Letters from the Outside > Comments > "Review of Letters from the Outside"
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Commenter Profile
- Minhal Baig
- Username: MinhalB
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Joined PRX: Jun 27, 2007
Piece Information
- "Letters from the Outside"
- Summary: Getting letters in jail is part of what keeps Randy going. Here he shares some from his friends in Texas.
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Review of Letters from the Outside
Minhal Baig
Posted on January 22, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Randy's segment on the letters he receives from friends utilized a very different approach. Whereas many segments use active tape and sound-rich scenery, Randy reverts to minimalism; the only sound in the segment is of his own voice reading the letters he receives from friends in Texas.
The setup of the segment is a bit shaky. It is not clear why Randy receives letters from friends in Texas, and there are many unanswered questions. Why did he leave Texas? What is special about each of the friends he mentions? The tone of voice that Randy used did not engage in the listener; a variety in tone and pitch may have helped the segment be more dynamic.
I felt the premise of the segment could have been changed. Why not arrange phonecalls with each of these friends and weave them into the segment? Why not leave faux-fax machine messages to the friends involved? Randy's segment could use work on execution, but the content seems useful for creating other, engaging segments.