Good Morning Everyone and Happy Weekend!
"Message in A Bottle" by The Police is on the radio now as I type this . . . what station's it on Ed? Well, it's BBC Radio 2. I'm listening to it online.
Linda and I often talk about the state of radio. Having been on the radio for 2 years we feel we can talk with a modicum of knowledge on the subject! Over here, everything seems to be compartmentalized . . . classic rock, talk, jazz, top 40, you name it, there's a radio station for it.
It's got like that back home. However, if my memory serves me right, the BBC has the lion's share of the audience. Yup, commerical radio takes a battering. The BBC is, to all intent and purpose, a state run organization. How does it win people's listening habits? In our opinion, it provides a great quality product.
It is funded by a Licence Fee. It is mandatory to pay the licence fee. For that, you get 4 tv channels, 7 national radio stations plus your local station and a website plus God knows what else. Guess what? You only have to pay it once a year or spread the payments out over 12 months! It's about 164 pounds a year. Good value for money we think.
It realizes that everyone doesn't like just one particular type of music. BBC Radio 2 is one of the most listened to stations in Europe. It plays such a variety of music and also offers quality documentaries on poplular music, films, books and comedy.
Most people have a varied taste in music. People like to listen to rock and roll, jazz, blues, 60's, and maybe hear something they've never heard before. That's what Linda and I tried to show when our show, "The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast" was on Valley Free Radio (http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/ ) for 2 years. We talked to the listeners and entertained and educated them about the songs and the artists.They don't want to be bombarded with commercials, or adverts as we Brits might say. Linda and I hit the mute button when an advert appears on the telly.
The quality of the programmers on the BBC are first rate. They realize that they need to be informed about what they play and the need to be entertaining is paramount. They prepare for their shows in such a way you have to admire them. Music shows are not 4 or 5 songs with hardly any introduction and then a shed load of adverts. In our opinion, this format of radio is lazy, pure and simple.
Radio is a wonderful medium. It is a source of entertainment, education, comfort and solace. It needs to be looked after.
Happy Listening and try a foreign radio station online sometime - preferably the BBC!
Eddie
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
What price music?
Hi everyone!
Today I read that Michael Franti is coming to Northampton this autumn. He'll be appearing at the Calvin Theatre. Checking the prices on The Ironhorse's website ( www.iheg.com ) I saw a price of $32.
Now in the broad scheme of things that's not too bad a price these days. My wife Linda and I have debated this subject relentlessly. We both love listening to music and we were once DJ's on Valley Free Radio.
It's always interesting to see what acts charge. There are times, in our opinion, when you see the price some so-called "acts" charge and you think to yourself ( or at least this Brit does ) "how the bloody hell can they justify charging that price???!!"
We've heard that there are still tickets to see Cyndi Lauper at Look Park available for this Sunday's gig. She's a big following still so you'd think she'd sell out the joint - right? Guess not - price really IS the determining factor these days.
That's been our mantra. We've found that if you box clever and stay relatively "local" ( I'm thinking The Ironhorse in particular ) you can get real value for money. One of the best nights we had there was when we saw Ian McClagan last November. There was just him and his guitarist. In case you don't know, Ian McClagan played keyboards for the Small Faces, The Faces, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and a whole host of people.
To our sadness, The Ironhorse wan't very full indeed. There hadn't appeared to be a great deal of promoting. However, those who did come were treated to an intimate night of solo music and classics from yesteryear. We met him afterwards and he posed for pictures and even signed his autobiography. He was and is a true gent!
In June we saw a man Van Morrison called "Britain's best kept secret" in action - the legend that is Mr James Hunter. It's the 2nd time we've seen him here in the Pioneer Valley. We've not been disappointed. We got to meet him once and quite honestly you couldn't meet a nicer bloke if you tried. He signed a poster for us - it's on the wall here in the spare bedroom at the Kennedy Compound - and his music is wonderful. It's classic soul of the highest order.
Fellow Brit and long term resident here in the Valley and Big Bad Bollocks lead singer John Allen said to us at the gig that he once thought when all the classic old soul singers of the 60's started to "pass over" who'd take their place? James Hunter that's who! John had never seen the man in action and was blown away. The music certainly wasn't "samey" as the reviewer from the Gazzette called it. Well, Linda, Bev,John and I don't think so - neither did a packed "Ironhorse"!I'll post pictures and a little video soon.
Talking of that establishment, one of the barmen is a friend of ours. He is a DJ on WMUA and used to be on before me on a Wednesday afternoon on WXOJ 103.3FM. I refer to S.J.Mack. His band "Stewart James and The Memphis Flyers" played at The Ashfield Lake House. What a great night. I'll post pictures on here soon.
So, stay local, choose wisely and you'll have a good night out! Trust me on that one!
Have fun,
Eddie
Today I read that Michael Franti is coming to Northampton this autumn. He'll be appearing at the Calvin Theatre. Checking the prices on The Ironhorse's website ( www.iheg.com ) I saw a price of $32.
Now in the broad scheme of things that's not too bad a price these days. My wife Linda and I have debated this subject relentlessly. We both love listening to music and we were once DJ's on Valley Free Radio.
It's always interesting to see what acts charge. There are times, in our opinion, when you see the price some so-called "acts" charge and you think to yourself ( or at least this Brit does ) "how the bloody hell can they justify charging that price???!!"
We've heard that there are still tickets to see Cyndi Lauper at Look Park available for this Sunday's gig. She's a big following still so you'd think she'd sell out the joint - right? Guess not - price really IS the determining factor these days.
That's been our mantra. We've found that if you box clever and stay relatively "local" ( I'm thinking The Ironhorse in particular ) you can get real value for money. One of the best nights we had there was when we saw Ian McClagan last November. There was just him and his guitarist. In case you don't know, Ian McClagan played keyboards for the Small Faces, The Faces, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and a whole host of people.
To our sadness, The Ironhorse wan't very full indeed. There hadn't appeared to be a great deal of promoting. However, those who did come were treated to an intimate night of solo music and classics from yesteryear. We met him afterwards and he posed for pictures and even signed his autobiography. He was and is a true gent!
In June we saw a man Van Morrison called "Britain's best kept secret" in action - the legend that is Mr James Hunter. It's the 2nd time we've seen him here in the Pioneer Valley. We've not been disappointed. We got to meet him once and quite honestly you couldn't meet a nicer bloke if you tried. He signed a poster for us - it's on the wall here in the spare bedroom at the Kennedy Compound - and his music is wonderful. It's classic soul of the highest order.
Fellow Brit and long term resident here in the Valley and Big Bad Bollocks lead singer John Allen said to us at the gig that he once thought when all the classic old soul singers of the 60's started to "pass over" who'd take their place? James Hunter that's who! John had never seen the man in action and was blown away. The music certainly wasn't "samey" as the reviewer from the Gazzette called it. Well, Linda, Bev,John and I don't think so - neither did a packed "Ironhorse"!I'll post pictures and a little video soon.
Talking of that establishment, one of the barmen is a friend of ours. He is a DJ on WMUA and used to be on before me on a Wednesday afternoon on WXOJ 103.3FM. I refer to S.J.Mack. His band "Stewart James and The Memphis Flyers" played at The Ashfield Lake House. What a great night. I'll post pictures on here soon.
So, stay local, choose wisely and you'll have a good night out! Trust me on that one!
Have fun,
Eddie
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