91Èȱ¬

Tonights Chartshow wasn't the worst I've listened to for a while. Some of the two word reviews were actually funny. Also it was nice to get some feedback on some actual music! I.E The video from Gaga and Boyzone's current musical style.

Shame it was spoilt by all the usual "I think blah blah will get to number one". Literally they had a caller "Hi, I'm Hollie I think Tine Temper will be number 1". GREAT. How is that good radio!?!?

Also, a man doing keepie ups, is great visual radio. Yeh. The sound of the ball was almost audible. Almost as good as the table football feature you had the other week. Really exciting to listen to. Not.

/Rant

(I had a long car drive)

Really enjoyed Grimmie and Annie's show tonight actually. Although its all a bit Juvenile, it was entertaining. They also got more about actual music in the show than the Chart show. It's amazing what you can squeeze in when you don't read texts out every 30 seconds. They also nearly made Chipmunk sick, which was entertaining, surprisingly. And before any1 says, yes you could hear it, so it wasn't as bad as football :p.

Shame they didn't get the afternoon slot on Radio1 really.

Yeah , I honestly believe that Nick Grimshaw is really growing as a presenter , and is extremely listenable .
His friendly demeanour also strikes a chord with me , and he has great chemistry with Annie . They do really make a good radio team and appear to have a good affinity with their audience.
Good stuff .

Justin in the top 5, Gabriella in the top 10!

My predictions from the beginning of the week were totally spot on.

I think I beat you there Spirit! ;

Go away reggie, your just wasting more of my time by making me read this as well as listen to the usual Sunday drivel.

Spot on Liam, the football bit nearly sent me over the edge...

Word to Reggie and the producers .

You want to make a better chart show ?

Please just focus on the music . Play the songs and give us fun , relevant information on each of the acts . Keep to the focus of the charts and the music.
This is what the majority of the people want to hear .

Having McLean doing football kick ups while we listen on the radio is basically devaluing your audience and treating them with contempt , as they CANNOT see what is going on ! I just seem to spend Sunday afternoons shouting at the radio , but I have to listen because for professional purposes , I need to know the positions in the official top 40 singles chart .

Please focus on the music more ,you will make millions of people a lot happier .

Don't they update the chart online as it gets revealed on the air? Save yourself the heartache, Spirit old buddy, and just follow online.

Re: the chart show issue - there was a conscious move away from making it a simple chart rundown of songs, to giving it a more typical R1 format, and it was seven years ago (when Wes took over). So does all this frustration date from then, when the chart stopped being the sole focus of the show? Or is Reggie particularly bad, regardless of the format (I don't listen myself)?

Thing is, that change in format might have been a sign of the times/things to come. Spirit, I know you'll hate to hear this, but at least amongst general society, the chart just doesn't matter like it used to. Most people, who casually follow music, don't really know or care who's number one - it's not a talking point or anything. And if that's the case, then a show exclusively about the Top 40 probably wouldn't attract that many listeners. Which might be why they had to change the format to broaden its appeal - leading us, to the frustration of some, to texts and keepie-uppies (not "kick-ups", Reggie).

Incidentally, for all the argument about it being such an important and flagship show that some have raised, ever since the change in format it's never had the greatest presenters. I thought Wes was rubbish, JK & Joel sounded like local radio DJs, and Fearne and Reggie were just annoying. But that could also reflect the show's lower status nowadays. You're not going to get the heavyweights like Moyles (no pun intended) looking to present it.

Anyway, just some observations. I'm not a chartwatcher these days, so I don't have a horse in this race.

The chart definitely does matter as much as it used to. With downloads , it probably matters more than it ever did . When Michael Jackson died , the following Sunday , he had 13 songs in the top 40 , this was astounding. The chart gives everyone a snapshot of what people are buying in one week.

I remember the excitement when Gnarls Barkley went to number one with Crazy . The first song ever to do this on downloads alone !

It is the foundation on which almost the entire music industry is based on .

For example , chart positions and sales effect the following :

1) Whether a band or artist have recording contracts renewed , or are dropped . (The lead singer of your favourite band told me , that after being dropped by their record company ,because of poor sales , they now have to licence their new album themselves. We wish them well . )

2) The songs that are played almost every single radio station.

3)Wich bands or artists appear in magazines .

4) The songs that are played in nightclubs .

5)How much money is spent on videos or promotion.

6) The producer that will produce an artists album.

7) The venues that a band will play around the country. Whether a band will tour at all !

8) Which T.v shows an artist appears on , if at all.

The chart is a really big deal .

In another move for excitement , we are having the midweek chart announced officially by Radio 1 every Wednesday.
The chart really matters .

This is what Reggie does to spoil the chart show. . .

Can you imagine being in a cinema , and you are just coming to the end of a magnificent film , which is a murder mystery.
Everyone is hushed , and we are just about to find out who the killer is , when all of a sudden the film stops , and a voice shouts out:

" Laura from Nottingham in aisle 3 thinks that the killer is Mr Jones because he looks a bit creepy "

Laura in the cinema probably liked her name being mentioned , but EVERYONE ELSE is shouting for the voice to shut up and get on with the film!

The film continues and as the policeman is about to reveal the killer , the film stops again, and a voice speaks out.

"Sophie from Derby ,in the back row, thinks that the killer is Mrs Brown , because she is a martial arts expert "

The whole cinema is in uproar as they ask the management to just play the film , for god's sake !.

Again , they catch the killer , and just as the detective is about to remove the mask of the killer , the film stops again .

" Sarah , who is munching on popcorn in aisle 5 thinks that the killer is the gardener as he is adept with his shears "

By this time , everyone watching the film , have got so annoyed , they have left the cinema, and have vowed never to come back again.

I think the point that Curtain's trying to make is that the Chart Show is no longer a major talking point around the UK. Sure the Chart is very important in the music industry (so important I spelt it with a capital letter) but you no longer have people discusing whose no.1 like you did in previous decades, unless you count our small online community.

. I am aware that people reach a certain age or time in their lives , when some may say :

"I don't listen to the charts anymore "

But this has gone on throughout every decade , and may depend on the circumstances of the person.

The Christmas number 1 battle between Rage Against The Machine and X Factor , is probably the most talked about , and produced the most column inches for a number 1 since Band Aid in 1984 .

Was Chartblog going in the 60's and 70's ?

Someone please tell me. :)

With the surge in popularity in computers and the internet and access to information , more people know who is at number 1 now , than in all the previous decades.
Music can be listened to online , and if you want to listen to this weeks number 1 , it is so easy to do so.

With the internet , music and the charts is more discussed now than it ever was .
Was You Tube available in the 80's ?

This really is a boom time for music , and with sites such as Spotify , a whole world of music is available to you.

The media and glossy magazines discuss music more than ever before.

Hey , I have been to loads of gigs , where the artist has informed the crowd that they are nunber 1 in the i tunes chart.
This never happened in the 50's .

Genius Fraser. Cliff Richard lol.


Spirit is also spot on with his cinema analogy, but Ive made my feelings known many times before now...

Yeah , some very funny moments there Frazzle.
Especially Chartblog in the 16th Century .

It just further stresses the point that with the internet ,pop justice , N.M.E ,twitter etc , more people are discussing the music charts and lesser known acts in this decade than any other decade before.

Just how many music sites are out there ?

Listening to music and information about songs and artists , is a boom time at the moment .

When the charts are revealed on Sunday , there are many artists on Twitter who discuss their chart position.
Some conversations vary to total ecstacy to total disappointment.
It is a big deal to them and their fans , and more importantly , their record company.

Chart positions may also dictate if an act changes their style radically for their next album .
I know personally , this has happened to one popstar , who is gonna come back with a major shift in style , as the first album sales did not meet the estimated requirement .

You can't keep farming a field , if nothing grows .
By the same token , if you sell a lot of something , and there is a demand for this product , then chances are you will continue with a winning formula.

Going back to some valid points made by Curtains.
The reason why the chartshow is not discussed much , is because in my opinion , it is not credible , it seems to be aimed for an audience under the age of 14 , it is extremely annoying to listen to , and does not appear to focus on the music .

It should be the jewel in radio 1's crown , but the way I hear it being ridiculed in music circles , has left it open to parody , and as a result , it is not taken seriously .

Sorry, Spirit, but whilst I admire your enthusiasm for the chart, I think your arguments are flawed.

Every reason you gave in #8 is an example of how the chart is still indirectly important to people, by virtue of its effects on other facets of music that they might care about (who gets dropped, touring, production, etc). But the public are unquestionably less interested in the chart in and of itself.

At #11, the scenario you describe is definitely true of me, but I accept that that's just a consequence of my age and changing tastes in music, and that this happens to most people. I'm distinguishing here between my personal taste moving away from chart music, and the overall loss of interest amongst society in the chart itself.

#12 - all this illustrates is that all information is more easily accessible thanks to technology than it was before. How can you know that more people know who's number 1 now than they did before? They could find out more easily than ever, but do they actually? Or are they too busy using that technology to listen to songs that don't happen to be one of the forty bestsellers that particular week, because they don't have to rely on the radio to discover new (or old) music?

#13 - again, you're going to have to convince me that the internet means that the charts are more discussed now than ever. Perhaps in writing they are, because the people who are chart devotees can blog, comment, and email each other. But on the other hand, does your average youngish person know who's number 1 this week if it's not Christmas? Are they actually talking about it anymore? I don't think so. Also, here you've conflated interest in the chart with interest in music. I'm not saying interest in music has fallen at all - Spotify, YouTube, MySpace, BitTorrent and about 500 music channels would all testify otherwise. But interest in the chart has.

#16 - see above. By this point, you're drifting further towards a general argument about interest in music, referencing the NME and "lesser known acts". Again, I believe interest in music is as great as it's ever been. Technology and the media have allowed people to massively broaden and personalise their music exposure and experience, and that's a good thing. Inevitably, however, that leads to fragmentation, people being more interested in the stuff they care about, and a bit less interested in what everyone else is buying.

#17 - As in #8, you're talking about interest in the chart amongst artists and record companies, not the public. Again, this illustrates the chart's importance to the public only insomuch as it affects other things they care about.

Anyway, sorry for the essay everyone. Just wanted to address Spirit's points, hopefully constructively. I do expect the Chart Show would be irritating to me, and I wouldn't listen to it, but I couldn't say for sure whether that's because it's not fulfilling its function properly (the 91Èȱ¬'s call) or it's just not to my tastes because I'm not "target".

Yeah , thanks for the essay Curtains .

I got through 3 cups of tea, an episode of Midsomer Murders , and 2 viewings of Titanic ,quicker than reading your excellent prose . lol

In all fairness , the question is ,is the chart being discussed more than ever before ?
I would personally say yes , due to all the reasons I have mentioned , but there is no clear way of proving it . It's a bit of an interesting topic , and in many ways , we are both right .

The real crux of my argument is that the Chart Show should be presented in a more professional way , that focusses on the music and the artists , and values it's listeners .

And I imagine 3 cups of tea, an episode of Midsomer Murders , and 2 viewings of Titanic flew past quicker than last week's Chart Show ;o)

Takes more than three cups of tea to get me through one Midsomer Murders. How many people are left in that bleedin village??! And why on earth would you move there??!

In terms of the credit crunch . . . very cheap house prices .

It took precisely four and a half cups of tea to get through a Midsomer Murders today. By the time Anton Rodgers was being chased by the mousey woman who was obviously the murderer from the first second she appeared on screen, and Bergerac turned up to rescue him, I had also run out of Bourbons.

The deaths in daytime murder mystery are always really comical, I remember catching a bit of one when I guy got squished by a bookcase.

Like whenever someone dies in Doctor Who and they pull that expression like they need to go to the toliet.

They probably do. You never see a toilet in the Tardis. What do they do with all the doings?

I know, and where do they sleep! I'm sure there are other rooms in the Tardis but I'm pretty sure there's only one door and that's the entrance!

I've actually researched this now...



I never thought the Tardis was very homely.

It would be nice to see some of the other rooms of the Tardis in future episodes instead of just having them mentioned. I'm personally interested in seeing what the Art Gallery and Swimming Pool look like.

I'd like to choose from the vending machine it mentions, followed by a torch-lit look round the attic...