Piece Comment

Review of A conversation with legendary singer/songwriter Janis Ian


Janis Ian is a great interview.

You know, there are just guests who know what is expected of them in an interview. They know their job is to get their agenda out, but not be lavish about themselves or the host. Janis knows what a good interview is and gives one wonderful experience in this segment.

The host has a sweet, but authoritative voice. The kind of voice PDs and GMs dream about having on their air. And the host knows what she wants to do and does it. Hosts have agendas too--never believe otherwise. It is the subtle, over time, detection by the listener that makes listeners crave the host--they have to figure out the mystery. It's like Lost..as long as you keep them guessing about what's going to happen next.

This host is prepared and asks some damn good questions. However, the host also states their own views on a variety of subject so clearly and forthrightly that the guest has to react to the host feelings rather than express their own in a way that is interesting to the listener. We dwell on the Lesbian thing and the minority as artist thing from the host's point of view when the guest has clearly stated that this is a layer, not a cause of their art. Sometimes a host must just move on.

The PRPD could do wonders for stations by including training sessions in the conference for our air staffs.

The guest is one of the most interesting and prolific songwriters of all time. Yet there are just two music cuts in the piece. Way too few to provide the texture and understanding of the guest. There were several times in the piece where I just couldn't wait for some music to accentuate the words. It never came.

Also, though the producer offers to replace the left in local station ID with a custom. It would be easier if it were just removed so stations could do that on the fly themselves.