[Closed] 6music-anyone else losing the faith?

The trouble is that every radio station has to generalise for it's tartget audience

Not sure that's actually true, although it seems to be treated as a truism. Try Radio 3. If you've not listened before, you'd think it would be all Beethoven, Mozart and that crowd, but they manage to play all sorts of sounds from all over the world too. Yeah, there's plenty orchestras playing stuff by dead Europeans, but even within that there's a very wide range of stuff played, not just the same few composers. And then on top they'll have, and not hidden away at three in the morning, nose flute music from outer Mongolia, or some African tribal thing, or in fact just about anything from anywhere in the world.

If 6music programmed like Radio 3, yes, you'd still get the usual suspects, the Smiths, Joy Division, Elbow, Pixies et al, but you'd also get the stuff around the edges, and not just obscure stuff, but, say, Thompson Twins, Adam and the Ants, stuff that's stuck in the middle now, too "edgy" for Smashie and Nicey's Hits of the 80s FM but too "pop" for the NME crowd.

I find the "generalising" of the commercial stations that I should like but don't is a positive turn-off. I like classic rock, but what's the point of listening to classic rock radio when they not only play the same few bands, but even play the same few tracks by those same few bands. "After the break, coming up we've got Faith No More, Black Sabbath and the Eagles" doesn't get me to stay tuned in, even if I like some of those bands because I know that, despite all three having had tons of big singles, what's coming up after the break is "Epic", "Paranoid" and "Hotel California". Again.

So yes, classic rock stations should generalise to an extent, and play those bands that everyone knows, but surely listeners who like Sabbath might be excited to hear Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, or even Never Say Die for a change? People who liked Faith No More back in day are sick of hearing bloody Epic, but maybe have forgotten how cool Everything's Ruined is, and those people of my age who liked Faith No More back in the day would probably be excited to hear the occasional blast of the Wildhearts, or Terrorvision, or even bloody Therapy? (okay, maybe not Therapy?).

Generalising for an audience constituency shouldn't mean that you can fit your entire playlist onto a double CD compilation, which seems to be the case for commercial radio, or in the case of 6music, only culled from the NME Big Book of Guitar Jangles.

Oh yeah, one more thing, what's worse than playing the same middle-of-the-road indie landfill? Playing obscure stuff just for the sake of it being obscure. Yes, Maconie, I'm looking at you. The reason why most of the stuff you play on the Freak Zone is obscure isn't because mainstream audiences weren't exposed to it, or weren't up to appreciating it intellectually, it's because it's pretentious shite.

Don letts is good Lauren laverne and Radcliffe/Maconie are ok .A lot of the rest is pretty formulaic although I haven't listened to Ravenscroft .

[i] Playing obscure stuff just for the sake of it being obscure.[/i]

I thought your post wasn't making much sense, then I read that and know it's not.
What the f is "obscure"? New, unheard stuff? Stuff not played by Radio 1?
...

DezB, I drew a distinction, admittedly in a previous post, between the blandfest of daytime output and the specialist shows.

The bulk of my rant refers to the former, the bit at the end, the latter.

I don't get to listen as much as I'd like to. I basically enjoy Shaun Keaveny. The very low-energy shambolic schtick is about what I'm up to in the morning and I find him quite soothing.

I often miss Jarvis Cocker's show, but it is an absolute treat when I'm around. He has such an eclectic approach to what might conceivably fit into a radio show that it's hard not to be delighted by it.

As a general matter, I'm not a massive music fan, and I don't have particularly strong expectations for what I wish to listen to. Can't abide commercial radio at all, I simply have to turn it off as commercial breaks drive me insane. So the bar is low, but 6music gets over it without any bother.

Unfortunately, by the time I get up Lauren Laverne is the middle of her show most days - she's had the good first hour, and descended into tedious tosh, with the occasional playlist regular (Pixies) and 20 minutes of talking to some obscure band who a) don't want to talk or b) have nothing to say.

Saturdays are even worse - I wake up to that awful northern woman's show. She is absolutely brutal; I honestly don't understand how she's regarded as DJ material. Tony Blackburn doing his Smashy and Nicey best on R2 is better than that (and that's saying something).
Last weekend Tom Ravenscroft was standing in on Saturday lunchtime and that was good.
Sundays are good though - Huey Morgan. Cocker can be a bit pretentious, but it's a good selection of music.

I really miss things like the Bob Dylan theme time radio hour that they used to syndicate.

So on balance, I'm starting to waver, and it's worrying, because I'm not sure where else I'd turn. Even Triple-J is starting to get a bit tedious.

I'm inclined to give 6music a try online.

Radio 1 is utter drivel, celebrity orientated, repetitive (not just the music), really just can't listen any more.

Radio 2 - well, Chris Evans is just about bearable, Ken Bruce still pedalling the same old crap jokes and nursing home humour, Vine - whine time for the retards of the country, really difficult to listen to without punching the radio. Steve Wright is just plain irritating and boring, loves the sound of his own voice. Simon Mayo just totally uninspiring.

Other than that we can't really get DAB in little old Herefordshire, and the local radio is appalling.

What I'm not keen on though, is this 'new music' chit chat where all the presenters think they're the coolest thing out, and act like total morons with an undertone of belittlement for anyone who hasn't heard anything...... Is 6music likely to have me threatening the radio also?

I still don't know what "obscure" means in this day & age!

In the case of Maconie, "obscure" means "pretentious toss that nobody bought when it was released thirty years ago on a record label you've never heard of, because it's rubbish"

The music is still ok IMO but there's too much talking.

[i]"pretentious toss that nobody bought when it was released thirty years ago on a record label you've never heard of, because it's rubbish"[/i]

Ah, I see. That sounds like what I'd call "old rubbish" 🙂

evenings, and weekends is great, Tom ravenscroft, tom robinson and giles peterson are essential weekly listening for me.

But, those bloody adverts, mary Ann Hobbs especially."think of the show as a boat, with sails, sailing on a sea of great music, but it's actually a bus, and we'll take the musical back roads"

**** right off you pretentious idiot.

I think daytime, weekday 6 music plays a broader range of music than people give them credit for

There is a Playlist, that gets repeated a bit much maybe, but they have far more "off playlist" stuff than other stations, even during the daytime

Glad to hear some hate for Mary Anne Hobnob, I never thought it'd be possible to hear someone sound more unbearably smug than Jo "I was having breakfast with Chris Martin when Bono phoned" Whiley, but Hobbes has managed it.

And yes Whiley did actually say that.

[i]"think of the show as a boat, with sails, sailing on a sea of great music, but it's actually a bus, and we'll take the musical back roads"[/i]

[i]"I was having breakfast with Chris Martin when Bono phoned"[/i]

I'm really glad the "Bros report" put me off the station totally, so I've missed these things. Exactly the sort of stuff that makes me puke!

Give Steve Wright in the afternoon (the big show) on R2 a go. you will soon come crawling back 😉

The bloke makes me want to shoot myself in the face.

Have the theme to Gid Coes show as my ring tone 🙂

i seem to be in the minority when it comes to 6 music. love it all day and evening on weekdays. not so keen at weekends with cerys, jarvis, craig charles, gilles etc. that lot leave me cold. obviously care a lot about their music, but its not my taste being a er.. sad ex-punk

Complete opposite for me. But then I can only take an hour of guitar music at most.

I've found the Jarvis show + mountain biking = a splendid way to spend 2 hours.

The bloke makes me want to shoot myself in the face.

Possibly the only person on the radio who talks about how great his show is more than Marc Riley.

"Great show tonight Marc"
"Hi marc, great show"
"Unbeleivable Marc, I can't believe you're playing [reasonably well known song from the 80s or early nineties] on the radio"

If anyone did this in other walks of life they'd get punched for it.

That Cerys trailer is also radio smashing material.

"think of yourself as a pirate" STFU and pull your head of your arse, you're just playing a few records.

This year 6 has introduced me to Wolf People, Strypes and Eagulls, so im well happy with them.

I can't stand Mary-Anne Hobbs

When she filled in on the morning slot the other month i was woken up to a ten minute maudlin instrumental bit of tosh. I thought someone famous had died and they were playing filler music as a day of national mourning. Just i dug out my phone to go on BBC news she comes on all chipper "That was amazing and uplifting"
Was it fuDGE! I was a tuesday work morning, not a comedown session.

I think I've figured out why it's gone off the boil, you know.

They used to try. Tried to be different, tried to be exciting, tried to bring us all some new stuff, or old stuff we might have missed first time around.

Then they did a listener poll didn't they?

6music listeners' favourite track: Coldplay - Clocks

Maybe we get what we deserve?

lamacq played dead kennedys california uber alles half hour or so ago.

say no more 🙂

Keavney could really do with knocking off the impressions.

On the whole it makes up a part of my listening, I like it enough to not want to kill all the DJ's (which I do with most of the line up of Radio 1).

We tried Absolute Radio for a bit in the mornings, I think I 'd rather listen to Abba than that garbage and I really hate Abba.

Also, I've always read it as sadex punk rather than sad-ex punk - think I'll keep reading it my way 🙂

Also, I've always read it as sadex punk rather than sad-ex punk - think I'll keep reading it my way

lamacq played dead kennedys california uber alles half hour or so ago.

say no more

Indeed, wouldn't it be great if the day he decides to play DK he could pick a [i]slightly[/i] less obvious track? Obviously there's some constraints on lyrical content for broadcast suitability, but still...

you're a hard man to please.

Amazed at what people are complaining about vis. 6Music.

Very disappointing. Too much old crap, like a trendy version of Radio2.

Unbelievable!
Yes, there's a certain amount of older stuff, but it's frequently old soul and hip-hop, and LaLa is constantly playing dance and electro.
And 'white and guitary'? Apart from The Rezillos, and MBV, just lately I've tagged on Shazam; Lanterns On The Lake, Pinkunzoku, Disclosure & London Grammar, Coves, Pond, Agnes Obel, Lorde, Tortoise & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Alice Boman, Royal Trux, Ben Gibbard, Emiliana Torini, Katie Herzig, Nic Jones, Au Revior Simone, Stephanie Wrembel, Paul Giovanni, Area 9, Mary Epworth, Vast, Cloud Control, Postijonnen, Beck, Waxahatchee, Wendy Flower, Joanna Gruesome, Melanie Pain, Son Of Stan, Nadine Shah, Devon Sproule & Mike O'Neil, Yuck, Bright Eyes, Ferry Corsten Feat. Pulse, Jackson And His Computerband...
That's going back to September 11, and are just a few new things that caught my ear.
How many of those are white, guitary, and jangly? Pond, and Waxahatchee, possibly.

 

Keavney is a grade one pillock and I wish there was some kind of alert as to when he's on holiday.

I don't think it's *quite* as good as it used to be but that still puts it ahead of any other station.

That said, I can't stand Keaveny or Edith Bowman and whilst Mark Riley seems like a nice bloke I hate 80% of the music he plays. Ditto Cerys Matthews who seems sound but I'm not really into 1920's sailor music or some guy playing a banjo recorded on the worlds first ever telephone or whatever.

So I tend to listen to R6 and then when it gets too leftfield for me I switch over to REAL XS for some 'proper' rock music.

Giles Peterson is ace on a sat afternoon, if i'm in the shop on my own i turn it up and enjoy the tunes, otherwise i just get the usual slack jawed comment fae inbreds such as "wtf is that shite playing?"
Huey Morgan on a sunday is ace, likewise is Jarvis,
Craig Charles is infectious and so enthusiastic it's hard to fault him.
Lauren is a honey, Mary Ann Hobbs is also a honey (and she played and championed a few of my breaks/tech house tunes a few years ago so i will not hear another word said against her - right! 😈 )
Radcliffe and Maconie can do one in my opinion.
Lamacq is knowledgable so i forgive him for any bad choices,
Tom Ravenscroft has big shoes to fill so is worth a listen, he makes mistakes but so did his dad and we all loved him.
Cerys is lovely, i'd share a night getting drunk in a pub wi her.
Nemone does a far better show than any of the R1 electronic music DJ's.
The 6mix and presenters are ace.

Edith is ok but it's hard to slag her off as a dj, as she's actually a good laugh.

Nuff said.

Sorry but I like Keaveney and compared to most other stations they do play pretty decent music most of the time. Not really anything to get too upset about. I had to listen to Kiss for a month and a half and trust me that melts your brain.

don't tend to listen through working hours of weekdays,but listen most evenings,enjoy Gideon Coe,as said before weekends faves are Huey,Jarvis,Craig Charles,Mconies Freakzone and Guy Garvey wraps up a sunday evening a treat.

CountZero, pretty much everything you're disagreeing with are comments I agree with. I only listen on weekends, don't get chance during the week, which may skew my judgement.
Summary of my view: DJs are largely chin stroking indie muppets (Lamaq!!!!!!) with more interest in looking back than forwards - needs much better balance.
I appreciate the odd gems they play, but it just feels like resting on laurels rather than seeking out something new and exciting.
I listened to radio 2 the other weekend and enjoyed it a surprising amount , in retrospect largely because it is faaaaar less pretentious than 6 music, but peddling a similar sort / age of content for the most part.

(whisper it) I think radio 1 extra on a weekday evening is really pretty bloody good at the moment, the mixes they have on 9pm onwards cetainly help me power through the evening's DIY duties

'Grim Northern' seems the best way to sum up PM weekdays on 6 music, especially when Marc Riley comes on. I cant escape the feeling that it sounds like listening to Radio 1 last thing at night back in 1979...lots of bands sounding like Iggy and the Stooges doing 'I wanna be your dog'...great if you're and old punk, but aside from the odd Reggae track, its all a bit 'white' for my liking.

They may have accidentally created the perfect 'Student' radio show since their last upheaval, but its all too 'safe' for my tastes and too much retrospective/ airtime is lavished on bands that really belong on radio 2...Rolling Stones/ Bob Dylan etc.

Good points...Gilles Peterson, Don Letts and the 6mix.

With no commercial pressures they can pretty much play any music of their choice, so their daytime schedule really should just concentrate on playing new music, submitted directly from the artists * with as little waffle as possible.

*. afaik, new music has to be submitted to local BBC radio stations before being filtered and vetted through to 6music.

At least they seem to have escaped the current obsession with live music.

Is there anything more pointless than listening to a radio broadcast of a recording of someone singing as flat as a pancake?

I thought Marc Riley's show is really rather good, I heard lots of new music I wouldn't have heard anyway....Wampire for one. But then I like guitar music and I don't want to hear hip-hop....its all about taste...

[i]just lately I've tagged on Shazam; Lanterns On The Lake, Pinkunzoku, Disclosure & London Grammar, Coves, Pond, Agnes Obel, Lorde, Tortoise & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Alice Boman, Royal Trux, Ben Gibbard, Emiliana Torini, Katie Herzig, ...[/i]

You must listen to it A LOT!
Last time I listened, I heard Mumford & Sons, The Specials, The Smiths and (I may have mentioned this before) a ten minute news story about Bros reforming. Nothing else remotely memorable.

It does seem to have got more 'safe'.

They got a load of new listeners after the threat of closure didn't they? I bet some management twonk saw their new listening figures and decided 'ok guys we've got to broaden our output to cater to this new wider audience' - thus losing part of why they started listening in the first place.

Radio 6 always playing in my house apart from Edith Bowman, very annoying IMO.

Gilles Peterson, Jarvis Cocker and Maconies Freak Zone my faves... Got it playing through iTunes too (goto internet/radio/alternative rock).

Lovely stuff

Tom Ravenscroft has big shoes to fill so is worth a listen, he makes mistakes but so did his dad and we all loved him.

I thought Marc Riley's show is really rather good... But then I like guitar music and I don't want to hear hip-hop....its all about taste...

Cheers,
Jamie

At least they seem to have escaped the current obsession with live music.

Cheers,
Jamie

Gotta stick up for MA Hobbs, she is prone to drivel as has been pointed out, but she plays great tunes and has a real love for the music, unlike bowman and keaveny. Hang in there for the tunes and actually I have now become to enjoy the drivel. The week she sat in on breakfast weekdays was glorious, meant I didn't have to switch over to Humphreys ranting on R4.

[i]Wow, everyday's a school day- after reading that I got on Wikipedia. Doesn't alter the fact that I really don't like his voice tho'![/i]

You didn't know JP was his dad? I vividly remember the night John announced to the world he'd named his boy Thomas James Dalglish Peel 🙂

So what music does MAH "love" these days? I always thought MAH loved rock... then drum'n'bass... then dubstep... I think she "loves" whatever it's her job to play. I'm pretty sure she was the one I heard play Mumford & Sons on 6..

Just when did Steve Lamacq turn into Golem?

Golem
[img] [/img]

Lammo
[img] [/img]