Anyone who is still lurking around here, this is a quick message to let you know that I've moved over to http://popcitizen.wordpress.com/
Unfortunately the 'collected' part of collectedvoices never really got off the ground, and I feel a bit silly blogging under that title alone. So, a clean slate!
See you there!
When Gordon Brown swept into office on a tide of popular relief at the exit of Tony Blair last year, he took the predictably trendy step of setting up a 10 Downing Street youtube channel.
This move was sold as a sign of a new politics, where politicians would reach out and engage with voters, particularly those hard-to-reach 18-30 year olds. Unfortunately it seems as though the same old top-down politics has been replicated in a new medium.
My friend Anita, in her role as an Amnesty International intern, posted a question for Gordon on the issue of detention without charge (the limit was recently raised to a staggering 6 weeks in the UK).
So far, so good. A young voter gets the chance to talk directly to the Prime Minister about an issue of great national importance. Unfortunately that's where this promising example of open democracy ends. Take a look at Brown's response, and tell me how it is different to any standard press-conference spiel:
Worst of all, Gordon commits the ultimate web-2.0 crime: the comments facility on the video is disabled. The Prime Minister speaks, we listen, and that's the end of it. All of the potential of the youtube as an accessible forum for debate has been ignored.
I'm don't expect Gordon to spend all day engaging in video flame-wars, but he should at least let the youtube community comment on his video!
Of course, Brown's censorship of his own channel won't stop anyone posting videos in response, or prevent debate elsewhere on the net about his civil liberties record, but it does demonstrate his fundamental misunderstanding of the structure and appeal of the internet.
I'm quite a fan of Gordon Brown, but given recent speculation about his position in the party, and the Labour party's standing in the country it is interesting to note that both David Miliband and David Cameron do have comments enabled on their personal blogs. Their sites are hardly hot-beds of a new democratic order, but they do suggest that it is too early to discount the potential of the internet to have a significant impact on political life. The real question is whether a truly interactive web-relationship with our democratic representatives is possible, how long it will take, and what impact it will have. That's something no-one has the answer to yet.
Surprise surprise, the UK media are unrelentingly London-centric - today the mediaguardian has reported that only two BBC staff members have applied to relocated to the corporation's new centre in Manchester. The only remarkable thing about the story seems to be that the London-based paper formerly known as the Manchester Guardian, thinks that it is newsworthy at all. ITV can't even manage to commission the minimum legal requirement of programming from the regions. Even legislation can't thwart London's dominance!
Apparently, according to the IPPR, the only place in the UK where you won't be subjected to unrelenting metropolitan media bias is Scotland, where apparently you won't hear any news that comes from south of the border.
So, is the media governed with an iron fist from within the citadel of the M25, or is the nation's news gathering dangerously fragmented? I have more sympathy with the first theory.
That the IPPR should view the Scottish case as a problem is strange, for it seems to me to be a shining example of local media in action. With their devolved government and thriving newspaper sector, the Scots are in a better position to be informed and engaged in the political issues affecting them than their English sisters. If this means that they don't know the scoop on the latest English crime statistics, or educational policy changes, then does that really matter? After all, no-one seems to mind that the UK media almost never report the domestic politics of our European neighbours.
In any case, the IPPR focus on newspapers (the primary news source for about a dozen people these days), is woefully outdated.
We should celebrate the availability of local news sources, while recognising that they do not play an exclusive role in the news-consumption habits of most people.
OK, so the title of their comeback tour, 'Boyzone: Back Again... No Matter What', did not bode well. Rather than 'Back By Popular Demand' there was an apologetic tone that suggested they weren't confident that their return would be welcomed.
However their gig at the Millennium Dome last night (I refuse to call it the O2 - I dread the day when all London's buildings are named after corporations) proved that they had nothing to worry about.
Now, as a veteran of their 90s tours, I can say that according to any standard their show is better than anything they've put on before. Their concerts always used to be a little slapdash, but they've clearly put a lot of time, effort and money into this venture.
The audience was treated to pyrotechnics, glistening abs, and a stage that by turns span, flew, and dropped away.
Of course I'm no neutral observer: I was there to spend a couple of hours regressing into naive teenage hysteria, and to see the band that was such an important part of my awkward adolescent years. For any Boyzone fan it was a delight to see the band so clearly enjoying being on stage, especially compared with their obvious boredom during the dying months before their split.
I also enjoyed the fact that the concert wasn't just the Ronan show - all of the band got their chance in the spotlight, without it ever feeling forced - No more Good Conversation (you know what I'm talking about Boyzone fans). They were always more than the sum of their parts, a fact that was proved by Ronan's lacklustre solo career. The biggest surprise was Shane Lynch singing Michael Jackson's Bad - where that voice came from I have no idea, but I liked it! Also impressive was Mike's turn on the piano during words. They've all really upped their game.
Highlights were the retro gym rendering of When the Going Gets Tough (pictured above for your enjoyment), their first performance of And I, and Stephen Gately's irrepressible enthusiasm.
They also unveiled their new single Can't Stop Thinking About You, an excerpt of which I managed to shakily record (I think it'll demonstrate Stephen's aforementioned performance zeal). It's catchy I think:
Only two minor complaints: Father and Son was accompanied by a really creepy animation, and they didn't play either of their best up-tempo tracks - So Good, and Together - the latter being particularly fitting for a reunion tour. Other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing the show again later in the tour: after eight years of absence once just isn't enough!
kate s-b
It was a strange experience watching the BBC's tribute to an 80 year old Bruce Forsyth this evening.
The programme was a kind of one-off variety show version of This is Your Life, complete with singing, dancing, and cake-decorating contests.
(Unfortunately Vernon Kay made an appearance)
Self-indulgent it might have been, but it was nice to see the life of a national treasure celebrated while he's alive, rather than in a glowing obituary that he'll never get to see.
My personal favourite Brucie moment is his small role in the vastly underrated Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Still, what was brought home was that Bruce Forsyth's era of personalities who entertain a nation of millions for decades, is nearing its end. And that's no bad thing - yes, tens of millions of people tuned in to Sunday Night at the Palladium, but that's because there was literally nothing else on TV.
So yes, celebrate Brucie's life in entertainment, but ditch the rose-tinted spectacles and be glad that we can watch vintage episodes of Play Your Cards Right, or chose to watch the latest series of Curb Your Enthusiasm on cable TV, or download a classic Louis Theroux doco.
An open question is that of the future fate of the all-round singing, dancing entertainer in the Brucie mould. Is there a space for the next Brucie on youtube? Or are we in an era of niche entertainers?
kate s-b
