Hands down some of the best radio I have heard in the past year. A chorus of wonderful American voices blend with a haunting song to paint a vivid picture of a forgotten bird and a forgotten town.
I've always liked Sufjan's music but this song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up...its just chilling. It perfectly compliments the acts which tell a kind of ghost story about a "woodpecker on steroids", a "pterodactyl" that people have caught glimpses of here and there....while fishing, walking through the woods.
I appreciate the attitude the residents of Brinkley bring to this feature-- joy, humor, history...capitalist zeal! It all just comes together in a way that I can completely imagine what the town looks like..."its flat, you can see forever", the main street, the BBQ, the hair salon, the bayou.
What a slam dunk of an idea. Music meet storytelling--storytelling meet radio. Someone should give the folks at Long Haul funding to keep doing more of this.
Summary: An innovative story about the rediscovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker in Brinkley, Arkansas that blends interviews and an original song by Sufjan Stevens.
Review of The Lord God Bird
Adam Allington
Posted on August 25, 2005 at 09:27 AM
Hands down some of the best radio I have heard in the past year. A chorus of wonderful American voices blend with a haunting song to paint a vivid picture of a forgotten bird and a forgotten town.
I've always liked Sufjan's music but this song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up...its just chilling. It perfectly compliments the acts which tell a kind of ghost story about a "woodpecker on steroids", a "pterodactyl" that people have caught glimpses of here and there....while fishing, walking through the woods.
I appreciate the attitude the residents of Brinkley bring to this feature-- joy, humor, history...capitalist zeal! It all just comes together in a way that I can completely imagine what the town looks like..."its flat, you can see forever", the main street, the BBQ, the hair salon, the bayou.
What a slam dunk of an idea. Music meet storytelling--storytelling meet radio. Someone should give the folks at Long Haul funding to keep doing more of this.