For folks with a passing interest in John Denver, this program is fine. It's like "John Denver's Greatest Hits" with some information about his life and a few anecdotes thrown in. For folks who know Denver's music and revere his memory, there isn't much new here.
Martin Luther King speech excerpts set to music. This really grabbed me, expecially the speeches I'd never heard. An interesting way to experience history.
This is a fun program about a Dutch musician who loves to make music for/with children and to play his barrel organ on his boat on the canals of Amsterdam. It's an inspirational story that includes joyful music and a Spike Jones-like moment about halfway in. We're going to schedule it to run the week of Valentine's Day.
A chilling program. I like the use of a lobotomy patient to host the program. It probably opened doors to fellow lobotomy patients and their families. It certainly brought an intimacy to a story about a sterile medical procedure. Many of us know the term "lobotomy"; this makes it all so terribly real.
I've never been a big Sam Cooke follower, although I do enjoy his music. This provided a nice history lesson, peppered with some of Sam's best. I was struck by two things: (1) Sam was a smart cookie (pardon the pun) and (2) he was a great song writer (you'll be surprised by how many well-known songs were penned by Cooke). We'll be scheduling this program very soon.
I like this program a lot. That's due, in part, to the fact that I love this album. I love the power and the layers of the title track. I love some of the lesser known songs. It wasn't the narrative parts or the interviews that kept my attention, it was the music, plain and simple. I hummed songs from "Born to Run" for days afterward. Talk about the ultimate "driveway moment."
This program is about life in a strip club, but there isn't much erotic about it. It's mostly about the sad lives of many of the men who frequent them and about the women who are paid to please them. Many of these men are total jerks. Many of the women have become hardened to the situation they're in. This is an interesting and realistic look at a subject that's titillating on the surface (pardon the pun), but which is deep and dark when you dig into it.
As a man, I certainly have no clue about being on the receiving end of a society's fixation with breasts. Nancy Lee and her producer, Yvonne Gall, offer a very real lesson about Nancy's physical, emotional and social battle with her ballooning breasts and deflating psyche, then her deflating breasts and ballooning psyche. They use music to set the tone, at times angry ("Suck my left one!") and then finally happy and content. Their audio montage of the women saying the names we give to breasts is very effective. This certainly gave me plenty to think about.
This piece reminds me of an HBO documentary I saw recently. It puts a real, human face on an industry many prefer to ignore. There are a few characters who, although we spend only a minute or two with them, we actually come to care about them. The piece gives us just enough to get interested in, without dwelling too long.
Comment for
"Where Is Sean Penn When We Need Him?" (deleted)
Review of Where Is Sean Penn When We Need Him? (deleted)
Hmmm...I appreciate the sentiment, the producer has a nice voice and he writes reasonably well, but I thought the point was not particularly original. In fact, dissing Katie and Tom is predictably public radio and rather elitist. I agree with the commentator's point, but I thought something with a clever twist would have me nodding my head, not shaking it.
To me, the best thing about this is it's an honest message from son to mother, and that's a good thing. It's a way for parents like me to understand what our teenagers are thinking and feeling. The piece didn't evoke a lot of emotion in me, but I appreciate the intent.
What a sweet piece! The cragginess of his voice, the little twist that his wife has Alzheimers, the little production touches that add, but don't go overboard.
All I can say is, after listening to this, I only hope that, if I get into a similar situation, I'm half the husband Ed is.
Comments by Doug Nadvornick
Comment for "JOHN DENVER: BACK HOME AGAIN"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on November 20, 2007 at 06:25 PM | Permalink
Review of JOHN DENVER: BACK HOME AGAIN
For folks with a passing interest in John Denver, this program is fine. It's like "John Denver's Greatest Hits" with some information about his life and a few anecdotes thrown in. For folks who know Denver's music and revere his memory, there isn't much new here.
Comment for "A Shortcut To The Mountaintop"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on January 20, 2006 at 01:32 PM | Permalink
Review of A Shortcut To The Mountaintop
Martin Luther King speech excerpts set to music. This really grabbed me, expecially the speeches I'd never heard. An interesting way to experience history.
Comment for "RN Documentary: The Music Boat Man"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on January 20, 2006 at 01:10 PM | Permalink
Review of RN Documentary: The Music Boat Man
This is a fun program about a Dutch musician who loves to make music for/with children and to play his barrel organ on his boat on the canals of Amsterdam. It's an inspirational story that includes joyful music and a Spike Jones-like moment about halfway in. We're going to schedule it to run the week of Valentine's Day.
Comment for "My Lobotomy"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on December 13, 2005 at 08:59 AM | Permalink
Review of My Lobotomy
A chilling program. I like the use of a lobotomy patient to host the program. It probably opened doors to fellow lobotomy patients and their families. It certainly brought an intimacy to a story about a sterile medical procedure. Many of us know the term "lobotomy"; this makes it all so terribly real.
Comment for "Sam Cooke: Bring it on Home to Me"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on December 13, 2005 at 08:34 AM | Permalink
Review of Sam Cooke: Bring it on Home to Me
I've never been a big Sam Cooke follower, although I do enjoy his music. This provided a nice history lesson, peppered with some of Sam's best. I was struck by two things: (1) Sam was a smart cookie (pardon the pun) and (2) he was a great song writer (you'll be surprised by how many well-known songs were penned by Cooke). We'll be scheduling this program very soon.
Comment for "Bruce Springsteen: The Story of Born to Run"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on November 14, 2005 at 12:42 PM | Permalink
Review of Bruce Springsteen: The Story of Born to Run
I like this program a lot. That's due, in part, to the fact that I love this album. I love the power and the layers of the title track. I love some of the lesser known songs. It wasn't the narrative parts or the interviews that kept my attention, it was the music, plain and simple. I hummed songs from "Born to Run" for days afterward. Talk about the ultimate "driveway moment."
Comment for "Strip Club USA Part One"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on November 10, 2005 at 02:36 PM | Permalink
Review of Strip Club USA Part One
This program is about life in a strip club, but there isn't much erotic about it. It's mostly about the sad lives of many of the men who frequent them and about the women who are paid to please them. Many of these men are total jerks. Many of the women have become hardened to the situation they're in. This is an interesting and realistic look at a subject that's titillating on the surface (pardon the pun), but which is deep and dark when you dig into it.
Comment for "My Body"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on November 10, 2005 at 08:32 AM | Permalink
Review of My Body
As a man, I certainly have no clue about being on the receiving end of a society's fixation with breasts. Nancy Lee and her producer, Yvonne Gall, offer a very real lesson about Nancy's physical, emotional and social battle with her ballooning breasts and deflating psyche, then her deflating breasts and ballooning psyche. They use music to set the tone, at times angry ("Suck my left one!") and then finally happy and content. Their audio montage of the women saying the names we give to breasts is very effective. This certainly gave me plenty to think about.
Comment for "Finding Love in a Nevada Brothel"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on November 10, 2005 at 08:06 AM | Permalink
Review of Finding Love in a Nevada Brothel
This piece reminds me of an HBO documentary I saw recently. It puts a real, human face on an industry many prefer to ignore. There are a few characters who, although we spend only a minute or two with them, we actually come to care about them. The piece gives us just enough to get interested in, without dwelling too long.
Comment for "Where Is Sean Penn When We Need Him?" (deleted)
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on August 01, 2005 at 06:55 PM
Review of Where Is Sean Penn When We Need Him? (deleted)
Hmmm...I appreciate the sentiment, the producer has a nice voice and he writes reasonably well, but I thought the point was not particularly original. In fact, dissing Katie and Tom is predictably public radio and rather elitist. I agree with the commentator's point, but I thought something with a clever twist would have me nodding my head, not shaking it.
Comment for "Dear Mom: I Joined the Marines"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on August 01, 2005 at 06:47 PM | Permalink
Review of Dear Mom: I Joined the Marines
To me, the best thing about this is it's an honest message from son to mother, and that's a good thing. It's a way for parents like me to understand what our teenagers are thinking and feeling. The piece didn't evoke a lot of emotion in me, but I appreciate the intent.
Comment for "Hard to Say"
Doug Nadvornick
Posted on July 25, 2005 at 04:16 PM | Permalink
Review of Hard to Say
What a sweet piece! The cragginess of his voice, the little twist that his wife has Alzheimers, the little production touches that add, but don't go overboard.
All I can say is, after listening to this, I only hope that, if I get into a similar situation, I'm half the husband Ed is.