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krj
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BBC listeners' notebook
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Mar 8 08:37 UTC 2002 |
Four days into my discovery of BBC Radio's Real Audio programming,
and I'm just bouncing off the walls with excitement.
The BBC runs a sizable number of channels. The three which
I draw on are:
-- BBC Radio Scotland, which offers two folk music shows during
the week, and more on weekends
-- BBC Radio 3, the "classical / fine arts" station.
The treasure here is the LATE JUNCTION show
-- BBC Radio 2, which offers the venerable program FOLK ON 2
So far I've listened to about six hours of LATE JUNCTION and
four hours of the midweek folk shows. And I'm so dazzled I
can't sleep.
I have not felt this much excitement about music since WEN.com went
out of business in January 2001. WEN offered canned "radio shows"
selected by folk & world music experts such as Ian Anderson (not the
Jethro Tull one) and Charlie Gillett. The BBC shows aren't
producing quite as much concentrated rapture as WEN did -- there was
one WEN one-hour show which led me to buy 8 of the 13 CDs sampled
-- but on the other hand, the BBC is likely to stay in business,
and they are producing about 16-20 hours per WEEK of stuff I want
to listen to.
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| 154 responses total. |
krj
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response 1 of 154:
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Mar 8 08:55 UTC 2002 |
If your eyes glaze over when Mickey, Twila and I start rattling on about
folk music, then you can skip everything I write about the midweek
folk shows. But I think many of the readers of this conference will
be interested in trying the LATE JUNCTION show. It airs at 22:15-midnight
UK time, which is 5:15 - 7 pm USA eastern time. LATE JUNCTION is a
delightful blend of musical styles; it's very reminiscent of the
early days of CBC's program BRAVE NEW WAVES from back in 1984, but
JUNCTION screens out the punk rock and poetry readings which were
staples on WAVES because it is a somewhat mellower program.
Things I want to remember from Monday's playlist: mostly a track from
the Shetland Islands band Fiddler's Bid, a mostly-fiddle folk band.
Other interesting stuff which was part of that hour: some kora music,
some American blues, four more UK folk tracks, and a section from
John Adams' SHAKER LOOPS.
Tuesday's show opened with a catchy song from Eileen Rose, who I found
described on Amazon as a cross between Janis Joplin and Tori Amos.
Definitely must buy her CD when it comes out in two weeks in the US.
Next was a "Toccata for Harp" by Nina Rota, followed by a fascinating
African lute piece set against a Cuban percussion backing.
I still have more of Tuesday's show to cover, but looking at the website
I see the show goes on to include early keyboard music composed by
William Byrd; the new Eliza Carthy album, marking her flight back to
traditional music; Steve Reich, Brian Eno and Charles Ives.
Note for Mike McNally: on Wednesday, the show aired a Yo La Tengo song,
can't remember precisely which one now.
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orinoco
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response 2 of 154:
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Mar 9 17:21 UTC 2002 |
Damn, but this is ma,king me wish I had a worthwhile net connection....
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gelinas
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response 3 of 154:
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Mar 10 16:03 UTC 2002 |
For the newbies around here, can give you us an idea of how to get to the BBC?
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gelinas
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response 4 of 154:
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Mar 10 16:07 UTC 2002 |
(I'm not totally hopeless; I am listening to WEMU's offering right now.)
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krj
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response 5 of 154:
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Mar 10 20:04 UTC 2002 |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio is a page indexing lots of the BBC
radio channels.
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krj
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response 6 of 154:
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Mar 10 20:27 UTC 2002 |
For 17 years I've been reading about the shows by renowned radio host
Andy Kershaw, and so when I finally got to hear one on Friday evening
it was a bit of a disappointment. I may just not have been in the
right mood. However, the two songs which did make my ears perk up
were by Richard Thompson and Linda Thompson. They have separate
contributions on a new Cajun music project called EVANGELINE MADE.
(Sniffing around elsewhere on web: the album was put together by noted
Cajun traditional musician Ann Savoy, and other participants in the
project include John Fogerty, Maria McKee and Nick Lowe.)
I think this is the first new Linda Thompson recording I've heard
since '85.
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gelinas
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response 7 of 154:
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Mar 11 00:43 UTC 2002 |
Looks like iTunes won't cut it. I'll have to try this later.
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krj
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response 8 of 154:
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Mar 11 15:24 UTC 2002 |
On the Internet, the BBC is sending Real Audio. I don't know what you
need to do to get Real to cooperate with your net browser, since you are
a Mac user.
The BBC launched a new station today. Radio 6 appears to be some sort
of "serious rock" station, covering stuff from "classic rock" up through
PJ Harvey and The Strokes. I've only had a chance to listen for a few
minutes. The new station is only being broadcast on UK digital and
satellite radio, and on the net. (The UK is substantially ahead of
the US in digital radio broadcasting. UK classical music magazines
have been carrying ads and reviews for digital radio receivers for
some time.)
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krj
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response 9 of 154:
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Mar 12 20:42 UTC 2002 |
Today's Celtic Connections show on Radio Scotland has been just
delightful. More from Martyn Bennett's new "Glen Lyon" album, and
also the Peatbog Faeries (from an album I owned which was stolen, grrr);
Natalie MacMaster (with singing!). Despite my allergy to singer-songwriters,
I was very pleased by the duo from Chris While and Julie Matthews, from
an album which seems to be a Carole King tribute. Also: the new
La Bottine Souriante, and finally a chance to hear the Taj Mahal &
Toumani Diabate album -- nothing more celtic than that, I tell you!
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krj
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response 10 of 154:
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Mar 12 21:00 UTC 2002 |
Add in Alyth McCormack, yet another Scottish artist setting traditional
material to contemporary dance sounds.
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anderyn
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response 11 of 154:
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Mar 13 01:16 UTC 2002 |
Oooooh.,
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krj
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response 12 of 154:
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Mar 13 18:48 UTC 2002 |
Radio 6 was being fun this afternoon; of particular note was
The Mighty Lemon Drops (I think, and the track title got lost)
and Beth Orton's song "Best Bit." Argh, I have a Beth Orton CD
somewhere but the house ate it before I ever played it.
There was also an interview with Billy Bragg and I caught just the
last track from his new album, which sounded a little too preachy
for my taste.
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krj
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response 13 of 154:
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Mar 13 21:20 UTC 2002 |
Mickey pointed out that Radio 6's Real Audio stream is 64K, which
sounds much better than the 44K maximum available on the other
channels. Presumably this is because the net is a primary medium
for Radio 6, which has no analog over-the-air broadcast.
I've read that an Ogg Vorbis stream is available for Radio 1;
I haven't pursued this because Radio 1's sound -- probably described
as "urban contemporary" -- doesn't appeal to me.
But someone might find it interesting to play with.
(Ogg Vorbis is the open source version of MP3, which was created
when the holders of Mp3 patents started seeking royalties.)
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mcnally
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response 14 of 154:
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Mar 13 22:14 UTC 2002 |
re #12: I recommend Orton's "Best Bit" EP for the two songs she
performs with Chicago jazz musician Terry Callier, both of which
are excellent tracks. Of her full-length albums, I like a lot of
"Central Reservation" but never much cared for "Trailer Park"..
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dbratman
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response 15 of 154:
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Mar 14 18:09 UTC 2002 |
Ken wrote, "Add in Alyth McCormack, yet another Scottish artist setting
traditional material to contemporary dance sounds."
What counts as "contemporary dance sounds" these days? Rap beat?
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krj
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response 16 of 154:
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Mar 14 19:10 UTC 2002 |
Techno, probably. I'm not up on the terminology. She's a gorgeous
singer; when I have a moment I'll dig up her CD company website address.
(Her album also has a USA release on Compass Records.)
Eeek! I almost forgot to "tune in" for the Travelling Folk show
on Radio Scotland. Today it's a tribute/memorial to the late
Hamish Henderson.
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krj
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response 17 of 154:
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Mar 15 01:55 UTC 2002 |
And the second hour of Travelling Folk was a concert by The Dubliners,
who are old-fashioned but kind of fun. All the folk shows (in both
the US and UK) are doing their St. Patrick's Day specials; the
Mike Harding show on Wednesday was all Irish folks, and I already owned
more than half the discs from which they played songs. But it was
good to hear something from the new Christy Moore, which I don't
have, and the new Chieftains (yuck!), and there was an interview
with Cathy Jordan of Dervish.
I've run into problems with the Late Junction show. Last week the
show was hosted by Verity Sharp and I loved most of it; this week's
host is Fiona Tarkington and I haven't liked it much at all.
There was one track I did like today, which came right before
the big Messaien piano piece; I'll have to wait until the playlist
goes up in a day or so to find out what it is. The Late Junction
folks do seem to like their Messaien.
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krj
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response 18 of 154:
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Mar 15 02:47 UTC 2002 |
Got it. I'm listening to the first half of the show, and they played
another track from that wonderful album. It's NAVIGATORE by Renaud
Garcia-Fons. The artist is a bass player who seems to be straddling
jazz, classical and Mediterranean folk music. It's got that wonderful
Mediterranean texture that Mickey and I like in a lot of music
from Spain and Italy and France.
And I can't find anyone who's got the disc in stock online.
It's a 2000 or 2001 Enja label release. Daggone it, Enja did not
used to be difficult label to find. Amazon.co.uk says they could
get it in a week, maybe.
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krj
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response 19 of 154:
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Mar 15 19:06 UTC 2002 |
Andy Kershaw's show today is supposed to include a concert session
with the Be Good Tanyas. Radio 3 at 5:15 pm USA Eastern Time, if I
remember correctly.
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krj
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response 20 of 154:
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Mar 17 01:29 UTC 2002 |
The Messiaen which "Late Junction" was playing turns out to be
two-piano pieces called "Visions de l'Amen." Interesting stuff.
The recording they've been playing is a Wergo label issue from 1993,
with Begona Uriarte and Karl-Hermann Mrongovius playing. (Who?)
In catalogs I found a Martha Argerich recording.
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krj
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response 21 of 154:
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Mar 19 00:00 UTC 2002 |
Ah, nothing wonderful lasts forever. The Guardian ran an article
about plans for the Times (UK) news operations to start charging
for access to their sites. Buried at the bottom was this:
Regarding registered users of the Times Online services:
> Anyone registered from overseas will now have to pay
> a subscription to access any part of the site.
> However, Mr Hayes insisted that the 10 content "channels"
> culled from the daily paper will remain free to UK users.
> In a move that could have implications for the BBC's desire
> to charge overseas visitors to access its sites, Mr Hayes
> insisted the site will employ technology that can identify a
> user's home country with over 90% accuracy.
(I'll start a general "end of free content" item in Agora, so don't
follow that drift here, OK?)
I'm going to write the BBC and ask what their thoughts are.
I'd actually be willing to pay to be able to continue to stream
these programs, depending on what the costs are.
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krj
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response 22 of 154:
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Mar 20 18:29 UTC 2002 |
Late Junction has had a number of interesting performers
featured over the last two nights. Usually they have
played a couple of tracks from each CD. Just namedropping:
Philip Glass & Foday Muso Suso
Kimmo Pohjonen, from the album KIELO. Finnish accordion player,
Steve Andre liked his pieces a lot.
Bjork's more recent album VESPERTINE
Kerekes Egyuttes, a Hungarian folk band
Susana Baca, her new cd ESPIRITUVIVO, sounded very fine
Pat Metheny, pleasant but not compelling
Much of the programs have been taken up with contemporary Passion
oratorios, which they have been playing in chunks: by Sofia Gubaidulina
and John Caldwell.
Tuesday's "Celtic Connections" show on Radio Scotland opened with a
great unreleased track from the new band Sunhoney. This was a set
of fiddle tunes, but I believe the band is reported to have Alyth
McCormack as a member so presumably there will be singing too.
The web page for World Music on BBC Radio 3 contains about 90 minutes
of music recorded at a charity benefit for Afghanistan. I have not
played it yet; the only performer I recognize was Cheb Khaled.
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other
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response 23 of 154:
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Mar 20 18:41 UTC 2002 |
have Bjork and Philip Glass ever recorded together? that would be
interesting.
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orinoco
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response 24 of 154:
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Mar 21 15:22 UTC 2002 |
Phillip Glass has done a couple of collaborations with pop musicians, but
AFAIK they were all pre-Bjork -- or at least, back when she was still a
Sugarcube. Then again, I try not to pay too close attention to what Glass
has been up to. He just has this nasty habit of collaborating with people
I like (David Bowie and Paul Simon, to name two).
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