I used to work obscenely late hours in my QA days at Bliizard and I would listen to Art Bell alone in my car late at night outside an undeveloped area of Irvine looking at the hills and the stars at 1am for my dinner break. I still listen to Coast to Coast for 30 minutes every night for the bumper music or more if the topic is interesting.
It's funny... pretty much the only time/place I ever want to listen to Coast to Coast AM is when I'm in my car, driving somewhere overnight, and it's 2:00 in the morning and I'm on the Interstate halfway between Bumfuck and Nowhereville. In that setting, there is something magical about it.
Back in the 90s, my girlfriend and I would go out drinking and end the night in the back of her van listening to Art Bell and sobering up. The show I remember most was when a guy called saying he was flying into area 51 and Art was trying to talk him out of it.
I worked a graveyard shift for a while and would listen to C2C on my "lunch" breaks at 2AM. It was a fun show to listen to at that weird time of night by yourself.
It was far less fun any time George Noory was guest hosting. He just let guests run unchallenged. Art Bell was good at going on the guest's journey without letting them go too far off in the weeds.
Art Bell had the absolute best voice for late night radio. Used to listen to him on my overnight road trips between Salt Lake and Vegas. Just the endless desert under a full moon, and Art's guest is rambling on about interdimensional beings. Could almost believe it for that moment.
One of my favorite things about Art was the tension. Did he believe what his guests and callers are saying? Or is he just humoring them for the show? I never knew the answer. Not sure if I would want to know.
Used to listen to him on my overnight road trips between Salt Lake and Vegas. Just the endless desert under a full moon, and Art's guest is rambling on about interdimensional beings. Could almost believe it for that moment.
Yeah, there's something about that time of night, being out on the open road. Reality seems a little bit, erm, looser, or something. I think it's just that all you have is you, the radio, blackness, stars, maybe the moon, and possibly a cow or a coyote or something. In those moments, there's less "stuff" to slap you in the face and remind you "Hey asshole, there's no such things as aliens, UFOs, ghosts, zombies, time-traveling Titors, etc." You just stare off into the black, see the millions (or so) of stars you can see, listen to the static-crackling AM radio, and, wait is that light really a star? NO... it's blinking wrong...
At around the 1:21:00 mark of Ep69 we get into extreme internet nostalgia when Art's brand new website gets overloaded after announcing some new photos he uploaded. He got his web guy on the air to explain the phenomena.
Just a great little bit of internet nostalgia from the 90's in living AM filtered audio. Worth a listen on the 1 hour and 21 minute mark.
Art Bell was amazing in the late 1990s........then I think his son being sexually assaulted messed him up because was all downhill after that. He would constantly flake out and always had an excuse. He finally got a new show, then claimed people were shooting guns outside of his house so he had to cancel his show. Always some kind of drama with him for the last 15 years of his life.
This is a scam. Period.
I just said. In my phone three times in a row. Abel didn’t on the rights to most of the shows he did. Clear Channel did. They didn’t sell them to his wife or anyone else. Whoever is running the site is making money off art bell. Art probably wouldn’t of minded this at all by the way but I do. I happily gave money to Art when he was alive but when he checked out he checked out. There’s a better option on Apple anyway for art bell. Rekola Midnight. I’m sure that’s not anything to do with his family either. It’s just that they’re not looking for Patreon donations. Have people no shame that they’ll stoop so low to prey on a dead man’s legacy?
That's an interesting point you're bringing up. Needs to be looked into further. Maybe you could alert Apple to potential copyright infringement? I personally just found this on my Spotify feed and got a nostalgia pang so wanted to share. The only link I could find was for Apple...
Phil Hendrie was my favorite go-to night desert driving companion. That guy was hilarious with his "fake news".
While not an Art Bell fan, I do recall when he was on The Today Show or Good Morning America, the hosts laughed and chided him about his book warning of the coming super storms and rising sea levels from global warming.
Man, what ever happened to Phil Hendrie? I loved his episode where he had the preacher on who was making the case that god hated trailer parks because they were impermanent homes, and he gave the Israelites a permanent home, therefore that's why tornadoes always hit trailer parks.
Oh man, I remember listening to Ghost to Ghost when Art Bell used to take calls from audience for Halloween. Those were some of the best shows! Also, does anybody remember the show where some dude called him while supposedly flying over Area 51? Thank you for sharing this list!
Many drives across the country Art kept me awake. The more crazy and outrageous, the more alert I remained. Seemed like a feature I’m sure saved lives in the short term; and seemed, at the time, harmless in the long term.
I'm in the UK, and I would listen to Art Bell recordings late night in the office (absolutely HAS to be listened to late at night!).
I always loved the slightly lonely, ominous vibe it conjured up, and I'm delighted to hear other people describe the EXACT same thing! Reading some people's memories on here about listening while driving through the night desert in the South Western US - proper UFO country! That must have been super intense.
Oh man I remember a series of episodes about a tech ceo (American Computer Co or something like that) spilling the beans about all the info tech came from reversed alien craft, the Shockley semi conductor was a cover and bell labs was so productive because they were working from examples. My younger self ate it up, lots of nostalgia for those late night spooky revelations.
The 90's while in college, pulling late nights working on homework listening to Art Bell was like an old friend telling you crazy stories and bringing in guests to tell even crazier stories. And every once in a while you'd think really? Is that true? Nah...couldn't be.
Request for advice: I don't know Art Bell, though the name seems like one I have heard previously. Would you advise me to just start listening, or would you advise me to use a search engine first? As a guide to your advice, were it Andy Kaufman or Henry Fielding, the advice I'd want would be "just start watching" or "just start reading"; but if it were Robin Hanson, the advice I'd want would be "read this report about Hanson at the academic philanthropy meeting first."
Just dive in. You could find a list of the more far-out episodes. But the fun of Art was not knowing what to expect. Even when the guest was boring, there might be a caller who wants to talk in detail about the starship that abducted them last night.
Art Bell was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM, which is syndicated on hundreds of radio stations in the United States and Canada. He also created and hosted its companion show Dreamland. Coast to Coast still airs nightly.
There are some real classic episodes that are an amazing introduction. There’s one where a guy calls in from his cell phone while ion a Cessna about to fly over Area 51. Art urges him not to do it . The last we hear from him is his reports of fighter jets approaching.
That’s not even an interview it’s just a caller!
Even if completely fake, the entertainment value was huge.
I’ll reply later with some links to 2-3 of the best classics in my opinion.
I listened to Art Bell's coast to coast AM program a few times as a kid, and I think it doesn't need to much in the way of introduction. I vote that you just dive in, but I will say that just diving in is a strong bias of mine.
I loved listening to Art Bell in the 90s when I was doing college homework or just hanging out at home. I’ll never forget listening to the Sept. 11, 1997 show live with my roommate - that was kind of freaky. (https://kprcradio.iheart.com/featured/the-pursuit-of-happine...)
My dad loves going to sleep with the radio on. My mom isn't a fan, and is more of a night owl. She would roll into bed between 12 and 4 and hear the quiet voices on the radio discussing all manner of alien visits, conspiracy theories, etc. She would turn it off, go to sleep, and he would turn it back on if he woke up.
Lots of late nights in high school learning about Linux and basic networking things while listening to Art Bell in the background.
I have been trying to find the episode where he talks about monsters that are almost human, but have two rows of teeth.
I took all the mp3s I collected of the show, dumped them through dictation, and grepped like a madman. I have a real appreciation for people that are good at this.
We listened to it in the late 90s as teens turning 20 and we would be absolutely petrified by the combination of being that age, from that time, and up that late. It was great.
What was a wonderful pre-apocalyptic buzz guilty pleasure back in the 90s is now the sad precursor to MAGA. Why are people so utterly stupid?
But, for real, I was in the theater next to Art Bell when he watched Contact. And you know how much he loved that movie.
That said, the night the satellite feed was cut after the supposed Area 51 worker called in and said everything about the aliens was real was to die for.
That was back before the fringe was, like everything else in our culture, politically weaponized. It was largely apolitical back then, or if there were politics it was 90s libertarianism of a sort that seems shockingly sane today. Much of the audience and I think Bell himself were pretty skeptical too. It was about having fun and exploring wild possibilities, like a radio version of the old Amazing Stories pulp serials.
[+] [-] egfx|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mindcrime|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmcgaha|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] giantrobot|4 years ago|reply
It was far less fun any time George Noory was guest hosting. He just let guests run unchallenged. Art Bell was good at going on the guest's journey without letting them go too far off in the weeds.
[+] [-] dunnevens|4 years ago|reply
One of my favorite things about Art was the tension. Did he believe what his guests and callers are saying? Or is he just humoring them for the show? I never knew the answer. Not sure if I would want to know.
[+] [-] mindcrime|4 years ago|reply
Yeah, there's something about that time of night, being out on the open road. Reality seems a little bit, erm, looser, or something. I think it's just that all you have is you, the radio, blackness, stars, maybe the moon, and possibly a cow or a coyote or something. In those moments, there's less "stuff" to slap you in the face and remind you "Hey asshole, there's no such things as aliens, UFOs, ghosts, zombies, time-traveling Titors, etc." You just stare off into the black, see the millions (or so) of stars you can see, listen to the static-crackling AM radio, and, wait is that light really a star? NO... it's blinking wrong...
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] qbasic_forever|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _yoqn|4 years ago|reply
Just a great little bit of internet nostalgia from the 90's in living AM filtered audio. Worth a listen on the 1 hour and 21 minute mark.
[+] [-] Stratoscope|4 years ago|reply
https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/from-art-bell-w6obb...
[+] [-] Svperstar|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] macdaknife|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _yoqn|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] malwarebytess|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 1123581321|4 years ago|reply
Who’s behind this patreon and podcast, though? I don’t see any evidence that his estate is benefitting.
[+] [-] atdrummond|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rsync|4 years ago|reply
"North of the rockies ... South of the rockies ..."
[+] [-] tunap|4 years ago|reply
While not an Art Bell fan, I do recall when he was on The Today Show or Good Morning America, the hosts laughed and chided him about his book warning of the coming super storms and rising sea levels from global warming.
[+] [-] pwned1|4 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] lootsauce|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lootsauce|4 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] dunnevens|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LeoPanthera|4 years ago|reply
He died in 2018.
[+] [-] TedDoesntTalk|4 years ago|reply
That’s not even an interview it’s just a caller!
Even if completely fake, the entertainment value was huge.
I’ll reply later with some links to 2-3 of the best classics in my opinion.
[+] [-] steve_avery|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] porcoda|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DavidPeiffer|4 years ago|reply
Lots of late nights in high school learning about Linux and basic networking things while listening to Art Bell in the background.
[+] [-] digitalsushi|4 years ago|reply
I took all the mp3s I collected of the show, dumped them through dictation, and grepped like a madman. I have a real appreciation for people that are good at this.
We listened to it in the late 90s as teens turning 20 and we would be absolutely petrified by the combination of being that age, from that time, and up that late. It was great.
[+] [-] jazzyjackson|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] varelse|4 years ago|reply
But, for real, I was in the theater next to Art Bell when he watched Contact. And you know how much he loved that movie.
That said, the night the satellite feed was cut after the supposed Area 51 worker called in and said everything about the aliens was real was to die for.
[+] [-] api|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] qwertyuiop_|4 years ago|reply