Hearing Voices from NPR®:
004 Comedy with a Beat—
Comic Bits with Music Beats
Host— David Ossman of Firesign Theatre
Airs week of— 2009-04-08 (Originally: 2008-03-26)
HV doubled down with two pieces on NPR Day to Day, the first— There’s history and politics hidden in the songs of Tibet, which has been under Chinese control for half a century. A music recordist visits during Losar, the Tibetan New Year, looking for traditional music (produced for KGLT-Bozeman), “Song of Tibet” (3:30 mp3):
Another HV on this afternoon’s NPR Day to Day was their second from the ZBS series, 2 Minute Noir. An angel wants to walk on the dark side in “Say ‘So Long’ to Shangri-La” (2:25 mp3):
Yesterday on StoryCorps®— Pinky Powell could pick 100 pounds of cotton by lunchtime. Her great-granddaughter tells her tale of life on an Alabama plantation. This one hurts, “Mary Ellen Noone” (2:15 mp3):
Hearing Voices from NPR®
003 Her Stories: For Women’s History Month
Host: Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org
Airs week of: 2012-02-29 (Originally: 2008-03-19)
C’mon, bait your line. Let’s go smelt fishin’ on the ice. Ten shacks on a frozen river are filled with ice fishermen for ten weeks each year. Owner Steve Leighton provides the bait; his patrons bring the beer; and the fish take care of the rest. Produced by Grant Fuller of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, premiered on Weekend America, “What Are You Gonna Do with 400 Fish?” (5:13 mp3):
MySpace has pages for people, places, and now things. Composer Peter Traub has started ItSpace, a participatory sound project. “ItSpace pages feature everyday household objects. Each page has a photo of the object, a description, and most importantly, a 1-minute piece of music composed of recordings of the object being struck and resonated in various.” A story by Jesse Dukes on NPR Day to Day, “Objects Sing at Itspace” (5:04) mp3):
Hearing Voices from NPR®:
002 Visiting Hours— In Hospital
Host— Ceil Muller of KQED Public Radio
Airs week of— 2009-03-11 (Originally: 2008-03-12)
“The Kiss and the Dying” is host Ceil Muller’s (of KQED) etiquette list for those who may be dying, and for the soon-to-be survivors.
“Fire and Ice Cream” is from Brent Runyan’s book “The Burn Journals,” and Jay Allison’sLife Stories radio series. Brent’s nurse in the burn unit asks the 14-year-old out for ice cream… and a date?
In “Our Father” Brian Brophy documents his dad’s passing, with recordings of his family, the chaplain, the hospital and hospice staff, and the wake.
NPR is back into radio drama, at least for a couple minutes. Today’s NPR Day to Day premieres the ZBS series, 2 Minute Film Noir. An American private eye falls in love with a French woman who is more than mysterious, she’s ethereal, in “Chez Tootsie” (3:26 mp3):
PRI’s Fair Game asked Andrew W. K. to write a rocker based on words from TV’s shout-fest The McLaughlin Group, “The McLaughlin Groove” (0:47 mp3):
“The next man on the moon will be Chinese.” Who know the pundit was a poet?
Gotta say, tho, Msr. W.K. has fallen mightily in subject-matter, reduced to covering shlock like TV’s punditocracy; especially considering his previous high-culture accomplishments, not least of which is Jackass’s “We Want Fun:”
Check the Fair Game site for host’s Faith Salie’s leadup to the song and intervu w/ W.K. (along with a link to SNL’s McGroup sendup).
Day 1 of the Iditarod is tomorrow. One of the qualifying races was held a few weeks ago, is the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, named for the son of a Chippewa chief who delivered mail by dog sled along Lake Superior’s rugged North Shore in the late 19th century. Launched in 1981, the Beargrease draws world-class sled dog teams from around the globe. The Beargrease is the longest, and most challenging, of sled dog events in the lower 48: almost 400 miles and 4000 spectators, starting in Duluth, Minnesota on the last weekend of January. Field-recordist Curt Olson gathered the sounds of the dogs, the mushers and the fans, “Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon” (7:00 mp3):
Marvin Granger:
• formerly of MPR stations (he gave a young GarrisonK his first radio job);
• first GM of Spokane Public Radio;
• former GM of WBFO-Buffalo (where Terry Gross got her start);
• former GM of WDET-Detrioit;
• for two decades GM of Yellowstone Public Radio, whose signal now saturates more territory than any other pubradio net in the nation.
Yes, that Marvin Granger tells me his last day in public radio is this Friday, the day of his call-in show Your Opinion, Please — Friday Feb 29 6:30-7:00 pm MT (which streams so anyone anywhere can listen & call 800.441.2941… hint, hint.)
A couple excerpted quotes from Marvin’s career; about pubradio, he told Spokane Magazine:
“We can play music which is ‘culturally important but commercially weak’ in nature, such as chamber music and contemporary experimental music. It’s one of the few places creative people gain exposure.â€
And his early participation in the debate over the value of Arbitron is discussed in the report (pdf) “Guys in Suits with Charts: Audience Research in U.S. Public Radio.” His opinion: PDs’ concerns for radio ratings “collided with the art of programming commercial radio.”
MG has been a boon to our broadcast buddy Chrysti the Wordsmith; a friend to our little local college station KGLT — even tho we share the same dial as his station; and an adviser to us at HV (he won’t be entirely off-air: later this year he’ll be hosting HV’s Winter Solstice hour).
Marvin, we all wave you a hearty and appreciative aloha. If just half of us in this biz contribute half as much as you did, pubradio will soar.
This week’s HV cast is for President’s Day-
Excerpts from:
• Calvin Coolidge, Inaugural Address, Wednesday, March 4, 1925.
(No inaugural recording exists of Herbert Hoover.)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, Saturday, March 4, 1933.
• Harry S. Truman, Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1949.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address, Tuesday, January 20, 1953.
• John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1961.
• Lyndon B. Johnson, Inaugural Address, Wednesday, January 20, 1965.
• Richard M. Nixon, Second Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 1973.
• Gerald Ford, Remarks On Taking The Oath Of Office, Friday Aug. 9, 1974.
• Jimmy Carter, Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1977.
• Ronald Reagan, Second Inaugural Address, Monday, January 21, 1985.
• George H. W. Bush, Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1989.
• Bill Clinton, First Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1993.
• George W. Bush, Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 2001.
ZBS Productions new series is 2 Minute Film Noir, “stories about gangsters, bimbos, cons, cops, lovers, losers, platinum blondes, mink coats, high heels, and neon signs reflecting on rain-slicked streets.”
It’s radio dramedy at its finest, and they’ve allowed us to sneak prevu the series right here. So, ladies and gentleman, butter your popcorn, grab your dates, and head into the audio theatre. It’s time for the 2MFN world premiere, with “You’re In For It Now, Pal” (1:30):
And here’s the gorgeous series poster (illustration by Jaye Oliver):
Way back in WFMU’s blog is an album that continues to dazzle me, Yann Tomita’s Doopee Time. Sez Station Manager Ken:
Here’s a strange and wonderful record called Doopee Time by the Japanese composer and experimentalist Yann Tomita. Trying to describe this record (or Tomita) is difficult – part muzak, part dada comedy, part I Dream of Jeannie, with a running commentary by The Doopees, two Japanese doll women named Suzie and Caroline.
All the Doopeemp3s are up at WFMU; here’s a few of my faves:
StoryCorps cuts yet another devastating slice of real-life this week, “Hector Black remembers the murder of his daughter, Patricia Nuckles, by an intruder in her home.” (3:00):
Another stellar StoryCorps, sisters Janaki Symon and Melissa Wilbur discuss their hate-to-love relationship. “I never particularly liked you…†(1:52):
“The Professor” (formerly of WFMU’s Audio Kitchen) now curates an online museum, The Audio Kitchen blog, where you can listen to “Found Sound, Amateur Recordings and Homestyle Noise,” read about the tapes’ content, where they were discovered or created, and how to submit and discuss similar recordings.
For instance, here’s some found Answering Machine Recordings. These days our missed calls are recorded on digital voice mail, but not long ago we recorded our missed calls on cassettes, The Audio Kitchen dispenses this outdated technology to display many interesting and somewhat amusing glimpses into peoples lives.
There are mounds of found sound and recorded messages the Professor has documented and is sharing with everyone that cares to look and listen. He also hosts The Radio Kitchen, Adventures in Amplitude Modulation:
“The Radio Kitchen is a blog about lo-fi old fashioned terrestrial radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (on medium wave and the shortwave bands). You’ll find that most posts actually contain audio files relevant to the subject matter discussed in each entry, while others may concern radio topics: radio reception, audio archiving, and general news related to AM and shortwave radio broadcasting.”
For Black History Month here’s Rev Dr MLK, Jr, backed with a music mix by rx, one of the best pol cut-up artists out there. “MLK (rise again)” (9:57 mp3):
rx seems also to be a Mike Gravel supporter. Here’s one of his videos, “power to the people vs give peace a chance:”
Hearing Voices from NPR®:
Yesterday on 
MySpace has pages for people, places, and now things. Composer Peter Traub has started 
NPR is back into radio drama, at least for a couple minutes. Today’s NPR 
This week’s 
Way back in WFMU’s blog is an album that continues to dazzle me, 
Another stellar StoryCorps, sisters 