I notice, with not very mush interest, that the BBC Electric Proms is about to start its 'third great year'. Does anyone really get excited about this? I really don't see the point, I'm sure Henry Wood never thought his legacy to the nation would see Oasis performing with a fifty voice choir, or Alison Goldfrapp operating a Theramin by waving it in front of her vagina.
And look at some of the other dreary names on there, Keane, Razorlight, the-bloke-off-the-Arctic-Monkey's-hobby-band-because-the-BBC-love-anything-remotely-zeitgeisty.
Why not put someone interesting on there, like Slayer? They're doing a British tour in the next week or so, they'd be available. If anyone needs electricity to perform it's them, and they'd be almost guaranteed a pretty big TV audience*.
And what happened to those other great 'annual music events'? National Music Day anyone (held once, notable for the youth groups, WIs, townswomen's guilds etc. up and down the country singing Lou Reed's anthem to heroin, Perfect Day, in unison)? John Peel Day (held twice on the date when Peel made his last Radio1 broadcast)? The British Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Induction (held twice, and pissed on its chips when Robbie Williams was inducted over a million other more worthy acts. And I'm including The Wurzels in that million)?
Which brings me on to the state of music on TV these days. I think things like Later and Live From Abbey Road are pretty tired formats. I'm not normally someone who bangs on about the good old days, but why can't someone do a TV show like The Tube these days? Do you remember how it was appointment television? The weekend really did start here for people of my generation. Can you imagine a programme on telly like that these days? A great format: a few live bands, interviews with an interviewer most of the guests want to take to bed, filmed reports, video exclusives, comedians and a smattering of poetry. See, it's not difficult, is it? I'm afraid the closest to that these days is on Radcliffe and Maconie's evening show on Radio2.
I'm a sucker for any documentary on music on BBC4 (even going as far as being inspired to buy Roxy Music's first two albums after their doco the other week), but they tend to look back, not forward. Surely BBC4 is the sort of channel designed to host something like The Tube. Instead they show those incredibly worthy BBC4 Sessions; not usually my cup of tea I'm afraid.
I think the answer is simple: someone, in TV, needs to employ me as a music editor. Are you listening More4? I can see it now, An Evening With Megadeth and Chums. Oh yes, pass the cigars.
I've just checked the Channel4 listings for this Friday in The Tube's old slot: The Paul O'Grady Show followed by The Simpsons (repeat) followed by Hollyoaks. Not very inspiring.....
Talking about Later, did anyone see Tom Jones on last night's? He looks like David Gest's even wankier brother. What's happened to his hair and face? I don't know who he's trying to kid, but nobody believes that's what a man pushing seventy looks like, do they? Mind you, I've never had much time for him anyway. I can't name a song of his I like, and, if it wasn't for Jonathan Ross, he'd be thought of in the same way today that Engelbert Humperdinck is.
*Even though they've just had to downgrade one venue from the cavernous Birmingham NEC to the cosier Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
And look at some of the other dreary names on there, Keane, Razorlight, the-bloke-off-the-Arctic-Monkey's-hobby-band-because-the-BBC-love-anything-remotely-zeitgeisty.
Why not put someone interesting on there, like Slayer? They're doing a British tour in the next week or so, they'd be available. If anyone needs electricity to perform it's them, and they'd be almost guaranteed a pretty big TV audience*.
And what happened to those other great 'annual music events'? National Music Day anyone (held once, notable for the youth groups, WIs, townswomen's guilds etc. up and down the country singing Lou Reed's anthem to heroin, Perfect Day, in unison)? John Peel Day (held twice on the date when Peel made his last Radio1 broadcast)? The British Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Induction (held twice, and pissed on its chips when Robbie Williams was inducted over a million other more worthy acts. And I'm including The Wurzels in that million)?
Which brings me on to the state of music on TV these days. I think things like Later and Live From Abbey Road are pretty tired formats. I'm not normally someone who bangs on about the good old days, but why can't someone do a TV show like The Tube these days? Do you remember how it was appointment television? The weekend really did start here for people of my generation. Can you imagine a programme on telly like that these days? A great format: a few live bands, interviews with an interviewer most of the guests want to take to bed, filmed reports, video exclusives, comedians and a smattering of poetry. See, it's not difficult, is it? I'm afraid the closest to that these days is on Radcliffe and Maconie's evening show on Radio2.
I'm a sucker for any documentary on music on BBC4 (even going as far as being inspired to buy Roxy Music's first two albums after their doco the other week), but they tend to look back, not forward. Surely BBC4 is the sort of channel designed to host something like The Tube. Instead they show those incredibly worthy BBC4 Sessions; not usually my cup of tea I'm afraid.
I think the answer is simple: someone, in TV, needs to employ me as a music editor. Are you listening More4? I can see it now, An Evening With Megadeth and Chums. Oh yes, pass the cigars.
I've just checked the Channel4 listings for this Friday in The Tube's old slot: The Paul O'Grady Show followed by The Simpsons (repeat) followed by Hollyoaks. Not very inspiring.....
Talking about Later, did anyone see Tom Jones on last night's? He looks like David Gest's even wankier brother. What's happened to his hair and face? I don't know who he's trying to kid, but nobody believes that's what a man pushing seventy looks like, do they? Mind you, I've never had much time for him anyway. I can't name a song of his I like, and, if it wasn't for Jonathan Ross, he'd be thought of in the same way today that Engelbert Humperdinck is.
*Even though they've just had to downgrade one venue from the cavernous Birmingham NEC to the cosier Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
2 comments:
I think it's interesting that The Tube was pre-MTV(or at least pre-Sky showing MTV in the UK). I think that programme makers perhaps assume that today's teenagers prefer to watch videos on MTV, VH1 and all those other channels to have a digest type programme.
The other thing about The Tube was that it was a product of 80s Channel 4, where they took a lot more risks than they seem to be doing these days.
Personally, I think the Heat and download generation just view music as a nother source of gossip and commodity respectively.
Channel 4, although a public servive broadcaster, does seem more concerned with shows that make them money these days.
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