Diamond Geezers, Guilty Pleasures
- 29 Jan 07, 12:10 PM
Do you still make up lists of your favourite records? Man, that¡¯s so last century. These days, the done thing is to reel of a sequence of those guilty pleasures - the horrid little tunes that were never invited to the cool party. So now it¡¯s permissible to like the Electric Light Orchestra and their symphonic twaddle. Likewise with Meatloaf and ¡®Bat Out Of Hell¡¯. Apparently it¡¯s been given a reprieve, after years of mockery. And you thought it was just a gormless bunch of shouting and half-remembered Springsteen choruses? Apparently not.
To my mind, guilty pleasures should never be given absolution. A bad song will always stink. All this ironic stuff is just another makeshift, a temporary plug to fill the vacancy in our current music lives. I can never forgive Abba for their pop crimes, and if anyone ever wants to make a case for Nik Kershaw in my presence, be warned that I consider this fighting talk.
Yes, I do have an emotional attachment to some dodgy tunes. All that¡¯s left of one doomed love affair is the Genesis song, ¡®Follow You Follow Me¡¯. But it would never have worked: she had a lousy record collection. I used to like Alvin Stardust, but I was 11 at the time. And yes, I will dance with abandon to Fleetwood Mac and ¡®Everywhere¡¯. But that was never a bad song to start with.
The song that troubles me most is ¡®Cracklin¡¯ Rosie¡¯ by Neil Diamond. I find myself singing it in public. The melody gives me some pleasure. And when Shane MacGowan recorded a stumblebum version with banjos and everything, I truly appreciated how bold the song was.
But there¡¯s a line in ¡®Crackin¡¯ Rosie¡¯ that troubles me a lot. It¡¯s when Neil boasts, ¡°I had me a time with a poor man¡¯s lady¡±. I find it morally appalling. Why didn¡¯t he pick himself a rich man¡¯s wife for his entertainment? Or maybe even a single girl? I still have an indelible picture of the poor man, coming home in his dirty overalls, only to realise that his missus is cavorting with Neil Diamond, his clanking medallion and a purple jump suit. It¡¯s just not right.
Am I being too judgmental? Should I forget my guilty feelings and simply enjoy a decent pop song? Kind readers, how should I plead?
Forever Young
- 26 Jan 07, 11:06 AM
Tonight, on Radio Ulster, we¡¯re gonna party like it¡¯s 1955. We¡¯re got a tremendous session from The Sabrejets, who play down-the-line rockabilly with little fuss and considerable style. They¡¯ve put together some of their own songs, plus a stomping version of the Ramones record, ¡®Blitzkrieg Bop¡¯. And if you think it¡¯s a bit peculiar to hear a punk tune played thus, then remember that the Sabrejets singer is Brian Young, who fronted one of the classic Ulster acts, Rudi.
It was Rudi that released the first single on the Good Vibrations label, back in 1978. It was called ¡®Big Time¡¯ and it roared and snarled, a put-down of some posing chancer on the local scene. And while Brian and his band never got the same recognition as The Undertones or Stiff Little Fingers, they are still dear to anyone who ever saw them.
Many players from that period have moved on to safer jobs, but Brian is still utterly into the music, and he wears it exceedingly well. So what¡¯s the secret of his youthful demeanor? Well, when you watched him lashing out those tracks in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ studio, hollering about hot rods and dance crazes, you could tell that is mojo was emphatically working, that the inspiration has never left him.
Tune in at 10pm to hear the proof.
Passion Ain't a Fashion
- 23 Jan 07, 02:44 PM
A bloke comes up to me the other week and tells me he¡¯s cracked the secret of my radio show. I¡¯m intrigued. There¡¯s me on a Friday night, working alone in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Belfast¡¯s Studio 8 of a Friday, from ten until midnight, playing my fave tunes in a kind of random order. Hey, I care about the records and that¡¯s reason enough for me. But this guy understands. ¡°It¡¯s all about passion,¡± he declares, with a tremendous smile. And you know, he might be correct.
Really, what¡¯s the point of music without passion? What would be left of Primal Scream and Willie Nelson, Nick Cave, Nina Simone and The Clash? It¡¯s the essential juice in the engine. It gives music sense. And I guess this idea was in my bones as I staggered home a few nights ago with some mates and we broke into a spontaneous chorus of Dexys songs.
You remember Dexys Midnight Runners, surely. Fronted by Kevin Rowland, they lashed out ¡®Geno¡¯, ¡®Dance Stance¡¯ and of course ¡®Come On Eileen¡¯. Album number three was a bit odd, but Kev devotees know that ¡®Don¡¯t Stand Me Down¡¯ rules. So naturally, our singalong climaxed with a line from the song ¡®Listen To This¡¯. The one that whoops; ¡°I was thinking about compromise, when I saw the beauty in your eyes¡±. We didn¡¯t do the melody much justice, but hey, did we mean it.
And then I get the tip-off that Kevin has a myspace site, and that there¡¯s a new tune on it. Blimey. You call it ¡®It¡¯s OK Johanna¡¯ and it¡¯s like a mixture of Beethoven¡¯s ¡®Moonlight Sonata¡¯ and some delicious confessional by Marvin Gaye. Even as a demo, it¡¯s essential Kev, and I adore it.
¡°I¡¯m gonna spread beauty to the best of my ability,¡± he sings. ¡°That¡¯s my job. That¡¯s why God put me here.¡±
Listen to that tune:
How can you disagree?
Wish you were here?
- 23 Jan 07, 01:03 PM
We received an email yesterday from a couple of expats in Japan who like to listen to the Stephen Nolan podcast every night to keep in touch with what's going on at home.
And we know of another man in Japan who listens to it on the bus in the way into work.
So where in the world are you listening? We'd love to hear from you.
Permission to pogo
- 22 Jan 07, 12:15 PM
He¡¯s now about six weeks into the job so how¡¯s Alan Simpson finding his new life as a Radio Ulster presenter?
If you remember before the show first went on air at the end of last year he was a little nervous about the whole thing ¨C especially the technical side of the job.
¡°Well it has turned out that I am feeling very comfortable now in the studio,¡± he said.
¡°There was such a long period of preparation before we went on the air that it was great to get on at last and I have been really enjoying it.¡±
One thing Alan was still a bit uncertain about when he got on air was how to conduct an interview.
¡°I have never done anything like interviewing before and last week I did two big ones ¨C Peter Jones from Dragons Den and Rolf Harris.
¡°But in the end Peter Jones was enjoying it so much that he would not get off the phone. At one point I asked him to empty out his pockets and it turned out I had more money than him.
¡°So on that day at least I was a richer man than he was.¡±
And Rolf Harris turned out to have a surprising and hitherto undiscovered talent.
¡°He was able to do the best imitation of a Northern Ireland accent I have ever heard in my entire life when he said ¡®let me tell you something son, I would like to redecorate your house.¡±
Alan has also found himself a little unprepared for the sudden increase in the level of recognition his new day job has afforded him.
¡°The thing that has surprised me is how people come up and quote things to me that I have said on air that I don¡¯t immediately remember.
¡°Afterwards they leave me thinking ¡®did I really say that?¡±
Alan¡¯s also enjoyed the reaction he¡¯s been getting to the show¡¯s music policy.
¡°I got into a taxi last week and the guy was listening to a Sigur Ros CD.
¡°I said I liked so he pulls out a album and says that he first heard it on the show of that new boy on the radio.
¡°So I introduced myself to him and said that was me..¡±
(The taxi driver¡¯s reply is not suitable for this blog ¨C but suffice to say he was a little shocked and expressed his feelings forcefully.)
* You can hear Alan Simpson on weekdays on Radio Ulster from 3-5pm.
Podcasters ahoy
- 22 Jan 07, 10:30 AM
Since Christmas we have noticed a major increase in the number of people listening to the daily download of the best of the Stephen Nolan Show.
We're more than a little curious as to why this is happening - maybe lots of you got new MP3 players for Christmas and were looking for good stuff to listen to?
Or is it something to do with the topics we have been covering - last Thursday's about the situation in Muckamore Abbey provoked a huge response.
Any comments let us know - and any other recommendations for good things to listen to on your computer or MP3 player would be most welcome.
Oh boke
- 16 Jan 07, 12:18 PM
There was a very personal question for listeners to consider on this morning's Stephen Nolan Show.
How many of you really do wash your hands after visiting the bathroom?
If you have the stomach for it listen to today's download to find out more than you ever want to know about the truths of bathroom hygiene.
And if you listen all the way to the end - after Essie - you'll hear Stephen get a surprise from the final caller of the day...
Pole dancer
- 16 Jan 07, 10:20 AM
Cast your eyes to the right and you will see something you do not see every day.
A picture of Hugo dancing round a pole....
Thanks to Ivan in Craigavon for that one. Keep them coming!
The rest is silence
- 10 Jan 07, 02:55 PM
There's been widespread reaction today to the recording of some Cliftonville fans who were caught on tape booing during a minute's silence for last night.
But on this morning's Stephen Nolan show one man who attended the match was unrepentant about what happened.
You can find the full debate here.
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