Dear Tom,
I am a longtime Best Show fan and even from the early days I thought maybe I detected some influence upon your work coming from the Howard Stern Show. Was interested to hear your inclusion of a vintage Stern clip in your audio collages of late and it got me thinking. I think many parallels can certainly be drawn between your show and Stern. Best Show has its own Baba Booey in Mike, a "wack pack" in Spike, Fredericks, etc etc, and a general attitude of both outspoken pride coupled with self deprecation. Obviously there are great differences, the most obvious being your aversion to ribald humor. Like you, I grew up in NJ and listened to a lot of talk radio growing up - I had a hearty laugh at your account of Big Jay Sorenson, whom I used to listen to a lot for whatever reason. I never really liked Howard Stern growing up, but he has grown on me a lot in the past few years. I wonder what your opinions of the man are and if you feel influenced in any way by him.
Sincerely, A big fan
