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Is it humanly possible to have too much cowbell? I mean is it physically, psychologically, emotionally, and morally possible to have too much cowbell?
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Haven
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“What I mean is, this kind of music? Concerts and the like? They ever pay money to sit down for a couple of hours and wear their bottoms out listening to something they wouldn’t recognize half a day later? Pay money simply to perpetrate a fraud? You ever know them to do that?”
More Bread and More Cowbell
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When this episode was first released, we were only 2 months into the Covid pandemic, and many people were homesteading and finding new comforts in simple joys like crafting and baking. Host Joe Weber took this moment as an opportunity to impart some of his well-earned knowledge as a lifelong baker and bakery supplier by giving some highly useful baking tips, which still remain as relevant and useful as they were then. As an accompaniment to the bread course, the menu is packed — two stand-up bits by Jackie Mason, a couple of Cole Porter tunes, a reading from Richard Yates and a visit from Jack Handey. And of course, a healthy serving of cowbell!
Sidney and Bessie Anew
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We return this week with another early episode which highlights the life and times of New Orleans musician Sidney Bechet, the legendary jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, and his relationship with Bessie Smith, who he describes as “…the damnedest singer…that would really have the public going.” Featuring bits from his autobiography, we learn of his knack for finding trouble, his stint in prison, and of course his musical journeys with Bessie and others. Full of great songs and wonderful pieces of Bechet history, this is one of our classic episodes.
The Genius Returns
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Among his many talents, Irish writer Frank O’Connor had a particular gift for showing the world through the eyes of young, precocious, often naive protagonists, like Larry Delaney of his 1957 story “The Genius.” Larry wants to be the town’s first proper genius and win the affections of Una Dwyer — first, he just has to find out where babies come from. We revisit this timeless story, originally featured in an early episode of the podcast, along with musings from Jack Handey, poetry by Richard Wilbur, and lots of great music.
Another Late Encounter
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Continuing with the theme of our last episode, we present another one of Flannery O’Connor’s great short stories, “A Late Encounter with the Enemy.” In this 1953 story, elderly former Civil War veteran George Poker Sash attends his 62-year-old granddaughter’s fateful college graduation, and the occasion leads to ruminations on memory, aging, and mortality. Host Joe Weber leads off the show with some of his own musings on the realities of aging, and as always, music guides the way.
Everything Rises Again
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Flannery O’Connor was one of the greatest Southern writers, and one who truly understood the people and nuances of the South. In our second ever episode, we featured one of her classic short stories, “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” Published near the end of her life, it deals with a changing South as seen through the lens of recent college graduate Julian and his old-fashioned mother. This week, we feature the story once again in a return to that early episode.
First Confession’s Second Coming
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This week we revisit another of our very first episodes, featuring a wonderful 1950 short story by Irish writer Frank O’Connor entitled “First Confession.” The story explores a seven-year-old boy’s anxieties over having to give his first ever confession at church. It is a show favorite which sharply exhibits O’Connor’s wit and shows real sympathy for his young protagonist.
Anti-Heroes Redux
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You might just want to listen to this re-release of Podcast #22 if you answer YES to the following questions:
Are you so tired of superheroes that even a hero sandwich gives you pause?
Are you a man who can readily observe unique qualities in your spouse such as the ability to save you from a school of man-eating rainbow trout?
Are you a baby boomer who has experienced the heartache of being unable to find a human being anywhere on a customer hotline?
These, and more, explored in this week’s return to “Anti-Heroes”!
April Is the Cruelest Month
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A toxic mix of Bob Newhart, Mel Brooks, Dr. Fllambeau, and the best Klezmer band that ever was.