Old School
Jett Loe’s last two podcasts are well worth a listen. Letter to America – Chapter 56 – The Airport is Jett at his surreal best! In Chapter 57, Jett and Erin Parrish turn their attention to their fellow nominees in the Irish Blog Awards, Best Podcast category.
And what a discovery they made in “Old Bones“! This is gorgeous blogging and podcasting: lovely essays read aloud. The author is a lady of senior years, and the material is all the better for her experience. I can hear echoes of activities some say are becoming a lost art in our electronic age, like letter-writing, and reading aloud.
Sometimes, when I flick through the radio channels on a Sunday evening, I come across a radio play on RTE Radio 1. Monologues are a frequent feature of this kind of disembodied, stageless theatre. It doesn’t matter what it’s about (and the quality isn’t even always that important) – the change of pace and style from the usual soundbites is what draws me in each and every time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if “Old Bones” has experience of radio drama. I’d guess she’s a mainstay of her local amateur theatre group, or reads in church, or recites poetry? Like the Sunday evening radio players, she’s got me hanging on every word.
Browsing “Old Bones” blog, I found references to “Grandad“. He’s another senior blogger, and a nominee in 4 categories at the Irish Blog Awards. Irish blogs are looking better and better!
Voting on the Irish Blog Awards closes today at 5pm. I’m nominated in 4 categories and you’ll find my entry at the top of the Best Podcast list, titled An Lionra – 06 12 06.
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February 16, 2007 at 12:29 pm
While I love Jett’s airport episode, I thought the click-through of Irish podcasts they did didn’t win himself or Erin any new friends.
February 16, 2007 at 3:25 pm
As regards my own podcast, I must admit I was a little dissapointed that, from a 12-minute show which included live poetry reading, interviews and music, they only sampled my introductory monologue from the first two minutes.
But, as a long time contributor to LTA, I know that, once you pass the ball over to Jett, you have relinquished control! It’s his show, and you may think you’re playing soccer but he goes for a touchdown!
LTA is essentially comedy. Witness last years Blog Awards show which had more to do with the road-trip to Dublin, than with what happened in the Alexander Hotel! What’s more, its obvious Jett isn’t kidding when he says he hadn’t listened to the podcasts before recording his show. I appreciate that his comedic intent is probably better served by his first reaction – and you and I both know how time consuming it can be to research and prepare a podcast! Still, it might have been better if he picked something out of the middle of these shows as well.
Having said that, the Airport show is truly superb. Two days after hearing it, it’s still playing in my head. This is more than just podcasting – it’s art.
February 17, 2007 at 10:01 am
Jett Loe is a performance artist with a mic. I don’t think the average troll knows what’s going on at LTA. There are parts of LTA that scream for video because some of Jett’s segments are better than Borat.