Voici mon édito de ce matin sur Radio One.  A Maurice, un club de carrom a davantage de comptes à rendre qu’un parti politique! Ce n’est en rien une exagération…car on parle là du financement des partis politiques.

“It’s really popular right now.”

“It is?”

“Yeah. My daughter loves the tune. I think it’s a theme song for some TV show she watches. She says young people really identify with the message.”

“Hmm. This might explain why the group so popular again, after all these years.”

It became a must-learn song for our band.

But it presented a huge challenge. We had to find someone who could sing it with the energy and power of the original vocalist. That took one year. Most groups would just drop the tune and pick an easier one that could be sung by a current member of the band.

But this is not just any tune and we have no plans to be just any band.

Nearly thirty years ago, the composers had no idea the impact it would have. Even the record company didn’t think it should be released as a single – at least not the first single from the album – because they didn’t think it had enough mass appeal.

Released in 1981, it reached #8 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was never a #1 one hit.

Today, the song has appeared in a number of film and television series, including The Wedding Singer, Family Guy, Monster, Shrek the Halls, Bedtime Stories, Yes Dear, King of the Hill, The Comebacks, View from the Top, South Park, Cold Case, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, My Name Is Earl, Just Shoot Me, Laguna Beach, American Idol, Australian Idol, X Factor, Scrubs, The Sopranos, and Glee. It gained national press for its use in the final scene of HBO’s The Sopranos from the series finale “Made in America.” It’s even been used in a Presidential campaign. It is now considered the signature song for the group that recorded it.

One of the song’s writers is easily the best-known rock vocalist of all time. The other writers were the keyboardist, Jonathan Cain and the lead guitarist, Neal Schon. When the singer decided to move on, the band went through lead singers for ten years searching for one that could handle the lead vocals without losing their voice. Today, the band’s music is so popular that there are over 60 “tribute” bands performing it world-wide.

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, featuring the unmistakable voice of Steve Perry, has made its mark as one of the most memorable songs in popular music’s history. It has one of the broadest demographic appeals of any song in my lifetime – and I’m no “spring chicken.”

Here’s a two part interview from July, 2009, with Perry about the tune by Canada’s CBC Radio One host, Jian Gomeshi. Enjoy the slide show while listeneing.

A few days ago, I set up two microphones in the rehearsal room to record us reviewing nine tunes, one of which was “Don’t Stop Believin’.” This is a “live” recording – no individual tracks, no “do-overs.” Although we still have some areas that need improvement, I feel we’ve captured the essence of the song. And yes, for those reading who might be musicians, we perform all of our songs in their original keys.

Steve Perry and Journey raised the bar for rock music in the ‘80s and their music continues to influence rock today. They make those of us “covering” their songs, better vocalists and instrumentalists. When I sent an e-mail of our version to one of my relatives who used to play hard rock in the ’80s, he said, speaking of our lead singer, “Man, that guy has a great voice!” and later in the e-mail he said, “…you totally nailed the keyboards…”

“Totally nailing” keyboard parts is what I do, dude.

Sincerely,

www.MichaelKontras.com

My pal at work is on vacation. I am bored to the core! My sad playlist on my phone has just 20 songs. Used them up, recycled them too. Almost memorized the lyrics (My talent % in remembering the lyrics and remembering to flush currently stand at 71.3 % only). And my God, they really really get a kick out of annoying the brains out of your skull on Radio One. Not their fault that they need advertisements to keep them going, but do the voices have to be so Hyper, Happy, Giggly, FAKE? And especially the girl voices. (I am not talking about RJs here). But hey, i cannot complain much about this station, it keeps me happy to a good extent. (solution i use- switch off the radio during the commercials). I almost jump out of my seat when Ghanta Singh comes on. He is sooo annoying that he is amazing!

Radio Indigo is pretty awesome, if only they’d get over the songs from the 80’s for a day. Just a day, please? And there’s nothing funny in this station. Nada. and the voices in the ads? Some dude with an american accent, really deep voice. NOT PLEASANT. especially in the “save the tiger” campaign. My finger hovered over the “switch off radio” button the whole week. but then again, this station plays ENGLISH songs, phewwwwww!!!!

I sure have a love-hate relationship with both stations! You guys keep me awake at work, so here i go again, am donning my headphones and nodding my head along Arrrrgh, advertisement!

This year, I was lucky enough to cover Record Store Day in Cardiff at the famous Spillers Records. Record Store Day is an annual event that encapsulates the love of the traditional record shop. During the day DJ sets by a number of different and varying artists, including Guto Pryce of the Super Furry Animals and Radio One DJ Bethan Elfyn, filled the shop on the Hayes with positively amazing tunes!  The Truckers of Husk made sure that the magic of Spillers instores continued!… playing at the far end of the shop, the crowds packed in! Bulging at all levels.. pedals filled the floor and their unique sound jabbed its way into every spillers soul..

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Get yourself down to Spillers Cardiff, grab a 2010 calender for the new year!!  Record Store Day ‘09 stands tall in my memory of great music events of 2009 at Spillers Records. The photography offers a time line to the past as well as this year. One of my fave photos is of the shop in 1994. With images from instores, Pop Peth exhibition at St.Fagans and Spillers around the world – Its a great capture from the oldest record shop in the world.

Treat yourself to the memories of the year that was..!
It’s almost Christmas after all!!


There are too many names to mention and thank, but here’s some…
Thanks to Nick & Ashli of course! for the hospitality.. and the beer!! what a show! and for running the greatest record shop in the world!
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Truckers of Husk, Pascal, Bethan Elfyn – great sports when it came to the photo bit!
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Massive thanks to Dafydd, for getting me in this great calendar! and doing a great job at it!
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Nice one guys, Roll on 2010

The day after Tim & Sam’s fantastic set at swn, the band were invited to record a session for Bethan Elfyn’s Radio 1 show.

It’s due to air tonight in between midnight and 2am tonight.

We’ve already heard the set and it sounds great… so be sure to tune in!

If you’re reading this after the 11th, you’ll still be able to listen to the show for one week.

Simply click the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bethanelfyn/

J’ai fait mon baptême “éditorial” à la radio ce matin sur Radio One. Voici ce que cela a donné. Soyez indulgents, c’est la première fois que je m’attaque à cet exercice…

Édito radio: Le vrai adversaire de Pravind Jugnauth

ps: demain, je posterai de larges extraits de l’interview d’hier

Oh lookie, its Sugababes 4.0 doing a cover of Florence & The Machine’s Rabbit Heart on Radio 1’s Live Lounge!

Sounds pretty good!

They also performed their new single About A Girl while they were at the studios, complete with a harp. A harp! What I’ve always liked and admired about the Sugababes is how they always seem to take the time and effort to perform acoustic versions of their singles, really showing off their voices and bringing something extra to the song. Their performance of About A Girl was no different, and what I like about this is how different it sounds to the original. However it really seems that Heidi is the glue holding the band together, to me her voice is the only distinctive voice left in the band and she seems to be the one voice left carrying the Sugababes’ trademark harmonies.

What do you think?

Avec la nouvelle grille de Radio One, il y a quelques changements dans l’air. Mon émission passe désormais les lundis de 18h à 19h. Il a du coup changé de nom et s’appelle “Face à Face.” Le principe demeure le même, un invité, cuisiné plutôt sur des sujets politiques ou économiques.

Petit ajout au programme. Désormais, je fais également un éditorial les mardis matin. Il passe à 7h30 je crois. Voilà pour les nouvelles de la radio…

અમદાવાદ આવીને હું જે પણ શોપિંગ મોલમાં કે દુકાનોમાં ગયો ત્યાં બધે જ રેડિયો પર જુદા જુદા FM station વાગતા હતા. આવા સંગીતમય વાતાવરણમાં મને ખરેખર શોપિંગ કરવાની મઝા આવતી હતી. મને આમ પણ રેડિયો સાંભળવો બહુ ગમે (કોલેજના જમાનામાં ફાઇલો લખતી વખતે રેડિયો વાગતો જ હોય બાજુમા. જો કે એ જમાનામાં FM station નહોતા અને ખાલી વિવિધ ભારતીથી કામ ચલાવવું પડતુ) . પછી મેં રોજ મોબાઇલ પર રાત્રે રેડિયો સાંભળવાનું શરૂ કર્યું. અમદાવાદમાં 5-6 FM station ચાલે છે એમાં રેડિયો મિર્ચી, રેડિયો સિટી, MY FM, Red FM, Radio One વગેરે મુખ્ય છે. જેમાં હું મોટા ભાગે રેડિયો સિટી, MY FM અને Red FM જ સાંભળતો હતો. પિયરનું કૂતરું પણ વ્હાલુ લાગે એ ન્યાયે ગીતો વચ્ચે RJની બકબક પણ મને તો ગમતી હતી. વળી રેડિયો પર ગીતો તો સારા સાંભળવા મળે જ સાથે સાથે interactive program પણ હતા એટલે લોકોને સાંભળવાની પણ મઝા આવતી હતી.

સિંગાપોરમાં પણ બીગ FM 96.3 રેડિયો સ્ટેશન થોડા વખતથી શરૂ થયું છે. પણ અહીંના FM station સાંભળવા જેટલી મઝા નથી આવતી. અહીંના રેડિયો સ્ટેશન પર આવતા પ્રોગ્રામની સરખામણીમાં ત્યાંના રેડિયો સ્ટેશનના પ્રોગ્રામ બહુ પછાત લાગે. વળી બીગ FM આવે સાંજે 5થી 8 વાગ્યા સુધી એટલે સાંભળવાનો પણ એટલો મેળ ના પડે. કાશ સિંગાપોરમાં પણ કોઇ સારુ FM station હોય જે 24 કલાક ચાલે તો મારી રાતો સુધરી જાય. હાલમાં તો સિંગાપોરમાં રાત્રે હું અમુક બીજા દેશોના FM station સાંભળું છું ઓનલાઇન પણ અમદાવાદના FM station ના પ્રોગ્રામ સાંભળીને જે મઝા આવે એવી મઝા નથી આવતી.

રાત્રે સૂતી વખતે આવતા લવગુરૂભાઇ, પૂરાની જીન્સ કે naughty nights જેવા પ્રોગ્રામો સાંભળીને એક્દમ relax થઇ જવાય સૂતી વખતે.

Drum and Bass any human over the age of 4o’s absolute nightmare. This grimey, rap track  comes accompanied with a freaky fucking awesome video. Now i can’t tell you much about these two artists but its clear to say this song could be their mainstream breakthrough hit ( Cheryl Cole number one….Skeptical?) Oh well even if this doesnt crack the mainstream scene at least we will have many children with it on their phones bouncing on the backseat of the school bus. Fearne Cotten is also a fan of this track and she’s damn hot!.

J Majik & Wickaman – Feel About you — Score 8/10

Tras el éxito obtenido en sus anteriores ediciones y por petición popular, CCM MANAGEMENT, presenta una nueva sesión de FREDYLIVEKARAOKE, en la sala LUZ DE GAS. Sala B. Muntaner, 246 de Barcelona. Eso tendrá lugar, el próximo día 27 de Noviembre. La apertura de puertas será a las  22:00 Hrs. El precio de la entrada es de  7 euros.

En esta edición, FLK, cuenta con patrocinadores, lo cuales obsequiarán con distintos e interesantes premios a todos los participantes

FREDYLIVEKARAOKE, funciona de una forma parecida al tradicional karaoke, donde los asistentes pueden elegir entre un nutrido catálogo de temas, para luego interpretarlo ante el público asistente. Lo que hace diferente y espectacular al FLK, respecto al KARAOKE tradicional es en que la música no sale desde un cd, sino que está ejecutada  por una banda en vivo, creando una atmósfera imposible de recrear en un karaoke standard. La comunión entre platea y escenario es total, ya que lo asistentes participan del espectáculo, tanto como el cantante y la banda que lo acompaña.

Pueden ver un videoresumen de la anterior edición, entrando en www.toutube.com/ccmmanagement

NOTA PARA PROFESIONALES Y MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN:

Para obtener más información y para solicitar acreditación de prensa,  serán atendidos en el Tel.   93 340 00 66.  También lo pueden solicitar mediante email al correo ccm@ccm-management.com

Cathy Hughes has invoked Sheree Whitfield (a la “who gon’ check me boo”) in her fight to keep her radio stations afloat.

Cathy Hughes

Read the full story on TheRoot.com

 She has launched several campaigns to battle the The Performance Rights Act (H.R. 848) a bill that will force radio stations to pay royalties to artists whenever their songs are played on the radio.

Hughes is rallying troops to fight the bill by running ad campaigns on all of her Radio One stations.  The ads are reported to play as many as 12 times a day.

 And she’s not just staying on topic.  She has framed this bill as an attack against black radio, and used her expansive platform to smear members of Congress. 

 Its an interesting tactic seeing as the bill was proposed by a Democrat and co-sponsored by a slew of Democrats both Black and White.  Hank Johnson, a Black Representative from Atlanta is one of the most notable co-sponsors of the bill.

 In another spot, Hughes goes after the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Conyers—or rather, she details corruption allegations against his estranged wife. (She even points listeners to a Web site where they can learn more.) “What is it that John Conyers of Detroit, Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, Hank Johnson of Atlanta, Mel Watt of Charlotte and Bobby Scott of Richmond don’t understand about these facts?

 “Call or e-mail them … because they don’t seem to get it.”

 There have been few if any well-publicized retorts to her claims that this bill has a racial angle.  It will be interesting to see if anyone does indeed “check her”

Rather liking the trail spot for Robbie Williams’ spot on the BBC Electric Proms schedule!

For UK readers, the gig will be broadcast from 7pm on Radio One on the night  (Tuesday 20th October 2009), and will be shown on BBC Two shortly afterwards (on the Tuesday). The gig will stay available via BBC iPlayer/ the ‘red’ button until 31st October.

For those outside the UK, the Prom is due to be shown around the world at various cinema screens (visit this link for more information).

My favourite Robbie performance was the one that he did in Berlin for the album launch of ‘Intensive Care’ (incidentally, this is my favourite Robbie album, and also the one that I thought had the best artwork surrounding it! – t’was awesome I thought) and so I am hoping that this performance harks back to that more mature and stylish performance style/sound. I loved the inclusion of ‘real’ instruments back at the 2005 launch!

As an aside, there is a give away called ‘Songbook’ in The Mail On Sunday this weekend (11th October 2009) – as loathe as I am to say it, I may consider purchasing The Mail so that I can get hold of a copy :-\

Again, for those in the UK, look out for Robbie on this weekend’s X-Factor Live Show too!

More Robbie tracks from the new album (‘Reality Killed The Video Star’) to be previewed please!!

“And don’t forget, on Sunday you can hear the two-minute silence on Radio One”.
DJ Steve Wright

Jack Beats Mix for Radio One

Tracklist:

Florence and the Machine – Drumming Song (Jack Beats Remix)
Noob and Brodinski – Peanuts Club (Beataucue Remix)
Claude Von Stroke – Vocal Chords
A1 Bassline – 8Oh8
Hervé and Jack Beats – Rainstick (Monsoon Mix)
Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Jack Beats Remix)
Laidback Luke and Lee Mortimer – Blau
Fake Blood – Mars (Jack Beats Remix)
Diplo and Blaqstarr – Get Off (Jack Beats Remix)
Jack Beats – U.F.O.
La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)

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Don't expect bangers every day!

There is one show on Canadian television that I just do not get, that’s The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

It’s not the content. The interviews are generally light and fluffy and even fun befitting a late night entertainment show. The guests are generally good, I would even say better than most of the Canadian talk shows that preceded The Hour. The format is just about right. And George, he’s glib and engaging in the way a late night TV host should be most of the time.

So what’s my problem?

In fact I have several, but they are so interconnected I don’t know where one ends and the next begins. I’ll start with the fact that while the CBC and the Canadian media treat George Stroumboulopoulos like he’s a media star he in fact, can’t draw flies to his show. There is no real audience to speak of. The show’s numbers are similar to those of the dismal local news on CBC. Considering the advertising dollars and promotional time the show gets it should be a late night staple challenging Lloyd Robertson and CTV National News. I think Lloyd gets more viewers in Calgary than George gets coast-to-coast. It’s not a bad show. So where is the audience?

I believe the CBC and George Stroumboulopoulos are doing each other a grave disservice. The CBC chose George to be host because he is young and hip. He never wears a sports jacket, let alone a tie. The earring and the haircut are supposed to speak to the youthful viewers the network is trying to attract. As usual the idea was much better on paper than the reality on TV for the CBC. After several years it should be painfully obvious to all but the most indifferent observers that young people are not going to tune in to CBC for a talk show, even if George is the host. The other painful side of that coin is that typical CBC viewers are not going to watch the likes of George Stroumboulopoulos. He just doesn’t speak to the 50-somethings from Fredericton and Saskatoon who just finished watching Peter Mansbridge grasping for every last political straw in Ottawa for close to an hour.

George works. We know that from his days at Much Music and City-TV. Young viewers loved his work and flocked to any show he was associated with. If George did the exact same show at City he would have a hit on his hands. Most people in the industry I talk to understand this. What nobody seems to get is why the CBC has allowed this failure to continue and why George Stroumboulopoulos stays with a gig that clearly puts him in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Hour’s numbers are a black hole for the Corp sucking up advertising time and dollars with little or no payback. George’s street cred has to be hurting. Cool people just don’t work for the CBC. He must know this. I’m sure George would be grabbed up by any one of CBC’s competitors given the opportunity to get him. The end of The Hour would surely be a win-win situation for both George and the network.

The first time I heard the CBC was trying to attract a more youthful audience was in 1984. The powers-that-were tried to get me to dumb down my newscast, cut the length of news stories, be more sensational. I refused then because I believed CBC viewers had expectations of high quality news and information they could trust. I was proven right when we more than doubled our audience. But now, even though the network has never succeeded in drawing younger audiences, 25 years later the CBC is making the same mistaken assumptions.

In the 500 channel universe it is more important than ever to know your audience and keep them happy. A niche is a good thing. Especially if the niche, in CBC’s case, is the largest portion of the available audience: baby boomers and the elderly. By abandoning them, the Corp is abandoning any hope of success. We are all taught to play to our strengths, focus on what we know, so why isn’t the CBC doing this? Is it the ad dollars that won’t be forthcoming because CBC is not attracting females 18 to 49? That’s silly. No network in Canada is less dependent on advertising. A huge audience would go far further to cement their future. It would be very difficult for Harper’s Tories to cut CBC’s budget if more than a million people were tuned in to all or most of CBC’s offerings.

Okay, maybe it’s because they worry about their future. If the entire audience gets old and dies who will watch? The truth is CBC has always had an older audience. When people reached a certain age they somehow began to watch more CBC. It has been a natural progression for over 60 years. Be happy with that natural progression. All the other networks have been TV training wheels for CBC viewers. At a certain age the viewers expect more depth, more quality and CBC has been there to give it to them. With this quest for youth CBC is giving away its niche, losing its advantage and perhaps throwing away its future.

If you want proof look at CBC Radio, it has never done better. CBC Radio One is number one in several markets. And what shows are selling? Metro Morning, As It Happens, Sunday Morning. In fact most of the newer edgier programs are anchors pulling the network’s ratings down. Radio Two’s changes have cut their ratings in half. I am told by avid listeners that Radio Two has been sneaking on more and more Classical music and dropping the nutty content. They have not admitted their mistakes with words but their actions are speaking for themselves.

The CBC’s future and its success depend on being the best CBC possible rather than trying to be a bad U.S. network imitation. Perhaps the bosses will wake up one day and realize this. Perhaps I am dreaming.

Scott Mills - spoilt by hangers-on

There comes a time in everyone’s life when an overwhelming feeling of ‘oh god, I’m getting old’ begins to surface on a daily basis.  Perhaps you struggle to find a town centre pub in which you can enjoy a ‘quiet drink’, maybe the younger guys you work with all suddenly appear to be acting like school kids, that PS3 you bought three years ago suddenly looks far less tempting… for me, it happens every time I tune into Radio One and catch the Scott Mills Show.

The title for this post is perhaps a little harsh.  Mills himself is actually tolerable, and at times even marginally amusing.  He clearly has a talent for broadcasting which the BBC admire.

The problem with the show are the hangers-on who seem to be a nagging, whining, whooping irritant in the background of almost every radio show these days, bar Chris Moyles’ breakfast jaunt which is genuinely funny.  Even Jonathan Ross has one.  I’m not sure of his name or what is role is, but he appears to be employed simply to giggle at anything and everything Ross says.  Indeed, he ruins what is a pretty good podcast.

Mills’ bunch are something else, though.  There’s one who doesn’t talk, which in itself is irritating.  Irritating, because we wouldn’t know he was there if they didn’t call him ‘The One That Doesn’t Talk’.  I can’t imagine that moniker ever being either funny or informative – two pre-requisites of most radio shows.

Chappers, the sports news reader, was described by my girlfriend recently as ’slimy’, and that’s a pretty accurate description.  Aside from occasionally reading the news, he spends the majority of his time on air laughing almost incoherently at nothing.  There are either many cliquey in-jokes between the Mills team, or I’m simply missing the point.  We all know Scott Mills is gay, and lots of Chappers’ sniggering can be pinpointed to an underlying acknowledgement of some form of innuendo.  This simply isn’t funny, and hearing him faux-giggle himself to death has nearly lost me my car radio on many an occasion.

Last, but by definitely not least, there is a girl called Becky.  I have no idea what her role is, but it too consists principally of her constantly laughing at nothing.  An atypical posh bird the BBC is adept at employing, her insistent, childish chuckles whenever Scott says something remotely sarcastic or irreverent, are always the cue for me to come to my senses and switch to Radio 2.  She is by far the all encompassing reason for my new found hatred of this show.

So, am I simply growing out of this station?  Is this a form of entertainment for the new teenage and 20-something generations?  I sincerely hope not, as it’s the most vacuous, unintelligible, uninspiring dross I can recall hearing.

Si Raoul ** savait ! C’est un peu à cause de lui que je me suis décidé à lancer ce blog. Il y a de cela pile un an, Raoul et moi discutions politique. C’était un samedi matin et quelques jours auparavant, il avait participé à une émission de radio. Durant laquelle il avait fait une analyse que je pensais être très pertinente. Je le lui faisais savoir quand il m’a rétorqué « de toute manière, les paroles s’envolent, les écrits restent. Crois-tu qu’on va se souvenir de ce que j’ai dit à la radio ? Ce qui importe c’est la trace qu’on laisse en écrit ! » Avant de m’enjoindre à aller consulter les articles d’opinion que j’avais écrits jusqu’ici. Afin de déterminer si mes analyses avaient été justes. Si ma pensée était restée cohérente au fil des années. Ces conseils ne sont pas tombés dans l’oreille d’un sourd !

Profitant du temps libre dont je disposais durant ce week-end là, je suis allé consulter les archives de lexpress.mu. Le nouveau site n’existait pas encore. J’avais donc pu avoir accès à l’essentiel de mes papiers d’opinion de ces 4/5 dernières années ainsi qu’à plusieurs articles de fond que je considérais être importants. A l’issue de ce travail de compilation, j’ai donc poster un à un tous les articles. En le classant par catégorie, les taggant etc…

Mais restait une question essentielle. Je suis journaliste, pas bloggeur ! Qu’est-ce que j’allais pouvoir raconter (en dehors de ce que j’écris déjà dans l’express-dimanche )à ceux qui visiteraient mon blog?

La réponse coulait de source. Déjà, je ne peux pas écrire sur tout. Parfois des sujets que je considère intéressants pour mon édito passent à la trappe. Parce qu’ils ne sont pas suffisamment haut dans la hiérarchie de l’information cette semaine là. En d’autres occasions, c’est une petite anecdote dans l’actualité qui appelle spontanément un commentaire ou une petite analyse. Car bien souvent, si l’article n’est pas vite publié, il perd de sa pertinence…surtout quand le soufflet autour de cette actualité retombe rapidement. Dans d’autres cas, ce sont les coulisses du journal et du métier de journaliste qui sont intéressantes. Or, nos anecdotes, on se les garde habituellement entre nous. Il était temps que j’en partage certaines avec vous.

C’est dans cet esprit que j’ai écrit le premier article destiné spécifiquement pour le blog. Depuis, cahin-caha, les choses ont évolué. 194 autres articles ont été postés, ils ont recueilli environs 260 commentaires. Le blog n’est pas un aimant à visiteurs. En moyenne, il a reçu 30 clics par jour. Qui viennent essentiellement de Maurice, France, Grande Bretagne, USA et Canada.

Il y a bien eu quelques évènements qui ont amené les statistiques à crever le plafond. En décembre 2008, lexpress.mu a posté un lien vers mon blog. Résultat : 417 clics en une journée. Ce dimanche, la controverse autour de la photo de Navin Ramgoolam et d’Obama a également dopé les visites : 340 clics ce 28 septembre 2009. La photo de la discorde est d’ailleurs bien partie pour être l’article le plus consulté du blog. Pour le moment il est troisième. Derrière la partie « about » et un article sur l’avenir du secteur de la canne à Maurice, que j’avais écrit en juillet 2004.

Et maintenant, c’est quoi la suite ? Elle va être conforme à ce que je vous ai proposé jusqu’ici. Je vais continuer à partager avec vous mes éditos de l’express-dimanche et certaines de mes interviews sur Radio One. Tout en prenant le temps de vous fournir quelques bribes de ce qu’il se passe dans les coulisses de mon journal ainsi que dans le petit monde des gratte-papier à Maurice. Régulièrement, je tacherai aussi d’écrire des analyses et commentaires sur les questions économiques, politiques et sociales qui nous intéressent.

Voilà l’histoire de cette année passée. Le blog existe et fête sa première année d’existence grâce à vous. Alors je vous remercie pour vos visites régulières et pour votre participation sur le blog.

** Raoul est le deuxième prénom d’un individu qui en compte trois. Son troisième prénom étant Gervais. Certains le reconnaîtront!

Perhaps I need to explain that this cartoon originally appeared in a newspaper in late September 1967. Do you get it? No? Ah well…………

Most of those that know me will be aware of how much I love Radio One’s Live Lounge. Whilst it saddens me that the lovely Jo Whiley will now only look after the show on Saturdays, (and leave week days to Fearne Cotton), she has at least exited with the almighty bang that is Dizzee Rascal’s cover of Dirty Cash.

Originally a hit in 1990 for The Adventures Of Stevie V, the track begins with some amazing acoustic guitar, alerting you immediately that this, is Live Lounge gold. It’s no secret (but probably should be) that I’m a bit of a Dizzee fan, and with a catalogue of hits including the still catchy Dance Wiv Me (featuring Calvin Harris), plus plenty more star studded collaborations, it seems impossible for him to put a foot wrong. 

Mr Rascal’s version of Dirty Cash continues this track record by playing host to a bounty of funky Spanish guitar riffs, complimentary accapella vocals and super speedy rapping. Add the unmistakable sample of the original Dirty Cash track, and you’ve instantly resurrected the explosive hit of the 90s and injected it with modern edge. 

Dizee Rascal’s Dirty Cash is out now on his album Tongue N’ Cheek, but if you’re a fan of the Radio One show, then you might want to hold out, like me, for the next Live Lounge release. Here’s hoping that as Ms Cotton takes the baton for the weekday slot, she can persistently deliver (or rather, present) the outstanding performances that Whiley will no doubt continue to add to her repertoire, each and every Saturday.

Tune in to Radio One Live Lounge here at 11am, seven days a week.

Jay-Z explains the ROC symbol to a confused Jo Wiley on her BBC Radio 1 show (filmed in her home).

Right.. O.K… Jay.. LOL!!!

Victor Pérez - Valencia

NUEVAMENTE AL ATAQUE

Tras un verano arrasador con su gira global, el Dj valenciano residente de Pacha Vlc, vuelve al ataque a las ondas radiofónicas a través del 90.5 Radio ONE y su web www.radioonevalencia.es , será este viernes y sábado noche a partir de las 23´59 horas ,podrás escuchar novedades musicales en primicia, entrevistas, sorteos, agenda de ocio, sesiones de los mejores Djs del mundo y sobre todo de la ciudad. Todo eso y mucho mas podrás descubrir en tu B.S.O del fin de semana tiene nombre Victor Pérez House de Luxe Sexy recuerda a través del 90.5 Fm Radio ONE: una cita obligada cuando vas de camino a tu local favorito, etc…