8 out of 10

A literate literary patricide.

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Greetings all,

My wife recently had surgery for appendicitis, and between doing my work, taking care of her, and looking after my 4 year old son, I’m just too beat to write from scratch this week.  My essay on Gordon Bok’s “Peter Kagan and the Wind” will therefore be postponed to next week.  However, I’m not too tired to type up someone else’s words, so today I’m proud to present a lost piece of radio drama history.  

After my review of his dramatic adaptation of Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” went up, Erik Bauersfeld sent me a thoughtful and fascinating email response.  Noting my interest in his cooperative 1984 Hörspiel USA project between Berkeley, California Pacifica station KPFA and German station WDR Köln, Mr. Bauersfeld kindly volunteered to send me information about it.  The envelope he sent contained a 1984 copy of the KPFA’s Folio, which included summaries of all the Hörspiel USA dramas and an introductory article by Bauersfeld himself.  

This was, of course, much too interesting to just file away.  I contacted Bauersfeld and requested his permission to post his essay here, which he generously granted.  Together with the show summaries, it presents a window onto a fascinating and all-too-brief bridge between the worlds of American radio drama and German Hörspiel.  The dramas showcase an impressive level of dramatic invention and intellectual caliber, demonstrating philosophical depth and artistic boldness.  While I share Bauersfeld’s regret that this international cross-pollination was cut short all too quickly, these nine broadcasts alone are an impressive accomplishment.  They deserve wider recognition, and more than that, re-release.

I want to make it clear from the outset that this article only reprints Bauersfeld’s essay and the show summaries from the KPFA Folio issue.  The words that follow are not my own, and I do not claim them.  Furthermore, this post does not contain audio files of any of the actual shows.  I only wish it did, as I’m dying to hear them myself.  Nevertheless, I encourage any audio drama enthusiast to read on, and audio drama producers even more so.  The ideas packed into these shows are rich, fertile, and inspiring, demonstrating even today how much further the artistic boundaries of audio drama can be pushed.

Again, my deepest gratitude to Erik Bauersfeld for allowing me to reprint his words and bring attention to this intriguing chapter of radio drama history.   

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Sometime in 1990, I was a pathetic high school student getting my heart slowly and painfully broken during an ill-advised Smith College visit to my first girlfriend. The relationship was clearly dying on the vine, and I was wretched.  Things went from bad to worse, and then we went to see a visiting a cappella group, the Tufts Beelzebubs, perform in a campus lounge.  A dapper bunch of fellows took the stage and proceeded to rock the house with a polished, harmonious set including Peter Gabriel’s “In your Eyes”.  They finished with a stunning medley of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)”, the final chords of which have haunted me ever since.  I was spellbound from start to finish, and for five glorious minutes Major Tom’s dramatic return to earth eclipsed my romantic misery.  I searched for a recording for years; it proved damnably elusive.

I found it at last, and although the sound quality is far from perfect, the song still carries the old magic. Even better, I’ve been granted permission to share it with you.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present the 1990 Tufts Beelzebubs!


Right click to download “Space Oddity / Major Tom” by the Tufts Beelzebubs!

Read on to learn more about the performance and for some sentimental rambling from yours truly.

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10 out of 10

This week Malleus kicks off a 3-part look at ballads that blur the boundaries between song, storytelling, and the spoken word. First up is the bad man, Black folk anti-hero Stagolee, in what I guarantee is the best and most wildly imaginative retelling of his legend that you are ever going to hear.

Julius Lester’s “Stagolee” is lightning in a bottle: drink deep, and be electrified.

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Hi folks -

Just a quick note.

I intended to write a single column this week about three ballads: Julius Lester’s blistering “Stagolee”, Gordon Bok’s gentle cante-fable “Peter Kagan and the Wind”, and the Tuft’s Beelzebubs long lost “Major Tom / Space Oddity”. But as I got going, I realized this wasn’t going to do any of them justice. So instead of addressing all of them at once I’ll be devoting a single column to each, spread out over three weeks. First up is Julius Lester’s “Stagolee”, to be posted later today.

My apologies to those waiting for the Tuft’s Beelzebubs “Major Tom / Space Oddity” mp3 - that will go up, with the review, next week.

8 out of 10

Hollywood has decreed that summertime is superhero time, so today we don our spandex and take to the skies with this historical release. Superman may not pack the same box office punch he once did, but this super-delicious old time radio serial still packs plenty of P-E-P: Pep! With its clean bubble-gum flavor and cartoon verve, “Superman vs. Atom Man” leaves this comic book afficionado asking “why weren’t more OTR superhero shows this much fun?”

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Come celebrate the Kyoto festival of Gion Matsuri with this collection of binaural soundscapes. Music, pictures, pachinko, giant wagons covered with ancient tapestries, and lots of Japanese people saying “Oooooh!” at just the right moments. What more could you want? Get a pair of headphones and enjoy this album, recorded by myself and free to all.

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9 out of 10

What possessed Tom Lopez to do this half-baked horror tale? Devil or angel, it was an inspired muse: Lopez doesn’t just adapt Wagner’s story, he rewrites it, and the result is far more chilling than the original.

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10 out of 10

In a subtle and varied presentation, actor Fred Morsell brings the full force of statesman and former slave Frederick Douglass’s eloquence to bear on the issue closest to him: slavery. Re-enactment at its finest, Morsell’s performance confirms both the classic status and contemporary relevance of Douglass’s legendary 5th of July speech. Yes, 5th of July. Read on!

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4 out of 10

A flawed curiosity, the Mind’s Eye production of Kafka’s surreal, tragicomic tale of the salesman-turned-cockroach is notable for a striking voice effect and an outstanding performance by Erik Bauersfeld. Listening to him, you’ll believe a cockroach can talk and shudder with disgust and sympathy. It’s a shame the rest of the cast doesn’t measure up.

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