The Next Big Thing

The Great Pupkin

Hubbub

Show #406

Friday, October 10, 2003

Noise of the news, of the street, and of kids playing rock’n’roll in their basements. Also, perspectives on noise – pro and con – and Julia Sweeney (of SNL “It’s Pat” fame) on the clamor that has accompanied her entry into single motherhood.

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All the News You Hope to Miss

What can we expect in the year 2013? President Schwarzenneger? An all-carb diet? Find out in this news forecast, brought to you by our very own correspondents Judith Kampfner, and Mary Purdy, with guests Mark O’Donnell and Jonathan Schwarz. Written by Jonathan Schwarz and Mike Gerber.

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Listening to Nothing

Like any good radio producer, The Next Big Thing’s Curtis Fox lives in fear of “dead air,” those moments when, because of some technical glitch, programming stops. But what he’s still trying to figure out is why so many people outside the radio world also go to great efforts to avoid “dead air.” Here, he puts forth some theories.

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My Noise

Dean used to be in Curtis’s camp – opposed to all the cultural noise that accompanies our daily lives. But with the acquisition of a certain pocket-size electronic gadget, he’s decided to make an exception.

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The Basement Tapes

Not long ago Joel Topcik discovered a stash of his never-released recordings in a Converse shoe box in the basement. The tapes span nearly a decade and a half, dating as far back as 1979, when Joel was – well, 9 years old. He’s thinking the discovery might merit the release of a boxed set. Produced by Julie Subrin.

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The Great PUPkin Contest

Heard in the park... Next Big Thing's Julie Subrin comes across an annual Halloween spectacle in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, involving dogs, Halloween costumes, and a very enthusiastic crowd.

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In the Family Way

Julia Sweeney’s in the house. She’s best known for her role as the androgynous “Pat” on Saturday Night Live, but that was a long time ago. More recently, she performed a one-woman show about her travails pushing past 40 and finding her way into motherhood. There are plenty of stops along the way - in the Galapagos Islands, on the Food Channel, at the INS and in an orphanage in China. Produced by Emily Botein.