Sound of Cinema (Matthew Sweet)

[Nick Armstrong]

Matthew Sweet is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful radio presenters around. His extraordinary demolition of Naomi Woolf on Radio 4 being an outstanding example. He made the series worth listening to. It remains to be seen what the new presenter brings to the party. I suspect it’ll be a sleb-led dumbing down.

Indeed…

I note in RT that the new format includes a sleb-spot featuring Graham Norton….

Ah, that’s also referenced here I see, thanks ff:

https://simonohagan.substack.com/p/the-credits-roll-on-matthew-sweets

[Ein Heldenleben]

Indeed…

I see in RT that the new format includes a sleb-spot featuring Graham Norton….

Oh dear. His chat show is a disgrace of course - wall to wall commercial plugging . It might as well be produced by the movie studios and their PR’s themselves .
At least Matthew could wryly take the piss out of the bloated nonsense that is the film industry.

[french frank]

I still think this is yet another programme that should be on Radio 2!

I didn't listen to it as I never go to the cinema. But as a principle. I think that it's not the subject matter that's either "R3" or "not R3": it's the level at which the subject is treated. Which is why so much of the classical music programming is NOT appropriate but an intelligent and informed programme is - no matter what the subject matter, be it hip-hop or cinema. The degree of listener interest depends on the individual .

[Serial_Apologist]

... so Bragg didn't know that Matthew Sweet had not gone voluntarily??

(sorry, can't keep the pedant down )

,

My assumption is that Bragg's not going voluntarily.

[french frank]

My assumption is that Bragg's not going voluntarily.

In the context, the article suggested that unlike MS Bragg left In Our Time of his own accord:The BBC said he 'took the decision' to leave

[Serial_Apologist]

In the context, the article suggested that unlike MS Bragg left In Our Time of his own accord:The BBC said he 'took the decision' to leave

Ah - OK!

[Nick Armstrong]

“Clearly Radio 3 is seeking to re-position Sound of Cinema, to give it a different flavour, and Edith Bowman will undoubtedly provide that.”

Well what struck me about the first edition was the absence of any coherent theme and factual comment - into that vacuum were sucked the depressingly familiar superlatives (“fantastic… incredible… wonderful…”), and I lost count of how many times “iconic” cropped up. The guiding criterion for inclusion seemed to be whether it ‘put a smile’ on Ms. Bowman’s face. I’m happy she enjoyed herself but I don’t know the woman and don’t feel as if my listening should be guided by her pleasure and sprinkled liberally with her expressions of delight

Early days but if it continues in the same vein it’ll be another one off the list of “R3 programmes worth catching up with”….

[smittims]

I deplore the recent trend for announcers to pretend to give their opinions on what we've just heard. It;s false, as they would never say 'that was rubbish'. This is why radio and Tv announcers ithe past were forbidden to inject their own views . It should be left to the listener . In any case, as You've shown , the things they say are usually banal and pointless.

[James Wonnacott]

I still think this is yet another programme that should be on Radio 2!

Agree.

[french frank]

Early days but if it continues in the same vein it’ll be another one off the list of “R3 programmes worth catching up with”….[/COLOR]

I can't get the entire article as it's in the Telegraph, but found enough of what I remembered. What
I'd forgotten was that it was Sam Jackson when at Classic FM who accused R3 of aping CFM for - wait for it - (search line intro) 'Mr Jackson said: “It still strikes me as strange that a decision was made to launch a film music show on Saturdays, just an hour or so before ...' The 'before' in question was Howard Goodall's Saturday Night at the Movies. This is what you get before you hit the paywall:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/media/12128477/Classic-FM-boss-tells-patronising-Radio-3-boss-to-stop-aping-his-station.html

[LMcD]

Agree.

Sadly, Radio 2 is nowhere near as broad-minded as it used to be.

[AuntDaisy]

I can't get the entire article as it's in the Telegraph, but found enough of what I remembered. What
I'd forgotten was that it was Sam Jackson when at Classic FM who accused R3 of aping CFM for - wait for it - (search line intro) 'Mr Jackson said: “It still strikes me as strange that a decision was made to launch a film music show on Saturdays, just an hour or so before ...' The 'before' in question was Howard Goodall's Saturday Night at the Movies. This is what you get before you hit the paywall:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/med...s-station.html

If you're quick with the cancel button...

Classic FM boss tells 'patronising' Radio 3 boss to stop 'aping' his station
By Patrick Foster 30 January 2016

Alan Davey, the controller of Radio 3, has been accused of “patronising” mainstream classical music fans, after making a thinly-veiled attack on Classic FM, in which he likened the station’s output to “fast food” and “snippets…to hum and forget”
Sam Jackson, the managing editor of Classic FM, said Mr Davey’s “caricature” of the commercial station, which has 5.5 million weekly listeners, patronised casual classical fans, and called on Radio 3 to stop “aping” his network by broadcasting music from films and video games.

Radio 3, which has two million weekly listeners, ditched a show that aired music from films nearly a decade ago, but has since introduced a Saturday afternoon film score show. Mr Jackson said: “It still strikes me as strange that a decision was made to launch a film music show on Saturdays, just an hour or so before Classic FM’s longstanding show Saturday Night at the Movies. I don’t think that licence fee payers are well served by duplication.”

Classic FM has seen a huge rise in younger listeners, with the number of 15 to 24 year-olds tuning in to the station up by 19 per cent in the past year. The company has begun to target teenagers with Buzzfeed-style social media content – such as quizzes in which users have to guess whether an Italian name is that of a composer, or a type of pasta.
The commercial station has also begun to broadcast video game music, which Mr Jackson said led to an “enormous spike” from younger listeners. He added: “It’s partly about serving that audience but also educating our older audience. People instinctively say why are you doing this? We say judge it on the music. There are some awful video game scores, but there are some awful ballets and operas.”
The commercial chief said that he had written to Mr Davey to complain about Radio 3 also airing video game music, and a BBC spokesman confirmed that the corporation had now decided not “to broadcast a regular programme with this focus”.

Eagerly awaiting The Breakfast Pasta Challenge - probably with the names spoken very, very slowly or by a chipmunk.

[vinteuil]

Eagerly awaiting The Breakfast Pasta Challenge - probably with the names spoken very, very slowly or by a chipmunk.

... we've got some useful contenders here -

"Botticelli isn't a wine, you juggins, Botticelli's a cheesel"
Punch 1894
[vol civ p 270]

.

Ah, so is 'Trittico Botticelliano' a type of pizza...?

.

Vivaldi's Quatro Formaggi?

[AuntDaisy]

... we've got some useful contenders here -

Well remembered.

[french frank]

Thanks, Aunt D. I think this supports very well something which I've been saying since for ever but which doesn't convince everyone even on this forum. It's not WHAT Radio 3 broadcasts in terms of subject content, it's WHO the programme is aimed at.

I'm not interested in cinema so don't listen to it. But who am I to say Nick should be listening to it on Radio 2 because films are "Radio 2", not Radio 3? I respect what jazz enthusiasts say about R3's jazz in the same way. I don't expect Radio 3 to be broadcasting what I'm interested in all the time. I do expect it to broadcast what I am interested in for ME, not for some other audience. I don't want to listen to presenters drafted in from R1, R2 and 6 Music - in some cases from CFM - employed to attract listeners from their former homes to R3.