We interrupt this blog to bring you an advertising feature.
Old Dive lives in the age of radio.
Fuck TV. The pictures are invariably superior on the wireless.
I listen mainly to good old highbrow BBC Radio 3 (the REAL classical, contemporary, jazz and world music channel, as opposed to the likes of Classic FM … "your favourite music from the adverts" and "elevator music to dribble to"), with forays into Radio 4 for news and comedy.
Saturday nights these days no longer see Old Dive gigging, but listening first to live opera from the NY MET, and then to Radio Three's glorious ego-trip for linguistic pedants such as myself: The Verb.
Unfortunately it's not available as a podcast, but follow the link and listen to the show.
The Verb is a veritable logophilic deliciary* of slippery, sensual language; a word-lovers' wet-patch of cunning linguistics.
The Beeb describes it as presenter Ian Mc.Millan's "cabaret of language", which is pretty accurate.
Amongst a myriad of linguistic miscellany this week: three new poems from Will Eaves;
an utterly glorious "eartoon" from Peter Blegvad (one of his regular aural cartoons made for the programme) about a cryogenic trombone that simply must be listened to;
two live songs from my beloved Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman) from her forthcoming album.
Anyone fool enough not to have bought Joan's debut album, "Real Life" should summon the Amazonians and order a copy right now.
Here's a particularly lovely extract from the title track:
"I watch the numbers register
on the postal scale.
I think of your hands and calculate
how a man,
desired,
feels the weight of a letter.
It's true what they say about me
that I'm out of my mind
but I think that you like it
so take the chance,
be reckless
with
me."
So … Dive's advice for Sunday:
Brew up a nice, strong, black coffee.
Make some toast and bitter orange marmalade.
Join me listening to this week's Verb.
Buy Joan's last album.
Enjoy.
* "Deliciary" is yet another attempt to get one of my words into the OED. Use it as often as you can on blogs and in print please.
18 comments:
Well Dive, today I was going to tidy my apartment and pack for my upcoming trip, but now I have to quick run out to get some strong coffee (and a scone; sorry don't have any bitter orange marmalade on hand) so I can listen to the Verb show you feature (which, being a pathetic American I've never even heard of), and try to find Joan's album at a record store (yes, they still exist in Berkeley). Oh, and see if I can work deliciary into my blog later tonight! Thanks for getting me motivated to sit on my butt in front of my computer today!!
Hee hee. Thank you, Katie.
I actually listen to some American radio, too (I can get it as podcasts and all the annoying ads are edited out … that's another advantage of the BBC: no adverts).
My American listening favourites are: Car Talk and Jazz Profiles off NPR and This American Life, plus of course News From Lake Wobegon with Garrison Keillor.
The NY MET are tied in to Radio 3, so I get live opera and The Opera Quiz from them.
If you've any other recommendations from US radio, please let me know.
And good luck with the trip. Where are you heading off to, by the way?
Wow - you listen to Car Talk, This American Life and the News from Lake Wobegon? You just described my Saturday! I'll compile and send soon a list of other cool radio shows I like and you can check them out too.
Don't get too jealous, but on Wednesday I'm going to Minnesota! I lived there for 7 years in the 90s (and suffered through 7 Minnesota winters until I just couldn't stand it anymore), and now I got back only when it's warm to visit friends. I have a few old postcards I'm going to try to recreate, and I'll also try to feature some of the wonderful old signage that still exists in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
And now that I'm sufficiently caffeined-up, off to listen to The Verb!
Woah, Cool!
We have such exquisite taste, Katie. Hee hee.
Wow! Minnesota? I'll resist the temptation to say "nice".
"Out on the edge of the prairie" as Mr. Keillor would say.
You've just sorted my Sunday evening movie. I've just finished dinner and now I'll sit and watch Fargo and marvel at those wonderful accents.
Enjoy watching Fargo! I haven't seen it in a while, but at least I'll get to hear that accent this week! I saw Fargo in Paris, and the subtitles were classic! A character would say, "Ah sure you betcha" and it would be translated as "Oui." Hard to capture the nuance I guess.
Also, here's the link to a bunch of NPR radio shows:
http://www.npr.org/programs/
Ones I listen to are:
Fresh Air
Humankind
On the Media
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
To the Best of Our Knowledge
I've started listening to The Verb, but keep getting interrupted by phone calls. But I alredady want to work the word obliquity into a conversation!
"deliciary" is a magnificent word, Dive. I'll look for ways to use it today.
Hee hee. I love getting pedantic with subtitles, Katie.
I've just popped across to NPR and subscribed to Fresh Air, wait, Don't Tell Me and To The Best Of Our Knowledge. At the moment the other two aren't available as podcasts but I'll see if I can chase them down.
Obliquity's a lovely word. I also like obloquy and it's easier to work into conversation than obliquity.
Hi, Robyn!
How's Daughter No.2 enjoying her eighteenth birthday? I hope she's having a marvellous time.
"cunning linguistics"...
Go to hulu.com and search "Colonel Angus Comes Home."
I guess you don't need a tv if your blog buddies help you find the best bits online.
Well a lot of this post is over my head but it's good to be back in Diveland!
That's weird I already say deliciary but once I tried to use it in a blog about food and it underlined it so I think I didn't-can't remember. Do you mean something that is delicious in noun form? Well, that's what I mean anyway. I don't know all your big fancy words, but I do enjoy them.
Sometimes you remind me of my brother with your extreme level of smarties. Someone once said he was three-brained and I suspect this about you on occasion as well. I was adopted darn it all.
I did quit watching tv in the daytime and don't try to get too into it at night anymore so I'm almost up to one brain status. Yeah for a deliciary of mental progression! Hmmm... I don't know if I can use that word outside of a food reference Dive. It just doesn't feel natural. :}
Lulu: Sadly, hulu.com say "Sorry, our current library can only be streamed from the United States."
Rats!
Lynn: Welcome back. I'm so glad to hear you are on the mend.
Strangely, I would have put you down as a regular "Verb" listener. Perhaps it's time to start.
Shan: I am actually a "no brainer", but it's nice to hear another definition of deliciary.
I kinda pictured it as the linguistic equivalent of Digby's of Holt (see today's post).
I'm with Lulubelle - I got to cunning linguistics and lost the plot and started thinking of other things.
A Radio is something we carry with us in our Land Cruisers along with our safari hats, elephant guns and mosquito spray and we call in and say thilly things like "breaker, breaker, come in" "over and out"!!!!!!
Jules!
I'm sure I have no idea what you mean.
Hee hee.
Over and out.
Delta India Victor Echo: you were in fine form on Saturday night. M.B loves listening to radio too. I occasionally tune in to our ABC for the linguistics half hour - usually because that is when I'm in the car off to some appointment or other. Otherwise, I don't listen to radio. But, last weekend they played Orson Welles' War of the Worlds. I had never heard it before. I couldn't stand it!
I do like bitter orange or any other kind of marmalade though. It is a deliciary of which one can simply not get enough. xxx
Mme: Ooooh! Bitter orange marmalade!
I used to make my own from bags and bags of Seville oranges, but these days with the commute I haven't the time so I cheat and buy Bonne Maman's lovely jars of goodness.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
live opera from the NY MET? Aren't we a fellow of the arts these days. Thanks for the BBC link as well.
Rich: There is indeed something unnervingly "Frasier and Niles Crane-like" about me when the Opera Quiz starts and I jump up and down, going "Oooh! Oooh!" like a pathetically overexcited puppy.
Hey ho.
Do you think people who listen to 3 come from a particular age bracket? :D
Post a Comment