1. You love the music of artists both old and new.
2. You have cable.
3. Your cable package includes Fuse.
Hey, Americans, if you meet the above criteria and you're not already regularly watching Later... with Jools Holland—which airs M-F at 1 PM and 3 AM Eastern (that's noon and 2 AM for locals)—you're doing yourself a disservice. Ryan alerted me about a month ago that Fuse was showing old episodes (as in a year or two old) in syndication and, although the show's been around for decades in the UK and I've known about it since its inception, it was my first time actually watching an entire episode. I've been hooked since. I DVR it every day.
For those not in the know, every episode features approximately 3 to 8 different acts sharing a stage, each playing a song or two on their own (and sometimes together). Jools engages some in brief interviews as well. What's great is that each day's selection is pretty eclectic—e.g. today's featured the Dixie Chicks, Paolo Nutini, Gogol Bordello, The Automatic, The Dresden Dolls, The Fratellis—so it's not solely an indie wankfest nor a mainstream nightmare. I often find myself intrigued by acts I'd normally pass by, if for no other reason than the performances tend to be top-rate and celebrate the diversity of music and a true appreciation for the craft of songwriting and performing. Of course, every now and then said artists perform covers. Hell, I was even entertained by the Black Eyed Peas performance, for chrissakes!
So, um, yeah. Look into it. It's so refreshing to see a "music" channel that actually features music!
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9 comments:
YES! I discovered this show a couple weeks ago and DVR it every day. It's become part of my morning routine. And when I saw today's list, Dixie Chicks, Fratellis, Dresden Dolls, Nutini PLUS Gogol, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
I have been singing the gospel of Later with everyone I know.
Best. Music. Show. Ever.
Jools is my hero. And I feel really dumb for not knowing until last year that he was in the band 'Squeeze'!!
I dunno if you can get them where you live, but he's got a few DVDs of his show out, each with a different theme.
I have the original, but there's a BritPop one, an acoustic one, and a 'Later LOUD' one with more rocky stuff. Check Amazon.co.uk!
JOOLS FTW!
Very Best of Later with Jools Holland double CD has just been released. It's great!
p.s. new series of Later has just started here in the UK with the 200th show feat. Radiohead, Mary J Blige, Cat Power and Feist.
If the gods of teh int0rn3tz will allow it, you can probably watch it in full for free at the BBC's online service, 'BBC iPlayer':
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b008wr64.shtml
I've been watching him on RaveHD ever since I stepped into the 21st century and got Satelite. Now that he's on every day, I'm in heaven!
One of my greatest childhood memories is the ep. with Leonard Cohen doing "Who By Fire" with Sonny Rollins. (+ great BU vox). A haunting version that I'll never foerget. Thank's for the heads-up...
Being an expat Brit I was very pleased to see this post! Hopefully many people will discover the show.
If you have comcast cable in chicagoland - you can get some of the 'Later....' shows 'on demand' - but they are edited versions so you dont get all the acts.
While I depend on television for my moral compass and ontological paradigms, I can't watch Fuse during the small hours. During the small hours I'm in a coma from drinking through lunch and dinner. For the record, I contribute mightily to the economy as a divorce litigator. But I drink too much to watch television at 1 AM. Too bad. This is one fuse I bet I'd love to pop.
Hey Liza,
Long time etc & so on.
As you're on the subject of plugs, I'm going to ashamedly plug the latest The Waiting Room's DRUNK COVERS V - 3 whole hours of cover versions, which was recorded for podcast on 06.02.08 & can be found for download & listening displeasure over at
http://crack.podbean.com
:o)
Go nuts.
½DC
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