[peel] F50, WBWG, vote rigging etc.

[Mostyn]

----- Original Message -----
From: hammieweb
> I started this WBWG debate and I couldn't agree more with Graham
> Steel.  Also as I said previously, JP should determine the top 50
> tracks voted for and then play them randomly or alphabetically.  Andy
> Kershaw used to do something along these lines and it was a joy.

I do agree that the whole thing is spoiled by orchestrated campaigns,
obsessive fans sending in multiple votes, slavish listeners who only vote
for songs which Peel has personally "approved" of.  But, at the same time,
I've always thought that the competitive nature of the event is the main
part of the Festive Fifty's appeal.  I don't think I could raise the same
enthusiasm for... "and for the next 2 hours, we'll be playing a random
selection of tunes which listeners quite liked".

Just changing the subject slightly ... so who were the "several songs that
did rather better last year than they ought to have done, in my opinion",
apart from Saloon and The Dawn Parade?  During the early stages of the vote,
he made comment about "a band beginning with D and a band beginning with A".
It soon became obvious that D were The Dawn Parade, but who were A?  Was it
The Aphrodisiacs, who had a link on their Website urging people to vote for
"This is a Campaign" - which coincidentally appeared just 1 place above the
demoted Dawn Parade?  or was it Antihero?  They obviously have quite a few
fans, but ... 5th best song of 2002???

I thought one of the strangest results was Nina Nastasia in 4th place.  I
like Nina, and I bought her album last year, but I couldn't nominate any one
song on the album as being particularly outstanding.  And yet, enough people
apparently liked "Ugly Face" to vote it into 4th place, but not one of the
other songs received enough votes even to get into the Top 50.  Odd?

Mostyn

[I just discovered there's a members only poll at www.musiciansnews.com to
vote for the best song on Nina's album.  Out of curiosity, I registered to
receive some spam just so that I could vote and see the result, and got the
message ... "voting not available at this moment".  Damn!]