Even More Selected Podcasts

Some time ago I put together a short list of worthwhile podcasts. Here are a few more to keep that list going.   Try these out on a walk or a commute or wherever you want to engage your imagination and/or be inspired.

UnFictional - KCRW puts together compelling stories from the Independent Producer Project, a great way to hear perspectives from storytellers who might not cut through the greater internet din. Here's a start for you: the tale of Nature Boy, a.k.a. eden ahbez, a California ascetic whose spiritual journey was a precursor to West Coast "hippie" culture.

RTÉ Radio 1 - This is not where I originally heard the story of a German paraglider who was hopelessly ensnared by an Australian thunderhead during competition, but if that gripping survival story is any indication, the Irish radio giant has plenty more quality pieces to discover.

Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On - An interest in field recordings and American roots music led me to this set of programs, chock full of rare Folkways Records treasures presented by the son of Moses Asch, the label's founder.

The whole collection is illuminated by the historical insights provided by Michael Asch & folklorists making these a pleasure to delve into. The episode titled Talking About the Blues exemplifies the depth of the music and cultural context found throughout the series (above, Big Bill Broonzy, one of my favorites).

Judge John Hodgman - The comedian/writer host is a middle-aged eccentric with a lush mustache and a distinctive worldview.  If you can handle a fair dose of hipster geekery, try out one of these entertaining mock trials based on:

"real life disputes on issues such as: 

-is chili a soup or a stew? 

-is this room in my house called an “office” or a “den” or “a room full of junk.” 

-when is it may someone else’s Chinese food be legally considered abandoned property?  

-is it OK to rifle through the trash for prize coupons in a Canadian pizza parlor? 

-is a machine gun a robot?  

Then I tell the disputants who is right and who is wrong." 

It's good fun (if not Maximum Fun) but be prepared to suffer through some adolescent cackling.  You do it for Click and Clack, don't you?

A little more about J. Hodgman from the multi-talented Steven Weinberg via Brooklyn Based

Enjoy...and tell me: What podcasts are you enjoying lately?

Vocals Fry on Lexicon Valley

Lexicon Valley is an entertaining podcast on language from Slate.com.  The main host, Mike Vuolo, is currently on paternity leave, but when he returns, I'll listen in again, no doubt. While mostly enjoying their linguistic dissections of everyday speech, the Lexicon Valley guys--Vuolo and "color man" Bob Garfield--have imbedded in me two brainworms that I just can't seem to shake.

First is the use of the "historical present", a storytelling tendency you've surely noticed which Vuolo & Garfield covered in Ep. #15: "Then Is Now, Now and Then". Now, every time Jon Stewart interviews an author plugging a new non-fiction doorstop, I listen for the historical present. Recently, Doris Kearns Goodwin used it so heavily that had she not been so charming, I may have assumed she had actually hung out with her subjects, Roosevelt and Taft, maybe getting together to lift weights or pastries, depending.  To paraphrase, the author waxed in the present tense, "Roosevelt grows up a feeble boy, so as president he cares deeply about his physical stature and reinvents himself." The constant assumption is that the Kearns Goodwin interview (from about 2:10 onward) is prefaced by an implied "At the time..." because her subject is a historic figure.  Even if the subject matter dictates the verb tense, the conversation is about people and events from 100+ years ago.  The author does mention that she has to "live with these guys" due to the intensity of her research which might explain both her prowess in the genre and her reliance on the historical present.  Nevertheless, in the media and in daily interactions, you'll notice the historical present and you'll probably hear it more often than it's needed.  The L.V. episode eventually approves the use of the historical present to add impact to yarn spinning, but the hosts also admit that its overuse is distracting. I hear it all the time and can't ignore it. If it works within a story, fine, but when it doesn't, it is obnoxious and pretentious.

In Ep. #24: "Do You Creak?" Vuolo also explained another linguistic nuance aptly named "vocal fry". Once you hear it, you'll never stop noticing it.  Also referred to as "creaky voice", the affectation is incessant and annoying.  The hosts and guests discuss the creaky voice in relation to certain young women, adding it to long list of Valley Girl-inspired airs.

Vocal fry waveform in a related article on Speech Talk

Most often the creaky sizzle in the final syllable(s) of a word emphasizes the speaker's authority on the subject or otherwise adds an atmosphere of credibility.  Listen to any talking head on the news--e.g. the guy from IHS Global Insight who Robert Segal inevitably calls every time he needs an NPR soundbite on Yemeni politics in relation to desalination plants. As the gentleman trails off, you can note a lengthening of the last word and a staccato pattern of vocal chord vibrations, like a rusty morning utterance or the sound of an elderly grandparent's voice. Inadvertent vocal fry--just the sound of someone's speech--is completely fine with me, but add the smallest degree of exaggeration and the purposeful creaky voice could just reveal a poser or a flake.

Highly recommended listening: Lexicon Valley addresses countless linguistic phenomena, subtle curiosities about how we say what we say and why.  As modes of communication morph and multiply, old-fashioned speaking and writing continue to be fascinating subjects.  Give an episode a go:

"Lord Grantham, Don Draper's on Hold" -- historically inaccurate vocab. on the boobtube
"Malapropisms: the Pineapple of Linguistic Errors" -- common (sometimes comedic) slips of the tongue
"Undocumented Illegals" --  problematic labels, public relations implications, and dignity issues

I'm Glad Krulwich Wonders

These two little oddities come from a great NPR blog called Krulwich Wonders.  The author and radio host is better recognized as one half of the team, along with Jad Abumrad, responsible for the always enthralling WNYC show and podcast series called Radiolab.  A good while ago, I lumped Radiolab in with a few other podcasts I still enjoy when I can (mostly while walking the poochie), so check those out here.

In the meantime, enjoy this optical illusion from Krulwich's cool post on visual trickery -- "This Can't Be Happening" -- followed by a hypnotizing video from some clever geeks at Harvard.

Here are Krulwich's directions for this first image:

Below, you will see two circles composed of parallelograms. There's a dot in the middle of the image. Focus on the dot. Move your head in, then move it out.

image by B. Pinna



Afro Soul Descarga

Sometimes a virtual discovery can feel as real as any record store find.  Today I found a bevy of radio sets from Afro Soul Descarga. It's cool that the D.J. -- James Stewart of RAJE in France -- is able to share the whole playlist so easily via Soundcloud waveform.  Set # 10, below, is two hours of rare music, most of which you wouldn't find elsewhere.

Standout tracks:
Part 1 - track 6. (37:20) Segun Bucknor plays "La La La Acoustic" with some pretty wild organ sounds from Nigeria.

Part 2 - track 9. (101:00) Sun Ra's "Nuclear War" is a classic anti-proliferation anthem:  "If they push that button, your ass gotta go...watcha gonna do without your ass?"  Good question.

Part 2 - track 10. (110:35) These four or five poems by Langston Hughes with punctuation by Charlie Mingus and co. are real swell, too. Said Hughes, "Dig and be dug in return."

Soul Descarga n°10 "Eastern Rebellion" part 1 by James Stewart on Mixcloud

Soul Descarga n°10 "Eastern Rebellion" (raje) part 2 by James Stewart on Mixcloud

Just to be fair -- for DJ gigs/ pour les soirées contact James : dimensionmusiques@gmail.com

For the full track listing and so much more music:  afrosouldescarga.blogspot.com

Selected Podcasts

The following is a conglomeration of podcasts I've come across recently that occupy a unique auditory niche in the cyberlandscape. Check out a few and see if you relate to the content and creative delivery methods offered:

Radiolab - a fine set of science-based podcasts from WNYC that each explore a particular theory, notion, or subject such as memory, laughter, chaos, and so on.

Downtown Soulville - Mr. Fine Wine spins selected soul records (mostly 45's) for New Jersey's WFMU and he does it well - see related blog post from this summer for a direct link to WFMU.

NPR's Planet Money - some of the best explanations (in laymen's terms) of the current financial crisis -actually makes credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities comprehensible!

Daptone Jukebox - a nicely presented blog from the folks at Brooklyn's Daptone Records including excellent soul, funk and afrobeat podcasts with informative playlists, artist backstories, and more -sounds and looks slick!