[RADIOLAB INTRO]

JAD ABUMRAD: Hey, I'm Jad Abumrad.

ROBERT KRULWICH: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: This is Radiolab.

ROBERT: The podcast.

JAD: Remixed!

ROBERT: So here's the thing. We make this show, and we worry about each and every word, every sound, every breath.

JAD: But really what we're hoping for is that the stuff ends up in your head and just becomes some set of thoughts that we could have never imagined. So with that in mind, a couple months ago we teamed up with this site called Indaba Music.

ROBERT: Yep.

JAD: To host a Radiolab remix contest. What we did was we put out a bunch of our stories, but as multitrack versions, so that the voice, the interviews, the music, everything is separated out on its own track.

ROBERT: So people could take what we've done and do anything they want with us.

JAD: Anything.

ROBERT: And they did.

JAD: And our job was to pick a bunch of winners.

ROBERT: So here we are with the results of the first ever, not necessarily annual Radiolab remix contest.

[ARCHIVE CLIP, Jeffrey Tambor: Five months straight, you flip through magazines while sitting on ...]

ROBERT: We got 136 submissions.

JAD: Every style that you can imagine. And we're gonna play a couple for you right now. Some of the winners.

ROBERT: Right.

JAD: So let's just jump in with the grand prize winner. So one of the pieces that we offered as remix material was this one.

[ARCHIVE CLIP, Jeffrey Tambor: In the afterlife, you relive all your experiences, but this time with the events reshuffled into a new order.]

JAD: It was from our "After Life" show, and it was a story called Some, which was written by David Eagleman, read for us by actor Jeffrey Tambor. And the idea of the story was to imagine a version of the afterlife where all the moments of your life would be clumped together by category.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP, Jeffrey Tambor: For five months straight, you flip through magazines while sitting on a toilet. You take all your pain at once, all 27 intense hours of it. Bones breaking ...]

ROBERT: The story itself is kind of a remix in a way.

JAD: Yeah. It's a really funny story—and poignant at times. And a lot of people chose to remix this story, including our grand prize winner.

DAVID MINNICK: My name is David Minnick.

JAD: That's him.

DAVID MINNICK: Is that all you want?

JAD: [laughs] We'll hear more from David Minnick in just a second. First, let's hear his remix. This is "Sum," written by David Eagleman, read by Jeffrey Tambor, originally produced by Radiolab and remixed by David Minnick.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: All right, time. Take two. In the afterlife, you relive all your experiences. But this time, with the events reshuffled into a new order. You see, all the moments that share a quality are grouped together. For instance, two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport Two years of boredom, staring at a bus window, sitting in an airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in a airport. Two years of boredom, staring out a bus window, sitting in an airport.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: 18 months waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. Waiting in line. Waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. Waiting in line. Waiting in line. Waiting and waiting and waiting in line. 18, 18, 18, 18 months waiting in line, waiting, waiting, waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line. Waiting and waiting and waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line, waiting in line, waiting in line. Waiting and waiting and waiting in line. Waiting in line. 18 months waiting in line.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: 15 months looking for lost items. Looking for lost items. Looking for lost items, looking for lost items. 15 months looking for lost items, looking for lost items, looking for lost items, looking for lost items. 15 months looking for lost items, looking for lost items, looking for lost items, looking for lost items.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Seven months having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Seven months having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Having sex. Seven months having sex. And you itch because you can't take a shower until it's time to take your marathon 200-day shower. 200-day shower. 200-day shower. 200-day shower. 200-day shower. 200-day shower.]

JAD: [laughs]

ROBERT: Wow! I would like to do a whole show like that. It's so much fun.

JAD: I'd shoot myself if we did a whole show like that.

ROBERT: Really? Oh. Because you know why? It's too Broadway for you.

JAD: I'm realizing this—for me, this was like—it was the best. It was like—it was Broadway in a way that made me hurt.

ROBERT: [laughs]

JAD: But it was also—like, it was also just a feat of composing.

ROBERT: If I could wake up in the morning and say, "I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom now. I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom now."

JAD: Oh, I'd kill myself.

ROBERT: That would be so wonderful for me.

DAVID MINNICK: Hello?

JAD: Hey.

ROBERT: Hey.

JAD: Is this David?

DAVID MINNICK: Yes, it is. How are you?

JAD: Hi, David. This is Jad.

DAVID MINNICK: Hi, Jad.

ROBERT: We liked your thing a lot. That was really something.

DAVID MINNICK: Thank you so much.

JAD: Although truthfully, we kind of disagreed. Robert loved it. I was amazed at what you've done, but it was a little too Broadway for me.

DAVID MINNICK: That's—that's not my fault. You gotta talk to Jeffrey Tambor about that. No, I'm not—I don't like show tunes either. But his voice was already musical.

JAD: David explained to us that each line of Tambor's read would guide him to a new melody and a new style.

DAVID MINNICK: Because he's an actor. He's a really good actor, and so his voice actually follows pitch patterns.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Five months straight, you flip through magazines while sitting on a toilet. Flip through magazines while sitting on a toilet. For five months straight, you flip through magazines while sitting on a toilet.]

DAVID MINNICK: And a lot of them actually suggested the type of music. Like "Driving the street in front of your house."

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Driving in the street in front of your house.]

DAVID MINNICK: Was already in rhythm.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Driving in the street in front of your house.]

DAVID MINNICK: That one I could actually hear the first time.

JAD: Really?

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Driving in the street in front of your house.]

DAVID MINNICK: If you listen to the melody enough times and then you start putting chords to it, it inevitably suggests some sort of style of music.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Five weeks driving lost. Five weeks driving lost. Five weeks driving lost. Five weeks driving lost lost lost. Two weeks wondering what happens when you die. Two weeks wondering what happens when you die. Two weeks wondering what happens when you die. Six days clipping your nails. Six days clipping your nails. Six days clipping your nails.]

DAVID MINNICK: I just wanted the whole idea of the—of the story to be manifested in music so you actually feel the long lengths of time when it's two years of doing this. A little less when it's 18 months.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Staring into the refrigerator. 15 hours writing your signature.]

DAVID MINNICK: That's starting to get shorter and shorter.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Seven hours vomiting.]

DAVID MINNICK: And then when he describes that you imagine your life, all the events in your life being in different order, like real life actually is on Earth, I just wanted to cut from one thing to another to another to another in random order. Sort of the way life actually works.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: In this part of the afterlife, you imagine something ...]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Waiting for a green light.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: ... analogous to your earthly life.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Reading books.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: And the thought ...]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Cars crest.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: ... is blissful.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Watching commercials.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: A life where episodes are split into tiny ...]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Showers.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: ... swallowable pieces. Swallowing, swallowing moments do not endure. Counting money. You sleep where one experiences the joy of jumping from one event to the next like a child. Sitting in thought, hopping from spot to spot. Skin is cut on the burning sand. Working babies are born. For instance, clipping your nails. Staring out a bus window. Waiting for a green light. Shower. Having sex. Reading books. Popping from spot to spot. Cars crash.]

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Counting money. Swallowing. Swallowing. Your eyes hurt. Tying shoelaces. Staring into the refrigerator without opening your eyes. Shower. Vomiting.]

JAD: How long did this take you?

DAVID MINNICK: Well, all told about 60 hours.

ROBERT: 60 hours?

JAD: 60 straight hours?

DAVID MINNICK: Oh, no, no, no. No. I've got three kids. I can't stay up that long. 60 hours over a period of a few weeks. My actual job is a piano teacher and church organist, and I teach a couple of music theory courses at a two-year college. That's what I actually get paid for. I don't get paid for this stuff. It's just fun.

JAD: How often do you do this kind of thing?

DAVID MINNICK: I've entered probably about 30 contests since 2009.

ROBERT: Really?

JAD: What sorts of contests?

DAVID MINNICK: Well, there was the Snoop Dogg contest, and I turned it into a pirate song.

ROBERT: [laughs]

DAVID MINNICK: A pirate shanty. I just had him singing over pirate music. Changed his rhythm to make it a sea shanty.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Snoopy is what they say as if they knew me ...]

JAD: So David Minnick was our grand prize winner. He gets $500, a ticket to the live show and a back rub from Robert.

ROBERT: I didn't know—I didn't know I was doing back rubs.

JAD: I just put that in there. But now it's on tape. You gotta do it.

ROBERT: Okay.

JAD: And let me just say one thing before we do any more winners, and this is in reference to the whole Broadway thing. If we're gonna be representative of the kinds of things that we got in, most of the submissions, like I would say about 100 of them sounded like this.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Radiolab intro with dance beats]

JAD: Just sort of four on the floor techno. Which I gotta admit, you know, not being a Broadway guy, I sort of like this stuff.

ROBERT: You like this stuff?

JAD: Yeah. I mean, lower the lights, put the smoke machine on. I am all about that one.

ROBERT: [laughs]

JAD: I actually listen to stuff like this when I'm writing.

ROBERT: Really?

JAD: Yeah. It's just like the sound of energy.

ROBERT: I am so sorry for you, because not only do you lack any Broadway, but you believe in techno?

JAD: I just think it's a tasty little loop. It's a great loop.

ROBERT: How do I know you?

JAD: [laughs]

ROBERT: Okay, we'll be right back. And we will have the runners up. Some of them pretty fabulous. Could have taken the crown.

JAD: And one of our remixers actually ended up being Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky.

ROBERT: Mm-hmm.

JAD: He threw together a break beat based on some material from our "Limits" show. And here it is to lovingly support some underwriting.

[LISTENER: Hi, this is Whitney from Richmond, Virginia. Radiolab is supported by GFI, creators of VIPRE Antivirus. VIPRE is designed to protect personal computers from malware threats including viruses, bioware, trojans, worms and adware without slowing down the computer. For a special offer, visit TryVIPRE.com. Click the mic and enter code Radiolab. Thanks!]

[ANSWERING MACHINE: End of message.]

[LISTENER: Hello, this is Hannah and this is Molly. And we're from San Jose, California. Stitcher is having a contest for one of its users to fly to Seattle the weekend of August 25 to see Radiolab's live show, "In the Dark." The winner of Stitcher's Flyaway contest will receive round-trip air for two, an overnight stay in a hotel, front row seats, and a meet and greet before the show. Stitcher users can only enter the contest by listening to Radiolab on the Stitcher app and clicking on the contest banner to register. The Stitcher mobile app is available in app stores and at Stitcher.com. That's it. Say bye. Bye!]

JAD: Okay, so we're back with the results from the Radiolab Remixed competition. We just heard our grand prize winner.

ROBERT: Now the runners up. This first one is from a fellow named Jeff Barr.

JAD: He's actually the editor for a really cool podcast named Risk, and he calls this one, Pacing About the Lab."

[ARCHIVE CLIP: "Pacing About the Lab"]

JEFF BARR: I really got tuned into ...

JAD: That's Jeff.

JEFF BARR: ... the sounds that aren't meant to be music, but come off as music to me. So I just play with that and turn it into songs.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: "Pacing About the Lab"]

JAD: Wow! You know what that made me think of? It's like if Radiolab were an actual place in some alternate dimension, that would be like the sound of the dead space between thoughts where you're just pacing around.

JEFF BARR: Or maybe—or perhaps it's what the studio is dreaming about when you're not in it.

JAD: Oh, I like that!

[ARCHIVE CLIP: "Pacing About the Lab"]

ROBERT: And of course there are other award-winning runners up out there—winners. And you can listen to them, the ones we've chosen, on our website. Also on Indaba's website. But we now have, I gotta say, the one that really, really delighted us. It's neither a runner up nor the grand prize winner. Maybe we would call this the ...

JAD: Director's choice.

ROBERT: Yes, exactly. The director's choice. So just to set this one up, we had a show about vertigo, actually. About a disease.

JAD: Yeah. We turned up an essay from Berton Roueché.

ROBERT: Of the New Yorker.

JAD: Who pretty much invented the whole genre of, like, medical mysteries. Anyhow, many, many years ago, he interviews this woman about something she's going through, and writes an article about it. And we had actually actress Hope Davis dramatize the reading.

ROSEMARY MORTON: I'd been home about an hour. Dinner was ready and waiting in the oven, and I was sitting at the piano not really playing ...*

ROBERT: Basically, in this essay, this woman loses control of her body.

ROSEMARY MORTON: ... I started across the room, I felt the floor sort of shake. "Good heavens," I said. "What was that?"

JAD: Things begin to tilt. The world gets very strange and out of scale. Her arms begin to feel like they're lengthening and then contracting. She just completely loses her relationship to the planet Earth.

ROSEMARY MORTON: Frank just looked at me, his face was a perfect blank. He made some remark about old buildings stretching and settling, and handed me my drink.

JAD: Now she's suffering from a disease called vertigo. That's what the whole essay is about. The surprising symptoms that happen when you get vertigo. Listen to what these two remixers, two guys who did this next remix, listen to how they take that idea of vertigo and flip it.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Gravitational Anarchy]

JAD: So can you guys introduce yourselves?

MARK GODFREY: Oh, my name is Mark Godfrey and I go by daimyo as a producer in the world of production. So chibbity chang.

RYAN VINSON: And my name is Ryan Vinson. I go by sketch lightly in the world of hip hop music. Changity Ching.

MARK GODFREY: [laughs]

ROBERT: So Ryan's the rapper on this thing and Mark's the guy who makes the music.

MARK GODFREY: Well, I think all I gave him at first was, like, listen to the stems.

RYAN VINSON: I think I could write something about this, interpreting vertigo as something about love and positives and negatives. And he kind of went from there and made all of the music.

MARK GODFREY: Yeah, it was kind of—it's kind of. I don't know, it came out of nowhere. So I was just trying to make something that would fit with his style. So ...

JAD: Now how did you come up with the idea of taking vertigo, which is a disease where you lose your balance and your relationship to gravity, and making that about love and losing yourself in another person?

RYAN VINSON: Listening to the other pieces that were submitted before mine, people would either just leave all the vocals basically the same and just do different musical arrangements underneath, and then there were some that would take the vocals and chop them up in all crazy ways. And it was really awesome to listen to, but being a fan of the show, I guess I kind of miss the story sometimes. Like, just the feeling from the story. So I tried to think of a way that I could kind of sit in between there. So just the idea of Vertigo, just the feelings described in the original piece, made me think of love. Not knowing where you—how the space works anymore. I think it's a lot like the way people describe falling in love, where everything seems different. Right, exactly.

JAD: Is that just something that made sense to you in the abstract, or were you drawing from personal—personal experience or something? I don't know. Is there something behind that?

RYAN VINSON: I guess it's definitely drawing from personal experience, but ...

ROBERT: These two guys have been in love for a very, very long time. This is a kind of confessional thing.

MARK GODFREY: I mean, you could tell if you ever see us in the same room. Cranking up towards me, and then, I can't help you. Such a sweet guy.

JAD: No, that's an honest question. Is there any real answer to that?

RYAN VINSON: Yeah. No, there is. So when I heard the feeling described in the piece, my question to myself was, "Why can I relate to this? Like, why does that make sense to me?" Because I've never been there. I've never had vertigo. But for me, I guess, I mean, getting really personal. I mean, I'm divorced. Really young and divorced, I guess, for most people. But just the second verse talks a lot about this unsure feeling when your identity becomes lost in someone else. When you're not sure where you stop and they begin. And that can be a really great thing, but also can be really troubling when you're not sure what you are on your own anymore. I guess. And I guess I have gone through that.

[ARCHIVE CLIP: Gravitational Anarchy]

ROBERT: Oh, you're right. That's not a person who's safe.

JAD: It's not a happy feeling. So in that scenario, I don't want to be too literal about this, but who—are you—you're talking from the perspective of the woman about a guy named Frank. I assume that you're closer spiritually to the woman's perspective in this case.

RYAN VINSON: Right. I guess I would say I would more closely associate to the female character.

MARK GODFREY: Right.

RYAN VINSON: She just has all these thoughts and questions. But then the last line is like, she shut her eyes and pressed herself against his side. So she's kind of brushing those away because it was scary, and going back to security and comfort.

ROBERT: But we don't yet know whether she's gonna get—you know, gonna go solo.

MARK GODFREY: That's very true.

RYAN VINSON: Thank you. Paying attention. No, it's like—it's a very subtle, like, line at the end that, I don't know, I meant it to be that way because I didn't want it to feel decisive.

JAD: So you wrote this from the perspective of somebody who's in the middle of it.

RYAN VINSON: Right. I guess from the perspective of someone who's in the middle of it, and not sure if she even really wants to be on the outside of it, but feels like maybe she should. It's a strange place to be. I guess I sat there for a long time.

JAD: You know what's kind of like humbling about that whole thing for me is that, like, they found something that was in the story that we didn't even know was in there. That's kind of beautiful.

ROBERT: Yeah. Well see, that's the thing. When this idea was created, it wasn't created by me because I thought it was insane. I thought why would people in the busyness of their lives go into our raw material and resculpt it? I said, nobody is gonna do that. It's just dumb.

JAD: But the fact that 136 people took the time to do it, brought so much talent and energy and cleverness and interestingness to the whole thing. It's quite—it's just—I don't know what to call it.

ROBERT: Well, I think it's kind of wonderful. That's what it is.

JAD: Yeah, it's just cool. So thank you to everybody that entered.

ROBERT: Thank you.

JAD: And thank you to Indaba for making this possible for us. You can hear a bunch of the remixes on Indaba's website.

ROBERT: That's Indabamusic.com. And they run a site that's really extraordinary because it gets a whole bunch of people who love music and love mixing music together. So thank you, Indaba.

JAD: Yeah. I'm Jad Abumrad.

ROBERT: I'm Robert Krulwich.

JAD: Thank you for relistening.

[LISTENER: Hi, my name is Marty Fota. I'm a Radiolab listener from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Radiolab is supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, enhancing public understanding of science and technology in the modern world. More information about Sloan at www.sloan.org.]

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