Radio superseded by TV… really??
Schools gear up for Christmas from the middle of October when they return from half term. This is not a voluntary thing. Somehow Christmas begins to exert a gravitational pull way beyond the religious festival it used to represent in the mainstream. Students take on a manic disposition the closer we get to the end of term and emotions tend to get closer to the surface. There are fights, fallouts and frivolity at every turn and keeping a lid on the simmering pot takes a seriously strong kitchen staff.
The one thing I always used to look forward to about Christmas was getting the TV papers that told you the next two weeks viewing – in detail! I used to scour the obscure films being shown on BBC2 or Channel 4 late at night and draw a huge X next to my choices so the family were aware that the telly was mine at that time. Things have moved on, of course, but the TV is still a reliable companion at this time of year especially so given the myriad of choice now available. This choice along with the quality control that some programmes adhere to has created another by-product which is rapidly becoming a habit. And that is, hearing new stuff from soundtracks. Shazam is great but often the dialogue confuses things – more reliable are the fan sites or programme details on various websites. In the last year I have sourced more new stuff (new to me anyhow) from the TV than I have from radio. This week’s three came from very different things but all via this brilliant way.
First up, from a brief scene in American Rust, the new Jeff Daniels cop show, a wonderful discovery by Lee Fields and The Expressions, secondly a soundtrack album that featured in the stunning Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam War narrated by Peter Coyote but was originally a soundtrack to an obscure French art film written by Miles Davis and finally some Andy Shauf from the brilliant, brilliant black comedy Loudermilk which if you haven’t seen is an absolute must.
