On the radio again today

When the call came last week to come back on the Victoria Derbyshire show to help review some of this week's new music reviews, I didn't realise how much of a challenge it might prove to be. You can have a listen here.

I'm all for integrity when it comes to reviewing music, which is why for the most part I only write about things I like on this blog, because I'd rather be honest than not, though I'm also not someone who enjoys slagging someone off much.

But this morning was tricky because we had to review Imogen Heap (who was in the studio with us), Spandau Ballet (who were on the other end of the phone) and Cheryl Cole (who I know a lot of people that work with her). And fourth on the list were Foo Fighters, who happened to be my favourite of the crop today, but who we ran out of time to review. Bugger.

In the studio was yours truly, Colin Patterson (BBC radio entertainment correspondent and general good guy) and Kitty Empire (Observer pop critic who I've been acquainted with for years and general good gal). And of course Victoria Derbyshire and Imogen Heap.

So I said nice things about Imogen. I don't really know much about her but from listening to her since being asked to come on today I like what I've heard - it's not massively challenging, but it's good, well written, pretty songwriting. It's almost a cert for going on Fishy Fishy I'd say, so I do rate it. Listen to Imogen here.

Spandau Ballet were a bit waffly on the phone (hence us not having time to review Foo Fighters) and while it was hard to imagine anything we said today as making the slightest bit of difference to them or their fans, it's still difficult to be brutally honest. At least I thought so - the lovely Kitty Empire (of the Observer) managed to be nice while still being honest, something I guess which I'll have to work on. The two Spandaus who were on the phone (Gary Kemp and John Keeble) didn't leave me with the impression that they appreciate the difference between your catalogue still being relevant today, and you still being relevant today. Sure, you influenced the Killers and White Lies, but does that mean that what you're doing today is exciting (and that's a word they used)? I suspect not. They've re-recorded the whole of their greatest hits set, give or take, and that's what constitutes the new album, with a couple of new tracks. If you don't already own the hits (a) what's wrong with you? and (b) buy a normal greatest hits, not this new stuff they've put out. If you're curious though, one of the two completely new songs is here.

Then we got a couple of minutes to chat about Cheryl Cole, and whether she sang live on The X Factor (which, BTW, Clive Davis, WTF?), and her new single. It's pretty bland compared to the brilliance of Girls Aloud's cannon, I'd say. I did say in fact. It's by no means a bad song, it's just not as good as I'd have hoped it would be. Have a listen (and watch the video, also very American) here.

And, Foos, who we ran out of time for. Shame because it's a new track to go with their upcoming Greatest Hits. It's an okay track and you can hear it here. I thought at first it wasn't the Foos finest moment, by a long shot, but it's better than that after a few listens. Still not their finest moment though. That's be Times Like These.

So till the next time Radio Fivelive, assuming there is a next time.

Radio Fivelive music reviews

The lovely Victoria Derbyshire had me back on her show this morning for the third time, to help with the music reviews.

You can now subscribe to the music reviews as a podcast on iTunes, or if you can listen to the latest one here.

It was a little daunting to begin with as I was the only music reviewer in the studio, as Colin Paterson (Fivelive's entertainment correspondent) joined on the phone from Glastonbury and the other reviewer, Katrina, was dialling in from Scotland as she's a BBC music reviewer in Scotland. It made no difference in the end except for the fact that when you're not sitting in the same room it's hard to know who's gearing up for talking next, hence the few interruptions and false starts that you can hear.

We chatted about four of the new releases today - La Roux's debut album, Bruce Springsteen's new single My Lucky Day,Moby's new album called Wait For Me and Jamie T's new single, Sticks & Stones.

Have a listen to the podcast to see what we all thought.

I was on the radio today, again

As I tweeted last week, I had a call from those lovely people at Radio Fivelive again last week and was invited to come back on the Victoria Derbyshire show to help review some of the new music releases. Didn't take much mulling over on my part to of course say yes.

It's a great thing to do for me - just something I never thought I'd do, so it's a refreshingly different and unexpected experience.

Colin Patterson, Radio Fivelive's entertainment correspondent and seemingly all round nice guy, was there as usual, as was the reviews editor from the excellent The Word magazine, the equally excellent Kate Mossman. Victoria, the show's host, keeps the whole thing ticking along, in between interviews with Paul Gascoigne (who I walked past - cool!) and irate callers venting their spleen about the rights and wrongs of the media coverage of the death of Jade Goody. Victoria, or Vicky as people seem to call her, is a reassuringly 'on it' presence for someone so green in the ways of radio as I am.

But as for the music reviews, on today's agenda were the new releases from The Decemberists, Noisettes, Royksopp and Jennifer Hudson. A mixed bag. We also had calling into the show Jamie Morrison from the Noisettes and Sven from Royksopp, so at least when it came to us reviewing their singles they weren't sitting in the same room, unlike the first time I did this and Alesha Dixon was looking right at me as I tried to say something, anything, about her single that wasn't all-out blowing smoke up her ass.

The Decemberists record (The Hazards Of Love) is a tricky one, combining as it does folk, metal and indie, and its 17 tracks of pseudo-mythological concept isn't for everyone, but it is worth a listen if you like that kind of thing (you probably won't know whether you like that kind of thing so the only way to find out is to give it a listen). Singer Colin Meloy is an interesting guy - he's put out a couple of covers EPs, including one called Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke - now that's diversity. And he sounds exactly like the bloke out of Deep Blue Something. Make of that what you will.

Noisettes' track may already be familiar to you - Don't Upset The Rhythm is featured on the current Mazda car adverts and it's a great pop hook, though the change of direction from the garage rock-lite of their last record is a little mystifying (Don't Give Up is a really good NME-friendly party track).

Royksopp's new single Happy Up Here, sounds disappointingly just like their advert-friendly first single, Eple (which I found out means 'apple' in Norwegian). But there's a great track on the album, called The Girl And The Robot, which features Robyn. Lykke Li and Karin Andersson, lead singer of The Knife, are also on the album, so it's a proper Scandinavian pop-fest).

And finally we just squeezed in a review of Jennifer Hudson's new single If This Isn't Love. As I said on air, it's very hard to say anything bad about someone who is clearly enormously talented (she's one of the few actresses to have won an Oscar, Bafta, Golden Globe and Screen Actors' Guild award for the same role, in Dreamgirls) and she's suffered such tragedy in her life so recently (her mother, brother and cousin were all shot dead late last year), so I hope I was the right side of diplomatic about a track that doesn't really move me. I wish her all the best though, and the track's not such a bad mid-tempo R&B number.

That's it - hopefully I'll be back again some day, I'd love to do it again. If you missed it, you can catch it here for the next week (it's Monday's show). It started about 90 minutes into the show.

I was on the radio today

I just got back from the BBC. Where I reviewed some music. Live. On the radio.


If you click on this link here, and listen to today's (Monday) Victoria Derbyshire show, you'll hear me trying to offer some insightful opinions on some of this week's new releases - Alesha Dixon's new single and new albums by Lily Allen and All American Rejects.

It's a new slot on Victoria's show, where they get Radio Fivelive's entertainment correspondent, Colin Patterson, to review a few new releases along with a journalist, which today was Observer Music Monthly editor Caspar Llewellyn Smith, and a listener, which today was me. Yes, me. Oh, and today also had the lovely Alesha Dixon in the studio - she really is the most delightful celebrity you could meet, which is always nicer than when they turn out to be idiots. Makes reviewing her single in front of her slightly loaded though - luckily, I liked it anyway, so no lying needed.

So have a listen - it starts at about the 1 hour 40 minute mark and I hope I didn't embarrass myself much. Except at the end where Victoria kindly let me give the blog a plug on air and it was only then that I realised that www.ihrtmusique.blogspot.com is THE most awkward website address to read out on the radio. No wonder there hasn't been a significant spike in site visitors despite my national radio plug!

Next stop, my own Saturday night chat show.

PS, thanks a million to NT for the reference that got me on the show in the first place.