S/FJ

LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR

During my two weeks in Amsterdam, I had the pleasure of meeting journalist Job de Wit, editor of State Magazine, podcaster for Revu magazine, and former DJ for VPRO. (The linked audio content is in Dutch. I can say “May we please have more water?” in Dutch, but I cannot write it down, and I cannot tell you what Job is on about in these podcasts. If he is insulting your favorite band, you will need to take that up with him.)

Today, Job sent me a link to this VPRO video session from May of 2006. It is footage of Green Gartside playing two and a half Scritti Politti songs in an elevator. Some of you will wonder how he has managed to keep that voice intact for almost thirty years. (This question is posed to Green during the session.) Some of you (like me) will wish the camera had panned down more often to reveal the guitar chords Green was playing. The rest of you can just marvel, multi-task, or Google Reader your bad selves on to the next entertainment pellet.

Job: “VPRO is one of about ten public broadcasters that operate through Holland’s three public television stations, and five public radio stations. Each of these stations-without-a-station has a channel director who manages to maintain each one as a coherent TV or radio channel. (For example, each station has its own members and publishes its own guides.) 3FM is the Dutch equivalent of BBC Radio 1. VPRO is the liberal/progressive broadcaster (“omroep”) and therefore does not broadcast until 10 PM so that listeners aren’t chased away by “alternative” programming.

Besides their TV/radio shows and TV guide/magazine, VPRO also publishes a number of websites on which they can do what they like. One of them is 3VOOR12, a pop website. This is where the elevator session with Green is from.”

Ui recorded a session for VPRO in either 1996 or 1999. This recording has been preserved on a DAT tape, which is sitting in a box, which is sitting in a storage space. The day I need to find a DAT machine will be an amusing day.

Posted by Sasha at September 6, 2007 11:26 AM | TrackBack