How 'Finding Nemo' Changed One Woman's Life

I'm a firm believer that you cannot change your life without getting out of the house.  And that inspiration can be found in the most unlikely places.   Kiki Kienstra told Studio 360 how a kid's animated movie was the catalyst she needed to jump start her settled career.

From the Studio 360 blog:

"Kiki Kienstra had a good job teaching kindergarten, a nice apartment, and a community of friends. “I didn’t have a big need for change,” she remembers. “You know, everything was fine, so why rock the boat?”

One day, on a whim, she saw Finding Nemo, a Pixar movie about a clownfish named Marlin on a quest to find his missing son. At one point, Marlin and his traveling companion, Dory, find themselves inside a whale. They must decide whether to continue to cling to the whale’s tongue or let go and face an unknown future.

“I realized when I saw that scene that I needed to make a decision about my life,” Kienstra says. “Just staying in my life — just hanging onto the tongue — I wasn’t doing anything. I needed to let go of the tongue and see what happened.” When she let go, Kienstra packed up all her things and followed her dream to teach in a foreign country."

Listen here.

Beck's "Saint Dude" performed by Studio 360's Kurt Andersen and WNYC friends

Beck’s new album isn’t what you’d expect. There’s no CD, no .mp3s, and — despite recent trends — no vinyl. So how’s it being released? Sheet music. As the Studio 360 team was getting ready for the interview, they had an idea: What if they put together a band to play some of the sheet music?

Studio 360 followed through on that idea and, with the help of a few dozen friends, proudly presents The Three-Six-Ohs with Beck’s “Saint Dude.” Watch out for WNYC personalities like Morning Edition’s Soterios Johnson, Soundcheck’s John Schaefer, On the Media’s Brooke Gladstone, WQXR’s Terrance McKnight, and Spinning on Air’s David Garland.  Studio 360’s own Reverend John DeLore and several musically-inclined staff members from New York Public Radio also appear.

Oh, and there’s a special cameo too. Is that Beck, or Kurt “Glockrockinbeats” Andersen, and full disclosure, my husband? You’ll have to watch the whole video for the big reveal.

Plan C: From Trial Lawyer To Sound Engineer.

At the height of the recession, Studio 360 interviewed scores of people transitioning from one career to another. When Mark Solomon lost his job as a trial lawyer, he decided to create a new career for himself as a sound engineer and designer.  Listen below as he describes his journey to self-reliance, starting with his "Aha!" moment about the sound of the movie WALL-E.

Listen here.

Best High School Band?

The Winner of Studio 360's Battle of the High School Bands.

Studio 360's Battle of the High School Bands contest, ended up with 350 submissions spanning six decades of adolescence — from psychedelic pop to soulful hip-hop. (For a handful of the very best, check out their two volumes of mixtapes.) Rock star judges, Andrew W.K. and Thao Nguyen, had the challenging task of picking a winner, and then collaborating on a cover version of that song. Their pick was “The River,” by three young Nashville women who go by Bea, Rita & Maeve.

Listen to "The River" by Bea, Rita & Maeve and Andrew W.K. and Thao Nguyen's cover here.

“There was a very timeless quality this song had, without being nostalgic,” Andrew tells Kurt Andersen. Thao praises the “subtlety and refinement in the musicianship.” In fact, the pros admit to being daunted by the rookies. “It ruined my entire perception of myself in high school,” Andrew confesses. Where the original hews to a folk style, Andrew and Thao’s cover uses rock drums and layers of instruments for a heavier, arena-ready version.

Both versions are extraordinary