85 Revived

It hasn't been too exciting today, save for sorting out more
radio related stuff.

Tomorrow on the other hand should be the reverse, what with another
edition of Trevor Dann's SOTTC on Radio 2 tomorrow evening,
where they've finally reached the year of my birth.

So I should expect to hear tunes from Dead Or Alive, Paul Hardcastle,
and Feargal Sharkey in there.

The BBC Xmas press release has been issued online, but at the
risk of sounding like an old bastard, I refuse to bat an eyelid until
reading the Christmas Radio Times.

That still remains one of the most exciting times of year, and
reading it all on a web browser just doesn't have the same charm
as off of a physical copy.

I'd best make the most of it before RT is sold off.

Bandwagons Per Minute

I finally managed to discover a function on Adobe Audition that I wish
I had found years ago, that being the option to have the on-screen
timer counting the beats per minute rather than minutes and seconds.

There's also the option to change the number of BPMs (or should
that be BsPM?) on the multitrack rule, an option which I thought
was exclusive just to ProTools, but it appears there's more to Audition
than meets the eye.

And I'm still using version 1.5 which must be about 8 years old by now.

Editing software aside, life in general is still pretty dull, with the pop
band-wagon of reunions still showing no signs of stopping with
rumours of an S Club reunion.

I never had anything against the band, but with the Steps reunion just
months ago, the current "inferior" Toys R Us advert is ringing true.

A generation who just "don't won't to grow up".

This coming from an individual who purchased a selection of Look-In
magazines from 1989 on eBay yesterday.

The Cheesecake Trilogy

Entertainment earlier today was provided by Rich Hall's recent BBC Four
documentary Continental Drifters, a personal probe into the evolution
of the road trip movie.

Anyone who enjoyed the Dirty South one-off from last year won't
be disappointed as Hall's un-compromising look into the best and worst
films of the genre proved both entertaining and informative, even if
like me you haven't seen many films from said genre.

Without giving too much away, highlights included the many digs
at Jeremy Clarkson, an explanation as to why there have been
no "serious" British road movies, and a rant about the Star Wars
franchise, substituting the Star Wars brand name for cheesecake
of all things.

Overall it pretty much gave me a greater idea as to why I don't drive,
although part of that is also because there are better things for
me to blow my money on.

Well, things that are more to my liking but aren't actually that
useful.

Still, only live once.

No idea what I'm doing tomorrow, with the only thing really worth
looking forward to this week being Tuppence And The Gang
coming back to the Maiden's Head on Saturday.

Dead As A Devlin

I went into Canterbury this lunchtime to do the Christmas shopping with
Concha, and am now feeling rather smug about getting it all sorted.

Concha seemed rather keen of buying presents in a jokey, getting-your-own
back vein, but I resisted the temptation, even if Olly has sent Mum and Dad
a load of rubbish in the mail this year, with his greetings cards and so on.

We then went for lunch at ASK where as always I had a superb
penne al pollo de la cassa, and ideal for the not so warm temperatures.

I was on a bit of a downer after getting home and finding out
about Gary Speed, almost forgetting what time of day it was
after waking up from a lie down, but luckily it was an hour before
having to turn up for tonight's radio show where I was a bit on edge
it must be said.

I'm a bit better now, after seeing Janet Deadlin getting booted
from The X Factor, where the show is now in a position where any
of the acts are ones I'd personally see as success stories.

A lot more than those taking part in I'm A Celebrity, which I gave
up on almost a week ago as I'm just not warming to any of them
and it's becoming lazy and repetitive as a whole.

In short, there's just no one on there who I want to see winning,
and the shit stirring looks very contrived and knowing.

On a more positive note, there have been good results at
the BAFTA Children's Awards taking place tonight with
Horrible Histories winning best comedy, wildlife show Deadly 60
just beating Helen Skelton's tightrope attempt to Best Factual,
and last December's revival of Just William winning Best Drama.

A series that was not given a fair run in the schedules, but then
again I was in a more celebratory mood with the recent axing
of Shooting Stars, dropped for similar "logistical" reasons.

(Searching For A Clean "Old Kent Road" Pun)

Well, today yet again was a washout.

What was meant to be a pub crawl ended up being a long walk down
the Old Kent Road and travelling back by bus, as I couldn't
find the protagonists anywhere in Lewisham, despite sending out
text messages.

The main do is actually happening later on at a specially
reserved pub, but the idea of staying in London alone for hours on end
wasn't enough to tempt me, let alone having to get the last train
back to Canterbury nearing midnight.

I really should think things through properly, rather than taking
the "deep end" solution.

So that more or less means one last Saturday in front of the X Factor
with the Twitteratti providing live commentary, and finishing off what
was actually a rather nice bol from last night.

I accidentally put too much paprika into it, so maybe I'll adapt that
method for a short while.

In the long run I'm becoming more concious of my visits to London,
especially as most of them this year have been comedowns to put it
nicely.

With two coming up in December, I'll reluctantly forgo the recording
of Victoria Coren's Radio 4 panel show as it's being recorded
in South London and...

Well, most of my outings south of the river this year have been rather
depressing, today included.

Unintentionally Awake

The effects of my drinking intake last night are beginning to have some
sort of effect on me, by messing about with my head and connecting
thoughts together that shouldn't be connected.

Being up at stupid o'clock doesn't help either, and I'm pretty certain
that I doubt I'll be able to last the whole hog of the planned London
outing later today.

I've double checked the train times and it looks as if that the last train
I have to get to ensure getting back before 1am is to get the 10:20.

However there's an awful lot spiralling inside my head, and once
that's cleared it will make things a lot easier to deal with.

I've become a really bad lightweight this year, although on the plus
side, it's cutting down on the cash spending.

A Bit Too Merry?

A CSR social was in order of tonight's proceedings, this time at Mungo's
bar on the University of Kent campus.

We had a visit from an old stalwart of the station, that being
Andrew Venning former head of music and station manager, who's
popped back to Canterbury to attend a mate's graduation.

Also present was another ex-head of music Peter, who finally
got round to uploading the video highlights of our Lounge On The Farm
outside broadcast, which I'll go as far as saying is the best O/B I have
ever participated in.

Not least for James Waters' constant playing of old Radio 1 jingles,
namely the Phillip Schofield namecheck.

I stuck around until about 9, when the resident DJ started spinning
the disks at perhaps too loud a volume for my liking.

There was a really good turnout of current members as well,
a cause for plenty of drunken behaviour not least from head of
speech Daryl, and new Friday breakfast show host Dan who
insisted on endless refrains of "Wherever You May Go" by The Calling,
and "Step Into Christmas" by Elton John.

Annoying as it was, I joked that it sounded like a station music demonstrator
performed live, and as soon as I got home, I "realised" the concept and
the result can be heard below.



Yes it is rather embarrassing, not least because it breaks the
many a rule of demonstrators by changing the backbeat without warning,
and including two songs by the same artist.

I very much doubt that will actually get played on air considering
the "in-jokey" nature of it all.

Early start tomorrow, heading to South London for Martin Perret's
leaving do.

I'm pretty certain there will be a few new faces present, but as long
as it's raucous enough, I should have a good time.

Possible Job Progression?

I'm in another of those moods where I'm bloody well full up.
Well, for about 10 minutes and I get a craving for raspberry cheesecake.

Today I went on the first day of a course with the aim being to
help me get back into work, and it was well structured and looks
as if it will be very helpful as it goes along.

Not having to travel that far from the house is helpful too.

The course itself lasts three months with lectures split every two
weeks so I'm presuming the one on the 8th of December
will be the last before Christmas.

Actually that will more than likely be the case as I'm away on the 22nd
at the holiday house, but as long as I tell them in advance it should be fine.

Jumping On Absolute Radio's Bandwagon

As far as radio shows go, I'm pretty much sorted for the rest of the year
with the last three on CSR before Christmas all in running order.

There's quite a lot of music from the year gone by that I've reluctantly
removed from the final show of 2011, by turning it into a programme
showcasing "the ones that got away", a selection of superb soulful offerings
that I haven't actually yet played on Canterbury's airwaves.

One LP I was not so reluctant to give the heave-ho on the other
hand was Cliff Richard's "Soulicious", an uninspiring selection
of soul "standards" with established and respected vocalists,
but at the end of the day it's still bloody grimacing Cliff, whatever.

None worse than this run of the mill cover of Womack And Womack's
"Teardrops", proving that Candi Staton can do worse than allow her song
"You Got The Love" to be changed countless times beyond recognition
from how it was 25 years ago.

As for a more superior cover of "Teardrops" look no further than
Joey Negro's impressive take on the Lovestation cover from the late 90s.

Disappearing Talent For Television

A rather sad day for telly enthusiasts, as it's been announced that
TalkbackThames as a brand will disapear from next year,
trading as Fremantle UK from the 1st of January 2012.

It will be sad to see the Thames name disappear from television
screens, despite it being a shadow of it's former-self and with the
days of production company idents before programmes long gone,
I heavily doubt many people will immediately associate The Apprentice,
and The X Factor as Talkback Thames programmes on first thought.

Not least because the above examples are co-productions with
other companies but that's another story.

Oh hang on, as I type it appears that the brands will remain,
but Talkback and Thames will be split.

Straying slightly, another subject that's also drawn up a similar
onslaught of nostalgia cynics is the axing of Adrian Chiles and
Christine Bleakley from Daybreak.

In no way am I defending the outgoing hosts, but I will be on the warpath
the next time I see a "Bring back Roland Rat!" comment.

Whilst the grey sack may have saved TV-AM some near 30 years ago,
it's worth bearing in mind that Channel 4's Big Breakfast brought him
back around this time 10 years ago when they were struggling (a loose
sense of the word) in the ratings, only for the puppet to shortly disapear
without anyone noticing.

There always appears to be a conglomerate of individuals that want
something from their past brought back, and when it does get resurrected
they either complain that it's not the same, or take very little notice
when the move proves unsuccessful.

What more do they want, cans of Quatro for the full viewing experience?

Fellow telly enthusiast Stephen Howie recently referred to this as
"not knowing it's been axed".

Recent examples being Challenge TV's ill-fated revival of Bullseye
as hosted by Dave Spikey, and if they're not careful, the umpteenth revival Blockbusters, the rights of which are now owned by Fremantle surprise surprise.

There's nothing wrong with the odd wallow in nostalgia (and some of
my own have been very odd) but there's being nostalgic, and then there's
being a miserable old bastard.

Probably too late for me to change my spots.

RadFest Revisited

I came pretty close to lying down in the middle of the day this afternoon,
but luckily I resisted the temptation.

There certainly won't be a cause of doing so tomorrow either, as
The Radio Academy have uploaded the audio from the Radio Festival
from a few weeks ago and there's some treats on offer.

Most notably the debate on phone-ins presented by Nick Ferrari
and produced by Sam Gregory, Z100's Elvis Duran being interviewed
by Steve Wright, and most exciting of all (well, from my point of view)
Simon Hirst interviewing Music 4's Sandy Beech, and Radio 2's Chris Reay
in a discussion about station imaging.

Elsewhere in radio land, Folded Wing have launched their blog
which contains some interesting material and audio to match,
with one of their pieces about getting into the industry featuring the
voice of Dr Matthew Linfoot.

I don't think I've seen Matthew since the 2010 Smoke Radio Awards,
although it turns out that he was also absent from this year's.

But that's another story altogether.

With Folded Wing's blog on Wordpress, I need to sort out my own
website as Dad has recommended using the blogging site as the backbone.

It could certainly be made more easier to navigate, and have a better
selection of audio on offer.

Plenty of time to work on it mind.

Making Mediocrity Sound "Epic"

As expected I had an early start, but luckily managed to insert
two shows worth of music onto the computer playout meaning
I won't have to make two journeys to the CSR studios next week.

Unless of course, the planned re-installation of Myriad takes
place between now and next Sunday to accompany the launch
of "Studio Blue", although if the latter is in action, I won't have
such a long journey to make.

Elsewhere, this radio related blog post caught my eyes,
especially as it's on a very dear subject.

John Myers - "Station Promos Need A Facelift"

A lot of valid comments are made, although the idea of constantly
"borrowing" trail making concepts from films or TV shows is nothing new.

Back in the 80s, Sci-Fi films such as Star Wars, and Back To The Future
saw an onslaught of laser-lead promos and station idents well into
the 90s.

Nowadays it's not impossible to hear a run of the mill breakfast show
trailed in the style of a blockbuster movie, or The X Factor
complete with a Peter Dixon voiceover, or failing that a cheap knock-off.

Although in all fairness, Peter Dixon's act has always been a take-off of
the late Patrick Allen.

Overall, I disagree with the article as breakfast radio promos
don't need a facelift as far as I'm concerned.

Breakfast radio as a whole is in need of a kick up the backside.

The R, P, And M Factor

Again, I've been ever-unproductive as usual although tonight,
after The X Factor that should change as I'm heading over
to the Farmhouse where the RPM boys are spinning what will
hopefully be a really good selection of soul and rare groove.

It also happens to be my last live X Factor on a Saturday for the
rest of the series as next week I'm in London for a leaving do
for an old Uni friend Martin, and the following two Saturdays
I'm visiting the Maiden's Head with one of them featuring
"Tuppence And The Gang" as the headline act.

As for tonight, I hope not to get too carried away as I need to be
up early to sort out tomorrow's Blam Jam show.

Although I could make it an all nighter to be honest and
have a lie in as let's face it, I wouldn't complain about missing
Robbie Vincent and his gormless jokes disrupting an otherwise
pleasant flow of music.

Presenters In Need

Another year, another endless showcase of vanity in aid of charity.

Children In Need once again has turned out to be passe as always
with Terry Wogan once again looking awkward alongside one female
female co-host after another and a gaggle of idiots screaming for
Wand Erection.

There were a couple of redeeming moments including the trail
for this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, and a star studded
rendition of The Muppets "Mahna-Mahna" which proved mildly amusing.

I'm typing about the proceedings in the past tense, and it hasn't even
finished yet, with more dross being peddled out in order to persuade
viewers to empty their pockets.

I'd rather empty my sack.

In the wider world of telly, following the news that fellow vacuum
Christine Bleakly is to replace Willobooby on Dancing On Ice, The Mirror
is reporting that both Bleakly and Adrian Chiles are to be ditched
from Daybreak.

The fact that Daybreak is still going is a surprise in itself, although
it's not like Adrian Chiles is going to be out of work, continuing his sulking
duties as ITV's football presenter and on his Sunday night
"comedy discussion" show.

It's not like it will effect my early morning telly routine,
on the basis that I haven't had one since Johnny Vaughan
left The Big Breakfast.

Now there's someone ITV may want to start getting in talks
with to replace their "brass couple".


RIP Mark Hall - One half of the pair behind Dangermouse,
Duckula and not forgetting Kenny Everett's Captain Kremmen.

Capital's Sham Of A Mockery

Chris Moyles will definitely be in a celebratory mood, as it's been
announced within the last half hour that Johnny Vaughan has left
95.8 Capital FM as the breakfast show presenter with immediate effect.

Media Guardian Article

Despite an 8 year reign on London's early airwaves, in no way
would you be able to state that the show was consistent, not
helped by what seemed like an annual relaunch becoming a fixture
at Capital over Vaughan's reign.

Also matched in that number were the co-hosts with the first
being Stowmarket girl Becky Jago now back at Anglia News,
and most infamous of all, an ill-fated reunion with Denise Van-Outen
in 2008, resulting in the pair burning bridges following Den's departure
after just 6 months.

What worked well on breakfast telly in the late 90s didn't work on
breakfast radio 10 years later.

Current co-host Lisa Snowdon is staying on, alongside stand-in
Greg Burns until the new year, and the fact that Vaughan's departure
is so sudden suggests that there's more to it than what's been reported.

It's surprising to a point, given Capital's recent success in the RAJAR
audience results.

To be honest though, I could never picture Johnny fitting in with Capital's
current demographic profile, and how he managed to survive the multiple
management changes during the last 8 years.

With the exception of Fighting Talk on 5 Live, it seems that Vaughan
has struggled to find a platform to match his abilities after leaving
The Big Breakfast.

Not Worth Just Trying?

It's easy for me to forget that if I was offered a job, even if it wasn't
too my liking, then it wouldn't mean I would be there forever.

Then again it's also a case of ignoring all the nasty bastards who
suggest otherwise, which takes some doing.

The reason I've started becoming anxious about it all was that
I went for an appointment at Shaw Trust earlier today, where the
woman I was seeing suggested a possible work placement at
Dunelm Mill in the Wincheap area of Canterbury.

I was reluctant to go ahead with it at first, and it's had me
worrying a lot for the rest of the day, but maybe it isn't all
bad, and overall it's just a work trial to see if I would get
on in such a working environment.

There's nothing wrong with trying, and it's not like I would
end up having a heart attack over it all.

Then again, it was just an option that was considered
and I'm sure many other opportunities will show up soon.

Twatter Blatter

Very tempted to start singing the title of this blog post to the tune
of a Cher Lloyd song.

Seriously, it's disgustingly ironic, how the president of a governing body
for world football is seemingly from another planet.

Just when you thought Sepp Blatter couldn't sink any lower, he comes
out with a stupid statement suggesting that racism on the football
pitch can be ironed out with "a handshake".

Now that comment could have been misinterpreted, with Blatter
using racism to cover for bullying altogether, but it's disgraceful
for a man in such a position to come out with such comments
in the thick of what has been a bad year for racism in football.

Bizarrely enough, I don't think Blatter will resign by the end of the year.

He should resign by the end of tonight.

"We Really Wanna See Those Fingers" (Raises Middle Finger)

A Twitter outcry has broken out with the news that Prick Reeves
and Knob Mortimer have been given there marching orders with
the axing of Shooting Stars.

To be honest, that show has been surviving for far too long
on life support and even by series three I thought it was showing
signs of age.

And that was when I was 12.

Apparently the axing is part of the BBC's "Delivering Quality First"
initiative so that probably means we'll end up with an overdose
of Lee Nelson.

Oh hang on, the Q actually stands for "quality" and not "qualiteeee!"
as the unfunny twat constantly shouts.

There's comedy, and then there's being stupid for the sake of it,
which many define as "surrealism".

Not for me thank you.

Dishing Out The Demos

Whilst it was nice to be back in London, I thought tonight's event
was a bit of an anti-climax.

The turn out itself was really good, with one of the attendees
being Sarah Thompson, still doing her show on Roundhouse Radio
and making many impressive documentaries.

It was good to catch up with her, and for her and Mel Lewis to see
each other again, given that they were both up for Best Female
at the 2010 Student Radio Awards, of which Mel got the gong.

The advice we got from the panel was really useful, covering
tailor-made demos for specific stations, knowing where to finish a link
and so on, but only five demos actually got played out.

None of them were mine or Sarah's.

However I did succeed in achieving one aim and you've guessed it,
getting a snapshot with one of Radio 1's finest, Annie Mac.



After the event itself the guys from CSR went over to a boozer
in Charlotte Street where we found a rather nice, if a bit cramped
seating area in the basement.

Not all of us who travelled from Canterbury went back as the
more rowdier of the bunch stuck around for further boozing
whilst myself, Ben, Mel (not Lewis), and Jessie got the 10:22
from St Pancras.

Everyone else (bar Ryan and Mel) was on the Underground
by the time we arrived in Canterbury, and I'm hoping in a rather
smug manner, that they don't get back to Canterbury until early
morning.

Elsewhere, it appears that Tony Blackburn's son Pat Sharp has
now entered the jungle following the exit of Freddie Starr.

The bad news is that Sinitta has also joined, but unlike Sharp,
she has absolutely no chance of taking Stacey Solomon's crown.

Taking The Mic In London

Getting excited now as in a short amount of time I will be heading
over to the Canterbury West station with a few of the CSR team to
Central London and the Radio Academy's "Taking The Mic" event.

Annie Mac's hosting the proceedings who I don't think I've met
before, although I doubt I'm the only one who believes that
she should have the timeslot that Fearne Cotton occupies in the
BBC Radio 1 schedule.

The event has sold out and I imagine that many of those
attending have submitted audio demos. I doubt we'll get
to hear all of them, but there's a chance they may skim through a few
like they did at Demo Factor at the SRA conference many years ago.

Well, they still do it now, but it's three years since I last attended
the conference, for reasons I'd prefer to forget.

Luckily I'm not staying over tonight in London, although Ryan and Mel
two of the big bosses at CSR are doing just that as they've got another
do in the same place tomorrow.

The lucky beggars.

"Freddie Starr Ate A Lot More Than Just My Hamster"

The radio show tonight went pretty well, with one of the tracks
played, being from London based hip hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage
and "No More War".

One half of the duo studied on the CMP course at Westminster
and both girls performed that very song live on Smoke Radio
during my last week there as part of Kat and Aneta's show.

I wish I had made the effort to meet them personally, but
knowing me I was probably too bladdered.

I haven't seen Kat since the 2009 Student Radio Awards so
I hope she's getting on OK.

After a more than cringeworthy X Factor elimination, I braved
yet another televisual groundhog year with the return of
I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

A near-potent line-up but there's no one who I've really warmed
to so far, or see as a possible winner.

Hopefully it won't be long before Freddie Starr stirs up some of
the rotten stuff, knowing his outrageous behaviour.

I didn't realise he was that weighty however.

I doubt I'll commit myself to the series over the next three weeks
however.

It's one of those shows mind, that's tacky and shows no signs
of developing every series (regurgitating old trials etc) but for some
reason you carry on watching.

Mum and Dad seem to be attracted yet again, although luckily
for them they know of at least half the contestants this year.

I won't be watching tomorrow mind, as I'm in London at
the Radio Academy's "Taking The Mic" session with a fair few
members of the CSR team.

It promises to be entertaining, and even more so if any of our
presenting demos are up for dissecting.

"Dermot, It's Over To You"

I barely slept at all last night, resulting in me resorting to making
another early visit to the CSR studios to stick the songs on for
tomorrow's show.

At least I don't have to make two visits tomorrow.

On returning home I fell immediately into an extended lie-in, not
waking up until 11:45am which suggests I barely have much of a life.

Thankfully, entertainment ensued after 3pm with Peter Young's
Jazz FM show which included some superb George Duke, and some
really good new stuff from Tracy Cruz and an offering called "Happy".

On an less musical note (pardon the pun), tonight's X Factor was
eventful for the wrong reasons.

Due to poorly explained technical faults, the show was delayed
by twenty minutes with a standby episode of earlier auditions filling
the time.

It's a good thing they went live after the first ad-break otherwise
ITV1 would have had to dig out one of the previously untransmitted
episodes of Brian Conley's Judgement Day to show instead.

Or even worse, Chris Tarrant's Colour Of Money.

I won't go into too much detail, but I thought Kelly Rowland's
outfit tonight was appalling.

I know how I could go further with that, but I won't.

I was also disappointed that 2 Shoes didn't get voted back in,
but at the end of the day, Amelia Lily's a lot more worthy than the
other no-hopers whose names escape me, and definitely a lot
more worthy a winner than bloody Janet Devlin.

I was on Gary Barlow's side tonight, really wanting to knock her
off her pedestal during her performance of "Somebody To Love".

The public love a dull balladeer don't they?

Not to worry.

Just one more live Saturday show before my outings to both London
and The Maiden's Head for the remainder of the series.

"Stuffing Their Stockings With My North Pole"

The telly has been switched off yet again, due to the unwelcome
appearance of Lee Nelson on Live At The Apollo.

It's prompted me to vent my spleen about the character on Facebook
with Chris Chilvers immediately popping up to defend Simon Brodkin
to give him his real name.

But then again, when you've interviewed a so-called-star on the radio
before becoming famous, you do all you can to big them up.

That said, I'm not very consistent myself as comic/musician Bo Burnham
was in Canterbury not long ago at the Gulbenkian, and I missed out.

A talented man of whom I was part of his "audience" when performing
a live set for Smoke not long after Lee Nelson's interview in October 2008

The song that sticks in mind the most was "Rehab Centre For
Fictional Characters" which quite possibly put the idea of a non-visual
medium to it's best use.

Theatre of the mind and all that bollocks.

On another nostalgic tangent on the station, this was the period
when the "clouds had cleared" and we could get away with almost
anything without any protective committee members having a go at us.

Especially as that song was performed uncut.

No time like the present and one of Mum's friends from Colchester
is coming to visit this weekend where at some point they're going
to visit to the Turner Gallery.

A lot more cultured than my planned exploits, I.E watching
The X Factor, and attempting to host a radio show.

A Constant Stream Of So-Called Comedy

I have screwed up my body clock big time.

This has been the result of attempting to watch Peter Kay's new stand-up
DVD and falling asleep for two hours, only that I've failed to lie down
for the whole fucking night.

Not to worry, it's the second of Gloria Estefan's latin programmes
on t'wireless in a few minutes so that will provide some sort of entertainment.

As for the DVD itself, I know understand why the Bolton comedian
has strayed from stand up for almost a decade, with regards to coming
up with new material.

It's still the same nonsense with jokes about gadgets and new household
technology, childhood nostalgia, and the usual jokes about "Uncle Nobhead".

If there's a prime example in comedy of burning bridges, and future
material suffering as a result, then Peter Kay makes the grade.

Since the second series of Phoenix Nights there's been a noticeable
dip, first with the sacking of the director and Kay wanting to do the job
himself, and then falling out with the co-writers.

Look no further than Max And Paddy for evidence in inferiority.

And I still don't believe his excuse for defending the Keith Lard character.

It's no secret that I'm getting bored of stand-up, although part
of that's due to the over-exposure of certain acts on the telly.

But then again, it does give a platform for new acts to shine
with current favourites including Daniel Sloss and Andrew Lawrence,
the latter's voice bears a slight resemblance to Frank Spencer.

I'm also trying to save money as well, so that has meant a lack
of comedy outings in the last 6 or so months, with one I really wanted
to attend being Andy Parsons at the Leicester Square theatre.

I'm certain it's not the last chance I'll get to see the political comic
in action mind.

It's not just stand up where comedy is lacking, certain radio comedy
is failing to amuse.

No worse example than the current series of Listen Against on BBC Radio 4,
and yes he's a supporter of CSR and the John Pidgeon Awards,
but there's something about Jon Holmes that suggests he thinks
he's funnier than he really is.

Then again, quite a few of the writing team on Listen Against
including Holmes himself used to write for Dead Ringers
so that more or less speaks volumes.

Well, at least the listeners of the Chris Evans Breakfast Show
seem to think so, regarding the recent disaster of having Holmes
and Miranda Hart standing in last month.

Tomorrow should be more productive, I'm back at the Canterbury and
District Recorder to help out with the sound engineering.

It went pretty well last time round, so I'm certain tomorrow will
whizz by.

I haven't had any issues with the readers, yet.

"As It 'Appens"

With Jimmy Savile making his public departure earlier today, one
individual who wasn't present at the funeral was Olly my younger brother.

I assumed it was the case as Olly's currently studying at Leeds
university and although he's not actually part of the station,
I'd imagine LSR-FM were absent as well as they've headed over
to London to make a lot of noise (not an inaccurate description)
at the 2011 Student Radio Awards.

Unsurprisingly, no one from CSR has showed up but that's not
to say they've not been busy.

Well, if you can call the exploits of media co-ordinator Mel "busy"...

That's what we do best at as a station.

Quite a few of us including myself will be heading up to London
on Monday for the Radio Academy's "Taking The Mic" event where
many budding presenters from community and student radio
will have their demos presented to a panel consisting of Annie Mac,
Paul Sylvester from Absolute Radio, and former Radio 1, Top Of The Pops
and CD:UK producer Ric Blaxill.

I've submitted a demo of my own in, but whether it will get played
out is another thing.

Overall it will be good to journey outside of Canters with the CSR team.

Two More Years Of "Wrecking The Mic"

With a new series of jungle antics set to commence, it's emerged
that Ant & Dec have signed yet another two year contract at ITV
which includes what few will see as a much awaited return for their
Saturday Night Takeaway.

Save for a brief revival on last year's Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here,
it's been almost three years since the last series and I'm hoping that
the "extended gardening leave" will have given the duo to come up with
some new ideas.

The problem with the show, (or should that be the 'selling point') was
that Little Ant & Dec were the most popular part when the series was
in it's prime and obviously they couldn't bring that back as both
of the actors are now taller than the real Ant & Dec.

Which in all fairness isn't too hard a feat to achieve.

The last series back in Spring 2009 was a shadow of what it had
been with lacklustre items such as The Takeaway Prison which did
all it could to "borrow" from Total Wipeout.

Takeaway is obviously a stronger brand for the boys than Push The Button
which I couldn't warm to at all, and let's not mention Red Or Black...

But if their well-received appearance on Celebrity Juice a couple of weeks ago was anything to go by, the Geordie duo will always be remembered more
fondly for SM:tv being their best show.

No Proper Justice

Well today hasn't been to bad.

Frankie "Cokeupthenozza" has been booted from The X Factor, Conrad Murray
has been found guilty, and Channel 5 are getting rid of OK!TV.

But while justice prevails from a media point of view, it doesn't
seem to be doing any good with regards to the British legal system.

And no worse example than this story about two individuals who I
can only refer to as nasty sick-minded cunts, although that description
is more than justified considering what they were found guilty of last month.

But seriously, 32 months?

Although no one was killed, such cruelty is more than worth of
a life sentence.
I only hope that on release they are banned from being
in the presence of minors.

Elsewhere, as I type it appears that Silvio Berlusconi has resigned
as the Italian prime minister.

The comedy panel shows will be having a field day this week.

A Smoother Uphill Climb?

Life more or less goes on as normal, where I'm gradually managing
to fight off grudges and cravings.

Not that I'm putting on any weight, but a compulsive need
for certain eBay purchases where I start asking myself what
future benefits old magazines and toys from my youth really have on me.

Telly viewing looks good tonight, where after last week's washout with
Will Young as host, Buzzcocks is back with a vengeance as Greg Davies
is hosting.

More importantly though Frankie Boyle is appearing as a guest captain
standing in for Phill Jupitus who until tonight has never missed a
single episode.

With Amy Childs on his team, I'm sure Frankie will address her in
a far more coarse manner than "Shaaht Aaaahp!".

The plan for tomorrow is to buy a copy of next week's Radio Times
and to head over to CSR to grab yesterday's show off the log.

Unlike Janet Devlin from The X Factor, I'm more than happy to look
back on past "performances".

But whilst I may not be that good myself, unlike Janet I'm not boring.

Bored As Ever

I ended up travelling back from the CSR's back home in the fastest time
since starting the show, arriving home at 8:25.

Was it worth it? Was it balls.

Well, regarding tonight's X Factor results anyway.

I'm not sure what the plan is tomorrow bar a visit to the Job Centre,
but I'll need to lend a hand sorting out the delayed roast that we were
meant to be having today if Mum didn't have other engagements
taking place.

It's going to be a slow Nov.

Please "Just" Stop The Music

This weeks X Factor contest fitted in with Bonfire Night as Gary Barlow
and Louis Walsh lived up to their image of old bangers.

The acts themselves weren't much cop either, with the "Dancefloor Classics"
theme stripping them from all respective comfort zones.

If one thing is keeping me watching however, it's the comments
from the social networking sites, including one from Real Radio
journalist Christian Spooner, who during Frankie Cockozza's performance
of "I Got A Feeling" mistook the line "#let's do it, let's do it" for a repeated
utterance of the erstwhile Yorkshire Television journalist Geoff Druett.

Seriously though, cracks really are starting to show but the solution
certainly isn't to bring back Simon Cowell.

I tried watching the US show last night and fell asleep about a quarter
of the way through.

I'm also bored of those who criticise Dermot O'Leary as presenter.
Surely they don't really want Kate Thornton brought back?

Then again at least she didn't attempt to dance at the start of
the show.

With 5 more weeks left in the series, the chances of Nirvana getting
the Xmas number one will only increase.

Sitting Down In Front Of Those Standing Up

Whilst last night involved me being angry at the radio, tonight shall hopefully
see me in laughter in front of the telly as HIGNFY is on with Steven
Mangan making a return as the host with Greg Davies and Guardian TV
columnist Grace Dent on the panel.

That's just a warm up however, as Live At The Apollo's on afterwards
now in it's seventh series, with Mickey Flanagan as this weeks compere.

In fact in terms of stand up I'm being spoilt rotten as from the
same producers, there's a new series of Stand Up For The Week
on Channel 4, now back in it's rightful Friday timeslot.

This time however it's hosted by Jon Richardson and the show has
swapped the classiness of Koko for the brightly lit floor of the Clapham
Grand, which happened to be the venue of my first ever gig in London.

At least Rich Hall is still going to be appearing, who arguably is the
strongest comic on the show.

Not that I'd want him to be the main host, as he fits in well with
the weekly world news section.

All this will be light relief, as I'm rather tense at the moment having
just finished a tag bol from last night, and Dad being obnoxious
in the kitchen as if he's looking for an excuse to lash out.

To be fair he must have a lot of things going round in his head, whilst
I have only two things going round that just won't piss off.

One being my Xmas purchases, as the websites that offer sound production
stuff are gradually unveiling their 20% discounts and whathaveyou.

The problem being that the more I save, the more things I want
to buy with the savings.

I'm a right spoilt fucker, no denial.

And I Thought Noel Was The Sensible Gallagher...

If Steven McIntosh and Caroline Opacic are reading this blog post,
I now know how you felt when I overran with my show into yours by 6 minutes
when Smoke Radio did it's Sport Relief broadcast some four years ago.

That's because a certain Mancunian twat did exactly the same earlier
tonight on BBC Radio 2, when Noel Gallagher's "High Shitting Birds"
decided to indulge in an encore with a performance of the most irritating
song from Noel's former band "Don't Look Back In Anger".

Noel's audience seemed to be in the same league of obnoxious pricks,
as they started booing when presenter Jo Whiley promoted the artist
performing on next week's In Concert, that being James Morrison.

The reason I found it annoying was because it meant both Sounds Of
The 20th Century, and the first edition of Gloria Estefan's show were running
on a 6 minute delay.

Adding insult to injury was that one of the trailers during Gloria's show
was for a forthcoming In Concert.

Oh fuck off Whiley.

Anyway, enough moaning, Gloria's first show got off to a promising
start with music from Perez Prado, Roberto Torres, Los Panchos, and
a fantastic latin rap track from Orishas called "A Lo Cubano".

Really looking forward to hearing what else will be on offer over the
next seven weeks, and I'll certainly be listening as it follows on from
the continuing series of tomes from Trevor Dann and co.

Tonight's took us back to 1981 with tunes from Spandau Ballet,
Adam & The Ants, Ultravox and the Specials, accompanying audio
of news footage including the riots, and the royal wedding of
a future king.

Not too different from 2011 frankly, although today, people can
travel on trains safe in the knowledge that Jimmy Savile isn't on them.

Seriously though, the broadcaster/fundraiser is the subject of a programme
on Radio 4 tomorrow presented by Trevor Dann's former partner in crime
Matthew Bannister, that being Last Word.

I'm pretty certain that the obiturary read out on the programme will in
no means be in the vein of this, courtesy of T. Stokes at The Truth Seeker.

"Just Go Away Now"

Tonight sees the first episode of the anticipated Gloria Estefan's Latin Beat
on BBC Radio 2, as produced by Karen and the Folded Wing team who
were at the early stages of preparation on my second week at the
production company.

To say I had a hand in the making would be complete nonsense, as
a more fitting description would be that of me having just the tip of
one of my fingers in the making.

That said, it will be a superb series and according to the review in
the Radio Times, the programme itself is a lot better than the press-release
makes it out to be.

One of Folded Wing's other success stories Jamie Cullum was on the
panel for a seminar at this week's Radio Festival about the number of
presenters who get into radio on their success at another profession.

However although I've yet to hear the seminar in full, it gave the idea
that if the presenter is off a certain field of expertise, and can offer
their knowledge to a programme of that subject then it's not a problem.

It certainly works for Jamie Cullum's jazz show, and Robbie Savage on 606
as they're actually bringing something entertaining and interesting for
the listener.

My objection is that of Radio 2 getting big name celebrities to cover
for their daytime output what with Miranda Hart, and John Bloody Barrowman
filling the spots what could be filled by radio presenters who deserve to
be heard to a wider audience.

Radio 2's excuse is that it's an "entertainment station", although that
phrasing immediately reminds me of the Frances Line era, and how
she wanted the station and especially it's music to provide "melody"
and "familiarity".

A move which prompted presenter David Hamilton to move into commercial
radio in order to play "More Madonna and less Mantovani!"

That said, Gloria will come up with the goods, even if the show itself
would be more suited to the summer months.

Uncalled For Outbursts

I attended what will be my final Asperger's social group for the year
this afternoon as the last one's on December is on the 14th, and that's
when I'm in London to see Victoria Coren's Heresy being recorded for Radio 4.

Normally we get the opportunity to ask a question each, and mine
was about the shocking behaviour of the Chelsea supporters at
last night's Champions League match who seem to be in favour
of what John Terry did toward QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

Simply despicable, and further evidence that racism in football
is continuing to prevail.

Terry must have also been speaking to the X Factor's Kitty Brucknell
if the stories in the tabloids are anything to go by, about the Lady Gaga
wannabe making a racist remark to Derry Mensah off of The Risk.

We really are living in a conservative society it seems, people don't like
change, further threats of privatisation, and racism rearing it's ugly head
on a wide scale.

That's not to say I'm entirely innocent in all this.

Not that I want to make a habit of revisiting 2007, but during my stay
in St Martins, I ended up screaming even worse comments, when I was
restrained for not being able to go to sleep by one of the black nurses,
and that could have easily got me arrested.

Then again, it's one of the only times during that phase that those around me
may have understood that I had no idea what I was fucking well doing.

Unhealthily Nostalgic

My obsessive interest in television from an early age, lead to my parents
purchasing telly related teen magazines which despite being aimed
at readers 10 years my senior, was what really helped me learn to read.

One such magazine being "Look In", billed in its prime as
"The Junior TV Times" and I managed to discover an impressive
website featuring scans of old issues "John's Look-Out".

For some bizarre reason I tended to have such magazines bought for me
depending on what Saturday morning show was airing, as during the
summer months it would be Look In, as I was obsessed with ITV's
Ghost Train, but when Going Live! would return in the Autumn
I would switch to the BBC's Fast Forward publication.

And I think I had a copy of the issue advertised in the above clip.

Anyway, the above website would have been a perfect compliment
to my "insanely nostalgic" phase of early August 2007 when I developed
an obsession for the delights on DJFairborne77's Youtube channel.

It resulted me writing notes about them on Facebook, tagging
people on their who I very much doubt shared the same enthusiasm
(let alone over-enthusiasm) for them.

However, pride comes before a fall and the constant elation soon
turned into depression.

Which sort of relates to a video blog I found earlier tonight from
Nicole, an American blogger who is very open about her experiences
with hypomania, and what exactly the signs are of someone getting
a bit too optimistic.

It's sort of similar to the Look In website, because I could have
bleeding well done with an explanation of my illness and how others
got through their comedowns with hypomania back in the Autumn of 2007.

And that's not having a go at Nicole at all.

It's at supposed friends who I thought were close to me,
that just wouldn't give me the time of day after my "wobble".

Although to be fair, they were probably sick of my endless nostalgic
tangents that were far away from the planet that they were on.

It's hard to let go of certain things...

"We've Found Your Level!"

One of my televisual fears has been realised tonight, as it's been
revealed that 10 O'Clock Live will be returning for a second series next year.

Guardian Article

Thankfully they have made a few changes with the show running time
reduced from an hour to 45 minutes, and the number of episodes
in the series reduced to 10.

If any sections should be kept on, "Listen To Mitchell" would be at
the top of the list along his interviews with key figures, Charlie
Brooker's rants, and Jimmy Carr's rundown of the headlines.

The sketches with Carr dressing in drag, and Lauren Laverne's
propoganda pieces however would fall into the category of otherwise.

The reduced number of episodes is also an advantage as they definitely
looked like they were struggling to come up with witty material
over the course of 15 weeks, and by the final show it looked like they
didn't care.

I know understand why I was stupid to suggest that topical comedy/panel
shows should run every week, and having split series of shows such
as Mock The Week allows it to stay consistent, save for the odd rotten plum
of a show.

In a desperate attempt to drag the blogpost to a radio topic, it's worth
mentioning Elvis Duran and the Z Morning Zoo who this week are broadcasting
to New York from the UK, to coincide with Duran's masterclass at the
Radio Festival in Salford.

In this audio, courtesy of Neal Bowden's Aircheck Downloads, it's rather
shocking to hear "colourful" language uttered, and even more so considering
it's the guest Keith Pringle turning the air blue and no one batting an eyelid.



No wonder most of our breakfast shows on UK shores are pale in comparison.