the peelennium

[Stig]

Martin Wheatley wrote:
> Of course not.  It's to play things that we might not know from areas that
> interest Peel musically and which comes from the cutting edge of the time

Purely in terms of the musical content haven't the tracks played so far
been incredibly tame? I seriously doubt that these music hall recordings
represent the musical "cutting edge" of the time, I think it's more
likely to be the popular entertainment of the time adhering essentially 
to known and established musical styles. There may well have been a lot
of 'popular' music (by which I basically mean not formal, orchestral 
music) being played that was far more "cutting edge" than the music hall
records that were being produced, and which was never recorded and never
would have been recorded at this early stage of the recording industry.
I'm not suggesting the records in the Peelennium so far don't "interest
Peel musically", far from it, but the lack of variety in form and style
makes me think that actually there's not a great range of stuff
available for him to choose from. I'd also say that so far they have
been very much "novelty" records in the sense that they seem to be
recordings of the (occasionally astonishing) vocal talents and
(occasionally depressing) comic talents of performers of the time. I
imagine that pretty much *any* record was a novelty in 1901 though, and
perhaps that's the point. 

I think the main thing that has interested me so far is the fact that
these are records I would never have heard - and certainly not on Radio
One - were it not for the Peelennium. They are fascinating as historical
documents if not perhaps the kind of records I would choose to put on to
bop to in my boisterous fashion around the lounge on a Saturday night.

> And may will surprise you to know that Music Hall was not mainstream - it was
> working class at the time when most music was middle class - the punk of its
> day.

Or the Ocean Colour Scene? The Shed 7?

Just as a matter of curiosity, does anyone think of punk as 'working
class music'? In which case what exactly is the 'working class music' of
today because I'm not entirely certain that music can be shown to adhere
to socio-economic definitions in any meaningful way. Of course, I don't 
pretend to be any kind of authority and I do realise that there are 
subjective opinions to be had.

> >For that reason I made the comment that I can
> >imagine it getting a bit samey as we go through the early decades of
> >recorded music, since relatively speaking there's not a great deal of
> >variety to the kind of music that was being put on records in the early
> >half of this century when you compare it to the latter half.
> If what you say is true then Peel has committed himself to playing many
> hours of 'samey' music on his show for the next few months.  Doesn't sound
> like the Peel I know.  Trust him!

I've been through this myself, wondering if the decision to broadcast a
compendium of songs of the century based around very weak wordplay will
have committed a substantial amount of airtime to a vast lack of choice
and variety. While I suspect you may be right in this unique instance
and look forward to seeing whatever it is Peelie has up his sleeve for 
the remaining seven months of the Peelennium, I really don't think I
would care if it does end up as "samey" and boring for the 
first--um--thirty years or so because the lack of foresight which could 
result in such a misjudgment is perhaps one of the most endearing things 
I could possibly imagine.

> There was the same width of music available in the 20s, 30s and 40s as there
> is now.

I look forward to hearing the 1930s gramophone record equivalents of
industrial techno and random noise. Let's face it, in the main it's 
clear that little more than traditional musical forms, and I'm going to
be controversial here in calling them essentially extensions of the
various folk traditions, were being put on records during this period. 
By this I'm suggesting that comparatively little which could be
considered musically startling, revolutionary or wholly distinct from
established musical tradition is available on records of this era. You
make the valid point that the notion of "cutting edge" and originality 
changes over time, but I would suggest that the difference between the 
way records are being produced today and the way they were being 
produced in the early part of the century makes it more likely that we 
will find styles of music available to us which actively seek to
separate themselves from musical traditions from the later part of the
century than the former. I'm assuming that the Peelennium isn't going to
include much experimentation in the field of orchestral music, but my
suggestion is that experimentation with form, by which I mean attempts
to tread unexplored musical paths within what might be considered
popular music is less likely to have been recorded during the early 
period than during ours. 

"There was the same width of music available in the 20s, 30s and 40s as
there is now."

My argument is basically and I shall say it slowly this time that as the
technology of recorded sound has advanced and become cheaper and more
readily available, the tendency for more experimental works to be
released on record has increased. In terms of technology in 1999 we're
at the point where anyone can produce a record for minimal cost; not
only has this minimised the ability of the vested interests of
established recording companies to dictate what will and will not be
recorded and released based upon the necessity for mass purchase, it has
created a climate in which experimentation with musical form of the type 
that would have been at best restricted and more likely non-existent in 
the 1940s has become common. The sheer quantity of records being 
produced away from the mainstream extends the likelihood that amongst 
all this activity we will find experimentation with form. In this 
climate of experimentation with the medium of recorded sound it is 
clear that a vastly greater range of records in which musical forms are 
challenged and stretched will be available from the latter decades of 
our century when compared with the former and this heavily biases the 
weight of choice of the three or four records from each year to be 
played as part of the Peelennium upon the later decades of the 
twentieth century. 

> Since the
> researcher on the Peel show is Stig's generation

You almost seem to imply here that you define people's worth by
generation

> I'd guess there is an expert
> in the library who has prepared them for him. Later on Peel will no doubt
> select the tracks himself

Do you really mean to suggest you think Peelie has had no say in the
choice of records for the Peelennium up to this point? Learning that I
was in fact listening to a programme that would let "an expert" choose
the records being played is not the kind of thing I would expect from
Peel's programme.

I think if Peel has taught us anything it's that "an expert" is often
not nearly as interesting to listen to as a passionate amateur.

> >The
> >interesting thing of course is that by the time we get into the era of
> >Peel's own career we'll be positively overwhelmed with possibilities.
> >Look at the breathtaking eclecticism of any single Peel programme of
> >this year and compare it to the distinct lack of musical and stylistic
> >variety in the records being produced in the early decades of the
> >century.
> 
> The true mark of the scholar.  Comparing something you know
> with something you know bugger all about.  You'll go far!
> There is a career in journalism awaiting you :-)

Not for the first time I find myself asking you: does this actually 
mean anything or is it simply evidence of a petty and pompous little 
mind? ;)

If my words have any definable intention I would suggest that it 
is to explore and question rather to than project and impose any 
supposedly final or expert meaning onto anything as arbitrary as 
culture.

> >Stiggsy, really rather proud of the gaps in his education
> Very much your loss

No no you clearly misunderstand; one of us was joking 


Stig

--
jmsmall@...