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| 25 new of 154 responses total. |
krj
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response 25 of 154:
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Mar 22 06:24 UTC 2002 |
I think I'm hitting total satiation on BBC radio shows and I may need
to take a week or so off. Today's Archie Fisher show ("Travelling
Folk," BBC Radio Scotland, 2pm-4pm Eastern) included five or six
live-in-studio tracks with a fun bagpipe band called Daimh (pronounced
"dive"). They also featured some old Stan Rogers songs.
If nothing else, I'm getting into some listening fatigue from
too many hours of 44K Real Audio streams.
Mickey, get in here and talk about the Iain Anderson show, OK?
(This is neither the Jethro Tull guy nor the Folk Roots magazine
editor; there are *3* Ia(i)n Andersons in the British music scene...)
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micklpkl
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response 26 of 154:
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Mar 22 17:02 UTC 2002 |
Oh, okay. :) Iain Anderson's show is broadcast Monday through Friday, from
14:05 to 16:00, GMT (That's 9:05am-11am Eastern), live from Aberdeen,
Scotland. He plays an eclectic mix of Celtic music interspersed with
contemporary pop music, news, interviews & previews. I find that it's perfect
for my early morning listening tastes. Most days I don't even bother with
local radio. Some highlights from this morning's programme, which was one of
the better ones:
I tuned in right at the end of a song sung by Faith Hill. Yipe.
Next up was ASTRID, "Strange Weather Lately" ... Glasgow-based group
sounding Beatle-ish but nice. I remember that they were voted "Best New
Discovery" or something at SxSW 2000.
The Proclaimers have been Iain's "artists of the week" and he played
a great song "Sweet Little Girls" from their album PERSEVERE (2001).
Another great track off of Christy Moore's newest, THIS IS THE DAY
Croft No.5 - another great Scottish group combining traditional
melodies with dance and funk grooves. I've loved everthing I've heard (Iain
plays them a lot) off their debut, ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL.
Sounded awesome going into Alyth McCormack's HI HORO (see ken's notes
above)
Then there was Lyle Lovett, Sheryl Crow (gasp!), Cowboy Junkies,
finally ending with some great Celtic tunes from Colcannon, John McCusker and
Runrig.
That should give a decent look into the type of music that gets played on
Iain's show. It's a lot of fun.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioscotland
Oh, yeah -- thought I'd mention that Iain answers e-mail, often live on the
air. iainanderson@bbc.co.uk
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krj
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response 27 of 154:
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Mar 26 19:30 UTC 2002 |
I've had to throw in the towel on Late Junction for a couple of
weeks. I just don't have 8 hours a week for it.
I seem to have settled on CELTIC CONNECTIONS on Tuesday, Mike Harding's
folk show on Wednesday, Archie Fishers' TRAVELLING FOLK on
Thursday, and Andy Kershaw on Friday. That's six hours a week
which is about all I can manage right now.
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krj
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response 28 of 154:
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Mar 26 22:13 UTC 2002 |
Just looked at the playlist for Late Junction on Monday,
the show I deliberately skipped, and sighed;
almost all folk/world music. Verity Sharp is hosting this
week, and maybe she does the shows I like. Of course it was
largely performers I was already familiar with, so ...
Late Junction has two presenters, Verity Sharp and Fiona Talkington,
and I don't know what their duty cycles are.
Unrelated note for Mickey: next Tuesday's Celtic Connections
show is to include a live set from the Spanish band Alboka, recorded
earlier at the Celtic Connections festival.
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micklpkl
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response 29 of 154:
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Apr 1 15:22 UTC 2002 |
A couple of notes: on 31 March, The U.K. switched to Summer Time (GMT+1). So,
remember that when searching for scheduled programmes originating in the UK
or Europe.
Radio Scotland did some rearranging of the schedule, and Iain Anderson has
been removed from his Mon-Fri 2-hour afternoon (local) gig, and placed into
a 21:00-22:00 time slot. I don't know if this is an April Fool's prank or
what; I am not amused. His new show is said to concentrate on "the marvellous
world of the singer-songwriter." His replacement in the 14:05-16:00 slot is
Tom Morton, a crofter from the Shetland Islands. :)
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dbratman
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response 30 of 154:
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Apr 2 00:44 UTC 2002 |
Not only has Philip Glass collaborated with David Bowie and Paul Simon,
he's also collaborated with Suzanne Vega and the Roches. If he hadn't
already won my favor, that would have nailed it.
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krj
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response 31 of 154:
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Apr 3 18:54 UTC 2002 |
Some notes to myself on recent yummy things heard on my fragments
of Late Junction listening:
Thursday: The hurdy gurdy piece I did not get identified at broadcast
time was by Gilles Chabenat, "Le Jardin Aux Orties", from the album
"Mouvements Clos" on the Buda label. I have a feeling I have something
else on hurdy-gurdy by Chabenat in a box somewhere. Something
for the next order from alapage.com, I guess.
Two tracks after that was Jah Wobble with Natacha Atlas guesting,
from the album "Shout at the Devil." (Sure took the BBC folks long
enough to get that Thursday playlist posted on their web site.)
Monday: a Turkish setting of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows"
from an album "Beatles a la Turka" on the Muzikotek label.
*That* should be fun to hunt down.
Tuesday included a June Tabor song which Mickey said was from the
"Aleyn" album; what was the title, Mickey? I'd sort of stopped
paying a lot of attention to Tabor some years back, after I
wore out her grim acapella style.
Tuesday's "reception" was the worst I'd ever heard for the BBC on the
net. Steve Andre speculated that there were major transatlantic
connection problems. I stopped counting the signal breaks after
six or so. Amazingly, the one hour which counted most -- the one
which included the 40-minute live set by Basque/Celtic band Alboka
from Radio Scotland -- was the one time the signal came in without
a glitch.
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micklpkl
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response 32 of 154:
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Apr 3 22:29 UTC 2002 |
That June Tabor song was her rendition of Johnny O'Bredislee/Glory Of The
West, I believe. Thanks for mentioning it again.
I really enjoyed "beatles a la turka." :)
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krj
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response 33 of 154:
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Apr 8 23:51 UTC 2002 |
This is mostly for Mickey. The Norwegian track we heard with female
vocals on "Late Junction" tonight was by Agnes Buen Garnas and Jan
Garbarek. If it's from the ROSENFOLE album, I have it in a box somewhere.
Nothing like having an exotic British internet radio program
to reintroduce me to stuff I already own. :/
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krj
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response 34 of 154:
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Apr 16 21:19 UTC 2002 |
Something I heard tonight on Iain Anderson's singer-songwriter show
was "Caleb Meyer" by Gillian Welch, which is from the HELL AMONG THE
YEARLINGS album, which I already have in a box somewhere. Sigh.
Celtic Connections began at 19:15 UK time / 2:15 US Eastern time
today. I don't know if the expansion of the 7 pm news report is
a permanent change, or if it was a one-shot change due to the
crisis in Scottish soccer. It wasn't a great show today;
the only track which grabbed me was from Basque accordion player
Kepa Junkera, and I already have that.
I'm taking a break from most of the BBC shows this week.
I am not setting up for "Late Junction" right now, no I am not...
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mcnally
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response 35 of 154:
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Apr 16 22:38 UTC 2002 |
"Caleb Meyer" is a decent song but I think "Hell Among the Yearlings"
is Welch's weakest album. I strongly recommend her album from last year,
though -- "Time (the Revelator)"
It's got a a few minor flaws, but they're more than made up for by the
strength of of the material. Definitely something I think Ken would
enjoy, and probably a number of the other participants here, too..
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krj
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response 36 of 154:
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Apr 16 23:12 UTC 2002 |
I don't know why I keep pushing the "Time" album down in the buy
queue. I'm most fond of Welch's first album.
Nice track on Fiona's "Late Junction" tonight from Mari Boine;
either the track or the song was titled "Eight Seasons."
There was one interesting accordion track; the rest of the show
just sort of washed over me.
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krj
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response 37 of 154:
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Apr 25 21:06 UTC 2002 |
Making notes for Mickey and myself:
Two interesting tracks from Monday's "Late Junction" can now be
identified, now that the tardy playlists are up.
James Yorkston and the Athletes play "The Lang Toun," a quite long,
guitar-heavy kinda folk rock thing sorta kinda. Unfortunately
this song only seems to exist as a 10" vinyl single, and the
amazon.co.uk blurb on Yorkston's coming album expresses disappointment
that the song is not part of the album. On the label Domino Records.
There was also a bagpipe/african percussion thing from Jimi McRae,
alias Jimi the Piper, whose album is available from MusicScotland.com.
-----
Today's "Travelling Folk" show (host Archie Fisher) was from the
Shetland Folk Festival and contained a bounty of yummy stuff.
Mickey tells me I missed some nice stuff by Karine Polwart before
I could tune in. I heard yet another track I liked by Mary Gauthier;
her promo stuff has really put me off, but I have now really liked
two songs of hers which I have heard on the BBC.
Dan Crary and Beppe Gambetta are doing some flatpicking wizardry;
alas, I am not sure that the song I liked the best, "Nashville Blues,"
has been recorded by them. It's originally by the Delmore Brothers.
There was a nice version of "The Silkie" by a new band, Fine Friday,
whose album "Gone Dancin'" is due out imminently, and I heard yet
another tasty track by Nancy Kerr & James Fagen, and I am just
gonna run out and get that one. Tonight.
Radio Scotland still hadn't fixed the channel balance problem,
daggone it. Left channel was very weak on both of the shows
we listened to this week. We sent them e-mail today.
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micklpkl
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response 38 of 154:
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Apr 28 18:05 UTC 2002 |
I listened to TRAVELLING FOLK again, twice --- once on the Saturday
rebroadcast (still balance issues) and once as I was editing the
recording I'd made. It was a super show, I thought.
One thing Ken might not have heard was an a capella number by Bill
Jones, and an instrumental guitar piece by Tony McManus --- both on the
schedule for the Orkney Folk Festival, which Archie was flogging since
he's also performing. :) 23-26 May 2002
The Karine Polwart song was with Malinky, but was a song of her own
composition, "The Dreadful End of Marianna for Sorcery" ... rather
beautiful, in that haunting Scottish way. I think I need to hear more
from Malinky.
The Dan Crary / Gambetta number that I liked best was the second song
played in the first hour, "Thunderation." ... also "Mozart in Hell" was
a crackin little number (as they say ... lol). Who were the Delmore
Bros.? Crary & Gambetta had a really funny conversation with Archie
Fisher, in the second hour, that had me crackin up when I listened on
headphones and could pay attention to the accents.
The live guests in the first hour were the new Shetland trio Milladen.
They played a couple of good sets of tunes. The guitarist (name
escaping me) is evidently an auld acquaintance of Archie's, having
played with the group Hom Bru for some 25 years.
I didn't get pulled in much by Mary Gauthier, I guess. However, the
artist in the line-up right after her was *amazing* ... Tony Reidy, a
poet from County Mayo, recently turned songwriter, sang an original
song called "Draiodoir Dubh" --- this was simple, but with a lot of
depth. The refrain, "I was a boy, but I was growing / Lost the magic in
the knowing..." still echoes in my mind. It's growing on me, and I'm
gonna have to find his self-produced album, THE COLDEST DAY IN WINTER.
So what are your impressions of the Nancy Kerr & James Fagan CD, Ken? I
really loved that version of "Dance To Your Daddy" mixed with something
called "The Flaming Drones" ... I would enjoy hearing your impressions
of the rest of the disc, whenever you get around to it. :)
I will be ordering the Fine Friday disc, myself. That version of "The
Selkie" was wonderful, and seeing as I'm becoming a collector of that
song, I must own it. The first verse is sung unlike any other recorded
version I've heard. I do think it's one of the alternate versions
written in the _Children of the Sea_ book, though. So ... the guy in
Fine Friday is Chris Drever, who is Ivan Drever's (of Wolfstone) son, I
guess? A solo track by Ivan Drever preceded "The Selkie," one off his
THE ORKNEY YEARS CD.
Great show, indeed.
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dbratman
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response 39 of 154:
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Apr 29 18:13 UTC 2002 |
Unfortunately when I think of the Orkneys and music, what pops up in my
mind is Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
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micklpkl
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response 40 of 154:
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Apr 29 18:49 UTC 2002 |
I'll have to look that up, since I have no idea who you're talking about. :)
One thing that kept me wondering, when listening to Archie Fisher talking
about musicians from Orkney, was the word "Orkadian." To my ears, this sounded
like "Arcadian" and it took me several listens to figure out what was meant
by this word. :-)
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dbratman
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response 41 of 154:
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May 2 00:07 UTC 2002 |
Sir Max, as he's known for short, is perhaps the leading living British
composer of what we may, for lack of a better term, call classical
music. I attended the US premiere of his Eighth Symphony a couple
months ago. He's lived in the Orkneys for many years, and incorporates
Orkneyan and Scottish references into his music: one of his best-known
works is "An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise", with a solo part for
highland bagpipe.
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krj
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response 42 of 154:
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May 2 21:58 UTC 2002 |
I blew off the "Travelling Folk" show on Radio Scotland today
in favor of a leisurely lunch with Steve Andre at a new Thai
restaurant. I'm feeling overwhelmed with music right now anyway,
and Radio Scotland still hasn't fixed the channel balance problem.
I did listen in to the last 45 minutes, where they previewed and
mostly panned the upcoming Blue Murder album. Poo, I liked all
the tracks they played from it. (The first Travelling Folk show
of the month is the Album Review show.)
Blue Murder has been an occasional British folk project for years,
but no albums have ever been released until now.
It's a folk acapella supergroup: originally it was
The Watersons + Swan Arcade, but mortality and retirements
have changed it somewhat so it is now most of the Watersons
family -- Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, and
Norma's brother Mike Waterson -- plus Coope Boyes & Simpson
(Jim Boyes was in Swan Arcade).
Radio 3's "Late Junction" show was delayed almost an hour tonight
by a feature documentary, so I went cruising around and found
the legendary John Peel show on Radio 1. Actually had some rock
music I found interesting; one band was Samurai Seven, and another,
all instrumental, was Difficult Proof of UFOs (I think).
Peel's show conflicts pretty directly with Late Junction --
Peel is on Radio 1 Tues-Wed-Thurs 2200-0000 UK time.
Argh.
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krj
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response 43 of 154:
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May 4 05:31 UTC 2002 |
Andy Kershaw's Friday show contained a couple of delights, two of
which are sending me rushing an order out to Amazon if I can't
find the CDs downtown this weekend.
The show opened with a pounding track from Rachid Taha's recent
live album. I've heard a bit of Algerian Rai before and liked it,
but I hadn't heard much recently, except for some Khaled on another
BBC show which piqued my interest. This track was great; chanting
call and response, thundering drumming, an electric guitar, and it all
goes on for about ten minutes. I've played my recording of this about
nine times in the last seven hours. Wow.
Second wonderful track was by Cornershop, a very 70's-rock sounding
track called "Lessons Learned From Rocky I to Rocky III."
Cornershop has been a problem band for me; I loved the single
"Brimful of Asha" but didn't like anything else I heard from that
previous album. (Cornershop are scheduled to be live-in-studio
on Kershaw's show next week, 5:15 Eastern time on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3 )
And there was yet another track from Mary Gauthier's album, New Orleans
folkie who, from her press material, I had expected to intensely dislike.
This is the third time I've liked a Gauthier track on a BBC show.
Filling out the rest of the show: a couple of blues songs; an Irish
accordion instrumental from Sharon Shannon; a Joni Mitchell song from
The Band's "The Last Waltz"; 10,000 Maniacs. The touted centerpiece
of the show, a 30 minute set recorded in concert by Oliver Mtuzudki,
left me cold, possibly because of the sub-par recording quality.
I vaguely remember liking Mtuzudki's previous CD.
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mcnally
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response 44 of 154:
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May 5 02:20 UTC 2002 |
Speaking of "The Last Waltz" -- I'm guessing that there's some sort
of anniversary re-release thing going on, as a theater in Seattle's
U District was showing it last week and it looked like probably a
new print. Definitely worth catching.
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krj
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response 45 of 154:
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May 5 03:47 UTC 2002 |
Yup, rerelease of the film; the soundtrack album recompiled into a
4-CD set adding 24 songs from the original 3-LP release;
and I think the DVD comes out this week, or thereabouts.
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krj
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response 46 of 154:
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May 8 19:48 UTC 2002 |
Right now, Mike Harding (BBC Radio 2 folk show) is hosting a guest
appearance by Tim Eriksen, of the American band Cordelia's Dad.
("There aren't many people who have worked with Kurt Cobain and Doc
Watson," said Harding, though I think he has Cobain confused with
Steve Albini, who produced the most recent Cordelia's Dad album.)
Tim says there will be a rock Cordelia's Dad album out in the spring;
guess I need to go look at the website. I've written at length
about Cordelia's Dad before; they have veered wildly between
punk-influenced rock and militantly trad folk over the last 15 years.
And with the "O Brother" mini-craze in American roots music,
Cordelia's Dad picks *now* to come out with a rock album.
Timing, guys, timing... :/
Yesterday's Celtic Connections show was pretty good, though Radio
Scotland has *still* not fixed the channel balance problem, grrrr.
The live session was by the Finlay MacDonald Band; MacDonald is a
bagpiper who plays with a guitarist and a drummer; some of the
tracks were very rock-sounding while others stuck more closely to
the Scottish military pipe band tradition.
Mary Ann Kennedy, the host, also played a track from the new
Baka Beyond CD; the song is sung in Gaelic and Mary Ann had an
entertaining rant about how bad the Gaelic pronounciation was.
(She did say you should get the CD anyway if you aren't a native
speaker.) Also played was a new track from the flute-based band
Flook.
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krj
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response 47 of 154:
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May 9 20:13 UTC 2002 |
And Flook is getting the BBC hype treatment, because they were
on today's "Travelling Folk" show with a concert set, maybe
five-six songs? Next week's show promises a concert set by
The Poozies, which is tremendously exciting for me: this is the
first sighting of the Poozies since band member Patsy Seddon's
husband died last year (Davy Steele, of a brain tumor), and
the first chance I've had to hear the band since Elidh Shaw replaced
Kate Rusby.
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micklpkl
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response 48 of 154:
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May 10 01:21 UTC 2002 |
Cool news about The Poozies! I wish I could've caught the show today with
Flook, too. (I heard three songs by them on the Live Sessions page of the
Celtic Roots section of the BBC Scotland website and really enjoyed all of
it)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/musicscotland/celticroots/
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krj
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response 49 of 154:
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May 10 20:22 UTC 2002 |
The BBC reported to me that they found a busted sound card in the
PC which encodes the Radio Scotland feed for Real Audio.
They replaced it, and the channel balance problem is now fixed.
Yay!
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