A few questions to start out:
What were you inital impressions of the podcast? Have you listened to a podcast before?
What do you think Solomon's story is about? (Not just the facts, but is there an underlying message he's trying to share?)
Do you need to be a musician or from Afghanistan to wholly understand the story? Why or why not?
What choices does Solomon make when selling his story? (Think about humor, about details, etc.) How do these choices affect the listening experience?
I believe Soloman is trying to tell that people are passionate and that passion is what drives are world. When your passion is taken away you obviously would want it back. So even though it was against the law, the people were passionate enough to keep pursuing their passion.
ReplyDeleteSolomon is showing how even though art was not allowed due to the taliban people found ways to keep doing what they love. The common belief amongst the people was that art is dead however, as soon as it became legal artist started commming out. As more and more artist came out they bonded together showing the power of art and music in peoples lives.
ReplyDeleteThe people didn't necessarily keep playing music literally. Instead, they played music "in their dreams" and kept instruments hidden in case they were ever allowed to do what they loved in the open.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that you have to be a musician or from Afghanistan to wholly understand the story. The people in the podcast were passionate about music. You can relate the music in the podcast to anything that you are passionate about. You simply need to be able to empathize with the people of Afghanistan and other war stricken areas in order to understand the fear and tragedies the people had to face.
Soloman makes a few jokes throughout the podcast in order to lighten the mood (comic relief). Since his story is very sad, the humor gives us break in the tragedy and tension of the story.
I really like the idea that "passion drives our world." Everyone has something they really love to do, and I think the story nicely illustrates that no matter the circumstances, people will continue to find the things in their lives that make them feel happy or complete.
ReplyDeleteVinny mentioned the common belief that "art is dead" in Afghanistan, which is a great example of why commonplace ideas are not so great: nothing is every wholly true in that sense.
Bojana makes a good point about Solomon's use of humor in the story, which does lighten the otherwise serious mood. I would venture that humor, like music or art, is one of those things that continues to exist even in the most hard-pressed of circumstances, like a war or a military regime that tries to oppress its people.
When I first listened to this podcast I thought it was a little long but by the time the podcast was over I realized it was time well spent. Soloman's story tries to get across the message that when someone's joy in life is taken for a long period of time they become incomplete. When that same person gets his/her joy back, it comes back that much better having not experienced it for an extended period of time. Soloman's point is that no matter what someone's joy is, the things that we love to do dictate our emotions and actions to an extent we can't imagine.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to the podcast was honestly not even about the context Soloman was speaking about but rather his outstanding ability to tell a story. He had a prominent voice, underlying humor, and a talent to make anything seem important and valuable to the listener. Once I dug deeper into the actual context of the story, I began comparing my own musical life to those in Afghanistan referred in the podcast. Being a songwriter and avid musician, I have never had to be cautious or even fearful of showing off my work. Excluding the trepidation from downloading illegal music, fear has never been in collusion with my musical past time. The musicians, painters, poets, and other authors in Afghanistan unfortunately are much more fearful than I expected. This podcast made me realize that I should be much more grateful that I have such musical freedoms.
ReplyDeleteI had never listened to a podcast before, but I was surprised to see that this story had a good mix of humor and seriousness to make it interesting to the listener. I think the underlying message that Solomon is trying to share is that when you love something, and it drives you, it is possible to find a way to find joy in your life from it. When something is taken away from you for some time, you realize the joy it gave you in retrospect, and if you are able to attain it again you are able to find greater joy.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments. I think it's really important that two of the comments mention "joy" and Robbie uses the word "grateful." The podcast does a really good job, I think, of showing that there can be manifestations of these two abstract ideas in real ways. I also appreciate that the above comments really respond on a personal level, which I think is an important aspect to a good story. It really illustrates the point that you don't have to have the same experiences as the storyteller to understand the story.
ReplyDeleteI never used podcast before. I hope if there is transcript or subtitle next to the player, the podcast would be more prefects. (I am an international student)
ReplyDeleteSolomon’s story is about the process of looking for music in Afghanistan, in which people suffer the war and live under the Taliban control. The author visited many artists, poet, and musicians, some of them desperate and some of them afraid of the power, but finally he find someone who plays instrument in the Afghanistan. Solomon invited the whole music band, and all the people he met in his finding process to come together and make a wonderful music party in his renting house. Everyone was appreciated and enjoy the time they can singing and playing.
In the story, one sentence leave me a deep impression, which the author said at almost the end: there is a kind joy that possible only after you have been profoundly depressed, and there is a kind of music that is possible only after you have been silenced for five years. The musicians played 13 hours music without any break. It’s too hard for those people wait for this time. Al l of their desperate, upset, anger and any other kind of miserable feeling are become music and erupt in a music way. People need music, especially in the suffering situation. They need them to brace their heart and strength their ethnic value.
I believe Solomon is telling the story for anyone and everyone, not just musicians or people from Afghanistan. In my opinion, he is saying that even when you lose something or someone your love and passion for it/he or she will always be there in some way shape or form no matter what. The artists of Afghanistan lost what they valued most in life because of the Taliban, but that did not stop them. They continued to keep art in the back of there minds. And when the day came, in which they could start to create art once again, they simply picked up where they had left off before the Taliban had come to power. This goes to show you that even if times are tough and you have to give something up, never forget about that one thing because it may come back in the future.
ReplyDeleteI have never listened to a podcast before but for a first experience it went fairly well. I like the podcast because it was described in a way that I felt like I was there when it happened. I sympathized for the people of Afghanistan because I know I would have a hard time dealing with having art stripped away from me. I feel like the story was about pursuing something to the full extent and to keep your hope alive. The author would have never found the musicians if he didn't keep asking around for art. Also that there are certain things that can't be taken from you like how the man said he practiced in his dreams. You don't have to be a musician or from Afghanistan to understand the story because it really was just about the message of never giving up on something. Solomon sold the story by inserting humor to lighten the situation and still provide the deeper message. The humor made the listeners laugh while to getting the message.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the first podcasts of a story that I have ever listened to and it was very enjoyable. I liked how Soloman used humor and his own views to make to story funny and easy to listen to. I was very young when this took place so listening to this podcast helped me remember what happened. After listening to the podcast I believe that there is an underlying meaning to the entire story. It is that if you are passionate about something you can keep doing it even if it is wrong to do it. To understand this story you don't need to be a musician in Afghanistan or anywhere else you just have to love something so much that you can't give it up.
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