Clunkers from the Alan Partridge Canon

[PeasOnSticks]

I think that touches on what makes MMM far better than This Time, for me. Sure, he's at work, but it focuses a lot on Alan's personal time. Live broadcast Alan is consistently my least favourite.

Agreed. MMM is much more intimate all-round, and the off-air moments are a big part of its charm. The Pear Tree documentaries also give much more of a sense of the character than TTWAP ever could, since we know they're effectively vanity projects that he's in charge of, and he's all over the script and editing.  Welcome to the Places of My Life, in particular, is a favourite of mine. Great to see Alan at the swimming pool or chatting with Atif at News & Magazines.

[Twed]

Yep. Even though it's all essentially supposed to be a production, the documentary-style specials make it just seem like time spent with Alan. The Day Today, KMKYWAP and This Time are mostly Alan being 'on' the entire time and it's not as good (for me).

[hermitical]

Count me as pro-TTWAP, and even though some see it as broad I think it is crammed with wonderful tiny moments.

I'd take MMM and TTWAP over KMKY any day of the week, KMKY feels so clunky and lacking in subtlety. Great at the time, some wonderful bits and historic in the world of AP but nowhere near my top go-to AP programmes.

Though TT may be Alan being 'on' he shifts between modes, and quickly, which adds to the enjoyment for me.

[Twed]

Though TT may be Alan being 'on' he shifts between modes, and quickly, which adds to the enjoyment for me.

Yeah, it's still good mainly because of that. It's just not the right balance for me.

[Twed]

I'm not nominating this as a clunker, as I don't understand the joke:

"The world's biggest stadium rock band, RE... O Speedwagon".

What's the joke? Were we supposed to expect him to say REM, who were cooler (at the time)? That doesn't make sense because they're not a stadium rock band. What does it mean?

[QDRPHNC]

I'd say REM were not far off being a stadium rock band at the time.

But yes, that's the joke.

Edit: a quick googling tells me REM played the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto in 1995, which holds about 15,000.

[Twed]

I'd say REM were not far off being a stadium rock band at the time.

But yes, that's the joke.

Edit: a quick googling tells me REM played the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto in 1995, which holds about 15,000.

I thought stadium rock was more of a style than a statistical thing. Sort-of rousing music that people might clip and stomp along to.

Thanks for the answer, anyway. I'm categorising the joke as "mild clunker".

[magval]

Always just thought it was that he says it in a funny way.

[Chriddof]

I recall a surprising amount of older people back in the 90s confusing REM with REO Speedwagon, so it would be a reference to that.

[QDRPHNC]

Oh Christ, this is like the best of the Beatles all over again.

REM were big in 1997. You think he's going to say REM, but he says REO Speedwagon instead. That's the joke. It's done.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Oh Christ, this is like the best of the Beatles all over again.

REM were big in 1997. You think he's going to say REM, but he says REO Speedwagon instead. That's the joke. It's done.

Exactly. There's nothing more to it than that. You think he's going to play something cool by the massively popular band REM. Oh no, he's playing something by the naff '70s band REO Speedwagon instead. That's it. A throwaway gag.

[Twed]

That's what literally everybody involved in this conversation said.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

the naff '70s band REO Speedwagon

Keep on Loving You was a hit in '81, and it's not naff, but one of my all-time favourites.

[QDRPHNC]

Sorry, had a few drinks in me last night. I should have said Oh Christ, this has the potential to turn into the best of the Beatles all over again.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That's what literally everybody involved in this conversation said.

I know, I was just needlessly reiterating the point.

[Twed]

Sorry, had a few drinks in me last night. I should have said Oh Christ, this has the potential to turn into the best of the Beatles all over again.

Ah, that makes more sense :-)

[H-O-W-L]

I thought stadium rock was more of a style than a statistical thing. Sort-of rousing music that people might clip and stomp along to.

Thanks for the answer, anyway. I'm categorising the joke as "mild clunker".

It really is a statistical thing, since Pink Floyd were very famous as stadium rockers despite most of the albums they played in stadiums being very antithetical to the atmosphere in stadia.

[Twed]

Pretty stupid term if we can just call any band with guitars that fills an arena "stadium rock".

Wikipedia agrees with me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_rock

Very much defined in terms of style and not statistics.

[Menu]

Christ. How to ruin a thread.

[Twed]

Yeah, obliterated, unrecoverable. All we can do now is skulk around announcing how ruined it is.

Ruined!

[Bronzy]

Clunkers from the Cook'd and Bomb'd Canon

[Hey, Punk!]

Twed's right, fucking shit joke.

[sponk]

I've always thought that joke would have worked better if he'd said "One of the most exciting alternative bands today..." instead of "stadium rock"

[petril]

just to confirm, we're all agreed Pete Best did a stadium rock genre album, right?

[Menu]

I've always thought that joke would have worked better if he'd said "One of the most exciting alternative bands today..." instead of "stadium rock"

But they were of the the biggest bands in the world in 1997. That's why it's funny when he goes on to say '...O Speedwagon', who aren't. It's a good throwaway joke that got a big laugh in my uni house at the time. I've never even questioned the stadium rock thing until now, just as I'd never questioned whether Pete Fucking Best had released a solo album. To do so is plainly wrong.

[Dr Rock]

Google stadium rock and REM. They were considered to have become a stadium rock band after about Green, although usually on the basis that they had redefined the term and that.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/10/rem-bbc-massive-retrospective/574009/

The mainstreaming of R.E.M. (which started, roughly, with 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant) was triumphant; they broadened, they adapted, they stepped up, they opened their arms. They did everything art is supposed to do when it meets the world and consents to be changed by it. From blanket rock to stadium rock, with no loss of vision.

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/dial-m-for-mystery-the-first-coming-of-rem-26504834.html

In time, the Athenians would become stadium rock gods,

https://tickets.halfmoon.co.uk/events/2019-06-22-stipe-the-rem-tribute-half-moon-putney

R.E.M. remain one of the world's most enigmatic stadium rock bands.

Not my words, the words of The Half-Moon, Putney.

[Cuellar]

All the times I've watched that bit it never occurred to me that we were expecting him to say REM. Just thought it was a joke about Alan's dated music taste.

[idunnosomename]

Isn't it that Alan is CONSCIOUSLY MAKING a clunker of a dad joke by teasing REM and giving us REO Speedwagon? Because he's a terrible DJ and that's what he does?

[mrfridge]

All the times I've watched that bit it never occurred to me that we were expecting him to say REM. Just thought it was a joke about Alan's dated music taste.

This is exactly what I thought. It makes far more sense (and is funnier) than it being a reference to REM, who at the time were hardly an uber cool act to play off against. I'm not saying you lot are wrong, just that it's funnier without acknowledging the reference.

[Cuellar]

Isn't it that Alan is CONSCIOUSLY MAKING a clunker of a dad joke by teasing REM and giving us REO Speedwagon? Because he's a terrible DJ and that's what he does?

No, it's because he thinks REO Speedwagon are one of the biggest stadium bands in the world. Bye [hangs up]