To me an interesting audio story needs to have much the same structure as any other story. It needs to have something to hook me at the beginning, it needs to progress, and it should have somewhere to go and it should end in a satisfying way. With an audio story such as a podcast you can cut out a lot of the dead space that might not be easy to edit in a video interview or story -- for one, because there shouldn't be dead air in a broadcast or the listener loses interest quickly, so that allows the editor or podcaster the chance to keep things interesting. It can sound smooth and seamless. I'm not much of a podcast listener but I will listen to something that has to do with things I'm interested in -- musicians I love or comedians I admire. Most other podcasts I see linked around are just noise. I don't really see them.
Click here to listen to Ryan Adams on World Cafe.
I loved this interview for a few reasons. I was already a Ryan fan so that's what drew me to click on it in the first place. I also loved the stories he told-- a look into his personal life and his personality that you can't really get just through playing his albums. I love his attempts to speak creatively and poetically in conversation because he is poetic but when he's just talking he sounds like a stoned teenager. The interviewer asks him interesting questions that prompt interesting stories and rants that sometimes don't even answer the question asked. (I love him describing his wrist break and the way they tried to fix it.) And lastly, I love the musical selections he plays. In some cases I think the performances he gives in this informal interview are better than the record he released which is enjoyable to hear as a fan. They're also rewarding tidbits that break up the interview into manageable pieces.
This was magnificent. I've loved Ryan Adams' music for many years, and this only further displays his talents and personality, which becomes so poetically transparent through his music. You are absolutely right that his way of speaking is unique, as I find that most poets reach out beyond themselves in an effort to express, more than simply to be pretentious.
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