December 30, 2006 (#38) - The Studs Show
Originally Broadcast January 28, 2006

Studs Terkel- The Last Touch
Alan Hall- Executive Producer, Falling Tree Productions

Chicago is known for its deep dish pizza, it’s dazzling architecture, it’s sparkling lakefront and Al Capone. But Chicago’s aural signature belongs only to one voice with an unmistakable style and sound: Studs Terkel.  Studs has been chronicling American life for decades and he is no stranger to the Third Coast Festival. In 2002 Studs received our Lifetime Achievement award for his extensive work in radio. He has interviewed thousands of people, but in one interview Studs can tell the story of thousands. Alan Hall visited Studs in Chicago in August 2005 (while Hall was also acting as a 2005 Third Coast Festival final round judge) and again in October. They recorded over two hours of interview that touched on Studs' work, his undiminished 'radical conservatism' and his much-missed wife.  (Falling Tree Productions , 2005)

Note: Sorry, we were only able to offer this documentary for one week on our website. You can hear an excerpt on the Falling Tree Productions website. See below for a link to one of Studs' documentaries and his introduction and acceptance speech when he received our 2002 Lifetime Achievment Award.

Featured Music:

Hauschka, "La Seine," The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005)
Hauschka, "Where Were You," The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005)

Extras:

Learn more about Alan Hall's Falling Tree Productions.

Check out our feature on Studs Terkel when he was the recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

December 23 , 2006 (#62) - The Music and Memory Show

(Sadly, we're unable to offer this show for streaming. But in "Extras" we've provided links to the websites where the stories are archived.)

Rocky Mountain High
Ann Heppermann, Kara Oehler, and Rick Moody - Independent Producers

Jeffery Carpenter loved John Denver and, as a young man, played "Rocky Mountain High" again and again and again on his record player. Then one summer at Christian camp, an older counselor revealed some shocking secrets about the musician. This story and the next were both produced for Weekend America's "Song and Memory" series.

Something You've Got
Ann Heppermann, Kara Oehler, and Rick Moody - Independent Producers

In the 1970s, Jules Shear was the lead singer of the cult band Jules and the Polar Bears. And in the 1980s, he wrote hit songs for the likes of Cyndi Lauper. But this story is about his first taste of stardom: singing three part harmony for... Mrs. Pardini.

The Busker and the Diva
Judith Kampfner - for Soundprint

Margaret Leng Tan and James Graseck met at Juilliard, where Margaret studied piano and James studied violin. Decades after they graduated, they met again. James was playing his violin in the subways of New York and Margaret was a toy piano diva: famous, critically-acclaimed, and nicknamed the "sorceress of the avant-garde". Producer Judith Kampfner documented their reunion and put together this story.

For the Record
Gwen Macsai - Independent Producer

We reached deep into our archives for this story. It's an essay Gwen did for NPR back in 1995, right after she'd relocated to Minneapolis, capping off an impressive number of moves in her nomadic young adulthood. All the moves meant much schlepping. Overflowing suitcases. Piles of boxes. Heavy boxes, containing things like LPs -- as in actual vinyl, long-playing albums. But she had learned that some things can't be winnowed down, no matter how much they weigh.

Featured Music:

Melodium, "Weird Voices Inside My Head", There Is Something in the Universe (Disasters by Choice, 2006)
The Emotions, "You've Got the Best of My Love", Rejoice (Columbia, 1977)
Keith Jarrett, "Part I", The Koln Concert (ECM Records, 1975)
Architecture in Helsinki, "Do the Whirlwind", In Case We Die (Bar / None, 2005)

Extras:

Visit the Soundprint website, where you can listen to "The Busker and the Diva" and learn more about the piece.

Check out the Weekend America website, where you can listen to "Rocky Mountain High", "Something You've Got", and many more Song and Memory stories by Kara, Ann, and Rick.

December 16 , 2006 - The No Show Show

This week's show was preempted by special programming. Tune in next week!

December 9 , 2006 (#61) - The 99 Ways Show

This week we feature the Third Coast Festival's very own audio experiment: 99 Ways to Tell a Radio Story We'll hear from TCF managing director Julie Shapiro and listen to some of the beautiful, bizarre, and intriguing work that the project inspired.

99 Ways # 20: They Didn't Get Along
Rick Moody and Michael Hearst / USA

An inquiry into the nature of human relationships over the course of eons, featuring musical accompaniment in diverse time signatures, and a British narrator.

99 Ways # 22: The Yakuza Codes
Christian Gasser / Switzerland

Will Midori and her brother Yoshitoro overcome their antipathies and meet again?

99 Ways # 27: The Secret Life of an Australian Mother
Eurydice Aroney, Tom Morton, Stuart Brown / Australia

A domestic duet for mother and six year old.

99 Ways # 69: The Interloper
Kay Collins / USA

The story of a woman's fifth breast biopsy.

99 Ways # 41: Looking at Topsy
Brett Beyer / USA

A story about a movie by Thomas Edison that is very hard to watch.

99 Ways # 66: The Long Way Home
David Henderson / USA

New light on the wanderings of Odysseus provided by the discovery of Penelope's answering machine tape.

99 Ways # 33: Shaq + Kobe (Time Is Running Out)
David Schulman / USA

A retelling (and remixing) of the NBA soap opera of Shaq + Kobe.

99 Ways # 2: Talk To Me About Love
Jill Summers / USA

Two curious siblings finally get what they think they've always wanted.

99 Ways # 9: 'Til Death Do Us Part
Sasha Aslanian / USA

Divorced parents listen to audio of their 1963 wedding vows, remember what went wrong, but still can't get over each other.

99 Ways # 21: Au Debut
Zoe Irvine / Scotland

Translation - Sylvain, Bruno, Zoe and Youssef at the PRIM Centre in Montreal, summer 2006.

99 Ways # 7: Boris the Mover
Carma Jolly / Canada

A crush on a telemarketer results in betrayal.


Featured Music:

Mapstation, "Constant", Distance Told Me Things To Be Said (Scape, 2006)
Mapstation, "The Sinuous Ribbon", Distance Told Me Things To Be Said (Scape, 2006)
Minotaur Shock, "Muesli", Maritime (4AD/Ada, 2005)
Melodium, "It Must Have a Meaning", Music for Invisible People (Autres Directions in Music, 2006)
Melodium, "We Are All Right Here", Music for Invisble People (Autres Directions in Music, 2006)
Melodium, "Behind the Picture", Music for Invisible People (Autres Directions in Music, 2006)
Casino vs. Japan, "Trad Velecido", Whole Numbers Play the Basics (Carpark, 2002)
I'm Not a Gun, "Continuous Sky", We Think As Instruments (City Centre Offices, 2006)

Extras:

Learn lots more about the 99 Ways to Tell a Radio Story Project.

Listen to ALL of the Ways.

Learn more about Matt Madden's excellent book Exercises in Style: 99 Ways to Tell a Story - which was the inspiration for this whole experiment in the first place!

December 2, 2006 - The 2006 Third Coast Festival Broadcast (Part 2)

This week we're airing the second half of the 2006 Third Coast Festival Broadcast, featuring the festival's winning documentaries. The show is hosted by Alex Kotlowitz and you can find out more about it here.