The Newsroom

BBC News - The Music

Epic New "Sub Mix 2012" on DLs Site (August 2012)

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AC
aconnell
All credit to you for mentioning the golden example of longevity - the World Business Report music. It still feels so stern, rhythmic and just generally fantastic. Listening to it now, it's not just the titles, but also the complexity and the excitedness of the bed. This music just goes to show that life of the themes need not be cut short, even though the graphics now are getting a tad stale for what is an excellent programme!

Just a question, who composed the WBR theme tune?
IT
itsrobert Founding member
All credit to you for mentioning the golden example of longevity - the World Business Report music. It still feels so stern, rhythmic and just generally fantastic. Listening to it now, it's not just the titles, but also the complexity and the excitedness of the bed. This music just goes to show that life of the themes need not be cut short, even though the graphics now are getting a tad stale for what is an excellent programme!

Just a question, who composed the WBR theme tune?


Indeed, WBR's music is brilliant, and has been used for 15 years this year. And I don't think it's aged at all! As for who composed it, we had a debate about it a few weeks ago in another thread and someone found a link suggesting it was Joe Glasman of Hum Music. It was composed as part of the new music identity for BBC World in 1997 and it shared strong similarities with the World News and The World Today themes of the same era. Those ones, however, were replaced by David Lowe's music in 2000, but WBR lived on. To be honest, I'm amazed (and delighted) that it's lasted so long, given that every other BBC World programme has had at least 2 or 3 themes since.
JO
Joshua
My favourite theme has to be BBC World's from the 1999 era, I'm sure it was used on the overnight bulletins aswell and I always loved it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L58etRB5-9A&t=0m51s

I think that when you hear the themes from 1999 you do get a sense that the current music is not as exciting. When BBC News rebranded with the 1999 look you could really sense urgency, energy and also diversity in the music. There were different notes and quirks and the music was similar but different, it just had so much more energy to it.
Over the years this has really fell, the theme has been made much more unified and in a way, sombre. The drums and beeps are not accompanied by other interesting sounds, its just very stale now.
The current opening theme isn't as great as the original used by the 1,6 and 10 in 1999 IMO, even the 2003-2007 opening theme was superior to the current one.

I had hoped, and still do that the move to NBH means a new batch of music, still keeping David Lowe's recognisable theme but in a new style. Surely the move to NBH is significant enough to warrant a new look? I'd have thought so, but it doesn't really sound like that's going to happen!
SR
SomeRandomStuff
My favourite theme has to be BBC World's from the 1999 era, I'm sure it was used on the overnight bulletins aswell and I always loved it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L58etRB5-9A&t=0m51s

I think that when you hear the themes from 1999 you do get a sense that the current music is not as exciting. When BBC News rebranded with the 1999 look you could really sense urgency, energy and also diversity in the music. There were different notes and quirks and the music was similar but different, it just had so much more energy to it.
Over the years this has really fell, the theme has been made much more unified and in a way, sombre. The drums and beeps are not accompanied by other interesting sounds, its just very stale now.
The current opening theme isn't as great as the original used by the 1,6 and 10 in 1999 IMO, even the 2003-2007 opening theme was superior to the current one.

I had hoped, and still do that the move to NBH means a new batch of music, still keeping David Lowe's recognisable theme but in a new style. Surely the move to NBH is significant enough to warrant a new look? I'd have thought so, but it doesn't really sound like that's going to happen!

Yup, I would totally agree with the assessment that its not "exciting" or "urgent" or for that matter has any energy to it any more.

Part of that issue is the intros are not short and snappy. We regularly see Headlines at TOTH taking upward of 2 minutes on Duh Nyooz Chanul... contrast that to this epicness from 2002 with Lindsey Brancher where the the Headlines were 24 seconds long. There were also some interesting stings to break up the programme which they dont use at all now.

World News bulletins still seem to rocket along at a much quicker pace than those on Duh Nyooz Chanul... probably because they are restricted to 30minutes, and so must get all of their news in to the shorter bulletin.

All in all, i think that the 2000 World package and 2002 Adaptations are David Lowe's best work on the BBC News music. The channel was near perfectly presented from 2002-2004.

Shame that both Domestic and World have become blasé about their presentation over the years. The whole "Back to basics" crap that was instigated in 2008 has gutted the channels of all their "life". I wish they would get their bloomin act together. Bring back World's Siren motif, and BBC News 24.

Oh, and as for the move to BH... we'll be very lucky to get more than another rehash of the 2005 countdown... i'd say the Network titles and pretty much everything else is here to stay.
VM
VMPhil
Part of that issue is the intros are not short and snappy. We regularly see Headlines at TOTH taking upward of 2 minutes on Duh Nyooz Chanul... contrast that to this epicness from 2002 with Lindsey Brancher where the the Headlines were 24 seconds long. There were also some interesting stings to break up the programme which they dont use at all now.

That headline bed is really messy, for want of a better word. I think my favourite use of the BBC News 1999 music is from the 2000 Today broadcasts with the long zoom in on the news desk...

IT
itsrobert Founding member
I'd forgotten how pacey those old BBC World TOTHs could be between 2000 and 2004. They really did rattle along. And listen to the headline music in that clip - it has a sense of urgency along with awesome, unique thunderclaps; rather than the very bland and boring headline bed used now, which just plods along in the background.

And you're not wrong about those stings - I always thought they made bulletins seem faster, contrary to popular belief. I was sad when BBC World dropped those business and sport stings, and News 24 cut down the number of stings too. Now whenever I tune into BBC News, they're always in the middle of some long winded analysis or interview. The channel had much more pace and energy several years ago, which was lost in 2008.

The irony is that the 2008 "back to basics" approach was totally flawed from the outset. Wasn't the idea to go back to the simplicity of 1999? Well, as we have demonstrated, 1999 was actually quite detailed and complex, both visually and musically. So I'm not sure where that idea came from.
:-(
A former member
Wow - the 2002 clip with Lindsey Brancher is actually really good - the headlines have a really good pace to them that I've not seen *anywhere* else on BBC News since this look was brought in.
BA
Bail Moderator
As some have mentioned this is imo the best vamp they've ever used:

http://youtu.be/k0swWPpUZ8c?t=2m10s
CH
chris
Bail posted:
As some have mentioned this is imo the best vamp they've ever used:

http://youtu.be/k0swWPpUZ8c?t=2m10s


I think it's way too messy, as said above. The thunderclaps are too elaborate. That bed is IMO even crazier than the 2007 batch, which were disliked by many.

We should also remember the headline bed currently in use serves a different purpose to back then, in that it is restarted. When they first started restarting the bed rather than having set thunderclaps, the 1999 bed sounded really disjointed due to its loud beat. The 2008 version and the short-lived 2007 nationals vamp are both more suited to this.
SR
SomeRandomStuff
chris posted:
Bail posted:
As some have mentioned this is imo the best vamp they've ever used:

http://youtu.be/k0swWPpUZ8c?t=2m10s


I think it's way too messy, as said above. The thunderclaps are too elaborate. That bed is IMO even crazier than the 2007 batch, which were disliked by many.

We should also remember the headline bed currently in use serves a different purpose to back then, in that it is restarted. When they first started restarting the bed rather than having set thunderclaps, the 1999 bed sounded really disjointed due to its loud beat. The 2008 version and the short-lived 2007 nationals vamp are both more suited to this.

No, i've got the original tracks for both and i have to say the 2007 vamp is bloody awful.

2002 Vamps for BBC World were far superior to any done before or since.

Yes it is restarted, but it leads to stupidity where it can take 1-2 minutes for the headlines which are often littered with pointless soundbite clips. I want back the days were they headlines took 25 Seconds like in the Lindsey Brancher clip and not what feels like a week like in this clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlUKDfY_178 which is dull... and i have seen much longer
BA
Bail Moderator
But flows so well, from countdown to headlines to titles no pace is lost. I miss the preset headline lengths, as has been discussed elsewhere the nearly 2 minute headlines we now get is just too much. I like the umph and power of these ones.

I also love the bassline that it uses, its so much more audibly interesting than the N24 one of the time.

http://up.metropol247.co.uk/Bail/BBC%20World%20-%202002%20-%20BBC%20News%20-%20Vamp%20-%203%20Headlines.mp3

Edit: Did we really post the same file within minutes of each other!?
VM
VMPhil
I agree with having a fixed bed but that music really is just too messy. I mean, what is up with those thunderclaps? OTT or what?

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