Speechification

We proudly present another episode of The London Ear, from, er, sometime in the past. Partly because if we don’t stick them up here then they won’t be anywhere. This one features the songs, stylings and thoughts of Mr Bonnie ‘Prince’  Billy. Otherwise known as Will Oldham etc. The initial ramshackle microphone techniques add to the charm and intimacy - but, don’t worry, fairly soon you can actually hear what they’re saying. And it’s worth listening to. A must for Will Oldham fans, and a probably should for everyone else. MP3 here.

This is a programme about a professional tree climber. What else do you need to know? Brilliant. MP3 here. Programme page here. And photos!

We’re posting a lot of Radio 3 at the moment aren’t we? Well, how could we resist this? Extraordinarily atmospheric radio; evoking the vanishing towns of the American South West with music, stories and just plain sound. MP3 here.

I particularly like the complaints about the noise of motorcycles.

Radio 3’s The Essay is such a strong strand we seem to find ourselves posting a lot of it, but this tale is so fascinating and so entertainingly told, it demands inclusion. Stuart Clark recalls The Great Solar Storm of 1859, its effects on its observers, and on the nascent Scientists of the day, illuminating the heavens, and our understanding of them. [MP3]

Clark, in case you didn’t know (I didn’t) is an astronomy journalist, and the essay is based on his book The Sun Kings

A little snippet from Today: “Can Gandhi calm down commuters? David Sillito reports on why the words of the Indian leader - as well as Einstein, Jean Paul Sartre and other great thinkers - are to be included in service announcements on the London Underground. Comedian Arthur Smith says a good announcement can somehow bring people together on public transport.” His own suggestions, of course, trump Jeremy Deller’s… [MP3]

We’re big fans of Andrew McGibbon here at Speechification, we’ve posted his ‘I Was Douglas Adams’ Flat Mate‘ and I was sure we’d put I Was Morrisey’s Drummer up as well, but now I can’t find it. Anyway, you can probably work out what this one’s about. It’s top radio. MP3 here.

I’ve been meaning to post another London Ear for ages, but to be honest I lost them. And then at the very time I was listening to Paul Morley interviewing Craig David I came across this show underneath a box of postcards. So it seemed apposite and here it is; Ben Thompson playing assorted records and then (at about 24 minutes) Mr Thompson and Mr Morley discuss how to pronounce Satie (does it rhyme with party or patty?) Mr Morley’s Satie tribute band Infantjoy, how all modern music begins with The Monochrome Set, how Satie’s The Source of Eno (”Music Not To Be Listened To”), how epic Simple Minds are, Bez + William Burroughs, and, of course, Blood, Sweat, Tears and Speed Garage. There’s some lovely music in this programme. And some funny, clever chat. Good. MP3 here.

(I think this is from 2006ish, so don’t assume you’ll be able to catch Infantjoy at Big Chill, but you might.)

UPDATE: I liked all the music on this show so I asked Ben to do a track-listing of it. Here it is:

London Ear theme - “A Foggy Day” by The Nu Sounds (one of Sun Ra’s pet doowop outfits, on the Sun Ra singles album)
Richard James - “Cathedral” (opening track from debut solo album Seven Sleepers Den)
Field Music - “You’re Not Supposed To” (from Write Your Own History compilation)
Maher Shalal Hash Baz - “How’s Your Bassoon, Turquoise” (one side of double a-sided Geographic records vinyl single with Bill Wells)
Richard Dimbleby - “this is the interior of Dimbleby transmitting”
Keiran Hebden and Steve Reid “Electricity Will Change Your Mind” (excerpt - can’t remember which album it’s from, possibly the Exchange Sessions Vol 1)
Richard Dimbleby - again
The Tomorrow People (original TV music, track 2) - “Lure of the Space Goddess”
Eighteen 18 - “Carole Patricia Kilner”, from debut album by Eighteen 18 (not sure if that is how it’s written, but the rapper’s name is definitely Lexis Salinger)

Satie Enclave

Brian Eno & David Byrne - “Something with Tinfoil” - bonus track on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts reissue
“O Maria” from Stella Maris by Trio Medieval (ECM)
Infant Joy Satie tribute (track from 1st album - not the remix album - sorry I can’t remember what the title is)
John Cage - “Inner Landscape” from Early Piano Music played by Hubert or Herbert Henck (also on ECM)
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (from the album of the same name)
Blood Sweat & Tears - Variations on a theme by Erik Satie from their first album
Hubert Laws - Not sure of the name of this but it should be “The man who killed jazz with his big flute”
SFA (Sweet Female Attitude, not Super Furry Animals) - “Flowers”

CyberFrequencies is a 10-minute look at ‘life on the web’ made by 89.3-KPCC in Los Angeles. You can get their podcast and follow them in all sorts of social media ways here. The thing I particularly like about it is the way it sounds a bit more like the web than the BBC equivalents. Here’s a show from a little while ago, kindly brought to our attention by the producer Queena Kim. who also made this great show. MP3 here.

It seems I committed the first of Speechification’s repeats yesterday. We’d posted Spoon Jar Jar Spoon before. Sorry. And it’s entirely possible that we’ve posted the Radio 3 Night Walks essays too - it’s the kind of thing we like - but I don’t think so. So here’s the first one; Nicholas Shakespeare taking a night walk in Tasmania, talking about astronomers and introducing us to the word noctivagant. Lovely. I’ll try and add the others to this post when I’ve got them grabbed. MP3 here.

And here’s Owen Sheers on Manhattan, Janice Galloway on Saltcoats, Kamila Shamsie on Paris and John Walsh on London.

Rob Brydon looks at the life of Tommy Cooper and tries to work out if he was actually any good at magic. A splendid programme. Great to hear of names like Harry Stanley, Alan Alan and Ali Bongo and of the magic shops of the West End. MP3 here.