Curse you, talk radio

You're spoiling good music. Stop it.

I realized this tonight while shuffling through an 80s mix in iTunes. Van Halen's "Panama" came up. And instead of visual images of Diamond Dave's on-stage acrobatics popping into my head, I half expected Mike Gallagher to introduce himself.

A few months ago, I borrowed the DVD of the British gangster flick The Long Good Friday. My first thought when I heard Francis Monkman's synthy opening theme was, "Hey, Dennis Prager uses this for bumper music."

Other classic pieces tainted by association with radio talkers include:

• Weezer's "Island in the Sun" thanks to Laura Ingraham
• The Pretenders' "The City Was Gone," stolen by Lowell Green (who presumably borrowed it from Rush Limbaugh)
• Metallica's "Master of Puppets" - die, Michael Savage, die!
• Giorgio Moroder's theme from Midnight Express, expropriated and spookified by Art Bell

But the very worst offender of all? None other than James White. I can't listen to Steve Camp's song "Run to the Battle" anymore without mentally anticipating the voiceover announcing his webcast "live from the desert metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona."

A pox on all of you.