The Musers — 2024-12-14
The Musers — 1310 The Ticket, Dallas | Saturday, December 14, 2024
📋 Segments This Day
- E-Brake – The Non-Musers 12132024
🎙️ Early Show Analysis
Segments
E-Brake – The Non-Musers 12132024 [00:00:01-00:05:12]: The emergency brake segment featuring mistakes from other Ticket shows throughout the week. Three candidates were presented for listener voting.
E-Brake Segment
The E-Brake opened with a DJ mistake where someone confused Creed and Nickelback while announcing concert dates, playing a Scott Stapp (Creed) song when they meant to play Nickelback [00:00:16-00:01:05]. The main featured E-Brake was Norm Hitzges struggling with phone technology during his return to fill-in duties, where his phone kept going off on air and he couldn’t figure out how to silence it [00:02:27-00:03:47]. The hosts were surprised to learn Norm now has an iPhone instead of his famous flip phone.
Funny Moments and Memorable Quotes
- DJ admitting the Creed/Nickelback mix-up: “Oh no. I completely messed that up” [00:00:38]
- Host commenting on potentially offending both bands: “Man, somehow, I don’t know which one you offended more, but you offended one of them just now” [00:00:51-00:00:56]
- Discussion about Norm’s phone upgrade being “more the upset of that e-break is that Norm has an iPhone now” [00:03:59-00:04:03]
- Anticipation of watching Norm struggle with Face ID: “I would pay a lot of money to watch Norm deal with the first time his face ID doesn’t work” [00:04:24-00:04:32]
Recurring Bits and Inside Jokes
- References to Norm Hitzges’ legendary struggles with flip phone technology, now translated to iPhone difficulties
- Mention of Justin Montemayor disrupting Travis’s “Am I a Jerk” segment [00:02:48-00:02:56]
- The sports analogy comparing Norm’s return to “dirt coming out of the stands, though, and dropping 37 and 10” [00:04:43-00:04:47]
Summary
This E-Brake segment featured the Work in Progress crew filling in for the Musers, presenting three candidates for the weekly emergency brake voting. The segment opened with a classic DJ mistake where someone confused Creed and Nickelback while announcing concert dates, leading to an awkward on-air correction and scramble to play the right music.
The main attraction was Norm Hitzges’ return to The Ticket as a fill-in host, bringing back his legendary technical difficulties but with a modern twist. Instead of his famous flip phone struggles, Norm was now battling with a new iPhone (inherited from his wife Mary), unable to silence incoming calls during the show. The hosts found this both nostalgic and amusing, noting that while iPhones are supposedly more intuitive, they were anticipating future comedy gold watching Norm navigate features like Face ID.
The segment celebrated Norm’s return while acknowledging the ongoing musical chairs of fill-in hosting duties across the station, with references to various hosts switching time slots and continuing popular segments like “Am I a Jerk.” The overall tone was affectionate toward the station’s personalities and their endearing technical mishaps that make for quality E-Brake content.
⏰ Mid-Show Analysis
Segments that appeared in this portion:
- E-Brake Voting Segment (5:17-11:17): A weekly segment where listeners vote on the most embarrassing audio mistakes made by station personnel. Three candidates were featured: Norm’s phone struggles, EA’s board operation mishaps while filling in, and Ham’s “peanut brother” mispronunciation.
Phone callers:
- 5:41: Caller voted for “number three” (Ham/peanut brother) and complimented the show
- 10:55: Caller asked about “Mushid Mohammed and Kerry Collins” but was told that wasn’t the current segment
- 11:04: Pool player caller greeted “fake muses” and “fellow pool player Monty,” voted for Norm after mentioning a money-making tournament
Funny moments, bits, and memorable one-liners:
- EA’s board operation compilation (5:35-7:17): Multiple mishaps including mispronouncing “Eatsy’s Marketing Breakery” and struggling with sponsor reads, culminating in a patronizing “Good job, EA” from the hosts
- Ham’s “peanut brother” gaffe (9:05-9:44): Ham said “peanut brother” instead of “peanut butter,” leading to jokes about George Washington Carver being “the original peanut brother” and references to potential SNL characters
- “Undercover Peanut Brother” (9:55): Reference to Eddie Griffin movie parody
- Caller speaking very fast (10:51): Host noted the caller “talks faster than I do”
Pop culture, music, or non-sports topics discussed:
- SNL references: Jokes about “peanut brother” being a potential SNL character
- Movie parodies: “Undercover Peanut Brother” as a play on Eddie Griffin films
- Technology struggles: Discussion of Norm’s ongoing battle with his upgraded phone
Summary:
This portion of The Musers focused primarily on their weekly E-Brake segment, where they compiled and voted on the most embarrassing audio mistakes from station personnel. The segment highlighted three candidates: Norm struggling with his new phone, EA having multiple mishaps while filling in as board operator for the afternoon show, and Ham’s amusing mispronunciation of “peanut butter” as “peanut brother.”
The hosts took particular joy in EA’s struggles, playing a compilation of his board operation mistakes including sponsor read fumbles and technical difficulties. While one host defended EA by noting that running the board is genuinely difficult, the others clearly enjoyed the comedic value of his mishaps. Ham’s “peanut brother” gaffe generated extended comedy, with references to George Washington Carver and potential movie parodies.
The segment concluded with listener voting via phone calls, with callers supporting different candidates. The atmosphere was light-hearted and typical of The Ticket’s self-deprecating humor, where station personnel’s mistakes become entertainment content. The hosts demonstrated their characteristic blend of ribbing colleagues while occasionally offering genuine defense of the challenges involved in live radio production.
🏁 Final Hour Analysis
Phone Callers
- Brady Tom called to vote for Norm in what appears to be an “Impact Player of the Week” voting segment
- A caller impersonating Vladimir Putin voted for “Norman Ivan Hitchkiss”
- A caller voted for EA as impact player of the week
- Cruz and Lito called asking about some unexplained foodie references (Robot Empanadas, Fireball Fruit Gusher, Mashed Potato Gun) and voted for Childish Hambino
- A caller impersonating Dirk Nowitzki provided the deciding vote for Norm
Funny Moments or Memorable Gordo Bits
- The Putin impersonator calling Norm “my favorite comrade, Norman Ivan Hitchkiss”
- A Dirk Nowitzki impersonator with what was described as “a little Melissa in there at the end”
- Norm struggling with his phone going off during the show (described as “three out of four” times it’s happened), leading to commentary about his “olive-soaked fingers” trying to turn it off
- Discussion about Norm using hand-me-down technology from his wife Mary, including both his laptop and iPhone
How the Show Wrapped Up
- [00:16:03] Norm was announced as winning his 138th e-brake, earning him the title “Mr. 138” and extending his all-time lead to 31 wins over second-place George Dunham
- [00:16:06] There was mention of George taking vacation because “I get a lot of vacation”
- [00:16:10] The segment ended with “Well-deserved. What a performance.”
Summary
This final portion of The Musers centered around a voting segment for “Impact Player of the Week” that featured multiple phone callers, including some doing celebrity impersonations. The voting came down to Norm versus other candidates like EA and Childish Hambino, with Norm ultimately winning after a fake Dirk Nowitzki call provided the deciding vote.
A recurring comedic theme throughout was Norm’s technical difficulties with his phone repeatedly going off during the show, which led to playful ribbing from the other hosts about his struggle with modern technology. They noted this was the third or fourth time it had happened and made jokes about his “olive-soaked fingers” trying to operate the device, while also revealing that both his phone and laptop were hand-me-downs from his wife Mary.
The show concluded by announcing that this phone incident earned Norm his 138th e-brake win, making him “Mr. 138” and extending his commanding lead over George Dunham, who was absent on vacation. The segment wrapped up with acknowledgment of Norm’s “performance” and well-deserved recognition, ending the show on a note of good-natured mockery mixed with genuine appreciation for the veteran host’s entertaining mishaps.
Analysis generated from archived transcripts. Hosts: Gordon Keith (Gordo), George Dunham, Craig Miller, Mike Rhyner, Donovan Lewis (Junior). Station: 1310 The Ticket, Dallas, TX.
