Brandon's Buzz

Sarah McLachlan — “Full of Grace” (from Surfacing) —

So, what was supposed to be an unassuming chat on my ramshackle radio show about a self-published memoir from an actress whose work I have long admired has turned into something of a blockbuster, and has given Brandon’s Buzz Radio its most listened-to week in the four-and-a-half years of its existence. In case you missed all the hoopla: the brilliant Alicia Coppola — who will forever be remembered in this household for her three-year stint as that hot-tempered hellcat Lorna Devon on NBC’s dearly departed classic soap Another World — stopped in to the Buzz last Thursday to discuss her brand new book Gracefully Gone, a compelling chronicle of her father’s ten-year battle with brain cancer which is told through interlocking entries from both his and her journals. My show’s network, BlogTalkRadio, showcased the episode as one of their “Staff Picks” all day last Saturday, and by the end of the weekend, the episode had become my most downloaded episode ever. Here we are exactly one week later, and Alicia’s episode is still the second-most popular outing in the “Books” category across the entire network. (And with over 15,000 active hosts currently populating the network’s airwaves, that stat is nothing to sneeze at, people!) If you have yet to catch this installment, you can listen to it here, or — as is the case with all ninety-three episodes of Brandon’s Buzz Radio — you can download it as a free podcast from the iTunes music store. (My beloved, A, would like me to type here a simple note of caution: Alicia and I talk about some fun stuff across the course of our hour together — like how she hungered to rummage through Linda Dano’s turbans and boas and pilfer a few for her own back in the day — but be aware that the conversation does get a bit heavy in places.) As ever, I am overwhelmed by your generosity as you continue to make the various platforms of this homemade endeavor regular stops in your daily journey along the paths of popular culture. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to entertain you, even if only for a few, fleeting moments.