I used to listen to Savage sorta regularly a long time ago--Then, he got that short-lived TV show on MSNBC and boy, has he changed since that show got yanked off the air---
He always came on as smarter than everyone and always listed his degrees and previous 5 jobs, but he was listenable---after he got fired from MSNBC, he became a morose, self-pitying kvetcher---every night it sounded like he couldn't wait to get off the air---and you never knew if he was gonna blow his brains out---
Couldn't take it---had to quit him
Yeah, I stopped listening to Savage the night he decided to talk about how he walks around his house nekkid, for a whole friggin hour. At least, that's what it felt like. ><
That was about the timeframe you mention, IIRC.