Radio 5 Live's sparky new line-up provided light relief after an overdose of Dylan
Blowing in the Wind: Dylan's Spiritual Journey (R4) | iPlayer
Amazing Radio
Shelagh Fogarty (5 Live) | iPlayer
The Back End of Next Week (5 Live) | iPlayer
We're All in This Together (5 Live) | iPlayer
Men's Hour (5 Live) | iPlayer
After the past few weeks' broadcasting, does anyone ever want to hear the words superinjunction, or Bob Dylan again? (Unless Dylan himself has taken one out, which you'd understand: going to the courts to demand that all media everywhere forever never mention his birthday again.) The final straw, for me, was last Tuesday on Radio 4's Blowing in the Wind: Dylan's Spiritual Journey, in which Dylan obsessives wondered a lot and said very little. "We don't have the guest list," lamented one, about Bob's barmitzvah. "I think it probably hit him very hard," intoned another, on his divorce. What was the BBC thinking, commissioning so many shows about a man who's fought against personal analysis for his entire life? You longed for the straightforward musical joy of Bob's own Theme Time Radio Hour.
For those in search of more musical joy, I have a suggestion: Amazing Radio. An idea so simple you can't believe it hasn't been done already, Amazing Radio is a station that plays tracks uploaded on to its website by unsigned, emerging musicians. That's it. It has proper shows and DJs, including one called Chris Martin (it's not him), but essentially, it's all about the music. If you like a track, you can buy it at amazingtunes.com for 79p (some tracks are free) ? and every penny of that goes to the band! It's a lovely parallel universe.
Shelagh Fogarty, cheerful but never amateurish, is already well settled into her new slot at lunchtime on 5 Live, chatting easily, last week, about mobile phone spam (Thursday) and caesarean sections (Tuesday). Even when she crashes into the show furniture ? "Oh, I forgot we were going to do that!" ? she recovers with warmth and grace. A doyenne of live radio, stopping and starting her guests to accommodate Obama's visit, never forgetting to mention their full title, she's a friendly, professional presence after the uptight Gabby Logan (who I like on TV).
Other new stuff on 5 Live includes a revamp of Sundays: now we have Tony Livesey from 9.30-11am, followed by Nick Hancock's jolly The Back End of Next Week, and in the evening ? oh Lord ? the return of Men's Hour. Livesey, to me, is more late night than Sunday morning, though I enjoy his feistiness and tabloid news sensibilities, and he roared through his new programme, an in-depth look at an issue of the week. Shame about the title though: We're All in This Together ? argh. Hancock's show, a round-up of the whole week, is light and sparky, though some elements don't work (the local news stories) and, on occasion, there's a lot of spark from guests, but no insight. Hancock, though, is very good: a thoroughgoing 5 Live type.
And then there's Men's Hour. Oh dear. I do wish this was better, but Tim Samuels is still an awkward live presenter, despite the shows opening with his new (pre-recorded?) positive radio voice. He and co-presenter Jon Holmes have clearly worked on the show but, on Sunday, both descended immediately into ums, ers and sort ofs. Plus, the tone is wrong: more a Boys' Hour than a Men's.
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