[peel] An afront to the memory of John Peel

[RobF]

On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 1:02 PM, <Phyll@...> wrote:

>
> It's ironc that it's taken a whole channel 6Music to do the job that John
> Peel used to in his few hours a week, and it's never quite managed to fill
> his place in terms of bredth and quality of new music.
>

I think you've nailed it there.

At the risk of sounding sacreligious, the media reaction to the news seems
to have taken a somewhat hysterical turn, but the BBC Strategy document
makes for quite interesting reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/strategy_review/index.shtml

Essentially it's admitting that for all the excellent alternative content on
6music, it is being marginalised by being DAB only and is probably being
spread too thinly over an entire station. The bottom line is that it doesn't
warrant the expense of a dedicated DAB station.

Let's be honest, they used to be able to keep us happy with 6 hours of Peel
a week..

The suggestion is that they won't stop delivering alternative content and
new music and that the best output of 6music wil be moved across to Radio 1
and 2 in place of the excessive pop/pap that is already served by commercial
stations.

"The BBC will also review how some of 6 Music’s most distinctive programmes
can be successfully transferred
to other BBC radio stations, and how its support for new and specialist
music can be sustained
across the BBC."

We can but cross our fingers that this is a move towards having some decent
programming back on FM.

The last time I listened into the classic Peel slot (11pm on a weeknight)
they had some nob head interviewing the cast from Twilight at the
premiere…and much as I've tried to like Zane Lowe, he really is unbearable.
For all his "in new music we trust" babbling, last week I heard him play
Neil Young and then deliver a patronising spiel explaining who he was and
why we should like him.