Prairie Home Companion is going to be renamed.
Suggestions?
Prairie Home Companion is going to be renamed.
Suggestions?
Words cannot express my sadness about the sorry situation with Garrison Keillor, one of my longtime heroes. He has done so much for American folk music and culture.
Who's getting busted for "looking twice"?
Anyway, I suggest the "mandolin mystery hour"
Oops, missed that one!........and I had only turned the television off for a couple hours..........
In hopes of continuing an interesting topic without violating the Cafe guidelines...
I think Chris has enough momentum developed by now to survive a name change for the program. Branding means a lot, but maybe not so much after hosting the show for this long. I'd go for something like "New Chautauqua Companion" but maybe that's too obscure.
The show we get after PHC is Big Top Chautauqua, I don't think using a name similar to an existing program that has been on for decades would be very classy.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
Well... I never liked the original name anyway. (heresy!)
I stopped listening sometime in the 1980s because it seemed like there was too much chit-chat and not enough music.
And once I finally had enough and left, I never went back to re-visit it to see if it had changed... figured it would be just more of the "same 'ol, same 'ol".
So if anyone else out there has had a similar experience with Prairie Home Companion, a name change would be a *good* thing, might bring in some new listeners.
The Possum Lodge Music & Variety Extravaganza
Nothing endures forever. I'll miss Keillor's unique perspective on humor, not so much his singing...
PHC seems to have proved it can survive without him, and we mandolin-heads are all crossing our fingers that a renamed show with Thile as MC can succeed. But when I remember PHC in its heyday, sending out 50-page gift catalogs with Lake Woebegone and Powdermilk Biscuits memorabilia, I hope we don't get our hopes up too high that the new show, whatever it's called, will reach those levels. A strong comedy and music variety show, without the "alternative universe" vibe of the old PHC -- perhaps something along the lines of Mountain Stage with comedy skits.
Let's hope. Public broadcasting is gonna have to fight to stay alive, for many in government don't want to keep subsidizing it. Perhaps it'll all end up on satellite radio somewhere; dunno.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
American Musical Companion (AMC) ?
Phil
“Sharps/Flats” ≠ “Accidentals”
AMC Pacer.
Instant word-association, for me, anyway. Could just be a geezerette thing though... I would imagine that a lot of younger people probably never heard of that car.
I never owned one, but used to see a lot of them on the roads for a while.
Yes, I know, AMC made other models besides just the Pacer, but that model sticks in the memory better because it was so different.
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(Photo credit: author "Charles01" released photo as PUBLIC DOMAIN, as stated on Wikipedia page. I cropped the pic slightly and resized it smaller.)
Maybe we can call it "Hee Haw" What might happen, though, is it sort of morphs back into what the Grand Ol Opry used to be. Like Keillor or not, it was that "alternate universe" that kept it from becoming a regular variety show. It had a unique vibe that will disappear. Thile's version is sort of a Hipster Old Time Hour right now, but the music is so good it works well. Let's just hope it survives somehow...
The decision to rename the program and erase the brand is silly, in my opinion. If it must be done to appease some entity, I suggest "A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile" which follows the host-change format of other programs.
If I read it right they cancelled all contracts with Keiller and his company. That would probably include the names of the shows his company owned.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Presumably, Minnesota Public Radio will own the new show and name. Remember, the "home" of PHC has been the Fitzgerald Theater, which is described on its web site as:
"The Fitzgerald® Theater is committed to programming that reflects the audience and mission of Minnesota Public Radio®. This 1,000-seat theater acts as MPR’s largest broadcast studio. Our staged productions commission authors, artists and radio hosts to create intellectually stimulating programs that delight and enlighten our vast public radio community. The Fitzgerald Theater is St. Paul’s oldest theater and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010."
So MPR either owns the Fitzgerald or has a very close association with it. It's where Chris has been commuting for many of his shows. So it should be a fairly seamless transition, if all MPR is doing is changing the name of the show, and the home venue remains the same.
The Fitzgerald Theater is owned by MPR. It was purchased in 1980 and restored in 1986 as a place to broadcast PHC from. They own the venue.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Loosely related (for those motorheads out there), Grand Tour is doing pretty well. I am actually surprised that they pulled it off.
Robert Fear
http://www.folkmusician.com
"Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.
" - Pete Seeger
How To Grow A Radio Show From The Ground
Steve
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