the china ceiling

"She's the one who taught me women could be clowns" - Sian Harries

It was Gilda for me. Being allowed to stay up late & watch SNL. Three tremendously talented women in that original cast but oh Gilda....with all her little nutty ladies on the news and Lisa Loopner and Patti Smith.  Such tremendous talent. I'd memorized "Gilda Live" backwards and forwards.  My pal Monique & I rewrote a track as "Let's Talk Dirty To the Faculty" in honor of our high school teachers.
Mostly it was bittersweet hyper Judy Miller that stole my heart forever. Comedy grounded in the reality of every day life.
It's for sure informed my love of the likes of Amy Poehler, Megan Amram, Aisling Bea & so many others. Prior to SNL,  exposure was restricted by limited tv channels & my mother's dislike of redheaded women comics. What with Carol Burnett & Lucy being the main offerings, we didn't see much. Thank the heavens for the ladies of "Laugh In".

Victoria was different. She'd always been a bit on the periphery, unlike UK friends like Sian who grew up with her.  "Acorn Antiques" & "Dinnerladies" didn't cross over here onto PBS or ComedyCentral like AbFab, Keeping Up Appearances, and French & Saunders.  Her co-stars like Celia Imrie and Julie Walters were more renowned with their film work than quiet Victoria, scribbling away at her genius writing.
For years I knew the name better than the material and then learned more via Comic Relief, panel shows like "QI",  and tracking down bits on youtube.

My twitter feed shows another story for talented British folk - not just the 'lady comedians' she so profoundly inspired but actors, broadcasters, radio presenters. She's been around forever for them. She's woven in the tapestry of what makes them chose a creative life. "Razor sharp without cruelty" seems to be a popular phrase. "Cutting edge", "smartly observed", "relatable",  and an ability to find humour in the mundane also ring true.
When you talk about women breaking the glass ceiling? Victoria took the china tea set, brewed a great cup & then snuck in a cheeky shot of whiskey to kick things up a notch. She didn't need to break any ceilings - she just invited you into the room she planned to inhabit. She made you welcome to the comedy in her world.

I can't pretend to talk about her career with any kind of authority. I can only observe the influence she had on so many talents I love and continue to learn from the legacy she left behind. She informed the life and world of so many and made it a funnier place to be. With Gilda, we had a bit of a warning but this is blindsiding of the worst order. 62 years is not nearly enough.

These fine women: Sian Harries. Roisin Conaty. Margaret Cabourn-Smith. Jennifer Saunders. Dawn French. Sarah Millican. Imelda Staunton. Tiffany Stevenson. Edith Bowman. Alice Lowe. Alison Moyet. Keeley Hawes. JK Rowling.....
.....and so many more male comedians, actors, etc all in tears because the fucking cancer has taken yet another soul who put so much good in the world.

I can't pretend to know what Sian feels today, except into relation to what I felt when Gilda went.  We all do comedy because it feeds us. And we hope, whether we say it or not, that some day, somewhere, someone will feel a connection to what we're saying.

Thanks for everything, Victoria.  The songs. The stories. The laughs. The tears.  You were truly one of kind.

18 April #MusicMonday

2 of my 3 regular weekend DJs have now had 2 weeks off. so apologies for the lack of "Indie landfill" selections or Welsh language.
does slow things down a bit when I don't spend 5 hours of my weekend with quality UK radio in the background

 - "Down At The Twist and Shout" - Mary Chapin Carpenter

 - "Sleep Now In The Fire" - Rage Against The Machine

 - "Tell Me What I Think" - Spirit of the West

 - "Nadine" - Whitehorse

 - "The Ballroom Blitz" - Sweet 

 - "112" - You Say Party 

 - "Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles

 - "Long Train Running" - The Doobie Brothers

 - "Long Way Out" - Royal Wood

 - "Unsigned" (Interview & Performance) - Dave Borins

 - "Toxic" (Lip Sync Battle) - Clark Gregg/Britney Spears

 - "If Life Were Movies" (Behind the Scenes) - Michael Ball & Imelda Stauton*

 - "Permanent Hesitation" - Born Ruffians

 - "Handclap" - Fitz & the Tantrums

 - "Don't Look Back In Anger" - Oasis

 - "It Don't Come Easy" - Ron Sexsmith

 - "Be My Love" - Julian Ovendon



*on the occasion of Victoria Wood's passing

#MusicMonday 11 April

 - "Gimme The Love" - Jake Bugg

 - "An Die Freude" - Helsinki Philharmonic & Susanna Mälkki

 - "Come See About Me" - Ron Sexsmith

 - "Workin' Man Blues" (live, Grand Old Opry) - Merle Haggard

 - "Old Pine" - Ben Howard

 - "Lean On Me" - Kirk Franklin

 - "What's In My Bag?" - John Cooper Clarke*

 - "TIAF" - Farao

 - "Tosta Mista" - Hooded Fang

 - "Amerika" - Wintersleep

 - "Berufsjungendlich" - Nena

 -















*National Poetry Day selection

#MusicMonday 4 April

 - "Cake By The Ocean" - DNCE *

 - No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" - Beastie Boys

 - "Young Lions" - Constantines

 - "Did I Drop The Ball Or Miss The Boat?" - The Dill

 - "When I Grow Up" - Tim Minchin 

 - "Myfanwy" - Ryan Davies

 - "Downtown" - Whitehorse (#Juno award win week)

 - "The Grind" - David Celia 

 - "Girls Like" - Tinie Tempah ft Zara Larsson

 - "Tame As The Wild One" (live, Juno awards) - Whitehorse

 - "Hessles" (BBCRadio6, Steve LaMacq- Parva

 - "Valley Town" (live, MusicFog) - Elliott BROOD

 - "Fly All The Way" - Guy Pearce

 - "Blade of Grass" - Lee Harvey Osmond*

 - "Paradise City" - Guns & Roses*

 - "Maggie May" (live, MTV Unplugged) - Rod Stewart*

 - "Guns of Brixton" (Uncovered sessions) - Kurt Vile*

 - "Easily Bruised" (live, The Mod Club) - Matthew Barber

 - "Red, Red Wine" - UB40*

 - "Misty Morning, Albert Bridge" - The Pogues

 - "Just To Be Like You" - Ski Lodge*

 - "Black Dog" (live, NYC 1973) - Led Zepplin*

 - "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars


Family Album playlist (CBC First Play Live) - Jill & Matthew Barber

Rhod Gilbert show playlist - it was such a great list we're sharing the whole thing

#MusicMonday 28 March

 - "Stealin' All My Dreams" - Blue Rodeo

 - "A Chorus Line" celebration - Hamilton cast (via Playbill)

 - "Can I Kick It?" - A Tribe Called Quest #RIPPhifeDawg

 - "Cathedral" (live at the Burdock, Toronto) - Kevin Hearn (via Southern Souls)

 - "Turn Your Love" - Half Moon Run

 - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen

 - "Shambala" (live with Tennessee Symphony) - Three Dog Night

 - "Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)" - Janis Joplin

 - "The One" - Pete Townsend (Garry Shandling dedication via Laurie Fieg)

 - "Tempted" (Live on Jimmy Kimmel show) - Squeeze with Neon Trees

 - "Thursday" - Pet Shop Boys ft Example

 - "Spirits" - The Strumbellas

 - "Monkey Man"(live, Reggae Rising 2009) - Toots and the Maytalls

 - "Gaston" (Jonathan Ross Show) - Hugh Jackman, Luke Evans, Taron Egerton, Shazia Mirza & Jonathan Ross

 - "Rich In Love" (live, City Winery Nashville) - Colin Linden

 - "Falling Short" - Lapsley



7 Wonders: The Ivors playlist via @StandardIssueUK

#MusicMonday 21 March

 - "Gimme The Love" - Junkhouse

 - "A Girl Like You" - Edwyn Collins 

 - "Change Your Mind" - Neil Young

 - Spiddal Sessions (multiple songs) - The Waterboys 

 - "Take" (Live at Pop Factory) - The People The Poet

 - "Man On Mars" - Kaiser Chiefs (Happy Birthday, Peanut!!!)

 - "We Are The Young Men" - the FrankandWalters

 - "Come Home" (live at Maida Vale via BBC6) - James

 - "Se Potessi Ancora" - Astor Piazolla & Jose Angle Trelles

 - "Next Day" - David Bowie

 - "Club Tropicana" - Wham

 - "All Apologies" (MTV Unplugged) - Nirvana

 - "The Day We Caught The Train" - Simon & Oscar

#MusicMonday 14 March

 - "Money Shot" (Live) - Melissa McClelland*

 - "Waiting For You" - The Good Lovelies *

 - "God Loves Me" (Live) - Melissa McClelland*

 - "My Babe" - Whitehorse*

 - "Crazy" - The Pack a.d. *

 - "Detroit City" - Texas *

 - "The Fighter" - Jenn Grant *

 - "Drift Away" - Suzie Vinnick w/ Matt Andersen*

 - "Oh My My" -  Jill Barber*

 - "Back To Me" - Kathleen Edwards *

 - "Bang Bang You're Dead" - Hannah Georgas *

 - "Alabama Song" - Allison Moorer*

 - "Good News" - Amy Helm *

 - "Oh Marie" (audio only) - Gillian Nicola

 - "We Can Work It Out" - The Beatles

 - "Behind the Wall of Sleep" -  Smithereens

 - "In Your Dreams" - Dark Dark Dark

 - "Bow & Arrow" - Reuben and the Dark

 - "Oh Marie" - Gillian Nicola

 - "Ong Ong" - Blur  

 - "What A Good Boy" - Barenaked Ladies

 - "Pretty In Pink" - Psychedelic Furs

 - "Lost In The Light" - Bahamas

 - "Down, Down, Down" (Stay Tuned radio show) - Good Lovelies

 - "One Note Samba" - Stacey Kent

 - "Holda You (I'm A Psycho)" - White Denim

 - "Get Off Of My Cloud (Live)" - Rolling Stones

 - "It's Only Rock'n' Roll (But I Like It)" - Rolling Stones

 - "24 Hour Party People" - Happy Mondays

 - "Victorious Day" (Late Late Show with James Corden) - Panic! At The Disco

 - "St. Cecilia" - Foo Fighters 

 - "Mysterious Ways" -  U2

 - "Nobody Wins" - Brian Fallon

 - Little Victories playlist (via Daniel Duke) for #IWD2016*



This week's list includes videos/artists recommended as part of #IWD2016 & are noted with an *.