wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820


Radiolab

Sunday, November 03, 2002
  • Trek: Two boys on the road

    Race Relations, The Power of Pop and the History of Rhythm n Blues

    In the first hour, two friends visit the new South Africa but find different things (hint: one is white, the other black). Hour two looks at four pop songs that will probably still be in our brains until humans cease to walk the planet, despite generations of abuse by commercials and Japanese punk bands. Lastly, our beloved series on the history of Rhythm and Blues takes us to Detroit.

Hour 1: Old America in the New South Africa

Trek, a story of American race relations in South Africa
In 1997, two Americans - one black, one white - visited the New South Africa, hoping to find a place totally different from the OLD Apartheid South Africa. They travel through the still mostly-segregated society and have wildly different opinions about what they see.

Producer: Alix Spiegel
Link:

www.thislife.org/pages/descriptions/97/72.html


Hour 2: Power of Pop

Repeat 'til Fade
Certain pop songs flow in one ear and out the other. Others get in our head and beat our brains like piantas. Repeat till Fade examines 4 different pop songs that grab hold of your ear and never let go. They are: Downtown, Under the Boardwalk, A Whiter Shade of Pale, I Feel Love. All have been translated into Finish.

Producer: Alain Hall


Hour 3: The History of RnB - Part 11

"Let the Good Times Roll"- Dancing in the Street
Soul legend Jerry Butler schools us on the record company, and the city, whose name has become synonymous with amazing, poppy, recognizable songs like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," "Please Mr. Postman," and "Stop In The Name of Love," and legendary groups like The Supremes, The Temptations and The Jackson Five. The label is Motown, the city is Detroit.

Produced by Lex Gillespie for The Rhythm & Blues Foundation
Executive Producer: Suzan Jenkins
Links:

www.rhythm-n-blues.org