Enough of the news, onward with friendship

Someday we shall look back at these golden October days with wonder and amazement, how good life was even in a pandemic during a lunatic time. Here in New York City, everyone wears a mask, there is a high level of civility, and though riding down Columbus Avenue feels like we’re driving across a freshly plowed field, life is good. I sat in a sidewalk café with a friend on Sunday, unmasked, telling old stories, enjoying freedom of speech. She complained about the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature: “I wrote poems like hers when I was in the ninth grade. ‘The leaves are turning brown, the leaves are falling, death is near.’ Who put the Swedes in charge of literature?”
 
Back in Minneapolis, where I’m from, you couldn’t say that. Too many Swedes around and too much PC and self- righteousness. Back there, among young lefties, I am a Privileged White Male, not a person but a type, but in my New York neighborhood, which tends Jewish, an old WASP is sort of a novelty. I walk around amid all colors and ethnicities and interesting accents and hairstyles, and I’m just a guy in jeans and a black T-shirt. This is a big relief. One big pleasure of urban life is looking at other people and it’s hard to do that if they are glaring at you as a symbol of all that is wrong. New Yorkers don’t.
 
Of course, life is easier for me now that I’ve quit reading the news. There’s nothing new in it, nothing to be learned, and hasn’t been since March. Once you cut out the news, the lives of friends and family become preeminent, their voices on the telephone, their emails. The brother-in-law, bedridden in Boston, who is on his third pass through Shakespeare’s plays, keeping his mind active while living in an inert body. The psychologist cousin in Detroit, a shrewd judge of my character, every visit is illuminating. The friend who, at 85, claims to be dying but still enjoys his evening martini and laughs hard at old jokes. The musician friends, unemployed since the pandemic began, making interesting domestic lives for themselves. The writer friends, writing away.

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Classic A Prairie Home Companion

This week on our classic A Prairie Home Companion show, we have a show from the Fitzgerald Theater from October 2009, with special guest Rosanne Cash, a conduit of country music heritage articulating the classics in her own stunning voice. Also joining us is singer-songwriter Heather Masse, The Royal Academy of Actors – Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and sound effects man Tom Keith – and The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band. Plus: the news from Lake Wobegon.

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 on Facebook at 5 pm CT but it can be accessed anytime. 

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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.

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Peter Ostroushko

Peter is out with a new podcast, "My Life and Time as a Radio Musician," in which he talks about his time playing on A Prairie Home Companion. Along the way, you'll get to hear some wonderful recordings from the archives.

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 The National Parks.

Peter is featured on both CDs presented here.

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A Year in Lake Wobegon

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.

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40th Anniversary Collection

The most comprehensive collection of music from the archives of A Prairie Home Companion featuring live performances by many of the artists who regularly graced the PHC stage, plus a few sketches.

DISC 1
1) Hello Love Garrison Keillor, Steven Gammell, Buzz Kemper, Craig Ruble.
2) Tiger Rag Chet Atkins, Jethro Burns.
3) Frankie Jean Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson.
4) Powdermilk Biscuit Theme Brian Barnes with Stoney Lonesome, Butch Thompson, George “Red” Maddock.
5) Red Dancing Shoes Peter Ostroushko and the New Prairie Ramblers.
6) Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out Odetta, Butch Thompson Trio.
7) Dreadful Wind and Rain Mike Seeger.
8) Mouth Music Jean Redpath.
9) Please, Mr. Conductor Helen Schneyer with Lisa Neustadt, Lisa Null, Claudia Schmidt.
10) AJUA HOT SAUCE Garrison Keillor, Pete Anderson and Stoney Lonesome, Butch Thompson Trio.
11) New Ulm Polka Douglas Dickover.
12) Minneapolis Blues Red Maddock, Butch Thompson, Bill Evans. (m. Red Maddock (w/m: George Maddock)
13) Candyman Blues Soupy Schindler.
14) Why Should I Be Lonely Steve Gammell, Craig Ruble.
15) Tennessee Waltz Cal Hand, Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson, Dick Hedlund .
16) SPONSORS, 1980 Garrison Keillor, Adam Granger.
17) My Fate is in Your Hands Butch Thompson.
18) DIET SQUAD Studs Terkel, Garrison Keillor, Les Podewell, Joe Trimbach, Kate MacKenzie , Peter Ostroushko, Butch Thompson Trio.
19) Sweet Lorraine Butch Thompson Trio with Charlie DeVore, Brian O’Connell.
20) St. Louis Blues Jethro Burns.

DISC 2
1) Way Downtown Doc Watson, Bob Brozman, T. Michael Coleman, Peter Ostroushko, Butch Thompson, Merle Watson.
2) Little Sadie Doc Watson, T. Michael Coleman, Merle Watson.
3) FEARMONGERS SHOP Garrison Keillor.
4) On Raglan Road Cathal McConnell
5) San Antonio Stroll Chet Atkins, Johnny Gimble, Peter Ostroushko, Bruce Calin, Red Maddock.
6) Vincent 4/26/1986 (3:11) Chet Atkins.
7) TOM’S NEW DOOR Garrison Keillor, Tom Keith, Johnny Gimble, Kate MacKenzie, Butch Thompson.
8) Eriskay Love Lilt Jean Redpath
9) Tuna, the Food of My Soul Jean Redpath, Garrison Keillor, Prudence Johnson, Philip Brunelle.
10) He Wipes the Tear From Every Eye Jean Redpath, Abby Newton, Peter Ostroushko.
11) WILLIE’S CATS Willie Nelson, Garrison Keillor, Johnny Gimble, Peter Ostroushko, Butch Thompson, Henry Strezlecki, Randy Hauser.
12) Riding Down the Canyon Johnny Gimble, Willie Nelson, Garrison Keillor, Chet Atkins, Peter Ostroushko, Butch Thompson, Henry Strezlecki, Randy Hauser .
13) Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie Taj Mahal, Carlos Andrade and Band.
14) Key to the Highway Brownie McGhee.
15) If I Needed You Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White, Dorothy Skaggs, Hobert Skaggs.
16) Somebody Touched Me Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White, Dorothy Skaggs, Hobert Skaggs, Garrison Keillor.
17) Cara Mia Bobby McFerrin.
18) Drive Bobby McFerrin.
19) Barnyard Dance Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson, John Angus Foster, Marya Hart.
20) Pattin’ that Cat Bill Hinkley, Judy Larson, John Angus Foster, Marya Hart.
21) Stop That Thing Pop Wagner, Bob Douglas.
22) Iowa Waltz Greg Brown, Kate MacKenzie, Peter Ostroushko, Andy Stein, Dave Moore, Paul Yandell, Johnny Johnson.
23) Blues Stay Away From Me The Everly Brothers, Chet Atkins, Buddy Emmons, Albert Lee, Greg Hippen.
24) EVERLY DUET CONTEST The Everly Brothers, Mary Chapin Carpenter,Vince Gill, Garrison Keillor, Kate MacKenzie, Robin and Linda Williams, Richard Dworsky, Heather Kolbreck, Pat Donohue, Buddy Emmons, Gregory Hippen, Arnie Kinsella,Jr.

DISC 3
1) Cascades Butch Thompson, Steve Barnett and the Night O’Rest Motel Orchestra. (m: Scott Joplin Public Domain)
2) When I Awake Up To Sleep No More The Hopeful Gospel Quartet.
3) Jordan The Hopeful Gospel Quartet, Chet Atkins, Paul Yandell, Johnny Johnson, Randy Hauser, Butch Thompson.
4) Brownie and Pete Garrison Keillor, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, Kate MacKenzie.
5) Early Garrison Keillor, Becky Schlegel, Brian Fesler, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Arnie Kinsella.
6) Driftin’ Too Far From The Shore Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Emery Gordy, Carl Jackson.
7) HEAVENLY CELEBRITIES Tim Russell, Garrison Keillor, Richard Dworsky.
8) Boy From Laupahoehoe Puamana.
9) Queen Bee Taj Mahal, Carlos Andrade Band.
10) Nostalgia in Times Square Rob Fisher, Seymour “Red” Press, Andy Stein, John Frosk, Jack Gale, Jay Berliner, John Beal, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.
11) Mary Lou Williams Blues Rob Fisher, Seymour “Red” Press, Andy Stein, John Frosk, Jack Gale, Jay Berliner, John Beal, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.
12) A Straw Hat Full of Lilacs Ivy Austin, Rob Fisher, Dean Magraw.
13) Pepper Steak Rob Fisher, Seymour “Red” Press, Andy Stein, John Frosk, Dave Bargeron, Jay Berliner, Jeff Carney, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.
14) GUY NOIR & THE TANGLEWOOD CAPER Garrison Keillor, Arlo Guthrie, Fred Newman, Tim Russell, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, The DiGiallonardo Sisters.
15) Our Town Iris DeMent, Andy Stein, Dean Magraw, Gregory Hippen.
16) Banks of Marble Leo Kottke, Iris DeMent.
17) MEIKO TRIBUTE Garrison Keillor, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Richard Kriehn, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson.
18) It’s A Lonesome Road in This World of Sin Hopeful Gospel Quartet, Albert Lee.
19) FRED FARRELL ANIMAL CALLS Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Tom Keith, Richard Dworsky.
20) Stride by Stride Richard Dworsky.

DISC 4
1) The Weary and Farewell Blues Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Andy Stein, Gregory Hippen, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.
2) RHUBARB Garrison Keillor, Fred Newman, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Richard Dworsky, Andy Stein, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.)
3) In the Garden Meryl Streep, Garrison Keillor, Richard Dworsky, Andy Stein, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.
4) Crazy People The DiGiallonardo Sisters, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Richard Kriehn, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson.
5) Sitting on Top of the World Sam Bush, Richard Dworsky, Stuart Duncan, Pat Donohue, Howard Levy, Gary Raynor, Joe Savage, Peter Johnson.
6) Amor de me Vida (Love of my life) Los Texmaniacs, Richard Dworsky, Stuart Duncan, Richard Kriehn
7) Bright Morning Stars The Wailin’ Jennys.
8) CATCHUP ADVISORY BOARD Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Richard Dworsky.
9) Make Me a Pallet Gillian Welch, David Rawlings.
10) THE HITCH-HIKERS Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Fred Newman, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Richard Dworsky.
11) Paseo Romantico Richard Dworsky.
12) Where Will You Be Sara Watkins, Garrison Keillor, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Richard Kriehn, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson.
13) GUY NOIR BLUES Garrison Keillor, Aoife O’Donovan, Fred Newman, Richard Dworsky, Gary Raynor.
14) Visions of Mother and Dad Robin and Linda Williams, Richard Dworsky, John Niemann, Gary Raynor.
15) Orphan Girl Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, The Wailin’ Jennys
16) FRITZ ELECTRONICS Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Richard Dworsky.
17) Too Gone Pat Donohue, Heather Masse, Richard Dworsky, Richard Kriehn, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson
18) CAT DISCIPLINE Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Fred Newman, Richard Dworsky
19) Bird Song The Wailin’ Jennys.
20) Fiddle Medley: Liberty/Whiskey Before Breakfast/Big Mon Sara Watkins, Richard Kriehn, Richard Dworsky, Pat Donohue, Gary Raynor, Peter Johnson.
21) Six Days On The Road Garrison Keillor, Russ Ringsak, Paul Rishell, Annie Raines, Richard Dworsky, Andy Stein, Pat Donohue, Gregory Hippen, Arnie Kinsella, Jr.

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