Rich Kassirer did a great story about the CD Clubs that were launched by last year’s broadcast of “Pass the CD” on Weekend America. Rich is good friends with Jamie Barth, who joined one of the CD Clubs this year and has been an avid member all year. Check out Modern Acoustic for regular stories about the up and coming acoustic music scene by people who really care about it. Thanks, Rich – hope you launch a club or two with that issue!
Writer Jennifer Kabat did a great piece for the Adobe Design Center on the potential for interactive technology to stoke public dialogue: The People Will Be Heard: Interactive technology in public spaces. It includes a look at interactive projects I have been involved in at ESI Design, as well as work by Jake Barton, David Small and AllofUs. A quote of mine she included: “No one wants to see themselves as just a consumer… the blip at the end of a production line. Now there are tools for being a participant, for being part of the conversation, and museums are becoming part of a two-way dialogue.”
The CD clubs that were launched by the “Pass the CD” segment on Weekend America are going strong. The idea is that a group of 12 strangers (who met through the radio) share music for a year together. Each month, another member of the club is up – they put together a mix, burn 11 copies and snailmail them to the rest of the club. In addition to the two that I am in – The Penguins and The Owls, there are seven other self-organizing clubs – all going strong. You can see some of their playlists on the club blogs -
The Owls – http://the-owls.blogspot.com
The Penguins – http://thepenguins.blogspot.com
Gideon’s 13 – http://gid-13.blogspot.com/
The Geckos http://geckogroup.blogspot.com/
Other groups communicate via email lists, or, like the MIXMOO club, through Yahoo Groups.
On Saturday, April 8, 2006, my recent “Listening In” interview with John Prine will air on Weekend America. We listened to the recordings that he was listening to when he first got the idea he wanted to make up songs of his own – Mississippi John Hurt, Hank Williams (Sr.), Roger Miller, Bob Dylan. In the piece, we end by listening to “Paradise” and then “The Glory of True Love” from his 2005 album, “Fair and Square.”
Prine has written some fantastic lyrics over his 35 year career – what is your favorite line from Prine? What is your favorite Prine rhyme? Let me know at prine -at- listeningin -dot- org.
I want to know what you’re listening to. I also want to know when you listen to it, how you found it, what you are listening to it on and, most importantly, why you are listening to it. How does music fit into your life? Why does it move you? I am constantly searching for new ideas about music and how people listen to it for my radio documentary programs. Send me a story about you and your music to gideon -at- listeningin -dot- org.
