I think John Peel was a much misunderstood DJ who through the desperation of the BBC and the ignorance of the public became recognised as some kind of musical authority. As an influential man he was able to guide the public into some of the deepest musical lavatories whilst at the same time steering people away from other styles which he hated. This is the attitude of the fool who listens to pop and rock but condemns classical, and the opposite who only listens to classical whilst sneering at rock. Personally I think that his musical appreciation was crude and lacking in any sophistication. Give me good old Bob Harris any day.
And Then I Took Some Of THESE 25 Jan 2018 Mark E Smith, 1957-2018. Some things to read. My favourite ever piece or sequence of pieces on The Fall is our own Kat Stevens' stint on One Week One Band.…
2018 Music Diary Week 4: The Week Of Peel 29 Jan 2018 NEW MUSIC Day 24: FIRST AID KIT – Ruins: Slickly produced, occasionally countrified, notes on romantic disappointment by a pair of Swedish sisters who sing with a Nordics-meet-Nashville twang. There’s…
Journey to the Centre of the YIKES — ! 23 Oct 2011 (crossposted at my tumblr) Saw the John Martin: Apocalypse show at Tate Britain yesterday. Oddly mixed feelings: not disappointment exactly — I think I childishly wanted the big end-of-the-world canvasses…
BLUE ft ELTON JOHN – “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” 30 Sep 2019 Blue’s last Number One, and any wisps of street credibility which might have still clung to them melt away. Don’t be fooled by the off-the-peg R&B shuffle in the best:…
FT Advent Calendar Of Christmas TV Specials: December 3rd 3 Dec 2011 Christmas is a time for the children, which means it's also a time for endless kids' TV specials. More than ever, in the age of the "DVD movie" stocking-stuffer. But…
A PERFECTER PERFECT DAY — by !!SCIENCE!! 6 Apr 2014 Imagine YOU have been appointed (time-travelling) decider on the 1997 multi-artist version of Perfect Day? Who would you keep? Who would you drop? Who would you draft? Assume you have…
About the Author
Steve does most of the pictures, colouring in etc. which is nice.
As well as contributing to Freaky Trigger, Steve has his project portal at ghostfood.tv, showcasing graphic and web design work, video edits, audio mash-ups and music mixes. Truly the media node of node hall.
29 Oct 2010
#641, 3rd February 1990 Sinead O’Connor is one of the finest song interpreters not just because she thinks hard about the material and the feelings locked in it, but because she’s so good at placing songs into a situation. A great example of this is her version of “Chiquitita”, warm and homely where ABBA’s is […]
5 Jul 2013
#725, 26th August 1995 BOXING? A “heavyweight battle”, the NME cover-billed it. And if “Country House” vs Oasis’ “Roll With It” was a title bout, the music press were desperate to play Frank Warren. Perhaps they had most at stake. It was, in a way, their last great fight. Many other moments define Oasis. Blur […]
15 Aug 2007
On my eleventh birthday I received a copy of a tape called “Rave ’92” through the post from my sister Grace, who was away at university. It was the second tape she had made for me whilst she was away, (the first being a random mix of grebo, soul, indie and ‘Love Shack’ by the […]
9 Jan 2004
Independence Day. Isn’t it marvellous? Hurrah hurrah let’s kill the stripper and those hippies! That’s the kind of morals I WANT from my films! Until the aliens bugger up by deciding just to kill EVERYBODY. Where’s the subtlety, the art, the je ne sais quoi indeed about that? Who cares when we have plucky heroes […]
27 Mar 2014
#774, 20th September 1997 Every Popular entry starts with the same question: why this record? This time it’s especially loud. “Candle In The Wind ‘97” is the highest-selling single of all time in the UK, almost 2 million clear of its nearest competitor. This is as big as pop gets. But “why?” might strike you […]
8 May 2018
Eight episodes are now up: Hazel Southwell and Mark Sinker talking through the story of the UK music press from two very different angles (bcz I am old and she is not), to help start the conversation around my upcoming book. pod 1: the pilot! pod 2: uh merry memories of the nme! pod 3: […]
14 Nov 2006
In The Beginning There Was Nothingness. IF ONLY. In The Beginning There Was The Word. NOT THE BIRD FROM L7 PULLING DOWN HER KECKS AGAIN. But neither of these are strictly true. Because the first book of the Bible Of Badness is Genesis. And if you were ever to question how bad this Bible could […]
9 Jan 2013
GET UR FROAK ON While most of my online acquaintances were geeking out today at the thought of a new David Bowie album, our house was far more excited by the announcement of new Pokémon games – Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, the first on Nintendo’s 3DS console(1). The announcement was made by the President […]
I think John Peel was a much misunderstood DJ who through the desperation of the BBC and the ignorance of the public became recognised as some kind of musical authority. As an influential man he was able to guide the public into some of the deepest musical lavatories whilst at the same time steering people away from other styles which he hated. This is the attitude of the fool who listens to pop and rock but condemns classical, and the opposite who only listens to classical whilst sneering at rock. Personally I think that his musical appreciation was crude and lacking in any sophistication. Give me good old Bob Harris any day.
i think you’re an idiot
I second that. Idiot.
An idiot of the category of Julie Burchill, who claimed Peel never played black music (!)
Deepest Musical Lavatories: brilliant name for a club night.