From Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 to Bob Dylan's Forever Young: this was a powerful account of music in the combat zone
• My War, My Playlist
• I've Played Every Toilet
The BBC World Service documentary *My War, My Playlist* begins with a handy bit of synchronicity. October 2001 saw the launch of two major developments that would shape the decade: the war in Afghanistan and the iPod, and this historical quirk leads us into the role of music in combat zones. The narrative is a little diffuse, but it hits hard in the moments when songs and storytelling collide.
We hear about the black comedy of hearing Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 during a Helmand firefight, the capacity of Josh Wink's berserk acid house anthem Higher State of Consciousness to evoke "all hell breaking loose" and the potency of hearing Bob Dylan's Forever Young when you're an officer struggling with the loss of one of your men. Any listener who has known grief will recognise this account of a song suddenly acquiring painful new weight.
Most intriguing of all, there's a glimpse of the wild parties held in Kabul, unlikely contender for "party capital of the world," where thousands of off-duty foreigners danced to the selections of a cantankerous Swedish NGO worker who would stop the music if people weren't dancing to his satisfaction. Some revellers would be back in action the next day; for once, "party like there's no tomorrow" wasn't a cliche. For one film-maker, who spent months in Taliban captivity, it was the World Service itself that offered consolation. For him, the radio represented "the difference between sanity and insanity". We all listen in order to feel less alone, but this was the power of radio in extremis.
Compared to these life-and-death scenarios the mass closures of the lager-stained indie dives on the so-called "toilet circuit" feel somewhat less dramatic, but Radio 4's *I've Played in Every Toilet* is also about how music bonds communities. Presenter John Harris, of the Guardian, who served his time in such venues as a young NME critic, invites Steve Lamacq and Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire to help mourn these missing rungs on the ladder to success. Fortunately, the clouds of nostalgia part at the last minute with unexpected news of the planned resurrection of Newport's legendary TJ's: a loss reversed. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
• My War, My Playlist
• I've Played Every Toilet
The BBC World Service documentary *My War, My Playlist* begins with a handy bit of synchronicity. October 2001 saw the launch of two major developments that would shape the decade: the war in Afghanistan and the iPod, and this historical quirk leads us into the role of music in combat zones. The narrative is a little diffuse, but it hits hard in the moments when songs and storytelling collide.
We hear about the black comedy of hearing Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 during a Helmand firefight, the capacity of Josh Wink's berserk acid house anthem Higher State of Consciousness to evoke "all hell breaking loose" and the potency of hearing Bob Dylan's Forever Young when you're an officer struggling with the loss of one of your men. Any listener who has known grief will recognise this account of a song suddenly acquiring painful new weight.
Most intriguing of all, there's a glimpse of the wild parties held in Kabul, unlikely contender for "party capital of the world," where thousands of off-duty foreigners danced to the selections of a cantankerous Swedish NGO worker who would stop the music if people weren't dancing to his satisfaction. Some revellers would be back in action the next day; for once, "party like there's no tomorrow" wasn't a cliche. For one film-maker, who spent months in Taliban captivity, it was the World Service itself that offered consolation. For him, the radio represented "the difference between sanity and insanity". We all listen in order to feel less alone, but this was the power of radio in extremis.
Compared to these life-and-death scenarios the mass closures of the lager-stained indie dives on the so-called "toilet circuit" feel somewhat less dramatic, but Radio 4's *I've Played in Every Toilet* is also about how music bonds communities. Presenter John Harris, of the Guardian, who served his time in such venues as a young NME critic, invites Steve Lamacq and Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire to help mourn these missing rungs on the ladder to success. Fortunately, the clouds of nostalgia part at the last minute with unexpected news of the planned resurrection of Newport's legendary TJ's: a loss reversed. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.