Kids love noise and we were no exception. At least in Thessaloniki late ’60’s-early ’70’s we were lucky to have as our high school music teacher Tassos Pappas, one of the best choral conductors in Greece. I think this gentle and patient person helped our gang to explore music to a greater extend  than expected. Teenagers are prone to revolt and in our case, living the first years of the military suppression of the Greek colonels Junta, rock was the way to express our disobedience.

I apologize if I forget some friends who contributed in the formation of our evolving group and I invite them to contribute to make this post more interesting. During the winter of 1970 we decided to form our first group. Thanassis was playing the guitar, Akis the base, Makis and the slightly older Costas the drums – the only vacancy was for the singer, something that I accepted reluctantly -Armando had both a better voice and a natural performing ease, but being a boarder at school he could not follow our rehearsal schedule. We called ourselves ELECTRIC ANGELS for a short time and then changed to Thanassis proposal, becoming the UNDERDOG.

Τα παιδιά λατρεύουν τον σαματά κι’εμείς δεν αποτελούσαμε εξαίρεση. Τουλάχιστον στην Θεσσαλονίκη, τέλη του ‘60 -αρχές του ‘70 είχαμε την τύχη να είναι δάσκαλός μας της μουσικής ο Τάσος Παππάς, ένας απο τους καλύτερους διευθυντές χορωδείας στην Ελλάδα. Πιστεύω πως αυτός ο χαρισματικός άνθρωπος, βοήθησε στο να αναζητήσει η παρέα μας την έκφραση μέσα από την μουσική.
Οι έφηβοι έχουν την επανάσταση στο αίμα τους και στην περίπτωσή μας, ζώντας τα πρώτα χρόνια της καταπίεσης από την χούντα των συνταγματαρχών, εκφράζαμε την ανυπακοή μας με την ροκ.
Ζητώ συγγνώμη αν ξεχνώ κάποιους φίλους που συνέβαλαν στην εξέλιξη του συγκροτήματος και τους καλώ να με συμπληρώσουν, έτσι ώστε η αναφορά αυτή να γίνει πιό ενδιαφέρουσα. Τον χειμώνα του 1970, αποφασίσαμε να φτιάξουμε το πρώτο μας συγκρότημα. Θανάσης Ζλατάνος κιθάρα, Άκης Βουλκίδης μπάσο, Μάκης Πασιάς εναλλασόμενος με τον Κώστα Μαλαματίνα ντράμς – αυτό που έλειπε ήταν ο τραγουδιστής, ρόλο που επιφυλακτικά ανέλαβα εγώ, καθώς ο Αρμάνδος Απικιάν τραγουδούσε καλύτερα, συνδυάζοντας και άνετη σκηνική παρουσία, αλλά όντας οικότροφος στο σχολείο, ήταν αδύνατον να έρχεται στις πρόβες. Για ένα σύντομο διάστημα αυτοονομαστήκαμε ELECTRIC ANGELS, αλλά στην συνέχεια υιοθετήσαμε την πρόταση του Θανάση και γίναμε οι UNDERDOG.

Apart from the inevitable influence from the international groups, we were admiring two older musician friends, Giannis Kantzos & Terry Papadinas.(It was a pleasure to listen his 2009 “Mexican Blanket”). Many interesting groups emerged to claim the fame of the established OLYMPIANS, but most of them were short-lived like the BLOW-UP and the FRATELLI to name some, but to my memory the multimember MACEDONOMAHI (Macedonian Fighters) were at an enviable higher level.

Most concerts were given either at discos or at cinemas, often on Sunday morning in order to allow more kids to attend. Here is a poster of such a concert; the cartoon underdog was sketched by the dear friend & famous cartoonist Costas Mitropoulos.

Εκτός απο τις αναπόφευκτες επιρροές απο τα ξένα συγκροτήματα, θαυμάζαμε 2 μεγαλύτερους φίλους μουσικούς, τον Γιάννη τον Καντζό και τον Θόδωρο Παπαντίνα ( με μεγάλη ικανοποίηση άκουσα το πρόσφατο τραγούδι του”Mexican Blanket”). Πολλά νέα συγκροτήματα εμφανίζονταν προσπαθώντας να διεκδικήσουν μέρος από την φήμη των OLYMPIANS, αλλά τα περισσότερα απο αυτά είχαν σύντομη ζωή, όπως οι BLOW-UP και οι FRATELLI π.χ, αλλά για ‘μένα οι πολυμελείς ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΟΜΑΧΟΙ (λίγο αργότερα ίσως) ήταν το γκρουπ που πραγματικά με εντυπωσίασε, με επίπεδο διεθνές θα μπορύσα να πω – άραγε, δεν υπάρχει καμμιά ηχογράφησή τους;
Οι περισσότερες συναυλίες γινόντουσαν σε ντισοτεκ ή κινηματογράφους, συχνά Κυριακές πρωί για να μπορούν να έρχονται ευκολότερα παιδιά. Σας δείχνω μιάν αφίσα τέτοιας συναυλίας, όπου το σκίτσο του σκύλου- Underdog, έχει κάνει ο αγαπητός φίλος και γνωστός γελειογράφος Κώστας Μητρόπουλος.

Unfortunately 2 years later, my family moved back to Athens, leaving behind my friends & Underdog that reached maturity under Thanassis Zlatanos guidance. Thanassis by the way is the only member of our group still active in music, with his group NEKROPOLIS who gave us this song in memory of Alexis killing last year. For me, there was no group participation apart from an occasional highschool session like in the shot below, with Nico Lyras on the guitar and not visible John Skouloudis on the drums.

Δυστυχώς, 2 χρόνια αργότερα, μετακομίσαμε οικογενειακώς στην Αθήνα, αφήνοντας πίσω τους φίλους μου, τα κορίτσια και τους UNDERDOG, που με τον Θανάση επι κεφαλής ξεχώρισαν. Ο Θανάσης Ζλατάνος, είναι τελικά ο μόνος απο το συγκρότημα που παραμένει μουσικά ενεργός και δημιουργικός με το συγκρότημά του NEKROPOLIS (μας έδωσανπρόσφατα κι’ένα τραγούδι στη μνήμη του αδικοσκοτωμένου Αλέξη Γρηγορόπουλου), αλλά και με πολλές άλλες ενδιαφέρουσες συνεργασίες.
Όσο για ‘μένα, μόνο περιστασιακά τραγούδησα με φίλους για λίγο καιρό ακόμα, όσο η φωνή μου διατηρούσε την όποια φόρμα ειχε αποκτήσει την περίοδο των UNDERDOG. Απο μια τέτοια εκδήλωση, είναι η τελευταία φωτο, με τον Νίκο Λύρα κιθάρα, Δημήτρη Τσολάκη μπάσο και αθέατο στα ντράμς τον Μ.Ε.- Γιάννη Σκουλούδη.

Thinking over, I consider myself blessed to have some good musicians friends (yes there are some more…)

Τώρα που το σκέφτομαι, θεωρώ τυχερό τον εαυτό μου έχοντας φίλους μερικούς καλούς μουσικούς (ναί, υπάρχουν μερικοί ακόμα…)
Για να δείτε λεπτομέρειες, θυμίζω πως πρέπει να πατήσετε πάνω στο Αγγλικό κείμενο

You know my feelings about the BBC.  They are the world’s greatest broadcaster, BUT, they know it and they abuse their power.  Why oh why should they be allowed to spend licence fee payers’ money on commercial advertising for instance (eg The Chris Moyles Show) instead of spending it on programmes.

So, now they are getting TOO successful on digital.  What’s the solution?

I’ll tell you what.  Cut the one fucking station that I love.  Yes BBC 6 is purported to be for the chop (allegedly).  It’s subject to the findings of a BBC Trust review early next year.

Great.  That’s covered by other channels they say.  Which channels exactly. Radio 2?  Don’t make me laugh.

BBC 6 is the absolute bastion of contemporary music quality.  Brilliant presenters who love music (often performing it themselves) playing music that people who love music love.

You know what.

It stinks.

Radio 1 now, that’s irreplaceable isn’t it.  After all nothing on earth compares to Chris Moyles and Scott Mills.  Those bastions of broadcasting brilliance.

Get a grip BBC.  Use your brains for once.  Now that we have classic FM, do we need BBC3?  Now that there are a million popular music stations do we need Radio 1?

Although I would like to start the music posts with our teenagers group, Thanassis is crawling in providing some extra info, so I will begin with our US-based friends Nico Lyras of Cotton Row Recording and Vicki Loveland. I do not regret and neither you will. They are far more interesting than a bunch of teenaged punks monkeying around.

Enjoy the video: Δείτε το βίντεο

Θα προτιμούσα να ξεκινήσω την κατηγορία της μουσικής  με το εφηβικό μας συγκρότημα, όμως επειδή ο Θανάσης ο αρχηγός του συγροτήματος καθυστερεί να μου δώσει υλικό, ξεκινώ με τους αγαπημένους μας φίλους τον Νίκο Λύρα και την Βίκη Λόβλαντ. Σας διαβεβαιώ πως τελικά βγαίνετε κερδισμένοι. Όσο κι’αν συναισθηματικά είμαι δεμένος με τις πρώτες μας μουσικές προσπάθειες, εδώ έχουμε να κάνουμε με 2 κορυφαίους και ολοκληρωμένους μουσικούς.

Mark is in todays hotseat, and getting back to his big hair guitar widdley days….

I did a stupid thing the other day, i bought a cd called purple rainbows containing a handful of songs i knew i had loved when i was 13. Now i still like Deep Purple, he is a hellishly widdly git but you know somewhere in my heart is the 13 year old who first heard guitars in a song and liked to hear them play tastelessly pointless solos and it was the gleeful 13 year old in me who hid the cd amongst ‘Can’ and ‘devo’ and the other cds as i approached the counter, in one of my regular trips to Fopp, where i go to buy something and always walk out with 10 cds, none of them being the bloody one which drove me into the trap in the first place.

I got the cds home and then obviously had to play a sample from each, i was very excited at hearing some of the songs on the cd, but total disappointment, total heartcrushing disappointment, but then mirth, wow, Rainbow really aren’t as i remember them. Sure enough there was widdle and lots of unnecessary wailing but it sounded empty and frankly a bit cack.

So fast forward two weeks and imagine my surprise to turn on the radio when i got home from a hard day at the coalface to be met by news of the heavy metal world cup on BBC 6 music. Again the little(r) 13 year old in me awoke with glee, waiting to hear which bands would take part and await their songs on the radio, never understood this, but why do songs always sound more exciting on the radio? answers on a postcard.

The format was a knockout, with bands randomly selected from a hat and then an expert at 6, a bloke from classic rock mag nd a listener vote, all having equal say.  The first rounds saw the loss of Zeppelin and shock horror Rainbow, i clearly am not the only one, and band after band of hairy metallers (Purple, Saxon, Dio, Judus Priest, Metallica, Motorhead et al) were tossed aside like a worn leather cod piece until we had the mother of all finals, the godfathers of metal Sabbath versus the young(er) pretenders Iron Maiden. It was tense, i was searching, nay scouring my cd racks for my sabbath album, which only plays 3 songs now, it would appear we were done in the advertising and cds don’t last forever, the swines!

As for the result, now i’m not saying it was a fix as Bruce Dickenson works on 6 but….

The Jon Richardson Show on BBC 6 Music is currently one of the best shows on the radio at the moment, in my humble opinion.

Jon’s slightly irascible but always funny banter is always a pleasure to listen to, and I try to catch as much of his show as I can every Sunday morning from ten till one. He used to present the show with Russell Howard from TV’s Mock the Week, but he went solo a year or so ago and the show’s gone from strength to strength ever since.

Check out his website for more information.

The BBC has announced that it will add another regular radio slot with someone from a musical background in the new year: Jarvis Cocker will be given a Sunday afternoon slot on 6 Music. Nice.

For a number of years now there has been a lot of hand-wringing at the commercial broadcasters’ over how to fund quality TV programming in a shrinking advertising market. I know this because I read the papers, but also because I have a friend who works for Channel 4,  and our conversation often swings around to this very subject after she’s had a few glasses of wine down the pub. Changing viewing habits, on-demand TV, PVRs, internet services, YouTube, the increase in the number of channels available to the consumer – they’re all whittling away at once mighty advertising revenue figures, and leaving broadcasters scratting around in the dirt for cheap (and in my opinion often dirty) TV.

Nothing you don’t already know there.

Against this backdrop, I noticed a piece in the Guardian on Wednesday (23rd September 2009) about the BBCs ‘arrogance’. It stated: ‘Meanwhile, the BBC is under siege from commercial competitors who argue that its dominance is distorting the market at a time when they are struggling to survive one of the most serious advertising downturns for generations’ and later: ‘Murdoch…used a landmark speach…to call for a “far far smaller” BBC’. You can read the full article here.

Well, hang on just a minute. Yes it is the worst advertising downturn for generations – but it’s not a temporary blip, it’s a long-term decline caused by changing technologies. It’s not going to get better fast. And I for one thank the lord that the BBC is at least somewhat insulated from its effects. After all, isn’t the licence fee a revenue stream? And doesn’t it work? Don’t we get four channels (and extras such as cbeebies, HD and News) of quality programming, a web resource second to none, and to crown it all the mighty iPlayer for only £140 odd a year? How good is that? Frankly Murdoch, if a ’smaller BBC’ means losing out on innovations like the iPlayer, or the total awesomeness that is Radio 6 Music, you can stuff it. I’ll happily pay my £12 a month.

It also begs the question as to why other countries don’t adopt a similar model. I’m no expert in global broadcasting trends, but I had a conversation with a Canadian friend of mine who has been living in the UK for a few years now who was amazed at the quality of the BBC and by just how much we got for our money. I wonder whether it would make sense for  other nations to think about safeguarding their national broadcasting heritage by pumping in a bit of state cash. After all, what’s good for the banks…

Image thanks to fatcontroller

[Car interior - grainy fixed shot from POV of gear stick. Driver concentrating on road, windscreen wipers going, etc.]

Drive Time Radio voice-over:
More than a third of motorists who took part in a survey said they had become seriously distracted when driving, by changing compact discs, fiddling with sat-navs and using mobile phones.

Driver [Looking at radio incredulously]:
More than a third? That’s a load of shieeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaahhh!

[Smacks into car in front. Airbag balloons. Gets shunted from behind. FX breaking glass and angry shouts off, etc, etc...]

We’re showing out…on Tom Robinson’s BBC Introducing: Fresh On The Net show on BBC 6 Music tomorrow/early Monday morning.

BBC Introducing: Fresh On the Net with Tom Robinson
Sun night/Mon morning 24th August 2009  01:00 – 03:00
————————————————————
KID COSMIC – Drown the Sky
http://www.myspace.com/kidcosmic

J-TREOLE – Funny Things
http://www.myspace.com/jtreole

TEAM MODELISTE – Pirate
http://www.myspace.com/modeliste

TREVOR MOSS & HANNAH-LOU – Concorde
http://www.myspace.com/trevormossandhannahlou

6 Music UNSIGNED
GOLAU GLAU – Virtual Boy
http://www.myspace.com/golauglau

THE KEMISTRY – The Core (feat MODULOK)
http://www.myspace.com/thekemistrymusic

ONE ESKIMO – Givin’ up
http://www.myspace.com/oneeskimo

CHINESE GOBLIN FACTORY – Die, Moe Koo
http://www.myspace.com/ChineseGoblinFactory

INTERVIEW – CO-FOUNDERS OF FESTIBELLY TOM BOARDLEY and ANDY BELL

MICACHU – Calculator
http://www.myspace.com/micayomusic

BROKEN SPINDLES – Introvert
http://www.myspace.com/brokenspindles

GEMMA RAY – Fist of a Flower
http://www.myspace.com/gemmaraymusic

SESSION TRACK
THE PHANTOM BAND – The Howling
http://www.myspace.com/thephantombandpage

THE LOCALS – Can’t Keep it Inside
http://www.myspace.com/thelocalsblackpool

JOSIE LLOYD – Lips Would Meet
http://www.myspace.com/josielloydkorasongs

BOBBY FRICTION TIP
BEATWALA – Dumbo’s Ginger Beer
http://www.myspace.com/beatwala

GET OUT CLAUSE – Technocolour
http://www.myspace.com/getoutclause

LISTENER ON THE LINE – RACHEL LANE in DEVON
JAMES HOLLINGSWORTH – Way Down South
http://www.jameshollingsworth.com

BLACK SATURN VS.SUBDUXTION – Metalman Speaks
http://www.reverbnation.com/blacksaturnsubduxtion

RUTH BARNES TIP 1
SLEEP THIEVES – Osumi
http://www.myspace.com/wearesleepthieves

RUTH BARNES TIP 2
DINKY – Ceramik
http://www.myspace.com/dinkydj

SHOTOKAN DISCO – Astronaut
http://www.shotokandisco.blogspot.com

ARCHITECTS OF GRACE – Hot White Sun
http://www.architectsofgrace.com

THE SCHOLARS – Turbulence
http://www.myspace.com/thescholarsuk

SESSION TRACK
THE PHANTOM BAND – Folk Song Oblivion
http://www.myspace.com/thephantombandpage

MARK WOODS – Keep Falling
http://www.myspace.com/markwoodsofjc

————————————————————
SHOW INFO
————————————————————
You can listen to the show online either live or via Listen Again for 7 days after transmission via the links at http://www.bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing

Thank you to the BBC 6 Music people for letting Golau Glau chatter nervously on the radio.

And hello if you heard us talking and the legend that is Steve “Lammo” Lamacq playing ‘Virtual Boy’. He sounds in phone life like he does on the radio, it’s like talking to God.

Listen Again until Friday evening.

We’re the unsigned band of the week this week on Steve Lamacq’s BBC 6 Music show, if you tune in at 6.15pm (BST) tonight you will hear something to this effect and an interview with one of the Golau Glau collective.

Ever fancied singing ‘I will survive’ disco style with an entire backing (BIG) band of fine-tuned ukuleles? Here’s your chance… with KaraUke! (Ukulele Karaoke, to the uninitiated)

We provide the words, the music and backing vocals (should you need them)

See our menu; we do everything from Abba/The Beatles/Blur to The Undertones/Van Morrison/The Village People. We love it! So will you!!!

If you’d like a chat or a jam, drop us a line – bookings@KaraUke.net

A small group of campaigners took part in a silent disco outside the Astoria in central London in a bid to get more information about the venue’s replacement.

The Astoria shut its doors for the last time in January after a £16 billion Crossrail development finally got the green light.

The deal included guarantees that a venue of similar size would be built in central London to make up for the loss of one of the capital’s best loved music venues.

Facebook groups and a petition have been set up to pressure Westminster Council and Crossrail into announcing who will be responsible for the new build.

Despite their attempts to find out more information, protest organiser India Walker told 6 Music they’re being kept in the dark:

“We’re going to keep writing to Boris Johnson and Crossrail and Westminster Council until we find out who is responsible because they each are saying each other. 

“We’re going to bug them until we get a similar venue built.”

Organisers were probably hoping for a larger turnout for the Astoria’s final send off, but perhaps the hail, rain and higher profile G20 protests in Hyde Park took some potential silent disco-ers away.

One protestor told 6 Music why she was there, “I came down, just to remind myself of what good times I had within this building. It’s a shame that it’s going in its entirety, I was hoping they would keep some of the front.”

Another added, “I think we haven’t got sufficient information about what’s going on.”

A police riot van and some security fencing were on stand by, however, the protest was peaceful with campaigners handing out flyers and dancing to the sounds coming from their MP3 players.

Rather fittingly, it was a silent goodbye to a now silent venue.

See original article here

Brian Clough has been in the papers a lot recently. Cloughy passed away in Spetember 2004, but recently England seems to have rekindled the flame of love for old Brian. Although never forgotten, Brian Clough, the best manager England never had, is big news again…

The itv documentary, called simply ‘Clough’ aired on March 25th, and today, March 27th, the film based on his 44 day spell managing the club he hated most, Leeds, is released. The film is suitably called ‘The Damned United.’ So Brian Clough is big business once again, but why are we still interested in the man? Probably because he was arguably one of the best goal scorers in England and the world not just for his time but for all time. He then transferred his genius on the pitch, to the genius management style he adopted and became one of the most successful managers too.

Lets have a look at some facts as to why the man is still loved by thousands and respected by more:

• Brian Clough scored 251 goals in 274 league games for Middlesborough and Sunderland…an unbelieveable record by any standards.
• An awful knee injury ended his playing career, rather than trying to be a pundit, Clough went straight into management when he took over Hartlepool United at age 30.
• When he took over Derby county he took them to two successive titles in the second and first divisions of the English league and also reached the semis of the European League.
• When he was relieved of his duties at Leeds he gave the statement, ‘This is a terrible day…for Leeds United’ which was so typically dead pan of Clough and probably put a few smiles on the faces of the Derby fans.
• The ‘Green Jumper’ when the tatty trademark green jumper was donned, people knew Brian Clough meant business.
• NOTTINGHAM FORREST. Clough managed the reds from 1975 to 1993 and won both European cups, league titles and league cups with the side.

It is with Forrest that Clough truly became one with the club, and Nots fans are still amongst some of the most passionate in the game, thanks to Clough. In fact, one of my favourite radio shows on 6 music, ‘The Jon Richardson Show’ is home to a huge nots fan and he constantly talks about Clough and man management. You can find him on twitter as mattforde, but he mostly tweets about food. You should really check out the show on Sundays at 10-1 on 6 music on DAB digital Radio. I’ll be watching ‘The Damned United’ at the cinema soon. Will you?

Warp Records reveals Electronic pioneer’s new record is on the way

13 March 2009 – Experimental wizard Aphex Twin is notoriously reclusive when it comes to his music but 6 Music can reveal his new album’s in the works.

Steve Beckett, founder of Aphex’s parent label Warp Records, exclusively said: “We’re definitely going to be putting out a new album by him. Hopefully it will be this year, if I can prise it out of his hands. It’s definitely on its way.”

Recently Warp has brought us music by the likes of Jamie Lidell, Squarepusher as well as bands like !!!, Grizzly Bear and Maximo Park.

It is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with several big gigs in London, New York Tokyo and Paris and have already revealed that Richard James, better known as Aphex Twin, will be playing a show in the French Capital on 9 May.

His last release was in April 2006, titled Chosen Lords, a compilation of the Analord material.

“Hopefully it will be this year, if I can prize it out of his hands. It’s definitely on its way.”
Warp Records founder

Speaking about working with the influential artist, Beckett said: “He’s got his own unique view on life and obviously he’s just a genius musician and artist and it’s brilliant to work with him. He’s a genuine, English eccentric.”

However, the new material will be kept firmly under wraps until late in the recording process, continued Beckett.

“I don’t know a single note or anything about it,” he explained. “It will be as much of a surprise to me as anyone else.

“Basically I find out what it sounds like when we go into the mastering room and he puts it – well how it used to be, he’ll put the DAT player in and there it’ll be – so that’s the first time I’ll hear it.

“Then I’ll go onto my knees and thank him and then we’ll put it out.”

Speaking about the forthcoming shows, Beckett said he is thrilled with the final Paris line-up: “The big coup there is getting Aphex Twin to play so that was the one that we were really excited to pin down.”

Oh and let us not forget this quote from about 1997

“I really don’t use my tank much nowadays because it’s not where I live. It’s around my parents. I was in it a month ago.”

Source: BBC

Don’t you just hate it when that happens? A portion of, or possibly a whole song gets stuck in your head on repeat, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s not just you – it is a well known phenomenon and there have been many studies conducted on the condition – it has also been termed less snappily by neurologist Oliver Sacks as ‘involuntary musical imagery’.

Apparently some people are more susceptible than others, but most people have been afflicted by it at one time or other.

But none of these academic studies have answered the most pertinent question about the earworm: ‘Why is it it never a good song?’. It’s invariably some irritating cheesy pop monstrosity from the ’80’s, a nauseating soft rock ballad or the latest anodyne dance music track to feature on a far more forgettable TV advert.

I don’t ever remember having a really great song stuck in my head, it’s always been something I would never have chosen to listen to in the first place – an alien invader burrowing its way into my brain and destroying my musical taste one vapid chorus at a time.

I have no data to back this up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the earworm hadn’t become far more prevalent in the past couple of years. This would be thanks to the baffling popularity of polyphonic ringtones and that weapon of mass distraction, the mobile phone that ‘comes with music’.

So, what can we do about it? Admit defeat and spend needless painful hours humming tunes we wouldn’t be seen dead downloading. Or do we decide to fight?

There is no known cure, but apparently some medications that are used to treat obsessive complusive disorder can alleviate the symptoms of earworms. So, if you are one of those poor unfortunates who are slaves to alphabeticising their CDs (see yesterday’s post) you might just have the answer within your grasp.

For those of us without access to such remedy, I would suggest that there are a few precautions we can take, which though unlikely to cure, may at least reduce the amount of earworm incidents we suffer. They are:

• Carry your ipod or other mp3 player with you at all times and create an ‘antidote playlist’ stuffed full of killer tunes, the likes of which you’d be happy to have in your head all day;
• Avoid listening to breakfast shows on all commercial and local radio stations on your way to work. Choose your own tunes or stick to 6 music on DAB;
• Don’t travel on public transport without noise-cancelling headphones;
• Learn to hum several of your favourite songs – you can then hum loudly as a counteractive measure should an earworm incident ensue;
• Avoid colleagues with poor musical taste and the habit of whistling the last song they heard on their car radio and/or bursting into song whenever anyone says anything that reminds them of a song lyric;
• Insert an earwig/small spider/bee/pencil into your ear, in order to take your mind off the offending song.

This is not a definitive list, but just a few suggestions to be getting on with. Whilst the first three are valuable life lessons that we would do well to adhere to in any case, the last one might be a step too far for many of us.

Mind you, it’s all relative: faced with the choice between an indefinite repetition of Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothin” or a perforated eardrum, I might just risk the pencil!

The Big Issue and Gigantic team up to help homeless through ticket sales

Today saw the launch of The Big Ticket Shop, an online ticketing service provided by The Big Issue magazine and independent ticket agency, Gigantic.

The collaboration will mean gig-goers can buy tickets for events, such as Sonisphere, Hard Rock Calling and Blur directly from the magazine’s website.

Publisher, Lisa Woodman told 6 Music how the ticket shop will work: “20% of the booking fee will come to The Big Issue, so simultaneously to purchasing your ticket, you are also helping the homeless to help themselves.

“The money raised from this project will go into The Big Issue pot, which helps to maintain the social enterprise.”

Established by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in 1991, The Big Issue gives homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income by selling the weekly magazine.

Gigantic already donate 10% of their profits to Oxfam and company director, Mark Gasson told 6 Music how they feel about The Big Ticket Shop: “We’re really excited about it, all of our dealings with The Big Issue have been really positive.

“They’re forward thinking people. We like to think of ourselves as being the same and we just hope it can be a fruitful partnership.”

Gasson also explained the thinking behind the project: “When we were setting up the business, we wanted to really set ourselves apart from some of the other ticket agencies.

“We thought this was one way that we could really distinguish and lay down a marker as to what Gigantic’s all about.”

See original article on BBC

The Strokes drummer announces recording plans for next album

After a three year hiatus, The Strokes have confirmed they’ll start work on their fourth album in February. 

Since 2006’s First Impressions Of Earth, several of the band members have been busy working on side projects, leading to rumours of a split. 

Bassist Nikolai Fraiture hinted the band would record another album when he spoke to 6 Music back in October, but fresh from a performance with Little Joy in the hub, drummer Fabrizio Moretti confirmed the news. 

“I have to go back to New York to work with The Strokes for the next record in February,” he explained.

“Hopefully time will lay itself down, not linearly, but in a mesh form so that I can slip through the holes and come down to the Little Joy timeline and jump back up to The Strokes timeline.”

Fabrizio said it was too early to describe how the album will sound: “Julian has started writing and Nick has got some material as well. 

“We’re the kind of band that it’s not finished until everyone’s in one room and everyone’s got their parts perfectly. We’re a very mechanical band.”

The band will begin work next month, but Fabrizio couldn’t say when fans would be able to hear the new material: “It might be in a couple of months, it might be in a year.”

See original article on 6 Music

Outselling Coldplay, MGMT and Kings Of Leon isn’t enough for chart success

Unsigned London band, The Boxer Rebellion, have seen their chances of crashing into the top ten of the album charts dashed.

Despite outselling Coldplay, MGMT and Kings Of Leon on iTunes, the band can’t enter the Official UK Chart because they couldn’t afford to release a physical version of their album Union.

Rules state that while digital only singles can enter the charts, albums are not eligible unless they have an accompanying physical release.

HMV spokesman, Gennaro Castaldo says: “The rules are under review and in time everything tends to change, once it’s felt that they need to reflect a different reality.”

‘Disappointed’

Speaking to 6 Music, bass player Adam Harrison said: “We weren’t aware of the rules until we actually released the album online.

“It’s something we’re a little disappointed with and our fans are upset by, but isn’t too big a deal for us. We’re just excited about how many albums we’ve sold on iTunes.
 
“There’s something to be said about discovering a band for yourself and forming your own opinion. I think a lot of people are downloading the album and having that sense, which is hard to come by these days.”

‘You need luck’

The band gained notoriety after bagging a free single of the week slot on iTunes.

Drummer Piers Hewitt admitted: “It was lucky…but you need luck.”

The exposure saw sales of Union rocket, putting it in the top ten of the alternative iTunes chart in the UK and the US.

Hewitt explained: “We’ve had no campaign, we haven’t had radio, we haven’t had press. So we haven’t been forced down people’s throats, like most major new releases.

“I think the music’s just spoken for itself. That’s why it’s selling.”

‘Relief’

The band say they feel, “relief rather than excitement,” about recent events.

Harrison told 6 Music: “We only ever had enough money to just about record the album and survive. All doing part-time jobs at the same time, so it took a while.

“It’s been so long making it, I can’t even remember if I sing backing vocals on any of it.

“It went out to the various industry people in the UK, it wasn’t picked up and eventually we came to the decision to do the iTunes thing.”

The Boxer Rebellion start a three date UK tour at Dingwalls in Camden on 10 March before playing several shows in Germany.

See original article on BBC 6 Music

“I Wonder Why?”  By The Heart Throbs

Problems, they say,  often come in threes , so here I give you three troublesome situations, I offer no solutions, but I do offer a possible explanation.

Problem 1. 6 Music : There are many people who subscribe to the view that the BBC’s digital radio station, 6 music, once a beacon of innovative broadcasting that illuminated the turbid sea of dreary corporate playlist radio,  just isn’t cutting the mustard anymore. They feel the introduction of “personality DJ’s” (ironically devoid of any personality) has led to 6 music becoming  just another radio station.

Problem 2. The NME: It has been said that “the NME”, once the UK ’s most respected and much loved musical journal, combining cutting edge music with stylish witty reviews is now little more than a vaguely alternative “Hello” style celebrity magazine, with music as its backdrop. Many actually believe it stopped being of any relevance some years ago.

Problem 3 . East Enders: The rumblings of discontent from regular viewers of popular UK soap East Enders are growing ever louder, like the presage to a great storm !   Fans feel that it has descended into overwrought farce, with storylines that lack wit, guile or direction. Furthermore, they feel that the inhabitants of Albert Square are little more than two dimensional stereotypes, a heartbeat away from donning pearly king and queen outfits before breaking out into an impromptu “Lambeth Walk” whilst discussing the dubious merits of the jellied eel.

I would certainly concur with all the above points, but what draws them all together under one umbrella? What maybe the reason for the perceived malaise affecting these holy trinities of British entertainment?  The answer to both could quite possibly be found within this question …“Is it a coincidence that all the above mentioned vessels of entertainment have suffered a steady decline in quality since writer/journalist/broadcaster Andrew Collins left their employ?” I’ll let you chew that one over and draw your own conclusions…….but the truth is out there….

Andrew Collins, like  Nanette Newman was born in Northampton . He started his journalistic career with the “NME”, back in the halcyon days, when they employed journalists whose articles people actually looked forward to reading (Steve Lamacq, Paul Morley, Stuart Maconie, Mary Ann Hobbs, Barbara Ellen et all). He went on to become editor of “Q” And “Empire” magazines and has since written for “The Guardian”, “The Express“, “The Telegraph”, and the “New Statesman” amongst others. He was one of the original presenters on BBC6  music, when it was good, when music mattered, before it became yet another variation on Radio 1 and Radio 2 complete with “wacky DJ’s” who  have succeeded in making  Smashie And Nicey appear  purveyors of gimmick free broadcasting and citadels of common sense. Andrew has  written scripts for Eastenders and Family Affairs as well as co-writing “Grass” with The Fast Show’s Simon Day, on top of this he has picked up a Royal Television Society Award and a Rose D’or for co-writing “Not Going Out” with Lee Mack.

Other TV and radio work included a fruitful partnership with his friend and fellow ex NME journalist, Stuart Maconie, winning a Sony Gold Award for Radio 1’s “Collins & Maconie’s Hit Parade” and receiving a Writers Guild nomination for Radio 5’s “Fantastic Voyage.” They also as presented “Collins and Maconie’s Movie Club” on ITV, however all things must pass and Stuart, convinced he was becoming “too southern” did a runner back oop North and has since formed a suitably gruff, salt of the earth, Northern partnership with Mark Radcliff ( not a sun dried tomato or Frappucchino in sight!)  A distraught Andrew soon found a quantum of solace in the welcoming arms of comedian Richard Herring, with whom he now presents a popular weekly podcast.

He has also written three books “Where Did It All Go Right”, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now “ and “That’s Me In The Corner” as well as being   Billy Bragg’s official biographer.  Andrew is married (not to Richard Herring I hasten to add) and lives in London ; he is currently film editor for “The Radio Times, ” Tv Critic for “The Word” and regularly appears on both Radio and TV.  He denies he is addicted to appearing on “talking head” style shows such as “I Love the Love Boat”, “Knightrider Changed My Life” and “-Hervé Villechaize; A Showbiz Giant. ”  To all intents and purposes he appeared to have kicked this habit, but sadly a recent relapse saw Andrew airing his view‘s on the BBC’s  “The Most Irritating People Of 2008“

We spoke to Andrew about his journalistic career, what he makes of the music industry today and asked for some sagacious advice on blogging

VP: You’ve said in your books that you didn’t exactly break into journalism more kind of fell into it …when was  the moment when you thought to yourself …” Blimey I’m a music journalist?

AC: When my first words appeared in the NME with my name at the end. Ironically, my first ever published review was of a film – the yachting thriller Masquerade, starring Rob Lowe. However, in the same issue of NME, dated 1 October 1988, my first ever album reviews also appeared, Blow by Butterfield 8 (featuring ex-members of Madness and the Higsons) and Indestructible by the Four Tops. On that Tuesday, when the big pile of new issues appeared with a thud inside the NME office, I thought to myself: blimey, I’m a music journalist. Everything changed in that instant. I was working three days a week as assistant to the Art Editor at NME, which was, in itself, a thrill beyond compare – to be laying out pages of my beloved music paper, meaning I was on the inside for the first time, but despite a credit in the masthead (Design Assistant: Andrew Collins), this was the first time something I’d written was in the public domain. A big step. I suppose the next milestone was interviewing a band, now-forgotten boy-girl Indie pop quartet the Heart Throbs, which was another thrill – turning up at the allotted time at their record company office (Rough Trade), meeting the band and repairing to a nearby pub garden to do the interview, which I recorded on a large ghetto blaster, as I didn’t yet own a portable hand-held tape machine. Quite embarrassing, looking back, although I don’t imagine I was the first to do so.

VP: "Aha ! I remember 'em ! "

The band were really sweet about it and made no comment. I expect they were just glad to be interviewed by someone from the NME, however lowly and green he might be. You never forget these first toes dipped in the ocean.

VP:  Truthfully, what was the first actual record you remember purchasing, as opposed to the first record you would have liked to have been seen to have bought?

AC: The first record that was mine was The Jungle Book soundtrack – it was a storybook, so you played the LP and read the story along with it, with songs interspersed. I loved it then, probably aged five or six, and still own it. (It was the first film I saw the cinema, so momentous all round.) The first pop single I requested Mum and Dad buy me when they went shopping was Blockbuster by The Sweet in 1973, which means I was eight years old. Glam rock was the first music I got into. I also loved Slade and Suzi Quatro and Alvin Stardust – Slade were the first poster I put up on my bedroom pinboard.

VP :  6 music was once a shining beacon of innovative broadcasting showcasing new music, however it was reported that the powers that be wanted to make it less “geeky,” and attract female listeners.  Their tactic was to employ so-called “personality” DJs…Many believe the station has lost its way, what’s your take on it these days?

AC: The pressure upon 6 Music, gloriously absent when we first launched in 2003, was to increase listenership. This spelt the end for many of those early dreams, because to broaden your audience you must necessarily make yourself that bit more accessible, which means watering down the playlist and playing the same games played by established national music radio networks. I’m an idealist; I believe that the BBC should be able to produce something new and cater for an uncatered-for audience without the need to “grow”. Certainly, 6 Music’s first official audience figures were modest, but they didn’t take into account all the hits we were getting online – listening via PC was the most common route for a lot of our early adopters, who tuned in at their desks at work. Anecdotally, via emails and texts, it was clear that those who discovered 6 Music early on, and got involved with the programmes and presenters, had found something that they couldn’t get elsewhere. It was a little amateurish to begin with – anything but slick – but as time passed, the rough edges were smoothed off. The regular DJs, myself included, were told to ident the station more in links, to say less in links, to “trail ahead” in links, and thus much of the earlier, rambling personality was lost. We still found a way of making our daytime shows like clubs, but it became harder to do so with all the new pressures to increase traffic to the website, increase awareness of other programmes, talk up initiatives and promotions etc. I remember the turning point: a promotion called “Texting 1-2-3”, where, all day, presenters were encouraged to drive up text traffic using competitions and rolling incentives. It worked. I remember the figures coming in the next day and our bosses were delighted that we’d achieved what we set out to do, and hit those targets. Unfortunately, the competitions and constant “branding” on-air made for a dull day of radio, with all the shows sounding the same and less opportunity for just chatting to the listeners about “stuff.” I was initially encouraged to come up with email “talking points” that were about anything but music – to avoid accusations of male-orientated geekiness – and it was clear that a lot of female listeners were getting involved. But the encouragement for me to do this decreased as time went on. This kind of change seems inevitable. It made me a better DJ – slicker, more professional etc. – but working at 6 Music became more of a job, less of an adventure. I don’t blame anyone for this. If I’d been a listener during the first five years, I’d probably feel let down, though. The pressures come from way above those who actually run the network. They actually come from outside the BBC, which is under constant pressure to justify every new venture on spread sheets. I say what’s the point of having a BBC if it’s under commercial pressure?

VP:  What was the last gig you went to?

AC: Not sure, as 2008 was the first year I didn’t go to a gig since 1981. I think it may have been Carter USM, their first reunion, at Brixton Academy in December 2007, which was a terrific night out for people in their thirties and forties who had enjoyed the duo’s early-90s heyday.

VP:  Obviously the internet has changed the face of music completely since the days you worked for the major music papers. What’s your view on digital downloads, file sharing, social networking etc?

AC: I am in my forties. I have reached an age where, pathologically, you become convinced that everything was better when you were young. I’m afraid it’s impossible to convince someone under 25 that it was better when you had to seek music out and spend hours in record shops flicking through racks of vinyl records, unable to hear the more obscure ones without listening to John Peel under the bedclothes, or even buying a single based upon the rave review in that week’s NME, never having even heard it. I’m sure every generation is doomed to this kind of nostalgia for how it was. That said, I download music, and have quickly grown used to being able to hear anything I want, whenever I want, as long as I’m at my laptop. I do resent the way that downloading has made the album irrelevant – it’s now all about individual tracks, and there’s no longer a sense of running orders, and certainly no sense of side one and side two, which used to mean a hell of a lot. Vinyl was heavy and bulky to transport and it got damaged very easily, but it was what I grew up with. It was ace. But I don’t play my vinyl records any more, and I sold most of my collection about three years ago because it took up too much space. I do think it’s sad that when “In Rainbows” came out, none of us who paid for it actually ended up with anything to hold, but it was an exciting day nonetheless, which suggests that the power of music will outlive whatever the latest delivery method is. As for social networking, I’m afraid I disapprove of it. I was on MySpace for a year or so, amassing “friends”, but when I cancelled my page I felt such a lightness of being, it was clear that I’d never go back there again. I do not despise anyone who has a Facebook page; I just choose not to have one. I do genuinely think that we are breeding an entire generation of kids who can’t communicate in real life, which is tragic. I use the internet. It does not use me. And it does not substitute actual networking, which used to be called talking.

VP:  What do you make of the Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross kafuffle? An over reaction whipped up by the media or a well deserved dressing down?

AC: An overreaction to a chain of bad decisions. There is always a danger when “talent” (to use the showbiz jargon for people in front of the camera) is constantly praised, pampered and overpaid – it imbues a special kind of power, a sort of implied indestructibility, the kind that can lead to megalomania. This seems to have happened to Brand and Ross, both talented but perhaps let off the leash too many times by those who should be managing them. The phone messages to Sachs were childish and crass – no worse than that when listened to in isolation – but they spoke of arrogance and a lack of comedic judgment, which was compounded by the failure of a number of levels of management to stem the offence. Yes, the Daily Mail and other media outlets with an axe to grind about the BBC and the license fee whipped it up into a daft frenzy, and no, I don’t think Lesley Douglas should have had to resign – any more than Peter Fincham should have had to resign over Crowngate, or Greg Dyke over Hutton – but you either let your stars do whatever the hell they like, or you rein them in. Ross has been reined in. Brand doesn’t need a Radio 2 show anyway, and pre-recorded it so often as to not really be a radio show in the Radio 2 sense. If it had gone out live, it could almost have been forgiven, but it was pre-recorded, and could have been edited or dropped. I will always defend the BBC and the licence fee – on points, the country – and the world – would be the poorer without them.

VP:  Are you still as inspired by music as you were when you were younger, what have you been listening to this year?

AC: Nowhere near as inspired in 2008. I found most music average and forgettable. Most albums didn’t hold up as albums, and were merely a handful of decent tracks padded out to album length with filler. Even albums I liked initially held little appeal three months later. Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid and Adele’s 19 were the only two albums I heard that actually qualify as actual, decent albums. Possibly Nick Cave ’s. I hope it’s me, and not the actual state of modern music. I hope modern music isn’t as disappointing as I think it is.

VP:  Of the many interviews you mention in your last book “TMITC”, there were some rather uncomfortable (but hilarious) situations such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Christina Ricci, and Sofia Coppolla, but who would you say were your favourite interviewees?

AC: Kevin Costner – the only Hollywood star to send his PR out of the room when they came in to wind the interview up because he was enjoying the conversation. Mark E Smith, with whom I got drunk in the bar of London’s National Film Theatre for my first ever NME cover story in 1990 – a long-standing hero and one of the best interviewees, if you catch him in the right state of mind, in British rock. Billy Bragg is still my all-time favourite: I interviewed him for hours and hours and hours over the course of writing his official biography, and it never once stopped being stimulating and entertaining. I would now count him as a friend – that doesn’t happen very often in the world of journalism, and you’d be a fool to think that it did.

VP:  What are you up to at the moment? Any more books in the pipeline?

AC: Books are not lucrative, unless you have a runaway bestseller or sell the film rights. I’d love to write a novel, but nobody seems especially keen to let me. I’m in the process of trying to get a sitcom commissioned by the BBC. I will say no more, for fear of bringing bad juju upon it. I’m pinning quite a lot on that one. It’s the sort of thing that could take up six months of my life if it were green-lit, so a yes or no would affect the rest of my working year.

VP:  As there are numerous music blogs on the net, what advice would you give to bloggers on how to attract a readership?

AC: Don’t try to attract a readership. Try too hard and it will be perfectly obvious. The beautiful thing about blogs is that they are organic. Don’t start one for the wrong reasons. And don’t aim to be controversial. Say what you think, not what you think will get your noticed. Then sit back and see what happens.

Links

Andrew’s Website

Andrew’s Blog

The Collings & Herrin Podcast

Ah jealousy. The green eyed monster so they say. Anything taken to an extreme can be dangerous. All sorts of crimes lay at the extreme end of jealous behaviour. Not that crime is the automatic endpoint of the jealous (or jealousy the automatic cause of becoming a criminal).

Hmm. Maybe that’s a very naughty element of my personality bring up the criminal element straight away there. It wasn’t the intention, this is more about the fun side of jealousy. “The fun side of jealousy?” I hear you think. Yes indeed, the fun side. There may be a problem in terminology there. These days ‘fun jealousy’ would probably be called aspiration. I’m going to have to use an example I think.

Adam & Joe are a good example for me. I listen to their radio show on 6 Music, and I’m jealous that they get to do that when I don’t. I see Muse and I’m jealous of them. But it isn’t a big negative all consuming thing, and in spite of them all (I think) being younger than I am, I still find what they do something to aspire to. There’d be a lot of catching up to do, but I’m sure I’d have a lot of fun trying.

It’s not blind jealousy either. I doubt that there’s anybody you see in the media having any level of success that doesn’t have to work hard or put any effort in. Some may make it look effortless, but they’re likely to be the ones with years of practice as a foundation, so that it is now almost effortless.

So with the likes of The Adam & Joe show, the jealousy thing is very minor. I enjoy listening to them, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m now a budding writer, with thoughts of performing in some way as well, then jealousy wouldn’t be an issue at all. I love watching football, and I’m not jealous of the players, as I know I never had the physical make up to have made the top level anyway. Muse fall kind of in the middle (substitute many other bands too, Foo Fighters, dEUS, Live, etc.), as I was in a few bands in the past, so I’m jealous that they are doing that all the time still, but I enjoy listening to them too, and just appreciate what they do. An added element there is that I have impeccable taste in music (as we all do, of course), so all of those mentioned are very, very good. As a bassist in the bands I was in, I have no illusions that I was ever  anywhere near the standard of the best out there. Was still fun though.

Actually, I think aspiration is definitely a better word than jealousy to describe the way I look at it. Writers that perform are probably more apt examples of those who’s success I’d be aspiring to really. Stephen Fry would be the ultimate example of that. David Mitchell maybe the young up and coming pretender, and me at the very bottom of the pile. Or even in a little new pile next to the main pile. The pre-pile pile.

Onward and upward.

There is much to concern people in the statement regarding the ’suspension’ of interactivity at BBC 6 Music by Controller Bob Shennan, but the selective use of statistics and the claims of resources being drained invite examination.

Taking Mr Shennan at his word, I accept the line that “10 regular users have been responsible for nearly 7000 posts concerning one programme” is correct (I was one of 10).  For the purposes of this quick analysis, I’ll be as generous as possible and assume that the figure is 6999 – although a soon-to-be published, independent analysis shows that the figure was closer to 5400 un-removed posts.

So, over the 474 days that the thread was in existence, each of the 10 posted an average 1.48 messages per day, or around 15 in total (fewer than 13 per day given the non-BBC figures).

The top three posters by numbers have recently been banned from the boards and one other thread regular had his ability to post seriously limited, having been revealed as a Lamb Show contributor.  Presumably this would have eased the pressure on resources significantly.  Using Mr Shennan’s own figures and taking averages as a guideline, the remaining seven (if they do remain) would post around nine messages per day, given BBC ascribed levels of interactivity.  The more detailed analysis reduces that figure further to a total of 7 messages a day.

Leaving aside the fact that over 4300 (in reality 5600) messages must have been received from other posters (around 450 unique users are recorded as having posted in the life of the board), there is the matter of how the board was moderated.

At times, this could be said to have been either ‘inconsistent’ or ‘heavy-handed’.  The effects of this included bannings, but had the far more insidious result of leading people to simply give up.  This can be seen time and again, where new posters announced themselves (“I’m so pleased to have found this board” etc.), contributed for a couple of weeks and then disappeared – mainly after what came to be referred to as ‘mod riots’.  Similarly, posters who were regulars in the early days can still be seen penning messages on other forums having, presumably, got fed up of the hosting or, more simply, bored or generally exasperated.

It is not a great leap of logic to conclude that the thread would be longer, but for these effects, and the proportion of posts made by the infamous 10 would be proportionately reduced.

However, the fact that some people posted more regularly and more tenaciously than others is only to be expected.  Look at any blog, message board or chat room and similar patterns will be detected.  There are many examples where 50% or higher of contributions are made by three, four or five posters.  The use of the statistic, designed to label regular contributors as resource-heavy drains on the BBC budget, starts to look like a smokescreen.

And what of the resources?  BBC blogs, like message boards, are reactively moderated.  The only difference in the BBC Radio context is that where board topics are listener led, blogs are presenter or producer generated.

Taking the much promoted PM blog as an example, what is the nature of the contributions there?  Such a site, being concerned with matters of the day, often exhibits tensions that ‘run particularly high’.

As of noon on Saturday 16^th May there were 312 contributions from posters for that one programme on that one day on one radio station – far more than the 6 Music message boards ever generated in total on most days.  A quick glance shows that, similar to the boards, some contributions have been removed by moderators.  (Presumably there are resource matters to be considered with blogs as well.)

Dig down a little further using just one thread (The top one – ‘The PM Glass Box’) and we can see that 5 posters are responsible for over 50% of contributions from the first 68 entries – it’s being added to as I write.  Extrapolating, that seems to make the 10 posters on the George Lamb thread contributing 60% (BBC figures) or less than 50% (independent) seem perfectly reasonable.  Where comment ‘traffic’ is concerned it’s reasonable to note that days where the George Lamb board reached 68 were few and far between – the daily average was 24.

So ‘resources’, also, appears to be a smokescreen leaving the longest unoccupied vacancy in broadcasting (that of host to the boards) as the only remaining issue.  Mr Shennan must surely be aware that there are 2 million unemployed.

Ultimately, the reasons offered for the closure of all of the boards (not just the George Lamb one) would appear to be shameful excuses for a shameful exercise that has resulted in reduced interactivity (one of the BBC’s holy grails) and a silencing of criticism on the forums that are paid for by the very people that post there.

So we wait for news on “how best to develop constructive dialogue about the future of the network” with less than bated breath.  In the meantime it would be useful – in the name of constructive dialogue – if one of Mr Shennan’s representatives could address the inconsistencies contained within his statement.

Comments are invited from the BBC and anyone else with a view.