Year: 2008/Archives

RFK

It was 40 years ago today; the Ambassador Hotel in LA— Robert Francis Kennedy (Nov. 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968).

From Shona Laing’s 1988 South, “(Glad I’m) Not a Kennedy” (3:28 mp3):

Satanicpornocultshop

This many-sampled collaged mix of a Missy Elliot cover (“Get Ur Freak On”) keeps rolling ’round my head; found at WFMU, it’s by Satanicpornocultshop from Osaka, Japan and called “Pinky” (3:06 mp3):

https://rex-lumber.com/lyrica-pregabalin/
Satanicpornocultshop: MySpace
Website: Nu NuLAX NuLAN / neji

HV014- Fans and Bands

Hearing Voices from NPR®
014 Fans and Bands:
Groupies, Gravediggers & Rock n’ Roll Singers
Host: Ian Svenonius of Weird War
Airs week of: 2009-5-13 (Originally: 2008-04-06)

“Fans and Bands” (52:00 mp3):

Features a tribute to Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 - June 2, 2008):

Host Ian Svenonius, of the band Weird War, introduces “The Groupies,” an album of 1969 interviews by producer Alan Lorber (Iris Music Group, Alan Lorber Orchestra).

We visit with the pilgrims at Pere LaChaise cemetery, come to see “Jim Morrison’s Grave” (a sound-portrait by Mark Neumann of Documentary Works and Barrett Golding).

John Denver‘s anti-Christian conspiracy is exposed in the series “Song and Memory” from producers Ann Heppermann & Kara Oehler, with Rick Moody.

And Bo Diddley blows up his mom’s radio in David Schulman’s series “Musicians in Their Own Words.”

Bo

Diddley:

Mercury Ad Awards

Every year amongst the Radio-Mercury Awards Winners are some real radio gems. This year one ad turns radio’s fear of dead-air on its arse. It’s for the revolutionary new car, “Aptera” (1:00 mp3):

Others to check are winners in the PSA, Political, and Student categories. Or just listen your way thru Mercury’s Ad/PSA winners library.

HV016- Bugs and Birds

Aptera 300mpg

Nuthin’ like a good gas crisis to spurn some excitement for energy conservation— the Aptera electric and hybrid vehicle, 300 miles-per-gallon, extended range models, “composite safety cage similar to Formula-1 cars,” exceeds 85 mph, 0-60 mph in under 10 seconds, “designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle;” that’s just some of its innovations.

The car had a cameo in this Touchstone Energy ad:

Press Sec Bashes Press

The new book by Bush’s ex-spokseman, Scott McClellen (What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception) has the press blaming the Bush admin and blaming the author, but nary a news item about where the real blame lies in misleading America on the facts of Iraq: “”And through it all, the media would serve as complicit enablers… The national press corps was probably too deferential to the White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq.”

Scottie’s book has little new about how the White House sold the War or outed CIA-op Ms. Plame. What is new is his opinion that the people he saw daily on the other side of podium, i.e. the DC press corps, weren’t doing their jobs: “The media would neglect their watchdog role, focusing less on truth and accuracy and more on whether the campaign was succeeding”

The media have rose as one to ignore the the accusations in their typical hear-no-evil fashion; as in this from the LA Times, D.C. journalists to Scott McClellan: Huh?.

There are a few exceptions:

Editor & Publisher, Media, Who Got War Wrong, Take Exception to Scott McClellan’s Charges— “Most, on Wednesday, still defended their coverage. But few have ever really come to terms with the magnitude of their failure.”

CJR, Pre-Iraq War Coverage: “Pretty Good Job” or “Embarrassing?” and Yellin: News Execs Pushed For Positive Bush Stories— “When the lead-up to the war began, the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war presented in way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president’s high approval ratings.”

Salon, Scott McClellan on the “liberal media”— “The New York Times and The Washington Post both trumpet the fact that McClellan made statements harshly critical of Bush. But they completely ignore McClellan’s far more significant indictment of their ‘deferential,’ Bush-enabling conduct. Isn’t it rather self-evidently newsworthy that Bush’s own press secretary blamed the American media for allowing Bush to get away with all sorts of falsehoods?”

The Salon article refers to an excellent earlier press self-eval by Howard Kurtz:

WA Post (2004), The Post on WMDs An Inside Story: Prewar Articles Questioning Threat Often Didn’t Make Front Page— “‘The paper was not front-paging stuff,’ said Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks. ‘Administration assertions were on the front page. Things that challenged the administration were on A18 on Sunday or A24 on Monday. There was an attitude among editors: Look, we’re going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?'”

And congrats to Jake Tapper for extensive press-related quotes from the book:

ABC News, McClellan: Media During Run-Up to Iraq Were “Complicit Enablers”—

“And through it all, the media would serve as complicit enablers. Their primary focus would be on covering the campaign to sell the war, rather than aggressively questioning the rationale for war or pursuing the truth behind it… the media would neglect their watchdog role, focusing less on truth and accuracy and more on whether the campaign was succeeding. Was the president winning or losing the argument? How were Democrats responding? What were the electoral implications? What did the polls say? And the truth–about the actual nature of the threat posed by Saddam, the right way to confront it, and the possible risks of military conflict–would get largely left behind…”

“If anything, the national press corps was probably too deferential to the White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq. The collapse of the administration’s rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should have never come as such a surprise. The public should have been made much more aware, before the fact, of the uncertainties, doubts, and caveats that underlay the intelligence about the regime of Saddam hussein. The administration did little to convey those nuances to the people, the press should have picked up the slack but largely failed to do so because their focus was elsewhere–on covering the march to war, instead of the necessity of war.

In this case, the ‘liberal media’ didn’t live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served.”

“The network that can find a way to shift from excessively covering controversy, the conventional horse race and image-driven coverage to give a greater emphasis to who is right and who is wrong, who is telling the truth and who is not, and the larger truths about our society and our world might achieve some amazing results in our fast-changing media environment.”

The press is likely comforatable continuing to pretend it wasn’t the principle percussionist beating the 2003 war-drum. The public, however, may not be: Make Mainstream Media Answer for Spreading Propaganda.

T.Gross to J-Grads

Terry Gross (Fresh Air host) delivers some humble, humorous, and educational remarks to the 2008 Graduates of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

By respecting a guest’s right to decline to answer a personal question, by giving him or her the responsibility to define what’s going too far, I’m giving myself the freedom to ask absolutely anything. Having been assured that I won’t invade his or her privacy, a guest is more likely to answer seemingly personal questions than he or she might have been otherwise.

Prostate Diaries

You don’t want to think about prostate problems. What man over 50 would? Jeff Metcalf certainly didn’t; until the diagnoses in 2004: prostate cancer. That’s when Metcalf, an English professor at the University of Utah, began keeping a journal. His diaries open as a play this summer.

Here’s the HV radio version, written by Jeff Metcalf, performed by Paul Kiernan, recorded by Scott Carrier, produced by Larry Massett, music by Parazitii, “A Slight Discomfort: My Prostate Diaries” (53:00 mp3):

Jeff has assembled info & links on our Prostate Diaries page.

Winter Soldiers

[This is a shortened version of our Winter Soldiers page.]

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” –Thomas Paine 1776

For the first time boots-on-the-ground soldiers testified before Congress (C-SPAN) in May 2008 about how the Iraq war is being waged. Those testifying were members of the Iraq Veterans Against the War.

A couple months earlier the group gathered to record soldiers and marines “giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out.” They called the event Winter Soldier, taking the name from a similar 1971 movement of Vietnam vets.

These are some of the voices of the IVAW “Winter Soldiers” (7:25 mp3):

The above audio is edited excepts from former marines Jon Turner and Michael LeDuc, former soldiers Clifton Hicks and Garrett Reppenhagen, Jon Turner again, and former soldiers Jason Hurd and Kristopher Shawn Goldsmith. Longer unedited excerpts from their and other IVAW testimony is at our Winter Soldiers page.

HV013- Crossing Borders

Hearing Voices from NPR®
013 Crossing Borders: From Mexico to US
Host: Marcos Martinez of KUNM-Alberquerque
Airs week of: 2012-01-18 (Originally: 2008-05-28)

“Crossing Borders” (52:00 mp3):

A Tale of Two Countries:

In “Sasabe,” a Sonora, Mexico border town, Scott Carrier talks to immigrants on their hazardous, illegal desert crossing, and to the border patrol waiting for them in Sasabe, Arizona.

Luis Alberto Urrea reads from his books Vatos and The Devil’s Highway, about death in the desert.

Guillermo Gómez-Peña imagines “Maquiladoras of the Future,” fantasy border factories.

“And I walked…”, by Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler, is a sound-portrait of Mexicans who risk their lives to find better-paying jobs in the United States.

And sounds from the Quiet American’s one-minute vacation.

Photos © 2004 Julián Cardona from Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico :

Immigrants walk around the corner of a restaurant named Pollo Feliz (Happy Chicken) on Sasabe downtown. Charcoal roasted chicken is offered as main dish to people also known as “pollos”, on an area where deaths related to heat exposure are frequent among immigrants.

A boy drives a Ford Expedition on the streets of the border town of Sasabe, Sonora. Polleros in the town make as much as 6500 dollars per day smuggling people into the United States, resulting in a town where the tops of the houses are crowned with satellite TV dishes and kids are seen driving brand new Ford F-150s and SUVs.

Putting bars over the bed of an old pick-up in Las Ladrilleras, on Sasabe outskirts. The fee for the final ride from this place to the gates for crossing costs 20 dollars, and polleros (people smugglers) try to maximize the capacity of their vehicles.

From Las Ladrilleras to East Sasabe.

Three mothers and their children make a stop before crossing the desert. They are part of a group of 27 immigrants departing from East Sasabe on June 5th this year to Arizona.

With their destination at sight, a group of 27 people leave East Sasabe. The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refugee and Arivaca, AZ are on the American side.

A group of ten immigrants who succeeded on crossing the border illegally (one out of frame) use pay phones to call their relatives in the United States at the Greyhound bus station in Tucson before boarding their bus to Phoenix and Los Angeles. To avoid detection the pollero advise them: “Don’t make a big group. Spread.”

Reporter Scott Carrier recovers from the effects of hot weather on his body while doing a story on illegal immigration for NPR show Day to Day. Scott reported from Sasabe, Sonora and Arivaca AZ.

HV Stations Quikmap

quikmaps.com is an easy to use & config Google-map making tool. Here’s a quickmap of all the HV stations carrying the HV weekly hour series:

Baltimore Bikin’

A helmet-cam pov of Michael O’Hara’s pedal to work into, around and through Baltimore morning ride his morning traffic:

Memorial Day Memory

A remembrance by Major Robert Schaefer, US Army Special Forces, the Green Berets. (with the sounds of a Military Honor Guard funeral for a fallen Navy Seal.) For Memorial Day and for the memory of the Major friend and fellow Green Beret, Joe “Super” Suponcic. Airs today on NPR Day to Day; by producer Barrett Golding. “Memorial Day Memory” (8:41 mp3):

The Military Honor Guard at Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island was recorded by Charles Lane. The voices were Navy Lt Commander Snyder; Captain Coe and Staff Sergeant Trigger, U.S Marine Corps; and Petty Officer First Class Curt Wolz, US Navy. The bugler was Lt Denny Lortez , U.S. Sir Force Reserve. “Echo Taps” was played by the US Marine Band.The Military Honor Guard at Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island was recorded by Charles Lane. The voices were Navy Lt Commander Snyder; Captain Coe and Staff Sergeant Trigger, U.S Marine Corps; and Petty Officer First Class Curt Wolz, US Navy. The bugler was Lt Denny Lortez , U.S. Sir Force Reserve. “Echo Taps” was played by the US Marine Band. Major Schaefer is currently serving at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, VA. He was also in this 2006 HV/NPR report.

Utah Phillips

This email today from my friend Marvin Granger, former GM of Yellowstone Public Radio:

It is with more than a little sadness that I report the death of Bruce ‘Utah’ Phillips. He died in his sleep at 11:30 last night following a long battle with heart disease.

Over the past 25 years I benefited from his music and his stories in person, his recordings and on his public radio program, Loafers’ Glory. Utah was a proud, card-carrying member of the International Workers of the World (IWW). I learned the meaning of ‘oral tradition’ largely from his stories of American labor history; that ‘truth’ is not a accurate account of facts so much as personal human experiences that are felt as much as known.

Bruce Phillips was a native of Cleveland, spent many years living and working in Utah, later in Spokane and Nevada City, California. He was a unique entertainer, folklorist, human being.

From Starlight On The Rails : A Songbook, Utah talks about his song “Talking NPR Blues” (1:15 mp3):

“Talking NPR Blues” (2:07 mp3):

From Utah’s recent letter to family and friends:

The folk music family took me in, carried me along, and taught me the value of song far beyond making a living. It taught me that I don’t need wealth, I don’t need power, and I don’t need fame. What I need is friends, and that’s what I found—everywhere—and not just among those on the stage, but among those in front of the stage as well.

Rolling Confusion

Most mashups are mess ups, uninspiring overlays of songs whose combination adds nothing but a bit of sonic amusement. Sometimes, tho, these musical Chimeras form a melodic and lyrical whole, which is equal or even greater than its parts. When that happens, the mashup is often by one of the forms foremost practitioners, Mark Vidler, aka, Go Home Productions.

His new Spliced Kripsies collection has several gems. Best is “Rolling Confusion” which mashes The Rolling Stones (‘Street Fighting Man,’ ‘Gimme Shelter,’ and drums from ‘Slave’) with The Temptations ‘Ball Of Confusion’ (3:47 mp3):

GHP gives away hi-fi (320kbps) mp3s, but doesn’t keep them up long, so grab ’em while they’re hot. He also mashes video to match the audio, and has production notes for each. About the audio:

Absolutely love Beggars Banquet and that whole era of the Stones. Had to slow the tempo of the Temps vocal to fit but I think I got away with it. Quite like the way that the track slips between half and double time…you can’t dance to it. The drum break is pilfered from ‘Slave’ off the ‘Tattoo You’ album.

This video was the last to get completed. There’s no promo for the Stones track, so I had ‘improvise’ so the footage is actually from ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ and ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ performed as part of their Circus spot from 1968. Similar problem with Ball Of Confusion but there was enough ‘vocal’ footage to fill a couple of verses. Amazing how relevant the lyrics of BOC are today. Frighteningly relevant.

LB Grand Prix- NPR

The ethanol-injected Noise comes burning down the NPR airways today on Day to Day. Joe Skyward and myself capture the sounds of engines, drivers, and fans at this year’s Long Beach Grand Prix, an ocean-side street race with top pro race-car drivers from around the globe. One-hundred-and-eighty thousand aficionados around a two mile course of Fast & Loud in downtown LB — 186mph avg and 200+ on the straightaways.

Here’s the long version, “Long Beach Grand Prix 2008” (6:16 mp3):

Driver in an open-wheel, open-cockpit Champ Car.

HV012- For the Fallen

Hearing Voices from NPR®
012 For the Fallen: For Memorial Day
Host: Major Robert Schaefer of US Army Special Forces
Airs week of: 2012-05-23 (Originally: 2008-05-21)

For the Fallen (54:00 mp3):

Green Beret and poet, Colonel Robert Schaefer, US Army, hosts the voices of veterans remembering their comrades:

We talk with troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, reading their emails, poems, and journals, as part of the NEA project: “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.”

We hear interviews from StoryCorps, an essay from This I Believe, and the sounds of a Military Honor Guard, recorded by Charles Lane.

And we attend the daily “Last Post” ceremony by Belgian veterans honoring the WWI British soldiers who died defending a small town in western Belgium (produced by Marjorie Van Halteren).

Prostate Diaries on KUER

Host Doug Fabrizio of KUER-SLC Radio West debuted excerpts today from our upcoming HV hour “A Slight Discomfort – My Prostate Diaries.”

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (2008-05-20) Jeff Metcalf is a writer, so when he discovered he had prostate cancer, that’s how he worked his way through the experience. He set about organizing a clear story out of the more abstract jumble of desperation, humiliation and revelation. Today on RadioWest, we’re playing excerpts from the latest incarnation of Jeff’s story – it’s a piece of radio theater. Jeff will join us to talk about the piece.

“Radio West: A Slight Discomfort” (52:19 mp3):