I've been up to a lot of great listening lately and now that my production schedule has slowed down a little, I'm going to try and catch up with my thoughts on some of the most interesting things to hit my mp3 player. Circus 13 Productions regularly post their latest releases to the Yahoo Modern Audio Drama discussion group and it was with interest I downloaded some of their latest releases, including "Quest for the Passion Stone" and the adventures of a space bounty-hunter, "Truck." They … [Read more...] about Review: “Quest for the Passion Stone”
Reviews
Review: What I Learned from Television: This American Life Live in Boston
It's very rare that you have anything resembling stardom in radio, and Ira Glass from This American Life is one of that select number. His nationally syndicated, genre-busting series of edgy stories from the ranks of ordinary Americans has transcended the definition of public radio, and the following is strong enough for there to be a kids movie based on one story premise and a new Showtime series adapting the show into television. The promotional tour, "What I Learned from Television," came as … [Read more...] about Review: What I Learned from Television: This American Life Live in Boston
Audio Drama Review: Buried in Falling Sand
As you may realize, I'm a big fan of audio theater that tells contemporary stories, the kind you might find in the latest short story review or premium cable channel (but are especially well suited to the audio form). These productions are a little edgy, often dark, and attempt to speak to something greater than the cleverness of the medium. So it was with great interest that I discovered Buried in Falling Sand by Dreamseed, LLC (care of a link by William Spears' Lit Between the Ears blog). … [Read more...] about Audio Drama Review: Buried in Falling Sand
Jon Lethem’s “Men and Cartoons” – Beyond your average audiobook
It may seem odd for a site dedicated to audio drama to review an audiobook?after all, audiobooks are the enemy, right? Not really. I must confess, my biggest critique with audiobooks is due to my own dwindling attention span, and with most of my listening occuring in my 40 minutes each way commute, tackling a 13+ hour audiobook can be a listening venture of epic proportions. This is from the same guy who?ll have a 400 page book on his bedside stand. I can?t explain it, but I like my audio in … [Read more...] about Jon Lethem’s “Men and Cartoons” – Beyond your average audiobook
Modern horror realized in Lansdale’s “God of the Razor”
Well, I'm going to jump right into my audio theater reviews with a piece of modern horror that recently reached my ears: 'God of the Razor,' a grisly horror short story by Joe Lansdale realized by AM/FM Theater in Lowell, MA. I had recently written on the radio drama digest (a mailing list for audio theater enthusiasts such as myself) bemoaning the lack of contemporary fiction stories told through sound. There's no shortage of classic tales, whether it's derived from the canon of American or … [Read more...] about Modern horror realized in Lansdale’s “God of the Razor”