Piece Comment

Review of Southwest Side Stories: The Hot Place to Be


When I first hit play, I was expecting to listen to a cliché piece about a community that has rallied around a local park. Instead, I was surprised to hear a very touching, personal feature. The narrator does not pretend to be a spokeswoman for her community and talk in hyperbole. She tells it simply as it is (with enough detail to provide a general image) that yes, it’s a bad and dirty part of society, but hey, there are people who are happy here and that by itself makes it a great place. The piece is very personalized to the speaker, and although the audience may not directly relate with this feature, it can provoke a very interesting discussion on what is necessary in society to be happy. From a technical stand point, the narrator is usually clear, and the audio clips are properly used, when necessary. The piece is unfortunately plagued by a hissing air noise in the background, but this does not take away too much from the feature. Despite the hissing noise, the feature flows well, and it definitely is a heartwarming story about making the best of what people have. Just one listen may make many any one look at the simpler things in life.