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Archives for February 2011

The Scottish connection...

Bryan Burnett | 19:58 UK time, Monday, 28 February 2011

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Gotta say thanks for all the hard work on the blog for tonight's theme. You obviously put a lot of time into researching multiple versions of the songs. Tomorrow's homework should be a little less time consuming but I suspect you'll still want to have a wee think about your suggestions. 'Scottish connections' is Alan McGregor's theme and it's all about artists who have a connection but are not actually Scottish. They could share a name with a famous river, a Scottish place name, one of our inventions or a famous monarch. Plenty of opportunity for puns I think...

Crazy v's Crazy...

Bryan Burnett | 19:45 UK time, Friday, 25 February 2011

WhatÌý What do Crazy, Angel Eyes, GloriaÌýand Mr Jones all have in common?*

* Each is a song title which applies to 2 different songs. You may well hear them on Monday as we are doing 'same title, different song' as a theme. I think it could end up being great fun particularly if two groups of listeners suggest different versions of the same title. To most of us Cry Me A River will always be associated with Julie London but for anyone under twenty I suspect it's the Justin Timberlake song that comes to mind. Don't let me stop you at 2, let's also see who can come up with multiple songs featuring the same title.

Music for moggies...

Bryan Burnett | 19:50 UK time, Thursday, 24 February 2011

Over the years we have tried various themes to encourage all members of the family to contribute to the show. We've had songs your parents taught you, songs for the kids, teenage anthems and the tracks you first heard from a big brother or sister. On Friday night it's a GIO first where an often neglected member of the family gets to choose the songs. Are you ready for pet's choice!!

Do you have a cat or dog who really knows their music? Does your precious pooch get worked up every time The Stones come on the radio or does your beloved moggy get up and strut around the room when she hears Madonna?

It's all worked out well as Alison Craig will be presenting the show tomorrow and unlike me, she's a huge animal lover. So get in touch with Alison and let her know what would be on your pet's playlist...

Country music...

Bryan Burnett | 20:01 UK time, Wednesday, 23 February 2011

I wonder if the countryside will prove as inspiring as the cities and towns behind the great music we featured tonight. Sadly, as always happens on a busy night, there were so many good things we had to leave out. Gutted that In The neighbourhood didn't make the final cut. Tomorrow is 'rural' night so it's songs about villages, farms and 'wide open spaces' ... although I only included that last bit in the hope that someone requests the Dixie Chicks song of the same name.

Sound of the suburbs...

Bryan Burnett | 20:02 UK time, Tuesday, 22 February 2011

I was worried that Monday's show was a bit quiet (tough theme of remixes) but tonight's 'brass' theme was the opposite. Shows that are busy,busy,busy are great fun to do but it's frustrating when you don't get around to really good suggestions. Apologies if it was one of yours that was missed out. Wednesday night kicks off a two part theme of urban and rural songs. So, save your country music for Thursday and instead lets have songs about living in (or for) the city.

Brassed off...

Bryan Burnett | 16:05 UK time, Tuesday, 22 February 2011

The sounds of tiddely-om-pom-pom will be heard across the nation as tonight's Get It On is where the brass bands play. We're doing brass as a theme and the bigger the better. Solo trumpets are all fine and dandy but if you can find a way to shoehorn an entire colliery band into tonight's programme then all the better. From Peter Skellern to Paul McCartney we are looking for the acts who have turned brass into class when it comes to hit records. Quite a few suggestions coming in have mentioned sax solos but of course the saxophone is a member of the woodwind family so doesn't count. Horns, trumpets, cornets, euphoniums, tubas and trombones all count, as does the didgeridoo! There have been some cracking suggestions already featuring everything from The Grimethorpe Colliery band doing Danny Boy to a New Orleans brass ensemble covering Sexual Healing!

Get It On ( The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Scotland remix)

Bryan Burnett | 20:04 UK time, Friday, 18 February 2011

Next week all our music programmes get remixed in one form or another. It promises to be a fascinating experiment and a good way to show just how much different genres influence what they do. There's more info on the main Radio Scotland blog. So to mark the occasion Madmac suggest a remix night. We'll include your favourite remixes but most of all I'd like to know which songs you'd like to remix and what would you like to do to them. Would you put a big dance beat behind Bob Dylan or would you strip Biffy Clyro back to the bare essentials?

Starry eyed songs...

Bryan Burnett | 19:56 UK time, Thursday, 17 February 2011

"Tonight Bryan, I'm going to be.....". If you want to take part in Friday's show all you have to do is complete the sentence and I'll try to make your musical fantasies come true. If you were going on Stars In Their Eyes who would you be and why? Freddie mercury might be easy to impersonate but could you really match his range? Would you make a convincing Dolly Parton or would you have been the first person in Stars in Their Eyes history to have done Dave Gilmour.

Soul singers...

Bryan Burnett | 20:02 UK time, Wednesday, 16 February 2011

Thanks for a really interesting show tonight. There were a load of good suggestions and it seemed to be the kind of topic that once you started thinking of suggestions , you couldn't stop. Tomorrow it's 'singers singing about their own genre'. So that would be stuff like Sam and Dave singing Soul Man or The Killers singing Indie Rock n' Roll. Looking forward to reading your suggestions as always...

Secretly sad songs...

Bryan Burnett | 20:00 UK time, Tuesday, 15 February 2011

I hope we've come up with a theme for Wednesday which will provide a challenge and give you something to get your teeth into. It's 'sad songs that actually sound happy and happy songs that sound a wee bit sad'. I saw Raul Malo in concert a few weeks ago and was struck by how many of his sad songs sounded cheery and upbeat. Dance The Night Away is a good example. There are other songs that fit the bill like Here Comes My Baby or even Road To Nowhere.
Sad sounding songs that are secretly happy could be more of a challenge, but as I say this is a theme designed to make us all get the thinking caps on...

Cartoon time...

Bryan Burnett | 19:58 UK time, Monday, 14 February 2011

It's 'Bryan Burnett's Cartoon Cavalcade' on Tuesday night as we feature cartoon characters in song and pop stars who have been immortalised in cartoons or comic strips. I seem to remember The Jackson 5 series was pretty fab, hundreds of great performers have appeared in the Simpsons over the years and Phil Cunningham even taught Oor Willie to play the accordion. Apologies for the brief blog tonight, in fact ...that's all folks!

The Floral Dance...

Bryan Burnett | 20:01 UK time, Friday, 11 February 2011

We kick off a brand new week of themes with a Valentine show filled with hearts and flowers. Get in touch with your suggestions of songs with hearts and songs with any kinds of flowers. Artist suggestions are welcome so we could have Rose McDowall or Brandon Flowers. Feel free to make it soppy and if there is a night you are going to declare your love for your fellow blogger then this is it.

Bryan Burnett v's Billy Bragg...

Bryan Burnett | 10:25 UK time, Friday, 11 February 2011

Last night's show was a reminder of how much music really means to people and how much the words of a song can affect someone's life. We heard some moving and touching tales throughout the show and we also had some moments that made me smile. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories last night. By way of a contrast tonight's show is just a bit of fun. It was suggested by Al Istener and I think it's perfect for a Friday night. All you have to do is think of two artists with the same initials and we'll pick which one to play. Andy Stewart or Alvin Stardust? Lena Zavaroni or Led Zep? The gamble is that you dont know which one we are going to go for. You might want Pink Floyd but end up with Peter Frampton! Worse still, it could be Jethro Tull or Justin Timberlake! Now there's a decision I'd like to make...

Wise words...

Bryan Burnett | 19:05 UK time, Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Do you ever feel like hope is gone, then you look inside you and be strong? What about when you are weary and feeling small, and when tears are in your eyes? Does someone offer to dry them all? And how did it feel to be without a home, like a complete unknown?

If this sounds like you then you will love Thursday's theme. It's 'life changing lyrics' - the songs that meant so much to you that they made you want to live your life differently. It could be the songs that opened your eyes to a new way of thinking or maybe the lyrics that stopped you in your tracks and made you consider they way you'd been living your life to that point. It's a night for confessing all...

Rock music...

Bryan Burnett | 19:30 UK time, Tuesday, 8 February 2011

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Tonight's 'music industry' theme threw up some good suggestions and some really interesting stories behind the songs. For tomorrow's theme we are going back to the stone ages. The latest phase of ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Hands on History gets underway tonight with A History of Ancient Britain presented by Neil Oliver on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 2. The series follows Britain as it develops from 500 000 BC through to the glories of the Stone Age.

The series is going to be backed up with a range of 'Ancients' events taking place right across Scotland, from Moray to Sutherland. You can try your hand at pre-historic pottery, test out stone age tools and at one event even build your own stone circle with foam stones - Foamhenge!

So, to tie in with all the Stone Age activity, we're going for a stone theme. Let's have songs with stones in their title or songs by bands with stone in their name?
( Now you can understand why I left Mick and the boys out of tonight's show.)

You can find out more about the series on the website, A History of Ancient Britain - and by clicking on the Hands on History link, you can also find out about the special events taking place in your area.

Crushed by the wheels of industry

Bryan Burnett | 19:53 UK time, Monday, 7 February 2011

Tonight I struggled with insomnia, had the shakes, a dizzy spell, tried to keep my hyperactivity under control and managed to get over a bout of fever....Which is kinda how I felt when I read the blog over the weekend!! (Kidding! As I mentioned on air it's always good to get feedback and I'm honoured that so many of you care about the show. ) Illness and ailments was a tough theme but I think we got some good tracks even if we did resort to declaring that heartbreak is officially a proper illness. Let's see if you can get a sickie for that. Tuesday's theme came about after someone on the blog suggested Jackson Browne's The Load Out for a theme last week. It didn't make it to the show but it did make me wonder if there is enough for a whole theme on songs about the music industry. Tune in at ten past six and find out of there is!

A'hm no' well...

Bryan Burnett | 19:51 UK time, Friday, 4 February 2011

Apart from a brief snog before the seven o' clock news I'm delighted to report that old fashioned courtship is alive and well and that 'our story of a relationship' theme was entirely seemly. It could have come straight from the pages of The People's Friend. Mind you that didn't stop a lot of texters getting in touch to suggest we take the relationship in a whole different direction. Let's Get It On indeed! Monday's theme is illness and ailments. So if you're suffering from the Cramps or experiencing a Saturday Night Fever then get in touch and Doctor Bryan will write you a musical prescription. Nurse Babs will be on hand to make sure that you all take your medicine!

Relationship issues...

Bryan Burnett | 20:33 UK time, Thursday, 3 February 2011

Wow, we really got torn into Paul young on tonight's show. Love Will Tear Us Apart, Don't Dream It's Over and I'm Gonna Burn Your Playhouse Down were all nominated as songs that should not be covered. Sadly, Paul Young had other ideas. It was certainly a programme that divided opinion. Several folk thought the original I Will Always Love You was untouchable but a texter claimed that Whitney's power ballad was miles better than "dreary Dolly!" Love it. We'll come back to this theme at some point. Tomorrow: It Started With A Kiss....but where did it go after that? It's up to you to chart the story of a relationship in song. Feel free to post some suggestions in advance but I'd like to make the show as interactive as possible and to deal with the twists and turns in the relationship as they happen. Will it be an Everlasting Love or will it end up in D.I.V.O.R.C.E . You decide...

Do not cover...

Bryan Burnett | 20:01 UK time, Wednesday, 2 February 2011

I don't know if many artists saved their best tracks till last on the album but they certainly seemed to save their longest. We had many suggestions for 'closing tracks' just not many short ones. It's a bit of a problem if you've got a three minute gap in the show!
Thursday's theme is 'the songs that should never be covered' which has been suggested by Billy in Alloa. I could fill the show with my suggestions of sacred songs that should not have been touched. Simple Minds really should have steered clear of Sign o' The Times and Duran Duran should never have been allowed near Perfect Day. Fairytale of New York by Ronan Keating??? And did Florence really listen to Candi Staton doing You Got The Love and think she could improve on it. Let's have your suggestions for the uncoverable covers...

Closing time...

Bryan Burnett | 19:37 UK time, Tuesday, 1 February 2011

If they ever make a compilation album of the best opening tracks of all time then all they need to do is check out the playlist of tonight's show. The music was great and full of thumping great tunes. Clearly some artists have spent a great deal of time making sure the opening song on an album makes a huge impact. Tomorrow night is going to focus on the best closing tracks and I did wonder if we should just repeat tonight's show by playing the closing tracks of the opening tracks that we played. It would be fascinating to find out of those nominated albums finished as well as they started. For instance, Bring It All Back Home started with Subterranean Homesick Blues and ended with It's All Over Now Baby Blue. Meanwhile, Stop Making Sense started with Psycho Killer and closed with Take Me To The River. Not a bad show eh?

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