Marginal Laughs

Comedy on the radio is under threat. If you ignore the output of Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra, the level of output which is distinctly defined as being comedic has slumped in the past few years. I'll take the evidence station by station...

BBC Radio 1.
With the advent of Matt Edmondson's Wednesday night show in April 2011, Radio 1 resurrected a long neglected slot made famous by the likes of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Chris Morris and Armando Ianucci. Matt Edmondson's show may not have been quite as ground breaking as those of the early 90s, but it was genuinely entertaining and innovative. When Edmondson was scooted off to weekend mornings at the end of 2012, he was briefly replaced by Tom Deacon for the first three months of 2013, but clearly Deacon is out of favour at Radio 1 and he was replaced for the second time by pissweak filler material, this time "My Playlist" where some z-list celebrity or reality show pop puppet play an hour of dull music. This is completely adverse to the evening "In New Music We Trust" ethos and shows that Radio 1 are simply too scared to broadcast comedy material.

BBC Radio 2.
For many years, Saturday lunchtimes were established as the home of a couple of comedy shows over the course of an hour, sometimes seasons of hour long shows would take over. In one of their many reorganisations, comedy was pushed off to late nights on Thursdays before being shunted even further off into the realm of occasional specials and short series. A legacy stretching back for many decades has been lost as Radio 2 now broadcasts only the odd show which is over-hyped by on air promos and therefore ultimately disappointing. No concepts are allowed any space to develop or even breathe.

BBC 6 Music.
Saturdays on BBC 6 Music used to be something of a haven from the air of superiority and smugness that is becoming rather a blight on the station. At several points, there were six hours of comic output on a Saturday with three hours of Adam and Joe in the morning, plus three hours of Jon Holmes in the late afternoon. When it became clear that Adam and Joe were not going to return long term to dedicate their efforts to a show on the station, Holmes was promoted to Saturday mornings and clearly attracted enough attention to be headhunted by XFM to replace the departing Danny Wallace (who had also previously presented on 6 Music Saturday mornings). When Holmes departed, the show was briefly covered by a returning Adam Buxton partnered with Edith Bowman, but after a month of that arrangement Bowman took over the show solo. The show which resulted became Edith Bowman's trademark tedious programme about films and thus all comedy output on 6 Music was binned.

BBC Local Radio.
Whilst Danny Baker's departure from BBC London was well publicised, there is clearly huge pressure on other BBC Locals to make themselves more worthy, constantly talking about "local issues" (something Baker often criticised) and never actually serving to entertain or amuse the public. The net result is that some stations have practically become talk radio style offerings with relentless downbeat chatter, punctuated by occasional easy listening records. Considering how little true entertainment there is from commercial broadcasters and the lack of local content from many networked programmes, surely this is a need the BBC should be addressing. If there are no entertaining, local voices on commercial networks, the BBC should be nurturing them rather than pushing them off air to make way for yet another tedious phone in about immigration, parking, potholes, local politicians or hospitals.

Classic sequences #829: Anger -> alcohol -> mixtape.

I have quite a swirly head at the moment, which is probably deserved as it has been something of a traumatic day. So having come home and become tidily merry, i'm making a mixtape. It might only stretch to a C60 and it may more often be played from a digital source, but it'll exist.

Details are included where i have them to hand.

01: Turntablerocker - No Melody (Album: Classic)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2WIHptQUYs

02: Panic! At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage (A Fever You Can't Sweat Out)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qar679wFPV4

03: Kane - Rain Down On Me [Tiesto Remix Edit] (What If)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xisTPzWd-GM

04: Definition of Sound - Wear Your Love Like Heaven (CD Single)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzKuEefxjaA

05: Rhodos: Push and Pull (Chappell Library CHAP103/4CD)
https://soundcloud.com/jopijedd/rhodos-push-pull

06: The Ataris - Boys of Summer (So Long Astoria)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI93w0OV6D8

07: Bizarre Inc - Playing With Knives (Quadrant Mix Edit) (CD Single)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBFXPRWjlF0

08: Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo (Download)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvjML3-66SA

09: Ultrasonic - Party Non-Stop (CD EP / Also on album Global Tekno)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHkaTDJBFss

10: Deadmau5 ft Rob Swire - Ghosts n Stuff (Download)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV8eiSA4vqc

11: The Prodigy - Everybody In The Place [Fairground Mix] (The Prodigy Experience Expanded)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY87o9IZXWg

12: Xavier Naidoo & RZA - I've Never Seen / Ich Kenne Nichts (CD Single)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPN88D_HjMU

13: Agnelli & Nelson - Hudson Street [Radio Edit] (CD Single, 12min version on Hudson Street album)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFOPrwKtP1w

14: Underworld - Pearl's Girl (Short) (CD Single, long version on Second Toughest in the Infants)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw_3cBB_-aw

15: Kid Q vs Schaffhaeuser - Save Me (Single sided white label - tragic really, should have been a humungous hit)
https://soundcloud.com/jopijedd/kid-q-vs-schaffhaeuser-save-me