Music in the Workshop

I listened to classics all my live (my doggies too) I the occasional rubbish comes on i can at the push of a button turn on Mantovani or Hooked on classics or the like. In comparison modern stuff in abrasive to my mind and soul.

Well said Peter

Pink Floyd. Not a fan of classical stuff (yes I know, philistine). Like Bob Stephenson, opera is banned, along with musicals. When Floyd has been exhausted then Genesis, Queen, the Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer and a long list of similar - all on the iPod so no talk and no adverts. Very occasionally R4 gets an airing for programs such as More or Less.

One of the problems I now have is how to access these stations being mentioned above, and, for that matter, what all the TLA's mean. EG, TMS, which I now understand to be Test Match Special. But what about CFM? I suppose given my initial post, it refers to ClassicFM, but unfortunately, up here where I live, CFM actually refers to a local radio station, Cumbria FM, which "serves Cumbria & SW Scotland".

But, in the workshop I only have an old, or maybe that should be ancient, analogue cassette/radio which has MW/LW/VHF radio bands, none of your digital broadcasting here. So the likes of Scala Radio, iDagio etc are unavailable to me, and no, I'm not going to scrap a perfectly good VHF/FM radio for the supposed advantages of digital. Incidently, the workshop is more or less the only place I can indulge in classical music since herself doesn't like it.

Some of the other stuff mentioned I'm afraid I won't even give the time of day to - I left pop music behind 50 or more years ago, and as for cricket, well, words fail me, never have a seen a more boring, useless, uninteresting and dangerous game. So there!

I do agree though, that there is a lot more pleasant music than purely classical, G&S (Gilbert & Sullivan) for example, some country music (Everly Bros anyone?) and yes, there is some dire stuff in the classical repertoire which is really why I like ClassicFM - because it plays the best bits.

Cheers & happy listening,

Peter G. Shaw

Out here in the wilds of Wales OH ditched the digital radio I bought 'cos it couldn't pick anything much up. I ran some Cat6 down to my shed and another cheap router so internet radio is available but personally I prefer having a conversation with the other chap in my head and use the web for lookups on feeds or drill sizes...

pgk

Changing the subject slightly am I the only one to find Amazon Echo extremely annoying?
It is great in the living room where there is a reasonable hi-fi system as well, but you have to ask Alexa for an individual track - saying something like play the Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan may or may not get you an overture or a single track. Some items are under Sullivan, some not. If you ask for Pink Floyd Wish you were Here Album may or may not get you the whole album, but all switch off after about an hour anyway and if you want a particular recording you often have no chance!

For something to sit and cherry pick tracks from it is superb, but to listen to whole albums, or just play background music you often have to make up a playlist - which is sometimes just too long!

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 03/08/2020 12:36:02

Well I suppose I should declare an interest, or perhaps I should say an involvement. Back in the mid 90s I worked for a small company that won the contract for the technical installation of the studios for ClassicFM then situated in the basement of the Gilbeys Gin building in Camden Town, so I suppose you can praise or bame me according to taste. Just to compund Peter S's joy or disappointment I also built CFM in Carlisle.

Music is of course a personal taste but I don't understand anyone who claims to dislike a musical genre, I will listen to all and everything, some things I inevitably prefer, anything from Gregorian chant to Rap, there's good in all but because so little is recorded prior to 1900 all the rubbish is long forgotten whereas all modern stuff is readily available and insuffient time has passed for the chaff to be discarded. We might well remember the Stones hits from the 60s for example but thankfully the crap from that era has been forgotten.

The one thing I have found from over 60 years of listening is that commercial broadcasting is firstly aimed at the advertiser, secondly, at the particular stations profits, and lastly, if at all, at the listener. It is universally dire everywhere in the world, and I have some experience to draw on here. You might think the license fee is a poorly hidden tax which you begrudge the BBC but it's still light years ahead of anyone else, and we lose it at our peril.

Regards

Martin

Edited By Martin Shaw 1 on 03/08/2020 12:51:32

Edited By Martin Shaw 1 on 03/08/2020 12:51:55

Planet rock for me, for a commercial station /i reckon as good as the Beeb.

Dave

Looks like I am alone in my preference for Smooth....

Pete

+1

Those new-er digital radios can be very good, quite a clever system

Music etc doesn't sound as good to me now because I'm old and so I don't bother very much

Apparently your hearing at the higher pitches completely disappears with age, I thought it was the digital recording but no, it's me

Even old ABBA songs just aint quite what they used to be

The mosquito is based on this phenomenon