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February 2008 Archives

Next week's themes...

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I'm off on hols for a week - well actually a week and a day as there's no show tonight because of our extended footie coverage.

Vic Galloway will be taking care of the show so here are his themes for next week:

Monday:
It’s the final installment of our 'Happy Mondays'. Chase away the Winter blues with the cheeriest songs on the wireless. E-mail your suggestions to getiton@bbc.co.uk...

Tuesday:
It's reggae night on Get It On after many of you requested it over the last few weeks… Expect to hear some classic ska and dub as well as the mainstream acts who embraced reggae. So whether it's some Bob Marley, King Tubby or even The Police, e-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk with your requests...

Wednesday:
It's 44 years since Cilla topped the charts with 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' so tonight we're celebrating the music of 60s songbirds - If you want to hear Sandie, Nancy, Aretha or Diana, e-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk now…

Thurs:
Rowen and Ally Crawford in Larbert both suggest 'education' as tonight's theme. If you don't know much about history, biology, science books or the French you took, tune in and prepare for a musical education… E-mail your suggestions to getiton@bbc.co.uk...

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Sam's list

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As promised, here's the great e-mail from 'Alabama Sam' that came in for tonight's rock meets classics show ( which incidentally is going well and proving to be very busy so excuse any sloppy typing as I am doing this with 59 seconds left on the song that's playing!).

Here's my list for Wednesday's "classical crossovers" show. Jamie doesn't know much about classical music, so I was on my own on this one. I think someone's an ELP fan ... or at least a prog-rock fan.
ELP, "Hoedown" (Aaron Copland)
ELP, "Fanfare for the Common Man" (Copland again)
ELP, "Nutrocker" (Tchaikovsky)
ELP, "Pictures at an Exhibition" (Moussorgsky)
ELP, "Touch and Go" (the opening trumpet part is from Ralph Vaughn Williams' "Variations on 'Greensleeves', but wasn't originally credited)
PDQ Bach, "The Unbegun Symphony" (a sheer laugh riot or sheer torture for classical music fans, the fourth movement plays the "1812 Overture" and "You Are My Sunshine" simultaneously; it's not rock, but it's a scream)
Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (the organ descant in the verses is supposedly a Bach chorale)
Sugarloaf, "Bach Doors Man" (riffs on "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor", segues into "Chest Fever")
Walter Murphy, "A Fifth of Beethoven"
Apocalyptica, "Enter Sandman" (again, dubious, but Metallica played on four 18th-century cellos is worth one listen at least, and is somehow disturbing)
Emerson, Lake, and Powell, "Mars, the Bringer of War" (Holst)
Rick Wakeman, Journey to the Centre of the Earth -- the segment where he plays "Hall of the Mountain King" (Grieg)
Tom Lehrer, "The Elements" (Gilbert & Sullivan, but y'all played this during the "Periodic Table" theme)
Falco, "Rock Me Amadeus"
Taco, "Puttin' On the Ritz" (Gershwin)
Rick Wakeman, "Rhapsody in Blue" (Gershwin)
ELP (again?!), "Toccata" or "Creole Dance" (Ginastera)
The Nice (at least it's not ELP per se), "Intermezzo from 'The Karelia Suite'" (Sibelius)
Keith Emerson or The Nice, "America" (Sondheim/Bernstein)
Simon & Garfunkel, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (traditional)
Anything from Vision: The Music of Hildegarde von Bingen (the vocals are 12th-century, the music is contemporary)
Anything from Wendy (remember when (s)he was "Walter"?) Carlos' Switched-On Bach -- after all, (s)he's a pioneer of updating classical music!
In addition, there are several "symphonic" collaborations where orchestras play the music of groups such as Yes and Led Zeppelin ... do those count? What about Elton John's Live in Australia disc, where he played with the Melbourne (?) Symphony Orchestra? I seem to remember Bruce Hornsby doing a piano arrangement of Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and some Charles Ives tunes(?), but I could be way off base about that. Hasn't somebody also tackled Philip Glass?

In any case, this one's tough without it becoming an out-and-out ELP-fest or, at the very least, a keyboard-heavy show. I'm sure there are plenty of other artists who have "recycled" classical music (we don't dare call it "plagiarism") or collaborated with classical musicians, but I'm having a hard time coming up with them. Then you get into the gray area of "pseudo-classical" stuff involving some of the "heavy hitters" of prog-rock and jazz fusion like Patrick Moraz, Chick Corea, Kansas, Isao Tomita, and Herbie Hancock. There seems to be a prerequisite level of instrumental virtuosity required that many of today's musicians just can't seem to get a handle on, so I'll be most interested to see what kinds of gems other GIO listeners dig up! Got any Scarlatti treatments lying around?
"Snob mode" OFF,

Sam Fleming.



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I love to listen to Beethoven...

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It’s classical crossover night tonight on the show and some good suggestions in already. Gets yours in on the e-mail or text and call from five past six.

I won’t be wielding my baton too enthusiastically as I am feeling a bit tender after attending my first circuit class yesterday. After spending an hour doing sit ups, press ups and star jumps ( the most ungraceful form of exercise known to man) I am aching all over.

One of my workmates advised me not to sneeze today as the muscles used to sneeze are the same ones we were torturing yesterday. Good advice, but he didn’t tel me that reaching up to put my headphones on would also be agony.
This could be a bit of a problem as I have to lift them on and off about twenty times a show. I could always persuade my producer to do it. Worse things have been known.

There was a former Radio Scotland presenter who used to refuse to wear his ‘cans’ the right way up and wore them with the band tucked under his chin in case it ruined his luxurious bouffant!

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Sine of the times...

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Looking forward to seeing your ‘maths suggestions’ for tonight’s show. However I know less about maths than I do about football so I may be struggling with some of the references. I’ve already had to have a member of the ´óĎó´ŤĂ˝ accounts team ‘refresh my memory’ over cosine. ( all to do with the angles of triangles apparently.)

I suspect most of us did learn about it at school but have now wiped it from memory and replaced it with much more useful knowledge like Eastenders plotlines or Adam and Ants b-sides.

Tonight’s theme has been suggested by Bob Millar in Glassford and there have been so many themes suggested by the Get It On audience that I think we will make the week after next an “all listener theme week”.

In the past couple of days Graeme from Dundee has suggested ‘records that stuck’, Morag in Edinburgh suggested the songwriting/production duo ‘Chapman and Chinn’ and this has just come in from Paddy in Newtongrange. Let me know what you think and what songs you might suggest…

"Can I also suggest a theme for a show - music the Get It On team hasn't heard before. Admittedly this would take a little more time and work than usual, but the idea is quite simple. Listeners send in suggestions of songs they think the production team hasn't heard before, the team digs out the songs, listens to them and plays the ones they like. This way the team and listeners have a show of good, previously unheard new toons. It can't fail. Well it can, but I'm doing this message just after hearing the happy Monday show so I'm full of optimism. I'd suggest a song by the Japanese band from the 70's you admitted you've never heard of - the Sadistic Mika Band."

Paddy, Newtongrange

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Next week's themes...

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Monday
Once again we will attempt to get rid of the winter blues with an hour of the cheeriest songs of all time. There were also a couple of cracking songs suggested on Valentines night that I want to squeeze into tonight's show.

Tuesday:
Bob Millar in Glassford has come up with tonight’s theme which is ‘maths’. His suggestions include Multiplication by Bobby Darin and Baby Come Back from The Equals. Let’s have your magic numbers on the e-mail or why not leave your comments on the blog…

Wednesday:
This day in 1993 saw the release of Elvis Costello’s collaboration with The Brodsky Quartet, The Juliet Letters. Tonight’s show looks at classical and rock crossover. That could include anything from Roll Over Beethoven to William Orbit’s take on barber’s Adagio. We've been trying to come up with suggestions for this one in the office and it sounds like it could be a really interesting show. In particular, I'm after your suggestions for the songs which have been inspired by/ripped off well known classical pieces...

Thursday:
There is normally a lot of screaming and shouting goes on during Get It On, the difference is tonight that it will be broadcast on air.Julie in Edinburgh thinks that songs with screams or shouts would make a great theme. It will certainly be a lot noisier than last night! E-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk with your suggestions of some over excited artists…

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Under the covers...

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I don't know what it was about this week's themes, but it's been a mad week on Get It On. 'Journeys' and 'The Other Side of Love' were among the busiest shows we've had.
Sometimes, I look forward to doing Brand New Country on a Friday for the rest! The fact that I am able to update the blog during the show tells you about the change of pace on this show.
It's partly because I am sitting back listening to the interview and session I recorded with Allison Moorer when she was in the country for Celtic Connections.
If you get the chance then check out her cover of the wonderful Kate McGarrigle song, Go Leave. It was on The McGarrigle's , which I had got out of the library this week to play Heart Like A Wheel.
I was interested to see in the sleeve notes there was a thank you to the babysitter who took care of baby 'Rufus' while Kate was making the album. That's Rufus Wainwright of course.
Talking of covers I sneaked a couple into the show at the last minute.There was a great bluegrass treatment of Young Folks by Dawn Landes which I came across the other day. Search for Dawn Landes and Young Folks and watch it online. Brilliant.
I also found a bluegrass cover of Hey There Delilah from a band called Pickin' On. It really works as a bluegrass song. They also do an all singing, all dancing version of You're Beautiful. Mmmm - I don't think that even my eclectic Brand New Country listeners are quite ready to hear James Blunt on the banjo!

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The back of love...

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Who needs Paris eh?

I hope you coughed up ÂŁ71.25 today to keep the love of your life sweet. Yes, that's seventy-one-pounds-twenty-five pence, which is the average amount folk spend on Valentine gifts.
I thought I was doing well with a kd lang CD and ÂŁ2 on one of Clinton's finest offerings. Maybe I am a Dundonian at heart. The residents of the city were up in arms this week after a put them bottom of the love league.
If Dundee really is the least romantic place in the UK then I imagine the entire population will be tuned into Get It On tonight.
Our theme is ‘the other side of love’ so while every other radio station on the planet is playing soppy love songs I’m looking for you to suggest bitter and twisted tunes of betrayal and love gone bad.
I am looking forward to hearing your tales of ex partners and the songs you’d like to dedicate to them.
Greig in Aberdeen has just sent me a great e-mail with the story of one ex who forced him to “wear my bitterness like a duvet”. He does finish his e-mail on a cheery note though: “I was at Tannadice last night and would also like to request When the Saints Go Marching In for my real true love.”

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Something fishy going on...

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As promised here’s just some of your brilliant puns suggested for last night’s ‘fish’ theme. Special mention must also go to the listener who signed herself Ann Chovy and to John Simpson, who after hearing Marillion wanted to know if Fish was still single!

1. Smelt Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
2. Cod Save The Queen – Sex Pistols
3. Whale Meat Again – Vera Lynn
4. Living Next Door To Alice – Smokie
5. I Love Mussels – Diana Ross
6. Silver Bream Machine – David Essex
7. Devil Gate Drive – Sushi Quatro
8. Sole Man – Salmon Dave
9. Swords of a Thousand Men – Tadpole Tudor
10. Theme From A Summer Plaice – Percy Faith
11. Poisson Ivy – The Coasters
12. Promised You A Mackerel – Simple Minds

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Flipper pie anyone?

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You couldn't call this dinner could you???

Thanks for a good response to our fishy theme tonight. I’ll sort out the best of the puns and put them on the blog tomorrow.

Playing Seal tonight got me curious about whether seal meat was still eaten. My first internet search just brought up a load of references about searing meat to seal in the juices. Several of you texted in to say that Seal was still considered a delicacy In Newfoundandland and Karen Murray e-mailed to talk about Flipper Pie.

I found a guy who has an entire website devoted to seal recipes which includes the famous flipper pie. With such strong public opinion against the practice of seal culling I imagine he would struggle to get folk to come round to his place for dinner.

Even if you are fine with the idea of eating something so cute and adorable as a seal, it still doesn't sound the most appetising dish. Even on paper it sounds disgusting:

"Cut all fat and slag from flippers, place them in a deep dish and add enough boiling water to cover, add vinegar and set aside to cool, then wipe dry with a paper towel and place in baking pan or large casserole dish. Add pepper and salt
to taste, cover with sliced onions and sliced fat pork, dribble the screech over the contents."

Cutting the fat and the slag was bad enough, but I would have to draw the line at dribbling the screech over the contents.

I couldn’t bring myself to eat it but then again I wasn’t quite so squeamish when I was travelling the world with Scottish Passport eating fish head curry and sheep’s intestines.

I suppose the main difference was that it was work and I was being paid to do it. Nowadays I’m a bit more fussy about what I put on my fork.

I’ve just been looking online at restaurants to book for my up and coming holiday to New York. A good place to start is the guide which lists the top places to eat in the city. Babbo, an Italian restaurant in the West Village, features in their top ten.

The menu sounds intriguing and I can’t make my mind up whether to start with the “warm tripe alla parmigiana” or the “pig foot Milanese”. Then for main course it’s a toss up between “goose liver ravioli” or “lambs’ brain francoboli with lemon and sage”

I suppose a cheese and tomato pizza will be out of the question?

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Dolly's US Tour Goes Bust...

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Dolly Parton on a recent visit to the UK. She may or may not have had some work done...

I have just read on the that Dolly Parton has postponed her US tour - although British tour dates should be unaffected.

Now I have heard every excuse under the sun for artists ‘postponing’ a tour and these have included family issues, visa problems, a sore throat and not being able to get out of rehab. In nine out of ten cases the truth is that they just haven’t sold enough tickets.

However, in postponing her American tour dates Dolly has come up with the best excuse ever – it’s all down to her breasts!

According to the backwoods Barbie, the strain of supporting her legendary front end has put a strain on her back

"You try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don't have back problems," she said in a statement.

As always, Dolly calls a spade a spade! Her other bon mots have included:

"I look just like the girls next door... if you happen to live next door to an amusement park. "

"I modelled my looks on the town tramp."

"I wanted to be the first woman to burn her bra, but it would have taken the fire department four days to put it out."

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde."

And finally the one that she trots out in every interview she's ever done:

"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

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Next week's themes...

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Monday
It’s the return of Happy Mondays. Get rid of the January blues with an hour of the songs that bring a smile to your face. Can anyone top last week’s ‘Beautiful Sunday’ for out and out cheeriness? If so get on the email and Get It On…

Tuesday

Jenny in Aberdeen suggests ‘fish’ for tonight. Rock Lobster will be popular or maybe something from Eels? I suspect this will be a night of great puns as well. I'll stick the best of them up on the blog on Wednesday...

Wednesday

Loads of folk listen to the show on the commute home so it’s appropriate that ‘journeys’ is tonight’s theme. It’s been suggested by Joe Donnelly in Glasgow and top of his list is Route 66. Maybe Road to Hell would be more appropriate for those who listen to Get It On stuck in traffic..

Thursday

It may be Valentine's Day but Connor in Hamilton has suggested 'the other side of love' as tonight's theme. Is romance dead? Or do you have a favourite love's gone wrong song that brings back memories of a past love? Bitter, twisted break-ups songs are especially welcome...

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Future Themes...

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There's a folder in the Get It On Drawer marked 'future themes' and like my waistline it seems to have been steadily expanding since the Christmas holidays.

Unlike my waistline though it is getting slimmer every week as I work my way through the themes you have been sending in. Cheers for the effort. 'Maths' has been suggested and we're working on that at the moment ( Love Plus One, Sum 41 etc) and then on a similar theme this just arrived in my inbox from Janet C in Larbert.

Hi Bryan and all the gang, got a wee test for you…

My son Rowen, aged 8, was doing his homework listening to the show on Tuesday, and he said “what about Education for a theme”.

So his brother Ally, aged 11, and I took on the assignment and helped him with some interesting homework…A list of songs for the show, we got about 12, see what you think. Can you add some more?.....no cheating !!

money, money, money. Abba (accounts/economics class)
magic bus. The Who (to get you to school)
paperback writer. The Beatles (English lit.)
hot for teacher. Van Halen (self explanatory)
schools out. Alice Cooper (ditto)
brilliant mind. Furniture (for the star pupil or tech.)
wonderful world. Sam Cooke (history,biology)
blinding me with science ? Howard Jones (self exp.)
any ac/dc (Angus, is the forever schoolboy)
another brick… Pink Floyd (for when you really hate school)
2, 4, 6, 8, Motorway. Tom Robinson (maths)
times, they are a changing..Dylan (History of course)i>

Thanks for that guys. If you have a theme idea then get in touch by e-mailing getiton@bbc.co.uk or leave a comment below. I'll post next week's themes up over the weekend.

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Criminal Records...

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It's crime night tonight on Get It On as part of ´óĎó´ŤĂ˝ Radio Scotland's crime season. It should be a busy one which is great for me, but not not such good news for the woman who spends an hour with a telephone glued to her ear.

Amelia has been taking your calls over the past few weeks so at long last let me put a face to the voice and introduce you to another member of the Get It On team:


My job is: fun, I am a Radio Production Assistant and request taker!

I am currently listening to: Seu Jorge's version of Life on Mars (Bowie) something relaxing on this sunny day

Celebrity I most closely resemble: ummm have been compared to everything from Bjork to Nelly Furtado but i am inclined to say Russell Brand with my current bad hair day situation!

I would describe my style as: clothing wise- comfortable, music-wise eclectic (i hope)

I love: Music!

I hate: ummm ignorant people and probably that I umm alot.

What I’ll be having for my tea after the show: Not sure yet.... leftovers probably

Thing I most enjoy about working on this show: The great range of music to listen to and the friendly callers!

Bryan’s most annoying habit: Having an infinite knowledge of all musical tracks past and present!

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Tornado Tales....

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David in Ayr got in touch when we did synth night, to suggest Telstar by The Tornados and to ask if it really was a synth that featured on the song.

Telstar was released in 1962 and as well as topping the British charts it was the first song by a British band to reach number one in the US. The song was named after the Telstar satellite and it’s outer space sounding sound effects really captured people’s imagination at the time the space age was taking off. Pioneering producer, Joe Meek recorded the song at his home studios in Islington, where he also created hits for John Leyton and The Cryin’ Shames.

So were those sounds down to an early synth, or as a popular urban myth claimed at the time, were they captured by sending a satellite up to space and recording the sound effects?

I asked John Cavanagh, presenter of ´óĎó´ŤĂ˝ Radio Scotland’s Songlines and a man who is a Joe Meek aficionado.

According to Cav’ there’s dispute over the actual instrument used and it seems even the band themselves don’t remember. There’s a school of thought that it’s a Clavioline but he reckons it’s most likely to be a Jennings Univox which was played on the single. It was one of the earliest mass produced portable keyboards and not strictly a synth. It was according to Beat Magazine, “A monophonic organ with a range of tone selections and vibrato effects”

So next time we do ‘monophonic organs with a range of tone selections and vibrato effects’ as a theme, Telstar will definitely get an airing.

The documentary, A Life In The Death Of Joe Meek is one of the highlights of this year’s and there’s a special screening introduced by John Cavanagh on Sunday 24th Feb.

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Scottish pop on the map...

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Last week’s ‘Scotland in song’ theme brought in a huge response. I asked you to come up with popular songs that referenced places in Scotland. Plenty of good tracks were suggested but the puns that came in were outstanding. Once again I am knocked out by the effort that you put into coming up with them. Here’s a selection of my favourites…

1. Tainted Love – Soft Cell
2. Last Train To Clarkston – The Monkees
3. Don’t Go Brechin My Heart – Elton John and Kiki Dee
4. The Whole of Dunoon – The Waterboys
5. In The Ayr Tonight – Phil Collins
6. Killie Man Giro – Babyshambles
7. Tumbling Dyce – The Rolling Stones
8. Killin Me Softly – Roberta Flack
9. Callander Girl – Neil Sedaka
10. Leven On A Jet Plane – Peter, Paul and Mary

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Next week's themes...

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Apologies. I had meant to get these online on Saturday, but I got a new computer over the weekend and it's taken me till Sunday morning to get it online. Then there was at least twelve hours to faff about choosing new icons, deciding what I'm going to have for my desktop and wondering how I ever lived without Spaces, Time Machine and Dashboard all of which I am told will make my life so much easier.

Sadly none of those fancy new programs will get through the ironing before Monday morning, but I suspect it's something Steve Jobs is working on.


Monday
One again it’s the return of Happy Mondays. I spent Saturday morning interviewing Mindy Smith about why tragic events make the best songs and then spent a wonderful Saturday night watching wail his way through a fantastic set at The Edinburgh Playhouse. For me, it was a perfect day. You will have guessed that cheery tunes are not my bag so it's a good job it's you who picks the music...I presume Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now is not going to make it tonight?


Tuesday
From Sugar Sugar to Duran Duran - Gillian McFarlane suggests the theme of repetition for tonight’s show. E-mail getiton@bbc.co.uk with your dynamic doublers or leave a comment below…


Wednesday
It’s crime season on ´óĎó´ŤĂ˝ Radio Scotland, and tonight Get It On joins in with an hour of criminal records. We could play anything from Folsom Prison Blues to Bankrobber by The Clash, so let me know your favourites...


Thursday
On this day in 1999, Blondie made history by becoming the first act to have number ones in the 70s, 80s and 90s. On tonight's show we salute the stars who have spanned the decades. Get on the E-mail and nominate the bands who have stood the test of time... or why not leave a comment on the blog?

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