A series of five radio plays by Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Bands are continually reuniting, but in the punk
Spirit of '76, we are having an audience reunion.
If you were one of the 27 people at the Adverts gig
at the Police Social Hall in Camberley, we want to see you.
I'm too lazy to type up a synopsis, so look at <a href="http://www.booksmusicfilmstv.com/CardinalCox/onechordwonders.html" _mce_href="http://www.booksmusicfilmstv.com/CardinalCox/onechordwonders.html" target="_blank">this</a>.
- Parallel Lines
- Blitzkrieg Bop
- Damned, Damned, Damned
- This is the Modern World
- Television's Over
like the last Harry Potter, it takes a long while to set up.
When it does, all is revealed, all comes clear in
a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
Replies
I'm really looking forward to these. Thanks, Tim !
-Lesa
Television's Over
The finale. All the vectors and timelines have been
backtracked in the previous episodes, now we are
there in Camberley in 1976, with their younger selves.
Everyone is enthusiastic, making up their destinies as they go along,
and we, the listeners, are burdened with the foreknowledge,
like the angels in Wings of Desire.
I don't know enough about '70's British politics to understand
the significance of the conservative councilwoman. Some kind of
proto-Thatcherite? In another scene, father and son bond via
their detesting Elton John. If they can't agree on something they like,
at least they can agree on what they hate.
Saturday Play One Chord Wonders Television's Over 30-04-11.mp3
This is the Modern World
I had to listen to this several times before I figured out
who the narrator was. It matters.
The pastoral meets the suburban. Again, true character
slowly revealed, then more plot than you can deal with.
What is it called, atavism?, when the actors find reality
bending to fit the roles they are portraying? Like in Saura's
Carmen or Kazantzaki's The Greek Passion, we find the
play being replayed, beyond the control of the players.
Finishes with a snippet of the title track by The Jam.
A perfect recessional hymn.
Saturday Play One Chord Wonders This is the Modern World 23-04-11.mp3
An ex-thug is prison is trying to reform,
attending anger management classes.
He receives a thank-you note from someone
he forcibly ejected from the Adverts concert
thirty years ago.
This sets off a crisis of conscience,
just as a new contender from top-dog
in the prison hierarchy emerges.
Saturday Play One Chord Wonders Damned, Damned, Damned 16-04-11.mp3
Cottrell Boyce is playing with the traditional dramatic structure.
It sets up characters, then a catharsis, a diversion, then
suddenly and surprisingly, as much plot as an entire mystery novel,
crammed into the last five minutes. Unexpectedly satisfying conclusion.
Saturday Play One Chord Wonders Blitzkrieg Bop 09-04-11.mp3