The Beardytron 5000 Mk II

We catch up on last week's International Record Store Day party. Craig Parkinson reads a story by Ian Rankin, a roadie's cautionary tale of a band break-up. Jarvis interviews Beardyman, who begins by explaining how his music is like that of the lyrebird. With his unique 'real-time music production system', the Beardytron 5000 Mk II, he samples vocal sounds to create amazing beatboxing electro. He's a one-man band, producer and studio! He participates in a jamma session, with Jarvis reading the lyrics to a long-lost Pulp song. The Peel W is for Wagon Christ. And today is International Health and Safety at Work Day. Birthdays: Ian Rankin, Kim Gordon, Harper Lee (a short extract from To Kill a Mockingbird), Lauren Laverne (who's recorded a message for us), Ann-Margret, Jacques Dutronc, Blossom Dearie (discussing her name), Penélope Cruz and Yves Klein (there's a spoken word track about his blue).

Jarvcasts

Can anyone help with a request?

I had a comment from listener Frank regarding the Jarvcasts.  This was a series of short stories read by Jarvis and released as podcasts — two of them have featured on JCSS in the past.

Here's a list:

2006:
The Wizards of the Westman Islands (Icelandic folk tale) [7:49]
The Bokkala and the Boy (Icelandic folk tale) [4:48]
Excerpt from The Tokyo Montana Express by Richard Brautigan [13:17]
The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage (from Grimms' Fairy Tales) [3:58]
The Laughing Man by JD Salinger [30:59]
The Shadow by Hans Christian Andersen [27:57]

2007 Halloween:
Rats by MR James [13:56]
Playmates by AM Burrage [52:25]

Frank has most of them but is missing the underlined ones.  Can anyone shed any light on the search?  I haven't got any of them but I'm sure someone reading this can help...

Record Store Day Round-Up

In honour of Record Store Day yesterday, Jarvis presents some exclusive records, both brand new singles and classic re-releases. Featuring a jazz poetry superjam by Michael Horovitz, and great TV themes from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Star Trek and the jazz-playing puppets from Thunderbirds. A recent study has shown that new music lights up the brain's reward centre: we test whether new cover versions give your nucleus accumbens a double-whammy of pleasure. On This Day in 1989, protests began in Tiananmen Square and in 1990 Sinéad O'Connor started a lengthy run at the US number one spot. And our old-fashioned host recalls flexi discs fondly but admits that Facebook has him foxed. Birthdays: Iggy Pop (who remembers starting out and his influences), Alistair MacLean, Ira Louvin, Robert Smith (who's tougher than he looks) and Eddy Christiani. 

A Change Is Gonna Come

There's a warm breeze, a change in the air... On This Day, Webster's dictionary was published, videotape was unveiled and poor Abraham Lincoln was shot. The first Highway Code was issued too: 'always give way to trains'. Jarvis reads a passage from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, published today in 1939. Listeners share what they're up to: DIY, handicrafts and having a baby! We remember the musicians of the Titanic, who kept on playing to calm the passengers. The Peel V is for Van der Graaf Generator. And listeners suggest songs to herald the beginning of a new era. Birthdays: Rod Steiger (discussing drinking), Shorty Rogers, Julie Christie (telling a naughty joke and criticising aspirational magazines), Loretta Lynn, Win Butler, Robert Carlyle (considering the music taste of his characters) and Gerry Anderson (his puppet Marina was Jarvis's first love). Valete: Margaret Thatcher. 

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

Jarvis meets natural history film-maker Sir David Attenborough. They discuss the origins of singing and the significance of music and rhythm to every human culture. David remembers his 1950s series The Song Hunter, produced with ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. It was an early showcase for folk and popular music on BBC television — although David recalls one disastrous performance! He also reads out advice from Victorian explorers, hints at a forthcoming project with Björk and explains how elaborate songs and plumage can attract a flighty female. They consider our amazing, sometimes daunting, ability to access music written throughout history. Jarvis asks David about the importance of connecting with nature, and how he feels about the closure of BBC Television Centre. David has dedicated his broadcasting career to sharing science and culture with everybody, and for that Jarvis thanks him. Birthdays: Florian Schneider and Andrew Sachs (talking about his love of animals).