In Tune

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's something slightly undignified about a middle-aged man using the word "cool".

However, the programme is not short of good ideas.

[Sir Velo]

I cannot abide old Gafferty I'm afraid. His knowledge isn't actually that good, he makes regular gaffes (hence my nickname for him) and there's far too much er...well....em....yes etc from him.

Unctuous, I think, is the word.

[Nick Armstrong]

The music is sometimes decent.
rafferty has turned fawning into an art form, and his research appears to be non existent, frequently asking irrelevant questions, or saying things to interviewees that are plain wrong. interviews are in most cases pointless anyway and seldom add to the music.
I gave up on it, in the main, a long time ago. An utterly wasted opportunity for what could be a highpoint of the day.

I'm inclined to agree. At the same time, the rather camp, over indulgent approach is probably quite a shrewd way of getting out of the artists what is needed. I know one person who's been on a couple of times, and have never forgotten his description: "a scary little programme"... speaking live on national radio (esp. as in his case if your first language isn't English) and also playing live, having just come into the little studio from the (cold?) outside world, usually hassled after traffic delays, underground crowds...

Something warm and furry is needed to calm them down, pump their egos and get them in anything like the right mood to deliver what is required by the programme.

And boy does Raffles give 'em warm and furry!! It's difficult to take sometimes. I'm usually listening (if I do) while travelling, and tend to tune him out. It could be done better.

One of the low points was when he was speaking about the following concert or that weekend's special programmes or something with Tom Service... They tumbled over each other (literally, over each other's burbling phrases) to be effusive, camp, hyperbolic... It was pretty nauseating.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Something warm and furry is needed to calm them down, pump their egos and get them in anything like the right mood to deliver what is required by the programme.

And boy does Raffles give 'em warm and furry!! It's difficult to take sometimes. I'm usually listening (if I do) while travelling, and tend to tune him out. It could be done better.

(It would be interesting to hear from someone who has been interviewed).

Despite my own reservations about his garrulous style (and I also concur that his musical knowledge is not that deep), those singers I know who have been interviewed by Sean Rafferty adore him. He is expert at putting guests at their ease. On the once occasion I met him, he was charm itself.

[Sir Velo]

Despite my own reservations about his garrulous style (and I also concur that his musical knowledge is not that deep), those singers I know who have been interviewed by Sean Rafferty adore him. He is expert at putting guests at their ease. On the once occasion I met him, he was charm itself.

It's a thin line though isn't it? By how much is the sum of human knowledge increased by these luvvie interviews? On the rare occasions that some performer has something interesting to divulge about the music (e.g. Richard Egarr a few months back) they are invariably cut off to make way for one of SR's bits of banter or a trailer or a news bulletin. A producer worth their salt would tell Sean to shut up when he lays it on with a trowel, and make the instant decision to change the schedule in order to continue the conversation with a particularly interesting guest. Otherwise, what's the point of live broadcasting?

[Thropplenoggin]

Although I suppose the blessed Sean does it to put his guests at ease I find his relentless jollying along of them, together with his rather camp vocabulary, very off-putting and I tune in to this programme less and less frequently. When my journey home coincides with it I much prefer Radio Four's PM, especially when Eddie Mair is presenting.

I was once a fan of PM with Eddie Mair but these day's it's like the sort of variety show that used to pass for 'light entertainment' on a Saturday night, with Mair channelling Cannon & Ball to provide the lame jokes.

But then I've noticed that this ironic, "knowing" style of presentation is à la mode. Still, 'Night Waves' is even worse for this irritatingly pun-laden drivel.

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes, IGI, I should probably have been more precise:

As a listener, it's difficult to take sometimes. ...From the listener's point of view, it could be done better.

because I agree that from the artists' viewpoint he's probably very good at getting the right mood. Not sure about his interviewing style, though. I love it when some of the non-English visitors query his more insane verbal hyperbole with a 'what?' or 'sorry I don't understand'...

[Suffolkcoastal]

Unctuous, I think, is the word.

Yes that seems to some up the Gafferty style rather well.

[teamsaint]

I don't listen regularly but don't dislike Sean. I think his bumbling sometimes gets guests talking as they correct him.
I caught the end of an interview with Kirill Karabits a few days ago, but can't find it now. Can anyone help please?

And as someone with some recent hearing problems I wish the laughter could be restrained a little. I'm very pleased that all concerned are enjoying themselves but it makes difficult listening

Now THAT is what I call a positive take !!

Anyway, to be positive myself for a moment..I do enjoy the live music often, but since it is a magazine type programme i would like to see a good deal more music news..upcoming releases, concert announcements, festival details, injury worries, that sort of thing and competitons with BIG cash prizes. Well, not the competitions, really, unless of course there WERE big prizes.
Maybe a 10 minute segment with this kind of thing .....perhaps its too much work...

[french frank]

I have heard all kinds of music on the programme. Classical music, songs from the musicals, a fair bit of jazz, some world music.

Well, personally, I don't need any more of a turn-off than that. Kiss of death. I don't complain that it exists: it just doesn't interest me half the time from the point of view of the music. I gave up listening to IT years ago. I would find a good, solid journalistic section on the arts interesting (Petroc's rather good at journalism).

From June 1997 the presenter line-up looked like this (over a few weeks):
Natalie Wheen
Jeremy Nicholas
Linda Ormiston
Natalie Wheen
Humphrey Carpenter
Andrew Green

SR has been doing the programme for over 15 years. The trouble is that people clamour for change but when they find out what they're getting instead they rather wish they hadn't: the past seems better...

Interviews which aren't much more than casual chat and don't delve very deeply don't seem very worthwhile to me, and the IT guests are usually publicising a tour or concert. I prefer the 'professional' interviewers rather than professional putters-at-ease, but the live format of IT doesn't quite allow that (and it wouldn't be the right time of day).

Too mixed, too frothy. But with some good live music intervals.

[Flosshilde]

Perhaps because IT hasn't changed much and could have been considered a lost cause for quite a long time, .

I don't consider it anything like a 'lost cause'. It works well, its guests are all to do with music (& frequently perfrom live), nobody is asked to tweet or text, it's topical, & it sounds as if everyone is having a jolly good time.

[Flosshilde]

Although I suppose the blessed Sean does it to put his guests at ease I find his relentless jollying along of them, together with his rather camp vocabulary,

It didn't take long for this plea - "Ideally comments should be made in relation to form and content rather than presentation" to be breached

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i must try it again, not listened in ages ...too bitty - a bit air head for me .... one can not ignore Mr Rafferty and if he is saying not much it is a turn off [literally] .... good in parts as someone once said of an egg ... i was a regular listener once, i think interest just ebbed away gradually ....

[Flosshilde]

Rather than going through well-rearsed arguments about the format & presenter (which get rather repetitive & a tad boring), perhaps it might be more interesting to make the thread a discussion about content - ie when someone hears something they think is particularly interesting they can flag it up here.

[rauschwerk]

SR gave me a good laugh the other day when he introduced Gnomenreigen as 'Gnomenregen'. I suppose this means 'It's raining gnomes'.