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On this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest contestant is Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, who’s gone on to a successful solo career and Broadway career Her conversation with host Peter Sagal is wildly enthusiastic, upbeat and fun. Which is another way of saying she is quite the talker. The good news is that periodically she does pause to take a breath. And throws in a few songs, as well. This is the full Wait, Wait… broadcast, but you can jump directly to the “Not My Job” segment, it starts around the 18:30 mark.
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Hosts Phil Rosenthal and David Wild write that this week "Naked Lunch Goes To The Dogs” as Phil and David are joined by Phil's beloved dog Murray -- star of ‘The Daily Murray’ -- and David's adorable puppy Stevie for a special canine-themed call-in episode featuring special check-ins from two of our favorite past ‘Lunch’ guests: Maureen Van Zandt calls in with her dog ‘Miss Tiggy-Winkle’ [Editorial Note: Sorry, but that’s an awful name to give to a dog] to discuss the new documentary about her rock star of a husband, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple out now on HBO & Max plus Country Music superstar Brad Paisley -- our first guest and the creator of our theme song -- calls in about the dogs in his family's lives. All this plus Phil offers a joyous report from the recent wedding of his son Ben Rosenthal and his new daughter Delaney Rosenthal.”
From the archives. This week's contestant is Ted Fisher from Belgrade, Serbia. The fellow is a foreign service officer serving in the embassy there, so hopefully he still has that job by the time this has re-aired. As for the composer style, it came down to two who always are so similar to me...and I guessed the wrong one. As did the contestant initially. With the hidden song, know that only afterwards does pianist Bruce Adolphe say, "I should have mentioned beforehand that there are two hidden songs in there," and then plays it again. It seemed odd the first time around, and that explains it. I did get one of the tunes very clearly the first time around, and figured that was the answer, not knowing I was supposed to guess two. Listening the second time through, I recognized the song, but couldn't name it.
The guest on this week’s Al Franken podcast is New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie. As Al writes, “With so much happening on the campaign trail, we turn to Jamelle Bouie for his first visit to the podcast. We discuss Donald Trump and JD Vance’s attacks on the truth with their harmful comments on Haitian immigrants and their lies about abortion. We look at different Senate races around the country and what they could mean for the next President. And we get into Project 2025 and examine just how far Republicans are willing to let Trump go should he become President again. Spoiler alert: it would be terrifying!”
Back in 1996, my friend Michael Shoob wrote and directed the film Driven, that starred Whip Hubley, along with Chad Lowe, Daniel Roebuck and others. Now, Michael is talented, bright, and a good guy, but also takes his time. However, eventually he gets around to being ready -- and so, just 28 years later, he decided to make a sequel. With some of the original cast. I have not yet seen the new movie, which is called Road to Everywhere (to Michael's credit, opting not to call it Driven 2). But I have seen the trailer, which is an interesting, moody, thoughtful way to pick up the story and continue it after all this time. And so, liking Michael and liking the trailer, I wanted to pass it along. He wrote the film based on a story he and Joseph Mealey developed, and when I know more about its release schedule (which most likely will be when Michael knows more about its release schedule), I'll pass it along. I hope they use the ad line, "Playing Everywhere Near You"... We close out the week with a moment of personal privilege. As readers of these pages know, I happen to like Chicago a great deal. The Cubs, da Bears, the beloved Northwestern, Ravinia Music Festival, the Art Institute, Charlie Beinlich’s, Del Rio’s, the Chicago Botanic Garden, Writers Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Second City, WFMT, and…and…well, a lot more. I do know I yammer about it a lot. But what I’ve found over the years is that when people who chide me have a reason to go to Chicago, many, if not most of them say afterwards, “Oh, okay, I see why you like it so much.” So, it was a pleasure to see Condé Nast Traveler publish the results of its 2024 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Cities in the United States. with 575,048 people participating. It’s their 37th annual survey. And their #1 Best City in the U.S. was – (to no one’s surprise of those who’ve made it this far) – Chicago! And not only was Chicago named #1, but…amazingly, this is the eight straight year it was named! To be fair, I don't know what the criteria was for people to vote by, though I think there was an overlap between people living in a city, visiting on business and vacationing. And also to be fair, having seen the results of several other surveys that Condé Nast Traveler has done, I don't take this as the quintessential result to end all results. Though, to be biased, I do think they got it right in this survey. For the eighth year in a row...    I was trying to decide which song to go out with here -- "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" or "My Kind of Town (Chicago is)." But then I realized, no, this instead is the piece to end with. "The Best Kept Secret in America," by the great banjo master Stephen Wade. I posted an article about it in 2013 (and then did a follow-up in 2021), so this is an appropriate time to repeat it. Not just for the timing, but it also in some ways helps explain the survey result. * * * The Best Kept Secret in America In 1979, a unique performer named Stephen Wade developed a unique theatrical act. He combined banjo playing, storytelling and percussive dancing into a stage show called Banjo Dancing. It was hugely popular in the city, and ran for 13 months, which included a performance at the White House. He then took his show on the road, and ended up in Washington, D.C., where he had a longer run. That would be 10 years. In the ensuing years, he's developed another show On the Way Home which had another successful run in Washington, won him the Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago [the city's prized-version of the Tony Award], and toured. He's written books, essays, and as recently as 2012 released his latest album, Banjo Diaries, which got a Grammy nomination (albeit for liner notes)  I haven't heard or seen a great deal of Stephen Wade, though enough to really admire him. And this may be my favorite thing he's done. It's his crown jewel. It doesn't have much banjo, except as accompaniment, but rather is sort of a rhythmic, heart-filled poetic essay that for eight minutes grows and builds and is endearing and ultimately moving (and unique) in its heartfelt and effusive love for its subject matter. One near and dear my own heart. Chicago, from the good to the rough-hewn edges,. It's called "The Best Kept Secret in America." Something, I think, that closely describes the effusive Stephen Wade, as well. (By the way, he's right about the phone number for Magikist carpet cleaners. I still remember it, too.) I should add that Stephen Wade is still performing, and in 2019 he released an album that was basically a 40th anniversary tribute to that original show, Banjo Dancing, that premiered in Chicago. |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 
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