Finalized (finally!) my first radio show episode

So, I finally finished the first episode of my radio show.  We re-recorded it this morning and also recorded the second episode.  Instead of it being an interview style, it is going to be me doing it essentially solo with the segment host Thibault introducing me.  The recording went well, and I am deeply grateful for his aid in proof-reading and helping me to edit the text.  Afterword, we added in the songs for the first segment and wrapped it up.  The half-hour episodes will air during his program's timeslot when he goes on vacation this summer, which airs during the 9:00 AM hour.  So I feel useful to actually be performing a service to the station.  I have also chosen the songs for the third segment on the next generation of Irish music (showing off the Pogues, Flogging Molly, the Dropkick Murpheys, Thin Lizzy, Young Dubliners, and U2) and am finalizing the last segment on Irish inspired music, mostly dealing with artists inspired by Irish folk (Bob Dylan) or composers who use Irish elements (Howard Shore's "Concerning Hobbits", How to Train Your Dragon's John Powell, "My Heart Will Go On," etc.). 

I have a copy of the first episode and I can send it to you by request, although it is entirely in French.

A Rainy Day

It was raining when I woke up today.  It never stopped.  Luckily enough, my first class was cancelled today, so I didn't have to get up at 6:00 like normal.  Instead I slept in for two more and half hours before braving the storm down the hill to the bus stop.  As I was entering the traffic circle leading to the bus stop, I saw my bus pull away.  Not to worry, I was still a good hour early for my class.  I did not, however, much enjoy waiting for the next one to come.  But such is life.  On campus, I warmed up with a coffee and then went to class, which passed well enough.  And then, even more exciting, I discovered that my other class that day was cancelled.  So, I had lunch in a nearby cafe.  I ordered a sandwhich called an american: it consists of a hamburger cut up and stuffed with a boatload of frenchfries into a baguette and then drowned in the sauce of your choosing.  It is so fantastic that I can't believe that we don't actually have them in America.  It is right up our alley... 

The Second Episode of my Irish Music show is Written

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, but I have been very busy.  A lot of work was suddenly dumped on to my plate and I’ve been struggling to keep on top of it in addition to all of the work I am doing for my internship.  That said, I have written my second episode for my radio show on Irish music.  I am showcasing the Irish Folk Revival of the 1960s, focusing on the five most influential bands of the time period in roughly chronological order: the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the Dubliners, the Irish Rovers, Sweeney’s Men, and the Chieftains.  The songs, in case you are wondering are as follows:

Dubliners:

-Rocky Road to Dublin

-Roddy McCorley

Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem:

-Whiskey, You're the Devil

The Irish Rovers:

-The Orange and the Green

Sweeney's Men:

-Rattlin' Roarin' Willie

The Chieftains:

-Away We Go Again

Yesterday I almost missed the bus to school, but the bus driver kindly stopped and let me on when I waved it down.  As there was no room to sit and the aisle was filled with people standing, I was forced to stand near the driver.  We got talking and he was very interested to learn that I was from America.  It turns out that he had spent a number of years there as a musician, mostly in the bigger cities of New York City, Chicago, St Louis, Phoenix, and Las Angeles.  So you meet all kinds of interesting people on the bus. 

Excursion Three: Roquefort and Buddhism

On Saturday, I went on an excursion with the Minnesota group.  The departure time was at 8:15, on the way, my host father and I passed two of my friends from the group standing at the bus stop.  I commented that they were in my group and my host dad pulled a U-turn and we offered them a ride into town.  Apparently they had missed the bus and would not have made it without us.  So I’m pleased to report that I still have my super-heroing going on even in France.

The first stop was the village of Roquefort, were we went into the caves where is made Roquefort cheese, known in America as bleu cheese.  The blue color is actually Penicillium, the same fungus that is used to produce the vaccine penicillin.  The cheese itself comes from the brebis sheep raised in the area, which during the fermentation process is laced with the spore-powder of the Penicillium which is cultivated in a special bread that they bake for that sole purpose.  The cheese is baked and left to sit for several months in the rock caverns beneath the building, during which time the fungus grows throughout the cheese.  It is then taken out and served.  It is a very powerfully strong cheese and rather creamy.  It is usually spread like butter onto bread when eaten.  It was not bad, but the fungus has a texture different from the cheese that is a little off-putting at first. I bought a large morsel of it to bring to my host family as a gift.  They were very excited for it.  Apparently they are all huge fans of it, as is my host sister who is coming for Easter.  My host mom warned my host father and brother not to touch it until then.

After seeing the caves, we took the bus to the Viaduc de Millau, Europe’s highest automobile breach.  It spans a large river valley between two mountains and is rather impressive.

After that the viaduct, we went to the Temple de Lierab Ling, a Buddhist temple opened in 1992 that was built by authentic Tibetan Buddhist traditional craftsmanship and designs.  It is a center for Tibetan Buddhism in Europe, many of the monks who reside there are refugees from China’s military occupation of Tibet.  It was twice visited and consecrated by the Dalai-Lama himself.  It serves a place of spirituality and theological contemplation, hosting anywhere from a dozen residents in the winter to several thousand in the summer.   The interior was incredibly beautiful and it was a very neat visit.

A jazz concert and fondue

On Wednesday I scored tickets to a jazz concert at a place in Montpellier called le Jam.  So, having two free tickets, I took my host-brother to go check it out last night.  It was pretty awesome.  The band was the Daniele Gorgone Quartet featuring Scott Hamilton, an American saxophonist who was amazing.  He was also very generous in making sure that each of the other members of the band got solos for each song, piano, contrabass and drums alike.  So that was an evening well spent.

Today at my internship I recorded one radio show and made some finishing touches on another that I will record on Wednesday.  Tomorrow I am going to see the place where all Rochefort (bleu) cheese is made.

We had fondue for dinner, which I was neverous about going into.  In the United States, I was never a big fan of cheese.  My fears were quickly put at ease after eating the first morsel.  My host mother had made a blend of three cheeses and it was very good. 

Building my first radio show episode

Today in my France Mosaic course we discussed the French region of Bretagne, which is different from the rest of France because it has clung the most fiercely to its Celtic heritage and in many ways more closely resembles Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Galicia (in Spain) and the Ile of Man (between Ireland and Scotland) than the rest of France.  The Breton language more closely resembles the indigenous languages of the aforementioned places than French, in any case.  There is currently a pretty strong movement in Bretagne that is arguing for home-rule, or at least a local parliament with the power to make decisions for the region without Parisian input.  It is rather fascinating.

As soon as I got home from class today, I began writing my first radio show on Irish music.  The theme for the first broadcast is all-instrumental music as I introduce the various instruments used in the genre.  I start with Cooley’s Reel by Inspectedby19 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HNNu8x_ulA)  to demonstrate the guitar.  It is one of the rare instances in Irish music where the guitar actually plays the melody.  Next is the fiddle, I which I demonstrate with a medley by the Dubliners, The Sligo Maid and Colonel Rodney (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk4Z0IaaW9Y at 2:04).  I then go on to discuss the tin whistle (which I play) and give a medley of three tunes: the Irish Washerwoman, the Kesh Jig and the Blarney Pilgrim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS3J-rHpuag).  Next up is the mandolin, which I also play, and I show off Chief O’Neill’s Favorite (one of my favorites) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiBN7gHb5QM).  In this version, the Dubliner’s extraordinary banjo player Barney McKenna takes a break from his signature instrument to play this lovely tune on the mandolin.  I then have him follow it on his banjo with the High Reel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JG1wUh_HBo).  I then give an example of another Irish instrument, the Uileann pipes, the modern incarnation of the Irish bagpipe as used beautifully (accompanied by the tin whistle and Irish bodhran drum) in the title theme to The Boondock Saints, a song called The Blood of Cuchullain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuC1DqC67GM).  Cuchullain is the greatest of the Irish heroes, whose life was filled with many extraordinary deed, yet he met with a most tragic fate.  But I have nowhere near enough time to properly recount the tale and so will move on to the final song, O’Sullivan’s March by The Chieftains, which makes heavy use of the bodhran,Uileann pipes, and tin whistle and really serves to wrap everything up together (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vffqnYUyFVQ).

So that’s what’s going on with my life right now.  I hope you enjoy some of the listening I provided.  As for me, I really miss my tin whistle and mandolin right now, but I suppose that I’ll have to make do with my four harmonicas.  Good night, all.

Nick- out

Go See Cloud Atlas

Yesterday, Facebook informed me that it was St. Patrick’s Day (not that I didn’t remember on my own).  It was hard to tell from where I was though.  After talking to a classmate of mine today who works at Fitzpatrick’s Irish pub in downtown Montpellier, apparently things were more exciting there than in sleepy St.-Jean-de-Vedas.  I did however get some homework done and went to a matinée with my host dad and brother to see Cloud Atlas.  It was in French, but I was still able to follow it pretty well.  I highly recommend it for its unique approach to storytelling and sheer ambition.  The Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer created a truly unique film, which is jam-packed full of stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, and more.  The movie features six plotlines that weave in and out of each other in a truly remarkable way, connecting six very widely dispersed times and places.  Each of the stars plays several roles throughout the chronology and it is very interesting to see them crop up in each narrative. 

Today I had classes, which weren’t all bad.  I had an exam in my internship course that went well and after that the day passed well enough.  I am currently in the process of writing my radio pieces for later this week.