May 4, 2006
XFM NEWS
ADAM & JOE XFM PODCAST AVAILABLE FROM MONDAY 8th MAY 2006!
The first short package of extracts (around 20 minutes in all) from our Xfm show will be ready to download as a podcast next Monday. You can access them from either the Xfm website or i-tunes. If it was up to me I would put these together myself but there isn’t really any point in taking a break to work on other things if I end up sending all my time putting together podcasts, although it would be enjoyable. Instead I’ve gathered a few clips, recorded a few brief hellos and goodbyes with Joe to bookend the things, handed the lot over to Matt at Xfm and reluctantly left it at that (though Matt’s doing a great job. Cheers Matt!) Subsequently the first few episodes will probably consist mainly of stuff that is already available on this site, but as I’ve said before, the podcast makes it a handier, MP3 player friendly chunk, so you can listen to us crapping on while you’re sunbathing this Summer, or skiing this Winter, or erm, orting this Autumn.
Last Saturday Joe came over to record the hello and goodbye bits for the first few episodes and we had a good couple of hours just rambling and improvising bad songs which I though we might be able to use instead of real music between clips. Here’s Joe improvising lyrics while I play guitar and he does slide whistle solos. To me it sounds like a cross between Syd Barret, and Nirvana except a bit better than both of those. This one may not end up getting used because of a) how weird it is and b) the use of the ‘c’ word in it. I guess we could swear all we want, but I think there’s something more fun about keeping the rules the same as the broadcast shows.I really hope we’ll get it together to do a few other more substantial nuggets in the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the poddies. I was trying to think of another way of saying ‘podcasts’ but poddies may not be the one. Poddles? No. Poodles? OK, I’ll get back to you.
May 2, 2006
FROM THE ADAM & JOE VAULTS
A&J’S AMERICAN ANIMATION ADVENTURE: PAVEL
Here’s the second of the 6 episodes of Adam & Joe’s American Animation Adventure that I’m posting over the next few weeks on this blog. It’s the Cal Arts episode, which features an embryonic Pavel, now one of the most successful and celebrated comedy characters in modern history of course, though Steve Bennet might argue. Once again it’s been split into Part 1 and Part 2 for easier download. For details of the episode and series see the related post in the April 2006 section of this site.
TECHNICAL NOTE
I got a letter last week from Pamie Dhanoa (thanks for the letter incidentally Pamie. Is that a real name or an anagram of something? Just wondering, no offence…) Anyway, Pamie was saying that she hasn’t been able to open the movie files on this blog and was wondering if I could make them Mpeg rather than MP4 files. Well, sorry Pamie but I deliberated with my computer guru brother Dave about this and we reckon that MP4’s remain our best bet for this site. They’re decent quality and about a quarter of the size of an Mpeg making them easier to up upload and download (for most people I hope) and they don’t put unnecessary strain on my bandwidth. Let’s face it; the last thing a man in my position needs right now is extra bandwidth strain. Frankly I can’t believe you asked Pamie. It’s the most insensitive thing anyone has ever said to me.
Seriously though, I’m VERY sorry if you aren’t able to view these movies. They are an integral part of this on-line ego cathedral and one of the main reasons I wanted to do a blog in the first place (ie. to show people work that would otherwise go more or less unseen). If my brother and I have missed some incredibly obvious and convenient way round the problem that keeps files small and watchable, do let me know, but for the time being I’m going to have to stay with the current system. Thanks again for the letter though Pamie, it was much appreciated though to be thanked while having your request frustrated must be a little bittersweet. I hope we can still be friends.
KEN KORDA & SELF INDULGENT RAMBLE NEWS
KEN ON RADIO 4, ‘STEPPING IN’ & TOM SELLECK
I found this the other day whilst trawling through files and it made me laugh. It’s a short piece about cult TV featuring Ken Korda I did for Radio 4’s culture programme Front Row in August 2002. They were doing something about the fact that Bargain Hunt had just been given a prime time slot on BBC1 and the person they had lined up to comment on this important cultural milestone had dropped out at the last minute so they wanted to know if I would ’step in’. I get asked to step in to the vacated shoes of other cultural gimps quite a bit and due to ego and pride issues I usually say ‘no’, but this time I thought it would be fun to do something as Ken on Radio 4, which I had never done at that point. Listening back to the thing I probably could have just done it as myself, but I always feel a character adds more value somehow. Maybe that’s just gutlessness.
On the subject of ’stepping in’ I, like many other people always enjoy hearing about big cultural landmarks that so nearly went another way when their protagonist stepped in at the last minute. The most famous one is probably the fact that Harrison Ford only stepped in as Indiana Jones after Tom Selleck was prevented from playing the part because of a contractual commitment to the CBS TV series Magnum PI. Net biogs refer heartbreakingly to the fact that ‘CBS later eased up and Selleck was able to star in TV movies and feature films such as Lassiter (1984)’ Lassiter!? Sweet LBJ! That story hurts the mind in so many ways.
What the heckins would Raiders have been like with the ludicrous moustachioed, slightly camp Tommo in the hat? Well probably fine actually and Selleck’s career would have gone up a level for a while but the film would probably have lacked that extra weird, comforting spark of charisma that Harrison brings to the meeting (though where Ford gets that spark is a mystery. Have you seen the man interviewed? I’m getting drowsy thinking about it…) It makes me feel so bad for Tom though. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard him admitting his bitterness about losing out like that and ending up with the high point of his career being Three Men And A Baby, which is a shame. It’s silly of course because he’s had an enviable career in many ways. I certainly wouldn’t mind being the craggily handsome moustachioed star of one of the most successful TV shows of all time, and Magnum was good too! (well I certainly loved it when I was a teen). Three Men And A Baby has its moments. Three Men and A Little Lady has fewer… Quigley Down Under and Lassiter I haven’t got round to seeing yet but they may well be extraordinary. If only the subject of Raiders had never come up, he’d have been sorted. Now he’ll forever be the victim of a ’step in-cident.’ Tortured by the whiff of ‘what if?’ Sad and lonely in a world of ‘if only’… OK that last one was a bit shit but you get the picture. Anyway, it’s not over for Selleck. If he climbs into the right vehicle, I’ll be there! That’s more than I can say for the increasingly ridiculous Ford and his yucky earing. Hollywood Homocide? Hollywood SUICIDE more like! Indiana Jones 4? Indian Jones BORE you mean!! I won’t go on.
I too have smelled the whiff of what-if, albeit a very small whiffle. Back in 1998 (or thereabouts) when Joe and I were into our third series of The Adam & Joe Show, we were asked by Channel 4 to host their Autumn season press launch. We said no because we were busy working on the show and didn’t have the time to come up with anything decent in the way of ’shtick’ so a then unknown Sacha Baron Cohen stepped in to host the thing as Ali G. He filmed a little video bit for it where at one point he went and stuck a drawing of a cock and balls up on controller Michael Jackson’s office door. I remember jealously thinking ‘come on now, that’s a bit pathetic’ when I heard about it. He took the piss out of all the shows in the autumn schedule, the event was a complete smash and rumours of his genius began to spread. I don’t think this particular story counts as a missed opportunity for us so much because I know what would have happened if we had hosted the thing: it would have just been OK. At that point we were in no position to deliver what Sacha Baron Cohen did. With him, as with Harrison Ford I suppose, it was never a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’. You wait, when The Adam & Joe Movie starring a brilliantly re-invented Tom Selleck comes out, they’ll all be begging to come to our party! Oh yes.