GREGORY WHITEHEAD (Non-local) Artist worth checking out

I discovered Gregory Whitehead a little over a year ago when I was making my first exploration into radio drama, adapting and directing local playwright Joey Boren's play "Retarded." By far the coolest artist I found in the radio medium, and one of my favorite artists of all time. I wish he was better known so I could use his work as a casual point-of-reference. Here are a few choice MP3s from Ubu.com

If a Voice Like, Then What? (2 and a half minutes long)
For many people, to talk is to struggle. Gregory Whitehead asks if you would like to have a voice like...his. Yes. I can see the advantage of that.

Scratch Peace (about 4 minutes long)
Experimental DJs and Noise-artists take note. Composition of found voice.

The Respirator (about 6 minutes long)
Oh this one is terrifying. Samuel Beckett meet Alfred Hitchcock?

How To Pronounce "Prosthesis" (5 minutes long)
This is a great piece... schizophrenic aphasia bodies antibodies infiltration resistance repeat after Mr. Whitehead: "I am the prosthesis"

Totenklage/Lacrymosa (3 and a half minutes long)
This piece cracks me up. It gets stuck in my head at least once a week, and gives me demon eyes and a raccoon smile when I listen to it.

Display Wounds (about 15 minutes long)
This makes me think of the review I posted about The Day of Murders in the History of Hamlet. Mr. Whitehead has the incredible ability to create insanely warped realities without distorting the listener's logic. Maybe a clever way to describe this piece is if the 'P' in NPR stood for psilocybin.

What Words Want (4 minutes long)
Similar to If a Voice Like/ Then What but includes a wonderful transition into a Latin cutup.


Okay, so this is really a small sample of this guy's work, and I didn't include some of his longer pieces.
One last link, this is an interview with Gregory Whitehead which includes a few samples of his work. One of my favorite conversations about making art. RadioRadio is a wonderful program, and anybody interested in radio, sound art, or intelligent conversation about form and content should check out the other RadioRadio programs.