Probably a much better picture of the real holidays than the sweet stuff so many ( like me ) will submit.
It's quirky and a little tipsy and funny to listen to.
Absolutely terrific, esp. for those who worry about the saccarine overload of holiday programming. PDs: Your challenge: morning drive or evening drive? My advice? Evening drive. Listeners won't be scalding themselves with hot coffee and blaming it on you for offering such high-times outside-the-box programming.
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.
Another tone: intimate, especially that. How many people are you going to get to tell you about their worst Christmas gift or sing for you if you bring in a camera? But, they do for radio. This piece definitely has a place on PR. I can hear it on Day to Day or ME somewhere around mid-December. I hope it gets tons of play, and that the idea is frequently repeated with different topics. As a series, this could be a lot of fun, and could be done in a mall, a park, on the bus, an airplane... If you are a PD, I recommend you put a note in your day planner for about Dec. 15th to come find this piece again.
pure madness. I felt very much at home in this tumble and while it seems pure madness there is some very clever revealment about character and the species. (except for maybe the crotchless reference..) Excellent fare for the shopping holiday season , if nothing else but to remind people what NOT to give. I'll put this in my calendar for next year's show.
Comments for Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
Produced by Brendan Greeley
Other pieces by Brendan Greeley
Rating Summary
5 comments
Cheryl-Anne Millsap
Posted on December 03, 2005 at 06:51 AM | Permalink
Review of Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
Probably a much better picture of the real holidays than the sweet stuff so many ( like me ) will submit.
It's quirky and a little tipsy and funny to listen to.
Jackson Braider
Posted on December 14, 2004 at 06:53 AM | Permalink
Review of Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
Absolutely terrific, esp. for those who worry about the saccarine overload of holiday programming. PDs: Your challenge: morning drive or evening drive? My advice? Evening drive. Listeners won't be scalding themselves with hot coffee and blaming it on you for offering such high-times outside-the-box programming.
Geo Beach
Posted on December 13, 2004 at 09:37 PM | Permalink
Review of 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.
Hans Anderson
Posted on June 08, 2004 at 11:29 AM | Permalink
Review of Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
Another tone: intimate, especially that. How many people are you going to get to tell you about their worst Christmas gift or sing for you if you bring in a camera? But, they do for radio. This piece definitely has a place on PR. I can hear it on Day to Day or ME somewhere around mid-December. I hope it gets tons of play, and that the idea is frequently repeated with different topics. As a series, this could be a lot of fun, and could be done in a mall, a park, on the bus, an airplane... If you are a PD, I recommend you put a note in your day planner for about Dec. 15th to come find this piece again.
[redacted]
Posted on June 01, 2004 at 11:27 AM | Permalink
Review of Three Days Before Christmas in the Zombie Hut
pure madness. I felt very much at home in this tumble and while it seems pure madness there is some very clever revealment about character and the species. (except for maybe the crotchless reference..) Excellent fare for the shopping holiday season , if nothing else but to remind people what NOT to give. I'll put this in my calendar for next year's show.