Chart Music Podcast

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Absolutely, if Chart Music was merely just the exquisitely worded vitriol we know and love it wouldn't be half the podcast it actually is. I got heavily into The Beat and New Muzik through Pricey's passionate recommendations. I was reminded what a colossal banger 'Serious' by Donna Allen is thanks to Al's rhapsodising about it. When the CM crew wax effusive it's infectious.

Yes! As funny as it is when they really coat down someone they despise, the best bits usually involve them talking about why they love certain songs or artists. It's also very interesting whenever they talk seriously about things. It's the antithesis of those tedious pop culture podcasts in which everyone thinks they have to be sneeringly ironic all the time, it gets the balance just right.

[thraxx]

Absolutely, if Chart Music was merely just the exquisitely worded vitriol we know and love it wouldn't be half the podcast it actually is. I got heavily into The Beat and New Muzik through Pricey's passionate recommendations. I was reminded what a colossal banger 'Serious' by Donna Allen is thanks to Al's rhapsodising about it. When the CM crew wax effusive it's infectious.

Though much of what they did is dog shit, I've even started to get into Culture Club; Victims is an astonishingly good tune.

Any combo of Parkes, Price and Kulkarni is best to be going on with. Sarah Bee is lovely but neither as knowledgeable or as entertaining as the rest. Probably makes me sound like a sexist pig but I call it as I hear  it.

Neil Kulkarni is starting to do my head in a bit. He often tends to just go with what the other contributors do and his faux outrage on the latest one was quite tedious.  Sarah, though a lot of what she says gets on my tits, or is too far out (her vehement defence of Craig David), for me.  However, she plays an important role in stopping things getting too sausagey.  One of my favorite moments was when she called out Taylor on a particularly spiteful and nasty coat-down of some hapless act with an acidic FUCK OFF and Taylor bashfully apologised.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Sarah Bee is lovely but neither as knowledgeable or as entertaining as the rest.

Sarah is great. I always love it when she politely yet directly takes 'the boys' to task for expressing opinions she disagrees with. She's a thoughtful, interesting contributor and her relative youth (she's in her late thirties?) provides a nice contrast to the middle-aged whinging of Parkes (who's great, a very funny man, but he's not always right).

As thraxx says, she's the only member of the team willing to tell someone that they're talking bollocks. And she's usually right.

[non capisco]

So do we know if Al's bought everyone deluxe mic setups with the Patreon dough yet? And when is the Sarah and Neil Q&A episode coming out?

Listen to me demanding new content when the last episode was nearly five hours long.

[thraxx]

Sarah is great. I always love it when she politely yet directly takes 'the boys' to task for expressing opinions she disagrees with. She's a thoughtful, interesting contributor and her relative youth (she's in her late thirties?) provides a nice contrast to the middle-aged whinging of Parkes (who's great, a very funny man, but he's not always right).

As thraxx says, she's the only member of the team willing to tell someone that they're talking bollocks. And she's usually right.

Taylor, though he is the most erudite and insightful of all the contributors (and by far the funniest), is the one to be most often caught offside.  His offhandness for Supergrass, for instance.

Although another favorite moment is when, I think Pricey, calls him out on an unfair comment and Taylor forces out, in a manner reminiscent of how a re-programmed racist might "that's alright Simon; you can like whoever you want".

I suspect that Taylor back in the day was the arrogant, nasty, snidy office cock.  The one who everyone hated yet respected.

[DrGreggles]

So do we know if Al's bought everyone deluxe mic setups with the Patreon dough yet?

I actually asked Stubbsy about this on Twitter the other, after Al brought up episode 1's sound quality.
From what I can tell, there are new mics and new editing software, so the dollars we've shoved down their G-strings are being invested wisely.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I suspect that Taylor back in the day was the arrogant, nasty, snidy office cock.  The one who everyone hated yet respected.

That's how I felt about him as a MM reader in the '90s. He drove me up the wall, but fuck a pig, he could write. He was funny and maddening. He probably did write about stuff he loved in those days, but my abiding memory of him is someone who delighted in being a snarky contrarian.

Anyway, he was young. A young, clever, witty man who was a bit too in love with his ability to take the piss in an amusing way. These days he's redolent of Stewart Lee in the sense that being a curmudgeonly middle-aged failure suits him, it makes him quite endearing. Stew isn't a failure, of course, he's a hugely successful comedian, but his shtick is far more acceptable now than it ever was when he was a young, good-looking smart-arse.

Taylor's life sounds genuinely rubbish and unjust. I know he exaggerates for comic effect, but he's on the dole, his flat is under constant attack from faulty plumbing, and he can't even order a 10p Seinfeld DVD from Amazon without receiving a romantic love songs CD (twice) by mistake.

All of that makes him so much more likeable.

Also, it's a fucking crime that the man isn't being paid to write about music.

[Satchmo Distel]

On favourite episodes, I tend to go by the year than by the contributors. Anything up to 1985 works great but it goes downhill thereafter. This is grossly unfair on the post-85 episodes but I just can't connect to anything that took place after my interest in the charts ended.

I get disappointed when they don't get a band quite right, such as the very first track they did: Stubbs stating wrongly that The Smiths had no black music elements. Part of the problem is that a band might appear doing a track that is not really typical of their best yet they might never come back in a future episode, so what do you do: focus on that track or ignore it and do a discussion around their entire career? They took that option with Duran Duran for 1981. How do they get to discuss albums, given that some bands clearly suit that format more than singles?

Finding something new to say about the DJs must become a big problem eventually. Although DLT seems to be the gift that always keep giving, that can't be true of the dull as fucks like Mike Smith, Simon Bates, Gary Davies and Andy Peebles.

I don't mind if they never do a Savile. It's just too grim and his presentation style has no redeeming features or room for humour. There is still the option of covering him in one of the multiple DJ anniversary episodes like the 1000th in 1983.

[thraxx]

I too prefer the pre 85 episodes. That's where the contributors are relying more on their skills as journalists and writers as they were not there at the time. Post 85 they experienced it first hand and so emotion and sometimes actual anecdotes of meeting the individuals come into it. Don't get me wrong, this is great too, but it often goes against or jars with one's own lived experience which is weirdly disappointing.

On the other hand the older episodes do sometimes provoke a very minor criticism, which is the Grange Hill and spacehopper nostalgia.  It on the other hand they more than balance that out with a slamming destruction of how horrible the seventies were and it's place in Britiain's social history, we'll Taylor does.

I do still worry that the podcast is running out of steam. Many of the acts have already been covered several times, and the DJs too, but a simple remedy to that would be to select more carefully the episodes, not just for bands, but for specific infamous performances, though this would go away from the 'random' episode conceit.

Taylor's observation that showaddywaddy, amongst others, look like 3rd division centre backs is been rolling round in my head all morning and making me chuckle. Was there ever a more perfectly British insulting observation?

[DrGreggles]

Taylor's observation that showaddywaddy, amongst others, look like 3rd division centre backs is been rolling round in my head all morning and making me chuckle. Was there ever a more perfectly British insulting observation?

He also pointed out on the World Cup episode that Dave Watson was dressed like the bass player from Saxon, so it works both ways.

[phantom_power]

Parkes is the most guilty of that thing that I hate about music journalists - trying to create a narrative on the fly from a flimsy premise. He did it in the most recent one when talking about the musical identities of various cities. It sounds quite good when he is saying it but think for more than a minute and it all falls apart

[buzby]

I get disappointed when they don't get a band quite right, such as the very first track they did: Stubbs stating wrongly that The Smiths had no black music elements. Part of the problem is that a band might appear doing a track that is not really typical of their best yet they might never come back in a future episode, so what do you do: focus on that track or ignore it and do a discussion around their entire career? They took that option with Duran Duran for 1981. How do they get to discuss albums, given that some bands clearly suit that format more than singles?

What about when they express their opinion of a band that hasn't even featured in an episode yet? The host and one of the main contributors have already stated they hate one of my favourite bands even though they haven't come up yet.

Parkes is the most guilty of that thing that I hate about music journalists - trying to create a narrative on the fly from a flimsy premise. He did it in the most recent one when talking about the musical identities of various cities. It sounds quite good when he is saying it but think for more than a minute and it all falls apart

Yes, the bit about the attitude of bands from Liverpool and Manchester in that struck me as a bit flimsy and glib.

[phantom_power]

Yeah I am not sure how you can lump The Smiths, Doves, Mondays, Durutti Column, ACR, James, Guy Called Gerald, 808 State, The Fall, Elbow, Doves, Buzzcocks, Barry Adamson and many others into having one cohesive attitude. The same for Liverpool bands

[thraxx]

Yeah I am not sure how you can lump The Smiths, Doves, Mondays, Durutti Column, ACR, James, Guy Called Gerald, 808 State, The Fall, Elbow, Doves, Buzzcocks, Barry Adamson and many others into having one cohesive attitude.

True.  But ye without sin have committed the far greater crime.  You have forgotten about M People.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I suspect that Taylor back in the day was the arrogant, nasty, snidy office cock.  The one who everyone hated yet respected.

One of my favorite moments was when she called out Taylor on a particularly spiteful and nasty coat-down of some hapless act with an acidic FUCK OFF and Taylor bashfully apologised.

That exact moment:

[buzby]

True.  But ye without sin have committed the far greater crime.  You have forgotten about M People.

Not that I want to leap to Manchester or M People's defence, but only Mike Pickering was from the North (Accrington in Lancashire). All the rest of them were southern refugees from various scenes in London.

[iamcoop]

Not that I want to leap to Manchester or M People's defence, but only Mike Pickering was from the North (Accrington in Lancashire). All the rest of them were southern refugees from various scenes in London.

So I guess you could say they literally "moved on up" !!!

[boki]

Taylor's observation that showaddywaddy, amongst others, look like 3rd division centre backs is been rolling round in my head all morning and making me chuckle. Was there ever a more perfectly British insulting observation?

Funnily enough, two members of the band had sons who met some success in the sporting world: Romeo's son Ben was an elite high jumper and Trevor Oakes' lads Stefan and Scott were professional footballers.

[gmoney]

Though much of what they did is dog shit, I've even started to get into Culture Club; Victims is an astonishingly good tune.

Neil Kulkarni is starting to do my head in a bit. He often tends to just go with what the other contributors do and his faux outrage on the latest one was quite tedious.  Sarah, though a lot of what she says gets on my tits, or is too far out (her vehement defence of Craig David), for me.  However, she plays an important role in stopping things getting too sausagey.  One of my favorite moments was when she called out Taylor on a particularly spiteful and nasty coat-down of some hapless act with an acidic FUCK OFF and Taylor bashfully apologised.

I like Neil a lot, but one moment sticks in my mind. I think he was on with Price, and they were talking about Tell Her About It by Billy Joel. He very clearly wanted to lay into it, as he's got that mad anti-American bias, but when it became clear Al and Simon liked it, he backed down and said nothing. Now, maybe it was cut out, but I remember thinking it sounded like he decided not to get stuck in because the others wouldn't approve. I think it's a great song, but it would have been nice to hear an opposing view.

[thraxx]

I like Neil a lot, but one moment sticks in my mind. I think he was on with Price, and they were talking about Tell Her About It by Billy Joel. He very clearly wanted to lay into it, as he's got that mad anti-American bias, but when it became clear Al and Simon liked it, he backed down and said nothing. Now, maybe it was cut out, but I remember thinking it sounded like he decided not to get stuck in because the others wouldn't approve. I think it's a great song, but it would have been nice to hear an opposing view.

I remember that one, but it's something I felt he's done on other occasions. Possible it's been cut out but it seems unlikely in the context of the podcast, especially one weighing in at 3+ hours. He does often seem a bit in awe to Taylor and Simon especially, he's mentioned it several times and perhaps he doesn't want to fall out of lane with his heroes.

[DrGreggles]

Stephen Dinsdale
@mrbigmagic

@ChartMusicTOTP just listening to the DLT 1981 episode, love the opinions on Toyah, i saw her live at an 80s Butlins weekend, her opening 2 songs were Hanging on the Telephone & Echo Beach, then someone shouted "do you know any Toyah songs?" Her face was a picture!

[Satchmo Distel]

It seems strange that she wouldn't have anticipated that criticism. Not just because they're covers but because they are nothing like her own songs.

[DrGreggles]

It seems strange that she wouldn't have anticipated that criticism. Not just because they're covers but because they are nothing like her own songs.

I know, they're both good for a start.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I remember that one, but it's something I felt he's done on other occasions. Possible it's been cut out but it seems unlikely in the context of the podcast, especially one weighing in at 3+ hours. He does often seem a bit in awe to Taylor and Simon especially, he's mentioned it several times and perhaps he doesn't want to fall out of lane with his heroes.

While that may be true, Neil must surely know that they're not going to fall out over a disagreement about Billy Joel or whoever. He doesn't hold back when he feels passionately about something, so maybe he just can't be bothered disagreeing with them?

[Johnboy]

yeh Simon and Al are old Jam fans, like their bit of soul plus rock

anyway anyone else think 79 or 80 was a better crop than 81?

[Brundle-Fly]

I do still worry that the podcast is running out of steam.

I used to fear this but then realised CMP is like meeting up once in a while with old mates and acquaintances in the pub?. The conversation always drifts back to the same old territory, memories, thoughts, observations, quips, anecdotes you've heard before etc. yet somehow it doesn't matter.

Long may it reign. Beyond 1985 eps too!

[dr beat]

I think there are a few years which haven't been covered yet - if memory serves there's 1972, 1974, 1988 and 1990-93 and of course few from 96 onwards.  I'd love to hear some discussion of 88 and the early 90s, and I think the more recent ones could be infused with their experiences of what they themselves were doing at the time, as in the case of the recent 2000 one and the death of MM. 

[Satchmo Distel]

yeh Simon and Al are old Jam fans, like their bit of soul plus rock

anyway anyone else think 79 or 80 was a better crop than 81?

No, I think the 1981 charts have more depth and there's still a lot of Light Entertainment influence on TOTP selections in 1979-80, which seem to blight nearly all the 70s episodes. I think the 1981 episodes have identified a clearer 14-30 demographic and "one for the old timers" is less common, even though DLT is under the delusion that he's talking to people of his age (born 1945; aged 36 in 1981).

[non capisco]

'81 is when I started watching the BBC4 repeats in earnest and I've seen all of '79 on archive.org so 1980 is a bit of a tantalising missing year for me, I'd love to get hold of a stream or torrent of the lot. I know there's a big chunk missing out of the middle of it due to a lengthy BBC strike. One of the few 1980 episodes I have seen was some demented load of flannel involving DLT turning the studio into a motor exhibition show and Legs And Co having to dance round a load of cars.

[DrGreggles]

I'd say the pure pop of 1981 (and evidenced in the latest episode) is better than that of 1979 and 1980.
Great few years though.