A word from an old WASP, awaiting winter The gorgeous October days go parading by and you know they will end and then there’s one more, warm and golden, the Van Gogh trees, the Renoir sky: it’s beautiful but I’m an old white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male, the demographic responsible for the mess we’re in and all the messes before it. So I prefer to stay indoors. I wear a mask, the largest one I can find. Social distancing comes naturally to me — I’ve been emotionally distant since childhood. My parents weren’t huggers, they patted the dog and I guess we were supposed to extrapolate from that. I’m 78. I’m heading into the Why Am I Here years, when you walk into a room and try to remember what you came for. It’s a strange world. I remember when only carnival workers had tattoos and now I see nice young people with spiderwebs on their necks, or faces on their forearms. I grew up with four channels of TV, and now there are hundreds. You could watch twenty-four hours a day and barely scrape the surface. And what sort of life would it be? So I don’t watch anything and thus I don’t know who celebrities are anymore. Pop music is childish, standup is vulgar, movies are about explosives. Any recent teenage immigrant is more in tune with the culture than I am. I don’t read books. The fiction is all by young people, heavily introspective, and if there’s an old white guy in a novel, he is sleazy but not smart enough to be a threat. The memoirs are by people under 40 who grew up dyslexic, anorexic, trisexual, and Missouri Synod in Texas. Once we produced great presidents such as Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, and now the current guy is crowding Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan at the bottom of the pile. He is no more Protestant than Jujubes are Jewish, but he’s old and white and so I feel people hold me responsible for him. Everywhere I go, he comes up in the conversation: why? Why can’t we talk about something else? Read the rest of the column >>> |
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Classic A Prairie Home Companion This week on the classic A Prairie Home Companion program, we're carving blue-ribbon pumpkins and drinking hot spiced cider at the Fitzgerald Theater, with very special guests, the Queen of the blues renaissance Bonnie Raitt, and firecrackers of the Canadian prairie The Wailin' Jennys. Also with us the Royal Academy of Radio Acting: Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Tom Keith, sitting in with the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, the Manhattan maestro Andy Stein, plus an older guy in a rumpled tuxedo and red sneakers handing out the candy.
Every Saturday, a classic broadcast from the archives is featured on our Facebook fan page and on the website for your listening pleasure. The link to the show is posted at 5 pm CT but can be accessed anytime. Follow our Facebook Fan page >>>
Visit our website >>>
Browse the archive >>>
Listen to this week's show >>> |
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That Time of Year: A Memoir by Garrison Keillor (AUTOGRAPHED) The memoir will be published by Arcade Publishing wherever books are available on December 1st. Autographed copies can currently be reserved/pre-ordered from our store, and they will ship to arrive on November 17th (an exclusive perk for this newsletter).
From the publisher:
With the warmth and humor we've come to know, the creator and host of A Prairie Home Companion shares his own remarkable story.
In That Time of Year, Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty-two years, 1,557 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renée Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation. Pre-order a signed copy from our store >>> |
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The Lake Wobegon Virus You can return to the 'little town that time forgot and decades could not improve" and still find that "all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average" as The Lake Wobegon Virus is now available wherever books are sold!
Some early responses from readers:
"It’s hilarious. You make me laugh so hard I have to get a tissue to wipe my eyes. Fun to see Mrs. Torgerson on page 3. It feels good to laugh these days. Thanks!" –Beth T.
"You made me laugh out loud. That rarely happens! Thank you. And I will always love spending time with the residents of Lake Wobegon." –Gwendolyn M.
"Love it! Hilarious and laughing to tears – good therapy for these times . . ." –Nancy G. The Lake Wobegon Virus is available wherever books are sold NOW! (Yes, including eBooks such as Kindles!) An audio version will also be released at the end of the month, narrated by Garrison of course. Get a signed copy from our store >>>
Write a review on Amazon >>> |
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Peter Ostroushko Mandolinist/composer Peter Ostroushko grew up listening to tunes played at family get-togethers in the Ukrainian community of northeast Minneapolis. It's the music that provides the basis for many of his compositions. His first recording session was an uncredited mandolin set on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. Since then, his works have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, among others, and his music has been featured on public television specials such as Ken Burns's film The National Parks.
Peter is out with a new podcast, "My Life and Time as a Radio Musician," in which he talks about his journey playing on A Prairie Home Companion. Along the way, you'll get to hear some wonderful recordings from the archives.
Peter is featured on both CDs presented here. Listen to the podcast >>>
Visit his website >>>
Read our guest interview >>> |
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| One might think not a lot happens during a course of a year in a small town, but one would be wrong! This collection gathers 12 "above-average" stories representing all the goings-on in Lake Wobegon during one calendar year. Family gatherings, holiday celebrations, the predictable, the unexpected -- it all happens in "the little town that time forgot and decades could not improve." Each monologue is culled from episodes of A Prairie Home Companion that aired between 2014 and 2016.
As an added bonus, liner notes contain a poem for each month written by Garrison Keillor. Plus, between monologues you will hear music by Peter Ostroushko. Get the CD >>> |
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| This collection is a treat for longtime fans who love the show's music. Some of the earliest live performances, all recorded from 1974–1976. Contents: Hello Love—Garrison Keillor and the Powdermilk Biscuit Band Keep It Clean—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson How Long Blues—Butch Thompson Hey, Mr. Bassman—Milton “Soupy” Schindler and Bill Hinkley It’s Too Short—Papa John Kolstad, Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson, Soupy Schindler, Butch Thompson Stop That Thing (One Time for Your Daddy Now)—Pop Wagner, guitar and vocal; Bob Douglas, spoons Miss the Mississippi and You—Sean Blackburn and Dakota Dave Hull Nine Years Waltz—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Back Again—Stevie Beck and Bob Bovee Little Joe—Peter Ostroushko, vocal and mandolin, with Jim Tordoff, banjo, and Jeff Tordoff, guitar You Don’t Know My Mind—John Kolstad An Action Guide to the Yellow Pages, Part II—Vern Sutton, vocal, and Philip Brunelle, piano Salt Creek—Backporch Bluegrass Conspiracy: Lord, Lord, Lord—Soupy Schindler Have a Little Talk with Jesus—Bob Douglas, with Eric Hendrickson and Tom Coursolle Waltz of the Tennis Players—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson Mississippi Blues—Bob Douglas D major polka from the village of Boda—The Johnson Fiddlers Keep Off the Grass—Butch Thompson Piggy Song—Judy Larson and audience Farewell Blues—Cal Hand and Peter Ostroushko Homestead on the Farm—Garrison Keillor, vocal and autoharp Spanish Johnny—Judy Larson, vocals and guitar, with Bill Hinkley, mandolin Deep Creek Blues—Butch Thompson Lost John Dean—Jon and Marcia Pankake Candy Man—Soupy Schindler Ut på Landsväjen (Out on the Country Road)—LeRoy Larson, banjo; Bernie Sundermeyer, bass; Mel Brenden, accordion; Helge Lamo, accordion Powdermilk Biscuit Theme—Garrison Keillor, vocals and autoharp, with Adam Granger, guitar; Bob Douglas, mandolin; Mary DuShane, fiddle Hey Big Fat Mama—Peter Ostroushko and Dakota Dave Hull Beaumont Rag—Peter Ostroushko and Dakota Dave Hull Frankie Jean—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson Boys of Blue Hill/Harvest Home Medley—Rudy Darling, fiddle; Bill Hinkley, mandolin; Bob Douglas, guitar Hattie Hale—Middle Spunk Creek Boys Anoka Library Song—Garrison Keillor, vocals and autoharp, with Jon Pankake, guitar Look for the Silver Lining—Vern Sutton, vocals; William Huckaby, piano Norwegian Wedding Tune—Vidar Lande When You Go—Peter Ostroushko and Sean Blackburn The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake—Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson Log Cabin Home in the Sky—Stevie Beck and Bob Bovee Nearer My God to Thee—Garrison Keillor, autoharp and vocals Salty Dog—Rudy Darling, fiddle; Dakota Dave Hull, guitar; Bob Douglas, spoons; Sean Blackburn, guitar Get the CD >>>
Listen to a sample >>> |
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