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Playlist: Music Station Picks for November

Compiled By: PRX Editors

 Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/76686190@N00/2586271674/">Linda</a>
Image by: Linda 
Curated Playlist

Looking for December music picks? PRX Format Curators are here to help stations quickly locate radio pieces that are more relevant to their local air. Format Curators are very good in their fields: they have proven content expertise and have worked at local stations. They get the challenges of programming to a specific format and a local sound. Here are the November picks for music stations from David Srebnik. David produces Virtuoso Voices, an interview clip and fundraising service heard on 115 stations. As an Associate Producer at NPR, he programmed the music heard on Performance Today, and directed news and music programming at stations in Texas, Michigan, Florida, New Orleans and North Carolina. What David listens for in music programming: "I look and listen for programming that puts the listener first, speaks listener language and answers 'yes' to questions like: * Is it enjoyable, beautiful, entertaining or substantial? * Will it be memorable? * Will it advance understanding and enjoyment of the music? * Will this contribute to making public radio indispensable? "I'm not big on music education on the radio, especially in the form made infamous by the so-called 'old-school' of classical music announcing. "Radio can, however, educate in a compelling and entertaining way. David Schulman's Musicians in their Own Words series and WNYC's Richard Wagner documentaries are good examples of music education without the academic shackles that have made that term deadly on the radio." Hide full description

Looking for December music picks? PRX Format Curators are here to help stations quickly locate radio pieces that are more relevant to their local air. Format Curators are very good in their fields: they have proven content expertise and have worked at local stations. They get the challenges of programming to a specific format and a local sound. Here are the November picks for music stations from David Srebnik. David produces Virtuoso Voices, an interview clip and fundraising service heard on 115 stations. As an Associate Producer at NPR, he programmed the music heard on Performance Today, and directed news and music programming at stations in Texas, Michigan, Florida, New Orleans... Show full description

Roy Orbison: Black & White Night

From Joyride Media | 59:00

Roy Orbison was cool in color, even better in black & white.

Roy_orbison_black_and_white_night_cover_small ROY ORBISON - BLACK & WHITE NIGHT Takes you behind the scenes of Roy Orbison's iconic 1987 TV special backed by an all-star band that helped relaunch his career and continues to amaze both old and new fans every time it re-airs on public television.

Features performances and comments by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang, Jackson Browne and others.

Click here to report airdates

59 minute version

1.  Segment 1  (20:00)
In:  "He's very much like a tree.  He's rooted, and he's strong, but he's as gentle as anything."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and you're listening to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night."

2.  Break 1 (1:00) with music bed

3.  Segment 2 (20:00)
In:  "Welcome back to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night.  I'm Dave Marsh."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and you're listening to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night."

4.  Break 2 (1:00) with music bed

5.  Segment 3  (17:00)
In:  "Welcome back to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night.  I'm Dave Marsh."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and thanks for listening."

54:00 News Hole Version

1.  Billboard (1:00)
In:  "He's very much like a tree.  He's rooted, and he's strong, but he's as gentle as anything."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and welcome to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night."

2.  Segment 1  (16:00)
In:  "Welcome back to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night.  I'm Dave Marsh."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and you're listening to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night."

3.  Break 1 (1:00) with music bed

4.  Segment 2 (18:00)
In:  "Welcome back to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night.  I'm Dave Marsh."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and you're listening to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night."

5.  Break 2 (1:00) with music bed

6.  Segment 3  (17:00)
In:  "Welcome back to Roy Orbison:  Black & White Night.  I'm Dave Marsh."
Out:  "I'm Dave Marsh, and thanks for listening."



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THE SOUL OF ROCK & ROLL

An additional one-hour radio special, also available on PRX  An intimate portrait of Roy's full career from the Teen Kings to Sun Records, his huge 60s hits to his 1980s comeback, and his timeless influence still felt 20 years after his untimely death. Includes classic tracks like 'Only the Lonely' and 'Oh, Pretty Woman' plus previously unreleased sessions and home demos.

Produced by JOYRIDE MEDIA - same team behind many acclaimed Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson radio specials. The host is acclaimed rock music journalist Dave Marsh.

Programs are available at no cost all USA radio stations with FM, AM, or HD signals. Each hour includes breaks for local spots, no embedded national spot, no barter inventory.  Online use is limited to the simulcast stream of an FM/AM/HD terrestrial broadcast. 

Roy Orbison widget with podcast series and videos available for websites.

NEA Jazz Master Toots Thielemans and His First Night in the US

From National Endowment for the Arts | Part of the Jazz Masters Moments series | 01:30

This ongoing series of 1:30 - 2:00 jazz performer snapshots are both a kick and a delight. While they aren't intended to change the world, they will brighten up your station's sound in the mornings and could fit pretty much anywhere else throughout the day.

The latest entry into the series features harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans -- and what happened to this innocent and easily bemused Belgian musician on his first night in NYC.

Others in the series worth your consideration, Marian McPartland Discusses Her Conversations with Duke Ellington and Thelonius Monk, Shirley Horn on Working with Miles Davis and Phil Woods On Meeting Saxophonist Charlie Parker. Please don't think of these pieces as a bridge between shows -- they are shows in themselves.

In addition to enhancing your jazz programming, the NEA Jazz Master series could also be a nice flash of light on your News-Information station. They're a nice, quick way to entertain and inform your listeners and to promote your jazz programming and jazz brand. They have station fundraising applications as well.

Others in the series (Ramsey Lewis, Slide Hampton and Buddy Defranco) were reviewed in April 2008. The Dave Brubeck pieces in the series are wonderful, but have an April 2008 Brubeck Festival reference at the end.

Newjazzlogo_small A native of Belgium, NEA Jazz Master Toots Thielemans and harmonica virtuoso, recounts his first night meeting jazz musicians on New York City's legendary 52nd Street.

The White Album Listening Party: Revisiting The Beatles' Top-Seller (3-Hour / Newscast-Length Version)

From Paul Ingles | 02:42:04

"The White Album Listening Party: Revisiting The Beatles' Top-Seller" celebrates the 40th anniversary (Nov. 22, 1968) of the release of the Beatles scary-new, scary-wonderful, scary-ambitious new recording.

The "Listening Party" puts the Beatles White Album in the center of a circle of non celebrity, smart, non-fanatic, well-spoken and knowledgeable Beatles experts, who share their memories, opinions and stories behind the stories and the recording.

It's great to hear this music again, but beyond quality of the music and the invigorating nostalgia of hearing hit after hit after hit -- is the listening party component of the show. It frequently reaches the high notes on the most important radio "best practices" metric board of story telling and listener focus.

You are not the unwelcome eavesdropper on a bunch of stoned college slackers having a conversation about nothing. This is a conversation with music lovers, and Beatles' lovers (who may have been stoned at one time...just not here).

Remarks and the stories behind "Dear Prudence," "Happiness is a Warm Gun," and "Why Don't We do it in the Road?" feature amusing stories and insight, and they may answer White Album questions we've perhaps been trying to formulate for the last 40 years.

Also fresh -- the discussion brings forward the notion and memory that this was a scary album for a number of reasons -- to paraphrase, "What happened to 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand'...where are my Beatles?"

The discussion proceeds by track order, usually two tracks at a time, followed by both songs. Almost each segue from discussion to music generates both a musical "AHA" moment and an satisfying internal organic physical reaction as well -- the kind you get from Bach, Mozart, Bill Evans, Dylan etc.)

The 3-hour presentation of the program, producer Paul Ingles recommends, "Is the best experience for your listeners as it recreates the experience of listening to the whole album. If you can only accommodate a two-hour slot there will be a two-hour version available at PRX."

Three hours is tricky -- two hours is tricky, but your thoughtful, OES promotion strategy (promo materials provided on PRX), the anniversary peg, the 1968 - 2008 connections, the music that still holds up, the stories behind the music and the assembly, tone and flow created by Paul Ingles will likely create a banner day for your listeners and your station.

This could be a Saturday or Sunday afternoon listening and good for any evening -- especially a blue Monday or Friday night. See the PRX page for a range of date specific scheduling options.

Whitealbumthebeatles_small Beatle fans and musicians gather to re-experience The Beatles' top-selling album, which came to be known as The White Album.

NOTE: THIS IS THE THREE HOUR VERSION OF THIS SPECIAL. IF YOUR STATION CAN CLEAR THE TIME, WE FEEL THIS IS THE BEST EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR LISTENERS AS IT RECREATES THE EXPERIENCE OF LISTENING TO THE WHOLE ALBUM. IF YOU CAN ONLY ACCOMMODATE A TWO-HOUR SLOT, THERE IS A TWO-HOUR VERSION AVAILABLE NOW AT PRX. THERE IS ALSO A NON-NEWCAST LENGTHED VERSION OF THIS THREE PART SHOW ON PRX. http://www.prx.org/pieces/29916 ----- November 22, 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of one of The Beatles' most remarkable releases. The two-album set was officially called THE BEATLES, but it became known forever after as The White Album. It was the top-selling of all The Beatles' albums and ranks #11 on the all-time album sales list. Emerging from what many called their three-album psychedelic period that produced Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine, The Beatles' White Album was a wildly diverse collection that included instant classics ("Back in the U.S.S.R", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Dear Prudence", "Blackbird"), gentle ballads ("Mother Nature's Son", "I Will", "Julia"), raucous electric rock ("Helter Skelter", "Yer Blues") amusing ditties ("Honey Pie", "Savoy Truffle", "Rocky Raccoon"), and surprising experimental tracks ("Revolution #9"). The writing and performing styles of the four individual Beatles became distinct. Many Beatle fans and historians point to the White Album as the beginning of the break-up of the Beatles. In little over a year, the band would be dissolved. Join award-winning producer Paul Ingles for another one of his in-depth explorations of The Beatles' experience by airing THE WHITE ALBUM LISTENING PARTY. Ingles recalls being 12 years old in 1968 and listening with his best friend to this challenging and, at times, disturbing collection in the basement of his suburban Maryland home. "I knew I couldn't play this one on the family stereo upstairs," says Ingles. "A lot of the music seemed naughty, tortured and edgy." In an effort to re-create that listening experience, Ingles invited about a dozen Beatle fans into the studio to listen through to the album again and share both their memories and more current observations about the landmark music. Among the guests are Beatle author Steve Turner who shares the stories behind each of the White Album tracks. Also, a panel of musicians help listeners tune into the musicality of The Beatles, calling attention to a certain bass line here, a drum lick there, a production trick over there. Other friends share stories of dancing to "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da", dropping acid to "Glass Onion", or being scared to death by "Helter Skelter" and wishing for a return of the ol' mop-tops. Hour 3 even includes a special combination of both versions of "Revolution" - the fast single and the slower White Album version, mixed and mashed together, courtesy of engineer Douglas Grant. In addition to Steve Turner, Paul's guest list includes musicians Jon Spurney, David Gans, Kristy Kruger, Douglas Grant, and Rob Martinez. KUNM radio personalities Scott MacNicholl, Luciano Urbano, Suzanne Kryder, and Travis Parkin join in as well. ------- The program will be offered in several formats to suit your needs. They will be scripted to allow for them to run either consecutively on one hour at a time over multiple days or weeks. - A three-hour version will include full plays of nearly every song on the two albums for the complete White Album experience. - A two-hour version will include most of the best-known tracks in full and excerpts of the rest. - Both versions will be offered at 54:00 lengths to accommodate hourly newscasts. ----- Programming Suggestions: >>November 22 marking the 40th anniversary of the UK release of the album. >>November 25 marking the 40th anniversary of the US release of the album. >>November 27-30 - Thanksgiving Weekend. >>November 29 - 7th anniversary of George Harrison's Death. >>December 8 - 28th anniversary of John Lennon's Death. >>Throughout the November/December/New Year's Holiday Season. >>In a Holiday or Fundraising Beatles' Marathon with Paul Ingles' other Beatles Documentaries The Beatles In America - 1964 http://www.prx.org/pieces/3512 / http://www.prx.org/pieces/3525 Everything Was Right: The Beatles' Revolver http://www.prx.org/pieces/15368 The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper: An Honest Appraisal http://www.prx.org/pieces/18227

The Tristan Mysteries: The Mythic Mysteries

From WNYC | Part of the The Tristan Mysteries series | 16:32

This is just about perfect. "The Mythic Mysteries" is one of five WNYC Radio tributes, explanations and justifications for Richard Wagner's opera, Tristan and Isolde.

Sometimes, rarely, once in a long while, the talk about the music is on the same level as the music itself -- and I'm aware of the potential absurdity of such a statement, considering the music at hand. But, once in a while it happens.

Here in 16-plus minutes "The Mythic Mysteries" investigates, and resolves, the matters of love and longing; unrequited love where hope still remains; adultery; pain before death, pain after death and then letting go after death.

Pow. Deep, deep deep -- but always welcoming and a pleasure to hear, process, and then hear again. "The Mythic Mysteries" offers strong writing, well placed irony and Amy O'Leary's narrative tone and inflections are equally heroic elements.

At 16:32, "The Mythic Mysteries" is tricky to schedule. Consider combining the five parts of WNYC's Tristan Mysteries to create an hour of entertaining and engaging radio -- that just happens to be about opera.

No operatic experience or operatic attachment required for your listeners, and worth consideration for most formats, including news-information. Saturdays on non-MET stations or Friday night after ATC or Marketplace. Classical: suitable for Saturday before the MET; Saturday after the MET.

The MET offers Wagner's Tristan and Isolde on its regular Saturday matinee radio broadcast on Saturday, December 6 at 11 a.m. EST.

Additional Tristan Mysteries Series Segments:

The Sexual Mysteries (14:08): Content advisory aside, this segment is both historically and hysterically revealing and reveling.

The Visual Mysteries (15:54): Director Peter Sellers explains how it's acceptable, understandable and maybe desirable to never quite figure it all out note by note.

The Sonic Mysteries (15:34): College Music Theory courses rarely made such a relevant and contemporary case for this most famous chord of all time.

The Five-Hour Mysteries (16:37): Makes a strong, comforting case that falling asleep during the opera is fine. It only seems like nothing is happening over the opera's 5 hours, but "something is happening all the time." Then there's the sex on the beach at the end. (Content advisory at about 7 minutes in.)

Tristanmythicpicture_small Many thought it was an indecent subject with corrosive music; others found it rocking their bodies, shaking their nerves, and keeping them up all night, crying, and standing "in wonder and terror." In this episode of The Tristan Mysteries, we examine the mythic power of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with contributions from both sides of the aisle.