paolosmythe

It is only natural

Incidentally, one thing i love about my particular part of Canuckia, is that when it is a nice sunny afternoon here, it is very early morning in London.

This means i can lay out in the back garden with a chilled bottle of beer and listen to the post-pub / insomniac nutters on LBC radio via the interweb.

dbd33

I think that's more the case on pro-Canada threads than anti-Canada ones. It seems to me that the best and worst of Canada is that nothing ever happens, it's stable but a backwater. It only takes a couple of posts to sing the praises of the place "no one bothers me, people tend not to be rude" and there's not much excitement in that.

Consequently, when someone posts something outrageous, such as "the radio/TV is ok", everyone else jumps on that and the thread picks up pace while going off topic.

paolosmythe

but surely the lack of a UK-esque, overt television tax in Canada is another reason to love this land!!?

Yay! we remain on topic!

Steve_

How long has he been dead?

If I had a time machine I wouldn't have emigrated. There was a time when pop music wasn't a cookie cutter industry run by Simon Cowell.

dbd33

You left because you didn't like a percieved decline in the quality of pop music and you went to Calgary, Canada? Blimey. That's a bit Bogart in Casablanca.

Steve_

I like dull, less stressful. One of the main reasons I moved here was because it's less stressful. Dull is underrated, imo.

Steve_

No I moved I think primarily because I grew up in a rural area. That became a suburban area. That became an urban area. And because I moved around so much and kept coming back to it, it was blatantly apparent to me, but people who lived there didn't notice it so much because to them it happened more gradually.

"Why do you live in this s--thole?" "Oh, it's not that bad."

Yes it is.

lmartin999

Sums it up pretty well for me. Easy place to live but all rather bland. I find it hard to have any really strong feelings about living here. I suspect I will end up in London again at some point.

Partially discharged

Pop music has a history of assembly line manufactured hits and hit makers....think Motown, disco hits, one hit wonders, power balladers or many songs not performed by their writer etc.

Despite this, Simon Cowell is a rather odious smug twunt. I saw him yesterday on an old episode of Top Gear and him plus Clarkson was not a pleasant combo as they both seem to have a healthy scorn for one another.

Radio 1 to me seems to be (in the daytime at least) more about the DJ and their over inflated ego about themselves than the music. The breakfast show is the prime example of this.

Canadian commercial morning shows are often just as excutiating as a team of the 'morning zoo crew' or 'breakfast bunch' have inane chat and laugh over one anothers lame attempts at humour.

These days, my listening tends to be 6Music (on line), 5Live (online for the sport), Radio1 and 2 and the local university stations. I'm too old to be spending time listening to live remotes from furniture stores.

lmartin999

I agree, and also think this doesn't make the music any less creative or original. A good friend of mine from school is the guy (writer/producer) behind Girls Aloud and other bands and I know the work and energy etc that goes into what he does and what is involved in creating a 'hit'. It certainly is not simple, quick or automatic and the word 'manufactured' is probably not a fair description. I also don't think there is anything wrong with good 'pop' music.

Steve_P

Happy for you.

John_B

I still believe you get what you pay for. It may be cheap, but if it's rubbish, then what value are you really getting for you money?

Steve_P

As per usual.

Nothing new there.

iaink

Thats not the point though is it, the fact the BBC doesnt have to pander to advertisers seeking particular demographics means there is a place there for innovation and stuff that has not (yet) got a commercial following. I just dont happen to know who it was inherited his mantle.

As others have pointed out there is nothing new about mass produced commercial pop.

John_B

In the 90's I listened to Radio 1, now I listen to R2. I suppose you kind of make the switch as you grow up, or rather older. I don't think R2 has the 'Old Fogey' stigma it used to have. Terry wogan has gone, replaced by the Ginger Tosser. Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie have an excellent show in the evenings. Some of the music is a little too middle of the road for me though.

6 Music has actually just had a reprieve. The case for closing them (made by Mark Thompson DGM) was reviewed by the BBC Trust. The trust decided that the case hadn't been made.

6 Music is a truly excellent station in every aspect. Another great place for music is npr http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=37 which is based in the US.
This has a great archive of recordings and podcasts.