Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

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Stuart X.Hunter
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Re: Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

IS you can watch tonights installment next week on the BBC4 website (i believe). They are showing last weeks on there currently. Hadn't heard of that programme.

Cheers
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Stuart X.Hunter
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Re: Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

I'm glad you added to your thread tonight. I see BBC have got some new iPlayer (which I think would be useful). I'm downloading last weeks show and hopefully will watch that before tonights installment.

Again, thanks
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Stuart X.Hunter
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Re: Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

Thoroughly enjoyed the first episode of Pop Britania. Forgot (or probably never noticed) that a lot of the early r&r, r&b & pop was there from the mid-50's onwards. For some reason my brain was just lumping it all in at the start of the 60's. I was particularly intrigued by the mish-mash of styles around at the time; crooners, trad jazz, pop, r&r, skiffle, country and instrumental. A veritable hot-bed of ideas, the influence of America, the ousting of the "oldies" and the fervour that went hand-in-hand with these new sounds.

The show on BBC4 at 10pm was a look back at the 50's. I believe there is an online vote as to the best decade for music and it was a pleasure to listen to (especially) Joe Brown, C P Lee and Pete Wylie being guided by the very amiable Maconie cover (so enthusiastically) this period.

A young Sir Cliff also bears a striking resemblance to a certain Christiano Ronaldo.

Looking forward to the next installment...
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angelsighs
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Re: Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

Post by angelsighs »

is wrote:The bloke on last night's show, where he deconstructed various pop songs to identify what made them tick was all very well, but for one fatal flaw: nearly all the songs he chose were the wrong songs.

Credit where due - they were probably his own cds - he'd broken the hinge of the Sinead O'Connor jewel pack.
I watched that one- I agree. Its never quite right when these classical types try and see what makes pop songs tick. They spent the whole program setting up all these rules then right at the end said " of course its also great to break all the rules". what a waste of time then.

Also that bloke loved Imagine. cmon- the greatest pop song? Its barely one of the better Lennon songs.
Stuart X.Hunter
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Re: Pop Britannia (BBC4 TV Series)

Post by Stuart X.Hunter »

Anyone any opinions on the second installment ~ A Well respected Man?
I didn't think it was nearly as interesting as the first perhaps due to knowing a fair bit about the 60's and the music (can't really get away from it).
I loved the verve, enthusiasm and for want of a better word bolshy attitude of the early to mid 60's. It was fascinating to hear the effect of the times from various peoples points of view; Townshend, Rafferty, Pressley, Burdon and the incoherent Dave Davies. They all seemed to put across there own little slant on what the times meant to them and what they were trying to say. This episode also concentrated (as like the 50's) to the ousting of the production-like songwriting of the established oldies in favour of entrepreuners like Epstein, Martin and Loog-Oldham.
A small segment of the episode was given over too LSD, the Summer of Love and Psychedelia but it was at this point where I feel that the times changed and IMO for the worse. Yes, it was somewhat groundbreaking (even in today's context) but I couldn't help feeling that towards the end of the 60's, artists that had initially created such a buzz were in-fact apologising for doing so. Sure that's evolution; to move forward, to re-invent and to re-invigorate but it all kind of went too deep or inwards for me (it was more a kind of patronising depth, to be honest).
Sgt. Peppers (here we go!) kind of set the mark or drew a line under what went before. The Stones, Kinks, Small Faces (I know little of the Who, to comment) all went down that road. Conceptual album, conceptual songs...ideas, ideas, ideas. Which is great but I can't help thinking when Lennon sings "she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah" at the end of "All you need is Love", that he's/they are disasociating themselves from there past in a semi-mocking way.
Perhaps these bands might have been better off coming in with a bang and leaving with a bang (similar to punk?). In saying that, there would've been amiss a few good albums.

Fell asleep 5mins into the debate on the 60's last night but it also didn't capture the attention like the 50's show...too many "cool" people. I'll d/l and watch tonight.
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