I love to listen to it every chance I have the opportunity. It's pretty unique, no matter what the topic is, the show just seems to flow correctly. They GET IT!
12
TBTL... priceless. A celebration of life. Not for those who wish to wallow in manufactured outrage. Angst isnt on the agenda, simply a unique perspective on what awesome radio can be. Proud to be amongst the 10's, and even prouder to be a five.

We "get it" - and now perhaps more of Seattle will recognize this jewel.

Karl in Oly
13
ABM said "I'm like listening to someelses conversion in a bar near closing time."

EXACTLY! Only the 10's understand, and you're either a 10 or you're not.

By the way, what is a "someelses," anyway?


14
I like the show, I'm in my mid to late 30's, about the same age as the show's crew. I have been listening for about 6 months.
I'm self employed and do computer work at night so I can't watch TV, and I hate silence when I work, so I'm not listening to Delila or sports, so TBTL is the next best thing, and they just talk about stuff that is interesting that you would do with any of your friends.
My only complaint is he has to have the worst musical taste, at least what he mentions over the air. It's seems to be very rigid, and he makes fun of some great all time bands and artists. Doesn't make him sound too musically educated.
But aside from that their onto something that is fresh on talk radio. And anyway, after a day about listening to real life downers and politics, TBTL is a nice distraction.
6 figure salary ey ? Laughing all the way to the bank !
15
I don't listen often, as I am usually not available from 7:00 to 10:00 in the evening, but the show does have a certain fascination. I think what Burbank and Andrews have could best be described in the words of Robin Williams. They are almost tragically hip. They are so the cool kids who wouldn't talk to you in high school. But now we get to listen in. The show is a nice diversion.
16
How pathetic. Article should have told the more sordid history of "TBTL" ... early in the show they were caught skimming all their "comedy" off other radio shows. Someone posted links in their blog and Luke went into an on-air tirade, accusing people of being "out to get him", etc.

Since that time Luke rules over his blog with an iron fist, instantly deleting any comment except the most fawning, subservient, sycophantic ball-licking. The Stranger could have done a helluva lot better than this.
17
After he kicked me off of his blog for off-handedly mentioning that I thought he was fat (as in overweight, not as in cool), I started my own blog.

What is most disturbing about Luke (aside from his lisp and his head which is, amazingly, a perfect sphere) is how he always engineers situations that allows him to compare various aspects of his physical characteristics to males younger than himself. I've covered this on my blog here:

TBTL SPONSORS WEIRD CONTEST FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS FAIL TO TUNE-IN TO BURBANK DESPITE HIS OFFERS OF PRIZES
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

BURBANK DISCUSSES HIS BODY HAIR AGAIN
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

BURBANK HAS A BAD LISP
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

BURBANK HAS LOWEST WEB TRAFFIC OF ANY KIRO SHOW
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

HISTORY OF TBTL
http://wedislikekatie.blogspot.com/2008/…

18
C89.5 - a great station!

http://www.knhcroots.9ax.net
19
I have been giving this show a listen off and on for Several months
It just keeps getting worse

DEAD AIR is more entertaining
I hope the contract is up soon

maybe we can get something else to listen to while held captive on a drive home from work
20
Falun Motvi, still a champ.
21
I love TBTl! This was a good read as well!
22
Luke Burbank sounds like he's masturbating when he talks. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but I'm not saying it's good, either.
23
I can't hear the name "Luke Burbank" without hearing, in my head, the audience of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me going "Luuuuuuuuuuuuuke!"
24
Who cares, and why did you have to write so much about it, what a waste of space, and really the pics are stupid too.
25
My oh my... I have to support the soundbites here don't I ... In order to not be cast aside and be reported as off topic, rule one is there is no rule except... this isn't radio... that is and was and forever norshallbe unrequited.

Just in from the ad lib voice retort...

Tinker bell, the unknown name in the R.O.A.R. pedal pusher soft tone flicker flannals... may have gone missing!!!

Word has it that a very big load of toys was just dropped off at the Freemont underground habitat for misfit street urchins in search of sacks in lunchtime.....

Well, what I meant to say is was and norshalleverbe reverberated in the halls of untoaforementioned lust.... (pssst...) little cindy loo hoo's jammies are off limits unless...and mind you that's a VERY BIG less.... your the cleaner.

What that relly means kids iis id... lub... is ....where the hell did the swirly sound canvas chip go?

my voicer is trapped in her viva voce' corder-re... ow!!!! i hit my head again....

what I am really trying to say is... merry x-mas and to all a goddnight nurse.
26
I podcast the show in Oklahoma and love it. Check it out.
27
I'll continue to ignore KIRO until someone shoots down their traffic copter of doom.
28
BA BA BOOEY! BA BA BOOEY!
29
I don't quite know if those people were the " cool " kids in high school. There is a underlying but discernable ridgitity on certain things with them.
They sure know film and TV that you cannot deny.
I get the feeling that they could do three hours just on that subject. It's the music promoting that's lacking imo. All those unforgettable indie bands, you won't hear from in a few years. Blah music. Burbank doesn't like Marshall amps, challenging musicianship, distortion,
cry baby wah, a harmonizer or a whammy bar on the guitar. It's too offensive. It's too metal or hard rock. I know I'm not an outsider on this either.
But to his credit, he is smart, affable, well read, sensitive in spots and has an excellent sense of humor, despite he and Jennifer dissing one of the brightest, innovative and the best observasional comic's of all time, George Carlin.
It's simply a radio show that's something different for people around their age and away from the other predictable talk programs on the radio.
I almost equate it to being kind of like The Mens Room over at KISW, in being that they are very much different radio talk shows, but it's a niche type program where like minded people come together.
30
The first show I heard was their second. It was a recap of the first show which was a recap of all the bad radio Luke had done in the past. Then they noted that a highlight show of bad radio was probably bad radio. And that segment was bad radio about bad radio about bad radio.

I was hooked.
31
The only thing I miss about delivering pizza was listening to TBTL while I did it. It's almost the Sienfeld of radio becuase it's not really about anything. And just to point out a factual error in the article, Luke would have been trying to get an internship at KCMU in 1994, not KEXP.
32
I read a couple days ago about Butterball having one of his sycophants write a piece about him in The Stranger in a radio blog. I only now have a chance to read it, and I've got to say, how far The Stranger has fallen.

I echo the comments of the previous posters - why didn't The Stranger delve into TBTLs history of "borrowing" content, or Butterball's weird on-air meltdown early in the show, etc. etc.? I'd expect this kind of co-op ad fluff from the Seattle Times, not The Stranger.

This video says all anyone needs to know about Butterball and his nightly radio suckfest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiEW03pIT…
33
This show is so painfully "cool" I find myself putting up with Michael Savage for more than 2 minutes at a time driving home. Great name but lack of content and self-righteously hip. No thanks.
34
I think it's funny the Stranger conveniently mentioned the name of the faux "cult" they wanted to start: The Movementarians. Yes, as in the Simpsons episode. They ripped that off and rode it for about 2 weeks - nary an acknowledgment or nod to the source material - before they got so many complaints they had to apologize for yet another instance of plagiarism and stop using it.

This show is just a rehashed, warmed-over, compilation of a 100 original shows.
35
rather "conveniently FORGOT to mention"
36
Despite a few funny moments, the show deeply disturbs me. These superficial and blase' people seem to be representative of a whole generation who learned everything they know from TV and movies. They string together long pop-culture cliches and bounce them off each other as if they were actually having a conversation.
37
Cry me a river... the folks expressing outrage over a viable commercial product can go nail themselves to a cross in a performance Artism inspired moment of Anti. If its so mundane, why waste the time it takes to type a response ?

Successful art is a deliberately manipulated medium which creates a reaction... and as far as I can tell, TBTL is therefore successful by that very definition.

So please go ignore something else, or clean up your Mom's basement, or perhaps create a blog of your own so you can rant about it.

Them's as can, do... them's as cant, blog about it.
38
TBTL on KIRO is an awful show, it's definitely NOT a "talk radio show", it's not interactive at all and it is certainly not a topical or newsworthy show in the tradition of MIKE WEBB, it's just wordy crap explained to us listeners as if we were still in kindergarten. they never take any calls, especially from someone with something on their mind and they don't have any competition.
It's just two old friends who grew up in the same religion.
They aren't even hip or anything.
It's typical of the talk radio in this area anymore -DEAD!
39
Painfully slow and unfunny.

Did you get paid to right this or is the Stranger doing an ad swap with KIRO?

Want to hear ground-breaking and funny radio done right? try Tom Scharpling's "Best Show on WFMU."

40
"viable commercial product"

It is NOT a viable commercial product if it's been one-year and it's only scraped out a listener increase from 2.0% to 2.2% despite a six-figure investment over the previous show.

A 0.2% increase off a major promotional investment is nothing to write home about, it's something to be ashamed about.

Are you one of the 10's or one of the 0.2's?

41
Just when you think they are finally culminating a solid entire 3 hour show, they do what they do tonight and spend an entire segment talking about Kanye West. How overrated can you be ? My wife and I are sitting there watching that on SNL and we are both thinking " what's so great about this ? ". We are not old either, she is 34 and I'm 36, so it's not like we are stuck in a time warp, that stuff just isn't talented. Guy doesn't play an instrument or sing. Nothing about him impresses me.

Then Luke who is 32 admits that he listens to KUBE. Ha ! You have to be kidding me. That's too funny, really. Last I remember The Hold Steady, Band Of Horses and The Cure aren't played on KUBE.

He'll do what he wants to do because it's his show, and he's actually saved when Kiro goes all sports, because there is no threat there because they'll move over to FM.
You can still have a successful radio program by keeping in the stuff all of the listeners would pretty much agree on and find entertaining.

But that's just a very minor part of the show, and that is why we continue to listen. My wife WILL NOT listen to all sports.
42
Re: Mr Nicht. Hmmm... hides behind a screen name, check. Fails to recognize that blog postings increase traffic and therefore exposure, check. Quotes incomplete statistics to support a point of view, check. Self worth only established by validation of their aurgument, check. Repeatedly rises to the same bait, check.

Sorry... decidedly not a 10.

Luke and Jen rule. Please, feel free to generate more blog hits.
48
This reminds me of when he and his assistant were fawning over this godawful "performer" who did nothing but shriek and wail with a guitar? ala Yoko Ono. I had to look this "artist" up online she was so bad. And then I had to hide my head in shame because she was an Asian "performer." God help me.
49
Karl Welty - sorry, but that's got to be the singularly dumbest comment in this entire thread, or possibly the history of threads ...

"Increase blog hits?" Do you think I'm out to "get" TBTL? Come on, they've roasted their own goat by posting sub-par ratings. Me leaving a one-off, snide comment on a weekly newspaper's website really has no impact on that one way or the other.
We're having a discussion, and I'm participating. Nothing more or less ... are you new to this internet thing?

Take a deep breath and stop getting so red in the face that your B/F Luke seems to be taking it in the pooper. No one outside the 2.2% cares.
50
God, is it just me or does Karl sound like he's 40 years old the way he's writing? Take a load off, gramps.

But seriously, this seems to be par for TBTL - they don't really appeal much to youth with their NPR-esque/PG-Rated sunshine shenanigans, but rather the aged who miss their youth or like to think of themselves as "hip at heart."

Also, fat people.

(Seriously, check out some of the photos of their listeners they post up, occasionally. Who robbed the Hostess factory?)
51
Chum, in a fishing sense.
52
I like the show, I just don't get his negative comments to genuinely good musicians and bands.
He ranked on the Eagles. Now I'm not saying they are the best band in rock and roll history but they did sell 83 million albums, so 80 million or so people thought they were alright.
And they still put on a good concert ( sorry Jen 2 1/2 hr's ) to this day.
OK, every member can sing and sing well, all can write music, all are pretty proficient at their instruments ( especially Henley sings/drums ) can rock or can be mellow. Everything you need to have good ingridients for a good rock and roll band. I grew up with them and their music.
( But you could be people like the Dude who prefer CCR )
53
I love this show. I mean if this show were any cooler it would be gay.
54
"TBTL on KIRO is an awful show, it's definitely NOT a "talk radio show", it's not interactive at all and it is certainly not a topical or newsworthy show in the tradition of MIKE WEBB, it's just wordy crap explained to us listeners as if we were still in kindergarten. they never take any calls, especially from someone with something on their mind and they don't have any competition.
It's just two old friends who grew up in the same religion.
They aren't even hip or anything.
It's typical of the talk radio in this area anymore -DEAD!"

and that's why I love it.
55
UGGGGHHHHH, I thought (and hoped) by the title that this article was a joke. What a complete and utter bunch of bullshit. Every time I happen to turn to KIRO and hear this boring, boring, still-stuck-in-9th grade wannabe radio crap I wonder who Luke Burbank is related to that he got a show with zero talent. Also I wonder who he had suck off to have a show that is totally pointless and unentertaining night after night. KIRO SUCKS ever since they let Ron Reagen go. YUCK YUCK YUCK!
56
I love this show. Was just telling a friend about it, and how being a fan reminds me of watching Monty Python on the crappy black and white "2nd tv" with rabbit ears down in the basement in 1976 (because the rest of the family was watching "Happy Days" upstairs on the color set). Same feeling of "why doesn't everyone else love this as much as I do???" - it's fun enjoyable smart radio. Doesn't beat you over the head, but invites you in.

Mikel
57
I like the show because it is funny and you feel you know these people. Sort of like Seinfeld for the radio. they do a great job in bringing a smile to your face on your drive home. I believe they will go national someday. Just like Larry King started on radio at night. This is a winner.
58
My new favorite podcast.
59
this show is a bore and they refuse to talk about marijuana legalization but they love their wines!
60
My wife and I dig the show in podcast form, making me a "time bandit" member of the Tens...she would be one of the Elevens as she doesn't follow as doggedly as I do. I have always been a fan of silly things...this podcast is a constant stream of them, which is good.
61
I podcast, time-bandit- love the show and recommend it to everyone I can. All the whiners who are hating it should just stop listening, quit obsessing and find something else they do enjoy.
62
TBTL is dead. Long live TBTL.net


Please wait...

and remember to be decent to everyone
all of the time.

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