Let's doff our caps to a living legend.

Is there anyone involved in, or trying to justify, this caper that you don't want to give a mighty slap?
This isn't the Suffragettes. This isn't the Civil Rights movement. It's not even Toxteth/Bristol '81 or the Miners Strike. This is (a tiny minority of) the most feckless, mollycoddled generation in history, indulged and "understood" by the liberal education/ social welfare establishment, deciding that the "freetard" principle should extend to trainers and fun stuff from Currys. Call me a reactionary old See You Next Tuesday if you want, but this is just ridiculous. Hose the fuckers down with rancid offal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, The Wire's all very well but, if you ask me, what you want in a "crime drama" is a plot pitched at about the level of an average episode of Scooby Doo, so you can just about follow it and "solve" it yourself about ten minutes before the end and think what a great detective you would make if you did it in real life. You want New Tricks. And the Fab Four are back! Back!! BACK!!! Armstrong! Bolam! Redman! Waterman! 9pm, BBC1. The mighty Unsolved Crime & Open Case Squad (UCOS) is back in town and if you're a veteran crim and you think you've got away with it, you've got another think coming pal.
It's so long since the last series I can't remember if it's my wife's turn or mine to say "Weird isn't it how Brian's wife is Jack's wife in real life." Perhaps we'll have to toss a coin.

I did a thread on here last week about something I'd heard on the jo Whiley Show that seems to have got the joint jumping a bit and perhaps triggered the "rockist" thread and a general discussions about “rules” and attitudes to music. I think the point I was trying to make was slightly misunderstood: I think the way some people read it (and, reading it back I can see why) was that I was an old, old-fashioned blokey rock bore moaning that Jo Whiley didn't bang on about all that old stuff that I know about and like. Which isn't what i meant at all. In fact what I meant is pretty much the opposite.
To recap: Jo had a young "indie" (i think they are anyway, i didn't actually hear any of their music) band The Wombats on and they picked a couple of songs to play: a Kate Perry song and an old Glenn Campbell song.
Jo seemed surprised by their choices. When they talked about Kate perry The Wombats seemed to feel they had to justify and apologise for picking a blatantly "pop" song on a show hosted by the Queen of Cool Indie; when it came to the Glen Campbell song they started raving about Jimmy Webb, the song's composer. She seemed to want to snuff out that line of conversation. I mistakenly suggested that it was because she didn't know about him, which, thinking about it, is highly unlikely. It's worse than that. I think she thought that the audience wouldn't want to know about some obscure songwriter who had a few hits over 30 years ago. I don’t think that’s the case. Because I don't think music, and how young people connect with it, works like that these days.
I think the “rules” and attitudes to music that were/are prevalent in “our” generation (i.e Jo Whiley’s, mine and probably a high proportion of the Massive') simply don’t apply anymore, specifically:
• “Indie” and “pop” music are completely distinct camps and for an “indie” band to express a liking for a “pop” is surprising and something they feel obliged to explain. I'm not sure young people think so much like that anymore.
• That young people only like and listen to and are interested in music that’s new, that's "now", and that old music is boring and strictly for their parents and grandparents.
This is patently untrue. Take, for example four of the biggest recent British music success stories that sell a lot of records globally to a lot of people, young and old: Amy Winehouse, Adele, Muse, Mumford & Sons. All of those acts are heavily influenced by – and clearly know a lot about – music that was made before they were born. I don't think their unusual in being just as interested in "old" as they are in "new". I think they're typical.
The Wombats Generation have grown up being exposed to a lot more music than "we" ever were. They know about a lot more music. Their tastes are more eclectic. They’re more open-minded. The tribalism; the segregation of genres; the daft hang-ups about what’s “cool” and what’s not seem to be melting away. They love music as much as we ever did but it's not so central to their identity. They don't take it so seriously. Can you imagine a scenario in which Muse fans had a pitched street brawl with Mumford devotees. Of course not, but that's exactly what used to happen in "our" day. Their attitude to music, in general, is far healthier and more interesting than ours was. And I think the big, broad, fun, flash, silly, emotional, thrilling, tacky, colourful kaleidoscope of pop music is in safe hands with The Wombat Generation. I wish them well. And I wish Jo Whiley well too. I don't suppose it's easy to take over a show (and a disgruntled audience) from a popular predecessor(s). But, keep up, Mum. Only old fogeys care about that "cred" rulebook anymore.Things are changing. For the better.

In this thread http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/a-singer-it Bingham has bunged up a clip of The Small Faces doing `"Tin Soldier" in which the backing singer, P.P. Arnold, gives every impression of being fried to the gills. There's that Fabs "Hey Bulldog" video in which Macca would be ill-advised to "operate heavy machinery". Obviously things like that distressing Amy footage from last week are no laughing matter, but are there any other examples of pop stars performing whilst lit up like a chandelier and "enjoying the party".

I was minding my own business making the tea tonight with Jo Whiley's Radio 2 show on. Her guests were The Wombats, who were invited to pick a couple of songs to play. They picked a Kate Perry single and "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. She seemed a bit baffled by both choices as neither fell into her area of speciality: stuff that was in the NME when she was at "Uni"; and, if pressed, she'd no doubt have deemed their choices "really random", albeit "amazing".
Mild irritation (part of the deal when I'm listening to Jo Whiley, but ...hey ... that's my bad) was simmering gently on the back burner, but it was manageable. Then one of the Wombats made a remark about Jimmy Webb and how he'd written a few classic songs when he was so young. Jo Whiley asked "what else has he written?". Jo Whiley clearly knew nothing about Jimmy Webb. And I proceeded to slam pots and pans around with a bit more vim than hitherto.
My exposure to Jo Whiley has been mercifully brief. But the last time I heard her she was back-announcing The Manics doing a (tremendous, I must say) version of "All Or Nothing" and described it as a "Kinks classic".
Now not everyone's a nerdy pop swot. Not everyone can be expected to know all about '60s pop music. But then not everyone is presenting a Radio 2 series about Classic British Songwriters and has been working in music broadcasting for about two decades on the basis that they're not "auto-cuties' or showbiz-creeps-on -the-make but genuinely know their onions. If The Wombats know about, and want to talk about, Jimmy Webb, so should Jo Whiley. You'd think, at least, she'd be interested.
I bet Laura Kuenssberg knows all about Clement Attlee. Probably Rab Butler too.

I'm upgrading from free Spotify. "Unlimited", the fiver a month account, seems to be all I need as I'm not bothered about access on a "portaphone" (as Mark E Smith calls them). But the Premium (tenner a month) claims to offer "exclusive content" and "premium sound quality". Here's the blurb: "To be precise, you can stream music at a higher bitrate of up to 320kbps on your computer (not all tracks are currently available in high bitrate). That's some serious high-fidelity listening coming your way." Obviously I haven't the foggiest idea what this means. Does anyone know whether there is any significant difference in sound quality between Premium and Unlimited, one that someone using pretty basic equipment would notice? And this "exclusive content" business? Is there much that's really exclusive to Premium?

* Insist on photo approval.
* Careful with the ketchup (or is it egg yolk?) We can't all be all oil paintings, but there's no need to make matters worse.
*Cheer up, you're getting played on Radio 2 a fair bit at the moment. And quite right too.

Spring has sprung.
The sun's over the yardarm.
Danny Baker's back on the radio next week
"Taxi!!!"

I know there are some comrades amongst the Massive who have grown weary of the TMFTL joke but I'm not one of them. I'm still there, last man standing, sniggering like a fool.
Only fly in the ointment is that it's pretty much ruined my life. I can't engage in any conversation, or read anything, without the cartoon-devil-esque TMFTL sticking its oar in.
Example: I'm ploughing through Andy Becket's excellent social history of Britain "When The Lights Went Out". I'm on page 427 and Mrs Thatcher has just "half-jokingly" described the Open University as "a nest of marxists".
I'm already there. "A Nest Of Marxists". Bit like A Flux Of Pink Indians or A Flock Of Seagulls. From Rotherham. Three slightly dorky looking blokes and a strangely-beautiful-but-a-bit-fierce lass on bass. "Angular" according to Steve Lamaq reviewing the '90s CD reissue of their four singles (plus b sides and "unreleased tracks" which Jo Whiley is all excited about playing "exclusively"). Big influence on Elastica.
I'm a 47-year-old ratepayer and this all just silly.

Straight in at No.1 this weekend in our house, with generation-spanning appeal, is the new Dionne Bromfield single. She's that young lass, Amy Winehouse's protege/"goddaughter" who did a likeable album of covers of old soul/pop/girl group songs a couple of years ago when she was 13.
Her new single's a belter and, like the ace Cee-Lo album, really reminds me of the Invictus/ Hot Wax sound of the early '70s.
These were the labels set up and run by Holland/Dozier/Holland after they flounced from Motown. They had a few hits but, for various reasons, petered out within a few years. Good to know the sound lives on.

Here's an 8-song Spotify playlist featuring The Barrino Brothers, Honey Cone, Freda Payne, Tyrone Edwards, HDH, The Hi-Lites, Chairmen of the Board and Glass House. There are plenty worse ways to while away 23 minutes.
http://open.spotify.com/user/rdjl/playlist/6TFoFyTM6SMDcD2UqjillW

And here's Dionne

The inclement weather has reminded of a great old record: Cold Wave by The Daisies, which is a sort of "answer song" to Martha & the Vandellas' Heatwave. I can't think of any recent "answer songs". I suppose they went out with salaried hack songwriters sitting in cubicles staring at a blank page 9 to 5. In this instance, it's Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson tottering gingerly on the nursery slopes.

Sorry to be a bit G.O.M. - and on the whole I'm all for new phrases and what have you - but must the bottom three places in the league be known as the "drop zone".

Get this:

"This is an excerpt from a recording I found on an old wire spool (pre magnetic tape recording medium). On April 23rd, 1950, a New Jersey man by the name of Fred Weber was setting his wire recorder up to record a phone conversation, and to test the signal he called the local Time Bureau. On the surface this would appear to be a rather mundane recording, but it isn't until you hear the time lady sneeze at 1:43 that you realize - this is a LIVE person reading off the time in 15 second intervals!"