A pleasant ride through troubled minds. Lots of voices saying powerful things. Well scored, perfect music to guide our emotional journey. Can hear the great energy that went into editing this piece; touched on many of the themes/topics that circle around the topic. A shorter version might get a national airing.
I didn’t connect with anyone however, seemed more of a reporter’s microphone that keeps a slight distance—we are only Hearing these stories, just an inch from feeling them. Liked the exploration of literature and performance readings, but feels, to me, a little jarring: a then/now? actor/ tape? shock. Liked the 911 tape sounds in the background, a reminder of the chaos. Beautifully edited layering of sounds and voices. Don’t need the PSA at the end, that can be done by someone inside the piece.
The piece is lovely, perhaps too lovely.
The skill of composition threatens the subject
matter: this is such deep, serious & even scary stuff, that I ached for the ache of subject to
match style.
The constant music lulled me: I don't want to be
lulled by these stories, I want to be lurched!
I'll confess that I feel like I should be
screaming the praises of this piece rather than
picking at what seems to me much more than nits,
but I can't. I hear the dangers of the interwoven
vox-pop with music sweetening too strongly here.
This is as much a style--an over-heard style as
any more acts & tracks approach and needs shaking
up, too!
Here There Is No Moon follows more the structure of a piece of music than a documentary. Listeners do learn facts along the way, but they are brought along a not-necessarily-linear path through the different aspects of suicide: hearing from the ones who attempted it, the people who study it, the counselors who help prevent it, the police, the writers who try to put it into words And it works. Mostly. There are some intense moments: the juxtaposition of a calm reading (fiction?) about suicide with a loud, desperate 911 call; a layering of readings of suicide notes that all sound eerily similar. But the problem with a non-narrated, layered type of production like this one is that it needs memorable voices for a listener to latch onto. I felt as though there were too many characters/voices in this piece for me to keep track of, and I ended up not caring as much about some of them as I could have. Also, I was craving a bit of silence behind some of the interviews. The emotional content of what they were saying was not as strong with a musical background. But overall, this piece conveys the important message that suicide, though strange and scary, is something that is studied, written about and treated, and can be a transformative event in someone’s life. And many suicidal experiences are similar, even though the person feels like the last person on earth.
As one of the leading causes of death, suicide is a topic worthy of a documentary, both from a public health perspective and because it is misunderstood and scary. Here, the producer of "Here There is No Moon," weaves interviews with people who have attempted suicide (including a chilling account of one man who survived a leap from the Golden Gate Bridge) with music and readings from fictional texts. The piece lacks narration and doesn't focus long on any single story, choosing to move back and forth between stories. This unconventional approach didn't work for me. I found myself wanting to be guided, even just a little bit, by a narrator. Also, just as a particularly effective piece of audio was sending a chill up and down my spine (I especially liked the clip from the police officer telling someone --- a possible jumper? --- "Open your eyes, sir"), another piece of audio from a separate story was arriving. This montage continued throughout the documentary.
Having been raised by a mother who has been and is constantly beset by the pains of manic depression and the wish to no longer be a part of the living, this piece speaks volumes to me. I am sure there are so many children, parents, and spouses in the public radio listening audience that will benefit from hearing this piece. Many times loved ones cannot speak about their darkest feelings with each other. This piece will provide an opening for dialogue. These voices, from the ones feeling the pain to the ones who are helping those in pain, to excerpts from literature, reveal things to all of us that need to be said. This piece brought to mind Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, "Spring," which ends with these final lines: "It is not enough that yearly down this hill, April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers." Riveting, wonderful piece. Sound rich. Well done. Listen. All of us have had at least one day in our lives where there's been no moon . . . and no sun.
What a haunting, emotionally compelling piece of work. Why do people want to kill themselves? There are several answers touched upon but no one can come up with one definitive answer. How could there be? Certainly the people in this piece talk about pain and the immeasurable loss they feel. They can see no end to it except the end of life. The voice collage moves fluidly like the waters underneath the Golden Gate Bridge from which many have jumped. There statistics that wash through from experts (some on the phone line as if they were our crisis lifeline) about the 1200 people who jump off the Golden Gate each year - the five minutes duration of time between the decision and action--these hold dearly long after the piece is over. Susan Stone is an unheralded radio artist and her work simply must be played. Stations ca pair this with another mental health piece to make an hour-long special. There's a shorter version that fits within the half-hour time slot as well. May is Suicide Prevention Month. There's a hook for stations. But really we all know someone who has entered the night where there is no moon. Don't we?
Comments for Here There is No Moon (European version 31:54)
Produced by Susan Stone
Other pieces by Susan Stone
Rating Summary
6 comments
Jake Warga
Posted on July 31, 2005 at 09:13 AM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (European version 31:54)
A pleasant ride through troubled minds. Lots of voices saying powerful things. Well scored, perfect music to guide our emotional journey. Can hear the great energy that went into editing this piece; touched on many of the themes/topics that circle around the topic. A shorter version might get a national airing.
I didn’t connect with anyone however, seemed more of a reporter’s microphone that keeps a slight distance—we are only Hearing these stories, just an inch from feeling them. Liked the exploration of literature and performance readings, but feels, to me, a little jarring: a then/now? actor/ tape? shock. Liked the 911 tape sounds in the background, a reminder of the chaos. Beautifully edited layering of sounds and voices. Don’t need the PSA at the end, that can be done by someone inside the piece.
Karen Michel
Posted on June 03, 2005 at 07:38 AM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (European version 32:28)
The piece is lovely, perhaps too lovely.
The skill of composition threatens the subject
matter: this is such deep, serious & even scary stuff, that I ached for the ache of subject to
match style.
The constant music lulled me: I don't want to be
lulled by these stories, I want to be lurched!
I'll confess that I feel like I should be
screaming the praises of this piece rather than
picking at what seems to me much more than nits,
but I can't. I hear the dangers of the interwoven
vox-pop with music sweetening too strongly here.
This is as much a style--an over-heard style as
any more acts & tracks approach and needs shaking
up, too!
Sarah Elzas
Posted on May 18, 2005 at 10:13 AM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (European version 32:28)
Here There Is No Moon follows more the structure of a piece of music than a documentary. Listeners do learn facts along the way, but they are brought along a not-necessarily-linear path through the different aspects of suicide: hearing from the ones who attempted it, the people who study it, the counselors who help prevent it, the police, the writers who try to put it into words And it works. Mostly. There are some intense moments: the juxtaposition of a calm reading (fiction?) about suicide with a loud, desperate 911 call; a layering of readings of suicide notes that all sound eerily similar. But the problem with a non-narrated, layered type of production like this one is that it needs memorable voices for a listener to latch onto. I felt as though there were too many characters/voices in this piece for me to keep track of, and I ended up not caring as much about some of them as I could have. Also, I was craving a bit of silence behind some of the interviews. The emotional content of what they were saying was not as strong with a musical background. But overall, this piece conveys the important message that suicide, though strange and scary, is something that is studied, written about and treated, and can be a transformative event in someone’s life. And many suicidal experiences are similar, even though the person feels like the last person on earth.
Todd Melby
Posted on May 17, 2005 at 01:28 PM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (European version 32:28)
As one of the leading causes of death, suicide is a topic worthy of a documentary, both from a public health perspective and because it is misunderstood and scary. Here, the producer of "Here There is No Moon," weaves interviews with people who have attempted suicide (including a chilling account of one man who survived a leap from the Golden Gate Bridge) with music and readings from fictional texts. The piece lacks narration and doesn't focus long on any single story, choosing to move back and forth between stories. This unconventional approach didn't work for me. I found myself wanting to be guided, even just a little bit, by a narrator. Also, just as a particularly effective piece of audio was sending a chill up and down my spine (I especially liked the clip from the police officer telling someone --- a possible jumper? --- "Open your eyes, sir"), another piece of audio from a separate story was arriving. This montage continued throughout the documentary.
Deborah Astley
Posted on May 08, 2005 at 07:56 AM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (Long Version)
Having been raised by a mother who has been and is constantly beset by the pains of manic depression and the wish to no longer be a part of the living, this piece speaks volumes to me. I am sure there are so many children, parents, and spouses in the public radio listening audience that will benefit from hearing this piece. Many times loved ones cannot speak about their darkest feelings with each other. This piece will provide an opening for dialogue. These voices, from the ones feeling the pain to the ones who are helping those in pain, to excerpts from literature, reveal things to all of us that need to be said. This piece brought to mind Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, "Spring," which ends with these final lines: "It is not enough that yearly down this hill, April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers." Riveting, wonderful piece. Sound rich. Well done. Listen. All of us have had at least one day in our lives where there's been no moon . . . and no sun.
Dmae Lo Roberts
Posted on April 30, 2005 at 11:44 AM | Permalink
Review of Here There is No Moon (Long Version)
What a haunting, emotionally compelling piece of work. Why do people want to kill themselves? There are several answers touched upon but no one can come up with one definitive answer. How could there be? Certainly the people in this piece talk about pain and the immeasurable loss they feel. They can see no end to it except the end of life. The voice collage moves fluidly like the waters underneath the Golden Gate Bridge from which many have jumped. There statistics that wash through from experts (some on the phone line as if they were our crisis lifeline) about the 1200 people who jump off the Golden Gate each year - the five minutes duration of time between the decision and action--these hold dearly long after the piece is over. Susan Stone is an unheralded radio artist and her work simply must be played. Stations ca pair this with another mental health piece to make an hour-long special. There's a shorter version that fits within the half-hour time slot as well. May is Suicide Prevention Month. There's a hook for stations. But really we all know someone who has entered the night where there is no moon. Don't we?