When I moved to Newfoundland a couple of years ago, I thought BBC Radio 2 was good, and that BBC 6 Music was vastly over-rated. Having now come back to the UK and spent the last few months listening to both, my position has been completely reversed.
Radio 2 seems to be actively regressing, going back to the MOR cheesiness of its former days, whilst 6 Music is getting better and better. Let's look at this in detail, and compare the rosters.
Radio 2:
Chris Evans' Breakfast Show - pretty good most of the time, especially with Johnny Saunders and Moira Stewart. MIND-SPLITTINGLY AWFUL, however, when Richard Madeley stands in for Evans. Madeley is Alan Partridge without the humour, a cheesy, smug buffoon with shocking taste in music.
Ken Bruce - acceptable, if rather bland.
Jeremy Vine - acceptable, if populated by irate phone-in guests with dubious opinions.
Steve Wright - sycophantic and surrounded by sycophants. I don't love the show, Steve, and I hate your Sunday Morning Love Songs beyond words. I hate them so much I would rather go to church.
Simon Mayo - the only daytime presenter with talent. He plays decent music and asks sensible questions to interesting guests.
The others:
Tony Blackburn = a vacuous Cheshire cat of a man;
Trevor Nelson = as smooth as his own head, and about as interesting;
Dave Pearce = irritating in every way;
Dermot O'Leary = a man who thinks he is playing cutting edge new music, when he is actually just playing one Feeling track after another;
Paul Gambaccini = America's Greatest Twerp;
Aled Jones = I'm dreaming of a shite Christmas.
In contrast, 6 Music:
Shaun Keaveny Breakfast Show - nicely irreverent with a fine array of guests.
Lauren Laverne - a really excellent presenter on radio and TV.
Radcliffe & Maconie - not quite as good as the double act below, but a marked improvement on Nemone, whom they've just replaced.
Steve Lamacq - not bad. Much better now that Jo Whiley is on Radio 2.
Marc Riley - good, if sometimes a bit wilful in his music choices, but I'd rather they were too obscure than too obvious (cf. Richard Madeley).
And then at the weekend you get Adam and Joe from 10-1 on a Saturday, which might just be the best show on radio in Britain today, and Jon Holmes, who is suitable silly, and Jarvis Cocker, who is one of the great popular figures of the last 20 years.
I don't much care for Craig Charles, or Nemone, or Liz Kershaw, but they're all still better than Nelson or Blackburn or Wright. Thank goodness the powers-that-be saw sense and didn't throw 6 Music to the dogs last year.
Radio 2 seems to be actively regressing, going back to the MOR cheesiness of its former days, whilst 6 Music is getting better and better. Let's look at this in detail, and compare the rosters.
Radio 2:
Chris Evans' Breakfast Show - pretty good most of the time, especially with Johnny Saunders and Moira Stewart. MIND-SPLITTINGLY AWFUL, however, when Richard Madeley stands in for Evans. Madeley is Alan Partridge without the humour, a cheesy, smug buffoon with shocking taste in music.
Ken Bruce - acceptable, if rather bland.
Jeremy Vine - acceptable, if populated by irate phone-in guests with dubious opinions.
Steve Wright - sycophantic and surrounded by sycophants. I don't love the show, Steve, and I hate your Sunday Morning Love Songs beyond words. I hate them so much I would rather go to church.
Simon Mayo - the only daytime presenter with talent. He plays decent music and asks sensible questions to interesting guests.
The others:
Tony Blackburn = a vacuous Cheshire cat of a man;
Trevor Nelson = as smooth as his own head, and about as interesting;
Dave Pearce = irritating in every way;
Dermot O'Leary = a man who thinks he is playing cutting edge new music, when he is actually just playing one Feeling track after another;
Paul Gambaccini = America's Greatest Twerp;
Aled Jones = I'm dreaming of a shite Christmas.
In contrast, 6 Music:
Shaun Keaveny Breakfast Show - nicely irreverent with a fine array of guests.
Lauren Laverne - a really excellent presenter on radio and TV.
Radcliffe & Maconie - not quite as good as the double act below, but a marked improvement on Nemone, whom they've just replaced.
Steve Lamacq - not bad. Much better now that Jo Whiley is on Radio 2.
Marc Riley - good, if sometimes a bit wilful in his music choices, but I'd rather they were too obscure than too obvious (cf. Richard Madeley).
And then at the weekend you get Adam and Joe from 10-1 on a Saturday, which might just be the best show on radio in Britain today, and Jon Holmes, who is suitable silly, and Jarvis Cocker, who is one of the great popular figures of the last 20 years.
I don't much care for Craig Charles, or Nemone, or Liz Kershaw, but they're all still better than Nelson or Blackburn or Wright. Thank goodness the powers-that-be saw sense and didn't throw 6 Music to the dogs last year.
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