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Title: NPR Funniest Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go
ISBN: 1598876244
Author:
Publicate Date: 2008-04-22
Publish: 2008-04-22
List Price: $22.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.0
Format: Audio CD
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $13.38
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $14.49
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.21
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Hit or Miss collection from NPR
Truth in advertising - The 16 stories on this set - most about eight minutes long - are NOT the "funniest moments" from NPR. Because they were culled from shows aired only between 2003 and 2008 on NPR news magazine type programs like "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", there was a limit. While some are truly funny interviews (Only David Sedaris's track is a monologue, rather than an interview), others are actually serious discussions of comedy. Author and comedian Daryl Littleton is interviewed discussing his book on Black stand-up comedy and, while some recorded excerpts of Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx are included, this is a serious discussion. The second longest piece in the collection (13:26) is an interview with Jonathan Winters and was one of the highlights for me. But, though it's funny in parts, Winters is more serious discussing his abusive parents and becomes emotional during the interview with Scott Simon on "Weekend Edition".
I'm a big fan of the pop culture stores broadcast on the various NPR shows, and particularly interviews done by Scott Simon. The other notable piece on this collection is the first track of Disc One - an interview by Simon with Dame Edna. Slightly longer than the Winters interview, Dame Edna (Barry Humphries) continually says things so funny that Simon breaks up on the air. If laughter is contagious, it's certainly obvious here. I found myself breaking into laughter along with Simon.
If you want interviews on the business of Comedy, there's a better collection, culled from "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" (full title "Fresh Air: Laughs with Terry Gross" - also released by Highbridge Audio. (Note: there are no "Fresh Air" interviews on "Driveway Moments).
So, a better title for this set would be: "A Sampler of moments with comedians appearing on NPR magazine shows". I enjoyed it but it could have been better.
Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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