Tales From the Crypt? Men in what look like spacesuits, a stronghold, eerie echoes, basements, black outfits, total darkness...and talking points.
Ben Shaw lets us hear the bustling "political red carpet" before, during and after the State of the Union. This is an interesting, informal look at one of the most formal political events. An enjoyable listen.
"Nancy's ears never disengage". Nancy Scott is a sound artist at Spindle Works Co-Op in Brunswick, Maine that pays close attention to the sounds that most of us try not to notice.
She records the kinds of sounds that make up the greater portion of most of our days, the unpretty sounds, the scraping, humming, clicking noises that we usually filter out. The sounds that are the byproducts of the "useful" objects in our lives and homes.
Producer Sam Greenspan tells Nancy's story with compassion, and appropriately fills the piece with environmental sounds - a creaking door, typing, passing cars. Choosing to continue the garage door hum after the narration stops and then bring up Nancy's whispered advice "listen, listen" made a great ending to the piece, in my opinion.
Comment for
"Bad Teeth at King Drew Dental Clinic" (deleted)
Review of Bad Teeth at King Drew Dental Clinic (deleted)
If the thought of going to the dentist makes you wince, think of the pain suffered by people with dental problems who need to go to the dentist but can't afford to. Ayala Ben-Yehuda visits Los Angeles' King/Drew Medical Center, an "institution of last resort" for many without dental insurance. Ben-Yehuda interviews patients about a subject that many people are not comfortable talking about, and shows how dental problems can affect many aspects of patients' lives. Dental Director Joseph McCorder describes the "barrier of financial access" that causes relatively minor problems to develop into more serious dental issues.
There is a variety of voices in this piece. You can hear the pain in some of the voices, but there is also some laughter. There is good ambient sound throughout the piece, and of course there's the sound of the drill... For different reasons, this piece can be hard to listen to sometimes, but like going to the dentist (if you can afford to), you'll be better for it.
An interesting piece that raises questions about the stewardship of the past, and the role language plays in defining a people and their beliefs.
Generations of church goers in the mountain village of Yaganiza, Mexico have prayed to God in a language they don't understand. Church services are held in Spanish, while most of the congregants speak only the indigenous language Zapoteco. Seven years ago American Rebecca Long started a project to translate the New Testament into Zapoteco with the help of members of the Yaganiza's growing Evangelical church. However, as producer Marianne McCune illustrates, this seemingly positive act is not without controversy in this traditionally Catholic community.
Long has also translated and collected "beautiful texts", and "stories, songs and riddles" of this primarily-spoken language, many of which have gone unread either because of illiteracy, or skepticism of Long's ability to understand the people of Yaganiza as an outsider. One interviewee speaks of the "more natural ... different way of understanding the language" that a native speaker has, and tells of a "famous [indigenous] teacher who's given his life to translating in Zapoteco, but even he still hasn't figured out how to define the word God."
McCune does an excellent job of providing concrete background, social/religious context and atmosphere in this piece where different people are trying to describe one of our most abstract concepts. McCune shows us that Long's opponents and supporters may be using identical words, but like the tone pairs of the Zapotec language, the difference is in the tone.
Comments by peter higgins
Comment for "Backstage At The State of the Union-2007"
peter higgins
Posted on January 24, 2007 at 02:26 PM | Permalink
Review of Backstage At The State of the Union-2007
Tales From the Crypt? Men in what look like spacesuits, a stronghold, eerie echoes, basements, black outfits, total darkness...and talking points.
Ben Shaw lets us hear the bustling "political red carpet" before, during and after the State of the Union. This is an interesting, informal look at one of the most formal political events. An enjoyable listen.
Comment for "The Sonic World of Nancy Scott"
peter higgins
Posted on January 23, 2007 at 06:01 PM | Permalink
Review of The Sonic World of Nancy Scott
"Nancy's ears never disengage". Nancy Scott is a sound artist at Spindle Works Co-Op in Brunswick, Maine that pays close attention to the sounds that most of us try not to notice.
She records the kinds of sounds that make up the greater portion of most of our days, the unpretty sounds, the scraping, humming, clicking noises that we usually filter out. The sounds that are the byproducts of the "useful" objects in our lives and homes.
Producer Sam Greenspan tells Nancy's story with compassion, and appropriately fills the piece with environmental sounds - a creaking door, typing, passing cars. Choosing to continue the garage door hum after the narration stops and then bring up Nancy's whispered advice "listen, listen" made a great ending to the piece, in my opinion.
Comment for "Bad Teeth at King Drew Dental Clinic" (deleted)
peter higgins
Posted on January 23, 2007 at 03:41 PM
Review of Bad Teeth at King Drew Dental Clinic (deleted)
If the thought of going to the dentist makes you wince, think of the pain suffered by people with dental problems who need to go to the dentist but can't afford to. Ayala Ben-Yehuda visits Los Angeles' King/Drew Medical Center, an "institution of last resort" for many without dental insurance. Ben-Yehuda interviews patients about a subject that many people are not comfortable talking about, and shows how dental problems can affect many aspects of patients' lives. Dental Director Joseph McCorder describes the "barrier of financial access" that causes relatively minor problems to develop into more serious dental issues.
There is a variety of voices in this piece. You can hear the pain in some of the voices, but there is also some laughter. There is good ambient sound throughout the piece, and of course there's the sound of the drill... For different reasons, this piece can be hard to listen to sometimes, but like going to the dentist (if you can afford to), you'll be better for it.
Comment for "The Zapotec Bible"
peter higgins
Posted on January 22, 2007 at 06:07 PM | Permalink
Review of The Zapotec Bible
An interesting piece that raises questions about the stewardship of the past, and the role language plays in defining a people and their beliefs.
Generations of church goers in the mountain village of Yaganiza, Mexico have prayed to God in a language they don't understand. Church services are held in Spanish, while most of the congregants speak only the indigenous language Zapoteco. Seven years ago American Rebecca Long started a project to translate the New Testament into Zapoteco with the help of members of the Yaganiza's growing Evangelical church. However, as producer Marianne McCune illustrates, this seemingly positive act is not without controversy in this traditionally Catholic community.
Long has also translated and collected "beautiful texts", and "stories, songs and riddles" of this primarily-spoken language, many of which have gone unread either because of illiteracy, or skepticism of Long's ability to understand the people of Yaganiza as an outsider. One interviewee speaks of the "more natural ... different way of understanding the language" that a native speaker has, and tells of a "famous [indigenous] teacher who's given his life to translating in Zapoteco, but even he still hasn't figured out how to define the word God."
McCune does an excellent job of providing concrete background, social/religious context and atmosphere in this piece where different people are trying to describe one of our most abstract concepts. McCune shows us that Long's opponents and supporters may be using identical words, but like the tone pairs of the Zapotec language, the difference is in the tone.