大象传媒

Forgive me, but it's been seven days since my last post. However it's been only seven minutes since my last slice of Christmas cake and only two minutes since my last choc sweetie.

I think I have fallen into a post Christmas slump. My last run was in November - and this is from a man who spends more time pounding the pavements than he does spinning the discs.

My New Year's resolution like so many others is to cut the rubbish, get back to the gym and be showing off my six pack by April.

I might be wasting my time though as I read today that psychologists from the University of Hertfordshire say that barely one in 10 people will stick to their new year resolutions.

According to their study more than half of those interviewed said they were confident of success. But by the end of the year just 12% had achieved their goals.

It seems detox treatments are a waste of time. Earlier in the week The Food Standards Agency's chief scientist, Dr Andrew Wadge dissed detox diets and advised people they would be better off spending their money on Neil Young or Steve Earle's latest cd!

That's my kind of doc. Who needs pills when you can go shopping for CDs. Now, we just need to find out if you can get them on the NHS.

I'm off to prepare for the show tonight which is the first of our listeners' mixtapes, and then it's the 大象传媒 Radio Scotland Hogmanay show which I am presenting with Robbie Shepherd and Vic Galloway.

Join us on air from 10pm and check out our Hogmanay web page for essential info.

Just finishing our Christmas Eve show with Ella swinging away in the background. Before I head home to prepare lunch for 14 (!) tomorrow, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who's texted, called, posted and e-mailed Get It On.

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and look forward to some great themes in 2008 xxx

It鈥檚 Brand New Country鈥檚 Christmas special tonight and I鈥檓 updating the blog during the news, which is the only five minutes of the show which doesn鈥檛 mention Rudolph, Santa, or the little baby Jesus.

I love the Christmas show but by the time ten o鈥� clock comes around even a mince pie guzzling, mistletoe thrusting, Christmas sap like me is ready to pack away the tinsel for another year. Well at least till Monday when we鈥檙e doing 鈥樷�橝 soul Christmas鈥� as a theme on Get It On.

Some good tunes tonight. The wonderfully waif like Mindy Smith stole my heart with her version of The Christmas Song, and I can鈥檛 see past Elvis and Blue Christmas.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Elvis鈥� Christmas Album. There was controversy around it鈥檚 release when Irving Berlin wrote to radio stations to persuade them to ban Presley鈥檚 version of White Christmas on the grounds that it was 鈥渁 profane parody of his cherished yuletide standard鈥�.

Good job he didn鈥檛 see my hip-thrusting version of Blue Christmas at the Radio Scotland listeners鈥� lunch a few years ago. It made Elvis seem as raunchy and profane as Daniel O鈥� Donnell and had a quite a few folk choking on their mince pies!

Don鈥檛 forget to let me have your suggestions for Christmas soul songs and join me on Christmas Eve for a fun show鈥�

The mid-80's are a bit of a goldmine for Get It On so we are going back to that era tonight for another selection from 1983.

As a far as I am concerned this was a classic year for pop. I won't talk about This Charming Man, Oblivious or Rip It Up as all three have automatic entry into the 100 greatest songs of all time list.

Two of the biggest hits of the year were Blue Monday and Billie Jean and both sound just as fresh and exciting today as they did back then to us impressionable 17 year olds.

Was it that the pop music from that era was better than that from 1993 or is it just that the music you first heard when you were 17-18 makes the biggest impression on you?

No-one made more of an impact that year that the amazing Annie Lennox. Lots of people already asking for Eurythmics tracks for tonight so I think we'll start the show with one. ( Make sure you tune in on Sunday to 大象传媒 Radio Scotland when Annie Lennox will be Edi Stark's guest on Stark Talk. As always with Ms Stark it promises to be a revealing interview.)

Oh, and as promised here's that pic of me from 1983 that I talked about on the show. Don't laugh too heartily as I am sure you all have similar ones in the attic...

Tonight's theme is the 12 days of Christmas - which will be a bit rubbish if it's a busy show and I only manage to get 11 songs in!

We've had some good ones in for maids milking and drummers drumming, but we are struggling for swans, lords and pipers. At the moment it's a toss up between Mull of Kintyre and Amazing Grace, so if you have a piping suggestion then get it in before the end of the show.

I thought '3 french hens' might prove to be a bit of a challenge but Adam from Rio has come up with the brilliant post on the blog "The third day of Christmas is easy -Young Paris hens by Adam and the Ants." more like that please.

In case you need your memory jogged, here's a list of the 12 days and their relevant gifts...
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Thanks for all your Clash suggestions for tonight's show which marked this week's 5th anniversary of the death of Joe Strummer.

It's good to know his music is still finding favour with a new generation. It was nice to get a couple of texts from young teenagers asking for Clash favourites and the opening song on the show was picked by a 7 year old!

It's a little bit odd to get texts from people who weren't even born when the first Clash album came out - but then again I actually work alongside people who weren't born when the first Clash album came out!

I had to leave out English Civil War tonight, but I will play it on 大象传媒 Radio Scotland's Day of History which is on Dec 27th. We'll be doing a Get It On that night and the theme will be 'history songs'. There have been some good suggestions coming in already by e-mail and on the blog but it would be good to get some more in.

Several folk asking for Billy Bragg, lots for SAHB and Boston Tea Party but so far none for Boney M's Rasputin!

If you are into Americana and interested in America's history then check out a 3 CD which has just come out. It's called Song of America and is an attempt to tell the history of America in song. Covering everything from John Brown's Body to Betty Lavette's reworking of Streets of Philadelphia, it's a really terrific collection.

If you've got a song for history day then post a comment with your suggestion or e-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk...

If you thought the X- Factor was a roler-coaster ride of emotion, then you'll be glad you weren't part of the juding panel for the Get It On listeners' mix-tape shows.

It's been tough going and the suggestions have been outstanding. At one point I had to do a 'Sharon' and leave the room wailing: " Don't make me choose between two of my favourites!"

Fiona, our senior producer will announce on Monday's show the names of the four people whose mix-tape suggestions will be played out on the show. She will then leave the building under armed guard.

The rest of the week shapes up like this...

Monday - Tonight is catch-up night, a chance for me to play the ones that got away. Standby for an hour of the songs you鈥檝e been asking for over the past few weeks.
Tuesday - Five years ago this week the music world was mourning Joe Strummer, front man of punk legends The Clash. Tonight鈥檚 show celebrates his finest moments.

Wednesday - Pipers piping and drummers drumming are easy, but what are you going to suggest for three French hens? Tonight鈥檚 theme is The 12 Days of Christmas.

Thursday - It was the year Karen Carpenter died, a group of politically motivated ex-actors got the Christmas number one, and Michael Jackson was the biggest star on the planet. Tonight, Get It On goes back to 1983.

As always, get blogging below with your suggestions or e-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk

Great response to 'Cars' last night and thanks to everyone who contributed. Normally my first task of the day is to sort through last night's texts and e-mails and hang on to the ones which might make it to a future 'catch-up' show. Not today though. There鈥檚 a huge pile of stuff sitting on my desk and it鈥檚 way too daunting a task. There were so many that I didn't read last night, it would be unfair to discard them. Let鈥檚 come back to this theme early in the new year.

Tonight鈥檚 theme is 鈥榤eaningless drivel鈥� , which if you鈥檝e been for your office Christmas lunch today is what you鈥檒l be spouting, or even texting, by six o clock. The theme has been suggested by Colin fi Falkirk.

鈥淗ow about lyrics that are meaningless drivel?鈥� says Colin. 鈥淢ana-mana, Shoop Shoop Song, Tutti frutti etc. What was that ridiculous one from the sixties? There she was just a walking down the street singing "ooh a diddy diddy dum diddy do".?
Who WAS this woman? Probably in tow with the Shang-a-lang gang who were reputed to sing "doo op a doody do ay" Not that I'm requesting Shang-a-lang you understand. (Mind you it would be interesting to see if the bidey-in does another topless dance!!!!)鈥�

When it comes to drivel, there's nothing to touch Eurovision and two Euro-classics have already been asked for. The photo might give you a clue to one of them!

However, let's not forget the Roy Orbison and his 'dum,dum,dum dummy doo wah' and the every so slightly less talented but just as nonsensical Scatman John and Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop.

Nonsense lyrics, meaningless drivel and the singers who just make up it up as they go along. Get posting or you can call or text during the show鈥�

鈥淎h naw, here comes another one鈥� is a phrase I鈥檝e heard a lot in our office over the past few days. Contrary to what you might think it doesn鈥檛 herald the arrival of yet another mince pie as I have been trying to limit myself to one a day.
( Today鈥檚 came from a new posh grocery shop that鈥檚 opened in Aberdeen and were sort of a mince-pie and bakewell tart mash-up. Could have been an overdose of sweetness, but went down very well with the team here.)

No, 鈥淎h naw, here comes another one鈥� is what鈥檚 shouted out every time another one of your 鈥榤ixtapes鈥� arrives in the get it on inbox. When the first four arrived they all sounded terrific and were full of clever song choices, sequenced in a great order and all of them chosen for specific and personal reasons. The problem for is is the next four that arrived were like that as well, and the next four, and the ones after that鈥�

The plan is that on the week beginning 31st Dec, the entire show will be given over to one listener鈥檚 鈥榤ixtape鈥�. There are only four evenings, so choosing who gets to fill the slot is going to be incredibly hard. Mind you, I realise it鈥檚 not been easy getting the music of your life down to 12 choices.

Harry from Gatehouse described the task as 鈥楬erculean鈥� and Patrick Carstairs has really been struggling: 鈥淭his is the 37th compilation I've devised in the last two hours, and you have come up with a heinous, cruel and horrific competition which in some US states would be regarded as a capital offence. Already I want to change the titles I've selected and my soul is completely tormented.鈥�

Thanks to everyone who鈥檚 submitted one so far, and for those who are still working on them the closing date is tomorrow. E-mail them to getiton@bbc.co.uk and don鈥檛 forget to tell me why the songs mean so much to you鈥�

鈥楽ongs you wish you鈥檇 written鈥� is tonight鈥檚 theme. If you are a budding Brian Wilson, then get posting and tell me about your secret hankering to be one of the great songwriters.

Bob Dylan is arguably the most influential songwriter ever, and with so many great Lennon and McCartney songs it would be hard to pin down the one you wish you鈥檇 come up with. Yesterday was voted the best song of the 20th century, but was it the one that made you wish you were Paul McCartney?

I always wanted to be one of the great Nashville songwriters like Harlan Howard or Hank Cochran. I have this fantasy of hanging out with those guys, drinking beer in Tootsie鈥檚 Orchid Lounge and then going off to write something like I Fall To Pieces or Crazy.

The one song I wished I鈥檇 written was Sunday Morning Coming鈥� Down by Kris Kristofferson, who along with Willie Nelson was a regular at Tootsies in the 60s. How about this for an opening verse:

鈥淲ell, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day鈥�

I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 been a song that鈥檚 been written that better describes that 鈥榟ung-over on a Sunday morning feeling sorry for yourself 鈥� state of mind.

Monday 10 December - Otis Redding, arguably the greatest soul singer ever, died forty years ago today. From Satisfaction to Sittin鈥� On The Dock Of The Bay, tonight鈥檚 show is a celebration of his greatest work. Looking forward to hearing some classic soul, so get posting with your suggestions....

Tuesday 11 December - Everyone has a list fo favourite tracks, but what are the songs that make you sit back and think, " I wish I'd written that"? Mike on the e-mail says this theme is a 'must'...

Wednesday 12 December - Chevys, Mustangs and even Morris Minors. Danny in Duns says 鈥榗ars鈥� would be a great theme, so get in gear and get it on. We could fill the show with just Springsteen tracks, so I reckon this could be one of our busiest yet. All together now: "I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396, fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor..."

Thursday 13 December - Colin in Falkirk has suggested that we fill tonight鈥檚 show with meaningless drivel; let鈥檚 have your suggestions for the songs that don鈥檛 make any sense. With classics like Do Wah Diddy and Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep on the playlist, my head will be done in by the end of the show...

As usual, post a comment below or send an e-mail to getiton@bbc.co.uk with your suggestions.

Boy鈥檚 names again tonight and if it鈥檚 half as busy as last night then, it should be fun. Thanks to everyone who got in touch for Girl鈥檚 names. I especially liked the e-mail from Karl in Dunfermline:

鈥淢y suggestion is quite appropriate cos it involves my 3yr old daughters name. How about playin the title song from the classic movie, convoy? After all it is a song about Lauries鈥︹��

I might sound a bit distracted towards the end of the show as we are having our Christmas night out tonight and it kicks off a 7 0鈥� clock sharp with drinks in the studio.

6th December seems ridiculously early to be having your Christmas doo doesn鈥檛 it? We don鈥檛 even have the decorations up here at the 大象传媒, so there鈥檚 a distinct lack of jolliness around the building.

There are only 6 wine glasses between 8, and the pre-dinner nibbles are currently two large bags of salt and vinegar and a pack of Twiglets. Matt鈥檚 just gone and bought some mince pies in an effort to get the party started. (However they were from a really cheap supermarket and they were on a two for one offer so even that feels like a bit of half hearted attempt at festive cheer.)

He is now talking about bringing in his home made mince pies on Monday, which is the very day I was planning to unveil my first batch for 2007. It will be a battle for the affections of Fiona our senior producer, a woman who will do anything for cake. (That makes her sound like Marjory Dawes which is truly not the case!!!!).

However, having spent most of Saturday afternoon following Delia鈥檚 mincemeat recipe ( what do you mean, get a life?) I think my filling might triumph, no matter how flaky his pasty might be.

Whoever wins the pie challenge, let the picture above warn you off heating them up in the microwave. Soggy pastry and scalding hot filing oozing out onto the plate is not the way to win the heart of your senior producer!

Looking through Alan Richmond鈥檚 great double cd of 鈥榬ain鈥� songs on the blog got me thinking about how great it would be to hear other people鈥檚 mix tapes.

So, that鈥檚 why in the week beginning 31st Dec we are dedicating the show to your compilations. Each night, the music for the entire show will be hand picked by one lucky listener. Whoah, scary responsibility!

If you were making the ultimate mix tape of your life what would you put on there and in what order would you sequence it?

In keeping with the show, it should have the widest range of music possible. Ideally a mix of familiar classic tracks, the songs we haven鈥檛 heard in ages and maybe a smattering of those songs that deserve a wider audience.

Let me know why you鈥檝e chosen those particular songs and hopefully we鈥檒l get you on the phone at some point to share your song choices.

Submit a list of your 12 songs essential songs and e-mail them in to getiton@bbc.co.uk. The Get It On team will study the lists and the four best ones will be broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio Scotland when your musical soundtrack will entertain the nation over the holidays.

The closing date for your song lists is Thursday 13th December. You can e-mail them to getiton@bbc.co.uk or post them if you like to Get It On, 大象传媒 Radio Scotland, Broadcasting House, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen AB15 5ZT.

Tonight and tomorrow we're returning to two of the most popular themes of the year so far - girls' and boys' names.

Andy on the M77 asked us to list the songs that got an airing last time round, so here they are:

GIRLS
The Clash - Janie Jones

Blondie - Denis (whoops!)

Cliff Richard - The Day I Met Marie

Thin Lizzy - Sarah

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Alison

Neil Sedaka - Oh Carol

Simple Minds - Chelsea Girl

Barenaked Ladies - Enid

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Clair

The Damned - Eloise

The Police - Roxanne

Elvis Presley - Marie鈥檚 The Name (His Latest Flame)

Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline

BOYS
Dexy鈥檚 Midnight Runners - Jackie Wilson Said

Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

XTC - Making Plans For Nigel

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Jimmy Mack

The Smiths - William It Was Really Nothing

Elton John - Bennie & The Jets

The Proclaimers - Sean

Susan Maughan - Bobby's Girl

Robert Palmer - Johnny & Mary

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood - Jackson

The Undertones - Jimmy Jimmy

There's still time to get your requests in - post on the blog or e-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk

I have feeling that you鈥檒l like tonight鈥檚 show. Not a lot, but you鈥檒l like it .( As the great man himself would say.)

Thanks to Susan who suggested the 鈥榤agic鈥� theme. She鈥檚 come up with a long list of songs including Witchcraft, Magic Moments and Imagination doing Just An Illusion.

Gordon Buchan鈥檚 just been on the e-mail with a suggestion from his wife Jackie. She鈥檚 come up with 鈥楶iff Paff Poff鈥� which used to be The Great Suprendo's catchphrase.

Piff Paff Poff, was the spoof Eurovision entry in an old episode of The High Life, Alan Cumming and Forbes Mason鈥檚 wonderful and hilarious sitcom about a pair of camp Scottish air stewards.

We鈥檝e been watching a clip of it online and the entire office has been sitting with their headphones on laughing out loud.

I鈥檓 sure I have the DVD of the series at home which is good news as I鈥檝e just noticed they are trading online for 拢97! Anyone who saw that one series will know it鈥檚 worth every penny.

You'd think that after last week's body parts incident, I would be on my guard when it came to reading out texts on air. I'm afraid I got caught out big style last night when reading out a text from Davy in Inverness which claimed that Phil Oakey's sister Carrie had been singing in his local pub at the weekend. " Wow, how interesting", said I. " Wonder if she was doing Human League songs?"
Oh, how you must have laughed when the text from Hamish arrived pointing out that Phil's pub singing sister was Carrie Oakey!
Despite the red face, I am still laughing about it.

Tonight's show will be a weird mix of Human League material and songs about 'Rain' ... but then again it's the strange mix that makes this show such fun to present, and I hope to listen to.

Talking of 'rain' , I mentioned that I would post the great e-mail that Alan Richmond in Fife sent in. I've often thought we should do a week of shows that run like C-60 compilation tapes, and looking at this list has convinced me it would work really well...

Every year when we go on the family holiday I do a compilation CD for the car. After the California trip last year, complete with an appropriately themed CD (tracklist available on request), it was a holiday in the UK this year. The CD accompanying this trip was titled "Cats and Dogs: A Rain Compilation".

Some very obvious choices but below is the full 2 disc extravaganza to choose from. Play the Aztec Camera track for my wife Lynn - a big Get It On fan. High Land, Hard Rain, indeed........

Disc 1

Counting Crows - Rain King
Steve Earle - The Rain Came Down
Status Quo - Rain
Jesus and Mary Chain - Happy When it Rains
Manic Street Preachers - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
Prince - Purple Rain
Albert Hammond - Never Rains in Southern California
The Move - Flowers in the Rain
The Pogues - Rainy Night in Soho
Love and Money - Jocelyn Square
The Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the Rain
Aztec Camera - The Boy Wonders

Disc 2

Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Zoe - Sunshine on a Rainy Day
Walker Brothers - Sun Ain't Gonna Shine
Madness - The Sun and the Rain
Travis - Why Does it Always Rain on Me
Eruption - I Can't Stand the Rain
The Fortunes - Rainy Day Feeling
Johnny Ray - Just Walking in the Rain
Barry White - Walking in the Rain With the One I Love
Patridge Family - Walking in the Rain
Bryan Ferry - A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
Eurythmics - Here Comes the Rain
The Cult - Rain

Love it Alan. I'll happily play Aztec Camera tonight. It can only be a matter of time before we see 'Now That's What I Call Get It On Vol 64' available in record shops across the land.

Here's what's coming up on the show for the next few days. After last Thursday's nightmare, my only ambition this week is to stay on air so anything else will be a bonus. I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with...

Mon:
Tonight features the best of another one of those classic '80s bands. The Human League celebrate their 30th anniversary this year, so let's have your votes for their best ever songs. I'll also fill the rest of the show with the 'rain' songs that I was forced to leave out on Thursday night.

Tues:
Wo wo wo, it's magic, as Pilot once said.Magic is indeed the theme which has been suggested by Susan on the e-mail. Some spellbinding suggestions are required and is this the night that Bazza Manilow's Could It be Magic makes it to the airwaves?

Wed and Thurs:
"Girls' names" and "boys' names" have been two of most popular themes and I promised I would return to them soon. We'll do girls on Wednesday and boys on Thursday. There were some cracking songs that I had to leave out last time, but if there's anything new that springs to mind then send me an e-mail or leave a comment below.

PS: Just realised my pic of The Human League's Dare doesn't work with an all white background. Apologies if the disembodied head of Phil Oakey freaked you out somewhat.