Monday, June 02, 2008

Fair Game Canceled. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In one of the biggest media crimes of the decade, Public Radio International has axed Fair Game (I figured something was up when the show was in repeats for way too long on either side of Memorial Day). Read here and here for the details - though interestingly, the cancellation is yet to be acknowledged on the show web site. The podcast is still being updated with old shows and segments.

As it is noted in places on the links, the comedy on the show was mixed at best. All of Faith's cohorts were pretty annoying (the program could feel like a bad imitation of The Daily Show for radio). But Faith herself is/was a fantastic host. Smart, well-informed, asking very pointed, and very substantive questions, especially by public radio standards, she tooks things to a new level. It also helped that she is absolutely cute as a button in every way possible.

As with most good public radio shows, Fair Game provided informative news segments on issues and trends, and it was also a great source for interviews on independent cinema. But most important of all, it was one of the best sources for new Indie music. The bookings were sensational. Even the artists that I personally did not care for, I respected their presence on the show. Except when they ignored my request for the Dirtbombs and kept the CD I sent. But that was under their old music coordinator so who knows.

The entire Fair Game music catalog

Highlights:
Camera Obscura
Heavy Trash
Holly Golightly
Via Audio and Orba Squara
Au Revoir Simone
The National
The Magnetic Fields
Mountain Goats
Norah Jones
Goldfrapp
Clare & The Reasons
Ira Glass (he's not music but he's Ira Glass so there)

:(

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2 Comments:

At June 3, 2008 at 11:22:00 PM EDT, Blogger Matt Peed said...

I am devastated. First Arrested Development, and now this. I told myself not to fall in love with a program, as they inevitably get taken away. But with Faith, how could I not?

 
At October 8, 2008 at 5:32:00 PM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's been a while, but I still miss this show. Is there any podcast that has anything like the music segment on Fair Game?

 

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