"Be Yourself, No Matter What They Say"

Things are still a bit uneasy, I got my laptop back this morning only to find that the headphones socked is messed up. Basically the sound only comes out of one speaker which isn't good at all.

Matthew rang up earlier saying that it wouldn't be possible to do the advanced feature module but I could return to discuss what I want to do in the second semester.
I'm still unsure about returning because I find it very difficult to occupy myself and with the problems I've been having with my laptop I don't know how I'm going to cope.


At the moment I've been listening to Sting's "Englishman In New York" on constant rotation after seeing Omid Djalili's version in the trailer for his new BBC 1 series.
The best guest presenter of HIGNFY so far this series mainly because of the Iranian dancing!

Getting There

It's been a difficult month. I switched drugs from Olanzapene to Respridol and back to Olanzapene as the other drug made me find it difficult to sleep or relax. The problem with the Olanzapene is that its made me more hungry and as a result I have put on weight.

I've also developed a habit of being unable to go through a day without watching Countdown on Channel 4 and The ONE Show every weeknight on BBC 1 for some reason. My laptop should be returning on Monday however so things should start improving.

I'm worried however about returning to London as the new Smoke Radio schedule has been published and there's no spaces in there for my show to return which I'm gutted about. I'm not so worried about the production side of things but I want to get my show back on the air as soon as possible even if the advanced individual project is more important.

The problem is, will it even be possible to go back and just do the 15 minute feature this semester or while I have to wait until 2008 before I can go back overall?
And as much as I'd like to, I barely know any of the new students who will be running the station next year so I doubt I'll even have a chance of reviving the soul show.

And as for the SRAs it's nice to be nominated but I don't think anyone at the station understands what the Marketing and Branding category's about to get excited over it. There's no point in going as the ceremony's just an excuse for everyone to get drunk and muck about which is a problem as I'm not supposed to drink when taking Olanzapene. I don't even like Red Stripe lager.

I should never have made such stupid thoughts two months before returning to University.

Costa With Concha

That's where I spent my lunchtime this afternoon and borrowed a DVD of The Day Today from the Canterbury library.
Still rather muddled but with Grooveline on Blast in the background I'm feeling relaxed.

Shading The Shapes

Rotten night yesterday waking up at the most ungodly hour and unable to get back to sleep.
On the plus side I've developed an interest in colouring in pattern books and brought one from Nasons earlier.

Right now I've taken a break from that and am listening to KCFM's 80s Night where there's been quite a few good tunes such as "Don't Look Down" by Go West and "The Sun Rising" by the Beloved.
You never know what's around the corner on that show proving that there's more to the 80s than New Romantics.

Long Awaited

Apologies for the lack of posts, I haven't been to well in the last few days and am really worried about what's going to happen on returning to Uni.

On the plus side I went to Bluewater yesterday and met Tony Blackburn who was signing copies of his autobiography.
I'll try and get the photo online soon although without my normal laptop, it's rather tricky.

However things should be improved by then end of the month.

Insomnia=Insania

Just finished watching the first of the new Sarah Jane Smith adventures on BBC1 where the overweight flatuists known as the Slitheen have made a return appearance.
And I rather much enjoyed it and am hoping that I won't have such a rough night so I'm going to attempt to stay up for as long as is physcially possible.

Right now I'm in my abode listening to Zero 7's 2001 album which is keeping me sane for the time being. I hope that this is a hint of things to come in the long term.

Missing Out!

Ooh, everyone's heading down the Undercroft now as I type for a meeting with regards to tomorrow. I really want to be back in London now!

Even if I have to lay off the booze. Still I'm looking forward to all of those free cans of orange Fanta that people owe me! Hehehehe!

Music of (or out of) The Mind

After stumbling on Dad listening to Miles Davis downstairs I've decided to dig out a more modern answer, Jamiroquai and the stunning "Emergency On Planet Earth" You can tell that there's a lot of influence put into this particular album which Jay Kay intially wrote to get his thoughts about the environment.

Overall it's timeless unlike some of the stuff a certain Ricky Marshall was asking me to provide, for what sounds like a series of spoof traffic reports for Goodlass and Marshall.
The bed we settled on sounds very similar to Bill Bailey's take on the Countdown theme so I'm hoping they'll make good use of that on air!

Overall it should be good fun and with Tudor taking control of the airwaves at 7pm it will be a great start to Freshers for this year.
Oh and I still need to send those new jingles over for the show! I've done quite a few over the summer. Although there's no beating "TV TUUDOR!

Missing Mags

So according to Stephen Howie on this afternoons Grooveline, Blues And Soul Magazine has kicked the bucket.
That's going to make things difficult for me when giving info on performances within London although hopefully it won't ruin my new "Club Circuit" feature that I've already made a jingle for.

I see this as an opportunity to add an extra voice for the show as I want to expand Soul Expression this year especially as during Fresher's Week it follows Stevie McIntosh and Melina Matthew's culture show which I hope will become regular during the semester.
Especially after they tried it out first time in our 24 hour broadcast back in March and I hope to get them involved with parts of my show.

As for now, a case of relaxing or trying to do so before Wednesday arrives.

Photo Finish

The photos were amazing, a lot of goings on at the summer camp and from various locations in the US.
These included a statue of the Jolly Green Giant in Minnesota, the stunning Niagra Falls complete with rainbows and the Empire State Building in New York City as well as Times Square.
What amazes me is that they drove from LA to NYC all that time.

I've also got my presents that Kate brought back including a red t-shirt from NYC and some Jelly Beans which I've stored safely ready for my visit back to London.
That's the same place where I've put my TV aerial and my copy of Essential Radio Skills which
I'm sure will come in useful this semester.

I'd love to go travelling sometime although in my money situation that would be impossible. I'll try to cut down on spending so much this year which hopefully will lead to rewarding results.

"Prodigal Sister"

One of Beverley Knight's album titles has been brought to life as Kate's got back from America.
She's been subjected to a few taunts about her visit and not getting anything for us in return but she's got a few photos to show us which I'm looking forward to seeing.

And from what I've heard Jim Davidson has been booted out of Hell's Kitchen, not by vote but told to leave. I went to bed before the show finished last night so I missed out on the moment itself.
Bedtimes are quite a problem for me as that's when my mind goes insane and I start dreaming about the worst possible scenarios and end up waking up at inappropriate times.

I may stay up a bit later tonight so I don't have much to worry about in the morning.
It's such a pain trying to stay active.

Elevated

I'm feeling a lot better now. I don't know exactly what it is but it makes me feel a bit more focused.
Hair apppointment tomorrow morning, and Mum's picking Kate up from her rather exhaustive visit to America.

I'm getting rather tired now to be honest. A bit of Jill Scott wouldn't go amiss.
"Golden", that's a nice little tune from her.

Still In A Muddle

Yes, my nerves are getting the better of me again.
I'm just unsure about what I what I want to be doing and I can't stick to them.

Everyone else is OK however, and according to Sam I'll be doing my Soul Show on Friday nights on returning. I hope that this will mean that things will run more smoothly and I'll get the urge to be positive again.

I know what will calm me down, a bit of EWF. Which album to choose though?...
Ooohh yes! Raise from 1981. Lady Sun is a cracker of a tune!

Indulgence: Is It That Bad?

I ended up letting nerves get the better of me this afternoon at Concha's. I don't know what it was but oh my it's dreadfully infectious.

It's not a good thing to admit but I'm relaxing by listening to my show from last Freshers with Pippa ST. It was a very relaxed affair considering we'd followed an interview with Dave Benson Phillips on Goodlass and Marshall's show beforehand.

Some weird elevator jazz tracks including "Get Away Jordan" by Take 6. These guys know harmony full stop. And Bebel Gilberto, "Bananeira" which apparently means "banana tree".

Goodness knows how I'm going to manage afterwards.

Chilled As Always

Bit 0f a quiet one today, as I type I've got Tony Blackburn on KMFM coming up wit the goods as always!
In just under an hour I'm popping over to see Concha, our Spanish family friend and I'm getting rather thirsty actually. Hopefully she'll have something sweet to cover that area.

Ahh, China Black, "Searching" haven't heard that one for a while. Expect my future blog posts to be very music biased! No change there then.
I'll head downstairs and get something to drink.

Cuddled Up

Ooh, everything's coming together now, I've got just about everything stacked and stored on my shelves and external hard drives.
And it's surprising what can be found in more than one place. Especially my large selection of stuff from Lee and Herring and Victor Lewis-Smith.

Anyway, tonight's X-Factor, a really mouthy type again from Brumland gives aggro to Simon Cowell, as well as a few very talented 14 year old contestants including one who gave a nice rendition of "Mack The Knife".
But what's the point of having Dermot as presenter? They could give him a bit more to do
as you barely see him consoling or congratulating the wannabe performers.

Ahh, this is nice and relaxing, Mr Hermano and their cover of Santana's
"Free As The Morning Sun".
A cover of a song that's actually better than the original.
And I love the Scumfrog remix as well, reminds me of Venice in 2002.
Sami even told me it reminded her of Ibiza when I had the track playing at our last
Smoke Radio Undercroft night in May.
I'll keep listening. Such a gorgeous piano riff.

"Even Time Ain't Got No....Tiiiiime!"

I've worked out what I need to be doing tomorrow. Buying some CD wallets and recordable DVDs. Still got a few spare CDs but I need to be fully loaded.
Other than that, hardly anything else has been happening, a rather hellish journey back in the traffic after the shopping at Morrisons. Ask Elvis kept things entertaining and we've managed to get a few things sorted with regards to shelving in my bedroom. It's looking good.

For now though, it's a case of fizzy orange, Light Of The World playing in the background with what gave me the idea of the the title of the blog post before heading downstairs to watch Hell's Kitchen in the front room. The nights are getting longer now....

"They're Just Like You And Meee..."

A reference to the the Crystal Waters hit "Gypsy Woman" which is rather relevant after watching tonight's episode of Hell's Kitchen.
I'm starting to get back into the swing of things although I'm less likely to react to noise or music when Mum's in the room with me. We had a nice little chat about the music played on KCFM's Night At The 80s although I feel like I'm playing a real life version of Finders Keepers without Neil Buchanan.

There are objects hidden everywhere in my room and I have no idea where to put them. But it may get me to London a bit quicker!

"How do I use this thing?....."

It's nice to be home again. My room is in a terrible state and things aren't where they're meant to be. Eve my typing has gone awry.
Still Hell's Kitchen is on again tonight which despite having Jim Davidson as a contestant should be a good watch.

Ah, a nice car ad on KCFM playing as I type. Yes, it's 80s night again!
I may write a few more posts if there are any good tunes on.

Whoooh!

Why I Love Radio Full Stop (Work In Progress!)

Don't expect things to happen right at the beginning.
It really does take time into making things.
Jonathan Wolfert's learnt this, Noel Edmonds has, as well as Phillip Schofield.

It's no good just making up songs about just anything because
you have to get to know them first.
This example has answered a lot of questions.

And I'm afraid I'm going to have to be subtle....

I always wondered why I loved the initials "FM"...
Here goes:
BBC Radio 1's First Top 40,
With Simon Bates

88-91 VHF
(Or why I possibly hate Sundays....)

You really don't have to listen if you don't want to.

http://www.smoke-radio.co.uk/s_bates_first_5pm_top40.mp3


But if you did...

Friendly Radio! What A Load Of Old Rubbish!

Literally.


That is what I believe to be known in the industry as "talking at the listener".
Or even worse, "talking down to the listener"
Something I've been guilty of for too long.
Because I've hated people doing it to me for too long and I know it doesn't get me anywhere neither.

Now you know why I do not want to hear that piece of audio EVER again.

Did that put you in a good mood for school on Monday?
Hell, no.

And I really can't listen back to that anymore I'm afraid.
Partly because it's why I hated working at ASDA on a Sunday.

But more importantly why I enjoyed my first attempt at a proper show on a Sunday last year at Smoke Radio.
And not just Sunday, whenever the time is right for what I like doing.
I'm not doing it for the money.
Radio, communication and music are my ways of relaxing.

Listening to it, presenting myself and the music to listeners AND speaking to them.
One to one.
But only more than one in a friendly social situation.
Because we'll all be happy!

And most importantly, putting my heart and soul into making things that would sound great for the listeners.
Because I've been listening for too long.
I want to start speaking to people in radio, beyond radio.
And find out what they like doing to keep the passion.

And here's the same presenter on Radio 1, on the 1st of October, 1987.

One day after Radio 1's 20th birthday.

Just before 5am...

and it's in AM quality for a very good reason.


This proves that radio can only be emotional and fun as 1, with the right balance between the 2!
It could be why I love my baby sister born a couple of months later in that same year.
And why I love my baby brother who was born on the 9th of July 1990.
Because I got to hear even more of Radio 1 as a solitary listener.

I'm guessing why I found Radio to be more interesting!

Because it talked to me a lot more, than anything else that I heard becuase it knew how to balance music and sound overall with talking to the listener.
It had passion, it was exciting, it was fresh.
But that was my problem!
Not theirs.

Both Kate and Olly have learnt to accept what I like and what I don't like.
And I can now accept that radio is not funny. It's very serious.
This explains why I don't eat the pips in apples.
I do it by accident.
Without noticing.

And this jingle below explains why I love the Greenwich Time Signal.
http://www.smoke-radio.co.uk/r1-87-track10.mp3


I've got to put my heart and soul into this.

One of the most fantastic and moving jingles ever, Full Stop.
This is why for many listeners, waking up early was never a problem.
I'm sure that particular jingle is on top of many people's JAM personal cut choices!
But my name wouldn't fit in.

I went with this one because I heard it for a station that had "FM" inside it.
http://www.smoke-radio.co.uk/rb-freshkiis09.mp3
Because that scans a lot nicer than Radio 1.
It flows "off of" the tounge.

But I could fulfill my dream at any time, and so can you!
http://www.smoke-radio.co.uk/r1-blamires-style!.mp3
(Thanks to Simon Hirst for giving me the idea!)

But I'm going to have to stop there.
The 1987 Radio 1 Jingle Package by JAM Creative Productions in Dallas,
is very special to a lot of people because it FINALLY, proved that the UK was capable of producing GREAT radio on a national scale in terms of music.
They just never got the "aural communication" bit right, did they?
But those in Dallas didn't know it either until Jon Wolfert decided to leave New York and stay in the city.

But I know where I belong and that's London.

And that's because Radio 1 is a national radio station which has to cater for many different people at different times.

I just want to do what feels right for me, just outside the busy city.

Because it will always be waiting for me when I want to go for a visit.

But I'll also have somewhere to enjoy myself and a proper job just wouldn't fit the bill for my social interests.

It's all "work, work, work".

But I'm not going to let that affect my decision.

And I don't want to tell other people how they "should be doing it".

It really isn't fair on them.


Those jingles were functional in many ways.

And it showed the way forward for Radio 1 under the caring eye of Johnny Beerling.

A man who had produced the first ever programme on the station.

I would really love to meet him, and Jonathan Wolfert.

Just to have a friendly chat and socialise, where they feel comfortable.

They know and love great radio and have done so for a long time.


And there's lots of other passionate people I'd like to meet to whenever they have the time.

Because I really do want to use my time the best way I can.


And with Jon Wolfert, they proved that that Radio 1 really was Britain's Favourite, with passion.

But we have to move with the times,

Or do we?

No we don't. We'll let radio move with the times the way we want to.

And that's a fact! (Thank you Steven Jones!)

I'm proud that I have such a great name. Because it was designed for broadcasting and I like doing it as a hobby. And will probably continue to do so for quite a bit....

Nah, Bollocks to it!

I'm going to balance both social and radio life together. Keeping the good things in mind.

That's why I love radio jingles.

Not just "jingles".

Radio Jingles

And I really do believe that I've NEVER been afraid of them.

But also understand why others might be.

Us British Broadcasters just didn't get the "No Nonsense" approach to radio and I believe the Americans found it very difficult as well.

I've learnt that the easy way which I'm fully grateful for.

And Kate if you're reading this, I hope you'll be really happy when you get back and head over to University to realise you dreams.

You did it the hard way because at times I can get scared to a point which I immediately forget all my other thoughts.

But being happy does that too!

And I focus more on what makes me happier in life!

And talking to people is about to be one of them.

Not because I've had a drink of alcohol!

Water will do just nicely.

At any time.

I'd best get on with the cooking downstairs.

But I'm ready to speak to you.

Whenever you are comfortable.

And most importantly,

Thank you for reading. x x x