Hillary's got a great voice and I don't just mean her vocals. The intro is beautifully crafted, setting us up for the actualities. I think the music was just a little too new agey, but that's personal preference. "Ripple" would have worked well.
That beach in Spain with all those flat rocks comes to life with Jerry's easy going narrative.
Skipping stones. Great piece.
This is such a gratifying portrait and it does what all effective portraits do: use one pixle of someone's being to create a larger, more textured picture. In understanding Jerry's compulsion to skip rocks we get a renewed understanding of psychology, a renwed appreciation for the good old human spirit and renewed faith in the mysterious ways in which this world works. The simplicity of the production is nice. This is elegantly edited: we are allowed to take in a lot of profundity without being told that it is profound. If you have the time broadcast this, it's timeless.
Definitely TAL-ish -- I heard it on TAL a couple of weeks ago. So, obviously a piece with those credentials is pretty good. I will probably always remember this piece, too, because of what drove the guy from where he started skipping rocks, why he started, and specifically because he became so good at it. I thought to try to contact him because I have a secret rock-skipping place, now about 1500 miles away, with loads of flat, circular, smooth rocks and best of all, an up-river angle that serves as a cheat. You can skip rocks almost in place.
But I digress. I think PD's are safe with anything Hillary Frank feels comfortable putting out there, and especially if it's aired nationally on TAL. So you could go in blind here and be okay, but don't, it's an excellent piece that is fun to listen to.
Comments for The Rocks at Rock Bottom
Produced by Hillary Frank
Other pieces by Hillary Frank
Rating Summary
3 comments
Charles McGuigan
Posted on April 26, 2009 at 06:58 AM | Permalink
Review of the Rocks at Rock Bottom
Hillary's got a great voice and I don't just mean her vocals. The intro is beautifully crafted, setting us up for the actualities. I think the music was just a little too new agey, but that's personal preference. "Ripple" would have worked well.
That beach in Spain with all those flat rocks comes to life with Jerry's easy going narrative.
Skipping stones. Great piece.
Chelsea Merz
Posted on June 02, 2004 at 10:54 AM | Permalink
Review of The Rocks at Rock Bottom
This is such a gratifying portrait and it does what all effective portraits do: use one pixle of someone's being to create a larger, more textured picture. In understanding Jerry's compulsion to skip rocks we get a renewed understanding of psychology, a renwed appreciation for the good old human spirit and renewed faith in the mysterious ways in which this world works. The simplicity of the production is nice. This is elegantly edited: we are allowed to take in a lot of profundity without being told that it is profound. If you have the time broadcast this, it's timeless.
Hans Anderson
Posted on May 26, 2004 at 07:14 AM | Permalink
Review of The Rocks at Rock Bottom
But I digress. I think PD's are safe with anything Hillary Frank feels comfortable putting out there, and especially if it's aired nationally on TAL. So you could go in blind here and be okay, but don't, it's an excellent piece that is fun to listen to.