I'll Name That Tune . . . When I Get Round To It?!

It's Not Such A Bad Idea You Know . . .

Radio is a wonderful part of the media don't you think? Your trusty radio, whether it's a little portable or in your car, is a way of keeping you company when you're on your own or with a group of friends. To me, it's also way more intimate than the telly, not that I have anything against television. My wife and I listen a lot to radio online, as we like to listen to the radio in Great Britain. Whatever way you listen to it, radio is wonderful!

One way radio has served the public well is giving the public the chance to listen to music. Music on the radio has kept millions of people entertained all over the world for decades. In the USA there were the DJ's who became household names such as Murray The K, Dick Clark and Alan Freed to name but a few. They became people you felt you knew. It was the same in Great Britain.

Alan Freeman ( not arf ), Pete Murray, Brian Matthew . . . all early stars back home. Later, Terry Wogan, along with other BBC institutions such as John Peel, Dave Lee Travis, Mike Read . . . the list is endless. Today, Chris Evans (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chrisevans/)  Chris Moyles and Simon Mayo (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/simonmayo/)  are just a tiny few who keep the listeners of Great Britain entertained. They all have one thing in common. They talk to the listener.

For me, the production of a radio show is vitally important. It's key for any presenter to communicate with their listeners. It's important to make the listener feel like they're the only person in the world by talking with them, communicating in their own unique style. One important technical point to remember for any presenter, especially a music presenter, is to tell the listening public what it is they're listening to. Sounds simple doesn't it?

Yet it doesn't always appear to be the case. People are tuning in at different times during the day and may sometimes just catch the end of a tune and wonder "that's good, who is it?" If the presenter doesn't tell you who it is, you're left in that musical wilderness to the next time you hear a tune. It happened last year with us with Gogol Bordello (http://www.gogolbordello.com/) when we heard the wonderful tune "Pala Tute"; we were wondering what on earth it was because we loved the tune - still do - but couldn't quite make out the title. A good Google search was the only answer. Eventually we bought the CD, and were not disappointed.

I read a great article on this subject this week in the New York Times by Ben Sisario. To me it summed up the state of American Radio. There's more concern with advertising than the content of the show. We know someone who worked in local radio here in the Pioneer Valley and was told to keep the links between songs to approximately 30 seconds. The phrase missing the point was never more appropriate in my humble opinion. If the content is good then the listenership will grow, then as a result of that advertisers are more likely to be attracted to advertising on that show. I live in hope . . .

Now with the advent of listening online being more relevant than ever, this argument may not have the same validity. Certain stations we listen to are great at continually updating their website informing their listeners what's being played. However, the radio has not yet vanished. It's an important feature in any factory shop floor, office,shop or anywhere where a person doesn't have the ability to be glued to their smartphone!

When my wife and I were on Valley Free Radio (www.valleyfreeradio.org) we went out of our way to talk with the listener . . . explain who we were, what we were playing and information about the songs, along with having a laugh. If we couldn't show folks we were having fun then how could listeners have fun? The station's remit was to educate and entertain: we did both in a bloody good way!  

So DJ's, please talk with us as much as you can and inform us what's being played. You're advertising music that we may want to buy.

Enjoy your music however you listen to it,

Ed

The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast Video Memories

For "The Nightclub" video moment I've chosen a tune that we would have played had we still been on the air when it was out. I've already mentioned it - it's "Gogol Bordello" with "Pala Tute" performed live on Jools Holland's excellent BBC TV music show "Later With Jools Holland". It sums up our show in a nutshell - fun, different and a little bit quirky!

For "The Late English Breakfast" section the selected tune is one that Ralph Macchio and Karina Schmirnoff danced wonderfully to on a recent episode of "Dancing With The Stars" and one that I wish we could have played. The singer is the wonderful Paolo Nutini, who sounds like an Italian midfielder but is actually from Paisley in Scotland. It's a song that made the top 20 in the UK and has the excellent lyrics "food in ma belly and a licence for ma telly" - it's "Pencil Full Of Lead"  performed live on Jools Holland's great New Year's Eve show "Hootenanny"