- Playing
- The Most German Day Ever
- From
- Brendan Greeley
In May of 2002, in Germany for a wedding, I spent a day at the World Championships of Lawn Mower racing, held each year on a quarter-mile dirt track with a view of the Elbe levee.
Krautsand, which has secured a copyright for "The World Championships of Lawn Mower Racing," takes itself just seriously enough about its lawn mower races to get the joke. It also takes itself seriously enough to have petitioned the Queen of Sweden for protection in its bid for independence from Germany.
Krautsanders hate taxes, love machinery and drink a good deal - in their way, they are the most German of Germans.
The piece was featured as Transom's August 2003 show. It has aired once, on WYSO at Antioch College in Ohio.
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Piece Description
In May of 2002, in Germany for a wedding, I spent a day at the World Championships of Lawn Mower racing, held each year on a quarter-mile dirt track with a view of the Elbe levee. Krautsand, which has secured a copyright for "The World Championships of Lawn Mower Racing," takes itself just seriously enough about its lawn mower races to get the joke. It also takes itself seriously enough to have petitioned the Queen of Sweden for protection in its bid for independence from Germany. Krautsanders hate taxes, love machinery and drink a good deal - in their way, they are the most German of Germans. The piece was featured as Transom's August 2003 show. It has aired once, on WYSO at Antioch College in Ohio.
11 Comments
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Review of The Most German Day EverI can't express enough how much I like this piece. It is probably one of the funniest radio pieces I've ever heard. The main premise is ride-on lawnmower racing, but the not-so-subtle subtext is Brendan's love for Germans, which shines through at every moment. {see pull quote} It thus nicely combines an expose on a strange/quirky/profile worthy town & event, and an endearing personal narrative. We care, because Brendan cares. There are strange little tricks in the writing, small non-sequitors, (including a constant update on how many beers they've had to drink), which alone are not significant but which make the piece that much more plesant to listen to. The sound includes grainy recordings made in Germany, Germans signing, and Brendan's well-read narration.
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Review of The Most German Day EverThere is not an adjective that means milk-spitting-funny but if there were I'd use it. Having some experience with Germans and Northern European insanity myself, I know Brendan Greeley's affection for lawnmower racing in freedom loving "cabbagesand". It's frightening to see that the American evolution of a druken cowboy is related to the modern equivalent in the helmet wearing low-powered four wheeling of the one-day inanity of fatherhood (or boys who just want to have fun)! I laughed so hard, I had to keep my mouth covered so that I could hear the story as the coo-koo clock was loosing its spring! Thanks for the gfaw! |
Broadcast History
featured show, Transom.org, August 2003
broadcast on WYSO, Antioch College, OH,
September 2003
Musical Works
Rund Um Krautsand (The National Anthem of Krautsand) - Krautsand Men's Chorus - July 2003
Additional Files
- Flash presentation - narration, additional information, photos (mostGermanDay.swf)
- Flash presentation - narration, additional information, photos (mostGermanDay.swf)
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Hiram Rogers
Posted on November 12, 2005 at 03:18 AM | Permalink
Review of The Most German Day Ever
A lot of odd information strangles a lot of the comedy, but naming a lawnmower "Big Willie" is perfection after ninth beers. I wish Father's Day was a time for fathers to be independent of their families, to drink, to race, to sing throatily. When a lawnmower race champion is asked about what he doing to fight for independence, he replies,"We're on the internet; what more can you do?"