Interesting little piece. Only one person's point of view is given here but I'm assuming it's one of an ongoing series asking the same question. Perhaps not, I don't know. The person they approached certainly sounded authoritative on the subject, almost professional. It would be interesting to hear other people's responses to the same question and perhaps cut down this one person's response to a shorter little thing. If this was one question interspersed throughout a show, I could envision this working. But it could get a little boring week after week.
The piece starts off with a lot of information about Arizona and then a song about Arizona starts. The information about Arizona ends well before the song does and leaves me wondering, why do I have to listen to this woman sing this song? If this was supposed to be a piece featuring a woman singing a song about Arizona, why did it start off as if I was going to learn a lot about Arizona? And if this is indeed a piece to educate me about Arizona, why do I have to listen to this woman sing this overly long song? Okay, at the very end of the piece I find out that this is a state songbook radio piece. That information would have been helpful at the beginning of the piece because then I could have just changed the channel right away.
This piece definitely sounds as if it could be on the radio. It had the classic NPR-piece pacing and feel. The woman narrator sounds like someone I've heard before on the radio. The piece gave lots of information, didn't leave anything hanging. Good amount of quotes from Joe Lieberman. It was quite thorough and polished. It held my attention on a topic that I normally wouldn't care that much about, a political person. A good job all the way around.
This piece started off well but finished poorly. I was interested at first but the direction of the "interview" really went nowhere and I forgot to listen to what the guy was saying. I was distracted by the monotonous voice of the speaker. Plus he was a little hard to understand. I didn't really learn much about the barber shop or the speaker. It could have been interesting if the interviewer knew what to ask. Instead, it floundered and died before it ever got started. Not something I'd want to hear on the radio.
I didn't select any "tones" for this piece because none of the tones in the list apply to what I think of this piece. "Pretentious" is one word that comes to mind. "Trying too hard" is another tone that comes to mind. Lastly, "boring" is another tone that I would use to describe this piece. It's just another attempt at being artsy without feeling or substance. There is nothing to this piece. Are we supposed to be imagining someone talking to a person on the phone at a payphone or on a cell phone or what? Why is the sound so echo-ey? Is this supposed to be taking place on stage in an empty playhouse? It sounds like someone is reading lines on stage and we are supposed to be impressed by the acting. I thought this piece was nothing to write home about and certainly not radio-worthy.
Another funny, original idea for a pledge break fundraising "beg piece". But done in an offbeat way that makes it painless. I like the comparison of regular media to cheese doodles that will make your brain turn orange. And then the comparison that public radio is good for you and might even be good for "your bowel movements" is quirky funny and silly. I like it!
It's 1:30 minutes into this so-called "piece" and there has been nothing but merry-go-round music and the noises of people outside. It's 2:14 and there is still only the music and people noise. Why is this piece online? It's not a piece, it's just noise. I hope this was posted by mistake and is not a real attempt at making a radio piece. It is boring and I hate merry-go-round music. I really don't enjoy listening to people-noise either. So what was the point of this? I think it should be deleted.
This is a very cute idea for a fundraising advertisement. The idea of saving money by not stapling as much as usual or buying pencils without erasers was very funny. I like the way it catches your attention by being serious in tone, as if someone is really contemplating asking people to stop stapling things so much. It had a very "Office Space" kind of feel to it and I love that movie for being so true to life yet being a funny take on reality. This piece is on the edge of reality, almost real yet still being facetious. Clever, and engaging. I'd like to hear something like this on the radio during a pledge break. Especially because pledge breaks can be so boring and this isn't boring.
It was an interesting little piece. Just a blurb, really. However, it sounded very scripted, especially the little girl. Not a natural, thoughts-off-the-top-of-your-head type of piece but a I'm-reading-off-a-script type of piece. It didn't really last long enough to inform or provoke very many thoughts and it couldn't pull me in since it was so short. It's the kind of piece I'd probably ignore or switch the station during unless my hands couldn't reach the dial/buttons. Nothing terrible about it but nothing really great about it either. It was just too short to take seriously. Perhaps it's supposed to start a person thinking about their definition of "family" and go off where the piece ends. But the piece had too much self-awareness about it, as if it was saying "aren't I such a cute little thought provoking piece?" and it turned me off.
Comment for
"Pop Vultures #12: The 80's Deja Vu" (deleted)
Review of Pop Vultures #12: The 80's Deja Vu (deleted)
I couldn't listen to this entire piece, I became bored with the male commentator. I like Katie and what she has to say but the guy that is on this piece was so negative about everything that it just became draining. I liked the music they played but there wasn't really anything informative that was said about the music or the 80's in general. Maybe because neither host was old enough to experience the 80's? Who knows. I would have liked to hear more of Katie's ideas without that guy talking and I would have liked to hear more information about the music they were playing. If that had been the case, I think I could have listened to the whole show. I heard another Pop Vultures show and that one I liked so I know they are capable of doing listenable material. This one was a miss.
I liked this piece because it gave me a look into the mind of someone that I wouldn't otherwise get to know. I identified with him being an outsider looking in and the feeling of being trapped within a prison (even though he is literally in a prison right now). I wish the piece could have been longer, because I would have liked to heard more about Amy/Justin's story. But what the piece did include was very interesting.
Comments by Julie S
Comment for "Democracy, American-Style: "We Don't Have to Agree""
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:37 PM | Permalink
Review of Democracy, American-Style: "We Don't Have to Agree"
Interesting little piece. Only one person's point of view is given here but I'm assuming it's one of an ongoing series asking the same question. Perhaps not, I don't know. The person they approached certainly sounded authoritative on the subject, almost professional. It would be interesting to hear other people's responses to the same question and perhaps cut down this one person's response to a shorter little thing. If this was one question interspersed throughout a show, I could envision this working. But it could get a little boring week after week.
Comment for "Arizona"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:32 PM | Permalink
Review of Arizona
The piece starts off with a lot of information about Arizona and then a song about Arizona starts. The information about Arizona ends well before the song does and leaves me wondering, why do I have to listen to this woman sing this song? If this was supposed to be a piece featuring a woman singing a song about Arizona, why did it start off as if I was going to learn a lot about Arizona? And if this is indeed a piece to educate me about Arizona, why do I have to listen to this woman sing this overly long song? Okay, at the very end of the piece I find out that this is a state songbook radio piece. That information would have been helpful at the beginning of the piece because then I could have just changed the channel right away.
Comment for "The Home-State Record: Joe Lieberman"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:26 PM | Permalink
Review of The Home-State Record: Joe Lieberman
This piece definitely sounds as if it could be on the radio. It had the classic NPR-piece pacing and feel. The woman narrator sounds like someone I've heard before on the radio. The piece gave lots of information, didn't leave anything hanging. Good amount of quotes from Joe Lieberman. It was quite thorough and polished. It held my attention on a topic that I normally wouldn't care that much about, a political person. A good job all the way around.
Comment for "Barber Shop-Long Version"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:21 PM | Permalink
Review of Barber Shop-Long Version
This piece started off well but finished poorly. I was interested at first but the direction of the "interview" really went nowhere and I forgot to listen to what the guy was saying. I was distracted by the monotonous voice of the speaker. Plus he was a little hard to understand. I didn't really learn much about the barber shop or the speaker. It could have been interesting if the interviewer knew what to ask. Instead, it floundered and died before it ever got started. Not something I'd want to hear on the radio.
Comment for "Aneurysm"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:13 PM | Permalink
Review of Aneurysm
I didn't select any "tones" for this piece because none of the tones in the list apply to what I think of this piece. "Pretentious" is one word that comes to mind. "Trying too hard" is another tone that comes to mind. Lastly, "boring" is another tone that I would use to describe this piece. It's just another attempt at being artsy without feeling or substance. There is nothing to this piece. Are we supposed to be imagining someone talking to a person on the phone at a payphone or on a cell phone or what? Why is the sound so echo-ey? Is this supposed to be taking place on stage in an empty playhouse? It sounds like someone is reading lines on stage and we are supposed to be impressed by the acting. I thought this piece was nothing to write home about and certainly not radio-worthy.
Comment for "Media"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:07 PM | Permalink
Review of Media
Another funny, original idea for a pledge break fundraising "beg piece". But done in an offbeat way that makes it painless. I like the comparison of regular media to cheese doodles that will make your brain turn orange. And then the comparison that public radio is good for you and might even be good for "your bowel movements" is quirky funny and silly. I like it!
Comment for "Fair Read-Along, OUTRO"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 09:01 PM | Permalink
Review of Fair Read-Along, OUTRO
It's 1:30 minutes into this so-called "piece" and there has been nothing but merry-go-round music and the noises of people outside. It's 2:14 and there is still only the music and people noise. Why is this piece online? It's not a piece, it's just noise. I hope this was posted by mistake and is not a real attempt at making a radio piece. It is boring and I hate merry-go-round music. I really don't enjoy listening to people-noise either. So what was the point of this? I think it should be deleted.
Comment for "Steve Pencil"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 08:57 PM | Permalink
Review of Steve Pencil
This is a very cute idea for a fundraising advertisement. The idea of saving money by not stapling as much as usual or buying pencils without erasers was very funny. I like the way it catches your attention by being serious in tone, as if someone is really contemplating asking people to stop stapling things so much. It had a very "Office Space" kind of feel to it and I love that movie for being so true to life yet being a funny take on reality. This piece is on the edge of reality, almost real yet still being facetious. Clever, and engaging. I'd like to hear something like this on the radio during a pledge break. Especially because pledge breaks can be so boring and this isn't boring.
Comment for "My Family"
Julie S
Posted on August 09, 2004 at 08:52 PM | Permalink
Review of My Family
It was an interesting little piece. Just a blurb, really. However, it sounded very scripted, especially the little girl. Not a natural, thoughts-off-the-top-of-your-head type of piece but a I'm-reading-off-a-script type of piece. It didn't really last long enough to inform or provoke very many thoughts and it couldn't pull me in since it was so short. It's the kind of piece I'd probably ignore or switch the station during unless my hands couldn't reach the dial/buttons. Nothing terrible about it but nothing really great about it either. It was just too short to take seriously. Perhaps it's supposed to start a person thinking about their definition of "family" and go off where the piece ends. But the piece had too much self-awareness about it, as if it was saying "aren't I such a cute little thought provoking piece?" and it turned me off.
Comment for "Pop Vultures #12: The 80's Deja Vu" (deleted)
Julie S
Posted on July 10, 2004 at 04:13 PM
Review of Pop Vultures #12: The 80's Deja Vu (deleted)
I couldn't listen to this entire piece, I became bored with the male commentator. I like Katie and what she has to say but the guy that is on this piece was so negative about everything that it just became draining. I liked the music they played but there wasn't really anything informative that was said about the music or the 80's in general. Maybe because neither host was old enough to experience the 80's? Who knows. I would have liked to hear more of Katie's ideas without that guy talking and I would have liked to hear more information about the music they were playing. If that had been the case, I think I could have listened to the whole show. I heard another Pop Vultures show and that one I liked so I know they are capable of doing listenable material. This one was a miss.
Comment for "Justin on the Inside"
Julie S
Posted on July 10, 2004 at 04:09 PM | Permalink
Review of Justin on the Inside
I liked this piece because it gave me a look into the mind of someone that I wouldn't otherwise get to know. I identified with him being an outsider looking in and the feeling of being trapped within a prison (even though he is literally in a prison right now). I wish the piece could have been longer, because I would have liked to heard more about Amy/Justin's story. But what the piece did include was very interesting.