The Hall of Legends - John Peel: Transmission 148, 2014 August 30

This is actually the second time I've done an all-Peel Sessions program, but the first since I've started doing the "celebrity birthday observances" thing. The first such program, from December 2012, was early days--a ragged show but still one of the best I've done. At the time the "Hall of Legends" wasn't even a thing, though it would be very shortly. At any rate you probably don't need anyone to tell you why John Peel was important, or what he meant, to the world or to them personally--but just in case you do, my own testimony is at that first hyperlink. I've probably said this before in some way or other, but my nearest approach to that kind of greatness only happens when I play the music that Peel and his producers commissioned, and maybe also when I play things at the wrong speed or botch the segues.

On that note, there certainly were some glitches in this program, so I do consider it a proper homage. I didn't have Persephone riding sidecar this time, which would have been perfect, but I did have engineer Slade mucking about in the studio while I was trying to cue records. Sometimes he just hears that I'm on the air and considers that a green light to visit the studio and do some work. Don't get me wrong--we'd be lost without him. My show is mere bombast, after all, especially when I commandeer a time slot that isn't "mine." Still, is my show really as depressing as he says?

This is a bit of a departure for the Hall of Legends--prior to this induction, the Hall had been musicians-only [yes, even Ivo]. I wasn't anxious to branch out, and Peel seemed, as I say early on in the broadcast, "too obvious." What I really mean is that it's almost unnecessary--he's universally loved/respected/admired/whatever. Then again, he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nor does it seem like he's about to wind up there, which seems like, I don't know, a bit of an oversight? In a previous life someone actually paid me to teach the youth, and one of the things I tried to impart was that Aristotle [as critic/theorist/"idea person"] was way more important to theatre than countless playwrights, actors, directors, and so on. This is true of John Peel and music and at the end of the day I guess I didn't care if I was just joining the chorus.

But no more DJs. That wing of the Hall has room only for one.

BOMBAST playlist, 2014 August 30, 2000-2200:

1. "Do It Better" | Happy Mondays | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
2. "In Fear of Fear" | Bauhaus | Spirit | Alfa
3. "Here Today" | The Chameleons | The John Peel Sessions | Dutch East India Trading
4. "5-8-6" | New Order | Mixed Peel | NME - Strange Fruit | "Physical Evidence"
5. "Coffin Ed & Grave Digger Jones" | The Flaming Stars | The Six John Peel Sessions | Vinyl Japan
6. "Scratched Bicycle / Smell Memory" | Mum | The Peel Session | FatCat
7. "Raquel" | The Specials | BBC Sessions | EMI
8. "No Escape From Heaven" | Curve | Radio Sessions | Anxious
9. "Blind Dumb Deaf" | Cocteau Twins | Garlands | 4AD
10. "Ride A White Swan" | T. Rex | Mixed Peel | NME - Strange Fruit | "Physical Evidence"
11. "Levitate Me" | Pixies | Pixes At The BBC | Elektra
12. "Apocalypse" | In Camera | Fin | 4AD
13. "Love Gets Dangerous" | Billy Bragg | Mixed Peel | NME - Strange Fruit | "Physical Evidence"
14. "Rich Kids" | Rich Kids | Winters of Discontent | Strange Fruit
15. "Felicity" | The Wedding Present | The BBC Sessions | Dutch East India Trading
16. "Land's End" | Siouxsie & The Banshees | Voices On The Air | Polydor
17. "Arthur's Farm / All I Want For Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit" | Half Man Half Biscuit | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
18. "Smile" | The Fall | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
19. "Naked Cousin" | PJ Harvey | The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 | Island
20. "New Rose" | The Damned | Mixed Peel | NME - Strange Fruit | "Physical Evidence"
21. "Enchanted" | The Wild Swans | Winters of Discontent | Strange Fruit
22. "I've Changed My Address" | The Jam | The Peel Session | Strange Fruit
23. "A Matter of Gender" | The Associates | Winters of Discontent | Strange Fruit
24. "Straight To Your Heart" | Loop | Wolf Flow | Reactor
25. "Start From Scratch" | The Nightingales | Winters of Discontent | Strange Fruit
26. "Fire In Cairo" | The Cure | The Peel Session | Dutch East India Trading
27. "Here Comes The Summer" | The Undertones | Mixed Peel | NME - Strange Fruit | "Physical Evidence"
28. "Hope Against Hope" | Band Of Susans | The Peel Sessions | Dutch East India Trading
29. "Radio One" | Jimi Hendrix Experience | The BBC Sessions | MCA

next time: keeping it "up and bouncy." Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis