This American Life: Episode 109 - Notes on Camp
08-28-1998. 57:36. Adam Davidson & Julie Snyder
This piece is a calming narrative of interviews and conversations that promote the benefits of summer camp to non-campers. Different examples of audio including memories and current life demonstrate the lifestyle and everlasting effects going to camp creates on one's life. Favorite moments, genuine friendship, esteemed mentorship and positive camaraderie are illustrated throughout the clip. There is several harmonic overtones that accompany the piece associating the listener to the essence of camp and "campfire music." The story is told in small chapters that each encapsulate an explanation for non-campers as to why their camp-goer friends' involvement has truly imprinted their lives.
Her Long Black Hair: An audio walk with photographs
2004. 46 mins. Janet Cardiff
The piece is an interactive audio piece that takes listeners through New York City on a path of corresponding sites and pictures. The piece is told by a sot female voice who narrates her surroundings including the background noise of daily city life and steady pace of footsteps. The artist instructs you to listen to the piece through headphones in order to obtain a full 3-D effect and she clearly states when to view each image that comes from the same area only many years ago. The piece links the listener to different periods of time and culture.
Dreams: Telephone Series
10-2008. Cardiff & Miller
There is no audio clip to dreams although the titles of each phone gave me some insight into what one would hear if participating in this installation. Dreams are pretty private thoughts, not usually heard over casual phone conversation. The artist manipulate the phone as a speaker for their piece allowing the viewer to interact with the audio as they please.
She Was a Visitor
1930. Robert Ashley
A monotone, scaly voice repeats the statement “She was a visitor” as overtones of deep choir voices and moans slowly creep up on the audio creating an eerie feel. This leads the listener to be put in a dark solitude voice with overhead feeling of a unwanted company.
Excerpt from Silence
1969. John Cage
Listening to the piece, I was more distracted by the tone of Cage’s voice other than the words he was preaching in monotonic succession. He speaks about United States’ expansive consumerism, oil rigging and the need for future resources. Cage introduces other characters yet narrates for them instead of including other voices in the piece.
The War of the Worlds
10-30-1938. Orson Wells
An original broadcast from Orson Welles begins with a classical interlude followed with a dialogue from the author speaking of life on an off earth and the event of this broadcast. Interrupt music gives room to an urgent message describing foreign sky sightings that trace from Mars to Earth. I find it humorous that the piece switches right back to the previously playing song after delivering such an odd message. The first event of action occurs right in the local area between Princeton and Trenton. I could only imagine the fear placed on Americans listening to this piece. It’s hard to think that a radio station would play a joke on the level of a country invasion. Interviews with experts give credibility to the accounts being reported. There is also a background sound of a ticking clock that creates anxiety as time is being tracked. The fear this piece implants in its listeners must have sent thousands of viewers into hiding.
