Jess Gillam's "This Classical Life"

[french frank]

Well, now, let's look at this:

OK
So i'm listening to the helium voiced Jacob
SLOW DOWN FFS

I don't like to be a copycat, but I thought the same thing about Jess and guest: I often couldn't catch what they were saying. I felt, as a non-musician JC could have been slower for me to actually think about what he was saying before he moved on to the next point, but others might have been quicker on the uptake than us and slower would have been painful for them.

It's all a bit "old school" to my ears

Do you mean Old Skool, as in Urban Oldies? Or that his accent is a bit too polished and RP? I don't quite follow that.

I'm not 100% conviced by the whole "note based music" as fundamental

I'd guess that might be because your own musical field of interest is perhaps less mainstream that MOR Radio 3. Classical music, for example, does seem to me to be 'note based' quite a lot of the time.

The tritone isn't "quirky" FFS

We probably need to ask him what he had in mind when he said that, rather than just deny the truth of the statement. It does sound a bit like a light off-the-cuff thought rather than a basic concept in a lecture.

I don't agree with the assumtion that the pitch content of music is always the most important charateristic and could probably find research that says otherwise

This may, again, relate to your principal musical interests where pitch is probably considerably less important. So it may not always be the most important characteristic, but I think that might be a quibble.

His examples are a bit "well worn" in my experinece

I think the whole point was that he was choosing examples which most people would recognise.

"The all time interval Classics" without Black Sabbath ?

I don't know what you're referring to so possibly many other people wouldn't. It which case, as an illustration of something it would be less appropriate.

That's 10 minutes of my life that would have better spent with my bat detector in the garden

I'll be honest: I didn't think for a minute that you would change your mind. I, on the other hand, was inclined to agree with you that he was overhyped - and 'flashy' in your words - but I changed my mind. I feel I was wrong But then, as I'm elderly I was pleased to hear I can buy a Jacob Collier mug to drink my 9 o'clock cocoa before bed.

SO ... having listened to this ... I think it's OK as far as it goes BUT not the same thing aas Jess's programme that sets out to do something entirely different

I think that, far from suggesting that it was setting out to do the same thing, people were struck by the difference in approach and some even preferred it.

Sorry

Not at all. I apologise for wasting ten minutes of your life

[MrGongGong]

Not at all. I apologise for wasting ten minutes of your life

NO problem at all
I have Unicum and there are bats in the garden

[french frank]

I have Unicum and there are bats in the garden

Egészségedre!

[antongould]

All that may be true, but even agreeing with that, I think it's a better fit with Radio 1. 'It's not "instead" of all the other things BUT "as well as"' might just as well be a good motto for Radio 1.

Radio 3's theory is, "We want young people listening to Radio 3, and it doesn't matter what they're listening to,"
or, "We want to attract new listeners and it doesn't matter what they're listening to."

This is precisely why so much of Radio 3 now seems to be 'dumbing down' to listeners who have become more informed. What did you think of Jacob Collier on the clips? I know you like him

Whilst I am not as critical as some of R3’s efforts to get the young of today to listen to the station I have to say the following puzzles me more than a little.
In search of my own, long lost, youth I listened to the final programme in Alkers’ series Unclassified. This I would have assumed is an attempt to get yer youth over the great divide ....... so I thought we will have one or two trailers extolling the virtues of Essential Classics, New Music Show or whatever. There was not a single trailer in the whole hour ...... !!!!!

[french frank]

There was not a single trailer in the whole hour ...... !!!!!

I don't think there are trailers in any of the evening programmes, are there? Late Junction? World on 3? Probably not on the I-can't-wait-for new late night classical music programme, all details so far a closely guarded secret (presenter? Elizabeth Alker again? target audience?)

But what did you think of the programme? Short-changed by the lack of trailers?

[antongould]

I don't think there are trailers in any of the evening programmes, are there? Late Junction? World on 3? Probably not on the I-can't-wait-for new late night classical music programme, all details so far a closely guarded secret (presenter? Elizabeth Alker again? target audience?)

But what did you think of the programme? Short-changed by the lack of trailers?

I am almost ashamed to say I quite enjoyed it .... but notwithstanding your, I am sure correct, point that we have no trailers in the evening ...... why did EC have regular Unclassified trailers ..... I suppose to get me to listen ....... ?????

[french frank]

why did EC have regular Unclassified trailers ..... I suppose to get me to listen ....... ?????

Well, R3 has said it doesn't matter if trails are very annoying: that means people are noticing them which is the idea. I assume that Unclassified is for a similar audience to EC, especially as Elizabeth Alker is presenting: that's the 6 Music/R3 crossover audience

[LeMartinPecheur]

Well, R3 has said it doesn't matter if trails are very annoying: that means people are noticing them which is the idea.

Am I alone in thinking that beyond a certain point, trailer repeats make me so cross that I become less likely to listen?

And thinking further, a repeated plain announcement wouldn't be anywhere near as bad; it's the 'personal attack'/ hyped language aspect that really turns me (and R3) off

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There are Trailers before and after The New Music Show, but not "in" the Show itself ...

[Old Grumpy]

Trailers and caravans are very similar - there are too many of them, they're slow and get in the way and are generally a bl**dy nuisance!

[antongould]

There are Trailers before and after The New Music Show, but not "in" the Show itself ...

Definitely not after Unclassified ...... straight into Clemmie ..... scary .....

[oddoneout]

Am I alone in thinking that beyond a certain point, trailer repeats make me so cross that I become less likely to listen?

And thinking further, a repeated plain announcement wouldn't be anywhere near as bad; it's the 'personal attack'/ hyped language aspect that really turns me (and R3) off

You are not alone. I wrote a bitter post about this some time ago(Alfred Brendel on Private Passions) which I believe was circulated elsewhere but I can't find it, and have posted more recently about the aversion effect. Not only do I frequently turn off the radio when they come on(and forget to turn it back on again), but not infrequently I find that any interest I might have had in a programme so treated is more often than not killed by the irritating repetition. And as for advertising TV programmes...

[DracoM]

[french frank]

You are not alone. I wrote a bitter post about this some time ago(Alfred Brendel on Private Passions) which I believe was circulated elsewhere but I can't find it, and have posted more recently about the aversion effect. Not only do I frequently turn off the radio when they come on(and forget to turn it back on again), but not infrequently I find that any interest I might have had in a programme so treated is more often than not killed by the irritating repetition. And as for advertising TV programmes...

I remember, VERY DISTINCTLY, RW telling me that programmes trails did not increase audience figures for a programme. They may turn some people off and alert some people to what they think might be interesting. On balance the Mr/Ms Angries might return to the programme when the barrage ends and the Mr/Ms Noseys might stick with it for a while afterwards.

I suspect (no evidence whatsoever ) that BBC Marketing, which is a Great Power within the corporation, tells Radio 3 how many trails it must broadcast and at approximately what times, dictates which trails for non-R3 programmes it must broadcast (when there's a pan-BBC marketing campaign), and leaves it to Radio 3 to decide which of its own programmes to plug (and make trails for).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have to say that Katie Derham's Proms trailers are among the most sickly of all time. Like last year's but with extra maple syrup.

As for the constant drip - drip about "BBC Sounds" - well, it's like "Have you got a Boots card? Have you got a Nectar card? Mild Green Fairy Liquid"