Robyn Hitchcock Picks Cherry Picking

A sparkling revu of David Greenbergers spoke-word w/ music Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time by none other than Robyn Hitchcock:

David Greenberger meanders around America, lovingly collecting the life stories of old people like fireflies in a jar. On Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time he visits Milwaukee which, as one elderly resident explains, has the same number of letters as Wisconsin. Over a smoky grid of blues-funk and acoustic guitar played by Paul Cebar and his band, David recites anecdotes and reflections from the Milwaukee senior citizens that he has interviewed on his recent visits there.

In an America that seems increasingly dominated by amnesia, and the erosion of its history, it’s very heartening — and poignant — to hear these fragments of lives as they draw to a close. The rootsy tone of the music — Ry Cooder, Tom Waits, David Byrne and even Beefheart’s Magic Band come to the mind’s ear — adds Americana to these tales of vanishing Midwestern life. Here are the man who cheated at tomato- growing by hanging a purchased one on a vine; the man who made peace with his artificial arm and hung shopping bags from it; and the man in a red shirt who feels like a king. There are exuberant moments, but the most moving pieces are the elegies: people who gently mourn their vanished partners — one speaks of his wife as his co-pilot, another of how he’s tried to replace his wife with crossword puzzles. The matter-of-fact tone that David uses in these vignettes is partly what makes them so emotional. In ‘No Rooms Here’ you can hear the life and memory of the elderly female narrator dissolving as she speaks. Just as certain as our death is the uncertainty of what follows — this ambiguity riddles the inhabitants of Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time. More…

HV030- Nine to Five

Hearing Voices from NPR®
030 Nine to Five: The Working Week
Host: Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler of Mapping Main Street
Airs week of: 2009-09-02 (Originally: 2008-09-24)

“Nine to Five” (52:00 mp3):

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For Labor Day, the work we do, from Wall Street traders to taxi cab drivers. People who work with brassieres, dead bodies, lost golf balls, and off-the-books in an underground economy. Part one…

The Ramones obviously believe “It’s Not My Place (In the 9 to 5 World)” (1980 Pleasant Dreams).

Meryn Cadell fills out a “Job Application” (1992 Angel Food for Thought).

In the 1950s Tony Schwartz conversed with The New York Taxi Driver about “A Temporary Job.” (This 1959 LP is on The Library of Congress National Recording Registry).

Steve Fisk recites some “Government Figures” (1980 Over and Thru the Night).

Grief and guts fill the work day of Aftermath,® Inc: Specialists in Crime Scene and Tragedy Cleanup, Trauma Cleanup, Accidental Death Cleanup. Interview with Tim Reifsteck by Laura Kwerel, produced by Nick van der Kolk; an excerpt from “Aftermath,” a Love and Radio podcast. (L & R’s slogan: “What Ira Glass might make if he showed up to work drunk.”) More…

Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time

In support of David Greenberger’s new CD, Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time is live on stage at the The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee WI, May 13:

A collaboration between Duplex Planet creator David Greenberger and Milwaukee music legend Paul Cebar

Featuring spoken word stories derived from Greenberger’s conversations with elderly residents of Milwaukee, backed by music composed by Paul Cebar that is seamlessly integrated with the mood of the words.

“A King in Milwaukee, part 1″ from Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time (2:23):

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HV008- About Aging

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
008 About Aging—
I Thought You’d Never Ask
Host— David Greenberger of Duplex Planet
Airdates— 2009-04-22 (Originally: 2008-04-23)

“About Aging” (53:00 mp3):

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Host David Greenberger of Duplex Planet presents glorious moments and observations from people in the last years of their lives:

Dave Alvin discusses the song he wrote about his dying father, “Man in the Bed,” from the Western Folklife Center’s What’s in a Song? series.

Comedians Bob & Ray are “The Whirleys”.

From StoryCorps comes a remembrance from Richard Craig of his days as a dance host on cruise ships.

In Sound Portraits “The Ground We Live On” journalist Adrian Nicole LeBlanc faces mortality in recordings she made during her father’s last months alive.

And host David Greenberger shares some stories told him over the years by the elderly, including “Growing Old in East LA“.

HV051- Dog Tales

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
051 Dog Tales— Barks, Bites, Best Friends
Host— Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of— 2009-02-18

Dog Tales (52:00 mp3):

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A canine compilation — the dogs have their day:

Scott Carrier encounters a frisbee-catching “Blind Dog” (4:22).

Kevin Kling can’t connect with his family’s “Dogs” (3:50), off his collection of Stories off the Shallow End.

Musician Steven Vitiello makes a multi-bark audio art composition out of “Dogs in the Yard” (1:20).

In 1984 people told producer Jay Allison about their “Dog’s Dreams” (6:50), produced with Christina Eggloff for their series Animals and Other Stories, with funds from the New York State Council for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. More…

HV050- Love’s Labors

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
050 Love’s Labors— For Valentine’s Day
Host— Amy Dickinson of Chicago Tribune “Ask Amy”
Airs week of— 2009-02-11

Love’s Labors (52:00 mp3):

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Affairs of the heart, and the intricacies of intimacy:

Lovelorn letters to an advice columnist, our Host, “Ask Amy“.

A “Valentine” from Kevin Kling (from his Stories from the Shallow End CD).

The Girls Glee Club of New Palestine High School, Indiana singing the theme from “Midnight Cowboy” (off the out-of-print Poly High – School Bands Play The Classics).

Women’s tales of true but tainted love, what Nancy Updike calls “Cringe Love”, from This American Life.

One of the “6 terrific teen-age tunes sung by Barbie and Ken (and you can sing along, too!),” a 45-rpm record from Mattel Toymakers (mp3 at UBU.com’s 365 Days Project- May 31).

More…

HV015- Father Figures

HV015- Father Figures
Hearing Voices from NPR®:
015 Father Figures— For Father’s Day
Host— Jay Allison of This I Believe
Airdates— 6/11/2008 – 6/18/2008

Father Figures (54:00 mp3):

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Paternal praise, pride, disappointment and love:

Scott Carrier gives his son Milo a “Ski Lesson.”

From Animals and Other Stories we hear “Reflections of Fathers,” aka, Bugs & Dads (producers: Jay Allison & Christina Egloff, music: Ben Verdery & Rie Schmidt).

Comic strip artist Lynda Barry wishes her divorced dad a “Happy Father’s Day.”

A doctor tells his daughter about her granddad in “StoryCorps- Dr. William Weaver.”

“Grilling Me Softly” is how host Jay Allison describes his daughter’s questions about his love life.

Dan Robb’s family remembers the day “Dad’s Moving Out” (from Jay Allison’s Life Stories).

“Doc Merrick” and daughter Viki go through some girl problems.

David Greenberger tells David Cobb’s story “Because of Dad” (music performed by Bangalore, composed by Phil Kaplan).

Deirdre Sullivan’s father advises “Always Go to the Funeral” (from This I Believe).

And Dave Masch wants to be “A Better Father” (produced by Viki Merrick).. Photo © Scott Carrrier.