Whither music? Whither radio? Whither independent radio? I am a fan of progress as much as anyone else, but unquestionably as we make vast progress in reducing the "footprint" in the manufacturing process of pop music (or almost anything else for that matter), certain things of value are inevitably lost. Not the least of which is the number of jobs lost as we strive to make music ever more compact, ever more portable, and even making one's "record" collection almost exclusively virtual.
For anyone who grew up with vinyl, this is almost total anathema. I don't care what anyone says, there was something truly exciting about heading down to the record shop to pick up the latest 7" single from a band like The Clash or the new 12" single from a band like Joy Division - these were life-changing moments in a young lad's musical journey! They were items to be proud of up on the shelf in "your bedsit room", and they sat among a real collection.
It is impossible to measure the impact of hearing the raucous rebellion of "Complete Control" on a young teenager, just as it is to try to explain what it felt like to hear the 12" version of "Atmosphere" for the first time, and the sheer thrill of being in on the inside, while seemingly the rest of the world knew nothing about one's best keep secret - and that was precisely how I liked it.
But it wasn't just about the music itself, it was about the packaging too. Even if it was a hangover from the indulgent conceptualisation and graphic design of album covers from the era of 70's rock, there was something very special about how Peter Saville (for example) packaged Joy Division/New Order. There was content in the covers and packaging that stood apart and made them collectible items whose originality and beauty extended beyond the music. Albums, cassettes and now even CDs (how shocking is that?!) are no longer taking up inches on a wooden shelf, and instead now take up bytes on a Terabyte hard drive.
But how the hell are you supposed to admire and peruse someone's (or your own!) music library on a hard drive? Where is the precious media (vinyl, tape or disc) storing the digits and what was the artwork like on the original product? There was a statement made with the artwork that went along with the band and its music, and that is something impossible to replicate in digits alone. Pretty much the same thing has happened to the publishing world, where books are no longer bought to put on a shelf as part of a valued collection but are stored on a Kindle or iPad. That's progress too, but I am not saying that it's all good either.
Radio is far from exempt from this trend, or malaise, depending on your point of view. Joe Strummer was a fan of pirate radio that fought against the Goliaths such as the BBC, and transmitted a roster of music that was geared to those who were sick of being force-fed the watery diet of incessant wafer-thin pop on Radio One (or insert your own local station). The pirate he refers to in this song is an outfit who were known as Capital Radio, who transmitted offshore from international waters, so effectively, the BBC (i.e. the government) couldn't stop 'em. There is an ironic Canadian twist because the founder of Capital Radio, the idealistic Tim Thomason, is in fact a Canadian!
Quality radio playing alternative (i.e. with some substance) music is harder and harder to find, and in fact all the big money in radio has gone the way of the shock jocks, who :"say nothing to me about my life", ever. There was one thing that the BBC did right, and that was not being stupid enough to not give a heroic DJ of immeasurable impact a job. I am talking about a guy called John Peel, who personally was responsible for me discovering a huge swathe of unknown music that I night never have come across without his input. But the BBC had him on as a token gesture of course, and his show was relegated to something like post 10pm at night.
Regardless, it was a treasure trove of quality music, and when I couldn't make it, I could record the entire show and then play it all back taking notes about which bands I had to go hunting for and discover more for myself. John Peel alone justified the entire budget spent on popcorn candyfloss pap, because his two hours was gold in your hand, and rendered the rest of the programming entirely meaningless to anyone who knew anything about music.
But sadly, John Peel has left us, and given that he was a genius yet still had to fight for his show and time slot over the years, imagine how tough it is for those who had/have not yet built their careers to that level? There seems to be a lot less truly inspired independent music flowing out there, or even if there is not less, for sure there are less radio stations who can or are willing to insert non-commercial DJ's into their digitised, commercial airwaves.
Fear not, all is not lost, because at least here in Montreal, we do have the Go-Go Radio Magic Show, hosted by none other than that boyish legend Uncle Ian and the princely one known as Prince Palu - feel free to peruse their website and Facebook page for more information. Every Friday night you get to hear something new in a format with no rules or restrictions other than having a musical good time mixed in with some scintillating conversation.
I must do my part to help to keep this kind of radio alive, and I will be doing my bit when I sit down with the lads in their studio on an upcoming Friday in August, to get into all sorts of interesting music from my past which will no doubt include a very lively discussion that could go on forever! I was very kindly invited to come on the show and get into it by none other than Ian MacPherson (Uncle Ian/Mon Oncle) himself - a true gentleman and (musical) scholar! I shall of course be keeping y'all up to date on this page and on our own Facebook page, once a date has been finalised.
Until then, and until next time, it is 30 degrees Celsius out here on my terrace, the sky is blue, the sun is shining brightly, and I think it's time to tune in and turn on some capital radio and get down to sipping my Belgian Dark Chocolate Double Deep Roast iced coffee that just got handed to me - now that's what I call service, and that should help me to not also burn out! ;) - Kevin Mc
No comments:
Post a Comment