A musical 'Hall of Fame' for the BBC?

[Guest]

Radio 4's 'Desert Island Discs' is to invite listeners to list their 8 favourite records and name the one without which they could not survive. The reported object of the exercise is to compare listeners' choices with those of past guests on the programme. However, the most frequently named recordings will be revealed in a special programme next month, including (roll of drums, fanfare of trumpets) the listeners' 'No. 1' choice.
Sounds not unlike CFM's 'Hall of Fame' to me. Is Radio 3 to be congratulated, or criticized, for not coming up with this, or a similar, idea?

[MrGongGong]

surely ALL "list" programmes Sound like each other ?
not exactly a new idea (your 100 best tunes etc) and is likely to produce predictable results (anyone for Bolero ?) but it's hardly something to get worked up about and if it means that more folk start poking around in the DID lists and wonder what on earth Kontrapunkte is (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features...51d30#p009y2ff) I can't see the problem

[french frank]

I can't see the problem

On the other hand, as an idea Radio 4 is welcome to it. Of course, most of the DID discs are of popular music, not classical. It will be marginally interesting, therefore, to see how much classical figures in the final choices. My hunch is that classical music is going to make an early comeback In A Big Way

Afterthought: OTOH, Radio 3 will then probably play any classical choices to death as part of the wheeze to pull in R4 listeners to Essential Classics ...

[Norfolk Born]

surely ALL "list" programmes Sound like each other ?
not exactly a new idea (your 100 best tunes etc) and is likely to produce predictable results (anyone for Bolero ?) but it's hardly something to get worked up about and if it means that more folk start poking around in the DID lists and wonder what on earth Kontrapunkte is (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features...51d30#p009y2ff) I can't see the problem

If Radio 4 listeners' musical tastes resemble, even remotely, those of past guests, I would expect lots of 'votes' for, among others, the Schubert Quintet D956, the Elgar Cello Concerto and the Bach Cello Suites.

[MrGongGong]

On the other hand, as an idea Radio 4 is welcome to it. Of course, most of the DID discs are of popular music, not classical. It will be marginally interesting, therefore, to see how much classical figures in the final choices. My hunch is that classical music is going to make an early comeback In A Big Way

Afterthought: OTOH, Radio 3 will then probably play any classical choices to death as part of the wheeze to pull in R4 listeners to Essential Classics ...

Indeed
the whole "vote for the best" is obviously ridiculous
we don't vote for things that are really important
and (as most folk here will testify) just because lots of people like something doesn't make it "the best" (it doesn't make it "the worst" either !)

I do like pottering around the DID site and noticed Ian McMillan's favourite choice was 4.33"
and Pamela Stephensons was a piece of Gamelan Gong Kebyar

and look at this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/640ebc51#p009mnbn

Harry Partch ........... yes indeed , if only Tippet's music was more like that then i'd be a total fan

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

why not a poll for the most INTERESTING music?

[MrGongGong]

why not a poll for the most INTERESTING music?

that I know nothing about !

which is what I hope the radio will provide ...............

i guess you mean Resonance FM then ?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

no i mean R3, popularity and sales seem to be all that anyone looks at ... why not something that fits the niche? [nb i intended music ... not any genre, just really interesting]

[Petrushka]

If I was invited on to Desert Island Discs, I would certainly not choose all classical by any means. I think some '60's pop might well be there.

[Paul Sherratt]

>>most of the DID discs are of popular music, not classical


Are you sure, ff ?

[french frank]

>>most of the DID discs are of popular music, not classical


Are you sure, ff ?

Yes, Paul. The words 'Of course' before the assertion indicate utter certainty . But, mea culpa, I should have said what I meant, which was 'not classical' - although a quick click through the recent castaways suggests that the majority (at least 50% + 1) of the total choices are wot I call pop, including Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Danny Kaye singing Inchworm, 'n' that

[Paul Sherratt]

>>Danny Kaye singing Inchworm

Any ' ice worms ' songs ?


( There's one somewhere on this site )

[Norfolk Born]

I think the proportion of 'classical' pieces has probably fallen in recent years as the mix of castaways has become, let's say, more democratic. I suspect that, in the old days, most of the programme's guests were selected from 'the great and the good' and reflected the demographic of the Radio 4 listenership - then, as now, predominantly middle class and over 50. These days, while the profile of the listenership may not have changed that much, that of the castaways has.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Well for a laugh I put my choices in so that they can see that someone actually wouldn't choose either The Beatles or Mozart.

[Lateralthinking1]

I have been enjoying a lot of music programmes recently. What I haven't enjoyed is that many of them were on Radio 4. To demonstrate how perverse the schedulers are now, given that virtually every station in the country is music, consider this:

Friday 20 May

0900 Kwame Kwei-Armah on Desert Island Discs - Selections include Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Public Enemy

1915 Front Row - Chinese pianist Lang Lang on inspiring young players

Saturday 21 May

0900 Saturday Live - Inheritance tracks from author Iain Banks : 'Shenandoah' by Paul Robeson and 'For A Dancer' by Jackson Browne

1030 Falling For Francoise - John Andrew returns to Paris where he lost his heart to 60s icon Francoise Hardy

1530 The Music Group - The music choices are: "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield, "Closer To The Heart" by Rush and "The Lord Is Listening To Ya, Hallelujah" by The Carla Bley Band

1815 Loose Ends - Clive Anderson is joined by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

2000 Bob Dylan and Me - A cast of musicians, writers and poets reflect as Bob Dylan turns 70

2300 Counterpoint - Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz

Sunday 22 May

1115 Deborah Harry on Desert Island Discs - Selections include The Gossip, Nina Simone, Calvin Harris and The Velvet Underground

1815 Pick of The Week - Features programmes on Bob Dylan broadcast on Radio 2