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this post will have less to do with sound, and more to do with all of these stray impressions of moscow that are rattling around in my brain. (though i AM typing this to the pops and cracks of firecrackers being shot off in the alley behind our apartment. t'is the season.) there's no cohesive narrative to be found (much the opposite, in fact) so i'm listing.
ready, go:
1. one morning in moscow i rode a one-eyed horse. he was very sweet, and had good balance despite his handicap. his name was kavkaz, which i'm told means 'caucasus', like the region in eurasia.2. many, many of the people i met - from young producers at the radio festival to the mysterious older woman i encountered one night walking home from the train (she's been seen around town with a parrot on her shoulder) - wanted to know if i was married. then every person wanted to know why not. and they all thought i was about 23.3. the subway system in moscow is incredible. there are huge soviet-style statues all over the place, and mosaics, murals and paintings all over the ceilings and walls. ornate yet mighty chandeliers hang in many of the platforms, and the escalators leading up and down are endless. apparently advertisements are played for commuters while they ascend or descend, but occasionally a poem is read between ads. (shaving cream, pushkin, nescafe) the trains come about once a minute and i noticed a lot of young boys traveling with their grandmothers on the subways, and wearing funny hats.4. because i hadn't recently pondered it seriously, was not expecting moscow to be so capitalistic. my first hint was passing the IKEA on the way from the airport to lena's apartment. the next day while looking from one corner of red square (which was closed for a party?!) over at lenin's tomb, i also noticed a louis vuitton store in my peripheral vision. and while i expected to find mcdonalds (not to mention mccafes) and other corporate franchises, did NOT expect the tgi fridays, or that crappy fast food 'italian' chain sbarro, which was everywhere. didn't see a starbucks. but they've got their version of it going strong ("coffee house") AND a competing local chain - "coffee mania", which is actually a great name for a coffee shop chain.
5. my new favorite food is kachapuri, which is sort of a georgian (NOT the peach state) version of grilled cheese. it's a round bread stuffed with a white cheese. the kachapuri i found was nice and light on the cheese, but i hear this is not always the case. i also tried many other variations of the 'cheese and bread' theme - a safe vegetarian choice available pretty much everywher
e. during the radio festival, lunch was served at a chinese restaurant at the hotel where the festival was held. sitting down the first day for fried rice at a table with a brown checkerboard tablecloth was also pretty surreal. and the condiment containers were ace.
stay tuned for a few more tiny stories about moscow. in the meantime, here are some photos i took at the huge riding stable where i met the handsome kavkaz.
after a 43 hour adventure getting home from moscow, i've been back for a few days...but am still figuring out how to write about the experience. in the meantime, my luggage eventually caught up (with armenian vodka bottle, chocolate bars and assorted souvenirs still intact) and i've had some time to reflect back and collect some thoughts about the experience. there's so much to convey...to summarize - i was over there to present the third coast festival / american public radio work at a festival called "vmeste radio," which means "radio together", or "radio brings us together". (fabulous logo above) the festival is organized by the foundation for independent radio broadcasting, (FNR), which i wrote a little bit about in the previous post. i presented one 90-minute talk and also participated in a special session about radio stories covering xenophobia. both were translated into russian as i spoke, a few sentences at a time. if i'm not mistaken i was the only non-russian at the festival besides the inimitable kari hesthamar, from norway, a german-russian journalist and one other american who trains commercial radio djs (and who i didn't cross paths with much - he was working with an entirely different segment of the festival.)
about 200 producers from all across russia (including eastern siberia, northern-most points and a secret city or two) gathered for the happening, and spent three days talking about, listening to, debating, praising and challenging all aspects of radio documentary/feature making. even though i couldn't understand a word of the conversations, it was clear that the producers were passionate and serious about the radio medium - and the power it has to reveal, describe, ponder, define the world. [not so different from the context i work in every day around the TCF.]
i was especially impressed with the young producers i met - in their early or mid 20s - who are _on fire_ about radio production. they're dying to LIVE through radio, and help their audiences learn how to understand radio in new ways. on the last day during the xenophobia session mentioned above, we heard 7 pieces by producers who had all made stories related to that theme. though i couldn't directly follow the stories, my ever-generous host andrey allakhverdov (photo below) summarized and explained them in english, so i was able to listen and then get a sense of the subject of each. stories ranged from a portrait of an anti-fascist rock band to the story of one elderly german woman living absolutely alone in a russian group home, who longs to return to germany. the production quality and sophistication of these pieces was quite impressive - this came through even without understanding a word of them. and the discussions that followed each program were equally dynamic and provocative, which was also evident purely from observation. there was also a good amount of laughter in those discussions - these folks have _sharp_ senses of humor.
the festival culminated with a big celebration and awards ceremony, honoring the year's best documentaries, news reports, critical media analysis, promotion and websites for commercial radio stations. again, it was hard to follow exactly, but a lot of fun nonetheless. scenes from famous films featuring radio references were screened between prizes and one award trophy was presented along with two huge turnips. i'm still trying to figure out what THAT was all about.now that you have some sense of what was happening at the festival, what i really want to express is how deeply valuable FNR's work - the promotion and support of independent media, highly-skilled journalism and community radio - is at this point [especially] in contemporary russian history. the best i can do is [over]simplify, but: recently the putin regime has shown little tolerance for independent media, as evidenced by the situation with the educated media foundation, which recently suspended activities after an eleven hour raid on its headquarters. (please follow the link and read more - it's important.)
though radio in russia is rampant, it's mostly in the form of commercial music stations (think - Morning Zoo-type shows and DJs) and other independent networks that are increasingly coming under the control of governmental allies, such as the Russia News Service which recently implemented a mandate dictating how much 'positive' news must be reported each day. (50%)
so especially in this context, the FNR's work shines a bright, bright spotlight on a darkening media landscape. the energy, excitement and commitment to honest and meaningful radio production that FNR is cultivating and nourishing in journalist and producer communities across russia is so significant: historically, politically, culturally and artistically. i was more honored than i can express to be a part of this year's festival, and to share a few american tidbits ranging in topic from mexican/us border crossings to shopping mall culture to teenage obesity and an over
view of human conflict throughout history, in two and a half minutes.pictured with balloons (stay tuned for TCF balloons) are andrey allakhverdov and lena uporova, who are not only two of FNR's hardest-working staff members, but also the most gracious hosts imaginable. they both made my trip even more special. and special thanks to babaev, for his endurance on the highways and byways stretching across moscow, all the while playing calexico cds.so there are a few impressions to start with. coming next - cultural observations and tales of unexpected equestrian feats, narrowly averted skinhead skirmishes and the georgian version of grilled cheese sandwich.in the meantime, here are some pictures: churches and skies, and subway snapshots.more to come...
a quick apology for the lapse in posts. it's been quite a few weeks, with public listening events to host, a wedding to attend, finding shoes for said wedding, spending as much time as possible on my bike, keeping up with our first CSA vegetable box delivery (greens!) and sorting out passport/visa issues for this trip to russia i'm about to board a plane for.the foundation for independent radio broadcasting (FNR) has invited me to moscow to talk about the third coast festival at their annual festival - vmeste radio ("radio together" nice, huh?) the FNR is "working for the development of quality and independent broadcasting for the benefit of civil society," and is the only russian NGO producing regular radio programs. i'll be able and look forward to sharing many more impressions about all of it in a few days.
until then, here's a photo from the recent listening room hosted by wjff that went down just a week ago, in the catskills at the greatest bookstore you could possibly imagine finding in a small mountain town. this was snapped just before things got going. there were three cats in attendance for the actual event - a listening room first, no doubt.
all of that radio lissening and yakking about was followed by hanging out on stacy's back deck, underneath a million visible stars. it was profoundly good to see so many stars, so easily, so clearly. i heart the catskills, dearly.
the third coast festival's hitting the road again this week, for not one but TWO listening rooms, on the same day, (june 14th) in different locations. which is especially lucky (for you) if you live in the DC area or near livingston manor, in the catskills, and can join us for some radiophonic good times.
as part of the esteemed silverdocs film festival, my boss-lady extraordinaire johanna will be spreading the radio cheer to a bunch of film peoples, while over yonder in the mountains i'll be serving up stories about ghosts and fiddleheads and a merry-go-round museums at hamish and henry booksellers, collaborating with the good, good folks at WJFF (hydro-powered radio!!)
and even though there'll be a light reception afterward, we're saving room and heading out for twist/dipped frozen soft serve treats after all that listening - you're invited.
here's more information about both events, and links to helpful links. and did you know that "creemee" is another word for soft serve? neither did i!
in general i'm leery of manifestos found on the internet but kevin t. allen's thoughts about the way we listen to, view and comprehend the world really struck a chord - partly because his manifesto contains traces of humor (unusual), partly because it's abstractly conceived yet clearly expressed, and partly because it includes this sentence: "Put some luster in your step, try phonoscopy."
see the appeal?
kevin builds boxes (phonoscopes) that exhibit 3d photography and corresponding binaural sound recordings. viewers/listeners peer into the boxes through bincoular-like slide viewers (kinda like viewmasters) and wear headphones with seperate volume for each ear (!), thus experiencing both sound and image simultaneously, though not necessarily listening to sounds directly associated with the image on display. i've never had the chance to gaze into phonoscope myself, but apparently doing so urges you to "listen with your eyes, and look with your ears" ...which is a notion i'm not sure i really believe, but am hugely intrigued by, and would love the chance to see/hear for myself.
i imagine these boxes are easier to experience than explain, but kevin's website does a good job, even showing the construction of a phonoscope. and if you live near or make it to brooklyn some time, you can actually see and hear one at the proteus gowanus gallery. if you make it over there, let me know how it goes, ok?
sometimes i just appreciate thinking a little bit more/harder about things...
this post will have less to do with sound, and more to do with all of these stray impressions of moscow that are rattling around in my brain. (though i AM typing this to the pops and cracks of firecrackers being shot off in the alley behind our apartment. t'is the season.) there's no cohesive narrative to be found (much the opposite, in fact) so i'm listing.
1. one morning in moscow i rode a one-eyed horse. he was very sweet, and had good balance despite his handicap. his name was kavkaz, which i'm told means 'caucasus', like the region in eurasia.
5. my new favorite food is kachapuri, which is sort of a georgian (NOT the peach state) version of grilled cheese. it's a round bread stuffed with a white cheese. the kachapuri i found was nice and light on the cheese, but i hear this is not always the case. i also tried many other variations of the 'cheese and bread' theme - a safe vegetarian choice available pretty much everywher
e. during the radio festival, lunch was served at a chinese restaurant at the hotel where the festival was held. sitting down the first day for fried rice at a table with a brown checkerboard tablecloth was also pretty surreal. and the condiment containers were ace.
