I’ve been lucky enough to work from home for many years now, but one of the things I oddly miss about commuting is listening to The Howard Stern Show.
I became aware of Howard Stern somewhere in my childhood during the ‘80s,c and quickly categorized him with other edgy comedic influences that captured my interest.*
* Others include vintage Late Night David Letterman and the volcanic and brief peak of Sam Kinison.
I’ve been a lifelong fan of Stern, even as he’s moved in and out of my life based on my travels, commuting situations, and ability to access Stern’s show (which itself transitioned from terrestrial radio to what was then called Sirius satellite radio in 2006).
When I lived in New York City after college, I fondly recall listening to Stern and crew while walking to the subway in Astoria, Queens. I’d always get a little bummed when the radio signal would cut out as the subway car went under the East River on the way to Manhattan, but I’d pick up the show from midtown and continue listening all the way until I got to work downtown.
While I’ve always believed that Stern is one of the best interviewers in the game, my favorite part of the show was always the seemingly casual but always hilarious banter between Stern, co-host Robin Quivers, and the menagerie of other staffers. Long-running bits such as Stern busting Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling’s chops about his multiple houses (all mediocre in Stern’s view) always delighted me, for example.
Artie Lange’s ascension to “the Jackie chair” in 2001 coincided with a golden era for the show in my view. Lange’s well-documented struggles with drugs aside, he added a consistently edgy and insanely funny element to the show that produced some of the most hysterical moments I’ve ever heard.
Because I’ve worked from home for years and am not a Sirius XM subscriber these days, I haven’t been a regular Stern listener for some time. I still catch clips of the show online occasionally, and greatly enjoyed Stern’s latest book, Howard Stern Comes Again, which showcases a more evolved and wiser Stern’s interviews with a bunch of celebrities and public figures.
When I learned that The Howard Stern Show would be featured on HBO Max, I was excited. And after watching the first episode – an edited 90-minute version of Stern’s now once-a-week radio show – I was not at all disappointed.
And in fact I was delighted that the focus of the episode was the stuff I enjoy most – Stern, Robin, Fred Norris, producer Gary Dell’Abate and company catching up on their summers and amiably giving each other a hard time about it in the way that master comedians innately do.
The spotlight was often on Howard’s longtime limo driver, Ronnie Mund, and his, uh… continued vitality even as he ages. Which is also a way of noting that while Howard Stern is far more progressive in his attitudes than he was as a younger man, the content of the show still often stays in R-rated territory.
But funny is funny, as they say, and this was funny.
I was also taken with the fact that as evolved and wise as Howard is in many ways these days, he’s still performatively miserable. A lengthy discussion focused on how even with all of his wealth and fame and success, he isn’t able to experience the sensation of having fun. Not even during sex with his wife, Beth (did she enjoy it? was he good enough?). Is sleep “fun”? Maybe. The rhythm of his kvetching was familiar, comfortable, and pleasant for me – like meeting up with a friend you haven’t seen in years.
So I’m looking forward to more of Stern on HBO Max, an old friend and hilarious companion to sit on my second monitor as I do tasks that don’t require my full attention.