Wind Down Your Radios, Dementites And Dementoids

A bit of sadness perhaps best expressed with a kazoo: Radio host Dr. Demento (also known as "Barret Hansen" for those who prefer more mundane nomenclature) has announced his retirement after 55 years of hosting The Dr. Demento Show. His radio program was the nexus of all things musically geeky for fans of a certain generation . . . or two, or three. Among other achievements – both academic and weird – the good Doctor is largely credited with bringing "Weird Al" Yankovic to a larger audience.

The article offers more information, including details on various retrospectives leading to the final episode in the fall. You can learn about this occasion and find out how to buy streaming access to a large chunk of the program's history on the official Dr. Demento website.

Speaking personally, I vividly remember, as a youth in the 1980s, staying up late to record episodes using the lousiest cassette recorder ever, playing tapes over and over until they warbled in their overstretched pain. To this day, certain novelty songs don't "sound right" to me if they're not immediately followed by another song that was on my well-abused recordings. In addition to the entertainment value and helping forge my sense of humor, Dr. Demento's program also gave me some joy in my youth knowing that I wasn't alone in being on the weirder side.

There are still some new shows left to enjoy, so feel free to revisit (or join for the first time). The end is nigh . . . but it'll still be demented.

-- Steven Marsh