This short piece features an inspirational garbage collector with an altogether winning personality. Cleanly produced and filled with rich sounds, it entertains even as it pokes holes in our stereotypes about glum proletarians at the bottom of the industrial food chain. This man seems to be happier and better adjusted than most of the smartly dressed executives who pass him on the streets every day. Plus, this guy can sing; he ought to get a contract out of this piece!
This is a brilliant piece. Manipulated sound, beautifully recorded and arranged, briefly surrounds the listener with fantastic, strangely believable syncopation before receding into the normal rhythms of the subway. It's a riveting two minutes of audio that bears repeated listening. The piece opens with reality and quickly heightens that reality; this is magic realism for radio.
This piece takes us into the weird parallel universe of serious gamers through an amusing story showing the sometimes blurred lines between "virtual" and "reality." The greatest strength of the piece is its storyteller, himself a former gaming addict, who relates his tale with verve and relish. I think the piece would benefit from substantial editing for length; cutting some of the less important details would speed up the pace of the story and make it more engaging. I also think the piece might work better without the additional narrator; at the very least, he should consider using a lighter narrative touch more in keeping with the offbeat feel of the story. Still, the piece is cleanly produced and silly enough to be scary. I laughed aloud when the narrator said, ten minutes into the story, "This is where things start to get a little strange." That was ten bizarre minutes too late.
Comments by Andrew Witmer
Comment for "Singing Sanitation Worker"
Andrew Witmer
Posted on October 03, 2004 at 02:52 PM | Permalink
Review of Singing Sanitation Worker
This short piece features an inspirational garbage collector with an altogether winning personality. Cleanly produced and filled with rich sounds, it entertains even as it pokes holes in our stereotypes about glum proletarians at the bottom of the industrial food chain. This man seems to be happier and better adjusted than most of the smartly dressed executives who pass him on the streets every day. Plus, this guy can sing; he ought to get a contract out of this piece!
Comment for "Subway Symphony"
Andrew Witmer
Posted on September 27, 2004 at 05:12 PM | Permalink
Review of Subway Symphony
This is a brilliant piece. Manipulated sound, beautifully recorded and arranged, briefly surrounds the listener with fantastic, strangely believable syncopation before receding into the normal rhythms of the subway. It's a riveting two minutes of audio that bears repeated listening. The piece opens with reality and quickly heightens that reality; this is magic realism for radio.
Comment for "A Disturbance in the Force"
Andrew Witmer
Posted on September 22, 2004 at 06:17 PM | Permalink
Review of A Disturbance in the Force
This piece takes us into the weird parallel universe of serious gamers through an amusing story showing the sometimes blurred lines between "virtual" and "reality." The greatest strength of the piece is its storyteller, himself a former gaming addict, who relates his tale with verve and relish. I think the piece would benefit from substantial editing for length; cutting some of the less important details would speed up the pace of the story and make it more engaging. I also think the piece might work better without the additional narrator; at the very least, he should consider using a lighter narrative touch more in keeping with the offbeat feel of the story. Still, the piece is cleanly produced and silly enough to be scary. I laughed aloud when the narrator said, ten minutes into the story, "This is where things start to get a little strange." That was ten bizarre minutes too late.