The nocturnal diddleys

This usually happens to me when I'm doing a show. Occasionally I'm obliged to do a show I hate, like The Sound of Music. Rodgers and Hammerstein lovingly crafted a raft of songs which are syrupy, trite, and complete and utter earworms - once they enter your head they will not leave. There is nothing worse than going to bed with that ghastly 'Goodnight, farewell, auf wiedershen, goodbye' tune stuck in your head, and waking up in the morning with it still there, having taken over your dreams for the past eight hours!

I think Cabaret was the worst. That's a brilliant show with wonderful music, but there's a non-stop Germanic jazz-oompah rhythm to a lot of the songs that takes over the mind completely. Bom tikka bom bom, bom tikka bom bom, bom tikka bom bom, bom tikka bom bom (repeat for a month or until severely medicated).

I'm actually in a show at the moment. Oliver is playing at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings right now - it started on Wednesday and the last night is tomorrow. I'm mainly in the chorus for this one, though I do have a short character part in act two as Doctor Grimwig, the pompous doctor who gives Oliver a checkover while he staying at the Brownlow's house. Yes, once again the tunes are all earworms, but they're good ones.You can't beat a bit of Lionel Bart.

Deeee

....but in my nightmares they never reach the 'deeee'...

Diddly diddly

I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to folk music. It all sounds the same to me. It usually consists of a bunch of bearded besmocked musicians playing diddley diddley diddley diddley on their fiddles while a woman with ribbons in her hair sticks a finger in her ear and sings in a slightly flat tone about the politics of 250 years ago. I'm probably being horribly unfair.

Millie Week 59: Mon 21 Oct - Sat 27 Oct 1991

My first week of Millie without any Millie in it (apart from the exposition in Monday's strip), dealing with the aftermath of the previous week's DEF concert.

I'm currently growing a beard in order to play Doctor Grimwig in the musical, Oliver. I'm quite alarmed to find I'm turning into Nigel, only with a greyer beard.

Snicker snicker

I agree with Jones. This just too tempting not to do.

Aerial ears

Radio 2 is what the BBC used to call 'The Light Programme'. It always used to be the safe radio station for undemanding housewives, but now we have commercial radio to cater for that demographic, so it's now a lot better than that.

If you've never listened to British radio before, it's now all online. Take a listen here.

Radio 1: Chart music. I now find it unlistenable to, not because I don't like new music but because most records are now autotuned to death and I can detect it so easily it sets my teeth on edge. Lots of rap, grime and X-factor winners.
Radio 1 Xtra: Urban music - essentially the BBC trying to beat the pirate stations at their own game.
Radio 2: Pop music for an older demographic. It has a heavier dependence on oldies, and features non-threatening DJs. Adele's natural home. However, in the evenings their remit widens and you'll find some excellent specialist music programmes on there.
Radio 3: Highbrow classical music, talks and drama.
Radio 4: This is what my radio tends to be tuned to permanently. News, talk, documentaries, drama and comedy. Imagine NPR, but remove the smugness and make it interesting.
Radio 4 Extra: Classic drama and comedy from the Radio 4 archives. Plus some children's programmes.
Radio 5: News, sport and phone ins. Radio Bloke without the right-wing nuttiness.
Radio 6: Music for musos. Sort of like Mojo or Uncut magazines on the air. Most of the DJs are chin stroking rock journalists.
And radio stations for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, another bit of Northern Ireland that isn't speaking to the rest of Northern Ireland (sigh) and a few Celtic languages.

Ear stroke

Good news Scrumpy fans. You've got a whole week of the blues-ridden bunny starting with this. I'll be playing with his ears all week.