Hello Election Year!

Emily posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 | Uncategorized | No Comments

It was 2005. Melissa Robbins Allison was producing a story about games — the game of being a drug dealer, a high school student, a matchmaker — when she interviewed Todd. “Todd Elmer was a new Facebook friend of a friend….  All I knew when I sat down to do the interview was that he was a lawyer, willing to talk about the game of being a lawyer.” But Melissa ended up scrapping hours of tape — the high school student, the exotic dancer, the drug dealer. Todd’s story was just too powerful.

In the 2000 presidential election, Todd had been a lawyer for the Gore campaign, and represented the Democratic party in the eventual recount of ballots in Florida. “It seemed like he was ready to tell this story, like he was in a real moment of personal transition.  And it just poured out of him.” Allison interwove his personal story from that contested election with clips from James Carse reading his book, “Finite and Infinite Games,” creating a sound collage which illuminates the emotional and theoretical complexities of political elections.

Now in rotation: this highly recommended listen!

A Channel from Brain to Heart.

Emily posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 | cool, music, sound, stories, Uncategorized | No Comments

Earlier this week all of we had the wonderful experience of reading this email:

“Here I am, trying, during my workday, to NOT think about remix radio, but I’m hooked. Somewhere I read an article referring to the programming as “driveway moments” and I thought that meant, perhaps, that everyone was sitting in their cars in their driveways, as I do, with the radio on after work because they couldn’t interrupt their PRX listening and go home. The stories and voices you bring to your listeners are inspiring, enlightening, touching, and so full of truth, or I guess I mean honesty. I am a bundle of resonance. I plan to retire next June and now I think I know what I want to do when I grow up. Love you guys. Thanks for opening a new channel between my brain and my heart.”

We were like whoa. Opening a new channel between the brain and the heart? That is the nicest things anyone has ever said to us! But it’s hardly us programmers who deserve these kudos. It’s the incredible talent we showcase on Remix. Whether it’s one of New Hampshire Public Radio’s expert hosts interviewing an NPR music critic unknown details of John Lennon’s life, or producer Jason Samilski creating a new kind of poetic landscape with his own voice, thoughts, and original banjo and accordian music — good radio does, somehow, put our brains in touch with our hearts.

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Hear two new pieces, remixed in just last week:

And WALE, a radio poem supported by original music, produced by new PRX producer, Jason Samilski. Jason is a Toronto-based writer and sound producer who works in radio plays, music, and short stories. Listen:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Bath image by Emanuela Franchini, Desert image by Jason Samilski.

Tags: beatles, lennon, listener feedback, poetry

The Hidden World of Girls with Tina Fey

Roman posted on Saturday, December 10th, 2011 | shows, stories | No Comments

Now in heavy rotation: The Hidden World of Girls from The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva). Do I even need to tell you how great this is? If you hear one minute of it, you might as well give up on doing anything else until it’s over.

One Hello World: The album

Roman posted on Thursday, December 1st, 2011 | cool, music, sound | 1 Comment

One Hello World is the kind of audio project for which Remix was built. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love playing great public radio stories (old and new) and giving them the attention they deserve, but there’s something special about finding something completely new, that was never meant for public radio, and putting it on the air.

If you’re a regular listener to Remix, you’ve heard One Hello World, but in case you don’t know, the project invites regular people from all over the country to call 316-247-0421 and share their intimate thoughts and experiences. One Hello World then composes a soundtrack to the voicemail and posts it on a tumblr for the world to hear. It’s a true open line of communication that is supportive in an extremely creative and inventive way. The musical score works to amplify the caller’s personal perspective and present it in a forum that is free from judgment. I find the whole project quite remarkable.

Recently, the One Hello World maestro has revealed himself and he’s releasing the best of OHW as an album. He’s funding it through Kickstarter. Here’s his pitch:

Plus, One Hello World just sent me the entire catalog of songs! Stay tuned for new tracks on Remix.

Guest blogpost from Catie Talarski!

Emily posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Catie Talarski is Senior Producer for “Where We Live” at WNPR in Connecticut. She is also a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Catie recently produced a documentary that pulls you straight into the everyday, emotional, and existential realities of two adults with Cystic Fibrosis. Have a listen, and read about her journey making this piece.

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Before I worked in radio, I worked at the pulmonary clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston. That was where I met Brian Sercus, who was an adult CF patient. He was funny and had a lot of tattoos. Naturally, we became friends. Two years ago, his CF took a turn for the worse, forcing him to move home to New Jersey. I planned to visit him and wanted to record some of our conversations – about his life, living with the disease, and his decision not to pursue a lung transplant. At that point I had no idea what direction this would go, it just seemed important to do. And Brian agreed to be interviewed.

When I talked to one of the pulmonary doctors at CHB about my conversations with Brian, he suggested I also interview another one of his patients. “They both have such incredible insight into their plight and both are prolific writers,” he wrote in an email. “I think you should consider interviewing both of them to better understand their thought process.” And so I met Beth Peters. At the time, both Beth and Brian had blogs: Cystic Gal and A Sercus Life.

From there, the story started taking shape. Two 29-year-olds, both at the end stage of a chronic disease. One choosing transplant, one not. I wanted to explore this decision process. I spent more than a year documenting Beth and Brian through personal interviews and audio diaries. After Beth’s transplant, I interviewed her and her doctor together. Because Beth and Brian have CF, they couldn’t meet in person. I set up and recorded a “meeting” over the phone. I interviewed Brian’s mom, and his physical therapist. I was envisioning a very personal, non-narrated piece, so I wanted to have as much tape as possible. The reason I didn’t narrate was because I didn’t want my friendship with Brian to get in the way of the story. Beth and Brian are incredibly thoughtful and eloquent. I wanted to let them talk.

This was my first long-form documentary incorporating music. The production was very experimental. I created a story arc, cut up my transcriptions, organized them into themes, and did a lot of sitting on the floor surrounded by strips of paper.

This was an emotional project for me, partly because it was hard to document Brian’s failing health. As a 29-year-old myself, I spent a lot of time thinking about my own mortality. I was continuously inspired by Beth and Brian, and so grateful they were willing to share their stories.

Throughout my conversations with Brian, he was clear about not wanting to gamble on a transplant. As I was finishing up the documentary, Beth had her new lungs and was optimistic about her future. Brian’s health was continuing to decline. I thought the story would end with a question mark for Brian. But at his 30th birthday party, he announced that he had changed his mind. He wanted new lungs. Along with everyone else there, I was shocked, and ecstatic for him. His decision changed how the story would end. There was no longer a question mark. I went back to New Jersey for a final interview.

“Four Failing Lungs” aired on WNPR on Beth’s one year “transplant anniversary.”Brian passed away three weeks later, in the hospital waiting for new lungs.

I have to mention the documentary “My So-Called Lungs” produced by Radio Diaries. It’s about Laura Rothenberg, a college student with CF who gets a lung transplant. It is intimate and powerful and was always in the back of my mind as I was putting this together. I questioned whether what I was trying to do had sort of already been done. This past weekend I visited Brian’s mom, and we were talking about the episode of “Hearing Voices” that paired my documentary with “My So-Called Lungs.” She told me the show had special meaning for her because Brian and Laura had been friends. They had the same doctor in New York City, and would spend time together in the hospital (back when CF kids could do that.) I love that they knew each other. It is a small world we live in, and there are so many stories that deserve to be told.

Listens to Look Out For

Emily posted on Friday, October 28th, 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Lots of luscious new listens are rotating their way through the Remix stream this week, including two doozies you just can’t miss.

1. In honor of the late Norman Corwin, a documentary about his One World Flight by his long-time colleague, Mary Beth Kirchner.

2. When Annie Correal was 19, her Colombian father was kidnapped by the FARC and kept in 38 places, for a long time alone with only guards and a radio. In this piece, Annie goes to Colombia to interview her father, and to visit the radio station where her family broadcast messages to their missing loved one.

Read Book Write Song

Emily posted on Thursday, October 20th, 2011 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

When bassist Geoff Larson moved to Brooklyn, NY he discovered the Bushwick Book Club, a monthly gathering for songwriters and their admirers to share songs inspired by books. When Geoff moved to Seattle, he recreated the thing he loved with the Bushwick Book Club Seattle. Lucky for you and me, Geoff is also producing this delightful bookclub podcast, which ties together a singer’s music and musings on a particular piece of literature. As of this month, the Bushwick Book Club Seattle Presents can now be heard on Public Radio Remix. Have a listen!

Pressing Play May Stop Time

Emily posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Beware: pressing play may stop time.
All In Time by Sarah Boothroyd

The first time I heard Sarah Boothroyd’s All In Time, I was at work updating databases, responding to emails and the like. But within the first minute, that had melted away. This thing needed all of my attention. It asked to be luxuriated in. Experienced fully. I sat back in my chair.

After listening a couple times, I had some questions for Sarah, the producer. She kindly responded, creating the following guest-post. She started with a recipe.

Where are all of these sounds coming from and how did you put them together?

Preparation time: several weeks

This recipe makes 25 minutes

Ingredients:

3 minutes Clips from CBS Radio Mystery Theatre episodes
6 minutes Clips from Physics Maven, Peter Watson
11 minutes Field Recordings (of clocks, newscasts, doors, piano, intergalactic blasts)
5 minutes Clips from Sarah Boothroyd and Family

Instructions:

1.  Sift through online scripts of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre episodes to find programs about time travel.  Contact copyright owner and plead for use of specific clips.  Once permission is obtained, trim downloaded clips.  Thoroughly clean clips, removing hiss and extraneous noise.  Set aside.

2.  Conduct initial interview with articulate professor who teaches courses on time.  Log tape.  Write follow-up questions.  Conduct second interview.  Log tape.  Write follow-up questions.  Conduct third interview.  Log tape.  (Note: these clips form the backbone of the piece, so careful collection is essential.)  Set aside clips.  Arrange and edit logged tape into paper script, along with rough ideas for sound treatment.  Update script as ideas arise.

3.  Visit elderly watch repairman who has over 300 clocks in his home.  Make recordings, edit them, and place in folder.  In a separate folder, place relevant field recordings, sound effects and musical clips.  (Some recordings will be home-made, some will be Creative Commons or Public Domain.)

4.  Import the above ingredients into a large editing session, as laid out in the rough paper script.  (Don’t worry if mix is fairly lumpy at this stage).  Divide this 25-minute master editing session into eight smaller editing sessions.  Work on each of these eight ‘chapters’ individually, in chronological sequence.  (Note: at this point you may choose to add Clips from Sarah Boothroyd and Family to enhance flavor and improve consistency.)  Continue to stir, lightly pound, mash, and blend until desired texture is attained.  Remove nonessential bits.  Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Best served with headphones or via octophonic speaker set-up.

What inspired these 25 minutes?

I’m not sure which of the three light-bulb-flashes-of-inspiration listed below preceded which in The Grand Causal Chain.  Perhaps each of the following transpired simultaneously in three parallel but conjoined universes…

The pragmatic answer:

I was inspired by the chance to win a free trip to Paris!

In July 2010, I came across this tantalizing call for submissions from La Muse En Circuit in Paris.  I sent in a proposal, crossed my fingers, and was notified in September that I had hit the Radio Art Jackpot.  From that moment until my February 2011 deadline I was inspired by (‘driven [very hard] by’ is more accurate) a crushing fear of producing something embarrassingly crappy and/or missing the deadline.  (Thank you, Fear: sometimes you are a marvelous motivator.)

The intellectual answer:

I was strolling around Project Gutenberg, when I was suddenly ensnared in The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Soon after, I found myself building a tower of library books about time travel, parallel universes, black holes, and space-time.  I became increasingly enthusiastic about the overlap between science fact and science fiction.  I started daydreaming about creating a sound artwork that would illustrate this overlap in vivid, fantastical colour – like a children’s picture book where the pictures would be painted with sound.

The personal answer:

My father died in the Spring of 2009 and in the Fall of that year I gave birth to my son.  All In Time is my first substantial audio work since then, so when I was casting a line for ideas, Time just seemed to wind up at the end of every hook: the inevitability of growing up, aging, dying, being born; the ephemeral nature of memory and hope; how our perception of time changes with age; how the world exists long before us and long after us.

For you, how is producing a sound art commission like All In Time different from producing a documentary or news feature?

Greater pressure to create something gutsy / avant-garde / challenging || Less tolerance for work that is derivative / predictable / ‘too accessible.’

More room to express your unique vision. || Less certainty that your vision will make sense to other people.

More independent decision-making. || Less feedback before the final mix is complete.

Greater artistic satisfaction. || No public-service-journalism-satisfaction that you’re covering a crucial issue.

Greater opportunity to work with timeless themes and re-sell the work several times. || Less emphasis on current and local matters, as well as The Almighty News Peg.

The work may wind up in galleries, concert halls, text festivals, poetry magazines, etc. || Fewer radio Big Wigs may identify the work as suitable for broadcast.

Do you wish this genre got more public radio airtime? Why?

YES.*

• Because experimental radio can inspire radio producers and listeners to be more creative.
• Because it reminds us that the sound of a radio story should matter: radio is an aural medium after all.
• Because public radio without a scoop of sound art is like an ice cream parlor offering only chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.
• Because art – of various genres – deserves a place in public space, including on the airwaves.
• Because of c) below.

*I’m making a case specifically for sound art that is designed for public broadcast, and is at least somewhat appealing to a general audience.

For most American public radio producers, success is producing stories for All Things Considered or This American Life, working at a daily show, that kind of thing.  What do you think success looks like in the world of sound art?

a)  A successful contemporary sound artist looks like a cross-pollinated-mish-mash-hybrid of John Wynne + Chris Brookes + Alessandro Bosetti
b) Success as a sound artist is producing finished work that (at least remotely) resembles what you originally hoped to create.
c) Success as a sound artist is being able to pay for your kid’s orthodontics with proceeds from your creative work.  (I don’t know if a sound artist has ever reached this pinnacle of achievement.  It might just be an unrealizable ideal worth aiming toward…it’s one I’m aiming toward, anyway.)
d) An artist cannot fail.  It is a success to be one.
e)  All of the above.

September 11, 2011

Emily posted on Thursday, September 1st, 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments

It was autumn, and my junior year in high school. I was sixteen years old, and taking my driving test. The man giving the test had the radio on. We hardly spoke as we drove around.

I have probably repeated that information a hundred times in the last ten years. Because it isn’t just time that heals; it’s telling stories.

This week for the 10th anniversary of September 11th, we’re featuring two documentaries by three of public radio’s most gifted storytellers.

Not long after the towers fell, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva of The Kitchen Sisters began producing an intimate documentary about the history of The World Trade Center and its surrounding neighborhood. The documentary won a Peabody Award at the time, and has just been reversioned for the 10-year anniversary.

In the year following September 11th 2001, Richard Paul produced an oral history of survivors of the attack on the Pentagon. It was voted Best Radio Documentary by The Society of Professional Journalists, and received the 2002 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Journalism.

More from PRX for 9/11/2011

I Can’t Get Enough Literary Boot Camp!

Emily posted on Friday, August 19th, 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments

 The Maltese Falcon. I never read it. In fact, I’m reluctant to admit I had no idea what genre it is, or what a shaggy lapdog and bird of prey could really have to do with each other. Sure, it’s some kind of literary and cinematic classic, but given the long list of novels I’m waiting to read, there’s a good chance I will never get to it. And even if I did, I might not enjoy it. I have a pretty low threshold for underdeveloped or overly sexualized female characters, among other things.

But then the National Endowment for the Arts released their radio series for the The Big Read initiative. I can’t get enough of these documentaries. Seriously — in two days I’ve listened to two-and-a-half hours of these babies, including the one about The Maltese Falcon. They’re each 30 minutes long, and focus on one great book. First, a host introduces a famous actor (or in this case, Scott Simon,) who reads critical passages from one of his or her favorite novels. The passages are illuminated by the insights of the author’s friends and family, plus literary and historical experts. Carefully chosen music moves everything along. You get the extra context of an e-reader, but curated and delivered in a form you can consume anywhere: while driving, cooking, or (if you’re me) communing with Excel files.

So despite my hesitance to read The Maltese Falcon, I just got pulled in. Listening to excerpts of the novel while hearing about the Author’s real-life detective experience, literary inspiration and the original falcon (a bejeweled falcon given as a gift to the King of Spain from the Knights of Malta circa 1530), I couldn’t turn it off. It’s true, I may never read the book itself, but at least now, when people talk about that iconic novel from which a whole genre of American film was born… I’ll know what they’re talking about.

Check these out, or browse the whole series: