The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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In Our Time – the future

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Melvyn Bragg has announced that he’s stepping down from presenting In Our Time, a programme much admired, if not loved, by quite a few of us in this online community. I am fairly sure that the programme will continue, given how prestigious it is and its listenership, not just here in the UK but worldwide. The BBC would be stupid not to continue with it (though today’s BBC leadership seem prone to acts of gross stupidity, so there are no guarantees). My question to you all is “Who could possibly step into Melvyn’s shoes?”. One thought that occurs to me is Dara Ó Briain. He seems to be a polymath with an inquisitive mind and a strong personality. I think they could do worse. Please make suggestions below.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewnllp1de8o

Horse music all night long

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I know I said that I’d keep the plugs to a minimum, but this month’s Horse FM playlist is particularly choice in my opinion. Plus it can get dispiriting posting it to Facebook and seeing the amount of monthly followers actually drop.

So, for those unacquainted with it, this is a notional radio show comprising 20 songs that I’ve found, rediscovered or had recommended to me in the last month. It’s not intended to show off my bleeding-edge tastes; instead, those friends who do like it (both of them), use it on those days when they can’t think of anything else to listen to. Hopefully it will send you down as many entertaining Spotify rabbit holes as it regularly sends me. And if you don’t like it, there’s another one along every month for those who follow it on Spotify. Don’t touch that dial.

ATM – FM radio app for phone

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I got a Samsung A13 and it doesn’t seem to have an FM radio app. My old phone had it and it could record it too. Anyone know the name of an app that would give me basic radio which uses the headphones as antenna, all I can find online is internet radio apps, thanks

Your long and varied Spotify playlists that you can put on just like the radio

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Whatever you think of Paul Morley, there’s no question he has listened to a lot of music and loves a list. I’m currently rereading his 2003ish history of pop, Words and Music, which spins out many a theory from Can’t Get You Out of My Head and the seminal electronic track I’m Sitting In A Room by Alvin Lucier. The latter is truly amazing, just go listen. Luckily some kind soul called Gary James on Spotify has put all 2000 tracks referenced in the book into one playlist (just search for Paul Morley Words and Music). I’m 200 tracks in and have already discovered as well as Lucier great tracks by Tweet, Roy Harper, Autechre and Laurie Spiegel. It’s so long and varied that you can put it on just like…radio. There’s tracks you know, tracks you don’t but no between song chat. So… (continued in comments)

I am the monthly DJ on WOLD

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve made radio shows, whether that was manhandling my brother’s punk records on to a C90; nervously introducing songs I’d taped off the radio on our local pirate *sorry* community station; or doing actual broadcasting on student radio or the internet station Soul 24-7.

But truth be told, I’m not especially good at serious jocking. It is genuinely difficult to turn your enthusiasm for the music into cogent chat. That’s why I remain in awe of the likes of Roger Scott, Coldcut, Rob Da Bank, Cerys Matthews, Sean Rowley, Jarvis Cocker and David Hepworth-when-he-was-on-GLR, to name a few.

For the past few months I’ve been putting together monthly playlists in Spotify that play an hour and a half’s-worth of my favourite Old. Being on the world’s favourite streamer, they have the added benefit of enabling you to instantly explore some of the musical avenues traversed; and also I don’t have project my voice over the kids playing FIFA downstairs.

Since it has been moderately indulged by my Facebook friends (21 likes, some nice threads), I’ve now decided to share the “show” more widely. Many of these songs will be familiar » Continue Reading.

Cancel culture and comedy – Is it real?

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So Maureen Lipman has joined those complaining that comedy is under threat from ‘cancel culture’. Is this a real threat, or something that’s being exaggerated by conservative types who like complaining that the world is unjustly turning against them?

I have the perspective that there are some liberal types who are too sensitive and ready to complain that comedians they don’t like are unacceptable. But I also think this is used by some old comics who have lost the knack of making a big audience laugh, and some people who don’t like having their perspectives challenges.

I’m aware of two clear examples of cancellation: Roy Chubby Brown being bumped from Sheffield City Hall, and a whole stream of Andrew Lawrence gigs being cancelled. In both cases it seems this was down to decisions by the individual theatres rather than part of a widespread campaign. I haven’t seen any of Brown’s material for a long time so wouldn’t comment on whether he has crossed any lines; but Lawrence’s tweets were clearly racist and I can understand why many theatres didn’t want to let him on their stages. (Would also say he’s the one I’ve seen in the past, about ten years » Continue Reading.

John Peel shows from 1967

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I know there are recordings of John Peel’s shows elsewhere on the internet but some July 1967 shows have been uploaded to Mixcloud recently. Fascinating to listen to although it confirms my long held view that most people bought the Incredible String Band’s ‘The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of The Onion’ for the sleeve rather than the actual music.

https://www.mixcloud.com/karleldridge5/

Trio

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If you need to banish the post-Bank Holiday blues you could do worse than listen to last night’s programme with Johnny Walker on the Trio. Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton made some amazing records together, and this wonderful two-hour show with interviews with all three artists, and many songs in full, is available on the iPlayer. Warning: it’s very likely to make you desire the upcoming 3-CD set with the two albums plus loads of unreleased tracks and alternate takes.

Here’s the gorgeous Telling Me Lies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07q1yc2

Another legend gone

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Well, if you’re a Swede, another legend’s gone…you guys have never heard of him, of course. Kjell Alinge was to Swedish radio and my generation what John Peel was to British radio and your generation – combined with Spike Milligan… The two radio shows that made him legendary were Hemma hos… (absurdist humour) and Eldorado (an interesting and personal selection of music combined with absurdist humour almost turning into spoken word poetry…) Eldorado ran from 1980 until 1993, then returned for seven years, 2006-2013. On the “How did your ears open?” thread, I shamefully forgot to mention Kjell Alinge’s influence. Eldorado was the place to hear new music of every genre imaginable and discover things that regular radio didn’t bother with. He only played what he liked, and if he really liked it he could play it twice on the same show. When Titiyo (Swedish singer, half-sister of Neneh Cherry) released her debut single Talking to the Man in the Moon he played nothing else for the entire show that week, in between telling you why it was so good. He could turn obscurities into hits, making Rupert Hines a star in Sweden (and getting thanked on the sleeve of » Continue Reading.