If We Are Together Again, Surely This'll Never End

At long last - and by long I mean 12 years, I finally got to see my favourite band live. The venue was the Birmingham Academy, the same venue as The Feeling just two weeks ago. Back then I posted that The Feeling are challenging Dodgy to title of 'Smeg's Favourite Band' but seeing Dodgy live utterly confirmed that The Feeling are no where near.

Dodgy lacked the amazing light show, they lacked the leaping across the stage. In fact they just stood their with roughly 5 different coloured lights but they dominated the stage and held your attention in a far more powerful way. They simply let their talents shine through and Dodgy have buckets of it.

For the last few weeks its odd but I've discovered that Dodgy are the biggest band no one as ever heard of. Weird to think that back in the Summer of '96 they were huge. Still, sing a few bars of Good Enough to those who'd 'never heard of them' and a glimmer of recognition would spring to life in their eyes. It was reassuring to find that on Tuesday I was in the comapany of 300 others who had not only heard of The Dodge but, like me, loved 'em too.

Oddly though it wasn't the anthems, Good Enough & Staying Out For The Summer that got me going on Tues, it was the album tracks, UKRIP, Grassman, Longlife (a stunning rendition of that!), Melodies Haunt You, oh I could go on but I was so, so happy.

I contemplated this, I've seen a lot of bands live, Kylie, Scissor Sisters, George Michael, Feeling, Kaiser Chiefs, Basement Jaxx, Robbie, Bowie, Coors, Bush, Eurythmics, Stereophonics, Catatonia etc but Tuesday was something special, it was more personal. Obviously it was an intimate gig but Dodgy are the one band I've grown up listening to and listening to.

It was worth the wait. So Nigel, Andy, Matt & Richard thanks - not only for a stunning gig but for the gift of your music for all these years.

That Friday Feeling

18 months ago I swore I’d see them again, tonight I fulfilled that promise. The venue was The Birmingham Carling Academy and the band was The Feeling.

They are my favourite band of the moment. Dodgy will always be THE favourite but secretly, the Feeling are nudging them slightly off the top the list. (Though finally, after 12 years having the chance to see Dodgy live in a few weeks my restore the love!)

Join With Us, the second Feeling album, hit the shops last week and secretly first play was a bit odd. It all seemed so downbeat after the every-track-an-anthem-love-it-on-first-play catchiness of the first album. I thought this trend would continue when I first heard the outstanding ‘I Thought It Was Over’ but no initially ‘Join With Us’ is a different beast, and do you know what that’s probably why I like it more. It takes a number of listens to get into but the amazing lyrics soon win you over. In an era when guitar music is starting to become a bit ‘paint by numbers’ The Feeling are refreshingly different in that you can’t quite pin them down. I remember trying to describe them to my dad – they’re sort of rock, but then pop at times a bit ‘Queenish’ sometimes ‘ELO’ arrgh, I dunno?!

Anyway, talking of dads one nice surprise to my second dose of The Feeling live was a very pleasant couple stood next to me. Initially they were chatting to Miss Smeg. “Ooh, is that a Feeling T-Shirt your wearing, bet you haven’t got this one” said the cheery guy stood next to us.. the T-Shirt said in bold lettering “Kev & Ciaran Are My Kids!” Yes we were stood next to 2/5 of The Feeling’s parents. Mr Jeremiah happily told us tales of Rose being written in his shed and the guys sleeping on the floor of his living room. You could tell he was immensely proud of the Feeling and so he should be, as the night would prove. The Feeling have become a formidable stage presence. They were confident back in 2006 but now they commanded attention like never before. This was evident from the outset as the traditional Feeling intro used on their last tour was literally ousted in favour of a bolder, brighter and louder start to the show. An attitude that carried on for the whole 60 odd minutes only slowing for the return of Dan’s sparkly piano and a stunning rendition of ‘Strange’.

There are a few surprises throughout the night, I don’t wish to spoil them however I will say if you loved ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ you’re in for a treat. In fact for much of the gig you won’t be able to do much other than wave and clap your hands in the air – a fact that was evident by the time of the finale – an overly energetic version of ‘Love It When You Call’ that just has you begging for more.

There are a few people that are keen to knock the Feeling, however I don’t think it’s by accident that the new album and tour are entitled ‘Join With Us’. After the 60+ minute show you’d be mad to say ‘no’.

Blue! Blue! Blue!

I spent today huddled with approximately 100 other people in and old paint factory in Bristol watching two people open 44 cardboard boxes. Doesn’t sound very exciting does it? Well, also there was Mr Noel Edmonds Esq. Does that make it more enticing? Yep, I was in the audience for 2 episodes of ‘Deal Or No Deal’.

I’m not allowed to actually tell you what happened. Apparently Endamol Productions will be legally entitled to my first-born child if I were to do that. Not to worry, tune in to Channel 4 on the 19th & 20th of May and you’ll see the shows I saw being filmed.

What I can talk about is the incredible atmosphere – especially in the second show. When your separated by the boundary of the glowing box Deal Or No Deal (or DOND as the fans apparently call it) is just another quiz show. People are sacrificing 30-mins or so of their life purely for your entertainment. What do you care if they win Bully’s Special Prize or lose that teasmaid in a bad gamble? Being in the studio made that totally different. I could talk to the contestants – they were real people, with real issues and real reasons for desiring to beat the banker. I cared – something I never really have done about DOND. I wanted contestant 2 to win, I chewed my nails in despair as they agonised over the decision to deal or not. Worse still the contestant closest relations were sat right behind me. I heard them suffer as they watched their loved ones get closer to their dreams and closer to their despairs. It made the experience tense and exciting – so much more so than I have ever seen on TV. I’m embarrassed to say I caught myself screaming at one decision and dread watching it back for the fear that it’s very audible.

The DOND format is genius. The show should be over in 5-mins flat however the long drawn out game of luck (because no matte how much the stat-whores kid themselves that’s all it is) with the added sublime twist of a banker – a figure of hate makes the show fascinating viewing – it’s more about the psychology of the contestant that it is choosing boxes. Noel, throughout was a genuinely nice bloke and wants the contestant to do well… though that doesn’t necessarily mean winning the quarter of a million.

Merry Christmas

All the best of the season to one and all!

Band On The Run

So you’re in a band. You’ve spent years of hard work getting where you are.

6 years ago you formed the band hosting a few shambolic gigs at school and mates birthday parties. Slowly but surely you practice and practice until your covers start sounding like the songs they actually are. Eventually after 18 months you get a booking by a local pub to entertain the drunken revellers that aren’t outside smoking. After a year of this you’re getting more confident, you start to introduce some songs you’ve written yourself.

Now you’re at the point where you can book small hall somewhere and do your own gig – people actually paying to come and see you. Word spreads, first 50 odd people come, the following gig you’re almost into three figures. It’s been three long hard years of loading and unloading transit vans, practising in a cold garage somewhere and scraping together the pennies to buy that 2nd hand amplifier.

The hall gigs pay off and you just about have enough money to book a local studio to record an EP. You start whoring this at your gigs which are now attracting more people. The content has moved from 90% covers to 50%. Heck you even brave an acapella section that gets you much applause.

This journey has taken 4 or so years by this point. Perhaps you’ve had a falling out, one band member leaving after a row, perhaps changing your name once. You can’t remember the last time you got to bed before 4am on a Friday or Saturday but you don’t care it’s your music, your passionate about it.

Finally you attract a small bit of press attention. NME writes two or three lines about a recent local bands festival you played at, you didn’t even know they were there but they say you stole the show.

After 5 long years a man approaches you after a gig, he’s seen the NME report, he wants to sign you to his small record label. You go for it and before you know it your EP hits iTunes. Your gigs are starting to attract more people and you’re actually starting to make some money. After a while a larger record company signs you. They want you to support one of their smaller bands – someone like Pigeon Detectives or Scouting For Girls on tour.

On the back of this tour a single is released – people actually buy it – you enter the charts, it’s only at number 47 but you’re getting there. Another year passes and following Radio 1 play, more tour supporting, perhaps someone bigger like the Feeling you’ve hit the top 20. It’s taken 6 long hard years you’ve honed your sound, you have fans and momentum is growing.

The record company wants you to record a Xmas single – really push for it. You do, it’s hugely popular, mass sales and radio airplay. You tune into the chart show to hear if you’re Xmas number one and what happens? You’re pipped at the post my some twat who 6 months ago was a till operator in McDonalds. Did he spend 6 years working long and hard? Did he write his own stuff and endlessly practice with no professional help? Does he truly appreciate the work needed to get anywhere in the music industry? Nope he just won a shitty TV karaoke contest hosted by Simon ‘I love myself’ Cowell. It’s not even his own song and to be honest he’s still fairly shit anyway.

This is why the X Factor has to stop. Manufactured music is great – I love pop it serves a purpose, it brings fun to music but it shouldn’t dominate the real talent, the real bands who’ve worked long and hard to get where they are. Think of all the shit that has polluted the charts like a pop Chernobyl thanks to ITV in recent years. Cheeky Girls, Hear’Say, Gareth Gates, One True Voice, G4, Michelle McManus – it’s all samey bland wank.

It’s also interesting to note that the only people to have succeeded long term are those that cast off the karaoke shackles of X-Factor/Pop Idol and recorded their own stuff – namely Will Young and Girls Aloud.

Please, please, please British record buying public see sense. X Factor is preventing true home grown talent getting the airtime and chart success it deserves. The UK is home to many, many great bands that don’t need Cowell’s smug nod of approval to get anywhere.

Give them a chance to shine and banish the likes of Leon and Rhydian to the bargain bin.

Snap Unhappy

Do you like my photos from Take That? I’m very happy with how they came out. Sadly though the ones on this blog are pretty much the only ones I could take. You see despite front row seats and some excellent angles for snapping I was only allowed tosneak these few shots.

By law if a private property doesn’t want you taking photos they’re entitled to refuse permission. That’s understandable but when that private property is a 20,000 seater arena it’s a bit dumb.

I can understand they want to stop people taking professional photos/video of the bands performing without the bands express permission for a number of reasons. They want to protect the bands brand & image and they also want to prevent people making a profit from the band and their fans without permission.

However when it’s plainly obvious it’s just a fan taking a quick snap with a cheap digital camera – a snap to capture a happy memory for the future with no intention of selling that image on then what really is the problem?

When I went to see Take That the security on my block was on a mission to prevent all imaging. The minute he saw your viewfinder light up he steamed over and had a quiet word in your ear. What made it really annoying was that over in the next block dozens of people were snapping away and their security man was letting them.

If there’s a no photo policy in place it should be one rule for all. All over the O2 arena flashes were firing by the dozen a second but that didn’t matter. Nope our security had his orders and that was that.
If I’d had a huge telephoto lens then again it’d be perfectly understandable but no, I just had my mobile phone camera and my cheap Sony Cybershot camera.

Still when he was busy telling off others in the crowd I managed to get a few shots and I’m really happy with them, it’s just a shame I couldn’t have taken a few more

Sounds Right

Well into party season now and despite my post on Dec 1st sounding concerns at the current state of my gigs I’m pleased to say I’ve had my best events in months. Everyone is really up for it and it’s been a joys to get people partying again. Question is what has changed? Is it something I’m doing different? Is it the fact that it’s cold so smokers don’t want to stay outside? Is it just the Xmas effect in that everyone WANTS to party?

Who said Djing was easy…


P.S. Happy birthday mum!

Merry Christmoose

The Most Beautiful Time Of The Year

It’s that time again, yes it’s Xmas Party season and that means dusting down my festive CDs and another 3 weeks of belting out the cheesy party anthems. Last year was my best Xmas season as a DJ. I don’t know what it was but every night (bar the first which had some faulty CD players) was brilliant – great atmosphere and great people. So you probably expect me to be looking forward to me next few weeks of gigs with delight.

You’d be wrong.

I don’t know what it is but since the summer my DJ gigs have been wank. Can you lose your touch? I just can’t seem to get an atmosphere going, not that there’s ever any atmosphere to build on it would seem these days. Every one just seems so miserable.

Don’t get me wrong not all the parties have been like wakes – there have been handfuls of people on the D-Floor each night but it has been months since I had the floor packed.

I have a theory, aside from the obvious that I’ve just ‘lost it’. July 1st was the smoking ban – it’s since then that things seem to have stagnated. Could it be that smokers also tend to be the ‘party animals’? It’s damned hard to get a party going when half the guests are outside. Also I’ve noticed that those outside do seem to be laughing, joking and having fun while the non-smokers inside seem to sit around quite quietly.

I’m not a smoker and I agree with the ban but I can now understand the concerns of the entertainment industry. Of course there’s also the current concerns with the economy and mortgages – people do seem to be tightening their belts.

Anyway, the simple fact is this can’t go on. It really does feel like people aren’t enjoyng themselves anymore and of course as I DJ I hate that – I feel responsible. Xmas is going to be a testing time for me, if I can’t get the parties started then in 2008 perhaps it’s best if I don’t DJ parties at all…

Sounding Off At The O2

So yesterday I made my third visit to the big smoke this year – and once again it was Destination Dome. I headed to the O2 to see Take That.

Visit 1, secret launch night - saw poor organisation but great gig.
Visit 2, Scissor Sisters - saw improved organisation but poor gig.

Visit 3… straightaway arriving at the O2 things were much better. The staff know what they’re doing now and guests movement flows much better. The restaurants weren’t as packed as previous visits – everyone who wanted to eat could. Also at the end of the night the stampede to the Underground was much smoother. It was still a crush but it didn’t feel like a dangerous crush.

As for the gig I can now say that after 3 visits to the O2 there’s definitely something not right. The O2’s website makes claims of the best quality sound no matter where you sit. Apparently the arena has been designed with acoustics in mind – if that’s the case then the designer was tone deaf.

I first noticed it when Tom Jones hit the stage at the first gig – everything was very bass heavy, almost muffled and although I love good bass it shouldn’t be at the expense of vocals. The simple fact is that every time I have been to the Dome the vocals seem to get drowned out by very heavy bass. Compare that to the MEN Arena where everything sounded perfectly crystal clear and balanced – the bass was still there but the vocals surfed it perfectly.

The Scissor Sisters was the worst – I was at the back of the O2 arena for this gig and you could hardly hear what they were saying.

After three visits it’s now at the point were this is frustrating and for future gigs The O2 will be at the bottom of my list of preferred destinations. (Thankfully I have tickets for Kylie at the MEN next year which is probably my favourite arena.)

The gig itself was superb, I’ve never been a member of the Take That fan club. Sure Back For Good’s a nice song but as a Teen I found them all quite smug and annoying. Shine though caught my attention, I love it – it’s a near perfect pop song. (Though my suspicions that it’s similarities to ELO’s excellent Mr Blue Sky are deliberate were confirmed at the gig by them mixing it into Mr Blue Sky.) Anyway the interaction with the crowd was brilliantly relaxed and chatty unlike Scissor Sisters who felt a tad patronising. I was also extremely impressed with the excellent ‘Never Forget’ set piece featuring some very, very clever video synchronisation.

So Take That I you’ll be pleased to know I’ll now be shamelessly buying your album.

Quiet, Peaceful, Serene

So where’s your favourite place? If you could go anywhere in the world which destination would you chose? My dumb fear of flying limits my choices but it’s no matter because I wouldn’t need to travel far – just an hour or so North West.

I love Elan Valley in Wales. I love the way that, despite being heavily resculptured in the early 1900s the landscape seems so stunningly natural. You have these huge dams carving into the valley that should spoil things but the amazing Victorian architecture just works to make the area hauntingly beautiful.
I love the silence that seems to hang over the Valley. Admittedly if you visit on a Sunday the peace is disrupted by the plethora of bikers that are drawn to the windy roads but go another day of the week and you can be truly alone with nature.

The original dams were opened in 1904, built to supply Birmingham with fresh clean water and halt the spread of disease in the second City. The amazing thing is it all works by gravity, the water travels the 73 miles on a very gradual slope of 1 in 2,300 Could we build something so simple, so elegant and so sympathetic to the landscape yet so perfectly functional today? Worryingly I doubt it. Though the efforts of the newer dam, opened in 1952 do give me hope. It was built using totally different construction methods – the improvement of concrete technology meant that they could build a damn three times the size of the originals – but of course it wouldn’t look like the originals. What did the designers do to blend it in? The covered it in stone to echo the Victorian architecture of the originals. A lot of cost to serve no purpose other than aesthetics – something I doubt we’d justify today.

I’ve you’ve never been to Elan Valley I urge you to back your best camera and a packed lunch and head there as soon as possible to marvel at man made beauty – made in the days when we could build things on budget, on schedule and still have the finished product serve it purpose.

Mmmmm

Aside from the fact it looks mildly anal in origin how was the chocolate and chilli sauce? Suprisingly nice - initially you get a taste of sweetness which is blasted by the heat of the chillis in seconds. Too spicy for Miss Smeg but lip roastingly tasty for me!

Weird Flavours

Chocolate - good, chilli - good, but together?! What drugs were Asda executives on when they thought of putting those two flavours in one marinade? Perhaps it will work? Who knows? I will tell you after dinner!

Premature Illumination

Its November for fecks sake!

Heaven

Feeling Bookish

For the last 12 months I’ve deliberately avoided Star Trek novels. I went through a stage where it was all I read – which lead to books becoming samey. I wanted to challenge myself more and have tried to be far more diverse with reading material. I didn’t go totally cold turkey – I did read William Shatner’s autobiographies, though they were non-fiction so count as non- Star Trek in my eyes.

Although I haven’t kept a record of every book I’ve read here’s the ones that stand out.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins – while much of this fell in line with my beliefs I did find that Dawkins comes across as biased as the people he berates. I am atheist but I will, occasionally, entertain the idea that there may be some awesomely powerful entity somewhere in existence. Dawkins refuses to budge. Basically the first 100 pages are excellent, mid 100 waffle then end 100 gets back on track.

The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford - A few years ago I read ‘No Logo’ which was pretty much anti corporation. This takes the more positive view that I hold and the fascinating final chapter investigates whether sweatshops are actually the root of all evil they appear to be with surprising results.

Eats Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss - I love writing, I love the English language and I’m currently narked by the amount of people that refuse to use it properly. I hate text speak but I’m not a pedant. So while this did address some of my weaknesses with the mother tongue I doubt I will take the current corruption of grammar as seriously as this author.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming - It’s 8 years since I read the Bond novels and the time is right to revisit Fleming’s world, especially with a new novel on the way in 2008. A little older and more familiar with 007’s world than I was back in 1999 I enjoyed this much, much more. I love the care Fleming takes over description – especially food. Though rereading it you do get a taste of what a nasty bastard Fleming intended Bond to be.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling – A great end to a fantastic series, though ignore the epilogue because that’s shit.

Doctor Who: The Inside Story by Gary Russell - some fascinating insights however most of the word count seems to consist of crawling up Russell T Davies arse. Was disappointed by this one, for a much more rounded version of events try and track down Panini Comics far superior annual Doctor Who series companions.

The Young Bond Adventures by Charlie Hisgon. Bond’s youth told Harry Potter Stylee. Actually it’s a great concept and the first book, Silver Fin, is excellent and a true insight into the youth of the nations favourite superspy. However books 2-4 get progressively worse. Book 4, Hurricane Gold, is awful and could easily have been condensed to 100 pages. To sum up Bond is involved in a kidnapping, escapes kidnappers then gets caught up with them again fooling them into becoming one of the gang, escapes them, drives around a bit gets caught by one of the gang again, escapes him, gets caught by gang again then escapes them only to be trapped with the ring leader on an exclusive island… zzzzz. After all of the dumb running around there’s finally a good few chapters as Bond tries to escape the Island though it then seems to end too soon with little payoff to the tiesome running around of the main part of the book.

So what’s next on the booklist? Well a bit of Doctor Who in Forever Autumn, Dom Joly’s autobiography ‘Look At Me’, Belle De Jour’s Diary of A London Call Girl, The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki And Ian Fleming’s Live & Let Die.

Shiny Disk Debt

I’m an avid collector of DVD’s. These days I rarely watch TV instead choosing to stare any number of my DVDs. Family Guy, Simpsons, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek or Spooks are among my most watched and rewatched. In the last few years the price of Box Sets have tumbled meaning you can normally pick up a series of your favourite TV show for around £25. Unless you’re a fan of Doctor Who.

For some reason The BBC/2 Entertain New Doctor Who box sets are around £49.99 (RRP £69.99) – even Series One which has been out since 2005. Compare that to Series One of Battlestar Galactica, also released in 2005 which you can get for £14.99 (RRP £49.99)

How can the BBC continue to justify this gross overpricing? I’ve compared the first series of each show because they were released around the same time and have the same number of episodes. Things get worse when you compare the second series, also both released at similar times.

Doctor Who 2 14 Episodes £44.99 (RRP £69.99)
Battlestar Galactica 2 20 Episodes £17.99 (RRP £49.99)

Yep, even though Galactica has 6 more episodes you can pick it up £32 cheaper. How do the just released seasons 3 compare?

Doctor Who 3 14 Episodes £51.99 (RRP £69.99)
Battlestar Galactica 3 20 Episodes £37.99 (RRP £49.99)

So you get more Galactica for a lot less money. This pricing structure is even weirder when you consider the unique way the BBC is funded. Our licence fee goes towards TV production costs thus, technically we’ve already paid for the production of Doctor Who, the DVD price should just cover the DVD production costs, something that shouldn’t be anywhere near the expense of show production. Doesn’t this mean that Galactica should be more expensive? It’s produced by a commercial network, one that needs the DVD profits to pay for the production of the show.

I’m baffled by this I have just come to the conclusion that the BBC are screwing over Doctor Who fans for a fast profit. Cheers auntie…

Fourplay

And now it’s time for a totally unoriginal blog, one in the style that countless other blogs are going to be publishing today – a list of personal favourite Channel 4 shows. You see the station is 25 today, a quarter of a century of being the ‘Alternative’. Still, I’m slightly bitter about Channel 4, I still haven’t forgiven them for depriving me of my favourite morning call – for all of my teenage years (it started when I was 12) The Big Breakfast was the first thing I saw everyday – and I still miss it. Still, there’s a few other shows that I’ve watched religiously…

Spaced – The sitcom that was made for me. While most of the nation aspired to be like a certain six Manhatten mates it was the adventures of Tim Bisley and Daisy Syeiner that matched my lifestyle. The first show aired in the very first week I attended university and it was like staring at a looking glass of those tensions of living with weird strangers. Also the fact that Tim was an utter geek highlighted out similarities. One of the best sitcoms ever made, though news of a US version of the show this week has jangled my nerves.

Wanted – The gameshow that I thought, until today, no one else remembered. You can keep The Crystal Maze – this high-tech nationwide game of hide & seek was awesome. The final 60-second countdown as the teams were trapped in their telephone boxes every week was strangely simple but gripping TV.

Teachers – Another moment of synergy between Channel 4 and my life. Teachers aired at the time I was teaching. It shared the same disillusions with the profession and perfectly captured some of the staff room antics. Wasn’t the same when Kurt & Brian left though.

Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush – The best gameshow ever made. Fact.

Big Brother II – Ahh the summer of 2001, the summer of Brian, Bubble, Paul & Helen. This was the one Big Brother I really enjoyed and got addicted to. Shame that it’s been shit ever since.

Ultraviolet – For UK science ficton fans the 1990s was awful. Sure we had the X-Files, Buffy and Star Trek from the states but the UK seemed incapable of producing SF TV. We had the excellent Red Dwarf about once every 3 years and that was it (except for that awful BBC Invasion Earth crap). Then, towards the end of the 90s Channel 4 slipped this beauty in. Ultraviolet is simply one of the best science fiction series ever produced in the UK, it’s only recently been matched by the likes of Life On Mars. The premise was simple – a secret organisation battling Vampires, except they were never called vampires – they were Code V’s. Stylishly filmed and acted by the team that made This Life the series wasn’t afraid to tackle taboo subjects such as abortion and paedophilia (with an excellent twist!).

And while we’re on the subject of paedophilia what about THAT episode of Brass Eye. Pure genius which the media fell hook line and sinker for. Totally blind to the fact that the show was ripping apart the media/tabloid coverage of paedophilia and not the subject itself the media then ripped the show apart, and made themselves look like fools.

Then there’s the rest Father Ted, Gamesmaster, Trigger Happy TV, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Absolutely, and the American imports the station has brought us – Roasanne, Dark Skies & Home Improvement. Not to mention the occasional cracking documentary.

You’ll notice though that there’s nothing on my list since 2002. That’s because these days C4 just doesn’t seem to churn out the goodness like it once did. The mornings are shit since Lock Keepers Cottages closed its doors and evenings seem to be full of lifestyle and reality TV. (Hmm, odd wasn’t C4 supposed to be the alternative channel?) Then there’s The Simpsons which channel 4 have treated like a pile of crap. Big press coverage of the fact that they’d be bringing new episodes to terrestrial and what do we get? A screening of season 13 on Friday night for a few weeks only for the show to be placed into the 6pm slot showing the same old episodes that BBC 2 & Sky have been screening for years. Zzzzzzzzz.

Channel 4 needs to pull its finger out because at the moment it’s the other Channel 4 that’s got me hooked – BBC 4, the station that really does seem to air the alternative…

Big Bad Cuts

So the BBC announces cuts. Not surprising really. In the age of plummeting ratings across all channels money needs to be saved. What does surprise me is where the cuts are planned – news and factual.

This would be like McDonalds trying to save money by dropping hamburgers from its menu. The BBC is a world leader for news and factual content. It’s something it does best. It would make much more sense to drop TV programming that other channels can do just as well – take Strictly Come Dancing or Fame Academy for instance, ITV offer alternatives in the shape of X Factor and Dancing On Ice - both of which are just as good as the BBC shows. Same goes for all the home improvement and cookery programming – other networks provide similar content just as well.

While there are other news networks there’s something about the BBC ability to cover current affairs and live events that is just unmatched. It is this that the BBC should continue to invest in, not neglect. Same goes for it’s high quality drama. No one else, at least not in the UK, could produce the likes of Life On Mars or Doctor Who as well as Auntie does.

BBC 3 is another oddity. The Trust has pledged that BBC 3 & 4 will remain on air. Fair enough but what exactly is the point of BBC 3? It’s meant to be an entertainment channel aimed at young adults. With Dave, E4 and ITV 2 also around is BBC 3 really needed? Most of its shows end up on BBC 2 anyway. At least BBC 4 is justified by having intelligent content unmatched elsewhere.

The trust have said that more repeats will go towards saving money. Well in that case I’d suggest scrapping Three and turning it into a ‘BBC Gold’ if you will. Have that as your repeats channel with no new commissions. The money saved on shit like ‘Help Anthea, I’m Infested’ can then go towards better content on One & Two.

At least the BBC did something right this week – they’ve axed Hyperdrive, the woeful space sitcom. Daft that they’re investing in this when they’ve already got a vastly superior Sci-Fi comedy in the shape of Red Dwarf in their portfolio. Could the money saved from Hyperdrive go towards at least one more voyage of the Starbug crew? Either that or some support pants for Mr Wogan…

One Big Birthday

I was a latecomer to Radio One. It was Chris Evan’s breakfast show that drew me in to the happy happy sound when I was 16. Still it was refreshing to listen to a station that wasn’t spoiled by adverts every ten minutes and dared to play some different music rather than safe pop all day. Since 1996 I’ve listened to more Radio One. Chris Morris’s mid-90s stuff on there was pure genius. (Blue Jam, Jimmy Savile dieing and the infamous Stephen Hawking wanking broadcast.) Initially I loathed Mark & Lard but they and the Chris Moyles Show following them soon became must listens.

But something that the birthday celebrations on the station made me aware of was that Radio One has eras. Talk to people and they’ll have distinct ideas of what their Radio One sounded like.

The 60s saw the rebellious Radio One, fresh sounds for young people. In the 80s Radio 1 was cheesy. If anything distinctly unfashionable until Matthew Bannister’s infamous DJ cull. Now Radio One is the station trying desperately to be the cool but relaxed champion of new music.

There comes a time though when Radio One slips away from you. As the 40th birthday celebrations end I think the time is nigh on my listenership. Over the last few years I’ve noticed my dial drifting to other stations anyway. Radio 2 for a bit but more and more over to Six Music – the station that truly champions new music despite what Radio One claims.
Happy birthday One FM, I’ll still be listening though it may only be because my DAB radio is out of reach…