%s1 / %s2

Playlist: Music Station Picks for August

Compiled By: PRX Curators

 Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14463665@N00/141289227/">Elfi</a>
Image by: Elfi 
Curated Playlist

August picks for music stations curated by PRX Music Format Curator David Srebnik of Virtuoso Voices.

Suggestions from David:

"August is a very good music month for stations that play music, music features and music documentaries.

"I am recommending a few programs and features whose lengths create somewhat of a challenge for stations to schedule. I'm making these recommendations because I think these programs are well done and worth the scheduling efforts at local stations.

"But, program and feature length is an important issue at stations, and I think it's an important discussion for us all to have.

"Please read the new PRX publication, Sync, especially the 'programmatics' section of "What Stations Want". Here you will find some thoughts and background on piece length.

"Some program and feature lengths are difficult for stations to schedule, regardless of strength of content.

PDs, Operations and other Programming Personnel: Will a 15-minute music feature work on your station? Why or why not? Please weigh in on the discussion.

"Are you on Twitter? PRX is on Twitter — I've found it to be an invaluable programming resource, providing information and updates on new program that are available on PRX. It's like getting an instant update from PRX without having to go to the PRX site.

"One PRX Twitter feed contains a link to each new PRX piece.

"The second PRX feed tells you which programs have been bought in real time."


David produces Virtuoso Voices, an interview clip and fundraising service heard on 115 stations. As an Associate Producer at NPR, he programmed the music heard on Performance Today, and directed news and music programming at stations in Texas, Michigan, Florida, New Orleans and North Carolina.

What David listens for in music programming:

"I look and listen for programming that puts the listener first, speaks listener language and answers 'yes' to questions like:

* Is it enjoyable, beautiful, entertaining or substantial?
* Will it be memorable?
* Will it advance understanding and enjoyment of the music?
* Will this contribute to making public radio indispensable?

"I'm not big on music education on the radio, especially in the form made infamous by the so-called 'old-school' of classical music announcing.

"Radio can, however, educate in a compelling and entertaining way. David Schulman's Musicians in their Own Words series and WNYC's Richard Wagner documentaries are good examples of music education without the academic shackles that have made that term deadly on the radio."

Hide full description

August picks for music stations curated by PRX Music Format Curator David Srebnik of Virtuoso Voices.

Suggestions from David:

"August is a very good music month for stations that play music, music features and music documentaries.

"I am recommending a few programs and features whose lengths create somewhat of a challenge for stations to schedule. I'm making these recommendations because I think these programs are well done and worth the scheduling efforts at local stations.

"But, program and feature length is an important issue at stations, and I think it's an important discussion for us all to have.

"Please read the new PRX publication, Sync, especially the 'programmatics'...

Show full description

The Nerve - Music and the Human Experience (Series)

Produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

A sensational six-part series from the CBC that investigates the "how and why of music" in fresh, new ways and means. You and your listeners are likely to find yourself in one of more of these programs. The entire six-part series is highly recommended. You can run all episodes or just one. (If you don't air the entire series, you'll need to address the interstitial references to other programs within the series.)

A review of Part 1 and Part 3 follow.

There's a CBC promo at the end of each program, and the producer says you may edit/fade that brief moment as long as the credits stay in tact.


Part 1: Wired for Sound: Music and the Brain

There is a lot to assimilate in each of these studies on how music works with and works through our bodies. And here’s the good news: it’s not geeky, not overly academic, and does not travel to a world far, far away.

To get all that this program offers will take a mostly "sit down and give all your attention to the radio" commitment. And it's a sit down experience you can, without hesitation, tell your listeners is well worth their time and attention.

That being said, the mix of voices, information, music and radio craft is so pleasing to the ear. Even if you don't get all of the lessons and understanding of the music-brain-body interaction, your listeners will still walk away with plenty. (Repeating the show is worth considering.)

Some people know how to make far away worlds -- the mystery of science, music, the cochlea, spinal column, and the cerebral cortex -- accessible, beautiful, fun, interesting and entertaining. The presenters and producers of this series are those people.

I’m reminded of the time I first heard the Verdi opera, Falstaff. At the end I was convinced I understood how to speak Italian and I knew Shakespeare.


Part 3: The Pipe, the Drum and the Thunder Run: Music & War

Remember during the last fund drive when you said, "the public radio programming on [Your Station Name] provides a context for news of the day and advances understanding of contemporary issues"? You could have been talking about this program (except it wasn’t available then).

Part 3 presents the intertwining of blasts of war and blasts of music. It intimately illustrations the importance of music to soldiers on the battlefield and the citizens seemingly removed from the field of battle.

The violence and aggressive actions of war, the leading and following of "the Charge," come from more than just melody, tempo, rhythm and sheer volume. Music can raise morale, or in the case of Tokyo Rose, it can make a soldier’s morale come crashing down.

"The Pipe, the Drum and the Thunder Run: Music & War" upholds the highest of public radio standards and ideals; most notably, the values of “providing context” and “advancing understanding of contemporary news and social issues.” And in those areas, it resonates as strongly as any public radio program I’ve ever heard.

Intriguing, fascinating, and mind-blowing content from beginning to end.

(Brief Language Advisory at 19:17 and 34:12.)

Producer has given permission to delete or cover the brief CBC forward promo at the end.

Most recent piece in this series:

In the Key of DNA: Music & Evolution

From Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Part of the The Nerve - Music and the Human Experience series | 53:40

Thenerve-240x240_small Episode 2 of The Nerve asks the question why? Why did music evolve in the first place? Some people think music is merely an evolutionary frill, a by-product - delicious cheesecake for our ears that has no evolutionary purpose. Darwin himself was puzzled by music. Observing songbirds, he suggested music's role was in sexual selection (which may explain why rock stars from Franz Liszt to Tommy Lee have had such busy sex lives). Others believe music's origins may be found in the mother-infant interactions we call baby talk, and others consider the importance of the lullaby - a need to pacify infants. Others theorize that music developed in tandem with the social cohesion necessary to the survival of bands of early humans, critical to them through its power to strengthen social bonds.

Cheesecake? Or sex, baby talk, and social interaction? Set in the Key of DNA, The Nerve 2 examines what the purpose of music is and has been, yesterday and today.

Austin City Limits: Into the Archives

From KUT | 54:14

A mostly musical look and listen from the Austin City Limits musical sound bank. Host David Brown and Austin City Limits Producer Terry Lickona provide the play-by-play and color commentary for this look back at this music-on-TV institution.

The music is over the top with special, rarefied Johnny Cash, Coldplay and Beck. The Tom Waits, Beck and Johnny Cash segments at the beginning of the show set the stage for what's yet to come, from how Ray Charles talked to his band to a version of "Georgia" that will make you think you're hearing the song for the first time. Down the road, there electrified performances from two performers and friends who react differently to "smoke".

The behind the scenes stories are well chosen and deliver considerable insight and amusement.

The Texas Music Matters crew are journalists, music programmers, music lovers and radio crafts-people all at the same time, and "Austin City Limits: Into the Archives" steers clear of the easy to make purely promotional production and goes for the far more interesting and relevant historical/musical review.

Right on the money for AAA stations, eclectic music formatted stations and some News-Music stations. I recommend you check the program performer-playlist to help you make your decision.

Aclstage_small After nearly 35 years on PBS, Austin City Limits is more than just a public television staple: its an American cultural institution and a beacon for a city that bills itself as "the live music capital".  In this one-hour music special, longtime Austin City Limits producer Terry Lickona takes listeners backstage and into the vaults of the longest running music show on television, with stories and songs by Tom Waits, Beck, Johnny Cash, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket and others (including a certain Red-headed Stranger).  Hosted by David Brown of Texas Music Matters, the award-winning music journalism unit at KUT Austin.

European Jazz Stage 2009, program 6

From Radio Netherlands Worldwide | Part of the European Jazz Stage 2009 series | 58:36

This series is one of the hidden musical gems on PRX. The music and the performances are consistently rich, varied and high pitched.

Program 6 from the series is a top-shelf, big band extravaganza. John Clayton leads the Metropole Orchestra (Sonny Stit's "Eternal Triangle"), the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw play standards by Cole Porter and Duke Ellington, and the program also includes the Dutch Jazz Orchestra.

As is always the case, I think, with Radio Netherlands productions, the music engineering, recording and mastering is high on top of the industry standard -- especially the capture of the brass and percussion.

It's always takes me a split second to digest and remember there's plenty of swing happening outside of the U.S., and shows from "European Jazz Stage" keep me from choking on my naivety.

Highly recommended for Jazz and eclectic music format stations. Other programs from the series could be combined to create a series that will take you through August and beyond.

Jazz_orchestra_of_the_concertgebouw_small

In this years series of European Jazz Stage we will make room for some outstanding Big Bands.

We have bas player, composer, arranger John Clayton as a guest-conductor of the Metropole Orchestra.

He brought his finest arrangements, which he normally plays with his own Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, but are now tested on the highly talented musicians of the Metropole Orchestra.

There are also two treats from the North Sea Jazz Festival in this show. The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. The first Big Band you’ll hear with two outstanding singers who are 2 generations apart and the second is paying tribute to one of the founding fathers of modern Dutch Jazz, pianist, trumpetist, composer, arranger, mathematician Rob Madna.


Beat
(Rob Madna)         1’22

 

On the Sunny Side of the Street (Jimmy McHugh)      4’55                               

Eternal Triangle (Sonny Stitt)             7’25

I Thought About You (Jimmy van Heusen)       5’45

Metropole Orchestra conducted by John Clayton, recorded October 11, 2001 at Nick Vollebregt’s Jazz café, Laren, The Netherlands

 

The Secret Champ (Jesse van Ruller)  8’18

Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw feat. Rita Reys and Fay Claassen, recorded July 12, 2008 at the North  Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 

Bed of music for announcement or station call:

Paint as you Like (Michael Moore)       1:00

 

I Concentrate on You (Cole Porter)       4’56

In a Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington)    6’33

Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw feat. Rita Reys and Fay Claassen, recorded July 12, 2008 at the North  Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 

End of a Love Affair (Edward Redding)     3’25

Beat (Rob Madna)      10’54

Dutch Jazz Orchestra, recorded July 13, 2008 at the North  Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 

Rundown

1. Part I                              31’13

2. Station break                1’00

3. Part II                              25’51

4. Promo                               0’30

               

 

TOTAL TIME PROGRAM: 0:58:00

Jennie Lois Windle: Tribute to My Piano Teacher

From Elizabeth Chur | 12:05

I love this. Part music history, autobiography and a richness of stories recounting wonderful, one-of-a-kind days in the life of Jennie Lois Windle -- one of the local heroes known as the local music teacher.

And what a life she led.

She taught students how to play, how to bow, how to play the Blues and like all teachers, much much more.

We hear a lot of talk about story-telling: here it is, with an excellent mix of voices and music from Elizabeth Chur. And, well worth working around the scheduling and time-length challenge of 12:05.

Suitable for all formats -- again, worth finding a way to fit into your local magazine program (with a tie in to your local music schools and local music teachers). Thoughtful promotion and planning could make this work within a local classical music shift.

Default-piece-image-2 Jennie Lois Windle was my first piano teacher. I studied with her for 10 years as a child. In addition to teaching me about harmony and rhythm, she cultivated precision, creativity, and appreciation for beauty. As an adult, I conducted 12 oral history interviews with her to document how she developed her incredible gift for teaching. In addition to studying with classical piano teachers, she also studied jazz, pedagogy, and even modern dance. All of these elements allowed her to cultivate the whole musician in each of her pupils: she taught us how to compose our own music, bow on stage gracefully, and how to continue in performance even if we made a mistake.

Mrs. Windle died in early 2009, and I produced this audio tribute for her memorial service. It combines excerpts from her oral history with excerpts from recitals I gave as a student. My hope is that it honors her extraordinary passion for music and the lasting gifts she gave all her students.

Recruiting Musician Soldiers

From Nathanael Johnson | 04:50

Nice breezy work from Nathaniel Johnson on the rewards and risks of playing in the Army Band.

There's a serious cash signing bonus, guaranteed work, money for college tuition and the possibility of getting killed in battle -- it's all in a day's work. And the way new band members are recruited today is likely to create a reaction as well.

Earlier recommendations (on the piece page) detail the other high points of this 4:49 feature. There are potential tie-ins to local employment issues, your local music scene and local military stories or soldier profiles. "Recruiting Musician Soldiers" could work in any programming slot that would benefit from a quirk or a lighthearted smirk.

A03_small Rob Roy is a bagpipe player (how could he not be?) in the Army Band. But the pipe and drum ensemble has faded from it's former glory. There are pipers around, but he has a problem - he not only needs to get them to join the band - he needs them to join the military. It's interesting because they are using craigslist - usually the domain of independent musicians and black-market entrepreneurs. Some users resent the Army using this guerrilla marketing tool and wonder, is the Army setting up innocuous-looking online bait to lure credulous musicians to Iraq? (Script in Station Info. Contact me at 415 647 1499 if you need anything else.)