Caricatures Ireland

There’s now 150ish members in the group. If you’re on Facebook join us.
Una succinctly captures what’s just so erroneous about the new policy:
“[Rick's] programme is generally stimulating, funny, interesting, interactive, revealing and thought-provoking. Now? Pink – ‘So What’, Beyonce – ‘If I Were A Boy’. A few links. The news. The sport. Entertainment news. It’s an insult to a person of Rick’s capabilities, experience and skills as a radio presenter to turn him into someone who just presses play. (my emphasis)”

…[a]nd even the music they are playing offers nothing new. It’s just playlisted pop. Do the people who make decisions at 2fm not understand that if young people want to listen to music, they plug in their iPod or whack on Last.fm? Do they really just want the afternoon slots at 2fm to turn into a soundtrack for customers at Spar or petrol stations? Because that’s what will happen now with these rudderless and badly thought out decisions.”

Tags: 2fm, facebook, nikki hayes, radio, rick o'shea by Allan
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RTE 2fm have instructed Rick O’Shea and Nikki Hayes to drop all non-music items from their shows and simply introduce the songs. Rick’s an acquaintance and fellow blogger, and has built up a huge following through the interplay of his show, his blog, his twittering etc. Now RTE has effectively cut off his tongue, his brain and his balls by reducing him to reading the cover of the CD on air, and there’s now one researcher between 3 shows.
I think it sucks. I’ve set up a Facebook group which is up to 70 members tonight. If you’re a fan of Rick or Nikki why not join and show your creepy fanness. And yes I do know there are worse things going on in the world but I don’t think Hamas or Israel are too bothered about Facebook groups.

Tags: 2fm, RTE, facebook, nikki hayes, radio, rick o'shea by Allan
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I was working late on a commission last night and as I’m wont to do I was listening to Raidió na Gaeltachta’s An Taobh Tuathail with Cian Ó Cíobháin.
Suddenly there started a piece of music that I’ve heard before and serially failed to get the name of. With all the stupidity that modern technology affords us, rather than waiting to write down the name at the end I emailed the show desperately waffling a description of the piece I’d just heard (of course Cian said what it was at the end of the show but whatever I scribbled last night wasn’t English today. Or Irish come to that.)

Well Cian is after emailing me back with the name of the piece and last night’s entire playlist. That single-handedly makes up for all the times I tried to get onto Joe Duffy for a rant and failed. It negates at least 5-10 years of the suffering inflicted by Fair City. It even goes some way to alleviating the nerve damage caused by Tellybingo. In short, that was rather nice of him.

Go raibh maith agat Cian!

(The piece by the way was Gorecki’s Third Symphony (Symphony Of Sorrow Songs) – 2nd movement. Quick, get a pen.)

Tags: An Taobh Tuathail, Cian Ó Cíobháin, Gorecki, RTE, Raidió na Gaeltachta, radio by Allan
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