For Radio 2, Stephen Fry looks at how Hitler's Germany pioneered many - if not most - of the recording techniques that made later music possible. This, the second episode, covers the Rock'n'Roll years and tells how the multi-track recording process changed the face of music production forever. [MP3]
Blimey. This is our 300th post. That feels like a little milestone to me. And this is probably an appropriate programme. In many way's it's exactly what you'd expect; Stephen Fry is twinkly, arch and clever, various linguistic and maritime experts are interesting and scholarly about the naval and oceanic metaphors that soak the English language. It's good stuff, but it's a little predictable. And then, from nowhere, you get Mrs Constantinou, the owner of a Greek removals business, explaining the origins of the word metaphor and it becomes the best radio you've listened to for ages. Hurrah. MP3 here.
On the face of it the brief is deeply boring: "This lecture is part of the BBC’s programme of consultation with the creative industries, which forms part of the BBC’s response to the Ofcom review of public service broadcasting." But Stephen Fry, of course, makes it interesting, funny and thoughtful. It only seems to have been broadcast on BBC Parliament, don't know why. There's even a transcript. It's right up our street of course, a neat summary of the history of the Beeb, an admonition that anything that's streamed online will be recorded and redistributed (See!) and a splendid argument for and about the future of the BBC. If Fry cannot be persuaded to become PM or Mayor of London he should at least be made Director General. MP3 here.
This is nicely tied in with all the Christmas crackers - Stephen Fry investigating the culture, science and funniness of puns. That's it really. It's brilliant. Have a listen. (MP3 here)
bookmarks by: delicious.comSpeechification is a celebration of speech radio from around the (English-speaking) world. It's maintained (intermittently, it has to be said) by a scattered band of listeners most of whom live in Britain, which explains the preponderance of programmes from Radio 4, the nation's number 1 speech network.
We record or link to programmes and wrap the whole lot up in a podcast, which is probably the best way to absorb this stuff.
Of course, one day this might turn into something else, maybe a new way of curating speech radio. Or maybe it won’t.
Your hosts on this not very wild ride are Steve Bowbrick, Russell Davies, Dan Hill, Bobbie Johnson and James Bridle. Drop us a line with your thoughts, unless you wish to complain about continuity announcers and their accents.
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