This piece is slightly expanded from segments in Paul Ingles's highly recommended Sgt. Pepper program. If you've got two hours to spare, I'd definitely go for the Pepper show.
Numerous voices explain what led to the different-from-anything-that-came -before-it 1967 single from the Beatles, and we get to hear both songs. There really isn't any discussion of the "best single ever?" question--just as well because there are quite a few other candidates, even for best double-sided single ever. Also, mercifully, there's no discussion of the rumored death of Paul McCartney although we can't help but hear "I buried Paul":(or is it "cranberry sauce"?) at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Unlike the Pepper program, this piece requires you to do an intro; an outro wouldn't hurt, either.
Comment for
"The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial" (deleted)
Review of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial (deleted)
Politics getting involved in a controversy about fundamentalist beliefs and science and what we teach our kids? A trial becoming a media circus? Thank goodness those things never happen anymore. Oh, wait...
Using the words of those present at the 1925 Scopes trial, this drama touches on controversies that remain with us. Clarence Darrow's interrogation of William Jennings Bryan toward the end of the trial, the part that gets the most attention in other dramatizations of the trial, is here but it's just a part of the story. Darrow's co-counsel Dudley Field Malone and columnist H.L. Mencken have some of the best lines.
One of the drawbacks to the using-only-their-actual-words approach is that a narrator (Sharon Gless) is required to tie things together and we're nearly 20 minutes into the program before we really get down to the drama. As with all LA Theatre Works productions, this is recorded before an audience (whose laughs we occasionally hear).
Reasons my local public radio station should consider airing this program:
1) An LATW touring production of this show, complete with Ed Asner, recently did a bunch of East Coast dates including several performances in the primary coverage area. Several school groups attended those performances and don't you suppose some folks would like to hear how the show they saw works on the radio?
2) Drama deserves a place on the schedule amid all the blah-blah-blah of news and talk. If the goal is to inform listeners and not merely entertain them, I really think I came away from this drama with a better understanding of the Scopes trial than from any number of documentaries.
Reasons my local public radio station probably won't air this program:
1) The blah-blah-blah of news and talk is a proven format.
2) A single Saturday afternoon hour is devoted to specials and this program doesn't neatly split into 2 separate hours. Act one is 70 minutes; that's theater for you.
A half hour of features centered on a single theme, this time drawing conclusions from clues. If my memory's correct, this is the same format as Soundprint, a program I haven't heard in ages. This is my first time checking out B-Side and I'm trying soooooo hard to avoid comparisons to This American Life but, sorry, it just can't be avoided. There's even an Ira in this episode, in the linking segments where the game of Clue is played. It's not Mr. Glass, though. So: I found B-Side to be TAL squished into half the time with shorter stories that aren't quite as compelling and no music.
The final two stories, about a man with an interesting family situation and a strange roadside attraction, really drew me in but let me down at the end by stopping just a bit short of answering all the questions which came to my mind. Perhaps I'll give other episodes of B-Side a listen one of these days but this episode didn't drive me to seek more right away.
Another great Paul Ingles production drawing on many sources for a look at a classic LP. Sgt. Pepper is undeniably a milestone album but many of the voices heard here feel it's been overrated. That's refreshing to hear. They're not saying it's an awful album, just that it's neither the best album to come out of the Beatles nor the best album to come out of its time.
In addition to a track-by-track look at Sgt. Pepper, with generous helpings of all the songs, we also hear about Penny Lane in the first hour and flipside Strawberry Fields Forever in hour 2. A bonus for radio fans is the newcast filler in hour 2, which includes airchecks from the golden days of WABC and WABC-FM while talking about the emergence of FM radio as an outlet for rock album tracks.
If you're doing any programming around the 40th anniversary of the "summer of love" don't forget about this program. I heard no mention of "It was 40 years ago today..." in it so even though this is targeted to air in June 2007 the program should be good anytime.
Comment for
"Paul McCartney: An Appreciation [59:00/54:00 Versions]" (deleted)
Review of Now He's 64: A Paul McCartney Appreciation [59:00/54:00 Versions] (deleted)
A decent look at McCartney, chiefly as musician and vocalist, with lots of full songs, focusing mostly on Beatles material plus the first two solo albums. Later material is acknowledged (but not exactly praised) in the final minutes of the hour. Apparently this program is an offshoot of interviews done for Paul Ingles's "Revolver" documentary. Unlike that program (which I highly recommend), the commentary here comes from just one speaker, Richard Goldman. While I've read or heard about McCartney's work as songwriter or singer, the look at his musicianship was a fresh angle for me. Still, I didn't come away from this hour with the sort of "wow, who knew?" appreciaton that I've gained from, say, docs aired on BBC Radio 2 about can't-get-no-respect acts like the Bee Gees or Karen Carpenter.
In spite of the title, the program isn't specifically tied to the subject's 64th birthday so a little repackaging could make this program good for use whenever.
A quick look at a few aspects of a classic novel, tightly produced, with no ponderous gaps on the part of the speakers and appropriate music tastefully interwoven. I had just finished reading the novel and tried to imagine while listening to this program how interesting it would be if I wasn't familiar with the story. I'm not convinced that those unfamiliar with "Pride and Prejudice" would stay with this too long. They don't need to have read the novel, though, as movie and TV versions are given some consideration.
Comments by David Harris
Comment for "The Beatles Greatest Single Ever: Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane"
David Harris
Posted on May 22, 2007 at 05:47 PM | Permalink
Review of Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane: Best Single Ever?
This piece is slightly expanded from segments in Paul Ingles's highly recommended Sgt. Pepper program. If you've got two hours to spare, I'd definitely go for the Pepper show.
Numerous voices explain what led to the different-from-anything-that-came -before-it 1967 single from the Beatles, and we get to hear both songs. There really isn't any discussion of the "best single ever?" question--just as well because there are quite a few other candidates, even for best double-sided single ever. Also, mercifully, there's no discussion of the rumored death of Paul McCartney although we can't help but hear "I buried Paul":(or is it "cranberry sauce"?) at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Unlike the Pepper program, this piece requires you to do an intro; an outro wouldn't hurt, either.
Comment for "The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial" (deleted)
David Harris
Posted on May 22, 2007 at 05:27 PM
Review of The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial (deleted)
Politics getting involved in a controversy about fundamentalist beliefs and science and what we teach our kids? A trial becoming a media circus? Thank goodness those things never happen anymore. Oh, wait...
Using the words of those present at the 1925 Scopes trial, this drama touches on controversies that remain with us. Clarence Darrow's interrogation of William Jennings Bryan toward the end of the trial, the part that gets the most attention in other dramatizations of the trial, is here but it's just a part of the story. Darrow's co-counsel Dudley Field Malone and columnist H.L. Mencken have some of the best lines.
One of the drawbacks to the using-only-their-actual-words approach is that a narrator (Sharon Gless) is required to tie things together and we're nearly 20 minutes into the program before we really get down to the drama. As with all LA Theatre Works productions, this is recorded before an audience (whose laughs we occasionally hear).
Reasons my local public radio station should consider airing this program:
1) An LATW touring production of this show, complete with Ed Asner, recently did a bunch of East Coast dates including several performances in the primary coverage area. Several school groups attended those performances and don't you suppose some folks would like to hear how the show they saw works on the radio?
2) Drama deserves a place on the schedule amid all the blah-blah-blah of news and talk. If the goal is to inform listeners and not merely entertain them, I really think I came away from this drama with a better understanding of the Scopes trial than from any number of documentaries.
Reasons my local public radio station probably won't air this program:
1) The blah-blah-blah of news and talk is a proven format.
2) A single Saturday afternoon hour is devoted to specials and this program doesn't neatly split into 2 separate hours. Act one is 70 minutes; that's theater for you.
Comment for "B-Side: Clues"
David Harris
Posted on May 22, 2007 at 05:24 PM | Permalink
Review of B-Side: Clues
A half hour of features centered on a single theme, this time drawing conclusions from clues. If my memory's correct, this is the same format as Soundprint, a program I haven't heard in ages. This is my first time checking out B-Side and I'm trying soooooo hard to avoid comparisons to This American Life but, sorry, it just can't be avoided. There's even an Ira in this episode, in the linking segments where the game of Clue is played. It's not Mr. Glass, though. So: I found B-Side to be TAL squished into half the time with shorter stories that aren't quite as compelling and no music.
The final two stories, about a man with an interesting family situation and a strange roadside attraction, really drew me in but let me down at the end by stopping just a bit short of answering all the questions which came to my mind. Perhaps I'll give other episodes of B-Side a listen one of these days but this episode didn't drive me to seek more right away.
Comment for "The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper: An Honest Appraisal of The Beatles' Classic"
David Harris
Posted on May 17, 2007 at 06:14 PM | Permalink
Review of The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper: An Honest Appraisal (New 2-hour Special - Available to All Stations)
Another great Paul Ingles production drawing on many sources for a look at a classic LP. Sgt. Pepper is undeniably a milestone album but many of the voices heard here feel it's been overrated. That's refreshing to hear. They're not saying it's an awful album, just that it's neither the best album to come out of the Beatles nor the best album to come out of its time.
In addition to a track-by-track look at Sgt. Pepper, with generous helpings of all the songs, we also hear about Penny Lane in the first hour and flipside Strawberry Fields Forever in hour 2. A bonus for radio fans is the newcast filler in hour 2, which includes airchecks from the golden days of WABC and WABC-FM while talking about the emergence of FM radio as an outlet for rock album tracks.
If you're doing any programming around the 40th anniversary of the "summer of love" don't forget about this program. I heard no mention of "It was 40 years ago today..." in it so even though this is targeted to air in June 2007 the program should be good anytime.
Comment for "Paul McCartney: An Appreciation [59:00/54:00 Versions]" (deleted)
David Harris
Posted on April 16, 2007 at 05:35 PM
Review of Now He's 64: A Paul McCartney Appreciation [59:00/54:00 Versions] (deleted)
A decent look at McCartney, chiefly as musician and vocalist, with lots of full songs, focusing mostly on Beatles material plus the first two solo albums. Later material is acknowledged (but not exactly praised) in the final minutes of the hour. Apparently this program is an offshoot of interviews done for Paul Ingles's "Revolver" documentary. Unlike that program (which I highly recommend), the commentary here comes from just one speaker, Richard Goldman. While I've read or heard about McCartney's work as songwriter or singer, the look at his musicianship was a fresh angle for me. Still, I didn't come away from this hour with the sort of "wow, who knew?" appreciaton that I've gained from, say, docs aired on BBC Radio 2 about can't-get-no-respect acts like the Bee Gees or Karen Carpenter.
In spite of the title, the program isn't specifically tied to the subject's 64th birthday so a little repackaging could make this program good for use whenever.
Comment for "What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice"
David Harris
Posted on April 16, 2007 at 04:51 PM | Permalink
Review of What's the Word? Pride and Prejudice
A quick look at a few aspects of a classic novel, tightly produced, with no ponderous gaps on the part of the speakers and appropriate music tastefully interwoven. I had just finished reading the novel and tried to imagine while listening to this program how interesting it would be if I wasn't familiar with the story. I'm not convinced that those unfamiliar with "Pride and Prejudice" would stay with this too long. They don't need to have read the novel, though, as movie and TV versions are given some consideration.