| CMU Daily - on the inside 29 Aug 2002 |
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The songs:
Space – Female of the Species
The Lighting Seeds – You Showed Me
The Divinyls – I Touch Myself
What movie’s soundtrack? Answer tomorrow
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EVENING SESSION TO GO
BBC Radio 1’s flagship new 'guitar music' show, the Evening Session, is to be axed at the end of the year in the latest overhaul at the BBC’s youth music station. Since its launch in 1991 with Mark Goodier at the helm the Evening Session has become something of the NME of the radio, with a long history of helping to break new acts – making "a Steve Lamacq favourite" something of a staple line for the press releases of new bands. Lamacq will stay with the station to host his weekly show Lamacq Live, and is expected to host a number of event driven shows, but the Evening Session itself will go.
Talking to NME Lamacq said: "I think the good thing is that it is going out on a high. Somebody told me the last audience figures showed it had gone up by between 100,000 and 200,000 people. And we won the NME Award again. So it is a popular show and it’s helped to support alternative culture through its peaks and troughs. The reason it first started was to give alternative music a push into the Top 40, which is probably as relevant now as it was then. The Music are now about to hit the Top 20 and that’s what it’s all about. Bands like Doves and Idlewild, who we played first, have come good so we’re quite chuffed. On a personal level, I’ve done the programme for nine years so it’s probably best to let someone else have a crack at it. The best thing for me is that I get to go out to gigs again."
A Radio 1 spokesman told reporters: "In the new year we will be introducing a brand new show that goes out on Tuesday to Thursday between 8pm and 10pm. The reason for that is that we have to keep the schedule fresh and relevant to the audience. The Evening Session has been an incredible show but the time has come for a change. We are really excited about the new show. Steve Lamacq has signed to Radio 1 for another two years. He will continue to present the Evening Session until the end of the year and Lamacq Live on Monday evenings in the New Year."
The Evening Session was the first, and to date only, Radio 1 show to have regional opt outs – each Thursday separate Session shows broadcast in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland helping to promote new talent in those regions. It is still unclear if the new evening show will have regional editions.
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CLASSICAL IN LIVE DECLINE DESPITE RADIO LISTENERS
A new research report in the journal Cultural Trends shows that while more and more young people are listening to classical music, less and less are attending classical concerts. Coupled with the statistic that there was also a decline in classical concert attendance among ethnic minority audiences it makes classical concert audiences older and whiter. And perhaps most worrying for the industry is the finding that younger listeners were not picking up the habit of going to classical concerts as they grew older.
The decline is despite news that 40% of 18-24 year olds have tuned into classical radio stations in the last year – recent statistics also shows Classic FM was attracted an increasingly large youth audience. The report deduces that it is the formality and perceived elitism of concert settings that was putting audiences off more than the music being played.
The study's co-author Bonita Kolb, associate music professor at Long Island University, New York told the BBC: "Classical music is in danger of becoming a fly trapped in amber - decorative but of interest only to an ageing part of society." But there is split opinion amongst the classical community who worry that attempts to make concerts more accessible or popular merely makes the industry more commercial and ‘dummed down’. But a spokesperson for the BBC Proms was keen to stress their formula seemed to work: “With the cheap tickets and more informal atmosphere, there's a perception that the Proms is fun. We've been making efforts to attract younger audiences through aspects of the programming - but the core classical repertoire at the Proms still appeals to younger people."
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RADIO DUMPS HOMOPHOBIC TRACK
Gay rights activists have forced Radio 1 to remove a song with homophobic lyrics from the personal playlists of one of its DJs which appears on its website. Radio 1 DJ Chris Goldfinger had included a track by Jamaican reggae artist Capleton in his Top 10 – Burn Out Da Chi Chi. The phrase ‘chi chi man’ is Jamaican slang for a homosexual – Gay rights group Outrage protested to the station and references to the song were removed. Despite success campaigners also object to the track ‘Log On’ by another Jamaican artist Elephant Man, which they claim was actually played on Radio 1.
"We are appalled that the BBC, a public funded broadcaster, could be distributing music with this content," said a spokesman for OutRage said. "It is more than hate speech, it is a clear incitement to violence and murder."
Radio 1 responded: "That songs presence on Chris Goldfinger's web page was a mistake. We are grateful to OutRage for bringing it to our attention. It's already been removed from the website. We in no way condone the lyrical content of the song. Burn Out Da Chi Chi has never been played on Radio 1 or 1Xtra."
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MTV AWARDS CHANGE TONE AS 9/11 APPROACHES
Although keen to ensure it does not become a sombre affair, expect a slightly different tone at this year’s MTV Music Awards tonight. The event has been moved forward a week to keep distance between it and the date of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York. "It's gonna be definitely in everyone's heads and everyone's minds, I think," this year's host Jimmy Fallon says. "It's definitely going to be a different tone, not so much in your face.” Though equally he’s not planning any serious proceedings. “It's just gonna be goofy. I'm not taking this seriously at all."
The network had planned to move its annual awards to LA, but decided to stick with New York this year as a mark of respect. "After Sept 11 we felt that we could not abandon our hometown," Tom Calderone, senior vice-president of music and talent programming at MTV and MTV2, told reporters. "We're going back to LA, but this is not the year to do it."
Bruce Springsteen, whose new album ‘The Rising’ is filled with musings on Sept 11, will open the show and Sheryl Crow will sing a song about the spirit of New York. There is also expected to be tributes to TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez who was killed in an accident this year. But organisers are keen to ensure it is a fun party. "With all the Sept. 11 reflection, we want to make sure that it doesn't get too dark," Calderone added.
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PEPSI CAUSES CONTROVERSY WITH RAPPER ADS
Pepsi are dumping a commercial starring rapper Ludacris because of viewer complaints. The complaints were not about the ad itself, but about the brand’s association with a rapper whose lyrics have been as controversial as Slim Shady’s in the US. Fox News anchor Bill O'Rielly went as far as urging viewers to punish Pepsi for using a man who takes drugs and abuses women. As a result the ads have been dropped.
The company are hoping Shakira, who takes over as the main face of Pepsi, should prove less controversial. The company’s Randy Melville told reporters: "Shakira embodies the feelings and aspirations of today's youth and she personifies the Latin movement in the United States".
Meanwhile the drinks company has forged a partnership with Papa Roach and Columbia upstarts Sev to promote its new Pepsi Blue drink. The company will debut its first ‘In the Mix’ spot during the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards tonight featuring Sev performing single ‘Same Old Song’. The ads featuring Papa Roach's next single, ‘Time and Time Again’, will air in the US in mid-September.
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TEENAGE FANCLUB BEST OF
CMU favourites Teenage Fanclub will release a best of album this Autumn, complete with the compulsory three new tracks. '4,766 Seconds - A Short Cut To Teenage Fanclub' is scheduled for release on 4 Nov and will include tracks from the bands six studio albums and three new songs: 'The World'll Be OK', 'Empty Space' and 'Did I Say'.
The full tracklisting is:
The Concept, Ain't That Enough, The World'll Be OK, Everything Flows, Star Sign, Mellow Doubt, I Need Direction, About You, What You Do To Me, Empty Space, Sparky's Dream, I Don't Want Control Of You, Hang On, Did I Say, Don't Look Back, Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From, Neil Jung, Radio, Dumb Dumb Dumb, Planets, My Uptight Life
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CAROLINE GOES LEGIT
The seminal pirate station of the sixties will launch a new legit radio service via the media company WorldSpace. Caroline was the flagship offshore radio station that made stars of Tony Blackburn and Johnnie Walker, and which encouraged the BBC to set up Radio One. It was outlawed in 1967 but amazingly continued to broadcast illegally until 1990 when its studio ship was destroyed in a storm. More recently it has broadcast on restricted service licences from towns along the Thames and Medway. Now the station will broadcast online and digitally playing a mixture of contemporary and classic album music. The service will be initially free, but the station hopes to go on to charge a £4.99 a month fee.
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Answer to Wednesday’s pop quiz:
The songs:
Rick Springfield – Jessie’s Girl
Nene – 99 Red Balloons
Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing
What movie’s soundtrack? Boogie Nights