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Douglas lies down with George Lamb
Lesley Douglas has stood up for George Lamb, defending his almost unlistenable 6Music show:
"Developing a new show is always going to take a long time. We have received positive and negative comments about it. I don't think I have ever launched a new show when that has not been the case," she told BBC Radio 4's Feedback programme on Friday.
"I talk to George a lot - he left a message for me last night. I'm going to see him this week about the show. He wants to make it, as do I, the best show it can possibly be but I think it's a pretty good show actually," Douglas said.
"What's happened with George is that he is getting a lot more listener response and interactivity around the show than there was before.
"If you heard George talking about rave and dance there is a passion. It's less intellectual an approach to music but it's still about passion and love of music at its heart."
"I talk to George a lot - he left a message for me last night. I'm going to see him this week about the show. He wants to make it, as do I, the best show it can possibly be but I think it's a pretty good show actually," Douglas said.
"What's happened with George is that he is getting a lot more listener response and interactivity around the show than there was before.
"If you heard George talking about rave and dance there is a passion. It's less intellectual an approach to music but it's still about passion and love of music at its heart."
Less intellectual is one way of describing it - anyone who listens to the "interviews" with the bands who do Hub Sessions have to curl their fingers and toes so tightly to get through the segments they start to resemble stigmatics. Chan Marshall was repeatedly badgered as to if she kissed a co-star "with tongues... with tongues... with tongues" - apparently, this is the sort of thing that Douglas expects to attract more female listeners to the station.
The real problem with Lamb, of course, is that once you realise he's actually Matt Crawford from the Archers, you can't take him seriously at all.
8 comments:
I'm surprised you managed to take him seriously before realising that.
I used to love 6th Music, I can cope with Coe moving as I have access to the Playback feature, but I miss the sessions. Having Lamb conduct them makes, even the duration of 2 songs intolerable.
Lamb must go.
The basis of Lesley Douglas' argument seems ultimately to be the misogynist "women are stupid so they'll tolerate George Lamb".
But criticising Lamb is the wrong way to go. We must all praise him and love him, so he gets promoted to Radio 1, where he can be as shit as he likes
I'm not by and large convinced by online petitions, but the one mentioned in the Guardian piece - 1,000 names - must surely be worrying for Douglas: that's about one in five of the station's audience.
I doubt she'll be that worried, seeing as she's managed to turn the issue from "I have an employed a loathsome twat as part of my campaign to gut this station of any point" to, "cuh, those geeky men who like music, what a bunch of losers".
http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2258034,00.html
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3393148.ece
I don't claim this as a terribly brilliant observation on my part, but I somehow imagine that if a male station controller talked about female listeners in that way, people would consider it stupid sexist nonsense. Which of course it is.
And when I mentioned this to my wife, who is also a woman, she wondered whether a better way to make a show that would appeal to women might be, er, hiring female presenters.
NB - for the time being at least there's a transcript here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio2/F4387184?thread=5109318&skip=0&show=20#p59472900
http://www.getlambout.org.uk/
BB6 music Listeners react to George Lamb’s extended contract.
BBC 6 Music listener's have responded to Lesley Douglas extending the contract of the 'lad's mag' style presenter George Lamb's contract until October 2008, by organising a monthly text and e mail protest.
The protest is due to take place on the first Monday of each month, with disgruntled listeners texting and e mailing George Lamb's show between 10am and 1pm the lyrics from a well known song, with the aim to completely overload the show's communication systems.
The text protest is a response to Douglas' claims that a shows success is currently judged on the interactive feedback during its broadcast:
" they get lots and lots and lots more emails and texts than they ever have done in that slot, being actually really positive about the show"
However listeners have pointed out that texting the word 'Shabba' (George Lamb's catch phrase) does NOT reflect a quality music programme, and that producers should increase the number of songs broadcast during the show and lesson the inane chatter if they wish to broadcast a show that fits the station's remit.
The first text e mail protest will be on Monday 3rd March with 'Hang the DJ' by The Smiths humorously chosen as the source of lyrics. 'Mediocrity Rules' by New york band Le Tigre is the song chosen for the protest on Monday 7th April, and is a further response to Douglas' claims about male listener's analysing music more 'intellectually' than female 'emotional' ones.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Online petition:
http://www.getlambout.org.uk/
Message board responses to Lesley Douglas' comments:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/F7497566?thread=5114060
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb6music/F1950413
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio4/F2766779?thread=5104001
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/feedback.shtml to listen again to the interview go to 21 minutes and 45 seconds
To listen to George Lamb's 'lad's mag' style show and his comment about Kate Bush listen again to the first 3 minutes of Friday 15 February's show:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/g
Reviews in the press of the changes at BBC 6 Music:
http://www.newstatesman.com/200801170035
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2008/01/bbc_6music_
hit_or_miss_1.html
Hey there – this is Gillian here from TheLipster.com, the new sharp and smart pop culture website for women. There is an article on the site about Lesley Douglas’s comments here: http://www.thelipster.com/articles/2943839
If you’d like to add to the discussion please do sign up for the site and have a look around while you’re at it.
Enjoy!
Gillian x
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