This Week’s Music for Grown-Ups on Radio/TV

Your new listening/watching guide… thanks to compiler Mike Ollier


RADIO For Grown-Ups

Monday BBCR3 23.15 ~ 01.00
* Andy Kershaw
Blues from Robert Belfour, plus lots of world music. Possibly. Probably.

Wednesday BBCR2 19.00 ~ 20.30
* Folk On Two
Saved from old fartdom this week by Ron Kavana discussing his new 4CD release 'Irish Ways' which is a history of Ireland told through song, music and poetry. Expect insight and pointed questioning from Mike Harding.

Wednesday BBCR2 23.00 ~ 23.30
* Classic Singles
Six-part series profiling great 45s. I'd tell you what this week's is if the Beeb could be arsed to get their website in order.

Thursday BBCR3 23.15pm ~ 01.00
* Late Junction
Gillian Welch is promised tonight

Friday BBCR6 21.00 ~ 22.00
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan: Bible
'John The Revelator' by Blind Willie Johnson, 'The Rivers Of Babylon' from The Melodians and The Yahoos' 'Bottle And the Bible' (check out their website out to see how excited they were to get name-checked offa Bob)~ great stuff as ever. Is Bob allowed to get a Sony award? A shoo-in if he is.

Friday BBCR2 21.15 ~ 21.30
* Chronicles, Volume One: Influences
Sean Penn reads from THE book. 4th part of 8.

Friday BBCR3 22.30 ~ 23.30
* Jazz Library
Chick Corea

Friday BBCR3 23.30 ~ 01.00
* Jazz On Three
Live from Glastonbury, John Tchicai and Empirical



TV For Grown-Ups

Friday/Saturday/Sunday on BBC2/BBC3/BBC4 at various times
* Glastonbury Festival
Well, glad I'm not there… crack a warm can open (preferably Fosters or some other equally pissy 'beer'), sit in the shower with a gro-bag, invite a burglar into your home, drop an E or two and have some felafel. Watch on TV. Ah, the festival experience in your own home, and a handy, safe toilet. There, I've saved you a few hundred quid and you haven't contracted trench foot.

You'll have to check times yourself, cos it's on all weekend across three channels (and some radio coverage), but on Friday you'd be a fool to miss Arcade Fire. Amy Winehouse is promised and some loud wannabes. Probably. John Fogerty and Iggy Pop are promised on Saturday.

However, you'll also have to put up with a bunch of entirely unnecessary celebrity presenters, who just get in the way of the music. One can only hope that professional good egg Mark Radcliffe is introducing/interviewing the more watchable performers.

Friday BBC1 22.35 ~ 23.35
* Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Arcade Fire play live tonight. Knowing the Beeb it will probably clash with their appearance at Glastonbury on one of their other channels. Tape Wossy (Pete Doherty is also a guest tonight… oh good), miss out all the crap (most of the show) and see the last 10 minutes. How can Ross be so awful on TV but present a corker of a radio show on a Saturday?

Saturday BBC2 21.300 ~ 22.30
* Seven Ages Of Rock: Left Of The Dial ~ American Alternative Rock
REM, Nirvana, Pixies et al… fast/slow quiet/loud ad nauseam. I do hope that nice Courtney Love is on.