Today's show: Looking back at "Sweetback"

On Friday afternoons on Resonance FM at 5pm, there's a new slot for repeats of I'm ready for my close-up. Rather than just repeat the show from the night before, we thought it might be nice to take the opportunity to broadcast some of the episodes that were podcast while Resonance was off-schedule during the summer for the benefit of luddites who don't go in for all this podcasting nonsense.

Today, we're airing a podcast from 3 weeks ago - Joel Karamath talking about the career of Melvin van Peebles and his seminal film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. This was recorded at the first Resonance FM / Electric Sheep film club at The Roxy bar and screen, so this seems a good time to air the repeat as the next film club is on Tuesday from 7.30pm where Alex Fitch will be talking to former Disney animator Vincent Woodcock about character design in animation alongside a screening of Sylvain Chomet's Belleville Rendezvous and his rarely seen short film The Old lady and the pigeons.

If you just can't wait 'til 5 o'clock, you can find the podcast here.

Podcast: Looking back at "Sweetback"

Tonight's show is now available to download... (mp3 format, 28.5mb)

Continuing I'm ready for my close-up's exclusive run of online podcasts*...

In a show recorded live at the inaugural Resonance FM / Electric Sheep Magazine monthly film club at the Roxy Bar and Screen in London's Borough High Street, Virginie Sélavy introduces a talk and Q & A conducted by Joel Karamath.
Joel, host of the ICA's Uncut film night, looks at the career of Melvin van Peebles and his seminal film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
As the talk was performed in a surround sound theatre with Joel & Virginie standing close to both the speakers and the recording device, there is unfortunately a pronounced echo in the playback, however sit back and imagine Joel is performing his speech with a megaphone at a political rally in the 1970s and suddenly it might feel a lot more authentic! Tonight's show was recorded and edited by Alex Fitch.

*While Resonance FM moves studios across London... The podcast only shows will then be broadcast on FM later in the Autumn

For more info and a selection of different file formats you can download or stream, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.com

Links: Electric Sheep Magazine
Virginie's review of the film
The Roxy Bar and Screen's website and page on yesterday's event
Wikipedia's page on the movie
Joel's notes on other black movies @ bfi.org.uk
Info on Joel's film night at the ICA

Podcast: Black Musicians on Film

Tonight's show is now available to download... (mp3 format, 28.3mb)

For more info, please visit the home of this episode at www.archive.com

Tonight's show: Black Musicians on Film

As a belated follow up to his article on the subject, Alex Fitch talks to Times journalist John Clarke about the history of Black musicians on film from 1929's Hallelujah to this year's Dreamgirls. The show also features clips from Stormy Weather (1943), Shaft (1971) and The Blues Brothers (1980)...

10.30pm GMT Resonance 104.4FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com

Links: BBC article on the Dreamgirls controversy
TimesOnline articles by John on The Gospel according to Al Green and the rebirth of soul label Stax
Indiana University's Black Film Archive
UCLA article on Soundies
Optronica at the BFI