The Rezillos Top of the Pops

Does anyone recall this tune ? A cash in record of the punk era, which lyrics describe cashing in. The catch line was Everybody's on Top of the Pops (Top of the Pops being a TV chart show).

These days you could sing Everybody's on Star Point Radio

I mention it so as to begin my ramble about Starpoint Radio an internet streaming station which features several good shows. Well really it features two very good shows "Urban Essentials" and "Select Soul" plus a lot of shows that are quite worthy, I suppose.

What I don't like about Starpoint is it's reliance on people who frequent one particular Soul Forum which is EMS. Over the last 18 months it has recruited many DJ's from this forum and frankly changed the whole nature of this once good interchange of info and tracks. I know that doing a Radio Show isn't easy I was involved in one myself a few years ago. Of course I got little support from EMS back then, seeing as people didn't need me to big up their show (as most didn't have one back then)-there was no need to say hello or add words of encouragement. Not that I mind this of course-it's par for the....

Of course my involvement with a Radio was at best peripheral-its not like I DJed or anything, so when sitting in judgement I can be honest. There are two big problems with Starpoint presenters-the first is the presentation. The only decent voices on Starpoint I've heard (and I've certainly not heard them all) are Teee and Ockers. Bigger well he's Bigger and Paul Goldsmith is OK-the rest though are flat and rather uninteresting. Now I've nothing against a variety of voices-we all can't be Alistair Cooke but really...put some bloody effort in the rest of you.

The next problem certainly with the EMS presenters is the music- now of course they all play some good music but it's the sad lack of variety that brings me down. Mark Randle is a real music lover but listening to his show this evening was so very predictable. I thought before the show "I bet he plays Zo but not" :
http://altmodsoul.blogspot.com/2010/07/zo-and-better-one.html

And of course he played Zo! feat. Sy Smith – Greatest Weapon Of All Time.

NB last Friday Bigger did play the good one by Zo-mostly because somebody I know sent it to him

Now of course you shouldn't judge a show by a track or by a playlist-you need to listen to it in total. Mark Randle has been doing streaming radio for many years so his experience at putting tracks together is good and it shows. While he has a voice which frankly isn't exactly sexy he does manage to come across as quite bright-which is kinda rare across the Starpoint Schedule. I long for an alternate voice on there choosing different and underplayed new music. I feel I'll be waiting a long time....

(sigh)