Posted by Bud on December 17, 2009 at 20:46:08:
Johnny B. records music video about radio situation, still making treble
Jonathon Brandmeier, whose most recent exit from Emmis Communications' WLUP-FM 97.9 was announced a little more than two weeks ago, posted a darkly comic music video online Tuesday taking stock of his career, making light of his current situation and taking pointed aim at the corporate mentality pervasive in radio today.
"Johnny B - Unemployed Radio Mo Fo", a takeoff of comedian Jon Lajoie's NSFW rap "Everyday Normal Guy," can be found on Brandmeier's JohnnyBonTV.com Web site, as well as You Tube.
The video comes with a parental warning from Brandmeier: "There is a lotta MFs bein' tossed around up in here ..." So before clicking, you might want to put on headphones. The lyrics include words that aren't appropriate in many workplaces and, if broadcast, probably would earn a Federal Communications Commission fine.
Plus, there are shots of Brandmeier on the toilet.
"I would like to apologize to my mother for the swear words in the video. And to baby Jesus. Sorry," Brandmeier says in the middle.
Among the tamer lyrics can be found in a passage dramatizing a boss giving him his walking papers: “He said we know who you are and we know who you were, but there’s only one thing that corporate does concur: You may have been the greatest and you might be yet, but our bottom line says you ain’t worth ..." Well, you can guess.
At another point: "Johnny B's the best and he's got awards to prove it. But now the suits say it's cheaper to play music. Hey, monkey push a button and play another song. Talent on the radio just doesn't belong. Enjoy this crap while you can ’cause it won’t last long. It’s the last time I raise a ship from the dead. Now I’m gonna watch it sink all over again."
Near the end, Brandmeier can be seen outside Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s WGN-AM 720 with a handwritten sign that says, "Will work." He then unfolds the sign to add "for a million dollars" and a certain oft-repeated epithet.