No News: 6Music

[namesinspace]

Adam tweeted this earlier today:

No radio planned. Will take stock after the summer and see if something can be done. Hope so, even if it's just me.

I want to fully support both of them in their solo ventures but I'm going to admit I'm left with a hollow ache today.

[About Last Friday]

Dark days. As much as I want Joe to succeed with a clearly very personal goal that's been bubbling there for as long as he's been in a double act with Adam, there's a selfish part of me that wants him to return to the radio and hang all the Hollywood stuff.

That's ridiculous, obviously. As a career move and as a personal venture, film making is clearly Joe's passion. I'm just so sad that they're drifted apart, you know?

[paulk]

I figured with them still being in the 6 music trails that there was some hope. Is there a record for the length of time a radio station has held a slot open?

Oh well there's always the [faint] hope of Glastonbury.

[swaddon]

I figured with them still being in the 6 music trails that there was some hope. Is there a record for the length of time a radio station has held a slot open?

Oh well there's always the [faint] hope of Glastonbury.

Not this year, there is no Glastonbury festival this year.

[LoveA&J]

I've come in late to A&J - only discovered them last year. Can't believe how much I adore them. It's a sickness. I'd stalk them if I wasn't in another country (only kidding). But they were unbelievably great on the radio. Fortunately, I'm just starting the 2008 shows, so I have a lot of A&J to get through, but what the heck am I going to do when I've heard them all.

As much as I adore them and I want them to be successful and happy in whatever they're doing, I hope they do get together again. They really were amazing on the radio.

I've got my kids singing the Festival Song. They shout Stephen! in the oddest places........

[namesinspace]

Welcome to the forum LoveA&J. There's a lovely lot of material to get through. We're all suffering withdrawal symptoms but the lovely thing about Adam and Joe is that you can listen over and over again.

[souq]

Do you want to come to a party?

[elnombre]

I fail to believe Joe doesn't have a few hours to set aside for at least a short series of pre-records or podcast-only A&J shows. He also seems unwilling to comment on the status of the partnership too, which is disappointing. At this point I'd be very surprised to see them work together again. In all honesty, yes, Joe has his film career now, but I feel he takes the A&J fanbase for granted in a way that Adam would never do. Joe apparently feels no need to communicate with us these days. His right I guess, but it's sad considering the loyalty the fans have shown him over the years.

[namesinspace]

Your honour, the case for the defence:

They're quite different people and Adam has always been the showman, the communicator. Initially, Joe probably had to steal himself to do all the press for his film and if he hadn't been able to talk confidently about something he knew so thoroughly and passionately, I think we'd have seen a lot less of him. I can't imagine him doing stand-up like Adam but never say never! He doesn't communicate - I presume you mean via social media - because he's worried he'll make a plonker of himself and can't handle the ensuing self-loathing. Adam is quite happy to make a tit of himself (possibly because he knows how endearing it is) but he has a great comfort with honesty, however daft it makes him appear, which Joe is more reserved about, especially when he's on his own. When they're together and one does something silly, the other one pops them back up and they're back on balance.

I think you might underestimate the amount of preparation they put into the radio shows. They may sound random and shambolic but both of them prep for that. Adam, of course, spends many, many hours making his jingle jongles. Some of the most beloved episodes and snippets from the shows would not have existed if time had not been spent making them happen. Adam thinks hard about the minutiae of life and does songs and jingles; Joe brings soundbytes like The Archers, Wonders of the Universe, Blah Boopity Baya etc. It's the blend of the prepared and the spontaneous that we adore and I think the balance is often misunderstood.

Furthermore, I don't think either of them feel as comfy doing the show without audience interaction and that may be why they didn't feel like doing the Christmas show. In 2010 they tried to get some pre-action via the blog and Twitter but it's not the same as having people text & email while they are in the studio. Joe has often mentioned this. I also think he's very conscious of the vagaries of the film industry and must feel the need to keep irons in fires. However, I suspect he might not handle multi-tasking as well as Adam. If he worries about turning up with the show each week, he can't knuckle down and do the research & writing he needs to do. This is all conjecture, of course.

This couldn't go on forever. Nothing ever can. Adam was asked the question down in Sydney last night and implied that they were both too busy this year. Adam is more and more in demand and I really do think we're not far away from a serious TV commitment from him. Once again, this is purely conjecture.

You may argue that Jonathan Ross, for instance, can manage to do a vast number of diverse things but he's a different person and he has reached a level where he has people to help him....a lot.

[mymindisempty]

Crap news that is. One podcast popped up on shuffle on my iPhone today and I listened to it and missed the guys dearly (although full disclosure, it was the one without Joe from last year "THAT IS MY YACHT! I'M WAVING TO MY WIFE!"...). I think it's time I start a full run-through of the old show but I reckon I'll have listened to them all before the guys return to radio.

Can't they just give Adam his own show again? Like the Big Mixtape thing?