This great experimental piece leaves you wanting for more. It's very short but hits you with the right dosage of words. Words that don't linger on emotion and don't try to come off smart. Ms. Hership's observations of her family can be perceived as sad, amusing or contemplative depending on who's listening. Maybe the audience is the real experiment here. Great listen!

Longing is the keyword in this piece. The last years of Mahler's emotional life streams from his music like tears. It sings the longing for hope and the aching for things left unsaid. The music is also a narrator in this piece that reaches and stirs the emotion even if the lyric sung is foreign. As the piece progresses you'll find words from the Chinese poem(s) uncovering Mahler's state of mind, thus realize why he took to a book of poem published centuries earlier. You will be captivated by the narrative style and will find this piece a great listen, music lover or not.

The piece was able to convey the importance of brass bands in various native cultural events, such as parades, festivals, weddings, etc. The sounds were rich and the bands varied in style. Interviews explained the history well. Question: Who knows what the last song to the end the piece, a famous Bollywood film number, says in its lyrics? Well, I know, and must admit it's quite an unusual choice to perform at weddings.

The producers go on location to delve into the topic of identity, politics, and culture as perceived by the Chiapas citizens. Great interviews with regular people who best articulated their argument by being simple and to the point.

Great title, which is why it caught my eye. But listening to the piece made me wish I could've been there to witness this annual event. Must be an awesome sight. Then again, the sounds were so well packed that it did kind of take me there.

A lesson piece in the art of jamming and the courage of letting go to simply make music. As a first person narrative, it had more intimacy with the subject and wasn't about a series of tips on improvisation, although Mr. Lewis's five levels of jamming will make a lot of sense to new 'jammers' who wouldn't know where to begin. Ms. Girardeau sits in on a jam session later, and was pleasantly surprised by the openness of the other musicians who didn't care where she came from with her brand of style. Piece ends with a kicking jam session.

What this piece captures well is the progression of an artist's project while being exposed to the rest of the world for criticism. It is hard for artists to have their work scrutinized at such an early stage, but Lyle welcomes that an takes from experience to include in the mural. There are moments when 6th graders participated in the painting, as well as community members who always had their own suggestions and comments. The process had more of a social participation than other forms of painting. The nature of this radio also piece helps understand the patience and openness of an artist who, as a result, left a ageless piece of himself in that neighborghood.

As a fan of Robert Cray myself, it's hard for me to judge his new release from the little bits and pieces of clips presented here. Mr. Meister tells us that he felt Cray's new 'non-blues' style (my term for a lack of a better one), and messages in his songs unconvincing. Not to meddle with his opinions, but maybe Cray's intention was to expand to a new listener base. Of course that's just speculation from my part. Artists have a tough time stepping out their role as the spokesperson of the style they've been identified with, but I guess my angle on this is that Cray is bold enough to risk that, and encounter new territorry. There're always room for more blues album in the years to come.

This is a timely piece, yet evergreen in content. Gives the listeners a good insight into the selling of images of authoritaticve figures. Nowadays, that has trickled down into other departments in the political and cultural economy. Will make a good supplementary piece to educational programs geared toward studies in mass media and Public Relations.

Listening to baseball commentary over the radio as a child, Dick Meister remembers how commentators like Jack McDonald was able to take listeners to the field by employing SFX and imaginative use of words.

Very funny! Looks like the world is heading that way. What if fast food companies start merging with media companies, than McProfiling will just be a tool. Beware the McMinority Report.

Cool piece for fans of Dak and the Star Wars series. I'm sure there will be tons of Star Wars related interviews in the upcoming weeks, but this one will mean a lot to the many fans out there who still quote the famous line from his Empire Strikes Back part. Also has some nice behind-the-scenes stories from the movie.

An update on the lives of cowboys in Texas. Are they really closer to the portrayals we've been accustomed to? The piece looks into that, as well as introduces us to a man who uses an old technique to capture the likeness of the modern day cowboy. The series of pictures he's taking will have an exhibition later this year.

Very creative, dark and edgy piece. Very well performed. I haven't heard anything like this on PRX. Rich layers are created with words and sound effects. In truth, I couldn't figure out why liked the piece, but I did. There's use of the 'f' word though, which made me wonder if the Toronto broadcast allowed it. Nevertheless, listen to it for a different attitude in radio production. Yes, I guess that's what I like about it, the attitude of the production.

Love of Hip Hop and poetry brings two people to Cafe Montage one night. The younger poet introduces himself to the older who has just wowed a crowd with his own poetry reading. What begins from then on is a relationship both inspiring and endearing. They eventually give birth to a new form of theatre while becoming very good friends. The style of the piece very much captured the heart of their story. I would say piece is good for Arts Education programs.