The other day I stumbled across Some Guy From New York, a Shakespeare podcast of the sonnets, but didn’t want to post until I’d had a chance to listen. The setup is a little unusual, it looks like he’s in some sort of sensitivity program (ordered to be?) and doing his time by brain dumping his thoughts on Shakespeare. Having listened to a few of them at this point, I have to say I like it. He goes through one sonnet at a time, line by line, and explains what’s going on. Now, since the first 17 are all about the same thing – “Hey, young guy, here’s a good reason to settle down and have a kid” — it’s going to get a little repetitive, but it’ll be good practice to try new things. I already see by Sonnet 9 that he’s experimenting with the structure of the program. I’m curious if we’ll hear more about his whole story and why exactly he’s reading sonnets like this, too. I like a podcast with some character.
I’ve said before, I don’t listen to people do Shakespeare on MP3, it’s kind of like experiencing a movie on television when you’re in the other room and can see but can’t hear it. But I do like to hear people talk about Shakespeare, and will eat that stuff up. One of these days I may even do my own. I swear. So, anyway, he’s in my list.
If there’s one thing I’d like to hear, it’s for him to do a reading of the sonnet at the beginning, and then discuss it, and then read it again at the end. If you’ve never heard or read the given sonnet and he’s breaking it down line by line, it’s hard to get the whole picture. Sometimes you can’t always tell when Shakespeare’s line ended and when Some Guy’s commentary begins. By reading it first you’d have the whole thing fresh in your brain and then as he breaks it down you won’t lose the structure when he digs in.
He’s also over annunciating quite a bit, which I assume he’s doing on purpose, but maybe he’ll settle into a rhythm over time.
Also, I figure that dear Shakespeare wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the baseball cap of a team who is responsible for the worst playoff loss in the history of baseball, courtesy of my beloved, World Series-winning Boston Red Sox. Ha! 😛
Hi Duane, thanks for the kind words about my podcast!
Good point about reading the sonnet first, I’ll think about it. I think it’s important to recite at the end, after all the explanations, and I’m a little afraid of doing it twice and getting repetitive. But I see what you’re saying.
So you can’t always tell where Shakespeare’s words end and mine begin? I’ll take that as a compliment!
Keep up the good work at Such Shakespeare Stuff.
Many years have past since this email was written but is there any chance of directly corresponding with ‘Some Guy From New York’. I’m an actor and have been all my life who has always been very interested in unusual approaches to Shakespeare and I’d very much like to use some of what he says in his podcast ‘When Forty Winters Shall Beseige My Brow’: a show I’m beginning to devise. It’s just the initial stage and may come to nothing but I’d like his permission to use it.
I listened to SGFMYs podcast a long time ago and would like to hear it again
I cant seem to find it on itunes or other podcasts sites
Do you happen to have a current link for it?
Many thanks
Please post if you find it. Heard these years ago and loved them