An archive of blog entries about music and music production.
Music
Events
January 12 is Delia Derbyshire day
Is this music familiar to you, perhaps?
It was, of course, composed by Ron Grainer, but the person who ‘realised’ it – not using a synthesiser, since they hadn’t been invented yet, but by creating each note manually – was Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Derbyshire went on to be extremely influential in the world of electronic music and on January 12th 2013, Band on the Wall in Manchester is going to have a Delia Derbyshire Day to celebrate her work and to screen a documentary about her.
Here’s the itinerary:
Daytime “mini-symposium” event 3pm-6pm includes:
- Screening of award-winning documentary “The Delian Mode”
- Q&A with The Delian Mode director Kara Blake exciting panel of ‘Delian’ experts from around the UK
- Deep listening session and sharing of some of Delia Derbyshire archive material
Evening event 8pm-10.30pm includes:
Premiere performances of new commissions by:
Ailís Ní Ríain (contemporary classical)
caro c (was caro snatch – experimental electronic)
Naomi Kashiwagi (gramophonica)
With live visual accompaniment by Kara Blake
Plus DJ Tukatz playing Delia inspired experimental music
Evening event will present new commissions by Manchester based caro c (experimental electronic), Ailís Ní Ríain (contemporary classical) and Naomi Kashiwagi (gramophonica) inspired by spending time with Delia Derbyshire archives held at University of Manchester. Plus DJ Tukatz playing Delian sounds and live visual accompaniment by Kara Blake.
Tickets are dirt cheap – Full Day: £10 Early Bird (before Dec 12), £12 after. Afternoon event only: £6. Evening event only: £7.50 – so if you’re in the area, go along!
Question of the week: what’s your favourite TV theme tune?
Moved from Wednesday to the slight more logical date of Monday, it’s ‘Question of the Week’, in which I ask a question and hopefully you give me your insightful opinions in return. This week, a simple question, I hope:
What’s your favourite TV theme tune and why?
There’s a lot to be working with and you’re all bound to have many favourites, but what’s your favourite favourite?
Mine is… The Persuaders!, written by none other than John Barry, composer of so many James Bond soundtracks.
He also went on to write the similar but slightly inferior theme to the very inferior The Adventurer, with Gene Barry.
But what’s your favourite?
Tuesday’s “X-Men: Second Class, Hunky Dory, Downtown Abbey’s new American, Arrested Development reunion” news
Film
- Tom Hiddleston joins Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive
- Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper join Serena
- Matthew Vaughn signs on for X-Men: First Class sequel
- Rooney Mara replaces Blake Lively on Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects
- Trailer for Hunky Dory with Minnie Driver
- Vera Farmiga joins The Drummer
Music
Theatre
- Danny DeVito to make West End debut in The Sunshine Boys
British TV
- Shirley MacLaine joins Downton Abbey
- BSkyB profits up despite ad decline
- Sky Anytime+ to offer BBC iPlayer and ITV Player
US TV
- Original cast all back for Arrested Development
- Spartacus gets 2.7m viewers
- USA orders Political Animals from Greg Berlanti
- Chicago Code‘s Matt Lauria to guest in Person of Interest
- David Krumholtz and Mary Birdsong to guest on Raising Hope
- Fox picks up Mindy Kaling pilot
- Susan Sarandon joins The Big C
- Sunday ratings: Once Upon A Time comes out top
- Louis CK sells comedy pilot to CBS
- ABC greenlights adaptation of Judith Krantz’s Scruples
More Doctor Who singing and dancing: ‘Five Hundred Miles’
After yesterday’s little Doctor Who ballad, here comes another series four wrap-up sing-along, this time featuring more or less everyone in the cast and crew, singing to The Proclaimers ‘Five Hundred Miles’. Yes, even the Ood. And The Proclaimers.