I am an insomniac, and at night I often lie in bed, with an earphone stuck in one ear, listening to the radio via my satellite TV.
I listen to various stations, but one of my favourites is BBC's Radio 4 Extra. They broadcast old comedy shows, as well as some pretty good classic serials.
In recent times I've turned on, and found myself listening to a show called 'Garrison Keillor's Radio Show'; a bizarre American concoction of aimless chatter and dreary Country and Western wailing.
Am I supposed to laugh somewhere? Is it supposed to be serious? Have I missed some important point? I'm baffled!
Has anyone else come across this strange programme? There are often bizarre reciprocal arrangements between international TV and Radio stations, so I imagine the BBC were forced to take this one in exchange for one of theirs. Even so, I can't understand why it's on Radio 4 Extra; it doesn't seem to belong there (or anywhere, really).
Enlightenment maybe?
35 comments:
Garrison Keillor is an American icon...if anything...he should put you to sleep...
I saw your image on your post and was reminded of the Wobbegong 12 species of carpet sharks found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia. LOL!
Well ... I agree that the music is generally dreary but Keillor's monologues can be brilliant. Especially in earlier years - they are getting somewhat lacklustre now. But some of his earlier stuff was wonderful.
Permanently?
Maybe I should search out some earlier programmes. No, no, no, what am I saying!!!
I love it. I first heard it on radio 4 years ago, then acquired all the books. I spent a year living in a mid west small town in the 1980s.....and believe me..the stories, their pace, the characters, and GK's drone are all spot on.
I too am a radio 4 extra fan..... they do have some cracking programmes on especially some 1950 detective shows ...
at least in the wee small hours you have some quality company!
I must have spent too much time in the UK.
All except for Mr Keillor.
I have heard the programme once,,, I didnt really get it
That's funny, I really like the Lake Wobegon program and almost everything else that Garrison Kieller has been involved with. He's a bloody talented bloke - he even has a good singing voice. Robert Altman made an entire film out of one recording of Lake Wobegon - it was a good one too.
It's a good thing we all have different tastes. Maybe you can tell me; is it supposed to be comedy?
My wireless is fascinating, I love watching the valves warming up. To date though it has never spoken in anything other than the voice of Terry Wogan and that chap who did the emergency advice broadcasts during WWII.
Like Mr Stephenson, I also appreciate the mid-western perspective of self-deprecating Kieller. At times it's meant to be simply descriptive, at other times reflective and still at other times comedic. Perhaps only those of us who exist in the intellectual stratosphere are able to appreciate his humour. Maybe you should seek out some old Benny Hill shows.
Only for people with a sense of humour (Oooh! Bitch!)
I adore my crystal-set also, but sometimes I just can't get it to tune out of the 1950s when I listen to 4 Extra.
Never listened to it but Garrison Kieller is an American icon and beloved by many. Humor is different In all parts of the the world and what is funny in Minnesota is not necessarily one's cup of tea in London.
I almost dread going to bed at night knowing that it will be a battle to get two or three hours of restful sleep. This aging thing is a bitch.
I wonder if the well-named 'Yorkshire Pudding' also lives in Yorkshire. It would explain a lot.
dull!
Gee, Mr. M, I have to hear the C/W wailing all the time here! Good thing I have radio streaming on the computer as thats about all we have here is Country wailing. Love to listen to oldies and swing and jazz.
Yes, things are different in Minnesota and in all areas of the western US and down south. Amazing that we all get to experience the different cultures here as we meet and see what Mr. M and the lovely Lady M have in store for us next...I can't wait.
Have a wonderful weekend, Mr. M.
I listen to it every once in a while. I think it's pretty funny in parts. Sometimes it's just silly, almost lame, but the best part is his ending narrative of the week's happening in Lake Wobegone (fictional). It's close to being a sermon in that there's usually some sort of lesson told through story. He can be so quiet, and there's effectiveness in his hush. I remember one story where he's trying to give up smoking, driving on an old gravel road digging through the car ashtray for an old butt, and he hears on the radio that Buddy Holly has just died. It was sad and funny at the same time, which is excellence in storytelling.
I shall have to have one more listen... it sounds like I was expecting more than was on offer!
Does it receive Hilversum? Always the sign of a good wireless.
Thanks Denim... you too.
I'm not sure which is the more serious crime in the US; being rude about Country and Western music, or Garrison Kiellor!
An important thing to know about Garrison Kiellor--he lives in New York and is a New Yorker with Minnesota roots he draws on for wonderful stories and parables. Oh, and he always wears red shoes. So do I.
Dear Garrison lives here in St Paul where he is the proprietor of his very own bookstore called modestly, Common Good Books. His popular radio show originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St Paul. He is a beloved fixture here but isn't everyone's cup of tea. I personally adore him and have blogged about him several times.
Magnon with well used diplo bat scores again !
Its one of Jims favorite radio shows (or used to be) I guess it's different from english humor.
I used to listen to it 20 years ago and loved it -- it was campy and down-home Americana. Once you get to know the cast of regulars, you want to hear them do their shtick. But...I got bored with it, and lost touch, and when I tried to listen again, it just didn't resonate anymore. Now I don't know what I really saw it in the first time around. It can be fairly morose.
I like to please!
Oh, and I forgot to reply to the pudding....FUCK OFF! (Simple enough for you?)
Most unpleasant reaction to what was good-natured humour. (Simple enough for you?)
I obviously have a dim-wit northerner here. 'Intellectual Stratosphere?', you don't even seem to understand FUCK OFF.
I haven't listened to the Radio 4 Extra programme, but I am a fan of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. i love the way he parodies the radio programmes of the 1940s and '50s. And I think Lake Woebegon is a comic gem . . . I have been reading and listening this for the last 20 years or so . . . I am so sorry you don't like it. Bah! What can we do to make you change your mind?
BTW,not all of the music is dreary C&W - I seem to have heard an awful lot of good Jazz!
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