Music + Movies = Awesome Radio Format

A couple posts back, my friend and guest blogger blogged about the difference between passive versus active listening (this blog was inspired by a comment made by Kevin Hiscock aka RadioGnome). I just discovered - and promptly added to The Dial - a station which takes a different approach to active versus passive listening. Namely, I'm referring to mplusm.fm. (Dial Spot: H47).

The station's format is so simple, yet so effective. I had one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. Namely, just intersperse great music, with great film dialog - and boom kapow - you've got a kick-ass format that draws you in, but is also very relaxing. Namely, mplusm.fm (which originally began airing from Monaco) plays an eclectic mix of mainly downtempo beats and hip easy listening. When not playing music, they intersperse dialog from English or French films. They even invite you to send in submissions of dialog (samples must be of a high quality).

Since I'm a huge film buff, I absolutely adore this. Furthermore, I've got a tremendous respect for French New Way cinema, so hearing the French dialog reminds me of the great French New Wave directors like Godard, Truffat, Resnais, Clouzot. Not to digress, but if you've never heard of the French New Wave movement, you should check out some films like "The Four hundred Blows" by Truffaut, and "Week End", by Godard. The major innovations that came out of the French New Wave movement was a return to a "grass roots" approach to film making utilizing hand-held cameras, and amateur actors, and the directors typically would also write the screenplay. The director referred to himself as an "auteur", which for me is the most critical aspect of the movement, as it represented being about one person holding to a singular artistic vision and truly taking ownership of the medium. Contrast this with big budget Hollywood films which tend to be more like major construction projects, with the director acting as more of a project manager, than an artist. Today this movement has been resurrected by the Danish Dogme95 movement, whose most famous director is the gifted Lars Von Trier, but even mainstream Hollywood still borrows much from French New Wave (The Bourne Ultimatum comes to mind).

Which brings me back to mplusm.fm - there is undoubtedly artistry to not only this approach, but also the way in which it is executed. Auteurs, they are indeed.

One last thing - I implore you to check out their web site. They have a fine collection of photos of high-end vintage hifi audio gear. Sweet!

Stay TUN3D.