Bands threaten to pull out of T4 On The Beach

[discopony]

All I remember about it last year was that the programme was broadcast live (which if they do again would expalin the song limit) and they all preformed live except Rachel and Grabage (the vocals sounded waaaaaay to much like the studio track). I wanna know why they are doing Weston-super-Mare again! I live here and its a vile place.

[Kirkland]

bobrobnob said:

well im assuming that the reason why they are doing this is because the music industry wants more people to buy indie music and such.

i can read the music industry quite well and to me this tells me that the only reason they are doing it is to make the indie bands mor 'credible' and pop bands less credible.

but because they are taking a stand im sure they wil get more credibility for it.

for example lisa scott lee and rachel stevens are both mimers. and look whats hapenned to them. bad reputation and bad sales. So forcing these artists to mime is just another way of saying.. we want you to flop and make these indie people look great..

I disagree. There isn't a great conspiracy to make 'indie' bands credible. These bands are what passes as pop these days - as much as I hate The Ordinary Boys (and I do, with a passion) I really love ninetofive. Rachel and Lisa flopped because people don't like them and they come across as controlled producer's puppets. People don't want that anymore hence the rise in singer/songwriter types.

How stupid must you look live with instruments that you can't play? I suspect it's more about vanity that anything else. Besides, some of the bands on the bill I quite like.

[Maureen]

Organisers really shouldn't be charging people for an event where nobody sings or plays live. Absolutely not.

[meehel]

I agree. I think this event is a bit of a joke. There is an advertsiement which boasts 'see some of your favourite acts perform two or three of their most well known songs'. Er...why not just go and see your 'favourite bands' play a gig?
Also I am bored of people moaning about indie bands invading the pop platform. It's either good or it's shit. And no matter how ironic I am trying to be I couldn't even pretend to like Rachel Stevens.

[beNcooKe]

I think the event is a bit of a spare part as music TV shows go. I hate the way they always have June Sarponggggggg sluring her way through the word 'legend' multiple times while confessing how she's always been such a huge fan of the next band's work since the dawn of time. All this while sat next to some single cell organism from the cast of Hollyoaks.

It's a shame that pop acts agree to take part in this abhorrent piece of television.

[bobrobnob]

agreed

[Maureen]

bencooke said:

I hate the way they always have June Sarponggggggg sluring her way through the word 'legend' multiple times while confessing how she's always been such a huge fan of the next band's work since the dawn of time.

Are you suggesting that she compromises her job as presenter and says how shit she thinks her interviewee is? Let's leave that to Simon Amstell shall we?

[popsin]

I love the advertising for this event. A festival which isn't an endurance test? Because the acts will only be performing their current release for promotional purposes? How dull!

The likes of V fest are more glamerous and fun than T4 on the beach, because coming out of a tent in the morning looking great is much more glam than hanging out with the 13 year olds on a beach for a couple of hours on a Sunday. Plus, we like the bit of the weekend where you have a spare few hours between acts to get drunk and fool around with other sufficiently glam camper.

[beNcooKe]

maureen said:

bencooke said:

I hate the way they always have June Sarponggggggg sluring her way through the word 'legend' multiple times while confessing how she's always been such a huge fan of the next band's work since the dawn of time.

Are you suggesting that she compromises her job as presenter and says how shit she thinks her interviewee is? Let's leave that to Simon Amstell shall we?

You can be a good presenter without reeling off the same insincere token words each time and crawling up everyone's arse. It's unfortunate that it is a standard on T4 and some other music TV to call everyone a 'legend' regardless and claim to be so into all these people. The viewer can see through it all.

If you watch the T4 interview between the pet shop boys and Ms Sarpong you can see Neil Tennant wince as she excretes these overused generic words of over praise everyone knows full well will be given out to every guest. What purpose do they serve? She would be doing exactly the same thing if someone like Pete Sutcliffe were sat next to her discussing his impending pop career.

[Maureen]

That's just June's style and she's been a presenter for absolutely years. Try writing to Ofcom or maybe boycotting the show altogether.

Whether the 'viewer can see through it' or not, she's still popular enough to be still getting work. Have you thought that maybe her compliments are genuine and that she's- gasp!- actually excited to meet some of her guests? She's no less verbose than the average T4 viewer. The word 'legend' is bandied about all the time. Of course it's all bollocks, but who cares? If you want to see a deadpan interview, watch Parkinson.

I'm sure the Pet Shop Boys were well aware of what they were getting themselves into. If they'd have wanted a sombre grilling, free of compliments, perhaps thay should have tried Question Time or the South Bank Show, not a teenage light entertainment programme.

[Kirkland]

maureen said:

If you want to see a deadpan interview, watch Parkinson.

Never has a name been so apt for a chat show host. He's dreadful.

[meehel]

Just seen another ad for the event on e4 simply saying '20 bands - 3 songs each'. Why do they keep promoting the fact it's not even a proper live event? As for the ad which boasts, 'a festival which isn't an endurance test', it made me laugh. So basically they're bragging about it not being a proper festival AND the fact a band won't play more than three songs....remind me why this is a good thing? I'm I missing something?

[popsin]

I guess the true proof that it really is a bit of a shit festival is the fact they have to advertise it on telly at all. I'll be at other festivals this summer, wellies and all, without the constant flashy advertising of these events.

Of course, the important thing to remember, I suppose, is that T4 On The Beach is a telly event, not a live one. It's a telly event masquerading as a festival. It needs to be regimented, timed, and good to look at and listen to so that it is entertaining to the mindless couch potato in their lifeless living room. In contrast, a real gig is all about the hype of the crowd, being squashed between hundreds of other people, dancing like an idiot, spontanaity etc. If ya sing off key on stage at V Fest. then no one's really gonna care cause you can't really tell on those PA systems anyway! On telly everyone's gonna know.