Below is a review of five podcasts from This American Life and my idea for a podcast had I enough money and time to do so. Each podcast is focused on something about music and I enjoyed them all. I hope they stir your soul as they did mine.
Podcast Concept
Radio used to be a staple in the life of the average american. Popular among radio stations was the podcast. Perhaps most famous of this genre is This American Life, a podcast that has been running since 1995. The show airs on NPR, originally coming out of their Chicago station. But with the decline of radio and a turn towards morning talk shows hosted by popular music radio stations, podcasts started to fall out of favor. Yet, podcasts continued to air and with the rise in recent years of podcasts through streaming services like Apple Music, different podcasts have been boosted across the nation. This American Life takes an interesting and simple approach to storytelling- taking real stories from real people across the country and portraying a slice of life from the average American. My podcast concept is simple. In the style of This American Life I want to shed light on personal stories revolving around something I am very passionate about: music. But music is such a broad topic. One of my favorite things about music is that it is so accessible and leaves such a mark on the people who listen to it. I can’t think of a single person who doesn’t have a favorite band, artist, and/or genre. So what impact does music truly leave on us? How has music changed our lives? What can we learn from music? How does exposure to different genres These are the questions I hope to answer through personal stories both from myself but also from family members. There have been so many times in my own life that music has carried me through. I owe much of my high school and college survival to artists like Florence and the Machine, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Lorde, James Taylor, Coldplay and many more. I remember my first concert experience in a concert hall and my first music festival. So much of my life revolves around music and what it has shown me; it’s no wonder I chose to pursue it. But I know I’m not the only one. I have friends who write there own music and host jam sessions in their basements working out chords and lyrics. Friends who have won singer-songwriter competitions and those that teach their art to others. Playlists we’ve created for every mood, road trips that are defined by song choices. Songs that remind you of people and places you’ve been even if you’ll never see them again. Songs and instrumentation that make or break a movie or musical. Songs that are food for your soul. These are just some of the many ways that music has influenced me and people I know. These are the things I want to explore in the context of a slice of life in the day to day. There are reasons that music is considered worth of winning awards, not just at the Grammy’s or the American Music Awards but at the Oscar’s and Golden Globes as well.
As Shakespeare famously wrote “If music be the food of love, play on.” - Twelfth Night Act One, Scene One.
“This American Life” Podcast Reviews
This podcast is part of the series “Music Lessons” which focuses on what we learn from the act of learning music. This particular episode, or act as they are known on This American Life, focuses on the story of Anne Lamott, a novelist and essayist out of San Francisco. In her act she focuses on what we can learn outside of formal music lessons. She threads humor around her experience on a plane flying back from St. Louis to San Francisco. She weaves a story of the miracles of music and religion. This episode aired in 1998.
This podcast is part of the aforementioned series “Music Lessons.” This act focuses on the story of David Sedaris, an author and frequent radio contributor, a famous contribution being his reading of his essay “Santaland Diaries.” Now, very famous and successful, as a child he was expected to learn jazz music. His father, a jazz fanatic, had a dream that his children would form a jazz band. So David learned guitar. The story revolves around the ways in which children are forced to live their parents’ dreams. However, Sedaris had a different dream, to be a singer. His unique sense of humor provides a rich narrative of wonderful life lessons. This podcast aired in 1998.
Toccata and Fugue In Me, a Minor
This podcast is also part of “Music Lessons” and is told by Sarah Vowell. It focuses on her music lessons during her school-aged years. She was in every band under the sun, marching, jazz, symphony, pep, orchestra, Band One, and the Bozeman Recorder Ensemble. Music was her life. But the story she tells is not about the notes she learned or the way she played but the things you learn inside a music class that have nothing to do with the music itself. Sarah weaves her humor around a high school mentality touching on what it means to be young. This podcast aired in 1998.
This act is a part of the series “Media Fringe” which focuses on people at the fringes of the music, media and entertainment industries. This podcast by Sarah Vowell, mentioned above, focuses on the story of the joy in making mix tapes for loved ones and her experience doing it for money. The year this aired is 1996 so the term “mix tapes” doesn’t apply to the modern audience but most people have created a playlist, or perhaps even a CD for someone to enjoy their music. A way of sharing a bit of the soul. The story is told in more of an interview style than a personal narrative. Even still, Sarah Vowell artfully captures what it means to understand the music that people love and how to share it with others.
If This Sleigh Is A-rockin’ Don’t Come A-knockin’
This podcast is a part of the series “The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Suit” a special Christmas episode focusing on Santa. It focuses on the reasons why so many popular Christmas songs portray Santa as a “ladies man” perhaps the most famous being “Santa Baby” a song I always felt uncomfortable with as a child. Apparently, I am not alone. Sarah Vowell explains her childish views on “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and her anxieties that her mother might fall for the jolly man in the big red suit. Her humor is as present as ever but a more serious undertone permeates the 8 min episode. The podcast aired in 1999.