Radio man: Keillor, and Meryl Streep, in the Prairie Home Companion filmFor 30 years Garrison Keillor has hosted an old-style weekly variety show on American radio. As a movie of the show, A Prairie Home Companion, is released in the UK, he tells why the spoken word can still win through in today's multimedia maelstrom.
Radio man: Keillor, and Meryl Streep, in the Prairie Home Companion filmFor 30 years Garrison Keillor has hosted an old-style weekly variety show on American radio. As a movie of the show, A Prairie Home Companion, is released in the UK, he tells why the spoken word can still win through in today's multimedia maelstrom.
The death of former US president Gerald Ford last week catapulted those of a certain age back to a seemingly distant era in American life, characterised by the painful memories of Watergate.
The death of former US president Gerald Ford last week catapulted those of a certain age back to a seemingly distant era in American life, characterised by the painful memories of Watergate.
The world has changed immeasurably since a disgraced Richard Nixon handed the keys to the Oval Office to his deputy, yet one small marker of American cultural life has endured across those decades - a weekly radio show presented by the author and humorist Garrison Keillor.
The world has changed immeasurably since a disgraced Richard Nixon handed the keys to the Oval Office to his deputy, yet one small marker of American cultural life has endured across those decades - a weekly radio show presented by the author and humorist Garrison Keillor.
Lindsay Lohan, among the all-star cast of the filmThe show, A Prairie Home Companion, first hit the airwaves in July 1974, just as Nixon's White House was in meltdown. Barring a couple of years off-air in the late 1980s, it has been a mainstay of American public radio ever since.
Lindsay Lohan, among the all-star cast of the filmThe show, A Prairie Home Companion, first hit the airwaves in July 1974, just as Nixon's White House was in meltdown. Barring a couple of years off-air in the late 1980s, it has been a mainstay of American public radio ever since.
A homely mix of story-telling and rootsy music, which centres on the mythical Midwest settlement of Lake Wobegon, it pulls in about four million listeners a week across 600 or so radio stations.
A homely mix of story-telling and rootsy music, which centres on the mythical Midwest settlement of Lake Wobegon, it pulls in about four million listeners a week across 600 or so radio stations.
While it is the scourge of many right-wingers, who contend its cosiness is starkly at odds with the harsh realties of modern rural America, and point out its fan base is largely urban liberals, there's no denying the success of A Prairie Home Companion (PHC).
While it is the scourge of many right-wingers, who contend its cosiness is starkly at odds with the harsh realties of modern rural America, and point out its fan base is largely urban liberals, there's no denying the success of A Prairie Home Companion (PHC).
Among its admirers was the maverick Hollywood director Robert Altman, whose last movie before he died in November was a fictionalised portrayal of the radio show, which hits British cinemas this week. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson and Meryl Streep, alongside Keillor himself.
Among its admirers was the maverick Hollywood director Robert Altman, whose last movie before he died in November was a fictionalised portrayal of the radio show, which hits British cinemas this week. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson and Meryl Streep, alongside Keillor himself.
So how does an old-style variety radio show survive in a culture obsessed with fast-moving, visually lush entertainment? Here, in an e-mail interview with the Magazine, Garrison Keillor explains his enduring belief in radio.
So how does an old-style variety radio show survive in a culture obsessed with fast-moving, visually lush entertainment? Here, in an e-mail interview with the Magazine, Garrison Keillor explains his enduring belief in radio.
The Magazine: What does radio give that TV can't?
The Magazine: What does radio give that TV can't?
Alistair Cooke did his weekly letters and personified a graceful Englishness and a kind of civility that is deeply admired here still Garrison Keillor: "Radio gives you your language. It's a perfect medium for it: poetry, comedy, narrative, or just everyday yammering and gnashing of teeth. You tend to remember what you hear whereas TV distracts you by flashing pictures at you and doing camera acrobatics. People sometimes tell me stories I told them on the radio years ago. Quite astonishing. TV has attention deficit disorder built into it, unfortunately."
Alistair Cooke did his weekly letters and personified a graceful Englishness and a kind of civility that is deeply admired here still Garrison Keillor: "Radio gives you your language. It's a perfect medium for it: poetry, comedy, narrative, or just everyday yammering and gnashing of teeth. You tend to remember what you hear whereas TV distracts you by flashing pictures at you and doing camera acrobatics. People sometimes tell me stories I told them on the radio years ago. Quite astonishing. TV has attention deficit disorder built into it, unfortunately."
How does Prairie Home Companion fit into that?
How does Prairie Home Companion fit into that?
"Comfortably, I hope. And with profound gratitude."
"Comfortably, I hope. And with profound gratitude."
Has there ever been an attempt to televise Prairie Home Companion?
Has there ever been an attempt to televise Prairie Home Companion?
"We do it from time to time on public TV. We did a live New Year's Eve telecast from Nashville and a Fourth of July telecast from Tanglewood in western Massachusetts. It's entertaining, trying to fight TV's insistence on cutting to a different camera shot every 2.5 seconds. I guess they think the audience is made up of 8-year-old boys. "
"We do it from time to time on public TV. We did a live New Year's Eve telecast from Nashville and a Fourth of July telecast from Tanglewood in western Massachusetts. It's entertaining, trying to fight TV's insistence on cutting to a different camera shot every 2.5 seconds. I guess they think the audience is made up of 8-year-old boys. "
If Prairie Home Companion launched on radio today, would it be a success?
If Prairie Home Companion launched on radio today, would it be a success?
Mic magic: Woody Harrelson in Prairie Home Companion, the movie"Of course. What you need is patience and a point of view. Our sponsoring body, Minnesota Public Radio in St Paul, gave us four years to figure out how to do it before they tried for national distribution. And we have the great advantage of originating from the Midwest which sets us apart from almost everything else on national radio and TV. "
Mic magic: Woody Harrelson in Prairie Home Companion, the movie"Of course. What you need is patience and a point of view. Our sponsoring body, Minnesota Public Radio in St Paul, gave us four years to figure out how to do it before they tried for national distribution. And we have the great advantage of originating from the Midwest which sets us apart from almost everything else on national radio and TV. "
Could such a show survive outside National Public Radio in the US, as a purely commercial concern?
Could such a show survive outside National Public Radio in the US, as a purely commercial concern?
"Probably, but commercial radio is another planet entirely, much hotter than ours."
"Probably, but commercial radio is another planet entirely, much hotter than ours."
The Lake Wobegon style is about slow, mellow delivery, in contrast to the frenetic style of much music, chat and rolling news radio. In radio, is less more?
The Lake Wobegon style is about slow, mellow delivery, in contrast to the frenetic style of much music, chat and rolling news radio. In radio, is less more?
"Oftentimes less is less, but there's much to be said for economy and elegance. Alastair Cooke did his weekly letters [for the BBC] and in them he summoned up whole worlds and personified a graceful Englishness and a kind of civility that is deeply admired here still. He did it all in a couple thousand words. I don't feel that the News from Lake Wobegon monologue [a central part of each Prairie Home Companion show] is slow or even mellow necessarily.
"Oftentimes less is less, but there's much to be said for economy and elegance. Alastair Cooke did his weekly letters [for the BBC] and in them he summoned up whole worlds and personified a graceful Englishness and a kind of civility that is deeply admired here still. He did it all in a couple thousand words. I don't feel that the News from Lake Wobegon monologue [a central part of each Prairie Home Companion show] is slow or even mellow necessarily.
The movie came and went, raised some dust, gave us some entertaining moments, but the show goes on "People face crises here. There's drama, an enormous snake lives under a house, an old woman is lost, a man tries to escape from his deer-hunting buddies, a herd of turtles moves through town on their annual migration, Christmas must be faced. But it does deal with real things, unlike politics these days and most entertainment shows, which seem to involve fantasies of violence."
The movie came and went, raised some dust, gave us some entertaining moments, but the show goes on "People face crises here. There's drama, an enormous snake lives under a house, an old woman is lost, a man tries to escape from his deer-hunting buddies, a herd of turtles moves through town on their annual migration, Christmas must be faced. But it does deal with real things, unlike politics these days and most entertainment shows, which seem to involve fantasies of violence."
Radio requires of the listener a degree of imagination - so how has "seeing the show" (though Altman's movie) changed listeners' appreciation of it?
Radio requires of the listener a degree of imagination - so how has "seeing the show" (though Altman's movie) changed listeners' appreciation of it?
"The movie came and went, raised some dust, gave us some entertaining moments on the red carpet with cameras flashing and the famous and near-famous hob-nobbing, but the show goes on. I'm writing the show for next Saturday and then I'll write the next one and the next. I think the listeners enjoyed the movie as a sort of inside joke (they knew that the show in the movie is not the show they hear on the radio) but it doesn't bear a great deal of analysis."
"The movie came and went, raised some dust, gave us some entertaining moments on the red carpet with cameras flashing and the famous and near-famous hob-nobbing, but the show goes on. I'm writing the show for next Saturday and then I'll write the next one and the next. I think the listeners enjoyed the movie as a sort of inside joke (they knew that the show in the movie is not the show they hear on the radio) but it doesn't bear a great deal of analysis."
What about the internet - PHC is streamed on it, but why is it not available as a podcast; something that could bring it a far wider audience?
What about the internet - PHC is streamed on it, but why is it not available as a podcast; something that could bring it a far wider audience?
"The clearance of music rights is a headache, one we plan to solve. Soon, I hope."
"The clearance of music rights is a headache, one we plan to solve. Soon, I hope."
A Prairie Home Companion is broadcast on BBC Radio 7, as Garrison Keillor's Radio Show, on Saturdays at 1200 GMT.Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
A weekly one hour highlights show drawn from Prairie Home Companion is broadcast as Garrison Keillor's Radio Show on BBC 7 every Saturday at noon and 2300 GMT.Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Although I'm a big Radio 4 fan, I can't think of a British equivalent. Come on Commissioning Editors - could be a good replacement for Any Answers or the succession of business orientated programmes that stultify and atrophy the Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening air waves.Andy, Cardiff
Although I'm a big Radio 4 fan, I can't think of a British equivalent. Come on Commissioning Editors - could be a good replacement for Any Answers or the succession of business orientated programmes that stultify and atrophy the Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening air waves.Andy, Cardiff
It is the abilty of radio to allow language to build an image in the mind that Vivian Stanshall so successfully utilised in "Rawlinson End" Paul Vear, Southampton
It is the abilty of radio to allow language to build an image in the mind that Vivian Stanshall so successfully utilised in "Rawlinson End" Paul Vear, Southampton
Garrison Keillor perfectly defines a feeling that I have had for many years. As a primary school teacher with an interest in Special Educational Needs I have long been aware that today's children find listening much harder that we did as children, brought up as we were on "Listen With Mother" and listening to Mrs. Dale's Diary and Housewives Choice with our mothers. If I had to choose between giving up Radio or TV, the TV would have to go!Carol Walters, Bangor, Northern Ireland
Garrison Keillor perfectly defines a feeling that I have had for many years. As a primary school teacher with an interest in Special Educational Needs I have long been aware that today's children find listening much harder that we did as children, brought up as we were on "Listen With Mother" and listening to Mrs. Dale's Diary and Housewives Choice with our mothers. If I had to choose between giving up Radio or TV, the TV would have to go!Carol Walters, Bangor, Northern Ireland
Garrison Keillor's show was one of the prime reasons for my switch to DAB, it's a terrific way to gently enter the world on a Sunday morning (BBC7, for those who have missed it so far!).Andy, London, England
Garrison Keillor's show was one of the prime reasons for my switch to DAB, it's a terrific way to gently enter the world on a Sunday morning (BBC7, for those who have missed it so far!).Andy, London, England
I've been a Lake Wobegon fan for years and love Garrison Keillor's wit and humanity. Can't wait to see the film.Wendy White, Cambridge UK
I've been a Lake Wobegon fan for years and love Garrison Keillor's wit and humanity. Can't wait to see the film.Wendy White, Cambridge UK
We just moved back to England after living in the Twin Cities, Minnesota for several years. We listened to PHC regularly and even had a chance to see a broadcast live at the local theatre. It's hilarious and in today's world very original! I'd be great if it became available as podcast, so we could listen to it again over here.A J, Surrey
We just moved back to England after living in the Twin Cities, Minnesota for several years. We listened to PHC regularly and even had a chance to see a broadcast live at the local theatre. It's hilarious and in today's world very original! I'd be great if it became available as podcast, so we could listen to it again over here.A J, Surrey
I discovered APHC a few years ago when a Radio 4 show included a clip in which Keillor and friends produced a spoof series of news reports about the war against the Taleban in the wake of 9/11. It was genuinely one of the funniest sketches I've ever heard and I've been hooked on the show ever since. Long may it continue.Jim Hewitt, Aldershot, England
I discovered APHC a few years ago when a Radio 4 show included a clip in which Keillor and friends produced a spoof series of news reports about the war against the Taleban in the wake of 9/11. It was genuinely one of the funniest sketches I've ever heard and I've been hooked on the show ever since. Long may it continue.Jim Hewitt, Aldershot, England
My husband and I returned to the UK in April after spending two years working in the USA. We listened to public radio and A Prairie Home Companion was one of our favourite programmes. Opera singer Renee Fleming, the 'lives of the cowboys', a youth music festival, and of course the weekly 'news from Lake Wobegon'- if you haven't done so already log on and listen to it!Liz Cook, Carlisle UK
Having grown up in rural Minnesota, when I first listened to PHC I "didn't get it." It was filled with characters so familiar I wondered why is this exceptional. After getting out in the world I now see its point of view. A religions professor pointed out "Keillor has a talent for bringing us right to the edge of sacrilege, then pulling us back with humor and insight."Bruce Ohnstad, Minneapolis, MN USA
Prairie Home Companion is aired twice each weekend in Houston. It is a delightful respite from the crassness of other media, along with other NPR weekend offerings such as Car Talk. May the show continue strong for many years to come.Telfryn John, Cypress, Texas USA
I have been hooked on Lake Wobegon and Garrison Keillor's stories for many years.. It is too easy to say that Americans are loud, right-wing, stupid, or many other such things. He shows us a different place, a place where imperfection shines through, where people have problems but help each other. And not a mention of apple pie!John, Manchester, UK
It was about six years ago a friend sent me a tape of a GK radio show from the US. Since then I've caught snippets of him on the BBC but it would be great to hear more of him over here. I'm certain, as suggested by previous observations, he'd find a wide and appreciative audience in the UK.Quentin Cox, Portsmouth UK
Radio as a medium is so old fashioned and boring. Totally outdated. I can think of nothing worse than being tied to a chair and forced to listen to Terry wogan on Radio 2.James Hall, London
You can also listen to APHC over the internet, at a time that suits you. Follow the link from:http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/ And enjoy!Arden, York, UK
That sounds like good listneing. Come on BBC, let us analogue listeners hear it too; we have Bob Dylan's show already. Friday night would be good, when Mark R isn't on, but sunday night would be good also.antony solomon, northampton uk
My wife and I saw the Prairie Home Companion movie as the "surprise screening" at the London Film Festival last year and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's classic Altman with a superb ensemble cast and the barest whiff of a plot! One of the mellowest movie-going experiences I can recall.Luke, London
I too came upon APHC while living in Maryland in the '80s. I loved listening to the tales of this mythical town and think that Garrison Keillor is sublime. I bought some of the books when back in the UK, but now that I know it is on Radio 7 I can start tuning in again.Richard King, Southampton, England
The CBC in Canada has always tried to retain some semblance of what the BBC always did well and that is give it's home country a sense of self. PHC tries to do that as well. I've always felt like I was in touch with the best of what America attempts to be when listening to it. In much the same way Stewart Maclean's Vinyl Cafe (CBC radio 1) or Andy Donnelly's Celtic show(Canada's CKUA public radio) represents the same. Public radio which attempts to cut through the "sell the audience things at all cost" mentality. Rather, it reaches for a common understanding and a common human approach to the world and it's trials, tribulations and triumphs. Long live PHC and Keillor. America needs it.Andy, Edmonton, Canada
Just want to add my support for Radio, all the previous comments cover all the points. The introduction of DAB Digital Radio has been a huge boon to Radio. The Garrison Keiller Radio Show is terrific and now we have the added bonus of THEJAZZ station, grrrrreat.David Rose, Gloucester, UK
Today's commercial television lacks substance, good standards, and sincerity to its audience. Programming like Prairie Home Companion is one of those rare shows that bring people closer with its folksy, intelligent, humorous approach. I commend the entire team for their good work, and hope TV executives could learn from programs like PHC.Jeff Khan, New York, USA
"While it is the scourge of many right-wingers, who contend its cosiness is starkly at odds with the harsh realties of modern rural America, and point out its fan base is largely urban liberals," I find it just lovely how bbcnews says this without one single right-winger backing it up. Just good ole reporting that a southern boy like me can choke on.Sean, Tennessee, USA
I frequently listen to Radio 4 and the other night, about midnight (the most interesting items seem to be late evening)I was listening to a programme" Humour in Wales". I couldn't stop laughing, especially when Ryan, who sadly is dead, was telling his stories. I am of an age where I can remember Uncle Mac and the Ovaltinies and dashing in from play to hear the serial "Dai & Horace and the Man from Mars. Wonderfull stuff, makes your imagination workKen.Ken Jones, Skewen, Neath, West Glamorgan
Radio is wonderful. But Garrison Keillor is the worst thing ever to appear on it.GJP, Reading
For something of the same genre, try Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe on CBC (Canada).ADT, Bucks
I've been listening to the Prairie Home Companion on and off for 17 years here in the States and it is a delight. I think it would apeal to the people back home because it pokes fun at all kinds of serious things in the news and reminds us all not to take life too seriously. It is entirely original. Garrison is a born story teller and has a voice I could listen to till the cows came home and he may surprise you what he's prepared to take the micky out of without hurting anyones feelings.Kathryn Leeson-Kight, Corpus Christi, Tx USA (English ex-pat)
For me, TV never wins over radio. In today's dumbed down TV culture which spoon-feeds mass "entertainment", radio in all its forms comes as a refreshing and vital medium. Whether its drama, music, sport or the spoken word, radio has the ability to provide a level of high class entertainment which enables us, the listener, to focus on the matter in hand without distraction. Verbal "pictures" provided by good quality commentators are far more powerful than anything TV can offer. One only has to see the variety of radio stations now available on DAB to see why radio wins hands down. Its just a pity that whoever regulates the DAB service has defeated the objective for a very high quality of received signal (almost CD quality is possible on DAB) in a effort to maximise revenue by cramming as many stations into the bandwith allocation. In truth a good FM analogue signal is of far better quality than nearly all of the stations on DAB where many are using as little as 96kbps in mono - rubbish.Vince Shirley, Belper, Derbyshire
