Friday, September 22, 2006

From podcasting to broadcasting

It brings me great joy to announce that I have joined Original 106fm one of the best radio stations in the UK.

It is not just because they decided to employ me that I hail them as champions of the airwaves but the fact that Original considered music and 24 news a priority.

Original 106fm is owned by Canadian media giant CanWest and this is the first time in UK radio history that a company from outside the country has done so. They have just won a second licence in Bristol and are aiming for more. I believe their positive apporoach to the medium and it's core reason for exisitng will change radio in this country for the better.

Under the guidance of Programme Controller John Evington we have been adding a vast selection of music into the system. I have been very impressed with the variety of tracks we have heard and can guarantee that there is no other local radio station with such a wide selection.

The photo above comes from our first photo shoot and shows the presenters in all their glory. I’m on the left and then next is Tim Butcher, Martyn Lee, Iain Meadows, Simon James, Hill and finally Nick Jackson.

They are delightful people to work with and all of us feel the same: we have joined something brilliant.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The Free Energy debate

An Irish company called Steorn has announced, via a full page advert in the Economist, that they have discovered a way of producing energy for free:
Steorn is making three claims for its technology
  • The technology has a coefficient of performance greater than 100%.
  • The operation of the technology (i.e. the creation of energy) is not derived from the degradation of its component parts.
  • There is no identifiable environmental source of the energy (as might be witnessed by a cooling of ambient air temperature).
The sum of these claims is that our technology creates free energy.

Soon their system/device/box of tricks will undergo rigorous scientific testing, and if successful I am sure the planet will be delighted. But what will we do first?

Will we make more mobile phones or are we going to sort out the problems of the developing world? Because in the beginning the world cost nothing and now we have landlords and taxes. Will free energy gives us the one thing some crave: people free from poverty.

See also:

Steorn's free energy seems curiously expensive by Rupert Goodwins of ZDNet UK

Friday, August 18, 2006

Music from Malawi

There are few musicians from Malawi who have been able to make an impression in the West; the band I would like you to meet have the energy to accomplish such a task.

The Sangalala AfroBlues Band represents a unique collaboration of Malawian musicians put together by an emerging artist named Kenny Gilmore (above on stone pillar).

Together they have created a new style of music which has captured the heart of the nation. They call it ‘AfroBlues AfroBlues’.

When Kenny Gilmore visited the UK in 2006 Xan Phillips interviewed him about the band, music in Malawi and the influences behind their latest album ‘Ngati Mafunde Mafunde’. The conversation is interspersed with three tracks: Musade Nkawa, Ngati Mafunde and Phwando.

The band can be contacted at www.myspace.com/sangalala

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Saturday, August 05, 2006

Long Slow Train to Guildford

When you have a load of good songs, some train sounds and a podcasting ability then it makes sense to throw them all together and give it a fancy name. Plus we can rely on the lovely Jenny to lend her luscious tones to the beginning and presto hey we must have a hit!


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All the music on this podcast comes from Guildford in Surrey, UK and we kick off a new song from Raising Sand who are an excellent four piece rock band. Legend has it they were dipped in a bucket of blues when they were born. Well worth seeing live and as this song is called Dirty Weekend I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

We carry on with the blues for the next two songs. The first is the next single from the Martin Harley Band – titled Carnival Girl it comes form the album Money Don’t Matter, both of which are available to won, love and cherish - soon.

Then we have more new music in the shape and sound of Jay Carter. Not only is he a young and gifted guitarist but he also teaches it too. This is a new composition and recording from him. It is called Make Your Change.

Next stop is Greedy Fingers, or Mr Greedy as he is sometimes known. He’s a producer and recording artist who works with a variety of people. The rappers Cage and Necro feature on his album Shady Sirens as well as this track I Sell Rhymes Like Dimes performed by Greedy Fingers & MF Doom/Megalon

The we have a chalk and cheese moment as this track slips quite nicely into When You Get to Heaven by Henta. We featured her in Volume and by now if you are listening to the podcast I hope you are suitably impressed by the quality of musicianship coming out of Guildford. And it continues with…

Hipslinky, the band with the best name in the world. This track is a b-side. It is called Time Comes Around was the second song to Had It Occurred To You? Both of which should appear on the next Hipslinky (great name) album

The last two artists, or stops, on this Long Slow Train to Guildford both begin with a W. But that is probably the closest either gets to the other. Rob Blackham’s latest project is called Way Out Cinema and this piece of music is a demo of the song Choose.

And we end with the other W - Wonderland Avenue. I haven’t seen Trisco (the man behind the desk) for a while as he’s been gigging in Russia and might even be doing a set in China. This piece of music is called Get Back and I can only describe the style as Hard Dance – I’m sure it’s not known as that but you should get the drift once you hear it.

And that’s it, we arrive in Guildford.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Perfect Song is Perfect Place

In the Guildford area we have some great musicians and song writers. One of them is Alistair Cowan (left) and he recently previewed some new songs at Guilfest - Guildford's three day music festival.

One song really stuck out for me, it's called Perfect Place you can see the video from that festival on YouTube.

I interviewed Alistair after the show, he told me the fascinating background to the song and hope to have the podcast available soon, but as this audio recording is better than the one I made I think you should hear it immediately.

So don't delay: Perfect Place by Alistair Cowan it's lovely!

Monday, July 31, 2006

The Time is Right for Grown-Up Government

The possibility that the UK government is going to commission another generation of nuclear power stations should be a catalyst for new thinking amongst those who object: and I am one of them.

The waste legacy of nuclear energy affects every person in the country and the decision should not solely be a ministerial one. The public should be given the chance to prove they don’t need it; they don’t want it and can clearly demonstrate these feelings in a responsible manner.

I’m suggesting that the British people should be set a target of energy saving which when reached would ensure that these nuclear power stations would not be built.

In my opinion this is ‘Grown-up Government’ – get the people to prove they can do something about a problem and then government will follow.

Human beings love a positive challenge and there could be nothing better than the collective struggle of saving energy with the reward of no more nuclear power stations.

I envisage television shows, web sites and competitions between towns and counties to see who can save the most power. After every weather bulletin we could have an energy update.

With the goal of a better and cleaner country it would be a positive experience that young and old could share. In turn it might make the UK a happier place to live in; one where the collective good is held in high esteem.

Or am I being incredibly naive?

Friday, July 07, 2006

Poem of the Year (2006)

Inspired by our local poets and my views on a certain World Cup match I put finger to keyboard and came up with this short, but succinct poem.

He flies through the air with the greatest of ease,
Not blown by the wind, but a young girl's sneeze.
Falls to the ground as if he's lost his knees.
Yup, you guessed right, that chap's Portuguese.


Xan Phillips, July 2006
www.xan.co.uk

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

36 minutes from Guildford

This NMC is the first of many featuring artists exclusively from my home town.

Not only is Guildford the spiritual home of podcasting but we also have a wealth of new artistic talent around the town and you are going to hear some great songs and of course some more poetry. Underneath it all, a thunder storm recorded in June 2006.


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The first band in this podcast is the youngest group in Guildford that I know of. When ‘Arthur’ recorded "Heart Stopping Specialist" two of them were only 15 years old! They are being courted by record companies across Europe but are going to finish their studies before they think about a future in the entertainment industry.

http://www.myspace.com/arthurmusic

Next up are three acts that will be performing on the Ents24 Stage at Guilfest, the three day music festival in Guildford (14th – 16th July 2006)

http://www.guilfest.co.uk/

First we will hear Newton Falkner. This was recorded live during my show on 1350AM GU2 at the University of Surrey www.gu2.co.uk in early 2005. Since then he has been championed by BBC Radio 2 and The Independent of Sunday and in 2006 wowed the crowds at South by South West in Austen Texas.

He’s a great singer/guitarist and improved his skills at the Academy of Music in Guildford which is the main source of new talent in this town.

http://www.newtonfaulkner.com/

Newtown is playing at 8pm on the Ents24 Stage.

On the same day and a little bit earlier is another great singer/songwriter - Alistair McCowan. He was the former bass playing front man of Redwood. He’s ditched the four string for six and released a great solo album called “Why Can I See Stars”. The track I’ve picked from it is "Long Lost Friends". It has a great sentiment, a lovely flow and full of summer fun.

http://www.alistaircowan.com/

The final link in this Guilfest puzzle is the person who is probably most responsible for the rise of Open Mic Nights around Guilford. Due to the popularity of his evenings of songs and revelry Gavin Thomas inspired others to start their own nights.

Out of this came the Guildford Songwriters Night, a evening where you had to play your own compositions and the audience was expected to listen and not chat, talk or laugh. This too was popular and so it makes sense to play a recording of Gavin Thomas singing his lyrically song "The Game".

http://www.gavinthomas.com/

If you are going to Guilfest Gavin is the compare for the Ents24 Stage and will be playing a selection of songs before the first act each day – so get there early on Friday and hear Gavin, Alistair and Newton perform live. It is also on BBC Radio 2 and hopefully they might play a recording for these fabulous acts. So if you can’t get there due to the English Channel, Atlantic or Pacific Oceans then listen online

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/guilfest06/index.shtml

The next voice, and it is just pure voice, comes from Anan Tabbush. She is a folk singer/song-writer currently gigging the acoustic scene around London and South East England. She plays in a variety of bands as well as singing with the Tabbush Sisters and runs two community choirs, Brighton Vox and Guildford Vox.

http://www.myspace.com/annatabbush

Every podcast we try and have some poetry and this one comes from Gareth Strachen. He is English but spent some time in Canada running a furniture store and has also confessed to working in a book shop. He back in Guildford and planning an evening of poetry. This poem "New Mood Rising" is excellent.

It gives a great perspective on old age a subject that will become more important as the baby boomer generation suddenly realize that their working time is up and retirement is rearing its ravaged head. It is also gives an interesting perspective on shop working.

And we end with two songs about breaking up with your partner. They perfectly sum up the difference between men and women: how they think, how they react and what an ‘ending’ means to them.

The first is from Susie Clarke who is currently working with a variety of groups as well as being a solo artist. She is currently recording an EP with Nick Sowden the producer for Anna Tabbush and you can hear work in progress on her MySpace page. The song I'm playing is called "Like A River".

Those interested in trivia might like to know that Susie and her father took over the same bar that Gavin Thomas used to run.

http://www.myspace.com/susieclarke

In complete contrat that runs into a raucous piece of rock and roll from Carter Brown – a Guildford band that I met on MySpace. I love their sound and can't wait to see them live. Spill magazine said this about them: "If you like music that lays it’s nuts on the line, tries to snog your sister then drinks you’re last bottle of vodka. Carter Brown are you’re band… very cool indeed!!"

http://www.myspace.com/carterbrown


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Saturday, June 24, 2006

Sven's Art of Football Management

As a country we should be 100% behind the England team. I am and think England are going to win the World Cup Finals.

Compared to the last one in 2002 it looks like more of the population are rooting for the team because more and more cars and van around the country are bearing England flags.(photo: www.sillyjokes.co.uk) But you can’t help feeling that the more national flags on display the worse the England team seem to be playing.

There is already talk in the news that the manager’s halftime talks are not blood and guts and thunder that you would expect in an important battle. [BBC NEWS: England's second-half struggles]

In fact after 15 minutes in the company of Sven-Goran Eriksson the England team seem return to the pitch un-inspired and definitely lack lustre.

Strangely enough this is quite similar to how I feel after my shopping experiences at Ikea, the Swedish furniture store. So is there a connection between the England manger and this shopping experience? Is it being Swedish? Or just management? Let’s explore!

On paper both the England teams and Ikea products look great. But when you get them out in the open they seem to loose some of their sparkle.

On paper they look easy to put together but after many frustrating attempts to put them together some how they don’t quite fit.

The England team seems to have only one way of playing and when you visit the Ikea store… there is only one way of going around!

I’m sure there are more connections, and if you can think of any then please send them in but for now I conclude that it is management style rather than being Swedish which tempers the current situation in both camps.

Come on England!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Foon or Spork?

Possibly the most useful picnic/fast food culinary utensil invented s the combination of fork and spoon. Some call it the spork, some call it the foon.

According to Wikipedia(and that will be the catch phrase of the next five years) the spork was invented in the middle ages and not, as I thought, in the last 100 years.

Personally I feel they work best when you are eating a baked potato with beans and cheese although some will say they are useless at being a spoon (too shallow) and for eating meat (forks too short).

You won’t find the words Foon or Spork in Microsoft’s spell check dictionary you will find them on the tip of your tongue.

Monday, June 19, 2006

How to tell if a pineapple is fresh

The pineapple has to be the most dangerous looking fruit.
Just look at it.
It seems to be covered in armour plating. Look at those spikes on its flesh. You wouldn’t want those brushing your side. Feel its weight. You wouldn’t want that dropping on your head. It is more weapon than dessert.

The last thing it seems to be saying is: "Eat me." So how do you tell if it is ripe?

This was the question I found myself asking at the market on Friday. It isn’t like an avocado that you can squeeze at the top. It isn’t like a melon, which after a good push on its crown revels whether or not the fruit is ready. With the pineapple I was ready to be taught.

The lady behind the stall took hold of the pineapple and then pulled at one of the leaves. It came out easily and the leaf had a white base. It was ready to eat. So simple an answer. The picture above shows you what it looks like.

But is it dangerous to give out such information? With this fruit tip out amongst the food faddish public are we going to start seeing bald pineapples in the supermarkets?

It could happen because if you go to a market these days almost everyone is prodding and squeezing the fruit and veg. Going from avocado tip to avocado tip testing for freshness; digging their thumbs into peaches and some even sniffing the herbs.

That’s why you should washing your fruit and veg before eating it. It isn’t the pesticides you should be worried about it’s the germs from the handling they are given by the food cognoscenti.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

HDTV World Cup at the Cinema

And where will you be watching the England’s matches during the World Cup? At home, at work, in the pub with your mates trying to see the screen and wishing you had a chair and waiter service? Why not try the cinema?

That’s right the Odeon are showing all of England’s games in Widescreen High Definition TV. I went to the first one in Guildford to witness a bit of cinema history and was very impressed.

Although my drinking hand felt a bit underused I had a comfortable chair, an excellent view of the game and revelled in the quality of the picture.

I think that is why I am more positive about that football match than other commentators.

With widescreen you get more of the pitch and closer too. So when England kicked off you could see the whole team but you weren’t viewing them as tiny specks on the grass.

Once they started passing it around you could see more of their movement off the ball. This was wonderful. It was a revelation. Plus the screen was 40 feet across.

But the match wasn’t the best and we had to pay for the privilege but I really enjoyed the occasion and so did the others who went. We were given free flags too.

After the match I spoke to the happy fans as they left and then interviewed the man with the magic boxes, Geoff Hewitt, who is the Chief Technician at the Odeon Guildford.


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Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Hand Built Web Pages

The world has changed since the birth of web page building. Back in the good old days (Web Beta anyone?) we used to make them by hand - typing the code into Notepad and, where possible, copying and pasting somebody else’s into your own work. For making images we used Paint Shop Pro.

As most people had a dial up connection, every line of code was scrutinised and reduced so that pages loaded quickly.

Simple web sites were all we knew and animated gif’s were considered a luxury. I still have a classic old page on my site.

Then along came big business and advertisers with their new browsers, WYSIWYG software such as Front Page and Dreamweaver and with them Microsoft's asp (Active Server Pages) and, as I wasn’t born with the maths part of the brain functioning, I drifted into site design and customer relations (i.e. management).

I’m currently casting my eye around the job sites and although web authoring isn’t currently my first choice of occupation I can do it, and do it well. But nowadays the job spec is crazy. This is what you are expected to know if you want to earn £25,000 per annum.
ASP; ASP.net; HTML; XML; XHTML; XSLT; JavaScript; CSS; RedDot; ADO; OLEDB; COM objects; SQL Server/Query Analyser; Dreamweaver; Contribute; Photoshop; MS Office; Flash.
I can do about seven of those skills but that isn’t enough as they also want…
Exposure to methodologies, processes and controls including at least some of: Rapid Application Development; Object Orientation; web integration; firewall technologies; MS Project

As I said above… In the good old days we used to make web pages by hand…

Monday, June 12, 2006

Holy Fathers of Punk Fathers

The Stranglers have another greatest hit album out. I know it’s another because I already have one from a couple of years ago - bought second hand from Ben’s Record Collectors.

So I watched the advert intently wondering what new tracks they had found but there was no inkling of anything extra.

The voice over went through the usual motions, reminding the forgetful of this punk bands musical triumphs and, just as we got to the end, he announced, with no hint of irony, that this album “would be an ideal gift for Father’s Day.”

“What?!” I thought. “How can something that once seemed so rebellious now be suitable as a gift for Father’s Day?”

It makes commercial sense as most punks are now fathers. In fact I’m a recent father and this Sunday will be my first day of feet-up “I’m doing nothing honey it’s father’s day” attitude.

But to be told that The Stranglers, responsible for songs about heroin addiction, bottom watching and Leon Trotsky getting an ice pick that made his ears burn, were ideal gift material for something as soft as Father’s Day was quite a shock.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Bands Score With IndieStore

I remember the day when I used to shake my head with despair when ever I heard someone say: "I remember the day!"

And yet here am I, looking back to the time when I was in a rock band, thinking that musicians nowadays never had it so good. MySpace, flickr, YouTube and now indiestore: a fantastic selection of tools.

Let me take you back to the late 1980’s. London was booming, yuppies were thriving and the east of the City of London was under massive re-development. If you could afford it you were buying property in the docklands if you couldn’t you were drinking with us.

Well, I exaggerate a little. It seemed like that. The band was based in Bethnal Green road at a pub called the Stick of Rock, close to the junction with Brick Lane.

From the front door you could see cranes and concrete going up around Liverpool Street station. The money was over there.

We played some great gigs at The Stick. Hot, sweaty and always fun. We had a mixture of rockers, skinheads and east enders willing us on and we had a pocket full of happy rock songs which people could dance and sing along to.

Naturally we decided to put some of our music onto vinyl. CD’s were just coming out but it seemed a pretty stupid idea for us to make one as no one we knew actually owned a CD player.

So we plumped for 2000 12 inch records. Why on earth 12 inch? Well, to help pay for it we had sold advertising squares on the back sleeve. Also it was said that it gave the songs more oomph.

I’ll cut this story short because those days were great fun and to get to the point would take ages but 2000 12 inch records is a weight and a half. You get 25 discs in a box and so that’s 80 boxes and strong young rockers can only carry two packs at a time. It took ages to load and then unload.

Nowadays? Ha! Bands never had it so good. You’ve got MySpace to help your fans connect and listen to your tracks, flickr to share photos, YouTube to post your videos and now IndieStore - somewhere to actually sell your music.

You can upload your songs for free and people can download them for 79p. You get 70% of the money.

To get onto iTunes you have to have someone distribute your music, here you are on in moments. You can for songs available for sale, at no cost to the band, within minutes.

Brilliant. You can even open a pro account and if your sales go massive you will enter the actually charts. No shops, no distribution just one pure connection between you and your fans.

This is a fantastic site for new acts that are prepared to gig and publicise their material.

Look at the Trophy Boyz and their World Cup song "Name on the Cup". They are number 3 in the Indiestore charts. With the right momentum a band can start selling.

But if you are just going to add your music and hope then nothing will happen.

If you have time to visit just click on the random band link and you’ll see hundreds of acts waiting for people to download their music and good luck to them.

Hard work, hard gig is and many miles in the back of a van will get you sales. It is how we did it. We sold 1600 copies at gigs and you still see one or two for sale on ebay. But if we had had an indiestore page...

Monday, June 05, 2006

New Music Collection - Midlands


This is the second New Music Collection and its sub-titled Midlands. Maybe each one should have a number but I think numbers are good for just football players and houses; whereas odd subtitles suit art a lot better.

First act in the podcast are Overproof Soundsystem. They started life in 1998 as a monthly reggae night called "Overproof" held at the Medicine bar in Birmingham, England. The song I have picked is The Plea. Their version of kraftwerk’s The Model is brilliant it would make the Top 10 in the charts if released.


Next up it's way out cinema They are a new band fusing the sound of 60's west coast harmony rock with contemporary indie. They were formed in 2005 by Rob Blackham who needed an outlet for his original material. He is from the Midlands too and the song is called Drowning.

Second podcast in a row we have a poem from Greg Buddery. Greg’s a writer living in Guildford, South England and is currently attempting to publish a novella - "A Young Artist in the Modern World" and a poetry collection (working title- Self Help). This poem is called Drinking Poem and was recorded in one of the few pubs that doesn’t have music in it. The deep hum in the background is the air con.


Emerging from Northampton, InVerro draw together so many wide ranging influences it's hard to understand how they manage to blend them all together into such sweet melodies and driven beats – well that’s what is says on their MySpace site! This mild mannered Midlands meleody is called DimLo.


Another Fine Day
Between 1992 and 1994 Tom Green created his classic album Life Before Land which made the Top 3 ambient albums as chosen by the Independent newspaper. You’ll hear the song Esperanto as well as a clip from an interview in which he talks about the equipment and processes he used to make the album. Buy this album!

Desert Heat
come from rural Quebec and formed nearly 17 years ago. Apparently there has not been a major country band emerge from this part of Canada in industry memory. In 2006 they hope to conquer America. Their debut CD (which was co-produced by Wayne Warner) on the B-Venturous record label, is called “Forever Road” and this is the title track.

We end the podcast with a blast of electronica - Subsource. I know the bass player in this band. Although I didn’t know that he was in this band until I received their publicity photo. Stuart Henshall is his name and he also plays bass for the Naked Sunday Collective. Both groups play their mix music live so try and see either if you can. Subsource play breaks/drum and bass and this powerful track is called Fight ‘Em Off.

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If you have iTunes installed you can automatically launch it here: Direct Link to iTunes

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Saturday, June 03, 2006

How To Save Celebrity X-Factor

It is only when you are truly exasperated with something does it become pants.

This Celebrity singing competition, in which we discover if the said 'celebrities' have the X-factor, is pants for the very simple reason – it wouldn’t work on the radio.

If the audience only heard their voices people would switch off immediately. Most of the positive comments the X-Factor judges make about our 'celebrity entertainers' concern their looks not their vocal skills.

That's why Walt Disney, when auditioning actors for the voice of Snow White, asked them to sit behind a screen – he didn’t want to be distracted by their appearance.

So here is how to make the show interesting.

When they do the voting there should be one extra number for people to call. It is for those watching who think the show is pants. i.e we think “None of the above” should get our vote.

If that spare number gets the most calls a new celebrity should be added to the roster, the cast is therefore enlarged and the show has to go into an extra day, adding pain to the TV network that dare put on such puerile tripe.

This should be the law, because then they would actually put people on who could sing and we would start to celebrate art rather than these sad wailings.

There is only one person on that show who actually has the X-Factor and he is not a celebrity but a sportsman. Matt Stevens I applaud you.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Soft Targets

The Bank Holiday – why should the banks have a holiday when people in essential services (nurses, police, fire) don’t get any special days?

What ever it is that banks have done for us they have been well rewarded for doing it. Extremely well rewarded. The question you should ask yourself during this shorter week is something like this: "Is it obscene that banks make huge profits?"

Apparently the Bank Holiday is a British tradition dating from the 1870’s but any visitor to these shores would assume that it is a day to celebrate half-price sofas and kitchen units. And are these items a rip-off the rest of the year?

Although I might appear angry, I am not. Frustrated yes, but angry no. Even though I watched Celebrity X Factor I am still below boiling point.

But that programme was like watching a slow motion car crash on the B road of life.

Never has so little been provided for an evening’s entertainment. Even when one of the judges had a go at two of the contestants (you can read the full details here) it still clung to life with the merest thread of hope.

These celebrities were rubbish before they opened their mouths. The 'singing' was dire, crass and offensive – and you won’t see that quote on the back of the DVD case!

It was pure guff from beginning to end. And that’s true – I watched it to the end – but I was transfixed, surely this couldn’t get any worse? It did. Like a leaf falling from a tree the quality declined until it hit the ground.

The only saving grace was the fact that some 'celebrities' who you thought were rubbish in their normal role slightly improved when attempting a tune.

People might say, "Calm down Xan, this is only a laugh and these well meaning celebrities are doing it for charity." Well I’m not laughing and I am not giving. It was appalling.

I am more impressed by my friend Emma who is taking part in Cancer Research’s Race for Life

Whereas Celebrity X Factor is like looking at the bottom of an empty bottle through the bottom of another empty bottle. The distortion makes you think there could be something in it.

Friday, May 26, 2006

New Music Collection - Videophone


We start with some dance music from Wonderland Avenue and then leap into some excellent pop from the John James Newmand Band.

In my humble opinion there isn't enough poetry around so we recorded Greg Buddery reading "Londoner" in a street. We then slip quietly but darkly into a re-mix of Itchy Tits' Videophone.

whistle Jacket and Bebek were our international artists - the first is from South Africa and the second the States.

8 Fold provide an lovely tribute to Countdown host Richard Whitely and then we finish the show with "Name on the Cup" the England World Cup song by the Trophy Boyz.

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The show is 30 minutes long. If you have iTunes installed you can automatically launch it here: Direct Link to iTunes

otherwise download the show here: New Music Collection mp3

Widescreen World Cup Smile

People close to me, let’s call them 'neighbours who are not next door', have bought a new wide screen television; presumably in time for the world cup.

I can understand why. Big screen excitement improves your viewing pleasure and there is nothing better than a big screen.

I am sure the silky skills of Brazil, the sexy players of Italy, solid defence of Germany, big smiles of Trinidad & Tobago and David Beckham’s good looks will be enhanced by having a screen that is 42 inches wide.

But with all this heightened levels of excitement what will happen if your team looses? Will the disappointment be proportional?

Fear not. I know these people are English and this World Cup they will not be upset. In fact they are going to watch Beckham lift the cup in letterbox format.

Laws that Parliament Should Pass: No’s. 1 & 2

While passing from one though to another I remembered the Law of Sod, or, as we call it in England, Sod’s Law.

In my mind it means: "If something bad is going to happen it will!"

So, if you are late for work and running for a bus you are bound to fall over or loose a shoe. It’s Sod’s Law.

But, I thought, what does the internet have to say about it? First stop wikipedia and it doesn’t disappoint...
Sod’s Law is similar to, but broader than, Murphy's law. It includes the idea that "anything that can go wrong, will", for example toast will always land butter side down, as well as other components.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sod%27s_law

Trust me to forget about Murphy’s Law...
"…a popular adage in Western culture, which broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation in which error is possible. "If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way.""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law

Understanding these Laws could go some way to understanding people from the British Isles. If you are still confused then this cartoon might help:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/sods_law.asp

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Sending Out Some World Cup Love

There is only one England song for me during this World Cup and that’s "Name on the Cup" by the Trophy Boyz.

They had a Top 40 hit in 2005 with Du The Dudek - a great song about the goalkeeping antics of Liverpool’s European Championship hero.

The same song-writing team also made a recording about England’s Ashes victory against Australia. It was called "Ashes Back" but they could only get it released in South Africa because record companies in the UK didn’t think it would sell!

All of these songs have featured podcasts of mine and the latest mercilessly plugs their new, and I believe, classic tribute to English football.

The lyrics are excellent:
We qualified without Wembley
And forget the Denmark friendly
And Northern Ireland was just a bluff

When we’re on paper
We'll take them one and all
With the right formation
The nations ready for more

And how about this…
With Owen and Rooney
Who needs a back four
We'll bend it like Beckham
And lift it like Bobby Moore

The lyics are written by Adrian Zag, describe all that is good about being an English supporter and sung over a stonkingly upbeat groove.

Be warned English fans, it is a dangerous song this, because the more you listen to it the more you think Rooney is going to play and even if he doesn’t that England are still going to win the cup.

So, to help spread the word about “Name on the Cup” and simultaneously add a bit of love and humour to the weeks of soccer ahead, I’ve made a "World Cup Pass".

If you want to send a copy to someone please feel free to do so. Click on the image below for a bigger version.



At present I think this postcard is an original idea but if you have seen others please bring me down gently.

When football is concerned love doesn’t last forever and if I had a gauntlet I would throw it down at the feet of the Daily Telegraph’s podcast editor Guy Ruddle.

I sent a speculative e-mail asking if he wanted a shorter version of my Trophy Boyz podcast and he replied, quite legitimately, that they had already sorted out their World Cup songs and features. Always good to be prepared well in advance!

So I’m looking forward to hearing the DT’s selection of tunes but will any of them match the Trophy Boyz lyrical brilliance?

You can buy it online, from KarmaDownload for 89p

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

The Hard Cheese Scenario

For a short time I worked in a kitchen. Nothing too fancy, I was mainly chopping vegetables. But I picked up some great tips from the chef.

Once, when I was chopping up the end of an onion, my fingers were perilously close to the knife. The chef came over and picked up my small piece of vegetable and told me: "This bit of onion costs under 10p. Your finger is much more valuable."

I took his advice and stuck to it. Even though I hate wasting food and prefer to recycle almost everything, sometimes you have to think to the future rather than the present.

Unfortunately yesterday, while trying to grate a rather hard and small piece of parmesan cheese, my grip was lost and my finger scrapped along the efficient metal teeth of this fine kitchen implement.

As the chef’s wise words came back to haunt me it made also me wonder: "What current political situation mirrors the hard cheese scenario?"

Friday, May 19, 2006

Podcaster Turns Guest

This Friday evening I was broadcasting live around the planet on the BBC’s World Service! The programme was World Have Your Say and the subject was Eurovision.

I actually have a little history with this show as they interviewed me for the pilot in late 2005. They had wanted someone to talk about the internet and how it helped bands like Arctic Monkeys rise to prominence.

They gave me a good five minute grilling and I was able to say what I liked but, as it was a pilot, it was never to be broadcast.

So it was great to be invited back for a proper live show. And it is weird waiting for the telephone call, knowing that in a few moments your voice will be heard around the world, and all you are doing is sitting in your front room.

The instigator of this feature was Kevin Anderson who had decided that in celebration of the weekend’s forthcoming Eurovision competition, World Have Your Say would have it’s very own Your-o-Vision competition. People from around the world would nominate a new piece of music and the expert would decide which the winner was.

My role was to nominate Itchy Tits, local all-girl punk group who I had featured recently, and a band which Kevin had also taken a shinning to.

The only problem was that the BBC felt 'Tits' was not a word the world wanted to hear on a Friday evening in England and almost 11AM in America. So we decided to call them Itchy. The Itchies might have been better.

Time ticked by and I listened to the show to get a flavour on the day’s content. By 19:50 (ten minutes to the end of the show) they still hadn’t started the competition or even contacted me. I thought, "They are leaving this a bit late". In fact the feature didn’t start until 19:53 and they had still four songs to feature and they still hadn’t even called. I figured I wasn’t going to be on.

Then the phone rang, I was connected and asked to introduce the band and explain why I felt they should be on. It went by in a flash.

Moments later it was all over and I think Itchy Tits won. As Kevin liked the song the ‘official’ judge of the show, Mark Savage, was out voted 1 to 2.

Well that’s how it seemed at the time, it was all a blur and I’ll have a listen when the show is made available.

But it was great fun being the guest for once and I still have, using the Warhol method of calculation, 14 minutes and 45 seconds of fame left to use up.

Monday, May 15, 2006

New Music Collection

The New Music Collection is regular podcast highlighting new music, sounds and people. If you know any artists who would be ideal for the podcast then please send me their details or ask then to contact me through the page I have set up at MySpace

The latest New Music Collections are:


The Long Slow Train to Guildford
36 minutes from Guildford
Midlands
Videophone

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE NEW MUSIC COLLECTION

If you have iTunes installed you can automatically launch it here: Direct Link to iTunes

Otherwise to download the show to your computer, right click on the link below and select 'Save As' or 'Save Link As' New Music Collection mp3

Monday, May 08, 2006

There is Gold in Them Clippings

I call them clippings, others call them press cuttings and companies like McCallum Media Monitor offer a service where relevant newspaper cuttings can be delivered to your door.

And there is nothing better than finding an old pile of clippings of stories which you found interesting about a year ago.

The trouble is I have started carrying them around with me. If the contents of a woman’s purse unlocks the mysteries of her personality then what does the content of a blogger’s rucksack reveal?

Should look into my bag you might well deduce from the content of the clippings that the newspaper world is in crisis and raw fish has something to do with it – you’ll find a small bottle of soy sauce from a take-away sushi tray.

But luckily for me my newspaper clipping habits could transform me into a rich(ish) man, having just found out that one page of a newspaper now cost £1.

I discovered this when I was trying to be 'Web 2.0 Clever' and start collating my collection of newspaper clippings online.

My idea was to copy the quotes that I wanted, and links to the articles, into an online document saved at RallyPoint

No problem with my Media Guardian collection, although articles are protected all I have to do is sign up for free and I can read the article.

But when I want to copy quotes from Stephen Glover’s article "Are the days of the newspaper numbered? I don’t think so."

I am invited to either join the Independent Portfolio or buy the article for £1. "One pound!?", I hear you exclaim. Yes indeed, my clipping is worth one pound. Thirty pence more than a whole copy of the Independent.

It is very tempting to offer you a photocopy for 50p.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Archbishop Reveals Hoodie Solution

"Don't judge a young person by their hoodie!" That was a recent declaration from Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York. [BBC News: Archbishop woos hoodie generation]

Not only was he preaching the good message but he was also wearing the much derided fashion item which, according to almost all media sources, is the scourge of all non-hoodie wearers.

In many towns the hoodie is feared, it is loathed and you can't entre some shopping centres if you are wearing one.

But if you are a young person who feels that the world is against you and you need somewhere to turn it off when you're outside, then a hoodie is ideal. Or, as many people assume, a hood is quite handy when you need to avoid detection from CCTV cameras.

Of course the hood is part of British folk lore. One of our national heroes is Robin Hood who, because of his honest thieving habits, presumably had to wear a hood.

Don't forget that monks wear them, academic gowns have hoods attached and the Grim Reaper wouldn't be seen dead without one.

So congratulations to the Archbishop for encouraging tolerance and understanding but if he really wanted to make a difference he should be telling the older generations to copy his hood wearing style. Because if anything is going to stop a trend amongst the young it's the sight of older people following suit.

Monday, May 01, 2006

The Telegraph Sweetens The Deal

You shouldn’t accept sweets from strangers but last weekend a lady from the Telegraph was quite persuasive.

Maybe it was the personal touch that persuaded me but, having just written that newspapers should stop giving away free DVD’s if they want to save themselves, I felt compelled to fall for the bribe.

The costs of DVD give-aways are described by media commentator Roy Greenslade in this BBC NEWS article: "How can papers afford to give away DVDs?"

"Knock-out 10,000 DVDs and you're looking at maybe 34p each; 100,000 at 25p each, half a million at 23p each. So when you get into the millions, which are what the tabloids sell, it's even less."


Having paid for their discs the papers have to add on top of that the licensing of the film which can vary from £50,000 to 250,000 and to entice their new readers they’ll need a TV advertising campaign – which also costs an arm and a leg.

The day after publication the editor is left hoping that new readers are persuaded by the print content of your newspaper to stick with you forever.

So a bar of chocolate must cost either a similar or lower amount and has to be better bang for bucks than a film we have all seen before.

Maybe the Telegraph has listened to Kim Fletcher’s new approach to the reader/customer relationship in his Guardian article: "If newspapers were more like supermarkets" ... (free registration required)

"If Tesco were running newspapers, it would be finding out exactly what its readers were up to, where they bought their paper, how often, what they liked and didn't like and what might make them buy it more."

Although I am not a fan of supermarket style and practices I can see his point. There is a natural tendency to accept your loyal shoppers for what they are and concentrate your resources on the new ones: never expecting the regulars to leave.

So here I am, doing a Sunday morning shop in an out of town shopping centre (sorry Gaia) and I am being asked if I want a free bar of Lindt Extra Fine Dark chocolate.

I still bought my regular paper but as I love dark chocolate and was interested in what the paper had to offer: soft or hard centre? Would the content compliment the free offer? Any chocolate stories inside? Would I be able to win a lifetimes supply of this bar? I bought the Sunday Telegraph

So a bit of valuable market research had been gained: man buys paper when offered free chocolate.

More interesting information was being collected across town where a relative of mine was also being offered this sweet incentive. Her response was to decline the offer.

At this point she was asked why she didn’t want it. Her reasons for not buying the Sunday Telegraph were that Saturday’s is big enough and lasted the whole weekend.

So no need for a Sunday paper but this exercise is personal giveaway proves its worth because you can gather valuable market data. In the case the telegraph’s Sunday sales will be improved by a smaller Saturday paper. But what can Sunday’s editor do about that?

This chocolate experience goes hand in hand with conversations I’ve had with Jenny, my partner, about alternatives to DVD giveaways, especially if your prospective new reader is a middle income woman.

We’ve come up with some obvious ones: from free samples of tights and perfume to airline style wash bags filled with luxury samples. One exclusive idea was to have the whole paper covered in a pleasant scent.

But whatever you give away, the personal touch – someone actually handing you the gift - is going to be the most valuable because you can target the customer in the flesh, whilst gaining strategic information from their reaction.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

How Newspapers Should Adapt To The Web

In most media pages, of most UK newspapers, the internal questions is "What are we going to do about the Internet?"

Newspapers feel they are under attack. Their once daily grip on the nation’s reading habits and opinion has been squeezed by the simple click of a mouse.

Visit Google News and one headline can have 100’s of different sources. Visit BBC News and you can have a good update of UK and International news in under ten minutes. A simple, twenty minute surf can satisfy your news urges.

If you crave specifics then visit an online log, blog as they are known. There you will get an idea of what is newsworthy, or be pointed in the direction the writer sees as interesting. Some blogs have become as popular and as ‘trusted’ as newspapers.

These trends are worrying newspaper editors and proprietors. I have a funny feeling though that journalists aren’t too bothered about this sea change.

The perceived prestige of being published in print is far great than being seen on the web. The fact that they are writing for a quality daily like the Times, Telegraph or Guardian masthead far outweighs a dot com suffix. What they don’t realise is that today’s papers fill tomorrow’s recycling bins.

An article on a web page will live for as long as the web server is connected to the internet. It is also easily indexed and made searchable and, irony of irony, blogable – if it’s an interesting article a blogger will link to it.

Quite bizarre when you analyse it. A journalist is happier to have their hard thought out piece published in a disposable container rather than have it permanently available to potentially thousands of people.

This is one of the major problems facing newspapers: the prestige of being published and the perceived demotion of appearing on a web site.

Another concern for newsrooms is that because people are spending more time reading blogs and using other news web sites they are not buying newspapers, so the habit of buying a daily paper is slipping drastically.

Each morning the question that probably runs through many minds is: "Why spend seventy pence a day on a quality paper when it is all for free on the internet?"

The paper habit is dying at the important youth end of the market. IF they don't buy now they won't in the future.

In turn this has led quality newspapers to a gradual change of content and style in order to maintain interest from the middle age group and attempt to attract a wider audience.

The trouble with this is that the older, loyal end (60+ years) has stopped buying their favourite rag because of what they see as a deterioration of content. In fact some will tell you that the only remaining quality pieces of writing are found in the obituary pages.

Sales are falling for every newspaper and the trouble is readers aren’t switching to a rival; they are actually disappearing and taking advertising revenue with them. That revenue is now going to the web.

So how do the newspapers combat this decline, establish themselves as the first port of call on the internet and make money at the same time?

First they should stop wasting money. Forget about free DVD’s they don’t work. We recently bought the Daily Mail because they were giving away the film Kind Hearts and Coronets. The film will be watched soon; paper has yet to be read. We saw it as a cheap way of buying a movie we loved.

So apologies to all the journalists who had articles printed in that paper. Hopefully they are still available on the Daily Mail web site and, if relevant to my research, I will eventually read them.

As well as dropping the unnecessary giveaways newspapers should avoid the habit of paying large amounts of money to opinion writers. Bloggers are doing it better, for a lot less. And there is nothing worse for your journalists moral to see excessive amounts of cash going towards front page puff.

The cost cutting exercise above could save hundred’s of thousands of pounds and that money should be spent on more staff. Does that shock you?

Opinion is dead; long live news.

It is true that some bloggers are the new opinion makers but all they are really doing is sitting at a desk, visiting web sites and reporting back (myself included although I get out and about when podcasting)

The newspaper buyers crave news from the world around them. That’s outside on planet earth.

So spend the money you can save above on more reporters, journalists, feature writers and photographers. And hire staff to go out, leaving the desk behind, and file stories from places where news is happening.

With this new talent fill the paper and web site with quality articles and loads of pictures.

A massive pointer to any newsroom should be the internet phenomenon of photo site flickr. It’s obvious but people love photos, love looking at them and especially having prints for the wall or backgrounds for the PC or mobile phone.

Some people can spend a happy hour just flicking through flickr - newspapers should be alive to this fact as eye ball hours on a site are very important to advertisers.

Papers should invest in a team of snappers visiting news stories and filing back hourly if not twice daily. You have web space, so use it.

And instead of having a style magazine at the weekend why not have one full of photographs. You are paying for snappers to snap, why use the image once in the newspaper? Put on the web and put into a glossy magazine at the end of the week, or end of the month, make something big of it and make those advertisers happy.

It is the same with podcasting. Some podcasts are excellent in quality but all of them are office/studio based. It’s as if the outside world doesn’t exist. Where are the sounds? Where a re the public? It’s a case of taking heads. It might be interesting to some but where is the life? Where is the colour that sound brings?

This is just a sample of where newspapers can go forward with their creativity. They have a hundred years of history and innovation behind them, they have built a name and it is one that can get them through doors. But first they have to get out of the office and spend their money on more staff.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

The Climate for Humanity Change

The lack of global political action towards solving climate change shouldn’t be a surprise: collectively we are ignoring three other major predicaments.

In this world of plenty there are still millions of people starving to death. We also have major health issues affecting not only countries but continents and war is still seen a sensible means of settling disagreements.

These four man-made problems are the potential catalysts to the demise of the human race. We can no longer stand aside as detached viewers and let these imbalances affect so many thousands of people. We have to turn and face them head on.

It is time for humanity to change its attitude

The rich have to help the poor; the educated have to use their wisdom and knowledge to provide simple, efficient and humanitarian solutions; the fit have to help the ill. And we have to start now.

For too long humanity has waited until the last minute before taking the drastic action required to solve a problem. If we wait until the last minute we will be too late.

When the smog of London was causing serious pollution in 1952 it became so serious that theatres had to close. Not because people couldn’t travel to the West End, but because the fog inside the building made it uncomfortable to watch the performance.

That is how stubborn we are as a race. It is only when the problem is there, inches from our face, will we do something.

For most humans it takes a serious, life threatening illness before they stop and change their ways – men are a great example.

Every woman knows that men only visit the doctor when the pain is really bad. It somehow seems ‘manly’ and ‘macho’ to struggle on, without complaint; until it gets so uncomfortable they have to seek medical help.

This attitude is mirrored in the Earth’s government.

The political and business leaders of this planet are neglecting our global problems for the sake of power and profit.

Yet power and profit should be seen as the rewards of the past. The health of all should be the new goal.

The affluent are so happy with their material success and wealth that they can’t see the poverty and illness that it causes.

They are simultaneously sticking their heads in the sand and up in the clouds.

To save itself humanity will have to change its way of thinking. In business they talk about thinking outside of the box. In this case we have to think off-planet.

We have to look at earth and decide how we can organise all the world’s resources and create a global standard where every person has the right to live a normal healthy life.

To do so we’ll have to say farewell to market forces. Market forces have had their day. If they were successful we wouldn’t have starvation, disease and environmental disaster banging on the door.

Our problems have to be solved tomorrow. Not in ten years time; not by 2030. They need to be solved now.

A massive public discussion is required. We need a week in which the newspapers, television and radio companies, around the world, are joined in debate.

We need a global call to the new thinkers and new economists to bring forward solutions that will provide for all in a fair and just manner.

It won’t be easy but humanity has to change its attitude or it will die.