Stupidity In Action!

[TJ]

This month's issue of Record Collector contains a letter from the producer of the Top Of The Pops DVD, responding quite reasonably and politely to what he (not entirely without reason) saw as an unfair review of the set, pointing out that the much-stropped over absence of 'big names' and iconic performances is due to a combination of the show's patchy archival status and the impossibility of gettign clearance from some major acts.

The girl who wrote the review responds in a smug, flippant, Gareth R-like fashion, likening his explanations to saying "the dog ate my homework".

Idiot.

[Jemble Fred]

If this was in GD, I'd ask – what does anyone make of the new Sunday TOTP? I know there are a lot of (inexplicable, to me) Jupitus haters here, but his presence has given me the first flicker of interest in the show since I was a teenager. But is this mixture of teenybopper and Dad rock going to please both TOTP1 and TOTP2 camps, or neither?

Was it a joke that Jeremy Clarkson's presenting the next one? That is insane.

[Gavin]

Who is Gareth R?

[The Mumbler]

I saw last week's in the small hours of Sunday morning.  Interesting to see Fearne Cotton try and declare "Welcome to the very last Top of the Pops on BBC1!" without it sounding like an extraordinary anti-achievement.  Well done, Andi Peters!

[Joy Nktonga]

I read it too, TJ, and the TOTP guy seemed genuinely dissapointed and apologetic that the best material couldn't be used. She dismissed his comments with a bunch of crap about "we don't want your pathetic excuses, we want the best and we want it now" (paraphrased quite heavily, but that is the way it came across). There was no need for it really.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

She was annoyed/puzzled that they used a Billy J Kramer performance as the opening song. The producer explained that it was because it was the earliest surviving piece of TOTP footage. 'But we want the best, not the earliest!!! :) :) IMHO IMHO' she replies.

[Still Not George]

Music journos being blinkered, stupid cunts? Whatever next?

[The Mumbler]

One would have thought that Record Collector was a cut above most music magazines though, as the whole point of its existence was its detail - lovingly-crafted discographies, pride of place given to reissues and so on.  These days it more or less replicates Mojo, and it fills most of its review space with new albums rather than re-releases.  And most of the writing's dreadful.

[Darrell]

Nice Andy Roberts interview the other month though.