The 7 ages of rock Log Out | Topics | Search
Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

The Go-Betweens Message Board » Archived Posts » 2007: July - September » Off-topic » The 7 ages of rock « Previous Next »

Author Message
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1571
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 08:02 pm:   

This should make the summer months fly by, starting on Saturday for the next 7 weeks on BBC2. Programmes 4 and 5 will be getting a wide berth by me right enough.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/pro grammes/

If you click on each individual programme from the link above it gives you even more detail, particularly looking forward to episodes 3 and 6
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1496
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 09:31 pm:   

yeah great programmes eh!? Surely they won't fu*k these up!!!!
Most of these type of progs usually have the annoying talking heads, mouthing off about everything but what the prog is all about. Opinionated journalists etc (save for Pad!)
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1497
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 09:36 pm:   

Actually this website is great click on the series, i clicked on 3 then go into Television on the right hand navigation and you scroll down and some great fans pics of the band, wonder iif they do this on all the groups? Well thought out. I love the BBC! Take it all back!
Oh, and Miranda Sawyer is nice, I met her last year at the C86 ICA bash, she was very sweet
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Randy Adams
Member
Username: Randy_adams

Post Number: 1177
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 09:57 pm:   

I'd definitely like to see this but the birth of rock was in 1963? Really?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Catherine Vaughan
Member
Username: Catherine

Post Number: 22
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 02:21 am:   

Yeah, somehow I think I'll be washing my hair when 4 & 5 are on... Anyone else think it's daft that the band who's song title was used for ep6 gets no mention??
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1572
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 10:26 am:   

Catherine, I thought that very thing myself. Sounds like it was just a title the producers thought summed up the bands,the music, and the era - and they are right. If you look at the songs that will be featured in that episode though, Left Of The Dial is one of them. Here Comes A Regular is also featured.
Isnt it disappointing that these 7 episodes prove how rock music has stopped developing recently? The first 5 episodes cover only 17 years, the 27 years from 1980 onwards only merit 2 episodes - not that we're surprised.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

frank bascombe
Member
Username: Frankb

Post Number: 73
Registered: 01-2007
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 10:45 am:   

I might watch the stadium rock one as it has got Bruce Springsteen though the otherws I'm not too bothered about
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1504
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 12:03 pm:   

well we'll see, the cynic in me says, yep its all about non informed or even non interested TV producers/researchers, and that it will be a profile raising exercise for all the various talking heads, you know like keith chegwin, talking about the deep meaning behind patti smith's horses etc...

the optimist in me however, feels, the bbc should dliver an interseting, original set of progs.

the cynic in me says, probably not, especially if they put it out to second rate production companies like the one i had to deal with last year for radio 2. they wanted to do a feature on josef k for their new wave series and asked me for some help. when the show was eventually aired it was obvious they clearly hadn't done their homework, they even got Malcolm Ross' name wrong when they introduced him, afgter the man himself says, "hi, malcolm Ross here, from Josef K", he was introduced on the next segment as Mark Ross...
then the show ended up slagging off Franz Ferdinand, by playing back to back snippets of JK and FF side by side toone another, trying to show similarities. Piss poor effort for the guy/girl who wanted to learn something about the original new wavers.

We'll see, i guess.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1573
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 12:37 pm:   

Well I'm as cynical as the next man, but am optimistic enough to think "surely they cant f*ck this up" - I mean look at the material they have to work with. And at last, my license payers money is going on something interesting, rather than the next "reality" bobbins.
The proof will be in the watching.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kurt Stephan
Member
Username: Slothbert

Post Number: 1376
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 05:27 pm:   

Do any of the Yanks here remember the similar PBS series that ran maybe six years ago? I can't remember the name of the series, but it had a bunch of installments, the most interesting being the ones that focused on the VU/Iggy/Bowie and the punk episode. Kevin would be interested in its coverage of the late '70s reggae scene and its influence in the UK, though I'm not sure it had its own episode--it may have been incorporated into the UK punk segment. Anyway, it was good stuff and it's probably on DVD, but I just can't remember the name. It was probably something banal like "The History of Rock and Roll."
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rob Brookman
Member
Username: Rob_b

Post Number: 609
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 05:32 pm:   

I think it was, indeed, something like that, Kurt. I have it on videotape somewhere (anyone remember videotape?). I think it might have just been called "Rock and Roll." I remember enjoying it a lot.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1506
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 08:20 pm:   

there was a great series on years ago, called rock family trees, based on pete's frames, carefully illustrated typograhical hstory of all of all groups family trees. there were some classic metal episodes, very very funny, like spinal tap, but funnier!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1575
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 09:43 pm:   

Kurt/Rob - this looks like it was a joint venture with the BBC, and it was 12 years ago, although you probably saw a repeat if you think it was more recent than that. http://www.current.org/prog/prog510r.htm l

The BBC ran something similar, maybe called The History of Rock&Roll about 3 or 4 years ago(although could have been more recent) - I dont think it was the same as the one you saw - it covered glam rock, NY punk, grunge, reggae, hip hop, disco etc - I cant find any trace of it on the net, although maybe the title is not as I remember so I wont be able to find it :-)
Any Brits remember it?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kurt Stephan
Member
Username: Slothbert

Post Number: 1377
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 10:53 pm:   

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the one, Kevin and Rob, thanks. Here's a link to the DVD set:

http://www.amazon.com/History-Rock-Roll- Gary-Busey/dp/B0002234XQ

Dunno about the choice of Gary Busey as narrator, though...
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Catherine Vaughan
Member
Username: Catherine

Post Number: 23
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 04:32 am:   

Ah, on closer inspection, you're right Kevin. I hadn't noticed that when I looked earlier. Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, you can't talk about that period in music, without including The Replacements. Fair enough, they didn't exactly conquer the world, but to me, they were an intrinsic part of the late eighties, and what I was into then.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rob Brookman
Member
Username: Rob_b

Post Number: 612
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 04:27 pm:   

Straight up, Catherine. I hope someone has the good sense to play "Unsatisfied" at my funeral.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1579
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 06:56 pm:   

Last nights programme focused on Hendrix, but went off at tangents to show how he was influenced by the Blues greats, and his relationships with The Who and Cream. The talking heads, who are crucial to the success of series like this were quite good - Charles Shaar Murray and David Fricke were amongst the journalists, and Roger Daltry, Chas Chandler, Keith Altham, Keef etc were the people who were around at the time when Hendrix was still alive.
Promising start
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Jerry Clark
Member
Username: Jerry

Post Number: 637
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 07:48 pm:   

There was another BBC documentary from (I think) 1995. A 10-parter, along similar lines. The Chas Chandler interviews were from that series. Charles Shaar Murray doesn't look old enough to have been at the Isle Of Wight festival 1970.
I've been inspired to dig out Are You Experienced + extras this week.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Peter_d
Member
Username: Peter_d

Post Number: 26
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 03:22 pm:   

Just wondering what people's opinions have been of this series ? I missed the first episode but the others have all had their moments so far (though to be honest I'm quite uncritical when it comes to music programmes).

It would be great if the bbc commissioned a series solely on alternative music from the 70s/80s but it would probably be on bbc4 or somewhere like that..
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1685
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 04:02 pm:   

Peter, on the whole I think it has been an opportunity missed. Seemed to concentrate too much on the big name bands of whatever genre they were profiling. The biggest faux pas for me was last weeks programme about alternative rock. They focussed on REM (i'll grudgingly give them that one, although REM have more relevance with the Stadium Rock programme) and Nirvana. This was a golden chance to have highlighted The Pixies who in my opinion were far more influential, as well as producing more albums than Nirvana, and better albums at that. Its generally thought to be true that without The Pixies Nirvana would have been a totally different band. Admittedly Nirvana sold more records but then again Black Francis wasnt a suicidal good looking front man who eventually killed himself. Another band whos fame far outstrips their musical legacy.

The Stadium Rock programme was, err, well as bad as it sounds it would be.
The punk one threw up nothing that we didnt know already, or footage we havent saw a thousand times. The heavy metal one was a lot more entertaining than I could have anticipated, mainly because it focussed on that madman Ozzy and Black Sabbath.

What new facts have we learned after these 7 programmes? Well Joy Division/New Order have had no impact or influence on rock music for the last 25 years.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1622
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 04:30 pm:   

The whole series has ben bollocks. People talk about it for its crapness rather than anything good.

Plus you can't condense 7 so called ages into bitesize hourly chunks. What we need is talking heads (not the band) who lived it and were there, more of the bands and their fans, maybe organisers and fan club people, people who were there. Or get Don letts to do it with style.

All the people that are interviewed are the same usual motley crue, they are all journalists and frienmds of one another who have uninformed useless opinions with no relevance.

Get back to the drawing board the BBC and stop blowing hard earned taxpayer's money on useless shite like this, the production companies must've charged a fortune to make this bollox, let alone the stupid sums the talking heads must've received.

Now where's my Whistle test boxset.

PS Kev, great last comment.! Oh and Kev that very valid point about up his arse Stipe, what about that comment about Cobain when he siad he tried ringing him to save his life etc, why didn't he fuck*ng go round and see the guy instead of ringing him!????
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Jerry Clark
Member
Username: Jerry

Post Number: 667
Registered: 08-2004
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 04:43 pm:   

You are quite right Kevin. The best episodes were the ones with shit bands. Entertainingly crap. The narration on the punk bands was fl_icking annoying with opinionated sarcastic tones & without objectivity.

The JD/New Order problem is their legacy extends to techno, dance & rap music. Which doesn't rock hard enough, it seems. Reggae has been ignored too.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

kevin
Member
Username: Kevin

Post Number: 1686
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 04:51 pm:   

Did anybody see the Don Letts documentary called Punk Attitude on More4 on Monday night? This was a lot better than the Beebs bollocks, even if towards the end it concentrated on joke punk bands of today.
Hilly Kristal was a hoot, said he hated The Ramones even more than Television!! So thats two of the most influential bands of all time trashed by the guy who gave them their break in the first place!!!
Whats Henry Rollins all about? Never really heard Black Flag to be honest, dont know why just a gut feeling tells me they would be crap, but he does seem to be an enthusiastic kind of guy, he even sounds enthusiastic when he's slagging people off!!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Kurt Stephan
Member
Username: Slothbert

Post Number: 1451
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 05:11 pm:   

I saw "Punk Attitude" on DVD a couple of years ago and it was good, no question. Hilly was open-minded, that's for sure, and if he hadn't have been, would any of those bands ever seen the light of day? I like how Television lied their way into getting a gig ("Sure, we play country, bluegrass, and blues!").

I've never heard anything in Black Flag either--early days were the typical shouty moron punk ("TV Party") that anybody who'd already been into the Ramones didn't need, and the later stuff was mostly wannabe metal. Greg Ginn sounds like one of the great pricks in rock history, but it's true he and BF broke a lot of ground and issued a lot of amazing albums on SST. Rollins's solo music isn't my bag either. But he is an interesting guy and has a talk show on American cable now that has lots of good guests.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Peter_d
Member
Username: Peter_d

Post Number: 27
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 05:40 pm:   

Kevin, yes, last week's program should have focused alot more on the Pixies alright - the recent documentary on them (is it Quiet Loud Quiet or something - I saw it last year) was excellent btw
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Pádraig Collins
Member
Username: Pádraig_collins

Post Number: 1557
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 02:47 am:   

Rollins' spoken word shows are very entertaining. I saw one in Dublin a few years ago and it was great. You had to be very quiet going for pints though as he does not approve!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

spence
Member
Username: Spence

Post Number: 1639
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Sunday, July 01, 2007 - 11:27 am:   

Yeah Rollins is real real intense, he's a very funny guy, he always ends his sentences/comments with killer lines, David Fricke remiinds me of him in that sense.

Add Your Message Here
Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.