One more thing

 I do feel as though I should share this information - I've been listening to The Archers, recently. I love it. Doesn't just remind me of my youth - it reminds me of my time in the countryside, too. Win-win. But it feels a little strange committing time to a soap opera, that really hasn't happened for decades, in my life. 

I am currently trying to devise a strategy where I can still listen to it, even if I can't get reliable internet on the boat (each episode is only about 30meg - they can almost be emailed!

Ads.

You may have noticed (hey, who am I kidding, I'm not sure anybody actually reads this blog) that I've put some adsense ads on the site. I'm not entirely sure why: it breaks the artistic integrity of the page (he said, snootily) and it's....well, it's a sell-out, isn't it?
But, in the spirit of change, I've decided that I might as well give it a go. My earnings to date, over the history of this little blog, have been eight pennies. So I'm not expecting fame and fortune. I just wanted to see what happens. Curiosity has got the better of me, again.
In other news, the lyrics to "Right Here Right Now" are going to be in The Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame. I'm sending them, via FedEx, tomorrow. Very odd to think that this little song, which Mike wrote in that grotty flat, at 210a Chapter Road, in Dollis Hill, has travelled so far.
Right, time to get back to CDNX stuff. I've not really explained a lot about CDNX, have I?
Well, it's a new Radio station. My third (or fourth) venture into the medium. There was Xfm, then NME Radio, then the Music Machine, and now this. I've been reading the music news bulletins for some time, and there's the very real possibility i might end up doing an actual show, later this year. I'll keep you all posted.

Quiet morning

I'm sitting in the gym. Well, i'm in the cafe, anyway. Kids are in school, or the creche, so i'm free to work on the CDNX wordpress, for a while. I've also been sorting out JJ stuff - another two gigs in the pipeline, which is good news. Website looks set for a relaunch, and there's new material on the horizon. I know i'm bound to be biased - but it does sound really, really good. Best stuff we've done for 20 years.

Why I'm keeping this blog going

Well, it's simple really: nearly ten years. That's how long I've been doing this - sure, there have been periods of inactivity - but it's a huge chunk of my life! This 25% segment covers all of the incredible stuff too: my reincarnation as a Radio DJ, the divorce, the rebirth of the Joneses, the actual birth of my children.
Blogs are a little old hat now - everyone's got Tumblr, haven't they? But there's something about a blog -it's polite, measured, and slightly aloof. It's a place where you lot can actually find out what I'm like, as I tend to speak with my real voice. How many of you out there use facebook in a (let's face it) slightly preening fashion? I know I do - it's all about the smart remark, the witty rejoinder, the devastating putdown. In essence, facebook has actually become Lamebook, and most people seem to like it that way (it is great entertainment, after all)
But a blog - that's calmer. Quieter. I like it that way, and I'm keeping it that way.

Where to start? (again)

A busy year for me, with as much going on as the last couple....
Marnie is my big news, obviously, but also, NME Radio is no more. A real shame, as we were producing something of real quality, with great content, committed, passionate and knowledgeable presenters, and great music, to boot. The state of alternative music radio in the UK is really starting to worry me: Six Music may have been saved (well, for now, at least) but Xfm is a shadow of it's former self, and there isn't much else, to be quite honest.
So, if anyone has any need of a Radio Presenter, do let me know, won't you?
Right, I'm off to look after my garden.
And BTW, how's the new template?

Last night....

Was quite hectic, actually. Straight from work to the O2, to watch Coldplay live, then DJ at the Indigo, for an after-show party. The venue is simply stunning (though not very rock'n'roll) and the gig was actually great (so many hits!) but, for me, it was all about getting back behind the decks again. It's been a while since I did one of those "first friday" sort of sets, and I had SO much fun! Can't wait to do it again - and that may happen next year, if all goes well. I'll keep you all posted.
Today is interesting too - actually had an Jesus Jones interview! It's for the NME, part of a piece they're doing about bands from our era who are still going (eep!) First time we've done an interview for the music press in many, many years. Was great to get all of us in one place again (minus Al, of course) and we actually seriously discussed the possibility of recording an album next year too. Again, i'll keep you posted.
Tonight sees me heading down to Brighton, as i'm getting jabs for the forthcoming holiday done tomorrow morning.
Have I told you all about the holiday? Ah, ok. I'm going to be here:

For two weeks, starting boxing day.
:)

Well, that was an interesting month!

Interesting for one reason: I'm back on the airwaves! I'm now on the newly-launched NME Radio, doing the afternoon show. It's been a long time, but it feels great to be back on air. Shadowglobe is currently in "wait" mode, but it Will return: we're eagerly anticipating launching V.02, so watch this space for news of that as well.
Apart from that, I've been massively busy with my friendfeed page, so if you're wondering what happened to the long stream of links and videos I normally post, well, they're on friendfeed. It's turned into one of those services I simply can't live without: I can't recommend it highly enough. If you have any interest whatsoever in Social Media, you need to sign up.

So, Goodbye then, Xfm.

Well, perhaps that might be slightly premature, but it's fair to say that the decision of Gcap to sell the Xfm licences outside London marks the beginning of some very tough times for Xfm. The decision is one which is taken, ostensibly, to save money. £1.5 million will be saved, and it's pointed out that the stations are losing money. however in the case of Xfm south wales, surely this is down to one-off costs involved with starting the station, which let us not forget, only started in NOVEMBER. Jeez, how desperate can you get? To contemplate handing a licence back to Ofcom a matter of mere WEEKS after it started broadcasting! What pains me, is the fact that i've been in these situations before- when new managment arrives, sweeps that new broom, installs a raft of middle-managment idiots, and throws a number of hard-working, relatively low-paid, totally professional presenters, and employees of the station, on the scrapheap. The middle management goons will move on, effortlessly, to another job, when their experiments fail, and the real casualties will still languish on the scrapheap. It's playing hard and fast with peoples lives, careers, houses, incomes, and professions. It messes with peoples minds and their confidence, and all this so the managers can do all they can to protect their share options from shrinking.
Well, let's look on the bright side..all of this means that Gcap are running scared, trying to shed ballast from their rapidly-sinking balloon, as it drifts down to the welcoming arms of the Global group, who must surely fancy their chances of a successful takeover bid.
I'd say that would end the careers of those, whose malicious and spectacularly inept tinkering has sent Xfm London into a spiral, losing it's voice, it's passion for music, and it's reputation in the process. If a takeover would mean there was an outside chance of the station being run by people who actually understood ONE IOTA of the music it played, and the listeners it represented, then I for one, would welcome our new radio overlords. Global, (or anyone else for that matter) it's over to you.