melannen: Commander Valentine of Alpha Squad Seven, a red-haired female Nick Fury in space, smoking contemplatively (Default)
melannen ([personal profile] melannen) wrote2009-07-24 11:14 am

knock and the door shall be opened

So! Stuff has happened. The most relevant, however, is that I have fallen in love.

With a radio show!

I was driving home t'other night and stumbled on a re-run of Tapestry of the Times on my very own local public radio station, WYPR, and it's like it was a radio show designed solely for me. 1

It's a hour of music, history, context and commentary that is entirely from the archives of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the non-profit record label started in the 1960s for the purpose of documenting folk and world music and later taken over by the Smithsonian. I'm sure it has some appropriation issues - rich white people recording other peoples' culture always does - but Folkways has always at least tried to be non-exploitative, and oh my god, if I had all the time and money in the world I would have already bought out the Folkways back catalog. This show did it for me and picks out an hour's worth of good stuff a week, just enough, and omg yay.

They have their entire archives up as mp3/podcast on the website (less than a year's worth, so far), and I am slowly (savoringly) working through it. The last episode I listened to features "blues piano from Memphis Slim, marimba music from Guatemala, labor union songs, World War II anthems, Tuvan throat singing, and classic old-time tunes from Doc Boggs and Roscoe Holcomb." SERIOUSLY, could there possibly be any radio show better made for me?

As a bonus, most of these songs are basically impossible to find as pirate downloads, so I can't go and download another gig of mp3s that I don't need after every episode. :D (so I downloaded the complete Smothers Brothers discography instead, help p.s. does anyone have any peggy seeger tracks i think i have fallen in love with her too.)

1Mind you, I am the girl who spent her high school years with the radio tuned to the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential tapes instead of rock'n'roll, so my taste may not be yours.


Also, while I am on the topic of hippy music, [personal profile] wintercreek made an mp3 recording of herself singing Enterprise, Starship, the John Denver filk that gets sung on the Enterprise in the novel The Wounded Sky, and posted it to [community profile] starry_sea. You guys, [personal profile] wintercreek is amazing; she has - no lie - fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. Even if that community never does anything ever again, it was all worth it for that.

Ain't fandom amazing? Ask, and it will be given!

Anyway [personal profile] wintercreek mentioned wanting to get a bunch more voices to add to make it a singalong, so I did: Enterprise, Starship four voices: this is my three best takes (recorded with headphones on, and then layered over the original in Audacity.) Y'all should do it too so nobody has to hear my singing in the final version.

...and, while I'm on Star Trek multimedia anyway I guess, [personal profile] gblvr posted the Star Trek Reboot Art Meme (which originated with annime1231 on dA) like, umm ... over a month ago? But I just finished doing it. So here it is:




..enjoy.
willwrite_fortea: (Default)

[personal profile] willwrite_fortea 2009-07-24 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
oh HAI Captain Maddow, I see you there.. getting sexed up RAWR

am definitely checking out this mp3 archive, always looking for new ways to pirate cool music :) its really neat your local public radio station did that..

ehem... mind if I add you to my circle? I wonder why I haven't before.. I'm in the pundit fandom myself
willwrite_fortea: (damnit I'm a doctor!)

[personal profile] willwrite_fortea 2009-07-24 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
well only a bit of a porny thing so far, but I'm working on Pundit/Trek along with a couple other projects. hope my journal entertains :)
sara: S (Default)

[personal profile] sara 2009-07-24 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
You should be listening to WNCW!
sara: S (Default)

[personal profile] sara 2009-07-24 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I always stream it....
isis: (squid fingernail)

[personal profile] isis 2009-07-24 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Art ftw!
dancesontrains: (ST:XI symbol)

[personal profile] dancesontrains 2009-07-24 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Gaila/Maddow + butthurt!Kirk omg *_*
sarken: rachel maddow doing the vulcan greeting ([pundits] live long & prosper)

[personal profile] sarken 2009-07-24 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I am at work, and yet I still feel compelled to call this page up and stare at the last drawing. (And, okay, the second to last, too. And third and fourth to last. And...)
sarken: leaves of mint against a worn wall (Default)

[personal profile] sarken 2009-07-25 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
I happily accept the blame.
orbitaldiamonds: star trek: tng combadge ([ st:ds9 ] combadge)

[personal profile] orbitaldiamonds 2009-07-25 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
I absolutely adore how you've brought my two favorite fandoms together. WIN. XD
orbitaldiamonds: penguin in a green shirt with Earth on it, "<3 Earth" sign (Default)

[personal profile] orbitaldiamonds 2009-07-28 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
I sure did. :D
lady_ganesh: A Clue card featuring Miss Scarlett. (and i am funky)

[personal profile] lady_ganesh 2009-07-27 11:34 am (UTC)(link)
I'd rather hit Captain Maddow than Kirk, and I'm straight! :D Nice.

And that program sounds awesome.
lady_ganesh: A Clue card featuring Miss Scarlett. (conrad is awesome (KKM))

[personal profile] lady_ganesh 2009-07-28 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
She's too awesome to resist!