Rating: 
Summary: Vowell's On
Review: "Grouchy" seems to be what a lot of people thought about "Radio On", and there is certainly some of that, and some whining, too. And, I would have liked the book more, I suppose, if Nirvana had meant as much to me as, say, the Clash. But anyone who has ever thought that music is important to them, and who has had the radio as a lifeline to that important thing in their life, will enjoy and understand this book. Ms. Vowell never really defines her project, which was apparently to diary her reflections on American culture by responding to what she hears on the radio, but she does spend a fair amount of time complaining about it. Her complaining is entertaining, however, and witty, which will not surprise anyone who has heard her essays on "This American Life". Sometimes her criticisms did not seem quite fair-- Bob Edwards is not the anti-Rush, and it is a little unrealistic to expect him to be. (Maybe Andrei Codrescu is the anti-Rush). I guess I liked the politics of the thing, and the fact that she really loves and cares about radio. I've been trying to read as much as I can get my hands on about radio this year, and it seems to be a difficult medium to write about (in contrast to film, say). Most good writing about radio ends up being about something else, and it is the something else that I liked about "Radio On". I would recommend it to anyone who cares about radio, or who thinks about American culture.
Rating: 
Summary: Praise for RADIO ON
Review: "A cranky stylist with talent to burn."
--Newsweek"A sparky, ferociously intelligent examination of a medium that people forget about from one of the most promising young journalists I've come across recently."
--Nick Hornby "The magic really begins when you sense Vowell is absorbing radio as much as listening to it."
--The Toronto Star "Her diary is more the coming-of-age story of a young critic, soundtrack included."
--Chicago Tribune "Vowell's touch is about as delicate as Teddy Kennedy's after a pitcher of martinis."
--Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Rating:
Summary: Vowell's On
Review: "Grouchy" seems to be what a lot of people thought about "Radio On", and there is certainly some of that, and some whining, too. And, I would have liked the book more, I suppose, if Nirvana had meant as much to me as, say, the Clash. But anyone who has ever thought that music is important to them, and who has had the radio as a lifeline to that important thing in their life, will enjoy and understand this book. Ms. Vowell never really defines her project, which was apparently to diary her reflections on American culture by responding to what she hears on the radio, but she does spend a fair amount of time complaining about it. Her complaining is entertaining, however, and witty, which will not surprise anyone who has heard her essays on "This American Life". Sometimes her criticisms did not seem quite fair-- Bob Edwards is not the anti-Rush, and it is a little unrealistic to expect him to be. (Maybe Andrei Codrescu is the anti-Rush). I guess I liked the politics of the thing, and the fact that she really loves and cares about radio. I've been trying to read as much as I can get my hands on about radio this year, and it seems to be a difficult medium to write about (in contrast to film, say). Most good writing about radio ends up being about something else, and it is the something else that I liked about "Radio On". I would recommend it to anyone who cares about radio, or who thinks about American culture.
Rating:
Summary: Vowell's On
Review: "Grouchy" seems to be what a lot of people thought about "Radio On", and there is certainly some of that, and some whining, too. And, I would have liked the book more, I suppose, if Nirvana had meant as much to me as, say, the Clash. But anyone who has ever thought that music is important to them, and who has had the radio as a lifeline to that important thing in their life, will enjoy and understand this book. Ms. Vowell never really defines her project, which was apparently to diary her reflections on American culture by responding to what she hears on the radio, but she does spend a fair amount of time complaining about it. Her complaining is entertaining, however, and witty, which will not surprise anyone who has heard her essays on "This American Life". Sometimes her criticisms did not seem quite fair-- Bob Edwards is not the anti-Rush, and it is a little unrealistic to expect him to be. (Maybe Andrei Codrescu is the anti-Rush). I guess I liked the politics of the thing, and the fact that she really loves and cares about radio. I've been trying to read as much as I can get my hands on about radio this year, and it seems to be a difficult medium to write about (in contrast to film, say). Most good writing about radio ends up being about something else, and it is the something else that I liked about "Radio On". I would recommend it to anyone who cares about radio, or who thinks about American culture.
Rating:
Summary: you try this at home and see what you find.
Review: ...you don't listen to NPR, and radio isn't a central part of your life. I probably got more out of this book than some people, because I listened to some of the stations referenced in it (KITS in SF, for example). Sarah Vowell's critiques of modern American culture and of radio are DEAD ON. Like I said, some of the jokes in there are pretty specific to NPR listeners (like her comment about Talk of the Nation), but a lot of it is just growing up Generation X in America. If you're a Gen X NPR listener, this is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: YOU PROBABLY WON'T LIKE THIS BOOK IF...
Review: ...you don't listen to NPR, and radio isn't a central part of your life. I probably got more out of this book than some people, because I listened to some of the stations referenced in it (KITS in SF, for example). Sarah Vowell's critiques of modern American culture and of radio are DEAD ON. Like I said, some of the jokes in there are pretty specific to NPR listeners (like her comment about Talk of the Nation), but a lot of it is just growing up Generation X in America. If you're a Gen X NPR listener, this is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious and...tedious
Review: Hearing Sarah's pieces on "This American Life" is amusing in a low-key way. Reading her smug, ill-informed opinions page after page is just boring.
Rating:
Summary: Nice concept; incompetent writer
Review: How does garbage like this get published??? Sarah Vowell's bleak radio diary reads like a spoiled 15 teen year old's summer journal. I love radio, but I could care less about the pretenious Ms. Vowell and her predictable "Gen X" opinions about music, politics, and life. The concept of having someone drive around and comment on the radio stations that they pick up is interesting, but for God's sake, have an interesting person write it. Vowell has nothing to say worth printing. Please God, don't let her publish again! Sink her down into that career in a college town used record store that she so richly derserves.
Rating:
Summary: Radio On : A Reader's Dismay
Review: I got this book because I really love Sarah's essays on the NPR program This American Life. Those are (largely) collected in her book "Take the Cannoli : (Stories from the New World)." If you too have come to Sarah Vowell via This American Life, I must emphasize: "Radio On" is very likely going to disappoint you. The idea for this book is a fantastic one. She keeps a diary largely centered around what the radio is playing at any given time. She sprinkles in liberal doses of real life, thoughts and musings. Unfortunately she seems to view many subjects through a haughty lens of her life as a microcosm of general culture...which it ain't. Sarah has a dismaying habit of aggrandizing or belittling whole swaths of art and entertainment. Nirvanna? Fantastic. The Grateful Dead? Boring noodling. NPR? May have once had a golden age, now worthless garbage. Frequently, she casually dismisses a topic/music style/belief/person as worthless, not worth a thought, and then later rants on and on in defense of her opinion. There seems to be no middle ground: something that deserves a gentle ribbing is utterly skewered, something that deserves light praise is idolized. When she does hear something she deems worthy on NPR, she is quick to turn the radio off before it's spoiled by "snooty diction". Much the same could be said of Radio On: a great idea plus the occasional fabulous insight, spoiled in the presentation by Vowell's "snooty diction." I saw Sarah on David Letterman in support of her much better book Take The Canoli. There was a point where she said something pretty funny and the audience laughed and laughed. As they laughed, she became obviously scornful, as if they had violated some imagined etiquette by thinking she was THAT funny, that they dared interrupt the flow of her coversation with their intrusive laughter. That kind of smugness, that kind of near mean-spiritedness, pervades this book. It renders it almost entirely unreadable.
Rating:
Summary: Radio On : A Reader's Dismay
Review: I got this book because I really love Sarah's essays on the NPR program This American Life. Those are (largely) collected in her book "Take the Cannoli : (Stories from the New World)." If you too have come to Sarah Vowell via This American Life, I must emphasize: "Radio On" is very likely going to disappoint you. The idea for this book is a fantastic one. She keeps a diary largely centered around what the radio is playing at any given time. She sprinkles in liberal doses of real life, thoughts and musings. Unfortunately she seems to view many subjects through a haughty lens of her life as a microcosm of general culture...which it ain't. Sarah has a dismaying habit of aggrandizing or belittling whole swaths of art and entertainment. Nirvanna? Fantastic. The Grateful Dead? Boring noodling. NPR? May have once had a golden age, now worthless garbage. Frequently, she casually dismisses a topic/music style/belief/person as worthless, not worth a thought, and then later rants on and on in defense of her opinion. There seems to be no middle ground: something that deserves a gentle ribbing is utterly skewered, something that deserves light praise is idolized. When she does hear something she deems worthy on NPR, she is quick to turn the radio off before it's spoiled by "snooty diction". Much the same could be said of Radio On: a great idea plus the occasional fabulous insight, spoiled in the presentation by Vowell's "snooty diction." I saw Sarah on David Letterman in support of her much better book Take The Canoli. There was a point where she said something pretty funny and the audience laughed and laughed. As they laughed, she became obviously scornful, as if they had violated some imagined etiquette by thinking she was THAT funny, that they dared interrupt the flow of her coversation with their intrusive laughter. That kind of smugness, that kind of near mean-spiritedness, pervades this book. It renders it almost entirely unreadable.
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