Why on earth is record review moving

[Ein Heldenleben]

Feedback doesn't do "challenging" any more: that's why they sacked Roger Bolton, who had trodden on a few too many elegantly-shod toes and got the boot. Andrea Catherwood is an intelligent broadcaster, who constantly gives the impression of thinking more trenchant thoughts than she's prepared to utter.

I made a cameo appearance on a recent edition, to moan about yet another heart-rending dose of "ordinary people" telling their "absolutely amazing stories" at 9:45 on a Monday morning, to add to the pile of emotive "human" gush in which Radio 4 majors these days. Needless to say, my balanced critique (praising Alexei Sayle's equivalent show and the excellent random postcode-based documentary series) was cut and pasted to make me sound like the baldest old grump, which was what I knew they'd do. Nor did Ms Catherwood press my points on the blithely sunny presenter of Hope Café, the offensive programme in question. But how do I complain to Feedback about being misrepresented on Feedback?

What edition was this ? I’ll have a listen . Proving misrepresentation through editing is difficult unless the broadcaster has for example removed the word “not” from the phrase “ I am not a criminal .” Incidentally it’s much easier to misrepresent on Radio than Tv because in the latter you have to find a fairly irrelevant picture to slap over the audio edit. Some pros at this game will give one thirty second quote on the condition it’s not edited,

[gurnemanz]

Saturday afternoon is exactly the time of the week when I don't listen to classical music but go into sport mode. Sam Jackson surely cannot be a sports fan. (Sam Allardyce might have been a better choice for the job). In addition, we frequently go to the theatre at that time, mainly preferring matinee performances nowadays, especially when traipsing off to London. We would often catch BaL whille negotiating the M4.

I could, of course, listen later via Sounds but I tend only to resort to that method for something specific which I particularly don't want to miss.

I don't dislike Tom Service but am not inclined to tune in to a random three-hour shift on the off-chance that there might be something worth hearing. At least the uprooting of Record Review means that I can listen to all of Fighting Talk on Five Live without missing the end of BaL.

From me, alas, it's bye-bye, BaL.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Saturday afternoon is exactly the time of the week when I don't listen to classical music but go into sport mode. Sam Jackson surely cannot be a sports fan. (Sam Allardyce might have been a better choice for the job). In addition, we frequently go to the theatre at that time, mainly preferring matinee performances nowadays, especially when traipsing off to London. We would often catch BaL whille negotiating the M4.

I could, of course, listen later via Sounds but I tend only to resort to that method for something specific which I particularly don't want to miss.

I don't dislike Tom Service but am not inclined to tune in to a random three-hour shift on the off-chance that there might be something worth hearing. At least the uprooting of Record Review means that I can listen to all of Fighting Talk on Five Live without missing the end of BaL.

From me, alas, it's bye-bye, BaL.

I am combining BAL with the Quins match on Discovery Plus. It is extraordinarily how Monteverdi really “works”with Quins’ flowing attacking style ..( I hope )

[cria]

I am combining BAL with the Quins match on Discovery Plus. It is extraordinarily how Monteverdi really “works”with Quins’ flowing attacking style ..( I hope )

Saints for me - hard and make few mistakes, Quins are great to watch but frothiness won't pay today!

[french frank]

Some things can be done. When BBC radio removed R3 bandwidth and reallocated it to a daytime looped trail for Radio 5 (the boffins said the difference to R3 was hardly noticeable) I copied the posts from BBC R3 messageboarders and sent them to the director of radio. She accepted the evidence and the trail was dropped (FoR3's one achievement! ). I will see what time I have to construct a similar argument.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Saints for me - hard and make few mistakes, Quins are great to watch but frothiness won't pay today!

Strikes me those comments apply equally to performing the Monteverdi Vespers.

[Retune]

Nor did Ms Catherwood press my points on the blithely sunny presenter of Hope Café, the offensive programme in question.

I'd been blissfully unaware of that one. Sampling it, the presentation style would not have been out of place on BBC Children's TV in the 1970s, perhaps one of those episodes where Blue Peter tackled a more serious issue.

[Master Jacques]

What edition was this ? I’ll have a listen . Proving misrepresentation through editing is difficult unless the broadcaster has for example removed the word “not” from the phrase “ I am not a criminal .” Incidentally it’s much easier to misrepresent on Radio than Tv because in the latter you have to find a fairly irrelevant picture to slap over the audio edit. Some pros at this game will give one thirty second quote on the condition it’s not edited,

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y2zv

I was chased up twice to record a comment, thought long and hard, and recorded a 42' bite for them which was cut to 22', as I knew it would be. I wasn't surprised. They wanted somebody sounding unreasonably churlish about the thing, rather than the balanced critique which (of course!) I offered.

They also downgraded my excellent FLAC sound file, to sound like a landline halfway up Annapurna.

Hope Café is utterly dire radio, by the way: Retune's remark about the presentation style suggesting 1970s children's TV is spot on, and the content is maudlin in the extreme. A real downer to start the week. And an unacknowledged rip off of Alexei Sayle's lovely Imaginary Sandwich Bar, to boot.

[Ein Heldenleben]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y2zv

I was chased up twice to record a comment, thought long and hard, and recorded a 42' bite for them which was cut to 22', as I knew it would be. I wasn't surprised. They wanted somebody sounding unreasonably churlish about the thing, rather than the balanced critique which (of course!) I offered.

They also downgraded my excellent FLAC sound file, to sound like a landline halfway up Annapurna.

Hope Café is utterly dire radio, by the way: Retune's remark about the presentation style suggesting 1970s children's TV is spot on, and the content is maudlin in the extreme. A real downer to start the week. And an unacknowledged rip off of Alexei Sayle's lovely Imaginary Sandwich Bar, to boot.

I don’t think you come across at all unreasonable or churlish - well made points with some benchmark enunciation.Also the sound isn’t that bad though the entire programme is horribly over compressed. The whole Cafe Hope thing is all very wet and soggy isn’t it? if this is what Radio 4 is like my decision never to listen to it seems amply justified. Did the producer really say her ambition is to open a café ? …what sort of ambition is that ? That is SO radio…no wonder I couldn’t get out fast enough.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Saints for me - hard and make few mistakes, Quins are great to watch but frothiness won't pay today!

Superb game in which Saints failed to blow the froth off Quin’s hot brew..

[Master Jacques]

I don’t think you come across at all unreasonable or churlish - well made points with some benchmark enunciation. Also the sound isn’t that bad though the entire programme is horribly over compressed. The whole Cafe Hope thing is all very wet and soggy isn’t it? if this is what Radio 4 is like my decision never to listen to it seems amply justified. Did the producer really say her ambition is to open a café ? …what sort of ambition is that ? That is SO radio…no wonder I couldn’t get out fast enough.

You're very kind: I wasn't consciously trying to channel my inner Howard Jacobson, but quite liked the sense of Mancunian nark that got into my recording (for whatever reason) on this occasion.

[cria]

Superb game in which Saints failed to blow the froth off Quin’s hot brew..

Brilliant - Quins were really good - great effort to concede nothing during 3 sinbins

[W.Kearns]

Saturday mornings are now unlistenable, jumping around all over the place and peppered with tedious interviews. I really miss Record Review with the excellent Andrew Macgregor and I do wonder if even one dedicated R3 listener wanted it shunted to Saturday afternoons, when no one with a life can listen to it. I BEG the new Controller to swallow his pride and move RR back to its traditional time on Saturday morning.

Wholeheartedly agree, Philidor, but I think that we swim against an inexorable tide....

[Roger Webb]

The France Musique alternative to BaL, La Tribune des critiques de disques has Canteloube 'Chants d'Auvergne' this afternoon at 3.00 our time.

[french frank]

That pretty much sums up my feelings about what was not a very challenging interview. I always think that people who use the word 'absolutely' as often as he seemed to are still trying to convince themselves of their own beliefs while trying to explain them to others.

I've just listened again, for the third time. Interesting, given this particular thread, that there was no mention of rescheduling Record Review or Composer of the Week (or the dropping of the lunchtime concerts). Was something edited out of the original?

I've done an analysis of each of his points. There's a touching naivety about his exulting over the listener who wrote in to say "I'm a first time listener to Radio 3. Thank you so much for rescuing Friday Night Is Music Night." Quod erat faciendum, my dear.Thank you.