PHCIDU

Cidu Bill on Jun 9th 2009

I’m a big fan of National Public Radio, and I enjoy almost everything they have to offer — and then Prairie Home Companion comes on the air, and it’s like a black hole.


Filed in Bill Bickel, Garrison Keillor, NPR, National Public Radio, Prairie Home Companion, polls | 45 responses so far

45 Responses to “PHCIDU”

  1. Kate C Jun 9th 2009 at 12:24 pm 1

    I think PCH is hilarious, but I am also from Minnesota. There’s a lot of skits I find stupid (the ones where Garrison talks to his “mom” on the phone), or boring (the lives of the cowboys), but the News from Lake Wobegone always makes me laugh, and I find the Catchup Advisory Board bits hilarious. And for the most part, I love the musical guests. I think a lot of the knee-jerk criticism of the show (it’s corny, it’s hickish, it’s too based on nostalgia) come from people who have never really listened to the show.

  2. Frosted Donut Jun 9th 2009 at 01:03 pm 2

    I think it’s somewhat an acquired taste, and it also helps to at least be familiar with small towns and country settings. I find I “get” it better after spending a couple of years living in a small town. (It’s hugely popular in the Seattle area.)

    The “New from Lake Wobegone” takes some getting used to, especially if you’re expecting a story in the traditional mode (beginning, middle, end, moral).

    That said, I’ll listen to it if I’m driving and it’s on, but I don’t go out of my way to make it a weekly visit.

    P.S. After voting, my vote doesn’t seem to have gone into the right category. Is this a Chicago poll?

  3. brien Jun 9th 2009 at 01:11 pm 3

    It’s one of two, and only two, good things on NPR.

  4. Chase Jun 9th 2009 at 01:21 pm 4

    Good Lord, “Lives of the Cowboys” is a blight. I think the show is occasionally amusing, and the music is good sometimes, but there is quite a bit of filler material in there between the decent bits.

  5. Eric Jun 9th 2009 at 01:21 pm 5

    Man, I love it. I don’t go out of my way to hear it, but if I flip through the stations and it’s on, I leave it there for the duration.

  6. Nicole Jun 9th 2009 at 01:24 pm 6

    I am with Bill on this one PCH doesn’t do it for me. I don’t think it has to do with where you are from. I know people from NY and Ca that love it. Me, I find it way to corny for my tastes — fortunately no one makes me listen — each to their own.

  7. bookworm Jun 9th 2009 at 01:31 pm 7

    I think parts are very funny and the rest is just relaxing, quaint, or interesting, but almost all is enjoyable. From what I’ve read, he doesn’t do much planning ahead about what he’s going to say on the “News…”, so sometimes he’s funny and sometimes he goes nowhere at all. But I still enjoy going there with him.

    Like others, I don’t make a point of listening.

  8. The Ploughman Jun 9th 2009 at 01:57 pm 8

    I’m a casual fan, though I understand the detractors. An amusing Onion article for those who are familiar with the show: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/two_dozen_more_bodies_found_in

  9. Pinny Jun 9th 2009 at 04:12 pm 9

    I do really care for the show much (though I will listen in the car if there is nothing else good on). But I enjoyed the film, “A Prairie Home Companion” which is about the show’s *fictional* last day.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420087/

    It stars: Woody Harrelson, Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Virgina Madsen, John C. Reilly, Lily Tomlin, and of course, Garrison Keillor as “GK”.

  10. Fnord Jun 9th 2009 at 04:12 pm 10

    I’m with Bill here. I have tried to listen to that show, really I have, but it’s so completely, maddenningly awful, I just can’t sit through it. I have no idea how anyone tolerates it, much less finds it pleasant.

  11. Fnord Jun 9th 2009 at 04:13 pm 11

    Ah, just to be clear: I’m not saying you shouldn’t like it. I just find myself unable to understand the reasons you do.

  12. Ted in Fort Lauderdale Jun 9th 2009 at 05:11 pm 12

    I’m definitely in the “not so much” category. I sometimes enjoy some of the stories (News from LW, LotC, Guy Noir), but far from always, and I never get much out of the music. It is probably not my least favorite NPR/PRI show, but it’s very close amongst the ones that I actually spend any time listening to (sometimes in the car there aren’t many alternatives…)

  13. fet101 Jun 9th 2009 at 05:35 pm 13

    Speaking as someone who gets extreme enjoyment from the PHC and has attended a live show, I can’t explain why either. It’s something different, like a time warp, that you can’t hear anywhere else. The Lake Wobegon portions are just an absurd view of small town Americana like a Rockwell painting by Dr. Suess.

  14. Bullhistle Jun 9th 2009 at 05:54 pm 14

    I make a point to listen to the joke show. There are some real groaners there, but I think it’s hilarious.

  15. Cidu Bill Jun 9th 2009 at 05:59 pm 15

    Unfortunately, I live in the hillbilly region of New Jersey, where sometimes the car radio can’t pick up more than two or three stations — so my listening options can be very limited.

  16. That's Me Jun 9th 2009 at 06:10 pm 16

    I found that the show changed drastically when Keillor was going through a divorce: the “news” became much darker, featured long, drawn out stories of doomed relationships and unhappy people. In recent years it’s gotten much better. I enjoy it when I happen to hear it, but I don’t go out of my way to find it.

  17. Lola Jun 9th 2009 at 06:35 pm 17

    I’m with Bull on this one. The joke show is usually pretty good. I’m a NPR/PBSophile, but it’s a 50/50 chance I’ll look for something else when PHC comes on. Once or twice though I’ve gotten home and sat in the car or van for another 5 or 10 minutes because the “News” was interesting, but that’s it, only once or twice. This is why there are apples and oranges … so everybody gets something they like some of the time.

  18. padraig Jun 9th 2009 at 07:00 pm 18

    OK, I think it’s funny but I’m a cheesehead and most of it involves laughing at Minnesotans. Always willing to take time out of my day for that.

    You do have to wade through a lot of chaff some shows to get to the wheat. Most of the really good stuff comes out of Keillor’s mouth.

    Example from his Guy Noir detective bit: “She came into the room like a tornado looking for a trailer park.” One of my favorite lines EVER. And pretty Midwestern, now that I think of it.

    I highly recommend their annual Joke Show. Helps if you know who Ole and Lena are. And that Ole is pronounced “OH-lee.”

  19. NTR Jun 9th 2009 at 08:50 pm 19

    I find I enjoy it more in theory than in practice. Even though I count myself as a fan, I keep realizing it’s Sunday night and I’ve forgotten to listen to the show again. When I remember to listen, I can always depend on there being occasional bits on that I really like, but I have to wait through a lot of sequences that aren’t that funny to me, including some that are fairly excruciating. When I enjoy it, I really really enjoy it. But I agree with someone a few posts above that it’s more the general unusualness of the show than any individual thing on it.

  20. fh Jun 9th 2009 at 08:57 pm 20

    Well I enjoy Prairie Home Companion, but it is not on NPR. Many NPR affiliates carry it, but NPR has nothing to do with it. It is distributed by American Public Media. Formerly, it was distributed by PRI. Both are associated with Minnesota Public Radio, but not National Public radio.

  21. thepill Jun 9th 2009 at 11:02 pm 21

    I find PHC to be really nice as background noise when I’m, say, cooking dinner and listening out of one ear. But I can’t sit and listen to it as an independent activity, like I do “Wait, Wait” or TAL.

  22. chuckers Jun 10th 2009 at 05:43 am 22

    Growing up in the Midwest many long years ago, I was
    occasionally subjected to it by my father, who loved it immensely.
    I could see the humour in it when I was listening to it but it
    was nothing I would probably chose to listen to on my own.

    If I were to listen to it now, I would probably feel nostalgic for
    my father’s listening to it.

  23. Carl Jun 10th 2009 at 06:06 am 23

    For you folks who think you don’t have alternatives: podcasts. I haven’t listened to over-the-air radio in days, and I generally do so less than once a week.

  24. yellojkt Jun 10th 2009 at 06:39 am 24

    The Guy Noir bits are funny but there is way too much bluegrass music.

  25. Elliott Jun 10th 2009 at 06:40 am 25

    One choice you forgot is the most obvious: It’s not NPR.

    “Prairie Home Companion” is not an NPR program. It is carried on radio stations that are best known for their NPR affiliation, but PHC was originated by Minnesota Public Radio, is distributed by American Public Media and has no connection to NPR.

    The other choice is, “don’t like it? don’t listen.”

  26. Cidu Bill Jun 10th 2009 at 06:58 am 26

    Elliot, neither “it’s not actually NPR” not “if you don’t like it don’t listen” addresses the question “What’s the deal with PHC?”

  27. ctd Jun 10th 2009 at 09:28 am 27

    If you’ve grown up in a small/hick town as an academically-inclined family, the show is more likely to resonate as humor. PHC (particularly the “News…” monologue) is indeed a slow, meandering ramble about mundanities, which can certainly bore the heck out of those more used to fast-paced in-your-face big-city TV humor, but matches nicely with those of us who know/knew a slower pace of life where little things had a big impact on the community.

    The show for many is also more likely akin to one’s to-watch movie list: something talked fondly of with happy memories of having experienced or longing desire to, but when faced with the opportunity _right_now_ is passed over for something more visceral.

  28. Brian Jun 10th 2009 at 11:19 am 28

    I first started listening to PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION around 1982. It was good in the later 1970s (I’ve heard recordings) & got better as it led to its first farewell (1987, I think).

    Keillor’s replacement show, THE AMERICAN RADIO COMPANY OF THE AIR, was better than P.H.C. It had all the best things of P.H.C. plus some new writers, interesting voices (including the late, lamented Lynne Thigpen), & a bit of a New York City feel.

    Then, in 1992 (I think), Keillor took the show back to Minnesota, shed the New York actors, & renamed it P.H.C. He began to dominate the show, and it became a big ego-fest, going downhill. I stopped listening around 1995. I’ll still catch it on occasion, and the “News From Lake Wobegon” often works, but I don’t bother with the show as a whole.

    (I agree with Lola that the annual Joke show is good. Of course, it’s almost like radio LAUGH-IN. It throws so many jokes at you that you start laughing helplessly even though no joke may be really that funny.)

    (May I second Carl’s suggestion [#23], too? Streaming, on-line shows, archives, podcasts are spoiling me for broadcasts.)

  29. Super Jen Jun 10th 2009 at 11:31 am 29

    I usually enjoy listening to the “News” segment, but the rest of it I only listen to if I’m in the mood for it, really. I think it takes a fair amount of patience to wait through the stuff that doesn’t appeal to you personally, so if I’m not feeling patient I end up turning it.

  30. Woodrowfan Jun 10th 2009 at 11:37 am 30

    I don’t listen to it. The skits are often funny but the music bores me to tears.

  31. Another Josh Jun 10th 2009 at 11:44 am 31

    I’ve found that you can get the “News from Lake Woebegone” as a podcast, but not the entire show. Apparently Keillor found it difficult to get rights to podcast work by all the visiting musicians and artists, so rather than try to edit around those who do not consent to podcasting rights, he just distributes the News segment which is generally just him talking.

    Because of this, I hardly ever listen to the show anymore, getting the podcast which I can listen to on my commute. I have enjoyed it in the past, and attended one live show (at an outdoor theater where I had lawn seats, so it may as well have been on the radio, except you could walk toward the stage and actually see the performance sometimes). Sometimes I miss it, but not enough to make an effort to catch the broadcast.

  32. Derek Jun 10th 2009 at 11:49 am 32

    I’ve never heard it, but I read Keillor’s book “Lake Wobegone Days”. Didn’t find it funny or entertaining it all; dull, tedious nonsense from start to finish - and I did finish it. After doing so, I decided that never again would I feel compelled to finish a bad book just because I’d started one, so at least I got something out of the experience.

  33. DPWally Jun 10th 2009 at 12:28 pm 33

    I love Prairie Home, but I can see why a lot of people wouldn’t.

    The humor has a very slow pace that doesn’t fit modern expectations, so it only works if you can allow your brain to slow down to the show’s pace. Note I said “allow”, not “will” or “force”. Giving it a chance, requiring your brain to enjoy the humor, is a sure way to suck all the funny out of it.

  34. DPWally Jun 10th 2009 at 12:30 pm 34

    Also Prairie Home Companion’s humor generally doesn’t follow the classic setup and punchline format (except the joke show, which has hundreds of setup-punchline jokes). That fits with recent trends, but may escape some people. I haven’t asked my mother if she likes PHC, but I think this is the reason she doesn’t like Doonesbury.

  35. DPWally Jun 10th 2009 at 12:32 pm 35

    I think my comments will be posted out of order. My first one is “awaiting moderation”, presumably because I used a potentially naughty word in a non-naughty context.

  36. Cidu Bill Jun 10th 2009 at 12:38 pm 36

    True, D.P. Wally, the word “suck” throws a post into the moderation queue, which is a real pain in the neck when there’s a comic about vampires. I could change that, but it filters out a hell of a lot of sexually-based spam.

    Now if I could only figure out why everything Morris Keesan tries to post gets sent to the moderation queue. There’s apparently some fluke in the program, but I have no idea what it is.

  37. Cidu Bill Jun 10th 2009 at 12:53 pm 37

    I don’t like to listen to NPR podcasts, because I’d be too tempted to listen to only what I know will interest me. The beauty of NPR, to me, is hearing stuff I didn’t know would interest me.

  38. DPWally Jun 10th 2009 at 12:58 pm 38

    Maybe part of Morris Keesan ’s name matches tagalog slang questioning a person’s parentage. (If this message goes to moderation, that’s a Yes.)

  39. Messy Baker Jun 10th 2009 at 01:38 pm 39

    I would like it a lot better if Garrison Keillor would quit trying to sing. I have to turn the radio off when he starts singing. I don’t understand why the guest stars let him sing along with them–I’d rather not be on the show at all than let him ruin an excellent song.

  40. Rupert Jun 10th 2009 at 05:23 pm 40

    A Prairie Home Companion is my favorite thing on radio. I find it subtle and a real treasure.

    It is like what Louis Armstrong once said when asked what Jazz was about — if you have to ask, then you’ll never know. The ultimate Zen koan.

  41. John B. Jun 10th 2009 at 05:25 pm 41

    My father was from rural Kansas. Listening to PHC reminded him (and me) of the small town he was born and raised in. It’s typical of small town America, especially the midwest. If you’re not from the midwest or lived in a small rural town, you wouldn’t understand Garrison’s jokes. But for those of who do (and those who lived in an era gone by), it makes perfect sense. I’m not a huge GK fan (can’t stand his uppity liberal snobby politics) but his Lake Wobegon monologues hit the mark.

  42. MoWatt Jun 10th 2009 at 06:46 pm 42

    I haven’t listened to PHC in many, many years because . . . well for one thing it airs on weekends, doesn’t it? I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t sit around listening to the radio for an hour at a time on weekends. But many of you have commented negatively about the music. As I recall, the thing I liked best about the show was the music.

  43. Don Jun 11th 2009 at 11:52 am 43

    I agree in part with Brian’s comment (#28). PHC used to be much better before their first farewell. However I disagree strongly that things got better after he moved things to NYC. THE AMERICAN RADIO COMPANY OF THE AIR was boring and pretentious. They never really recaptured the original magic after they moved back to MN.

  44. Frog72 Jun 11th 2009 at 02:37 pm 44

    ‘The Simpsons’ did a bit poking fun at PHC. The family was sitting in a theater, listening to PHC live… everybody laughing hysterically, except the family, and Homer can’t figure out what’s so funny…

  45. Cheryl Jun 12th 2009 at 05:09 pm 45

    I’m from Wisconsin AND above average, but I don’t think it’s funny.

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