The idea of doing an hour-long radio piece on The Ring automatically gets high marks. This piece will be loved by those who already know the music, and I suspect it will pique the interest of those who listen to classical music but not very much Wagner. This is definitely a piece you want to hear on the radio just before the Ring cycle comes to town.
O.k., I wasn't expecting this. I was expecting some commentary, but I think this piece works like this: there is no narrator, but the music itself is the narrator (or maybe the critic). At first it was hard to listen because I thought the music was just background music, but you have to take it all in at once, which is not easy at first. After a few minutes I think I got the hang of it.
It starts with G. W. Bush speaking about stuff with Stevie Wonder in the background. Bush speaks mostly throughout the piece. There is also a clip of Clinton's speech at the Democratic convention this year (guess what music plays when Clinton is speaking! ha ha!) and some commentary from spectators at Bush's Urban League speech (I think, not completely sure).
Though this piece is only 17 minutes long, you could sell the soundtrack separately. It's got some old school, Stevie Wonder, 80s stuff, and even Public Enemy. Good stuff.
This was, surprisingly, a little more informative than I expected. The narrator talked extensively about demographics (race, geography, population) which was very good. However, the narrator talks really fast and is throwing out statistics faster than I can interpret them (maybe because of the limited time). A pretty good piece for what it is.
This sounds like an NPR clip. Siegel's delivery is excellent, though I've listened to her reports a zillion times before (so I might just be used to her excellence). The audio quality of this clip sounds better than average, which might reflect NPR's better recording equipment, but it does make this recording stand out more than others I've listened to on PRX.
Anyway, the piece itself is nice, light, and somewhat comic-- generally what I expected from the title, and the stuff I'm used to hearing on the lighter NPR afternoon shows. I think the quote at the end could have been stronger, though ("black will always be the new black").
This short piece is very neat. Anyway, I was hoping that the answer to the title would be 'yes' since I drink green tea occasionally. However. it turns out this piece is about the steps a librarian takes to research the question. The static references she has are inadequate, so she ends up searching research papers. Very nice. I would expect this show to be underrated generally, but it is something that many people should hear, especially because it shows the librarian consulting numerous resources. This in itself is useful for educating people about the research process, in my opinion.
Comments by Regis Smith
Comment for "The Ring and I: The Passion, The Myth, The Mania"
Regis Smith
Posted on January 02, 2007 at 05:37 AM | Permalink
Review of The Ring and I: The Passion, The Myth, The Mania
The idea of doing an hour-long radio piece on The Ring automatically gets high marks. This piece will be loved by those who already know the music, and I suspect it will pique the interest of those who listen to classical music but not very much Wagner. This is definitely a piece you want to hear on the radio just before the Ring cycle comes to town.
Comment for "George Dubya: An Old School Mix"
Regis Smith
Posted on September 19, 2004 at 02:38 PM | Permalink
Review of George Dubya: An Old School Mix
O.k., I wasn't expecting this. I was expecting some commentary, but I think this piece works like this: there is no narrator, but the music itself is the narrator (or maybe the critic). At first it was hard to listen because I thought the music was just background music, but you have to take it all in at once, which is not easy at first. After a few minutes I think I got the hang of it.
It starts with G. W. Bush speaking about stuff with Stevie Wonder in the background. Bush speaks mostly throughout the piece. There is also a clip of Clinton's speech at the Democratic convention this year (guess what music plays when Clinton is speaking! ha ha!) and some commentary from spectators at Bush's Urban League speech (I think, not completely sure).
Though this piece is only 17 minutes long, you could sell the soundtrack separately. It's got some old school, Stevie Wonder, 80s stuff, and even Public Enemy. Good stuff.
Comment for "The Economist Swing-State Reports: Florida"
Regis Smith
Posted on September 19, 2004 at 02:10 PM | Permalink
Review of The Economist Swing-State Reports: Florida
This was, surprisingly, a little more informative than I expected. The narrator talked extensively about demographics (race, geography, population) which was very good. However, the narrator talks really fast and is throwing out statistics faster than I can interpret them (maybe because of the limited time). A pretty good piece for what it is.
Comment for "The Attack on Black"
Regis Smith
Posted on September 19, 2004 at 02:00 PM | Permalink
Review of The Attack on Black
This sounds like an NPR clip. Siegel's delivery is excellent, though I've listened to her reports a zillion times before (so I might just be used to her excellence). The audio quality of this clip sounds better than average, which might reflect NPR's better recording equipment, but it does make this recording stand out more than others I've listened to on PRX.
Anyway, the piece itself is nice, light, and somewhat comic-- generally what I expected from the title, and the stuff I'm used to hearing on the lighter NPR afternoon shows. I think the quote at the end could have been stronger, though ("black will always be the new black").
Comment for "Ask the Librarian: Will green tea treat my high blood pressure?"
Regis Smith
Posted on September 19, 2004 at 01:40 PM | Permalink
Review of Ask the Librarian: Will green tea treat my high blood press
This short piece is very neat. Anyway, I was hoping that the answer to the title would be 'yes' since I drink green tea occasionally. However. it turns out this piece is about the steps a librarian takes to research the question. The static references she has are inadequate, so she ends up searching research papers. Very nice. I would expect this show to be underrated generally, but it is something that many people should hear, especially because it shows the librarian consulting numerous resources. This in itself is useful for educating people about the research process, in my opinion.