Radio Arts Middlebury

Summer

2009-08-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I am spending the current semester in Guadalajara, Mexico. Already I've learned that cars do not stop for pedestrians and that the temperature never falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

I decided not buy a field recorder to bring with me because I didn't think I would use it. Little did I know, Guadalajara is brimming with art. In the somewhat touristy part of town I've already seen a few sculptures, a mural or two, and a cathedral -- not to mention some great graffiti. I also visited the Museum of Journalism and Graphic Arts, a cross between an art gallery and a history of journalism in the city. A Field Reporter for Radio Arts Middlebury would have been right at home.

Much of what makes Mexico famous in the US comes either from Guadalajara or from Jalisco, the state of which GDL is the capital. Mariachis, tequila, and a few styles of tacos that have gone global all originated here. In fact, the annual international Mariachi Festival is coming up this Saturday. . . and me without a microphone.

But I won't bore RAM's dedicated fans with too much travel reporting. If I really feel the need, I'll start my own blog about my stay, and increase the author-reader ratio even further.

Epsiode 10: Fond Farewell

2009-05-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today's episode of Radio Arts was the last of the semester. We played songs by artists who until now have been kept literally in the background of our programming. Also in the mix was a double helping of arts news with Liza Sacheli-Lloyd.

Enjoy today's full show in the nifty media player embedded below, or in a separate window by clicking the links in the "Download" section of the sidebar.

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In a rare moment of singular pronoun use, I’d like to tell some of my own story.

I wanted to put together a full-length edited segment describing the joys, struggles, and adventures involved in producing Radio Arts Middlebury. However, in typical Radio Arts fashion, I found myself with too much to say and too little time. At the end of today's show, I delivered the following signoff speech:

I’m unsure what will happen to Radio Arts next semester: I’ll be living, studying, and fending off swine flu in Guadalajara. The show's former host, Colin Foss, will be back from his year in France -- but we’ll see whether he’s crazy enough to keep it going. Whatever happens to Radio Arts, I’m grateful and quite frankly surprised that it has lasted this long. Here’s hoping it was more than just a bunch of sounds.

If you’d like to check the show's intermittent pulse this summer, keep an eye on this blog. That way, if R!A!M! rises from the grave, you can be prepared with a pair of headphones and a crossbow.

For Radio Arts Middlebury, for the arts, and for you, I’m J.P. Allen.

Thank you.

(Photos from the station)

Episode 9: ...And the Livin' is Easy?

2009-04-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just as Vermont seems to bypass spring and barrel straight on into summer, so Radio Arts this week skips the last week of class and morphs into finals-week-style programming.

For the last three episodes of RAM -- today's, May 6th's, and May 13th's -- we'll be playing music and taking calls. And, as always, we'll start each show with Liza Sacheli-Lloyd and the arts news.

There may also be a surprise segment or two -- keep your ears open (and properly protected from UV radiation).

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This week's track list:

Arts News with Liza Sacheli-Lloyd
The Ink Spots - "Mama Don't Allow"*
Gracie Fields - "Walter, Walter"*
POEM: Billy Collins - "Workshop"
Chick Webb Orchestra - "The Dipsy Doodle"*
POEM: William Blake - "The Question Answered" (read by Robert Pinsky)
POEM: Sylvia Plath - "Mushrooms"
POEM: Major Jackson - "Picket Monsters"

All poems found at poets.org, except for "Mushrooms," which came from Salon.com's poetry audio collection.

*Songs that will likely appear in Yellowbrickroad, a horror/thriller film written and directed by Middlebury alumni Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland. Learn more about the movie here.

Episode 8: Pros, Poetry

2009-04-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

This week's show began with a redefinition of a Middlebury slang term. Here's the original definition:

Riding the Panther (v)
Taking advantage of Middlebury College’s resources while not enrolled as a full student. Often refers to alumni who stay on campus to work after graduation. (Negative connotations.)

"Summer workers are now required to buy a meal plan: dining staff feared they would ride the panther by sneaking in with the Language Schools."

But at least one graduate employee is working hard to make the most of the trip. Her story is our third and final Behind the Limelight interview.

The rest of the show this past Wednesday was presented in honor of National Poetry Month. Students, faculty, and staff members showed their poetic chops by reading their own or others' verses. Listen to them separately via the links in the sidebar, or all together (with transitions) here.

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Unfortunately, no recording of the full show will be available this week. We were not using our typical set of Film Department equipment. We apologize for any loss in sound quality.

Middlebury radio nepotism

2009-04-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

When we at R!A!M! find something that meets at least two of our three criteria -- in this case, "Radio" and "Middlebury" -- we consider it worth posting on this site.

Check out the following on-air discussion of the Sri Lankan Civil War (from the program "World Focus"). The panel includes Jeffrey Lunstead, current Middlebury professor and former ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives:

Good discussion about a bad situation

Some words about actions that speak louder than words

2009-04-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Our second online-only piece needs (almost) no introduction:

They've widened their fields of study to incorporate different media and styles, and they've widened their intended audience to include even those people who know almost nothing about dance (including me). Listen to Yina Ng and Simon Thomas-Train discuss their senior Dance work, "The Otherwise Forgotten."

Reminder

2009-04-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

This may be slightly outside the purview of an "arts" blog, but it deserves mentioning: On Friday (4/17), Middlebury holds its annual Spring Student Symposium. The Symposium gives students a chance to present research and independent projects carried out for classes, for thesis work, and independently.

Symposium sessions will take place in a multitude of rooms in Bi Hall. For further details, click here, or join the Facebook event. I hear the kids are into that.

Episode 7: Pop Quiz

2009-04-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

What does this diagram represent?

(Click on image for a larger view.)

I'll give you a hint: the drawing is slightly terrifying and potentially beautiful -- just like the process behind Middlebury's production of Metamorphoses, which goes up this weekend (Thursday) in the Hepburn Zoo.

Stumped? I guess that wasn't the best hint.

It's a diagram of character and scene changes (and there are plenty of both) drawn up by the play's director, Sara Swartzwelder. How will this improbable show actually work? Listen to the segment to find out.

Or, you can listen to the full show, which includes plenty of extra goodies, particularly the arts listings for the week, brought to us by Liza Sacheli-Lloyd.

Catacombs

2009-04-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Radio Arts Middlebury archive site is now open!

All of our past programming is available for reference or download in one convenient list. All music played on the show is also listed in a separate column.

So take a look into the vault! We promise we won't seal you in with bricks.

Episode 6: Killer Serials

2009-04-07T17:31:00.001-07:00

Today's R!A!M! is all about recycling. We speak with Molly Lohman about Bikes, Recycled, a public art project that turns old bicycles into new art. We also give you stories on themes that will be recycled and reformulated in future shows: our second Behind the Limelight interview, with Middlebury recording studio manager Ivan Kuraev, and the first in our series of essays on Middlebury's Best Required Reading.

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Full Show*
Arts News with Liza Sacheli-Lloyd
Bikes, Recycled
Best Required Reading: The Control of Nature

*A note about the "full show" mp3 for this week: a failed attempt at using a new recording method caused a few problems with volume and sound quality at various points. At least you'll know it's live.

Radio Arts Web Exclusive!

2009-04-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought R!A!M! had no April-Fools-week tricks up its sleeve, we bring you the surprise of a look into the process behind a recent concert entitled "Now What?" The concert included four Middlebury musicians, one guest artist, and a menagerie of instruments including a modern, Webcam-based "finger harp" and a 3,000-year-old precursor to the lute. Who knew the lute even had a precursor?

Due to software compatibility problems, this segment could not be aired on this week's show. It has now been converted to mp3 and is available online. Enjoy!

Episode 5: April 1st

2009-04-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

It's April Fools, but not a single witty title could be found for this post. I should have known to expect the unexpected.

This Wednesday's episode of R!A!M! was full of surprises. We interviewed Vanessa Mildenberg, professor of theater and director of After Mrs. Rochester, which plays this weekend in Wright Theater. The interview is almost totally uncut; experience it with the same sense of spontaneity as our interviewer did. If you like what you hear, go see the show this weekend (including Sunday). Tickets for After Mrs. Rochester are still available from the Box Office!

We also mentioned a new Middlebury holiday that's so unusual it almost seems like an April Fool's joke: Liebowitz Day. (For a more in-depth account of Liebowitz day, please refer to this week's espisode of Speak! Radio.)

Check back tomorrow to find a Radio Arts Web exclusive: an interview with the artists who performed in the recent improvised electronic music concert, "Now What?"

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Full show
Arts News with Liza Sacheli-Llyod
Liebowitz Day Short
Vanessa Mildenberg on "After Mrs. Rochester"

As always, you can also play the above pieces in the sidebar media player.

Upgrades

2009-03-19T16:17:00.001-07:00

Radio Arts Middlebury's media empire has extended its tendrils into new realms.

First, RAM is now an official Facebook event. It started at the beginning of this past week's show, and it will last until the end of the semester's last show, on May 13th. Since it is listed as an event rather than a group, "Radio Arts Middlebury" will appear on the homepage of all attendees for its entire duration, in keeping with RAM's omnipresence in listeners' minds.

Also, Middlebury's Film and Media Cultures department has graciously offered the use of their editing room, a few excellent microphones, and a Marantz PMD670 digital recorder. From this point on, if the show sounds bad, the staff of Radio Arts truly have only themselves to blame.

Episode 4: The clothes make the RAM

2009-03-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

This week, RAM begins its "Behind the Limelight" series, which is dedicated to seeking out those people involved in the arts whose names aren’t necessarily printed first in the program, but whose contributions are essential to the success of a play, dance performance, or album. Our first "Behind the Limelight" interview is with Jule Emerson -- esteemed costume designer, professor, and Middlebury Artist in Residence.

The following pictures sample Emerson's work in recent Middlebury productions:

Jumpers, Spring 2008

LEFT: Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki & Alex Draper. RIGHT:The cast, incl. eponymous jumpers.

Lysistrata, Spring 2008

LEFT: The masked, wigged, aged Male Chorus. RIGHT: Vera Butcher as Lysistrata.

(Photos courtesy of the Middlebury Theater Department.)

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This week's show also featured Middlebury musician Philippe Bronchtein, alias Bearplane. R!A!M! played Bearplane's immensely danceable electronic tune, "Ultimate Gluttony." Hear more from Bronchtein and download his debut album, Portrait of the Artist as a Dead Man, at his Myspace page.

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Listen to:
The full show
The Jule Emerson interview
Arts News with Liza Sachelli-Lloyd

(Left-click to play on a new page, right-click to download.)

Episode 3: "F*ckpigs," "Boys Choir," and "Katastrophe"

2009-03-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

This week, Radio Arts Middlebury bleeps its first swear words of the season.

We spoke with hip-hop/spoken word performers Harvey Katz (AKA The Athens Boys Choir, pictured above) and Rocco Kayiatos (AKA Katastrophe). The two artists' joint tour stopped by Middlebury this week thanks to MOQA and the OIPD. They had just enough time for an interview before rushing on to Portland, ME. (Listen on a separate page, or use the media player in the sidebar.)

Also on this week's show, a pre-performance review of a run-through of "F*ckpigs and Cockroaches," the senior directing work of Jeanine Buzali. The play goes up in the Hepburn Zoo this weekend. (Listen here, or use the sidebar player.) Tickets are almost all sold out, but there may still be some available from the Middlebury Box Office. Also, showing up early and hoping for a spot on the floor remains a last-ditch option.

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For the first time this year, you can
Listen to the Full Show
from this Wednesday, March 11th,
via the above link, or in the sidebar media player.

As always, all shows and segments are available for download from the "Show Archive" section of the sidebar. So many options!

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Please SEE BELOW for information about RAM's new listener-produced segment, Middlebury's Best Required Reading. RAM has received two submissions so far. However, we've decided to wait until we have enough essays to ensure the continuity of the series. Yours may be the essay that tips the scale to initiate the series!

A tour of "Wit" and the wit of "Tour"

2009-03-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Middlebury's annual spring monsoon of theater productions begins. Radio Arts Middlebury caught two of the flood's initial waves.

First, we presented a behind-the-scenes preview of Wit, an upcoming play about, among many other things, wit. (Listen)

Then, we heard from Middlebury senior Sheyenne Brown about her original one-woman show, "A Colored Girl’s College Tour." (Listen)

Unfortunately, a rebellious CDR drive in the WRMC control room prevented us from recording the full show this week. However, interested listeners can play the above-mentioned segments from this week's show individually, with the handy media player in the sidebar. All segments are also available for download via the "Past Broadcasts" links in the sidebar.

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If you've ever dreamed of the day you would get to appear on Radio Arts Middlebury, your hope has not been in vain! An exciting opportunity awaits anyone who has ever read a book for a Middlebury course (with luck, most Middlebury students qualify).

(Listen to the broadcast version of the following.)

Of all the books you’ve been forced to read for classes at Middlebury, which one has been your favorite, and why? Radio Arts Middlebury wants to know. We are now accepting submissions for a new series entitled Middlebury’s Best Required Reading.

Simply write a short piece -- approximately one double-spaced page -- telling what book you read, what class you read it for, and why you loved it. Then, email your submission to radioartsmiddlebury@gmail.com. With luck, and perhaps a small bribe, you’ll have the chance to read your essay on air, or have it read by someone else, if you prefer.

The Required Reading series will begin as soon as submissions start rolling in. In the meantime, keep reading… as if you had a choice.

First Episode: Alex Benepe, plus three a cappella stories

2009-02-27T11:21:00.001-08:00

The semester's first episode of R!A!M! aired this past Wednesday. If you didn't get to hear the show live, you're in luck: all of the recorded segments from the show are now available for streaming in the nifty media player above and for download here.

The first piece is an interview with Alex Benepe. Although perhaps best known as the Middlebury Quidditch Commissioner, Benepe is also a painter. Radio Arts Middlebury talked to him about one of his more unusual projects: creating hand-painted posters to advertise events for Quidditch, VACA, and others.

The rest of this week's show was devoted to this past Saturday's Vermont A Cappella Summit, at which groups from around Vermont showcased their vocal stylings in workshops hosted by Duwende, Cadence, and Philip Hamilton.

If you liked the background music from the Summit reports, feel free to track down the a cappella groups who sang it:

Calloway Taxi (local)
Route 7 (local, including Joe Antonioli of Middlebury College LIS)
Sweet Transition (MMU High School)
The Golden Knotes (Cllarkson Unversity)
Stuck in the Middle (Middlebury College)
Maple Jam (local)

Don't call it a comeback

2009-02-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

After a semester of pining for the airwaves, Radio Arts Middlebury returns to WRMC for more adventures.

I'm J.P. Allen, the show's new host. Starting this Wednesday, I'll be presenting the new-old-new, possibly-improved R!A!M! -- And, of course, trying to fill the headphones of former host Colin Foss. This week's show will attempt to span the gap between the visual and auditory with a review of a new exhibit of drawings by Sam Dakota Miller ('08.5) in the McCullough Center Gallery. Also this week, a conversation about that most polarizing of art forms, a cappella. And (predictably?) much more.

See you soon.

PS: It's also worth noting that Xander Manshell's new show, Speak! Radio, an amalgamation of creative nonfiction and narrative journalism pieces on a dizzying array of topics, will air after R!A!M! from 4:00 to 5:00. A whole afternoon of student-generated programming, leading up to Democracy Now! at 6:00 -- pretty remarkable, especially considering the high concentration of exclamation marks.

Town Hall Theatre, and some free press

2008-07-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

In Middlebury this summer, theatre lives on in the hallowed wings of the Town Hall Theater, thanks in part to a generous partnership with Middlebury College Theatre Department. Doug Anderson, executive director at the THT, finished renovations to the 125 year-old building and this weekend kicked off its first season since 2005. The Burlington Free Press reports.

This story begs two questions:

1. "Theatre," or "theater"?
According to playwright Dana Yeaton - it's the more European "theatre"... rolled "r" not necessary, but often observed. It seems Doug Anderson prefers the homier "theater," which should be pronounced with a bellyful of home-cooked potatoes and lamb and in some obscure regional accent. The College's stance? It's the Department of Theatre and Dance. However, Microsoft Word accepts both (although this might be because of that useless, ingratiating paper clip, Clippy).

2. What is wrong with the Burlington Free Press?
I know this is a sort of meta-media question, but just read this article. These are actual quotes (for those of you in a hurry):

“The deferred maintenance was intense,” said Anderson, an animated talker who bears a resemblance to David Letterman. “Had we known at the time how much was wrong with it, we never would have done it.”

The emphasis is mine. He bears a resemblance to who? Does that have anything to do with the story? I read and I demand relevance, you dreamer-journalist, you.

Anderson was especially excited to show off the spacious women’s bathroom and its five stainless-steel stalls.

Was he? especially excited? You're leading us down a path that ends in peeping-tomism, and I don't appreciate it. If you think Anderson's a creep, write an op-ed about it. Or etch it on this bathroom's wall.

Phew. Sorry about that. I really do like the BFP, but these bits just couldn't go unmentioned.

"Cyrano!" is playing this weekend at the THT... based on Edmond Rostand's stellar "Cyrano de Bergerac," the French classic which made big noses funny. Funny, until, probably, "The Pianist." Check out their upcoming schedule.

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If you're looking for some smart Middlebury news this summer, I'd head over to Midd-Blog. They break news faster than the Prophets and know a good deal more, too. (BTW thanks for the shout-out, guys.)

Enjoy your miserable internships, folks. It'll all be over soon and we'll be making a clean five figures at some non-profit before we know it.

Dispatch from Summer

2008-06-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hello, noble listeners.

I am writing to you from Boston, where I am working this summer at WBUR on a program called Here and Now. I am also working on a new blog, to present a few audio experiments I've been working on. It's called "Audio is Visual" and it's there to tell some stories that words can't. Radio Arts Middlebury has always been about these words, and we stand by our decision. "Audio is Visual," then, can be heard as a new arm of the media giant active during the school year.

You can find the new blog here: http://audioisvisual.blogspot.com.

Hope your summer is going well, and hope we'll see each other soon,

Colin

A tale of literary intrigue and suspense

2008-05-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Can you teach somebody to be a good writer? Not necessarily, but you certainly can give them the time to become one. Investigative reporter J.P. Allen brings us this week a mystery set in the ivied halls of the Middlebury creative writing program. He tracks down the culprits - the intrepid authors learning the trade - through a labyrinthine series of links that is the decentralized creative writing scene.

Sir John Patrick (Arthur Conan) Allen at his studio

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Also, since this is our last week of programming, we've prepared a going away present: Radio Arts Redux. It's a sort of "best-of" mash-up of some of our favorite moments of RAM this academic year. Click the link to download the 5-minute audio montage, or listen to the WHOLE SHOW and hear both Allen's story and the remix in one go.

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This is our last program of the year.

We’re not really sure of what the future of Radio Arts will be, but we hope that we see you again, in whatever monstrous form we will take. We want to thank Liza Sacheli-Lloyd for her undying support of the program, and to all of our guests, who have been too kind in letting a faltering, stuttering public radio debutant probe their expertise and air their wisdom. Of course, to you listeners, we owe everything. Thank you.

Signing out,

Radio Arts Middlebury

RAM New Year

2008-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Internet listeners, harken -

We've had some pretty poor online audio hosting this year, and we thank you for sticking with us nonetheless. Zshare is free, but advertisement-riddled, and drops files occasionally (especially if they're a bit old).

The good news? As a part of the end-of-year celebrations, Radio Arts is offering a service. We will send you a CD with your favorite episodes/segments (up to 70 minutes) free of charge. We will even deliver it to your door if you are in the Middlebury area. If you need some suggestions, I'll add that our (false) report of the Middlebury Sailing Club's yacht purchase was the most downloaded of the year. April fools is a happy time for everyone, I guess.

Send an email to radioartsmiddlebury@gmail.com with your picks, and we'll do our best to get it to you as fast as possible.

Also, if you are on campus, we suggest you pick up your CD at our official RAM celebration this weekend. Le Chateau 211 on the Middlebury campus will greet you with its warm embrace to help commemorate our first semi-successful year of programming. Bring a friend, but only if she's hot.

See you next Wednesday at 4:30, for our last week of programming. It'll be epic.

DDR! (A!M!)

2008-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Radio Arts, your trusted guide to all things arts, has made a foray into the world of contemporary dance. And things are getting pretty revolutionary there, if you'll excuse the video game reference. The Middlebury College Dance Program is presenting its Spring Concert, which this year is "Shifting the Frame." It's a selection of short pieces, choreographed by Midd students and faculty, and all incorporating some sort of film or video media. Each piece deals with the intruding media in certain ways - sometimes harmoniously, sometimes curiously, but always creatively. We spoke to some of the dancers, and to Tiffany Rhynard, visiting assistant professor in the Dance Program about the performance.

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Also, "Jumpers" by Tom Stoppard is finally coming up for production, and we air an interview with its director, Cheryl Faraone, and her collaborator Steve Abbott. We discuss inter-departmental collaboration and some of Tom Stoppard's borrowings from Math and Science.

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LISTEN to the WHOLE SHOW for May 30th

And hear the sweet sound of RAM

like nectar in your ear.

Cake and Space Magic

2008-04-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Host Colin Foss, playing his new Theremin

The future is now. Or the future was in 1919. The Theremin, the most advanced electronic intstrument of its time, has finally come back into style. As the picture above demonstrates, one plays the Theremin by placing one's hands around the instrument. A little bit of magic happens that might be explained through feedback, but we're still not sure, and tones are emitted. Brian Robison, composer and Thereminator, speaks about his love affair with this curio.

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Also, Cake. We give a resume of the debate around Middlebury's Spring Concert and why MCAB (Middlebury College Activities Board) and WRMC got so much flak for their decision to bring Cake. Field reporting at its best.

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LISTEN to the WHOLE SHOW some rainy Wednesday afternoon.

Or whenever.

That's the glory of online content.

Yours Truly,

Radio Arts Middlebury

Theatric Experiments

2008-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Where do we come from?
What are we?
Where are we going?

Paul Gauguin went to Tahiti to find his answers, and he used painting to help him get there. These may seem like some philosophy 101 questions, but a lot of academia is based around understanding them. Not just art, but math, science, religion, even economics looks for their own answers. So, why go it alone?

Cherly Faraone and Steve Abbott, professors in the Theatre and Mathematics departments respectively, collaborate together to make some interesting theatre. In Cheryl's upcoming production of Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," for example, the protagonist tries to prove the existence - or nonexistence - of God through mathematical means. Radio Arts spoke to Cheryl and Steve about their interdisciplinary collaborations in a segment we're calling "Theatric Experiments" - it's the third and final part of our "Collaboration in the Arts" series.

Listen to the WHOLE SHOW here

"Jumpers" sees production in Wright Theatre at 8 PM on May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, with a 2 PM matinee on the 3rd. For more information, go to http://www.middlebury.edu/arts.

Trick or Treat?

2008-04-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

A haloween tradition in early Spring? No, today's program is all about the eternal dupe: the illusion and the reality behind it. So it's up to you to decide whether its a trick or its a treat.

The Middlebury College sailing club is well known for its full support of brightly colored polos and boat shoes in a state so hopelessly land locked as Vermont. But they uphold a higher tradition of lazily floating and sipping we're going to call "aqualounging." To keep their image alive, the sailing club decided to indulge in a $400,000 yacht. What you'll be interested in hearing is where they got the money to fund this ultra-luxury. LISTEN to this segment and find out where your student activities fee might be going.

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"Look up More" is one of Improv Everywhere's dozens of missions. According to their members, the purpose of their organizations is to cause scenes. Whether it be an orchistrated danse and message in shop windows, a frozen Grand Central Station, or an eternal time loop in a Starbucks, they mix together the arts of tricking and treating to create a real state of grace. Senior Agent Zach Linden spoke to RAM about the group and their activities. LISTEN to this segment here.

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Of course, the show comes in other shapes and sizes. Listen to both these segments and more in our easily consumable WHOLE SHOW format.

Posters and paraFUNalia

2008-03-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Posters. This is serious, guys. We need to make about 400 thousands of these - not to plaster the campus with, but just to stick it to those environmentalists. Once you've stuck these on at least 10 environmental studies majors, we'll meet back here.

This particular poster is the winner of an unannounced poster contest. Here are the runners-up.

See you tomorrow.

God Save the Queen

2008-03-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I mean it, man.

The Sex Pistols might have been kidding, but they certainly weren’t if they were singing about Glyn Maxwell’s play “The Lifeblood,” seeing production at Middlebury later this semester. The queen in this case is Mary, Queen of Scots, and the play is about her final days imprisoned in Staffordshire castle. It’s a play of political intrigue, that just might have some modern connotations, especially if Johnny Rotten has something to say about it. LISTEN to this segment.

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How many dramaturges does it take to screw in a light bulb? We don’t know either. We do know, however, that it takes quite a lot to put up a theatrical performance. We’ll speak to playwright Dana Yeaton and classics scholar Pavlos Sfyroeras to see the kind of collaboration that has to happen to Aristophanes’ classic sex comedy “Lysistrata” before it can be put up at Middlebury. Listen to part two of RAM's "Collaboration in the Arts" series.

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Also, on today's program, we'll hear a track from English soprano Kate Royal's new album "Recitals." The piece is called "Les Filles de Cadix," and frankly, it's stunning. Kate Royal will be performing at Middlebury April 2nd in the Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall

As always, you can LISTEN to the whole show if you want to waste a good 30 minutes of your life.

Radio Arts Middlebury will be on break next week, but will resume programming Wednesday, April 2nd. Happy Spring break, listeners!

"I became you for both of us"

2008-03-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes not being famous gets us down. Andy Warhol said that, "in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes," and that was back in nineteen sixty-something. Hearing his prophetic words, an assistant of his - Gerard Malanga - decided to take fame into his own hands. This is where things get illegal. He forged about 20 prints of Ernesto "Che" Guevara under Warhol's name, and put them up in a gallery in Italy. In his defense, he told Warhol "I became you for both of us."

When does collaboration become theft? This is a pretty clear-cut case, but sometimes, it's not so easy to decide the limits of authorship. Professor John Hunisak, from the history of art and architechture department at Middlebury College, speaks about collaboration in Warhol's studio, and what exactly collaboration in the fine arts means. LISTEN to this segment.

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Also, welcome to the "15th year anniversary for the Center for the Arts - a RAM afterparty." Our own charming host, Mr. C.T. Foss, takes you on a run through the events of last Saturday night, when the College's CFA was officially named the Kevin P. Mahaney Center for the Arts. Listen to audio from the gala event, and hear stories from the beaux-arts ball that finished off the night. LISTEN and BELIEVE.

Dick Forman's "Sound Investment" jazz ensemble

The beaux-arts ball was a masquerade affair.

The funny thing is, this woman didn't know.

Student "Celtic Jam band" Market Zero provided the "St. Patrick's contra" one week too early.

All photography courtesy Denise Hofmann.

*****

Of course, if you have the time, you can always...

LISTEN to the WHOLE SHOW here.

****

Heads up for next week - we'll continue our series on "Collaboration in the Arts" with a look into a theatre production on campus: Aristophanes' "Lysistrata." Edward Murrow would be proud.

From the Center for the Arts to the authentic American West

2008-03-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

You've heard people (probably art snobs or postcard vendors) say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Who came up with these figures? Are they an estimate, or is it an empirical fact?

These questions (and that cliché) we'll leave behind for a moment as we take a trip back to the American West. Not the gun-slinging West (that was pretty cool, too), but to a quieter, less 'Hollywood' West. "Eloquent Vistas: the Art of 19th Century American Landscape Photography" might be a mouthful, but so are the photographs in The Middlebury College Museum of Art's new exhibit. Museum curator Emmie Donadio talks about the installation, the photographers, and gives a look into the Museum's collections in general. Listen to this segment.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Middlebury College Center for the Arts. As seen above, the building looks pretty cool, especially in artsy snapshots like this. Radio Arts brings you the storied history of the CFA, and lets you in on a little secret: it's not actually called the CFA anymore. The official champagne-bottle-smashing will occur Saturday, March 8th, when deep-pocketed arts enthusiast and Middlebury alumnus Kevin P. Mahaney will attribute his breathy family name to the college landmark. Listen to the CFA segment here.

The CFA during construction - over 15 years ago!

Digital imaging allows us to see what the CFA's concert hall

may have looked like - OVER 15 YEARS AGO!

If all this intrigues you, you can most certainly Listen to the WHOLE SHOW if you have a spare 30 minutes for an old friend.

...

Look forward to next week, when we'll begin out series "Collaboration in the Arts" - a multi-part epic known only as "the 'Odyssey' of radio journalism" to those in the industry. If the writer of "Juno" can win an Oscar, certainly we can too?

...

Remember us?

2008-02-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hey guys.

It's me, Radio Arts Middlebury. You know, "the only donation-accepting, for-profit, non-organization" at Middlebury? Yeah. Well, we're back.

This is our first week of programming, and we're feeling fine. On today's show, you can hear the epic interview with Gregg Gillis (see last entry) and get some of the arts listings for the next couple of weeks on campus.

If you're still excited about Girl Talk (like we are), we found a cool little website you might like. The Hood Internet makes some really cool so-and-so vs. so-and-so mash-ups. My favorite? Jens Lekman vs. Ludacris "If I could rock (it would feel like this)." Check it out.

We'll see you - and we'll be ready for you - next Wednesday at 4:30 PM on WRMC.

Jterm Programming

2008-01-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

When suddenly...

GIRL TALK

Gregg Gillis - also known as musical collagist Girl Talk - has been the subject of a quite a lot of bruit recently. Major national news sources like MSNBC, independent music media site Pitchfork, the slightly scandalous hunk-hunter Playgirl Magazine, the U.S. Congress and thousands of those pesky "weblogs" have all been spreading the gospel. Radio Arts Middlebury figured they'd jump on the bandwagon.

Said of this interview...

"... it's the [best] thing I've [heard] in ages!"

"...[Gillis] is thoughtprovoking, if not entierly [cool]."

"If looks could translate through radio, I'd say [Colin Foss] is horrendously [handsome]."

Listen to the full interview HERE.

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For those of us who haven’t read a major blog or music magazine recently – Girl Talk is a meta-pop music artist of huge proportions. His materials are the recognizable riffs and one-liners of the top 40 hits, the beats and basses of hip-hop, and the occasional indie morsel for those pitchfork media fanatics out there. He’s Gregg Gillis, and he makes a music that’s easy to pick apart, but hard to classify.

Gillis performed on the Middlebury campus Friday, January 18th. Radio Arts Middlebury's Colin Foss spoke with Gillis before his concert. This is the transcript.

Radio Arts: Your music isn’t just the work of a dance club DJ on speed. There’s a higher organization and most importantly an idea behind these seemingly random music encounters. What do you think the Smashing Pumpkins have to say to Fergie, for example?

Gregg Gillis: For me, I’m not trying to push any ideas or political statements on anyone – I do have particular views, and I’m happy to discuss them – but for me, conceptually music is about breaking down barriers. Artistically, I respect Fergie as much as I do Sonic Youth, even though certain bands are critically acclaimed and considered “real artists” and other more pop-oriented acts are sometimes dismissed. For me, anyone putting out CDs into the public is making an attempt to be heard, and even people who live off their music can be great artists. You can make great art and make money off it. For me, it’s all on the same level. You have to take into consideration their audience. When Sonic Youth makes a record, they have a particular style they’re going for. I don’t know why a lot of times music is dismissed not thinking about what they’re going for. A lot of pop music is beautiful art. They’re all these minds involved that create something that a lot of people in the world can get into. I break it down to where all the artists are on a similar level.

RA: Also, to see people at shows respond equally to every single bit of music that you use.

GG: I understand that a lot of people like my music but don’t like the source material I use for it; they just like the way I manipulate it. Other people just like the source material. I think it’s totally reasonable. With a lot of sample-based hip-hop, the artists the hip-hop artists are sampling arent’ necessarily the type of musicians that their audiences would listen to. Like Kanye West using Chaka Khan samples. Most fifteen-year-olds guys who are buying Kanye records don’t want to jam to Chaka Khan too much, but they like it in its particular context.

RA: Tell us a little bit about your technique. Do you save up thousands of samples on your computer and just test them out, or do you have a few songs in mind that you’d like to see work together?

GG: It’s a big trail-and-error process for me. I sit down and just sample, sample, sample – not really worrying about what I’m going to do with it. Isolating loops, hooks, random parts of songs. From there, I put the samples in real-time on program. I find these little bits and pieces of things that fit together, like a layer of three things. In a live show, all of the samples I have are interchanged with a click of the mouse. Basic arrangements are done beforehand. I can jump around with certain combinations of material I want to go to next, but the groundwork is laid before. I’ll work for hours at home just to change-up thirty seconds of live material. Eventually when I want to put out an album, I’ll look back at the highlights of the best material from live sets over the last year, year and a half.

RA: How do you decide on an album when a song stops and starts? You go through so many changes, mutations and cycles that by the end of a song, you’ve ended somewhere unrecognizable from where you’ve began.

GG: With Night Ripper at least, I built the album as one song. The track separation is somewhat arbitrary; I knew I was going to break it up into pop-style tracks. For the most part I just wanted it to flow continuously, but I had to break it up for easy navigation. You could go forever. The big challenge is not overwhelming one part of a song with too many samples. I could keep going and double the amount of samples from what I really want. It’s a challenge of finding something for me that is interesting and compositionally challenging but still not be too experimental to the point that people won’t enjoy it.

RA: You mentioned Night Ripper, your most recent solo album, which does seem like your most accessible. And it’s certainly seen some success. But what can we expect on your new album? Do you ever imagine using any original instrumentation?

GG: Little bits. On Night Ripper there are a few melodies on “Hold Up” and some beats that are original. There’s a minute-long keyboard part I wrote, and then I put together some stuff for the last track. On the new album - which I actually just started assembling yesterday - I have a lot of it drawn out. There’s about a minute and twenty seconds done, so I can’t say 100% what it’s going to sound like. On earlier albums, I felt a little bit like I was trying to prove myself on a laptop, almost showing off to some degree. It was about how fast I could chop up this many songs, make it fast and crazy but still together. Night Ripper was so well-received that it makes the pressure on me less. I don’t have to show off that I can chop up three-hundred songs in forty minutes. I think the album’s dense like the last one, but I’m going to let it breathe a little bit more. I’ll take the concepts of Night Ripper and hopefully make a better pop album out of it.

RA: Being somewhere in between a music producer and a music presenter and a music maker – are you ever at a loss as to what to do onstage?

GG: Not really. I mean in high school, I was in a noise band, and we just made experimental sounds and smashed up stuff. It was very performance-based. We took the music into consideration, but it was always performance first. As soon as I started Girl Talk, I though I was going to start a band all sample-based. I wasn’t going to be a DJ, I would just do sound collage and that’s what this whole project was going to be about. It wasn’t like I was making these collages and then I was asked to do something live. I’ve had many years now of playing shows in basements and opening up for bands in basements – it wasn’t dance clubs or parties. It was “here’s thirty minutes, get up on stage and put on a performance.” During shows these days, now that people come out to party and know my material a bit more, the performance end of it is so casual and easy for me because I can focus on the music more. I really try to engage the crowd. Basically, I need to be clicking the mouse every thirty seconds at least, but it’s loop-based, so if I can move away from the laptop and it will loop forever. Because of that I have a certain amount of freedom that a typical rock band doesn’t. I can actually physically hang-out and communicate with an audience.

RA: I went to go see a Dan Deacon show a while ago – a guy I know you’ve been pretty close to this tour – it was literally him and an iPod. How have you enjoyed your tours with him so far?

GG: Optimal. I’ve been a fan of his for a while. I’ve probably known Dan for four or five years now. I think we went through similar things in the past few years, going from complete obscurity to having a fan base that is five hundred times what it used to be. His last record that broke out was his third or fourth album ( I don’t even know) and mine was my third record. We’ve played plenty of shows with a relatively small cult following, and then all of a sudden overnight thanks to a few good reviews… it definitely is exciting. I used to see his shows in Pittsburg playing for five to thirty people. I always thought he was a great performer, but I never really imagined it on a larger scale. Before his record came out, we had a few shows where I got him to open up and it went over so great. Seeing him play to a sold-out show, where I had never seen him play in front of more than thirty people, was really exciting. By the time his record came out, everyone jumped on and was really behind him. He’s one of my favorite live performers. I love the way he manipulates an audience. He’s a great musician – blending pop band experimentation like what I’m trying to do, obviously in a different way. But sometimes it’s just how good his shows are, how he performs, just to be awestruck with how all these fifteen-year old kids are leaving their minds for this incredibly experimental ten-minute composition. I really respect him for things like that.

RA: You’ve just come back from abroad, haven’t you?

GG: Yeah I was in Australia for a bit.

RA: How do you feel about performing outside the U.S? Do you have any special considerations?

GG: Yeah, definitely. I haven’t toured abroad that much. Mainly because I had a day job until June, and I couldn’t get that many days off. Now that I’ve quit, I’ve been getting around a lot more. In the past month, I’ve done Europe and Australia. It’s different. Certain parts of the world don’t necessarily have your record and haven’t heard your music, whereas I think in the U.S. something very specific is going on. Each city is different, each crowd is different, but there’s a certain understanding across the landscape. People experiences things in a certain way, they read similar websites, there’s a strong word-of-mouth. I can’t really classify the U.S. as one big place, because every show is different, but at the same time I feel like I’m just not as exposed in other parts of the world. People get down, but it’s a bit more work. It’s refreshing in an old-school way. Playing in Europe a month ago – I did a ten-day tour – and people go nuts, but it really feels like playing a show two years ago. I’d show up, there’d be an audience who want to get down and party, but at the same time it won’t happen from the first second. You actually have to win them over and engage them. Whereas, I think a lot of my shows these days, people know you’re coming out to party – that’s a given – it just goes off. Also, my source material also is really American-based, especially the hip-hop, that sometimes in other parts of the world, it hasn’t dropped big yet – maybe never will. I don’t like to cater, though, to any crowd, because I like to present this like a band that would play the same set in Dublin as they would in New York City. But when you get down to it, it’s a matter of getting over there and exposing yourself to them.

RA: And now that you’re back in the states, you’re playing a college campus, among other places. Have you performed at a college before?

GG: Oh yeah, a bunch.

RA: It’s a different crowd, but how do you feel performing there?

GG: They’re the most casual and easy shows. For instance, did they sell tickets to this show?

RA: Yeah, they did.

GG: How much were they?

RA: Ten big ones.

GG: Yeah, shows at colleges are typically because there’s a lot of money coming in. They’re cheap or free usually. They people who put them on are people who are really into the music, whereas in venues, it’s hit or miss. Sometimes, you’ll get a promoter who really likes your material, other times you’ll get someone who knows you can draw a large crowd and are just doing business. But at colleges, people actually want to see the show; that’s why they booked it. They could have booked anything; it’s not like they’re putting on a million shows, there’s only a select few. For me, it’s really easy. People are enthusiastic and I’m enthusiastic. And I really like it when shows are cheap or free just because it drops the level of importance. It’s just like “this is it, let’s have fun.”

RA: Do you remember any of the bands the came to campus when you were in college?

GG: We had a good activities board. There were some big shows, like George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Andrew WK. We had shows every Wednesday so I kinda played there myself sometimes. I think Of Montreal played there before they broke out. A lot of great shows, and it was really regular, too.

RA: I gotta say, it was a relief to see that you were performing here. I think it’s hard to get people to come up to Vermont, so thanks for coming.

GG: I’ve actually never been to Vermont. First time.

RA: I’ve been thinking; your music is so reflective about pop music itself, do you imagine that if one of your songs ever makes it to the top 40, will pop music implode?

GG [laughs]: I don’t think it will be me, but I think it will happen at some point naturally. Back in – I don’t know – the 30s or 40s, you could say “can you imagine a cover of an older song making the top 40? Would that be some post-modern headf**k?” And it happened. If you were in the 70s or 60s when samplers first came out, you could say “can you imagine someone actually physically taking an older song, manipulating it, putting their own words on top of it, and that making the top 40?” And that’s happened slowly with rap music. People find out ways to use technology and minimize the cost put in to making music. Something that always happens. Sampling does that. Oh anyway! There are remixes on the techno/trance end that becoming huge top 40 songs every once in a while. I think that a collage or a straight mash-up like that becoming a hit single at some point. I don’t know if it will be during my era, but I definitely see it happening.

RA: You’ve talked a lot about the “mash-up” genre in other interviews – especially about its popularity and accessibility. Do you think that in ten years kids will be asking for audio editing software instead of guitars for Christmas?

GG: I think it’s happening now. It’s crazy. Even in my own experience – I’ve been doing this since 2000 – back then doing remixes on computers seems so limited. Now, it’s like every song that comes out, especially hip hop songs, there’s a million remixes that pop up on the internet instantaneously. I feel like so many kids are getting into it, so many kids are making beats, and doing hip hop and its remixes. I don’t see it dying out anytime soon. People are so used to using their computers. Even graphic design on Photoshop for example, is so widespread compared to ten years ago. I see that happening [with music] soon. Especially even with Guitar Hero and video games like that, I think a good beat production-style game will be very big, where you can remix any song in an easier to use thing. This will be very common in the future.

RA: Well, Gregg. Thank you much for talking with me today.

GG: Cool, nice chatting.

Finals time is party time

2007-12-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

If last week's program was the farewell concert, than this is the after-party.

This week on Radio Arts Middlebury, we're going to be spinning beats and taking your calls. What do you want to change about the program? What did you like, or probably more appropiately, what did you hate? Want me to shut up? Send us a call. Or drop us a line. Or shoot us an email.

Unfortunately, this program is only available live. We'll let you know if anything crazy happens. Today from 4:00 - 5:00 PM, on WRMC 91.1 FM if you're in the Champlain Valley - or live stream at WRMC.middlebury.edu if you don't happen to live in the great spine of Vermont.

The number for the studio is 802.443.6323 - dial those digits and you'll be connected the DJ.

We'll talk to you soon,

The staff of Radio Arts

Here's to Fall 2007

2007-12-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

This week, we’ll be jumping into a modern adaptation of an ancient myth – one of the most famous those Greeks ever came up with. Anais Mitchell, Middlebury class of 2004 is coming back to campus to perform “Hadestown,” a folk-opera she wrote based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Campus Arts Editor Melissa Marshall spoke with Mitchell about the production and Radio Arts brings you the goods.

Listen to the WHOLE SHOW

Also, this week's is the last program of the semester. When we come back from break, you may not recognize us. Then again, you probably will. We're not terribly inventive here at Radio Arts. Thanks for a lovely semester. And we'll meet again - some sunny day.

The Duke

2007-11-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

This week, we have the great pleasure of bringing you the smooth sounds of jazz bandleader Duke Ellington – live, in-studio…

OK, so maybe he’s not in the studio. Maybe we don’t even have a studio. At any rate, the Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble, Middlebury’s own big band is performing a concert soon at the Mahaney Center for the Arts and Radio Arts Middlebury spoke with musical director – a Duke Ellington in his own right – Richard Forman.**** Also today, we’ll hear from Middlebury Professor Timothy Billings, who has recently translated a book of poetry by French poet Victor Segalen. Oddly enough, Segalen modeled his writings after a Chinese form of literature known as “Steles.” Finally, all those years of Chinese language studies pay off.

LISTEN to the Whole Show

The F-Word

2007-11-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

The College this week is wrapping up a series of events it has dubbed the “Wasserstein Fortnight” – named in honor of Wendy Wasserstein, the playwright who passed away in January of 2006. The fortnight will commemorate the contributions Wasserstein made to theatre, as well as explore some of the questions that this women’s rights advocate proposed. Cheryl Faraone, director of “The Heidi Chronicles” explains the complicated legacy Wasserstein left behind.

Wasserstein, giddy for having won a Tony and a Pulitzer.

Conductor and composer Troy Peters knows how to run an orchestra. He’s been at the center of the Vermont youth orchestra since 1995, and has recently been lending his expertise to the Middlebury College Orchestra. Radio Arts managed to talk to Peters before a concert he performed with the College Orchestra last Friday. Find out why Carnegie Hall ain’t so big for Peters and his musicians.

Listen to the WHOLE SHOW

Some R!A!M! news....

We will be on haitus next week. Don't call your friends and tell them to listen that week. Because they won't hear it. We hope you've been having a good time listening, though. As a treat for all of you blog-goers, we're planning something great for you. It'll be like a big, online party and all of your virtual friends will be there.

P.S. Hugh Grant has too much money

Happy November!

2007-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

This week, we’re going to take a look at the work of a new director to the Middlebury theatre community. Her name is Dawn Loveland, who chose to make her directorial debut Edward Albee’s visceral one-acter “Zoo Story.” She’ll tell us why Edward Albee should know one act is better than two.

Bright lights, big city! Or at least, street lamps, rural town. Musical Theatre in Middlebury might seem a little odd, but you’d be surprised at just how enthusiastic these Sondheim junkies are. The Middlebury College Musical Players are performing Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” this weekend, and Radio Arts brings you the goods. We’ll look at a snapshot of who exactly the Players are, and see where they’ve been and where they’re going. Strap on your tap shoes, or whatever you wear in musicals.

Listen to the WHOLE SHOW

The Jelly People

2007-10-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Alpha Yaya Diallo and Jacquie Assombé with distinguished host of Radio Arts Middlebury, the Doctor Professor Colin T. Foss

You might think Vancouver is a strange place to go if you’re looking for World Music, but you’re apparently mistaken. Alpha YaYa Diallo – a songwriter and musician originally from Guinea – has set up shop in the British Colombian metropolis. His music, at once traditional and modern, made the journey to North America with him. Mr. Diallo will speak with us about his music, his life, and his new home. Ever wonder what happens to your genes after you have a clone made? So does playwright Caryl Churchill. Director Cheryl Faraone will talk us through an upcoming performance of Churchil’’s play “A Number” – one of the few plays in which one actor can realistically play three roles. “Realistically” of course, only if cloning were real.

Listen to the show

Many thanks to Gaby Shorr, our most distinguished photo editor. And of course, it was a great honor to have Alpha and Jacquie on the show, and the whole staff of R!A!M! would like to thank them for their cheery dispositions. Much power to the jelly people!

Triumphant return to the airwaves

2007-10-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder where the greatest theatre stars of tomorrow will get their start? Right here, at Middlebury, in something called the first-year show, and this year, it’s the 12th annual. Right on time for Halloween, the production this year is called “Severed Headshots: Sinister Scenes and Monologues.” Radio Arts will give you a preview of what one reporter is calling “the scariest thing you’ll see at Middlebury this year.”

Victor Segalen, moustached Poet

Timothy Billings is an associate professor in the English department. So, what’s he doing writing a book about French poetry? “Steles,” a compilation of poetry from French writer Victor Segalen is enjoying a fresh translation from the Middlebury Professor. Billings will read selected poems from the translation and explain how Segalen unraveled the mystery of the Orient in his writings.

Listen to the Whole Show

And, as an online exculsive:

Listen to the complete, unrated interview with Professor Timothy Billings

If you want to know more about "Steles" and Segalen's Chinese sources, head on over to http://www.steles.org/.

We're having a great time back from break. We got rid of our music editor, but signed on a new face to the staff of Radio Arts Middlebury. Gabrielle Shorr, native of Brooklyn, will be fulfilling the role of Photo Editor from now on. The position is unpaid, but think about it: what kind of duties would a photo editor have on a radio show? Exactly.

Also, Radio Arts Middlebury would like to say a fond farewell to Liz Bulkley, who has been the host of "The Front Porch" on New Hampshire Public Radio since August 2006. Liz, you will be missed!

http://www.nhpr.org/

Who said we're losing steam?

2007-10-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

This week, we’re looking back to the glorious programming we all know and love. That’s right, Radio Arts Middlebury, this is your life. Rinde Eckert will be making a surprise re-appearance on the program, to tell us about his play “Horizon” that was produced on campus October 8th. You’ll also hear audio from a show Regina Spektor played at the college September 29th. Also, you might want to stick around to hear our music editor’s pick of the week.

Since the majority of the programming of this half-rerun is available on the October 3rd show, I'm not going to post the whole show. Instead, I'll just give you the Music Editor's pick.

Here's a link to the video:
http://www.marcussoderlund.se/video_XVI.html

Jens Lekman "Sipping on the Sweet Nectar"

Dave Matthews isn't a Dirty Hippie

2007-10-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

MCAB rejects Dave before he can even offer to come

This week, we’re going to take a look behind the scenes of Certified Organic Musical – a student-written play premiering this weekend on campus. It’s a satire of environmentalism on campus, but you’ll hear it here first: they’re not just singing about dirty hippies. In the wake of the Regina Spektor concert (They’re still trying to clean up Pepin gym), we’ll look forward to upcoming concerts on campus. Kate Perry, co-chair of the concerts committee for the Middlebury College Activities Board, explains why the Dave Matthews Band will never be coming to Middlebury. In retrospect, the staff of Radio Arts Middlebury thinks it would be best if we replayed that piece about Patrick Dougherty and his now completed sculpture “So Inclined.” And I can’t say no to my staff.

http://www.zshare.net/download/41615324bb25f6/

Regina and Rinde

2007-10-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Musician Regina Spektor may have begun her career as just a little morsel of Soviet Kitsch, but it’s obvious her fame has eclipsed any cutesy immigrant identity. We’ll explore her appeal and hear audio from a concert she performed at the college on Saturday, September 29th . As theatre season ramps up, we’re going to take a look into a relatively unexplored area of play production: that is, theatric design. Jule Emerson, artist in residence at the college, comments on a Design symposium held at the college. Finally, I sat down with playwright and 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist Rinde Eckert (pronounced Rin-dee), whose play “Horizon” is seeing production this Monday, October 1st in Wright Theatre as a part of a national tour. We’ll talk about the play, Rinde’s career, and he’ll reveal the mystery behind the techno-opera.

http://www.zshare.net/download/41611087c99757/

Funny story about this one. We planned to have an interview with Ms. Spektor following her show. You know, ask her some pointless puff questions about her boyfriend, her new album, and how Russian she is. The night of the concert, right after the opener got offstage, I got word that Regina's tour manager wouldn't let me backstage to talk to her. In my anger ("I'm a journalist. I'm a serious journalist" I complained) I managed to bootleg a good part of the show before security found me. Look on eBay for "REGINA SPEKTOR LIVE!" and bid to get the original audio from the infamous Middlebury College concert. And I'll throw in an official Radio Arts t-shirt if you mention this post.

Public Art and Parisian Photography

2007-09-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we’re going to enter into the somewhat controversial world of public art on campus. Patrick Dougherty’s new installation outside the Center for the Arts might be just the thing to get students to start interacting with – and not complaining about – the art around them. Also, we’ll hear from Emily Mitchell, a Middlebury Alumna and Breadloaf School celebrity who just published her first novel The Last Summer of the World. Kathryn Flagg, editor-in-chief of the Middlebury Campus and celebrity in her own right, spoke with Mitchell about writing the novel.

http://www.zshare.net/download/4160790f8d0889/