Tag Archives: John Kennedy

1Xtra does Jamaica – Radio highlights
24
Jan

1xtra In Jamaica – Sunday, 1Xtra

This should be a bit special.

David Rodigan’s regular show is a great mix of reggae music down the ages, past and present.

His perspective on reggae’s legacy and knowledge of the current scene make him the John Peel of reggae radio.

This show sees Rodigan decamp to Jamaica along with Robbo Ranx and Toddla T, including session tracks from Chronixx, Busy Signal and Tarrus Riley!

 

The Story Of Pop (daily on 6 Music and also on the BBC iPlayer)

Couple of cracking episodes in particular this week as the 1994 Story Of Pop re-run covers the story of 60s folk music over the weekend

Saturday 04:00 – Episode 20 Hobos To Hippies – the folk protest movement from 1960 to 1965
Sunday 04:00 – Episode 21 Turning Rebellion Into Money (great title if era-inappropriate!) – covers the mid-60s
Monday 04:00 – Listen to Me Me ME – 1967 to 1972
Tuesday 01:00 – Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine – the 1960s underground scene

Not quite sure why the BBC are only leaving these on for a week but I expect there’s some legal reason for it. Grab ’em while you can.

John Kennedy’s Xposure – XFM (Monday to Thursday) 10pm – 1am

If John Kennedy worked for the BBC it’s fair to say a lot more people would have heard of him. As it is, if you’re interested in new music, he’s pretty much the nearest thing we’ve got to a modern John Peel . XPosure has always been and continues to be a minor miracle for a station that does sometimes lean towards landfill indie.

Monday evenings are a particularly good time to listen to John’s show as he tends to play quite a few new releases. The guests are always well-chosen and have something interesting to say, and are drawn out well by JK’s hype- and cynicism-free interview technique. Dude’s not concerned with trying to appear cool unlike certain DJs I could mention.

If you don’t have time for the whole show the podcasts give you a good flavour, each one focussing on a particular artist, which is a smart move. Yeah, I know it’s iTunes but after finally giving up and subscribing ‘cos it was the only way to watch those rediscovered Dr Who episodes immediately, what the hell?

I’m an Apple Tart now. Apple Tarts are cool.

XPosure Podcasts To Download From iTunes

 

Radio Radio #1
3
Jan

w/c Saturday 5th January 2013

First in a regular weekly blog in which I’ll be recommending some music radio highlights for the forthcoming week.

Saturday – The Story Of Pop (04:00 6 Music, continues daily)

Alan Freeman’s epic, FIFTY-TWO PART look at the history of pop music was first broadcast in 1994, so you could argue that there’s ample room for a sequel or an updated version.

I’ve never heard this but I’m a sucker for epic aural journeys so I’m going to tune in. It’s on every day, at 04:00 at weekends and 01:00 on weekdays, but you can listen again through the iPlayer.

One criticism is that without some means of recording these, it’s going to be difficult to keep up with absolutely every episode. Gonna see how it goes and report back next Friday.

Saturday – Hawkwind Live In London 1972 (02:00 6 Music)

The psychedelic space cadets at their trippiest, noisiest, wall of soundiest peak featuring songs like this, their
big hit. Not being familiar with the band, we all thought Lemmy was their lead singer, on account of he was apparently the only member of the band with the precise vocal range to sing the song. This happy accident did the old bugger no harm at all career-wise.

Sunday – Mary Anne Hobbs (07:00 6 Music, also Saturday)

Mary Anne seems pretty happy about returning to the BBC, and her Saturday and Sunday morning shows are an excellent, ecletic mix if you love music. The presence of Anna Calvi and Eddie Argos of Art Brut who will be sharing tips on singing, elevates Sunday’s show to “unmissable”.

Sunday – John Cooper Clarke (16:00 6 Music)

The Bard Of Salford ™ has been a highlight every time he’s done a stint as a DJ and I’m really looking forward to these shows, running for a few weeks on Sunday afternoons. He probably won’t get to play this though.

Monday – Thursday – John Kennedy’s XPosure (XFM) (10:00 – 01:00)

The Observer described John Kennedy as “the doyen of underground alternative music” which proves they sometimes DO get it right. He’s been around seemingly forever, a reliable source of sounds that make you go “WOW! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!” on a regular basis. The line-ups for the XPosure gigs are always well chosen, too.

XFM’s output can get a little bit “landfill indie” at times, but not on JK’s shift. He remains the only DJ I have ever heard giving airtime to one of the great unsung bands of the Noughties, They Came From The Stars I Saw Them :

Thursday – Dancehall with Robbo Ranx (1Xtra) (22:00 – 02:00)

Four – count ’em, four! – hours of the finest modern dancehall reggae sounds. Deffo a bit of an eye-opener for those who tend to stick to reggae records made before 1980 … have to admit to a bit of the old school prejudice myself but this makes a refreshing change

There’s plenty more good listening out there, obviously, and I’ll be pointing you in the direction of a lot of it every Friday. Enjoy!