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American Morning
Interview With Jim Nader
Aired December 25, 2003 - 08:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's Christmas and many of you may be ready for some beautiful renditions of the season's finest music. But we're going to focus on the opposite end of the seasonal music spectrum this morning. And joining us with that, some of the worst Christmas tunes ever is Jim Nader. He is the host of National Public Radio's "The Annoying Music Show."
Nice to see you.
JIM NADER, HOST, THE ANNOYING MUSIC SHOW: Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We kind of do this every year. And...
NADER: Happy holidays.
O'BRIEN: Same to you. Thank you very much. Let's get right into it. You have a rendition of "Feliz Navidad," which you say is remarkably terrible. Let's first, before you say anything, listen to it.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Who is this singing?
NADER: Well, it's Bette Davis, of course. And...
O'BRIEN: Really?
NADER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: How does she come to be ever, ever recording "Feliz Navidad?"
NADER: Well, we asked that question. We've done many minutes of research in can't tell. The only thing we found is she was in one Broadway musical that lasted for a month. And this probably explains why. I mean...
O'BRIEN: She can't sing.
NADER: Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy Christmas.
O'BRIEN: All right. Every so often, celebrities who can't sing or even groups, like for example the San Francisco 49ers, feel like they have to record... NADER: Of course.
O'BRIEN: ...say holiday music. Because why not?
NADER: And holidays, Christmas, sports, 49ers. All goes together.
O'BRIEN: It all goes together.
NADER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Let's first listen to what the 49ers had to record.
NADER: Let's not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the San Francisco 49ers wish you a happy holiday season.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Wow, this is so bad.
NADER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Now why would they ever do that? I mean, this is something they were selling, do you know?
NADER: I think they were forced to do it. And I wish they had done it after a victory instead of a loss. It kind of sounds like a funeral dirge across a poor man's funeral.
O'BRIEN: You know the poor conductor's up there like trying to get the beat back on. That's pretty funny.
NADER: And the first 49ers searched for gold, they searched for the key the entire time. So that was too easy.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that was a pretty cheap shot. You love a guy named John Bowtie Barstow. And he sings a version of "Silent Night" that really, I think it's fair to say, makes your skin crawl.
NADER: He's "The Annoying Music Show" favorite all year round.
O'BRIEN: Let's listen.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Is he a real -- I mean, did he make money singing?
NADER: Only from "The Annoying Music Show." He's a mythical figure on the East coast. We've tried to hunt him down. And he keeps evading us. He's probably in a deep hole somewhere. O'BRIEN: Really? No one's -- after all the years he's been a favorite on your show, no one's ever turned him in?
NADER: No, absolutely. His music keeps coming.
O'BRIEN: Right.
NADER: But we've never been able to actually find him.
O'BRIEN: The man himself.
NADER: I don't know what it is about "Silent Night," the two words that John Bowtie doesn't understand, though.
O'BRIEN: Keep it silent. Let's talk about other music, that's not just Christmas music. You have a group, an orchestra, I think, called the Chicken Symphony Orchestra.
NADER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And they have "The Dradel Song."
NADER: Right.
O'BRIEN: So don't say anything. Let's just hear it.
NADER: Happy Hanukkah.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: There's no actual -- oh dradel, dradel, dradel doesn't come in. It's just cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.
NADER: No, it's just the chickens. We normally don't play the dogs and cats singing. But we thought the chickens had an edge to other barnyard animals. And there are so few Hanukkah songs specifically.
O'BRIEN: They did go much bigger than they could have?
NADER: Now we've got to get the horses and the cows. That'll be all next year.
O'BRIEN: Wow, that's really bad.
NADER: But we will consider this a novelty song.
O'BRIEN: Our last one. And because you're a guy who has access to so much bad music, our last one, I want to know is what would you pick as the most annoying song for the year 2003? And I think this might be it.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Sounds like a young child.
NADER: Hurts my eyes.
O'BRIEN: Who is?
NADER: It is. He's in "The Annoying Music Show" Witness Protection program. We'll call him Young Rick. And listeners from around the world voted on this. And after the 47 were counted, Rick came in, as I think you'll agree.
O'BRIEN: Where'd you get this tape from?
NADER: It was sent to me, actually as...
O'BRIEN: By Rick's mother?
NADER: By Rick's mother.
O'BRIEN: Really?
NADER: As a serious demo tape to get on National Public Radio. And we did it. We did her wishes. I don't know if she knew it was "The Annoying Music Show," but...
O'BRIEN: Wow, well maybe if he picks up the tempo and stops with the vibrato.
NADER: No.
O'BRIEN: He might. Never.
NADER: I don't think so.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's nice to see you, Jim Nader,the host of "The Annoying Music Show" on NPR. Thank you. Every year, you always bring...
NADER: Thank you so much. It's really a public service. I can't tell you how much. I don't think anybody else can either, but it's always great to be here.
O'BRIEN: Well, we appreciate it each and every year.
NADER: I'm glad someone does.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Nice to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 25, 2003 - 08:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's Christmas and many of you may be ready for some beautiful renditions of the season's finest music. But we're going to focus on the opposite end of the seasonal music spectrum this morning. And joining us with that, some of the worst Christmas tunes ever is Jim Nader. He is the host of National Public Radio's "The Annoying Music Show."
Nice to see you.
JIM NADER, HOST, THE ANNOYING MUSIC SHOW: Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We kind of do this every year. And...
NADER: Happy holidays.
O'BRIEN: Same to you. Thank you very much. Let's get right into it. You have a rendition of "Feliz Navidad," which you say is remarkably terrible. Let's first, before you say anything, listen to it.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Who is this singing?
NADER: Well, it's Bette Davis, of course. And...
O'BRIEN: Really?
NADER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: How does she come to be ever, ever recording "Feliz Navidad?"
NADER: Well, we asked that question. We've done many minutes of research in can't tell. The only thing we found is she was in one Broadway musical that lasted for a month. And this probably explains why. I mean...
O'BRIEN: She can't sing.
NADER: Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy Christmas.
O'BRIEN: All right. Every so often, celebrities who can't sing or even groups, like for example the San Francisco 49ers, feel like they have to record... NADER: Of course.
O'BRIEN: ...say holiday music. Because why not?
NADER: And holidays, Christmas, sports, 49ers. All goes together.
O'BRIEN: It all goes together.
NADER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Let's first listen to what the 49ers had to record.
NADER: Let's not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the San Francisco 49ers wish you a happy holiday season.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Wow, this is so bad.
NADER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Now why would they ever do that? I mean, this is something they were selling, do you know?
NADER: I think they were forced to do it. And I wish they had done it after a victory instead of a loss. It kind of sounds like a funeral dirge across a poor man's funeral.
O'BRIEN: You know the poor conductor's up there like trying to get the beat back on. That's pretty funny.
NADER: And the first 49ers searched for gold, they searched for the key the entire time. So that was too easy.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that was a pretty cheap shot. You love a guy named John Bowtie Barstow. And he sings a version of "Silent Night" that really, I think it's fair to say, makes your skin crawl.
NADER: He's "The Annoying Music Show" favorite all year round.
O'BRIEN: Let's listen.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Is he a real -- I mean, did he make money singing?
NADER: Only from "The Annoying Music Show." He's a mythical figure on the East coast. We've tried to hunt him down. And he keeps evading us. He's probably in a deep hole somewhere. O'BRIEN: Really? No one's -- after all the years he's been a favorite on your show, no one's ever turned him in?
NADER: No, absolutely. His music keeps coming.
O'BRIEN: Right.
NADER: But we've never been able to actually find him.
O'BRIEN: The man himself.
NADER: I don't know what it is about "Silent Night," the two words that John Bowtie doesn't understand, though.
O'BRIEN: Keep it silent. Let's talk about other music, that's not just Christmas music. You have a group, an orchestra, I think, called the Chicken Symphony Orchestra.
NADER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And they have "The Dradel Song."
NADER: Right.
O'BRIEN: So don't say anything. Let's just hear it.
NADER: Happy Hanukkah.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: There's no actual -- oh dradel, dradel, dradel doesn't come in. It's just cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.
NADER: No, it's just the chickens. We normally don't play the dogs and cats singing. But we thought the chickens had an edge to other barnyard animals. And there are so few Hanukkah songs specifically.
O'BRIEN: They did go much bigger than they could have?
NADER: Now we've got to get the horses and the cows. That'll be all next year.
O'BRIEN: Wow, that's really bad.
NADER: But we will consider this a novelty song.
O'BRIEN: Our last one. And because you're a guy who has access to so much bad music, our last one, I want to know is what would you pick as the most annoying song for the year 2003? And I think this might be it.
(SINGING)
O'BRIEN: Sounds like a young child.
NADER: Hurts my eyes.
O'BRIEN: Who is?
NADER: It is. He's in "The Annoying Music Show" Witness Protection program. We'll call him Young Rick. And listeners from around the world voted on this. And after the 47 were counted, Rick came in, as I think you'll agree.
O'BRIEN: Where'd you get this tape from?
NADER: It was sent to me, actually as...
O'BRIEN: By Rick's mother?
NADER: By Rick's mother.
O'BRIEN: Really?
NADER: As a serious demo tape to get on National Public Radio. And we did it. We did her wishes. I don't know if she knew it was "The Annoying Music Show," but...
O'BRIEN: Wow, well maybe if he picks up the tempo and stops with the vibrato.
NADER: No.
O'BRIEN: He might. Never.
NADER: I don't think so.
O'BRIEN: Well, it's nice to see you, Jim Nader,the host of "The Annoying Music Show" on NPR. Thank you. Every year, you always bring...
NADER: Thank you so much. It's really a public service. I can't tell you how much. I don't think anybody else can either, but it's always great to be here.
O'BRIEN: Well, we appreciate it each and every year.
NADER: I'm glad someone does.
O'BRIEN: Thank you. Nice to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
