Summary: Two self-contained hours of special programming based on the acclaimed ten-part ATC series, with a Web site filled with photos, features, background, and sound at YiddishRadioProject.org
Loves this show. Gave me a better taste of how Yiddish culture was transmitted. Loved all the musical segments. Great to hear popular American music in Yiddish.
What else can I say? This is so, so good. Absolutely captivating and ghostly. I'm sitting in my office, practically in tears, hearing a Holocaust survivor being reunited with his father on a radio show. (Why do I hate this crap on "Oprah" but it gets to me on the radio?) The voices from the past are so clear and present here, the production is beautifully unnoticeable, and the narrator is such an enthusiast, you can't help but get sucked in. I really have other things to do today but I think I'm going to be listening to the whole thing. If I had a car, this would be a driveway moment. Call it a desktop moment.
I loved this as a series and the accumulative effect of this special is just as good, if not better.
The mixture of archival radio shows, interviews and narration is spellbinding. This special leaves you on the edge of heartbreak: when it's over your first impulse is to tune in to one of these Yiddish stations but by the time your hand reaches the dial you realize the futility of this gesture.
Yiddish radio of years past was immediate, raw, unprocessed, and unselfconscious. It was reality radio in the truest sense. Spirited, unyielding, and varied, Yiddish radio built a community and restored heritage to Eastern European Jews. In an almost onomatopoetic fashion this program illustrates the magic of radio. You are left with renewed appreciation for something that is not tangible, nor visible but utterly forceful and palpable.
Although this is worth broadcasting wherever you have the time, it would be perfect for fundraising. This special explains the importance of radio better than anyone--be it station managers, radio hosts or enthusiastic listeners. Broadcast this and the phones will be ringing off the hook.
Comments for Yiddish Radio Project Holiday Special, Hour One
Produced by Dave Isay
Other pieces by Sound Portraits
Rating Summary
3 comments
Joshua Weinberg
Posted on December 22, 2004 at 03:14 PM | Permalink
Review of Yiddish Radio Project Holiday Special, Hour One
Loves this show. Gave me a better taste of how Yiddish culture was transmitted. Loved all the musical segments. Great to hear popular American music in Yiddish.
Tara Anderson
Posted on December 09, 2004 at 08:44 AM | Permalink
Review of Yiddish Radio Project Holiday Special, Hour One
What else can I say? This is so, so good. Absolutely captivating and ghostly. I'm sitting in my office, practically in tears, hearing a Holocaust survivor being reunited with his father on a radio show. (Why do I hate this crap on "Oprah" but it gets to me on the radio?) The voices from the past are so clear and present here, the production is beautifully unnoticeable, and the narrator is such an enthusiast, you can't help but get sucked in. I really have other things to do today but I think I'm going to be listening to the whole thing. If I had a car, this would be a driveway moment. Call it a desktop moment.
Chelsea Merz
Posted on December 08, 2004 at 12:05 PM | Permalink
Review of Yiddish Radio Project Holiday Special, Hour One
I loved this as a series and the accumulative effect of this special is just as good, if not better.
The mixture of archival radio shows, interviews and narration is spellbinding. This special leaves you on the edge of heartbreak: when it's over your first impulse is to tune in to one of these Yiddish stations but by the time your hand reaches the dial you realize the futility of this gesture.
Yiddish radio of years past was immediate, raw, unprocessed, and unselfconscious. It was reality radio in the truest sense. Spirited, unyielding, and varied, Yiddish radio built a community and restored heritage to Eastern European Jews. In an almost onomatopoetic fashion this program illustrates the magic of radio. You are left with renewed appreciation for something that is not tangible, nor visible but utterly forceful and palpable.
Although this is worth broadcasting wherever you have the time, it would be perfect for fundraising. This special explains the importance of radio better than anyone--be it station managers, radio hosts or enthusiastic listeners. Broadcast this and the phones will be ringing off the hook.