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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Re the last few posts about TAL and Ira Glass: This
American Life is a fantastic show. I don't know what "edgy" even means (or
"abstract," for that matter); what I do know is that, like Joe Frank's work, TAL
is ground-breaking radio. But they're utterly different! I have
never, once, sensed that Glass was trying to emulate or rip off JF. TAL
seems to me to be essentially a magazine: two, three, or rour features reported
on by various producers, with the occasional fiction thrown in (e.g. D. Sedaris
reading a short story). JF's shows are simply nothing like that, and I'm
referring to any of his formats: the "reality" shows such as the Karma series;
the improvised, highly edited radio dramas; the fictional monologues; the
non-fictional monologues such as "No Show"; and so on.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I have seen Glass credit JF at least twice (which is nice,
although I'm not entirely sure that he owes much artistically to JF). When
JF has mentioned Glass, there has been a tinge of annoyance or jealousy, and
frankly I'm not sure why. As far as the </FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff>"God, I really hate David Sedaris and Ira Glass,
those two miserable geeks, those wretched freaks. They should move in
together, adopt children, leave the country, maybe go to mars. What do you
think?" quote, which I believe starts off the women-police-officer show:
are we really supposed to take that 100% seriously? Especially in a show
devoted to getting a rise out of people and especially women (by suggesting
that women are not fit to be police officers)? </FONT></FONT><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff>In another, he complains about the phenomenal (by
public-radio standards) success of TAL, but in that piece, he seems to me to be
complaining mostly about the lack of support that his show gets (from KCRW, I
guess). I've never sensed any real animosity towards Glass from JF.
With most of JF, a lot is open to interpretation, of
course...</FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Look, I basically spent half of 2004 and most of 2005
working through the JF shows -- to the extent that I didn't even read many
books during that time. I must have listened to some of the shows 30
times. I'm a huge admirer. But only on a JF mailing list could
Ira Glass be seen as a sell-out, or as being too mainstream. (Not that
this post is, necessarily, saying that, but I've seen a lot of bitterness
directed towards Glass -- which is funny: I doubt there would be any of that
were it not for the coincidence that IG was an intern for JF long, long
ago).</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I guess what I'd like to know is, what do people think that
Glass "stole" from JF? What things?
Specifically?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=265152520-18022007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>-- Steve.</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> joe-frank-list-bounces@armory.com
[mailto:joe-frank-list-bounces@armory.com] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>billmilosz@aol.com<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, February 18, 2007 3:20
PM<BR><B>To:</B> joe-frank-list@armory.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [joe-frank-list]
Ira Glass etc<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Ira Glass' venue "This American Life" is now also going to have a TV
program as part of the franchise....</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Glass' program is less edgy, less abstract and often not as personal as
<SPAN class=correction id="">Joe's</SPAN>, that may account for it being
apparently more popular.</DIV>
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