Stop me if I'm wrong...

teamdresch

Now, I love phantom...BUT
Is it just me or do they play way too much Irish ****e...I mean, their commitment to new Irish music is admirable ; I'm in a band myself, but is there any kind of quality control? Some of the stuff that gets played is just laughable. "I'm afraid of Britney Spears" has to be one of the worst songs I've ever heard. And, while I realise that plenty of people like the Frames / Revs etc. I've heard just about enough of them. Really.
On a similar subject, doesn't that playlist get a little irksome, too?
I mean, you're on the point of ruining "this is love" for me. And that's a GREAT song. Just imagine how I feel about some of the muck that does get playlisted. I get the impression the DJ's find it a little restricting at times, too. When you hear "untitled" and "this is love" back-to-back two days in a row ( with different DJ's ) you have to imagine they're thinking 'get the playlist out of the way'. And as for the risiculous amount of requests....
I say, let the undoubtedly knowledgable and competent DJ's pick their own tunes! It is, after all
PIRATE RADIO

sanvean

oh dear. you're going to be crucified. but i see your point. if you compare (most of) the new irish music they play with (most of) the international artists,
then the differences are just painfully obvious. i think the problem centres on a couple of points:
*most of the genuinely amazing and original irish bands are part of a scene that phantom won't play, or will patronise with a couple of plays. these bands are usually pigeonholed into 'post-rock' etc, eg, connect four orchestra, the redneck manifesto, estel, etc. or are part of the underground hip-hop (for use of a better phrase) scene.
*phantom tends towards the mainstream rather than the alternative. mainstream music is generally worse than alternative, depending on what you listen to.
essentially it's all a matter of taste. phantom would rather play bands like system of a down, stone temple pilots, pearl jam etc then artists such as aphex twin/sigur ros/fly pan am/do make say think etc etc. with a few notable exceptions.

that's life ... what are you going to do?

Trev M

There are people who would say Phantom should play more Irish music, but that's neither here nor there....this dabate is kinda old on the board at this stage ......many of the phantom DJ's have expressed a myriad of opinions on loosely related subjects like...


Why does Phantom play the Stereophonics , they're a commercial sell out band?

Or

Phantom should play heavier stuff

or has itself phantom sold out?

The thing to realise here is that Phantom have done all the homework on making Phantom a sustainable entity, this was the whole point of the IRTC applications and going legit and all that (look at the posts back to last July or so If they are still there)....Phantom is a sustainable entity!.....and why, cause they have identified their market ....the Phantom that you hear now is a result of the years of combined experience amongst the team and the work they have put in......Do you think the music is ****e and is only played cause its irish> That doesn't really make sense, Phantom play a lot of stuff that would'nt be my cuppa but what I do understand is that someone is listening to it and someone does want to hear it.....
maybe a lot of the irish music out there today isn't what you want to hear and get annoyed because Phantom rightly draw attention to the indigenous bands, but to say they play ****e irish bands for the sake of it is in my opinion a little questionable....I think they do exercise a level of Quality control and I like a lot of the smaller bands music and go to see them when I can ...being in one myself makes me biased though.

Personally I think Phantom is the only hope for many bands to reach a wide audience....

Phantom airplay is something to be aspired too for many young bands , gives them encouragement to keep going, I like it, its good and most people would agree with me I think.


G'luk , Trev

Circe

Playlists in radio stations are by their nature both good and bad for the listeners - on the good side, they mean that new and frequently-requested music is played (and if the listeners are requesting it, then so be it - no listeners=no radio station). On the bad side, however, it can mean a certain level of DJs 'having' to play certain tracks that may not fit in with their programme or, as said earlier, are over-played.

I personally, don't like the increase in the amount of Metallica/ Staind-type of music being played, compared with the Spectrum days, but there is a demand for it.

You can get way too self-important about 'alternative' music and become obscure for the sake of it (stand up, XFM!)

Phantom does its best to tread a fine line - you will hear offbeat music, but you'll also hear hugely mainstream bands like the Smashing Pumpkins - because they're good! The bottom line is - you can't please all of the people, all of the time and someone is always going to be unhappy.

Me? I say, where else would you hear the merits of King versus Tayto crisps debated with such vigour? Not on 98FM, that's for sure.....

Uncle Neddy

Phantom Fm is worth more than all of the other radio stations in this country put together, for people who like alternative music. I think we're all agreed at least on that. Obviously, everybody will dislike a percentage of the playlist. But everybodys percentage will contain different songs.
I agree with Trev, whats not your cuppa will be someone elses.
I used to work on a now defunct pirate station. The reason that was such a pile of **** was that there was No playlist. There has to be a playlist - Otherwise it just becomes like Whelans on a saturday night with every dj playing the same Pixies, Nirvana, etc.., indies greatest hits from his/her collection.
Teamdresch, I know what you mean. Some of the stuff I think is pure **** is amongst the most requested every week. But you have to be more tolerant.
It is as you say, Pirate Radio, but hopefully it won't always be.

teamdresch

Neddy : I agree that there should be a playlist...for the reasons you outlined above. However, couldn't it be...bigger? or changed more often? And you're right, I think there's a lot of overlap anyway, particularly with Pixies tracks (who I luv).

Circe : Point taken, and I myself have bought some records off the back of playlisted singles..sparklehorse for example. However, I think the playlists/requests cut down on the amount of new music DJ's can fit in. How long did it take Phantom to catch on to the whole At-the-Drive-In / Queens of the Stone Age thing? I had both albums about 2 months before I heard them on Phantom (mind you they made up for that). I wish there was more offbeat stuff on the playlists!

Trev : This debate may be old, but I wasn't involved back in the day, so...
Phantom does have quotas for Irish music. That's great, like I said. I'm in a band too, if you check my original post. I too am biased. And I'd love my band to be played on Phantom. And there's a lot of great Irish stuff I never hear on Phantom ( My Bloody Valentine, Rollerskate Skinny ).
I have no problem with Phantom drawing attention to indigenous bands, and it certainly doesn't annoy me. However, I think some songs are included to fill space. I think the DJ's and those who put together the playlists know they suck, but for whatever reason, they get played. A lot. I dunno, there's just too many songs by Irish bands that make me turn the radio off. I really wish that we could hear more of bands that Sanvean mentioned. Like Redneck Manifesto, Future Kings of Spain, Estel etc. These bands are surely more worthwhile, and indeed better for Irish music in the long term than novelty songs about easy-target pop stars or punk-pap with the swearwords bleeped out. I notice they do that on these boards, too.
Funny, that.

Trev M

Teamdresch.....

I seem to have mis understood your initial point to some degree...thanks for the clarification without the usual ..."Your a Spa, Im right attitude"

I think the DJ's on Phantom actually put a fair bit of work into their sets and don't think they put in something just to fill the time out...I mean its the content of their show that's gonna draw the listeners..... and besides I'd say for every 1 phantom DJ there's probably 100 wanna be Phantom Jocks floating around Dublin , I think the current DJ's must be conscious of that too.

gotta dash ..work to do and spent most of today surfin :rolleyes: Hate it when that happens

Later - trev M

slash99

No matter what you might think about Phantom it still walks all over sh*** fm and all the other mid-atlantic crap on the airwaves.

PiE

Maybe I'm imagining things but last time I checked there were shows to cater for just about every form of Rock/Alternative music on Phantom.

Ok, you're not gonna hear a band like Sigur Ros very often because well... no one requests it and not many people know who or what a Sigur Ros is!

And it IS an Alternative Rock radio station after all, so why would they be playing "Underground Hip Hop"?

Sinister Pete

Well well well,

There are a lot of interesting points made here. As P.D. of the station I can let you in on a few of our workings.

We play a minimum of 20% Irish music. Each individual programmer chooses what bands they wish to play. We stand behind Irish music and the music scene 100%. We don't play music because it's Irish, we play it because it's good.

We play a minimum of 20% (one in five tracks) A-list music, this is a selection of Irish and international tracks that we think fit into our sound and offer our listeners a variety. Sometimes that includes bands like Staind or Blink 182 which some people don't seem to like but some people do, a lot!
The rest is up to the programmer.

If we don't play some Irish bands it's because they either haven't sent it to us or it's waiting to be processed into our library or no one has requested it.

If we find another radio station has decided to playlist a song, we take it off our A-list.

I am pleased to think that we are considered in the same category as radio stations that have people employed full time to research music. Our reality is that we operate on a limited budget with limited resources. Many of the CD's in our library we go out and buy.

I think you are also remembering the Spectrum days through rose coloured glasses. The reality was it was a rather main stream indie station with about 200 CDs which was made up of compilation CD's. The truth is Phantom FM is much more varied than Spectrum ever could be. Of course in those days we were a great little secret hidden on the FM band. Now we have a strong listenership and I think we cater for that listenership with dedication and integrity.

Phantom FM a sell out?! Where's the money? The cars? The job? The fancy office? The cleaning staff?...

o sleep

i think it was uncle neddy that made the point (but i might be wrong) that whelan's suffers from not having a playlist and that it just plays the same songs over and over again. of course, we all know the problems that whelan's suffers, but (again, i might be wrong) i thought it was because they have such a limited list of songs that whelan's allow them to play. i notice that phantasm varies slightly, so perhaps that's just a rumour. having said that, i see pete's point in having a playlist, although i don't understand it fully. most radio stations have certain songs they rotate, and phantom is hardly as bad as MTV in its rotation of certain songs.

as for circa's point re XFM; i don't think it's fair to say they play obscure music for the sake of it. they fill a (much smaller) market in the same way that phantom exists because people listen to it.

oh, a couple of questions: why do you take off a song from a playlist if another radio station has it on theirs? i'd understand if it was FM104 or 98FM (although really, what are the chances) but if someone like XFM (or any of the numerous alternative stations that are crowding our airwaves) were playing the song and it was popular amongst phantom listeners ...

pearl's show is always great (in my humble opinion), although there does seem to be a lot less of the music that is on the playlist. i've always been curious to why this is, especially if the djs have to play one song in five from the playlist. why is that? maybe i'm just mistaken.

Monkey

Yeah I think phantom overplay tracks like "Last Nite" by the Strokes it's always bloody on. Muse's "feelin good" is overplayed. I'd like to see a bigger A-list with at least 20 maybe as many as 50 songs on it.

some tracks that I'd have in the a-list right now (I'm not sure which of them are or not) :

Radiohead- True Love Waits
The Hives - Main Offender
Spiritualized - Out of Sight
Connect Four Orchestra - new 7"
Something from Dakota Oak's new album
Badly Drawn Boy - one of the new tracks from the TN compilation
Creative Controle - Bloodrush
El Diablo - Love Hurts
SFA - not the end of the world
Beta Band - Squares
New Order's new single
Dudley Corporation - Divil The Bit
Joan of Arse - Slaves in the galley sharpening their oars
and loads more

And about Irish stuff i think the original post meant not that there is too much irish music played but rather too much **** irish music played. I think too many good local bands are passed over (or as goos as) by phantom like: Dot Creek, Joan of Arse, Coldspoon Conspiracy, Connect four Orchestra, Jimmy Cake, Redneck Manifesto, 46 long..

Also some times i get the impression that some DJs play music thst they think is **** just because people like it, like I've heard someone basically say the Revs are **** and then proceeding to play their latest song, sure isn't that what they do on fm104?

there I've said it...

Monkey

Also I don't think you should remove songs from the list if another station playlists them that's like letting them steal away music that you wanna play and that we want to here.

If a good band get playlisted on fm 104 (somehow) I don't i should have to listen to crap radio to hear them.

Raggamuffin

Hey phantom i'd love to hear some criticiseing (is that spelt right?)

I'd love is phantom were able to not be so happy happy joy joy about anything and everything on phantom (chop suey - system of a down) being a dreadful song but i'd love you to say its ba don air but still play it.........

I dunno its like do you ever hear that 2fm attitude ~"GREAT SONG GREAT BAND AMERICAN YOU KNOW!!! WAKA WAKA WAKA"

Is there any album review show were you could possibly have listener involvement in the best possible taste.

I have respect for those involved in phantom and i beleive they have music at heart its just people's bad taste hahahaha

Sinister Pete

To answer a few questions:

We have at least 25 or so songs in our A-list in both the Irish and International categories = 40-50 songs, some of which were mentioned in Monkey's list.

We don't stop (that's a double negative) playing songs that are on other stations, we simply don't keep them on the A-list. We feel that once a song has caught on in commercial radio there's no need for it to be played by Phantom. This, of course, is only the case when talking about the likes of FM 104, 98, 2FM not XFM. We'll still play them but not in high rotation.

I'm sure that some commercial stations pick up on what we play and add those songs to their playlist.

P.S. Say what you like about Chop Suey, Nu Metal or whatever other bands you don't like, the people who like it can't hear it anywhere else so we play it cos that's our job.

SimonMaher

Right, Im going to have to start at the beginning with this one, which as Julie Andrews would say, is a very fine place to start!

I should explain that its 1.20am and Im very tired and cranky, and that leads me to be blunt. Which is maybe a good thing. But don't take it personally, its just meant as a debate.

First, Sinister Pete has explained how the music at Phantom works, and Trev has very eloquently put the realities of radio on the record too. Thanks to both and to all the others on either side of this debate.

But there are a few points I have to take people up on:

Firstly Deamdresch: Back to the original posting. Don't ever ever use the "Pirate Radio" line without knowing what Phantom is about. Its a lazy notion along the lines of "Hey Man, its pirate radio, there are no rules man...." Yes there are. For us anyway. Firstly, we are pirate by neccessity rather than choice. Two full licence applications, seven submissions of interest and £50,000 of our own money later. Phantom as a "pirate" is deliberately as similar to the legal version as we can be. And of course, the other side is that if we got the licence we would get "Yea, they got the licence man, and then they went commercial!". Sometimes you just can't win. Secondly, our aim is to fill a market niche. In some ways that may not suit you musically, but hey, it doesnt suit me either but Im just one consumer. If our listeners like the overall product then we will survive and prosper. If two hundred people think we are cool then we will go under very very quickly. Trust me.

Yes, there is an A-List of new releases. Generally 20 new International and 20 new Irish. And yes, they get played more often. Reality of what we do. I think its a pretty good mix, even though I dont like all of the tracks. But once again, its not a station for me alone, its a station for an audience. I in no way understand your "better for music in the long run" comment about the bands you mention. Explain that one please. Does this mean the future success of a band like Brando is worth less somehow than the success of Estel?

About the Stereophonics. Lazy remark "The Stereophonics are a commercial sell out band". Explain. Firstly, the last time they were A listed was two years ago, and secondly, they are still very popular with our listeners so they get played. Not much, but they do get played. You dont like them, fair enough.

Getting a pattern here yet?

What muck that gets playlisted? Back up what you say. What ****e Irish music? Back up what you say. And remember, personal preference is not a realistic argument. Logic check: I dont like brocolli, but that doesnt mean nobody else can!

The volume of requests has grown dramatically since our return in July of this year. And thats great, but I agree, we need to find a way to cut down the amount of namechecking which I am equally guilty of. All suggestions as to how are welcome. Im chuffed whenever anyone takes the time to text or ring and feel bad if I dont at least say hi to them. Solutions welcome!

Free for all radio as you suggest doesnt work. Well, it can work but very few will listen. Our aim is to build a large audience, who we can expose to the ****e irish artists you say we play. Guilty.

No, Irish artists are not put there to fill space. Music makes it on air because its good. Maybe not to your taste, but hey.

Yes, we dont always pick up on things straight away. Simple matter of resources most of the time. Getting someone to get the music, listen to it and catalogue it can take time, particularly if you have a day job too!

Incidentally, I played My Bloody Valentine on Sunday...not the first time either.

Re swearwords: "I notice they do that on these boards, too.
Funny, that." Explain?


Sanvean: "most of the genuinely amazing and original irish bands are part of a scene that phantom won't play, or will patronise with a couple of plays". Firstly thats a personal choice on your behalf which is fair enough but the "patronise" comment is just lazy once again. Are No Disco "patronising" by only playing these artists videos a couple of times. Donal Dineen/Fanning etc likewise? Silly thing to say. Personally I think we play some of the best Irish music around, but it can always be improved on. But no, we arent "patronising" any group of artists.


Monkey/O Sleep: Songs are removed from Phantoms A list if they do start to get saturation coverage on 104 or 98. This gives us a chance to give another song a slot on the A list. Simple as that.

And Monkey, thanks for your list of suggestions for the A List. Im sure if we asked all the posters here to email in their selections we would get a massive variety. All suggestions musically are always welcome.

And Ragamuffin: We're happy happy joy joy because we love what we're doing and we count ourselves lucky to be getting the chance to do it. Its great fun, hard work, but so rewarding. And yes, we're enthusiastic about the music and all the other stuff too, and thats how we express it. Maybe we should be more miserable like XFM...joking Daithi...joking :-)

Right, sorry if I was harsh with anybody but this comes up about every 3 months and I never remember to cut and paste it.

Right, must go and sleep now.

Regards,

Pete Reed

BHG

Why sleep pete? the day thats in it

100 years off wireless today

"The first and final answer came at 12:30 when
I heard ...dot...dot..dot"
Guglielmo Marconi Dec 12th 1901

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1701000/1701461.stm

so back to topic, all I can say is I ran a free
for all radio, coz it was what I believed in,
you're right you get sod all listeners that way,
its more DIY "doing it for yourselves" when its
a free for all.

I didnt read the whole thread but just because
1. Phantom is a cool station
2. in legal quagmire
3. that listens to listeners
4. that has a buzzin board

does that mean the guys n gals that run
Phantom FM don't run it no more coz the
community access make their efforts / choices
n professionalism null n void???

heck no, people will complain re this n that
but at the end of the day its your
dot dot dot signal that your control.

happy xmas pete
bfn bhg

teamdresch

Looks like I upset Pete Reed. I will clarify, as my original post was a little meandering...but it'll take a sec to read through all these replys first ;
I'll get back to ya.
And by the way, this was all meant in a wholly positive way. I like phantom. It's for that reason that I'd like to help make it better ( if I can ).

SimonMaher

Brian! Good to see your posting. And yea, I had forgotten about today being the centenary of Mr Marconis broadcast. Hasn't radio come on a long way since then. Well, except in Ireland of course ;-). At least Marconi didn't have to get a poxy licence to broadcast radio signals! Discovery Channel had a really good documentary on Marconi the other night, great great story. Even had photos from his experimental broadcasts at the Dublin Bay regatta (first offshore broadcast!). Happy Christmas to you too Brian, regards to all the clan.

Teamdresch! No, its ok Im not upset. Just passionate about Phantom and was also as I said tired and cranky. This is a conversation best had in a pub or a chipper afterwards, usually followed by fightin' and chip spillin! Just try asking Sinister Pete about Buddhism. None of its personal though, just a debate. I look forward to your considered reply!

Regards,

Pete Reed

teamdresch

Trev M : that's cool, I see no point in getting antsy in what is, after all supposed to be constructive conversation. I'm glad to see that most people on these boards are the same.
I too believe that the DJ's put a lot into their shows. I mean, they do it for free for chrissake. It just seems to me that they should have a little more leeway to do so. However, I'll return to that later...

Slash99 : true, but...

PiE : I think you should hear bands like Sigur Ros. I think the reason no-one requests them is because, although there's plenty on people in lovely Dublin who like them, they don't listen to Phantom..perhaps because they don't expect to hear those kind of bands. Phantom's been around a while now, and I think everyone I know of an even vaguely alternative inclination has listened to it at one point or another, but I've never known a show that caters for that kind of band. I'm thinking "post-rock" kinda stuff like them, Electrelane, Mogwai, Estel, Redknecks etc.

Sinister Pete : I'm glad you support Irish music, I really am. I'm glad that's one of the goals of your station, and what should have gotten you the license.
I'd like to make it as clear as possible right now, that this is in no way a musical-preference driven discussion. I am very, very aware that it's pointless arguing from the 'well, I like it, so it's good' perspective. I will try my very best not to use that ultimately fruitless line of conversation. We all know how silly that would be.
I'd never heard of Spectrum until now. I certainly never said anything about selling out, although I think someone else may have alluded to that in a different context. And I agree that your staff are dedicated. In a town where so many good and worthy ideas never get beyond pub-talk, I'm glad yours did and ended up in the strong position it is now. I think it's quite possible that Phantom is the single entity that best serves the young, original Irish bands in Dublin today.

Monkey : "I think too many good local bands are passed over (or as goos as) by phantom like: Dot Creek, Joan of Arse, Coldspoon Conspiracy, Connect four Orchestra, Jimmy Cake, Redneck Manifesto, 46 long..".
These are the kinds of bands I'm talking about. I've never heard these bands on Phantom. Although people may not request them, I think even a small sample of this kind of band on the playlist may well translate into a lot of requests. I know well that you want to educate your listenership. I assume that's why, in part, you're on the radio. I may be crazy, but I think these bands are more worthwhile than those who write songs about Britney Spears.

Sinister Pete (again) : I really didn't realise there were 50 songs on your playlist. Are there any measures you take to ensure that people check what the DJ before them played? It seems to me I've heard two playlisted songs in different DJ's sets within, say an hour of each other. And I agree. Phantom plays songs you don't hear anywhere else. Kudos,

Pete Reed : That's the longest post I've ever seen by a tired man. I think I upset you...allow me to clarify / redress as needs be.
OK. Instead of referring to Phantom as pirate radio...how about ' the spirit of radio '. My principal line of thinking was that the playlists which Phantom adheres to restricts the choice and scope that the individual DJ's have. I did not know that said playlist ran to 50 or so songs. I imagined it was closer to 10-15. The reason for this was that I seemed to be hearing a lot of overlap. In the past few weeks I've heard 'this is love', 'feeling good', 'untitled' etc. an awful lot. Now I know nothing, I claim no expertise...but a little checklist of how often songs on the playlist are played may cut down on the overlap somewhat. For all I know, you do that already. It's just seemed to me that there have been gaps in Phantom's output that I saw these playlists as perhaps creating, since they cut down on the scope that Dj's had to do their own thing. This is as good a time as any to make it very clear that :
1. I understand the way Phantom works. I also understand that if it was not run on such a sound, proffesional basis, that it's wouldn't have lasted as long. That it has is testament to the foresight and dedication that the Phantom crew has. Well done.
2. Once again, this is not motivated by my own tastes. There are bands I'd like you to play that i dislike (both personally and musically sometimes). I'd just like you to be the best goddamn station there is...not compared to 98fm, but compared to any radio station you'd care to name.

It's a fact that it was criminal not to award Phantom the license. We all have our own opinions as to why that didn't happen, but it certainly wasn't because of any problems with the station or your proposal, I'll bet.
I know you have playlists, and I know that's what you do. Refer to my above question to Sinister Pete for clarification of that. I apologise for my somewhat elitist comment regarding the relative worths of one band over another. That's the indie-kid in me, I can't help it...but I acknowledge that it has no place in this discussion. Cheerfully withdrawn.
I didn't mention the Stereophonics. I wouldn't even bother
Back it up? I'm afraid the novelty songs I'm referring to made me turn off the radio, not listen out for the band's name. That's not meant to sound bitchy, that's just the way it is. If I knew their names, I'd tell you. And I must add that they were playlisted a month or two ago, possibly longer. I meant to post on that bit a while ago, but never got around to it.
The swearwords thing : I wasn't going to name names, but 'wired to the ****ing moon'? the ****'s on this board just reminded me of it. Sorry, it was a little smartarse.
As for what Sanvean said I agree. It is personal taste, but that's no bad thing. I think by including said bands, you'd be broadening the station's output, and you'd get more listeners. That's what I'd like to see!
Anyway re BHG's curious post, and to conclude this lunch-break destroying post.
Yes, I agree...Phantom ROCKS.
Let's just keep it that way.
And see if it can't rock a little more.
Think of the children.

Tara

Just thought that there was a bit of confusion in this discussion in regards to a playlist and our A-list.

As a Phantom DJ, I can tell you that there is no "playlist". We are not told what to play and when to play it.

We do have an A-list that contains from 30-50 tracks. As Phantom DJ's we are asked to play a certain percentage of A-list tracks, Irish and requests. After that, we do have free reign.

I would also add that the management of Phantom - Pete and Pete, do encourage us to check to see what A-list tracks were played by the DJ who was on before us.

sanvean

pete (read): i understand you were tired and cranky, but 'to patronise' has two meanings:
1. to act as patron of : provide aid or support for
2. to adopt an air of condescension toward : treat haughtily or coolly
you pressumed i was using it in context of the latter, i was in fact referring to the former. you do play the bands i listed, sometimes. but only sometimes. therefore you patronise them (because they are underground and you are providing support) by playing them. yes, donal dineen etc etc patronise all the bands they play by giving them airtime. of course.

i'd agree with teamdresch in that i too like phantom. but i tend to switch around the radio stations, especially at around 8 to 12 o'clock at night, when the other commercial radio stations play what is essentially phantom lite (or in donal dineen's case: obscure 60s soul), but is sometimes quite good. i used to flick between XFM and phantom regularly (ie, when phantom played what i thought was a crap song, i'd switch over to XFM, and vice versa) but as i think was mentioned somewhere else in this post, XFM seems to be having trouble broadcasting of late.

phantom sometimes have shows that deal specifically with certain genres or time frames, so i'd have a suggestion (obviously i realise that i have little to no knowledge about how radio stations work, etc, so feel free to tell me exactly how naive and stupid i'm being) perhaps have a 'post-rock' show late at night (horrible horrible title that, but you know what i'm getting at). just an idea. i know there'd definately be an audience, and i don't think it'd be cutting in on traditional XFM territory, as nobody seems to be able to pick up XFM anymore. post-rock isn't necessarily obscure and elitist.

anyway ...

teamdresch

I think you're splitting hairs a litle, tara.
An 'A' list that you have to play a certain percentage of is pretty much the same thing as a playlist.
P.S. no bitchiness intended.

James_M

Wow!

Well at least one thing is clear. I'm afraid of Britney Spears is not popular amongst the Phantom board contributors (I'll add my name to that lis while I'm here).

From what I gather, sets are made up of three things
1. The A List
2. Requests
3. DJs choice

And I don't necessarily mean in that order. (God you have to be so careful)

As a result some are bound to overlap. Songs on the A List are requested and therefore contribute towards the 20%. This might explain why more songs on the A List exist and are played than teamdresch might have thought.

I do agree with (can't remember who said it) though. Perhaps there is an opening for one or two more specific content shows like Paul Clarkes Irish show only with, obviously, different content.

I suppose this then means that part of the market is left out during each speciality show leaving some listeners to switch off.

I recognise the catch 22 that exists and have to say that with the resources and time available to the Phantom crew an almost imposible job is being done well.
Also fair do's to the Pete's for taking on all the criticism and suggestions and using it constructively. Probably damned if I would!

Monkey

Ooops I was mistaking the A-list for the phantom top ten. I still think stuff gets overplayed though maybe its not the size of the list that's the problem.

"What muck that gets playlisted? Back up what you say. What ****e Irish music?" - not that I made the original point but the Revs.

"Say what you like about Chop Suey, Nu Metal or whatever other bands you don't like, the people who like it can't hear it anywhere else so we play it cos that's our job."

- I think you it'd be better if you played only what you want to play not crap you don't like. If you don't love the music your are playing what's the point? Playing crap music that's popular is fm104's forté.

skittles

I didn't really want to get involved in this but here it goes. Phantom fm hits my taste 40% of the time I listen in. the rest of the time it can either (a) inform me of new acts that i might like(b) new releases I might like(c)Play stuff that I find naff or (d)blah blah.. Basically who are we the listener to complain. I know that those guys are passionate about what their doin'(part of the appeal) and that nobody else is doin' it better. I also now that they don't owe it to me or anyone else!! It's not like I have to pay for the service..not like sky digital...I just turn on me leetle radio and bobs your aunty..If I dont like it then I turn it off again, sayin maybe later!!

myles

gosh golly! I think I'll print all this up, put on my wooly socks, brew up some mulled wine and read this one by the christmas tree....

Brautigan

I agree with somebody on the last page who said something about Phantom not having a late night show. Nearly more so than often I find myself in the position of driving around Dublin (lost) from 1am onwards only to find Donal Dineen over and replaced by a load of A-list today FM cack and Ruth Scott twittering away about her mammies new slippers.

What would be nice would be an all-in late night extraveganza from Phantom with some deluded jock playing a bit of god knows what with some odd ball studio guests in every now and again to give out about great night they've just had. Instead of traffic reports you could have reports about snarl ups at Chippers and which Centra has the longest queue, which one has ran out of skins etc... Nobody would listen but hey, it would be an easy way to slip Sigur Ros or Orbital onto the Phantom playlist.

B

BHG

teamdresch> Anyway re BHG's curious post
what was curious about it?

Brautigan> What would be nice would be an all-in
late night extraveganza from Phantom with
some deluded jock playing a bit of god knows
what with some odd ball studio guests in every
now and again to give out about great night
they've just had.


sounds like Mike Maloney 2FM 6 years ago. not the
blight FM that hes at now. I can hear it
now, the 2am compo, 2 six packs delivered to yer
door by ABC cabs if you can tell us Maloney's
DJ name when he was on Nova's Kiss FM (c1983?)

must stop the thread becomming an anorack fest.

I have to say, 98+FM pay Lansdownes 000's of quid
to get workshop feedback thats nowhere near as
good as this.

If I can suggest some music direction...
drop in a few (very few) '79-'83
punk-ska-mod-new_vave for the over 30's
listeners. ie Buzzcocks-Beat-Jam-Numan

I know some people over 30 :-), and they like
that sort of really old stuff that still ends
up being played at parties with the stone roses
stuff.

Can I book a request now?
Jan 3rd 2002: 10:15pm msg is.
"For Liam in the Joy, happy new year"
pls play Julian Cope..."world shut yer mouth"

bfn bhg

Tom E Brown

"I'm affriad of Britney Spears" was by an american band called Live On Release

They're not irish teamdresch!

o sleep

i think i'm the only person i know who likes 'world shut your mouth'. all my friends HATE it, with a passion.

i still think a late night altalternative night would be great, with or without bizarre stories of fights in chippers and centra queues. as for a punk/ska (shudder) night, was anyone listening last night? one of the djs seemed to be playing the sex pistols every second song...

teamdresch

I stand corrected, Mr. Brown...however I have moved on from naming bands to talking about wider issues. I'll listen closer for examples of the kinda stuff I'm talking about, but it's not really relevant to the discussion anymore.

myles

Your original remark about 'Irish shi te' is'nt going to escape you. What Shi te? Why do bother us with your opinions if you dont listen close enough? mmmm...

poobags

Me knows i'm a bit late but **** it.

Phantom is great in many ways. It gives new Irish bands a starting block. It should probably try and cater for a braoder range of new Irish acts rather than the alt. rock genre.
On the subject of ****e irish music, I'm willing to put up with ****e like melatron as long as quality acts like Turn and David Kitt are also heard. No playlist is perfect. Pushing phantom further alternative is no answer to getting a better quality of music. Lots of it is pretentious bull****. Look at John Kelly, great show at first and now its gone to **** playing the wierdist monkey poo known to man.
SFA OK SFA OK

teamdresch

Read the rest of my posts, myles. I don't know the names of these bands because...I switch them off. I'm doing my research as we speak. I bother you with my opinions because I can. Did you research your reply? Have you read the rest of my posts?

teamdresch

Oh, and poobags...I'm not suggesting Phantom gets pushed more alternative, I'm just suggesting that it would be no harm to include the other areas of Irish music too. Don't ya think?

Tom E Brown

Every band that sends a demo into phantom will get it played at least once, that is if its broadcast quality.

I've used this information before and I'm sure it will be used again:

Over a 2 month period before our last licence application phantom FM played music from over 230 different Irish bands.

When you talk about us pushing other areas of Irish music I think you have missed the point of phantom. We don’t push any bands; they are all given the same playing field and its up to the individual bands to earn their audience and popularity by writing music that people want to hear, playing excellent gigs, and working hard to publicise themselves.

We don’t censor the music from any bands, or push specific bands because we think they're cool. Phantom FM is an area where bands can have a chance to reach a new audience, and entertain the audience who is listening. It is that audience who decide on what band becomes popular, not us. We can introduce any band to our audience, but if their are not popular with the audience its nothing to do with us.

In this industry you have to work very hard to do well, and although Phantom FM is an excellent starting point for many bands, it will always be the bands that create their own successes from consistent good live performances.

It’s not Phantom FM's responsibility to make you famous and successful. That’s your job.

trackstar

if phantom wants an estel cd just email estel@thumped.com and there will be one on the way!

myles

sorry teamdresch, but I did'nt read the rest of your posts...it's the first one thats a real doozy. You were didley iddely rockin the boat with that one. good on ya. Now....some names...?

back to front

Ok!.......you're wrong. Stop!

CrazyHorse4

So....what's your opinion on Buddhism then????? *


















*negative, displeased tone of voice included (intended)

Brautigan

What's Bubble Bath got to do with it?