It's been Twelve Years of Christmas since Sedaris gave to ME one squeaky elf recycling Miracle on 34th Street,'s drunken Santas, bratty kids, and obnoxious parents. Time for a new angle on the event – and here it is, with "Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut".
At T-minus seventy-two hours, producer Brendan Greeley braved a Brooklyn tiki bar for what must have been one hundred twenty long minutes, asking patrons about awful presents and holiday songs.
I'm not an uncritical fan of passing the microphone. The 90s torrent of unmemorable memoir, the Goths and vandals sweeping down onto the soundsets of Jerry and Oprah, tell the greatest stories that should never have been told. And certainly public radio hasn't been immune. Democracy makes lousy politics, and worser art. A pox on vox pop! – that explosion of words best left between the ears of the bemoaner.
To gain an exception, one must demonstrate stellar conception, execution, and production.
And "Zombie Hut"'s got it -- spot on.
Greeley's light heart and tight editing make a certain sense of our nonsensical traditions of giving and groaning.
The Voices of America – that is to say, Shoppers – deliver a short list of those things it is far, far better never to receive, harmonized by lubricated wassailing of some carols that, like our National Anthem, might better be left to the choir.
The product is a relieved smile. Every honest listener hears himself somewhere here, and this drop-in – if properly introed – will provide the perfect drivetime pickup for listeners packing too much heavy news.
Review of Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
Geo Beach
Posted on December 13, 2004 at 09:37 PM
At T-minus seventy-two hours, producer Brendan Greeley braved a Brooklyn tiki bar for what must have been one hundred twenty long minutes, asking patrons about awful presents and holiday songs.
I'm not an uncritical fan of passing the microphone. The 90s torrent of unmemorable memoir, the Goths and vandals sweeping down onto the soundsets of Jerry and Oprah, tell the greatest stories that should never have been told. And certainly public radio hasn't been immune. Democracy makes lousy politics, and worser art. A pox on vox pop! – that explosion of words best left between the ears of the bemoaner.
To gain an exception, one must demonstrate stellar conception, execution, and production.
And "Zombie Hut"'s got it -- spot on.
Greeley's light heart and tight editing make a certain sense of our nonsensical traditions of giving and groaning.
The Voices of America – that is to say, Shoppers – deliver a short list of those things it is far, far better never to receive, harmonized by lubricated wassailing of some carols that, like our National Anthem, might better be left to the choir.
The product is a relieved smile. Every honest listener hears himself somewhere here, and this drop-in – if properly introed – will provide the perfect drivetime pickup for listeners packing too much heavy news.