The Festive Pop Quiz in Telfords went well last night. Thank god. Even with Stew's valuable help [a picture round and the majority of the general music knowledge questions] preparing the music rounds for the quiz swallows up the whole of a Monday... and that after a long night in the studio would be enough to give Rip Van Winkle bags under his eyes.

Especially when it's a Christmas quiz... the amount of shit music I had to listen to and edit together yesterday was unimaginable. Infact, it's probably left lasting scars.

But it went well, and those punters who bothered to turn up [there were enough... just] appeared to enjoy themselves. We had two teams tied for first place, and a further three tied for second place, so there was frantic jotting down of some tiebreaker questions.

Of course, none of that late drama would have unfolded if Soundhog had turned up. He has told me, though, that festive music is a bit of a blindspot for him.

I'll remember that.

After the quiz, and during it too, I sank a considerable amount of Guinness. Today, my head feels like the toilet in a Rusholme curry house at three 'o' clock on a Saturday morning.

I'm trying to write. Not this, but finishing my entry off for the Waterstones Children's fiction competition:- deadline, July 31st 2005.

That's not a typo.

It's five months' late.

And, it's not very good; but you probably guessed that already ;0)

I made some questionable comments about the 'Welsh language' music scene on my show on Sunday night. They were comments I wanted to elaborate on here, but - if I'm entirely honest - I'm reluctant to. It - the language - is a hugely sensitive issue in respect of Welsh music... but there are issues that I feel need to be addressed, barriers broken down, etc. - but if that's the level of my 'argument', I'm in danger of coming across with all of the usefulness and integrity of Bono.

Which would not do.

Suffice to say that I feel an aversion when something is marketed to me by a label or a plugging company as 'Welsh language' music. What does that mean? When Ankst used to send me releases that happened to be sung in Welsh, they never used to make a big thing about it, never turned it into an 'issue' or an 'angle'... I was invited to take the music on its own merits. I think that Ankst implicitly understood that for Welsh to be treated as an 'equal' language, you need to treat it just like any other language and let it gets its communicating done in the background. Cos that's what it's all about, isn't it? Communication?

Unfortunately, the state of play still exists where 'Welsh language music' is treated as a genre in itself. How can that be healthy? Who's responsible for that state of affairs?

I have no answers. Only frustrations.

Why aren't excellent bands like Radio Luxembourg touring with a band like, for example, the Automatic? Would that not be a very tempting gig to go to? It's not going to happen, though, is it? Why?

What about Saizmundo and Akira the Don? Yummy for my ears. Wouldn't have happened, though.

Why does Wales' premier music venue, Clwb Ifor Bach feel the need to cordon off its Welsh language bands away from the other, excellent Welsh bands that pass through its doors [and up its back-breaking staircases]? ( ... the venue has a separate booker / promoter who is responsible for the 'Welsh language' nights ... )

Why is that? Is it because the English-speaking crowd are intolerant of the Welsh-singing artists, or vice versa? Or, is it because - as things stand with the status quo - it's easier to get your hands on some money to put the shows on / get records out if the divisions remain.

Where, on Welsh television, is there an equivalent to bandit that will play, feature, and have in session great Welsh bands, regardless of the language that they sing in? Why doesn't the station that I work for play any of the fucking ace music in the Welsh language [that way of phrasing it feels a lot better] that has come out in the last 12 months? [specifically, the God-like Alun Tan Lan].

Welsh music is, I feel, in a much healthier state than it was ten years' ago - but all of the support and funding that's flying about, some of which I believe depends on the language that the music is being sung in, has built up old barriers even higher than they were before.

I suppose that the argument from Cymdeithas, and the other bodies that actively promote the Welsh language through the music, is that - because of years' of Anglicization [?] - their events / releases etc. warrant positive discrimination to redress the balance and allow the language to thrive again.

Fair enough. But wouldn't more events / releases with 'mixed' line-ups help the language to spread / cross pollinate / thrive even more, rather than dilute it?

Maybe it's not in some of their best interests for a state of true parity to ever exist.

Regardless, I'll carry on playing the music whatever language it's in.

What a trooper, eh? ;0) Back to the top of the page...