Archive for the 'radio' Category

Hear me on The California Report

paperhaus December 5th, 2009

This week I reviewed the book In My Father’s Shadow by Chris Welles Feder for the weekly magazine of the California Report. The show is broadcast by public radio stations statewide at various times over the weekend. It was on San Francisco’s KQED Friday at 4:30pm and it’s online now. Here’s how it begins:

Orson Welles was a genius filmmaker, with all the complications that genius seems to bring. The desire to learn more about one of the most fascinating characters to pass through Hollywood is understandable. But it’s this interest in Welles that gives the new memoir by his eldest daughter its unusual shape, if not its title: In My Father’s Shadow.

Yet the book is no cliched litany of star-offspring complaints. Feder might have had them — like the punch line of a Johnny Cash song, she’s a girl named Christopher. But Chris, now 71, adored her father, and is a talented storyteller who brings alive the golden era of Hollywood.

If you listen, that silky voice at the beginning isn’t me — it’s Rachel Myrow. I’m the more nubby one that follows.

Oh noes! The bright spot on the LA radio dial just went dark.

paperhaus January 15th, 2009

Was it just this morning that I was listening to Indie 103.1 on the radio in the car while driving to work? I could have sworn it was. I heard music, I heard the news, I heard the AM DJ and the morning news chick talking about the song that was on just before her report.

Then, four hours later, I got in the car and punk rock blasted out of the radio. It was time for Jonesy’s Jukebox, and he plays whatever he feels like, including his own guitar. I don’t get to drive and hear Steve Jones much, so I was excited. But …. no. The song ended and this roboannouncement began:

Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge.…

What will be playing over 103.1 FM in Los Angeles won’t be pop but Mexican rythmic and Cumbia music — that’s the word from Franklin Avenue, which outlines Indie’s recent history.

Back when Clearchannel owned Indie, I was mighty skeptical. There was my bitchy post at LAist, which I can’t pull up right now because their search is fubar, about just how un-indie Clearchannel was. But the corporate parent changed, and over the years I’ve been won over — particularly by Steve Jones — and when I moved back to LA, having a really fucking awesome music station to listen to on the radio was one of the things that made me truly happy.

Oh, I’ll still listen to my NPR news, to my Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, to my Marketplace. But as for music? I’m abandoning LA radio.  KCRW is no fucking consolation.

The last five things I heard on Indie, between repeats of the announcement of RoboDoom:

Black Flag - “Gimme Gimme Gimme”
Sex Pistols - “Anarchy in the UK”
Buzzcocks - “Harmony in My Head”
X - “The New World”
The Clash - “Guns of Brixton”

Michael at Franklin Avenue heard Johnny Clash and Sinatra. Put that all together and what you get is me  listening to them online (”Valley Girl” by Moon Unit Zappa, currently). But it’s not the same.

NPR’s bookish weekend

paperhaus July 30th, 2007

In the New York Times Book Review this weekend, Julia Reed found Annie Dillard’s latest, The Maytrees, somewhat inaccessible.

There are no mere ragamuffins in Dillard, only a “tatterdemalion”; the tone of a man’s calf muscle is, here, the “tonus.” It was heartening in a way to find that she had spelled “pauciloquy” wrong, but even in its correct form, the Oxford English Dictionary deems its usage “rare.”

The book seemed overly pompous to me, so I was taken aback when I heard Dillard on NPR this weekend. Her book sounded pretty wonderful. And she not only sounded accessible, she sounded like fun.

On the other hand, Jonathan Lethem seemed to have put on his “take this seriously” hat. He was on talking about the Library of America Philip K. Dick collection, which he edited, so I suppose there was some burden to be proper. Even if this came across as a bit studied, I thought it was excellent:

As Lenny Bruce is to the American comedy tradition, Philip K. Dick is to science fiction. He was the hipster, he was the drug casualty, and he was the dissident voice.

And, since these shows are archived, I don’t have to sit in 100-degree parking lots until they’re done. Whew.

Reason 101.1 to love The Wire

paperhaus December 17th, 2006

OK, I’m playing catchup here. Season 2, episode 1.

Brodie is the passenger in a van going down a highway, listening to rap; he’s never been outside of Baltimore. The van loses radio reception and the driver starts looking for a new station. He lands on a familiar NPR voice saying “It’s been perfect tomato weather out there,” — it’s A Prairie Home Companion. Brodie listens for a sec, shakes his head. “Why would anybody ever wanna leave Baltimore, that’s what I’m askin’.”

Listen up, it’s Mr. Powers

paperhaus December 12th, 2006

If you’re lucky like me, you heard Richard (The Echo Maker) Powers on Fresh Air while caught in traffic today. And if you weren’t that kind of lucky, click on the link.

At first I was worried about Ms. Gross’ questions, which seemed to focus on just one aspect of the book, but the interview opened up and Richard Powers got to talk about identity and narrative. Not to be missed.

David Foster Wallace + Scott Simon = just plain odd

paperhaus August 19th, 2006

If you missed the NPR segment this morning with Infinite Jest author David Foster Wallace talking to Scott "Mr. Poignant" Simon about tennis star Roger Federer, do check it out online (audio available today at 1pm Eastern). It’s an awkward mismatch for the ages.

Pinky on NPR this weekend

paperhaus August 4th, 2006

What do you do when your purse gets stolen? You pitch a story to a radio show. That’s what I did, anyway. It’ll be on Marketplace Money this weekend: it’s called Stop, Thief!

Marketplace Money is broadcast on almost 200 NPR stations nationwide. To find out when my voice could be coming out of a car stereo near you, use this handy map. But don’t wait to hear Kai say "Pinky" - listen for my real name, Carolyn Kellogg.

Want to hear the story right now? Well don’t be shy: it’s already online.

Sadly, the show cut the part when an Los Angeles police detective told me, "You’ll never see your property again." Then he laughed, like this: "Heh heh." I kind of loved him for that.

Radio days

paperhaus May 26th, 2006

On Wednesday the NPR show Day to Day broadcast a piece by the most excellent Jim Ruland, on how a flash on the TV screen — well, the TV screen of the show Lost, in particular — did wonders for one book (The Third Policeman) and its publisher (the Dalkey Archive). (via TEV).

This weekend I’ve got a piece on Marketplace Money on carsharing. If you don’t live where you can hear the show, it’s on the internets — audio and now full text — too. Did you know that owning a new-ish car costs more than $800 per month? Neither did I (but I do now).

Oops, that’s not Pinky

paperhaus May 12th, 2006

So if you’re listening to Theory Radio right now, that’s not me. We have to do a digital handoff and the DJ before me is having too much fun to hand off. There’s a chance that this will be straightened out, but my guess is that tonight there will be no Theory Radio. Enjoy the electronica (if it had been me, there was the new BellRays, Howe Gelb, Petra Haden, PJ Harvey and some Johnny Cash)

Theory radio tonight

paperhaus May 12th, 2006

Tonight’s Theory Radio show will be all music, no books or author. The lack of author smartness is sad, but will be made up for, I hope, with excellent new music from the BellRays and other audio delights. That’s 7pm Pacific, streaming with one easy click.

Coming up: Michael Walker whose book, Laurel Canyon, looks at the canyon and the role it played in the lives of CSNY, Joni Mitchell, the Mamas and the Papas, Frank Zappa and more. And Aimee Bender — not sure what she’ll play, but she’s planning her attack now.

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