“Collecting music, listening to music, playing music, talking about music… it’s what he finds more fun and more meaningful than anything else.”
-WYPR producer Justin Levy
[Download the MP3 for this week]
Hi, Aaron Henkin here, your host and curator for the NPR Station Showcase with PRX. Each week on this podcast we survey the excellent work that’s being produced locally at the hundreds of different public radio stations across the country. And this week our travels take us to WYPR in Baltimore, Maryland. That’s where Justin Levy works, producing a daily public affairs call-in program, as well as creating thoughtful and intimate cultural documentaries, like this week’s featured piece: “Joe Bussard, Record Hunter.” Here’s a Q & A with Justin about his experience visiting Mr. Bussard and interviewing him at his home in Frederick, Maryland…
How did you come to learn about Joe Bussard?
I would credit that to good promotional work on the part of Dust to Digital, the record label that released a retrospective of Joe Bussard’s record label, Fonotone Records. Around the time the retrospective came about, I came across an article or two and stopped by a record release party held at True Vine Records, a small shop right here in Baltimore.
He’s clearly quite a character! What struck you about him you when you first met him and got to talking with him?
It would probably be more accurate to say that he got to talking with me, as it was hard to get a word in, and even harder to bring an end to the conversation, some hours later. Joe made a memorable first impression: big eyes, animated expressions, enthusiasm bursting out of gesture, relaxed in his worn-out slippers. It felt like visiting your grandfather. He goes from one story to the next, and you know he’s told them all a thousand times, but you haven’t heard them, yet, and they’re really good.
What do you think has kept him motivated to continue collecting records all these years?
First of all, he is obviously a collector. It’s in his nature, which I realized when he broke out part of his coin collection at one point. He doesn’t just collect records, but music is his passion. Collecting music, listening to music, playing music, talking about music… it’s what he finds more fun and more meaningful than anything else.
You do a nice job setting the scene and painting a really vivid portrait of Joe Bussard in this radio story… what are some of the important things you’ve learned along the way about writing effectively for radio?
Thanks. The lesson I learned after writing my first script was to write in short sentences and keep the language simple. Make it sound like you’re speaking, since the words will be spoken. Don’t try to write a novel or even a news article. If you’re used to writing for anything other than radio, you’ve got to throw a lot of what you know out the window before you begin. Take mental pictures (or maybe actual pictures) when you’re working on a story, because you’ll need to recreate those details later for everyone who’ll be listening but wasn’t there to see what you’ll be describing.
Are you a fan of old-time American music? What speaks to you about that era and those old songs?
I love it. I’m not sure if I can describe why, though. There’s a certain mystery to it that is best experienced for yourself.
Tell us a little bit about the kind of work you do at WYPR and the sorts of stories you’re working on these days…
I work as a producer for a daily public affairs talk program called the Marc Steiner Show. We’re on the air two hours a day, four days a week, and basically, along with a couple other co-workers, I do everything that needs to be done behind the scenes to make the show happen. We’re always working on a ton of stories at once. Topics I’m working on a long-term basis include mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia (somewhat close to home) and the Iraq Oil Law (something to look up, if you’re not familiar with it.)
You can hear more from Justin Levy online at The Public Radio Exchange. That’s where producers from around the world share their work. Log on, write your own reviews, and have a say in what ends up on the radio at www.prx.org.
[...] “Well, there are record collections, and then there are record collections that set the record…” (Click here to read an interview with Justin Levy, the show’s producer.) [...]
[...] “Well, there are record collections, and then there are record collections that set the record…” (Click here to read an interview with Justin Levy, the show’s producer.) [...]