Heard or seen something on the pop culture landscape that appalled/delighted/enlightened you? Of course you have. That's what Station Break with Paul Farhi is here for. Local stations, cable, radio shows, commercials, pop culture -- they're all fair game.

Farhi was online Tuesday, Dec.. 12, at 1 p.m. ET.

Farhi is a reporter in the Post's Style section, writing about media and popular culture. He's been watching TV and listening to the radio since "The Monkees" were in first run and Adam West was a star. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles, Farhi had brief stints in the movie business (as an usher at the Picwood Theater), and in the auto industry (rental-car lot guy) before devoting himself full time to word processing. His car has 15 radio pre-sets and his cable system has 75 channels. He vows to use all of them for good instead of evil.

A transcript follows.

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Paul Farhi: Greetings, all, and welcome to our pre-holiday silent auction and chat. Everything is 50 percent off...So, lots of doings, particularly Dan Snyder moving in on WGMS-FM, the last classical station standing in the Washington area. We'll get to that, but first, this commercial message: The worst holiday commercial, maybe ever, but definitely this year, is the Lexus "December to Remember" spot featuring the two youngish women pondering the Lexus parked between their houses. The looks of hatred and mutual greed this two direct at each other and the car, respectively, is just sickening. Get the car, but hate your neighbor--thanks, Lexus, for that important Christmas message!...Okay, let's go to the phones...

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Don and Mike?: What is going on with them? Are they still on the air?

Paul Farhi: Coming back in January, with a brand spanking new contract. 'Nuff said...

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Alexandria, Va.: Why does Snyder have to buy a new station? Wouldn't it be simpler to just boost the power at his current ones?

washingtonpost.com: Redskins Owner Set to Buy Last Classical Station ( Post, Dec. 8)

Paul Farhi: He may do both. Red Zebra has applied to upgrade its power at 730AM. They are also considering building a new antenna tower at Redskins Park in Loudon County, but that,I suspect, is going to be a bit more problematic, P.R.-wise, given that the neighbors probably won't be so thrilled.

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Martha, Alexandria, Va.: I am aghast at the proposed sale of WGMS to Dan Snyder. Is there anything classical music lovers can do to protest the sale? Anyone to write? Picket the next Redskins home game? Can we get enough public outcry going to stop this horrible prospect?

Paul Farhi: You could certainly call the Red Zebra folk. But I ain't endorsing/encouraging nothin'. I am, officially, Switzerland in all this.

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The Estates of Riverdale Parke, Md.: Hello Paul,

NPR already runs sponsorship spots that sound like ads. Now it's also running sponsorship spots that sound like news reports.

Apart from being deceptive, the fake news reports expose NPR to charges of bias: All the ones I've heard so far have come from liberal organizations.

How can NPR get away with this?

Moreover, I'm sure I'm not not alone in refusing to give NPR any money while it takes money to run fake ads and fake news.

Paul Farhi: Not sure which sponsorship spots you mean. But all of public broadcasting has been on a downward slope in terms of commercialism, and has been for years. I suspect the remedy for this is one no one will like: Give 'em more tax money. Short of that, they gotta figure out a way to keep the power on somehow...

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The Troubadour: Paul:

Read your Tower article with a tear in my eye. In days of yore, I too, spent many a night at the Tower in Hollywood after a concert at a local Hollywood spot (Red Hot Chili Peppers was one). The Virgin Megastore doesn't have the same appeal but oh well, that is the new direction of Hollywood.

Is there any hope for a good "record" store or is the market so dead?

washingtonpost.com: For Tower Records, End of Disc ( Post, Dec. 11)

Paul Farhi: There are still many good independent record stores out there. And I heard from many people yesterday who like the Amoeba chain, which (I think) is based in California. But the indies are fighting the trend; we're moving more and more toward digital delivery of music. I hope they survive, because browsing in a store is still fun...

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Baltimore, Md.: Is my wife really expecting a brand new Lexus for Christmas? Because if she is, I'm screwed.

Paul Farhi: Does anyone buy a Lexus as a Christmas present? Is that another of God's ways of telling you you have too much money?

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Alexandria, Va.: With all the lousy stations in D.C., why did Daniel Snyder have to pick on WGMS? I mean, come on, who would miss BIG 100.3? Or a post-Stern WJFK? Or WETA? Can anyone tell the difference between WASH-FM and MIX-107.3? Take one of them Mr. Snyder, I don't care. Or buy your competitor, WTEM. But leave WGMS alone! It's unique! Ugh, as if I needed more reasons to dislike the Redskins ...

And what's this about Bonneville not being able to "refuse" his offer? They make money with WGMS, how much more do they need? I thought they were supposed to be a "values"-oriented company?

Oh well. Has anyone had any luck getting WBJC in Baltimore to stream online? I can't get it to work.

Paul Farhi: I think he picked WGMS because he could. That is, Bonneville was willing to sell it; Bonneville has treated the frequencies (104.1 and 103.9)as a kind of neglected stepchild. First, it booted z104 off the air, and bumped WGMS from 103.5 to 104.1/103.9. So, it was odd man (or frequency) out. Not sure Clear Channel or CBS/Infinity were willing to sell any of their holdings here, even for a ridiculous price (though I haven't asked).

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Two much NPR: So really, what's the difference between WAMU and WETA on the weekdays? Maybe they should hold a united pledge drive and share the money. Do you think that one of them is likely to go under and sell its broadcast license?

Paul Farhi: My colleague Marc Fisher had a fine commentary on this situation. He's right--there isn't much difference between the two (except time-shifting the same NPR programs), and it seems wrong. Public stations are licensed to serve niches that the commercial stations won't touch. Not sure that that's happening with WETA and WAMU duplicating each other. And don't bet on any license sales. Both stations have boards that seem perfectly happy with the status quo.

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Columbia, Md: I think the worst holiday commercial is the one where the kids open their presents and start screaming about getting what they want and then you find out it is a commercial for BMW. If, I could afford a BMW which I can't, this ad would make me buy any car but the BMW.

Paul Farhi: That's the way I feel about Lexus...Okay, so what's left? Do we have to all buy Bentleys?

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Tower: Good riddance to Tower. Granted, they had a terrific selection, especially in the jazz and classical areas, but their prices were ridiculous. Even when they were going out of business, it wasn't until the prices were 30 percent off did they become competitive with Amazon. And the sales staff were never any help -- also taking a smoke break out front, always looking skanky, always talking about how their band was playing that night in their friend's basement, etc.

Paul Farhi: Hahaha! All part of the charm!...Yeah, Tower deserves some, if not much, of the credit for its own fate. What you say is true. But think back to a day before the Internet (you kids CAN remember that far back, can't you?) when Tower actually discounted stuff and had everything you could imagine (and much you couldn't). Those were the days....

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Arlington, Va.: I can't stand the Zale's commercial (or some diamond company) where the two guys are walking through the mall, they spot each other and give each other a high 5. Let's forget the fact that high 5 hasn't been popular since the mid-80's -- it's that darn music that is so annoying. I am automatically programmed to turn the channel every time I hear that music. Curse you Ales!

Paul Farhi: Yes. And how many times is Kay's going to inflict that "Every kiss begins with K" jingle on us. And don't get me started on the Shaw's jingle...

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Arlington, Va.: Apropos of Geico, can we get them to continue with their Caveman commercials. They are hilarious. "First off, I'm not 100 percent in love with your tone of voice" has become one of my favorite sayings.

And the psychiatrist ad was another great one. I'm eagerly awaiting more.

Paul Farhi: I love the caveman ads, but as I've said before, let's think a bit more about them. Aren't they making fun of political correctness? And isn't your "political correctness" my legitimate right to be offended by a racist/sexist/whatever-ist stereotype? Et tu, Geico?

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Washington, D.C.: Do you know how to eliminate the problem of radio stations changing formats and constantly switching hands?

Buy a satellite radio! Since making the switch I merely chuckle at all of the complaints people make when their favorite station dies or changes format. Satellite radio is the future or radio! Enough said.

Paul Farhi: Hey, we're old school here. We (or some of us) still think the airwaves that we've handed over to private interests might be used in our interest(s). Silly us, I guess.

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Frederick, Md.: How come no one mentions the broadcast of the Skins on WFRE 99.9?

Paul Farhi: Well, there you go.

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Anonymous: I grew up in L.A. and attended UCLA, so [I] remember the Tower store in Westwood. I later lived in Sacramento for a while, and remember the original tower at Tower Records, but also Tower Books and the Tower Theatre, which was known for often running offbeat films. Nowadays we download music, seldom read books and only want to see blockbuster films with lots of special effects. I wondered whether future generations would even know records existed. Now I wonder if they will even remember CDs except as store devices for computers.

Paul Farhi: Brother (or sister) Bruin, come on down!....Frankly, CDs can die. Audiophile types (not me) will tell you their sonic quality is not as good as vinyl. And the format size doesn't allow for the same kind of creative artwork that made vinyl different and special. Of course, we may look back on CDs and appreciate them, if only for the fact that "back when" you could hold a piece of music in your hands!

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Arlington, Va.: I think the first Caveman ad was making fun of political correctness, as you say. I think the more recent ones have moved closer to standard "character in a predicament" territory. Like the Rabbit not getting Trix or whatever.

Paul Farhi: I'm a little more comfortable with that. And, as I say, I love the subtle ways in which the characters take offense. The expression of disgust by the caveman who views the poster in the airport ("So easy even a caveman can do it!") is priceless.

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Alexandria, Va.: Paul, many more of us look forward to your chats nowadays, especially since we're suffering from WCW (Weingarten Chat Withdrawal). In case you're accepting nominations for best radio jingle of all time, may I suggest the Outback Steahouse Mother's Day jingle ("no one really loves you like your Mum -Mum], even when she whacks you on the bum . . .").

Paul Farhi: Yes, I am pleased to announce that, in a multimillion-dollar leveraged buyout, Station Break has acquired Gene Weingarten's chat audience. After a review of operations, many layoffs are expected.

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I HATE the caveman commercials: Just so you know. And it isn't the PC issue either. In fact, I'd like them better if they were meaner, I think.

I find them sooo stupid.

Paul Farhi: Thank you. Other, as they say, disagree.

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Bad Commercial: The box store ad where the woman clears the table to open her gift while moaning like Meg Ryan in "Harry Met Sally."

All my box store purchases are not coming from that store this month.

Ugh. Tacky and terrible.

Paul Farhi: I think I've seen this one, but can't remember the advertiser's name. Yes, ugly, tacky, and worse, highly unoriginal.

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Bethesda, Md.: I actually walked into a Tower a few weeks ago, and even with 30-50 percent discounts, their prices were STILL higher than every other retailer on the planet. Fifty percent off $29.99 for a bargain bin quality DVD just doesn't make any sense. Their selection was second to none, but their prices were just absurd, and the sole reason why they could not survive!

Paul Farhi: No question, you could find stuff much cheaper elsewhere (including online, of course). But a man's entitled to wallow in his own nostalgia, isn't he?

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RE: NFL Broadcasters: Paul, can you please ask one of the football announcers to find out if Brett Favre is still having fun out there? Because, you know, I've been wondering ...

Paul Farhi: Hahahaha...They usually ask this after assessing whether one team or the other has "established the running game" or mentioning that someone is "a heckuva football player."

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Re: CDs : I can think of one advantage that CDs have over vinyl -- you don't have to get up and turn the record over after 20 minutes. A friend told me years ago that the impetus for inventing the CD was so that you could hear Beethoven's 9th without interruption. I doubt that's true, but it's still a good thing.

Paul Farhi: Very true. And CDs don't require funny little accessories, like the thingee that you held over the spinning record to remove dust from its surface. Or the stylus needle that you had to change like the oil in your car. Not good.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Yeah, satellite radio may be the radio of the future for rich people, but I'm afraid I'm stuck with the airwaves. Which you and I own. And which are being trashed by private owners. Or non-private owners -- don't get me started on WETA. I just don't see how the crackpots who run that station think they're serving the public.

Paul Farhi: Okay, but let me try the devil's advocate thing here for a second (yes, I DO get to be on all sides of an issue at once): Radio-station owners would say that maximizing their audience IS serving the public. That is, the public interest is that which the most members of the public want to listen to. Not sure that's such a terrible argument...

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The caveman psychiatrist ad: Did anyone notice who's playing the psychiatrist? If my eyes don't deceive me, it's Talia (yo, Adrian) Shire!

Paul Farhi: What? True? Special bonus trivia points for you, which can be traded in for Lovely Parting Gifts....

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Ex-Washingtonian: Am I the only one here old enough to recall -- and miss -- Hardin and Weaver on WMAL-AM? Loved their political and social satires, Hardin's pathological fear of not only snakes but even hearing the word "snake" (with which Weaver loved to taunt him from time to time) -- and Weaver's many voices (did you know he was also the voice of the original Smokey Bear?). I recall that Jackson Weaver died the same week as another radio legend, Red Barber. Is Frank Hardin still around? They sure don't make 'em like they used to ...

Paul Farhi: I never heard H&W, but I certainly respect what they represented: Old-school, mainstream, broad-audience, gently humorous, long-running, companionable morning radio. I grew up listening to Lohman & Barkley on KFI in Los Angeles, who did more or less the same thing.

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Fortaleza, Brazil: I?m the Bruin alumn who wrote about Tower Records. I recall, growing up in L.A., not only albums (remember, they were called 33 1/3), some in color not just black (e.g., had a Chipmunks Xmas album that was red), but also 45s and 78s. Record players (remember them?) had 3 speeds, and we thought it was great fun to play a 33 1/3 record at 78 (making everyone sound like the Chipmunks). My father had an old Edison Company record shaped like the cardboard center of a toilet paper roll. I have no idea where it is. I bet it is worth money today.

Paul Farhi: You get points for 1) fine nostaglic reminiscence; 2) being a UCLA alum; and 3) super-exotic dateline.

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RE: NFL Broadcasters:: What about "He's a tremendous athlete"?

I have a feeling that's code for something, but I'm not sophisticated enough to figure it out.

Paul Farhi: I think that means he's a good athlete because, you know, he's in the NFL/NBA/Major Leagues and all. Because most of those guys are just sort of ordinary athletes, I guess.

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Schuyler, Va.: About CD's musical quality: The argument about CD vs. LP's has been superceded by worries about cheap digital sound quality. CD's are now seen as the highest mass-market sound quality we're likely to get for quite a while:

FM has been compressed badly, in the sense of dynamic compression.

Satellite and MP3's are increasingly compressed badly, in the sense of digital compression.

Your typical middle-class audio set-up of the 1970's, a receiver and big speakers, would sound like a symphony hall to today's teenager with an iPod playing MP3's through earbuds.

Even CD's are going downhill, due to the record company's mastering techniques (louder is better). See Bob Dylan's recent comment in Rolling Stone, "I haven't heard a decent CD in 10 years." He meant the engineering, not the music.

Paul Farhi: Interesting. I'm not enough of an audiophile to know, really. It all sounds pretty good to my unschooled ears.

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Severna Park, Md.: I'm a traditionalist. I like to stack records and CDs like books. That said, I would be much more excited about online downloads if their selection varied beyond what was readily available for order on CD (OOP, import stuff, etc). Online distribution would seem to be a great way for labels to get a bit of $$$ out of titles that don't warrant the full reissue treatment.

Paul Farhi: Oh, definitely. But that's a win-win: the record companies can still sell their back, back, back-catalogue and you/me the consumer can find rarities and obscurities. Daddy likes!

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Ft. Belvoir, Va.: I went to the Tysons Tower to partake of their liquidation and noticed that the "discount" was off the list price. Once I realized I was not getting a bargain, I walked out. I guess the signs says "30-40 percent off" blinded folks from the math. Also, all the classical stuff was pretty much gone, which is what I wanted.

Are there any good record stores left in the D.C. area, especially for classical?

Paul Farhi: Well, the larger issue for me was, there wasn't one thing in the entire store worth buying at any price. Just junk. And the classical and jazz sections were just devastated; not much there at all...And I'll throw the question to the field. Anyone know of good classical stores in the area?

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RE: Worst ad: By far (and I mean by about 124,000,000 Reward miles), the most annoying ad on TV right now is the CitiCard Frequent Flyer ad with the old Russian guy and his silent companion.

It annoying, annoying, very, very annoying.

Paul Farhi: Yep. It took me about 12 viewings to figure out what they were selling...

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Silver Spring, Md.: So, regarding Don and Mike. Instead of 'Nuff said, can you enlighten us peons who may not know what that means? I like them and miss them live.

Paul Farhi: They ran into a contract dispute with CBS (or maybe D&M instigated it; unclear to me). They've now worked out their differences and will be back on in January.

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Bristol, Va.: I remember when "music" was nothing more than my grampy playing the fiddle at the Saturday night barn dance. Yes, I am 107 years old. I have no need for your fancy dagnabbed Victrola machines. Sounds too tinny.

Paul Farhi: Reminds me of Dana Carvey's great grumpy old man on SNL: Back in my day we didn't have your fancy seat belts and airbags. No sir. When we had to stop fast, we just went flying through the windshield. And we LIKED it!

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Seattle, Wash.: He's a tremendous athlete is code for "he's as dumb as a caveman." The real fun is to tally the races of those described as "athletes" versus those described as "managers" of the game.

Paul Farhi: Oh, yes, the hidden racial code language of sports broadcasting. He's a "smart" player generally means he's white; calling someone "athletic" means he's black. Very subtle, almost unconscious...

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Columbia, Md.: Paul, I have to ask given your relentless over-analysis of the Geico cavemen commercials, can I assume you were one of those kids who questioned at length why the castaways on Gilligan's Island had all those clothes if they had only gone on a three-hour tour, why the Bradys had a maid when Carol didn't work outside the home, etc. ?

Paul Farhi: Actually, what I still want to know is, if the Professor could make a radio out of a cocoanut, why couldn't he get the Castaways off the island?

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Washington, D.C.: I've really enjoyed the commercials the Post Office has run the past few weeks. They are pretty cute. Poor little plastic reindeer left behind with the snow people.

Paul Farhi: The one in which the box of sneakers talks to some other inanimate object is visually dull and lame in concept, however.

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Washington, D.C.: The holiday commercial I hate the most is one I thankfully haven't seen this year. It's the Wal-Mart ad with the most annoying gingerbread man in the world with the clever name of "Gingy." Gingy squealed and talked in the worst gingerbread man voice ever, wearing a blue vest, while following an old man around the store. I wanted to bite his head off, he was so annoying.

Paul Farhi: Wouldn't it be great if Gingy and the Poppin' Fresh Doughboy had it out? Straight to pay per view!

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Maximizing the audience is a fine goal but: but they're not doing that by duplicating formats!

Paul Farhi: True. There's no real excuse for what's happening there. But I doubt much will change--each station thinks it's serving its audience.

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Alexandria, Va.: What's the buzz on when the 104.1/103.9 switch is going to happen? Any chance another station will take on the classical format?

Paul Farhi: Details still being worked out between Red Zebra and Bonneville, but it sounded like the buyout (or maybe just an agreement to take over the programming of the station) was imminent. And there's no buzz on another classical station popping up, but I wouldn't be surprised if WETA re-considered its news-talk format and went back to classical again.

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Classical Dan: Couldn't Le Danny devote some of the WGMS frequency to classical and save Sunday for the games?

Paul Farhi: Sure. But if he's really committed to his sports-talk/ESPN format (and I think he is), he'll use the 103.9/104.1 signals as his flagship in Washington. Those would be the best he's got.

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Lexington Park: Good Classical and Jazz at Serenade on Conn. Ave. Right by the main Dupont Circle Metro entrance.

Paul Farhi: Excellent! Thanks for the suggestion.

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I doubt that's true,: But it really is true that when the CD standard was set, the idea was to be able to hold the entire Beethovan's 9th on one disc. See this Optical Recording

Paul Farhi: Okay...

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Beethoven's 9th: What happened was that when Sony was trying to decide on how many minutes of music could be fitted onto a CD, the Sony chairman's wife demanded that an entire 9th could fit onto one.

I would love to buy that woman a drink if she's still around.

Paul Farhi: That sounds like, um, an old wives' tale...

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Paul Farhi: Folks, I need to get along here, but I want to wish you a happy and healthy holiday (whichever one you want) before I do. I'm going to be out for our next schedule chat (Dec. 26) and I'm sure you will be, too. But let's reconvene in the new year. As Fred Rogers used to sing, you'll have things you want to talk about, I will, too. Regards to all..Paul

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