When you turn the radio on it’s quite pleasantly surprising what enjoyable snippets you can pick up sometimes, especially when you haven’t checked the program schedules first, as I often tend to do…

This evening was one of those exact same occasions, sit down switch on and see what happens; Johnnie Walker (70’s music ‘expert’ & veteran DJ) talking to Peter Kay (funny man) on BBC Radio 2, a show that provided an excellent combination of humourous chat and banter with some great ‘Old Skool’ tunes. To be fair and more often than not, it’s likely that the last radio station I was tuned to would be BBC Radio 2 or Radio 4. Consequently, given the time of day, I normally have some idea about what to expect. That said, some of the normal listings have been adjusted and some previously recorded shows have been aired. I suppose with the seasonal holidays, even the DJ’s deserve a break.

You can tell that Peter loves radio from the station Forever FM, which he created for his BBC series Car Share. As Peter tells Johnnie, music and the radio station were a big part of the show, becoming the third character…(BBC Radio 2)

The fictional radio station Forever FM came from the BBC TV sitcom Peter Kay’s Car Share. The entire first series, which was initially but only briefly available on the BBC iPlayer, apparently and understandably became one of the most watched BBC series to be released as a TV box set. At the time of posting, the 63 track playlist from Peter’s fictional station are available via the BBC (see here). Apparently Peter ‘created’ his own radio station from scratch, just to play in the background of the show.

The music was very important. I really wanted the car radio to be a strong third character as it represents so many people’s daily commutes and it was also essential that the radio sound was authentic… (Peter Kay)

More ‘evidence’ to support all my previous babbles on the subject of music, radio and it’s undoubted value… everyone’s life needs a bit of humour and some music! Back in 2013, in one of my many blog posts about the impact of music on my life and, funnily enough, that post also came about because of me sitting listening to the radio.

I got to thinking about the power of music but how unfortunately, that ‘power’ is usually a short-lived trend or fashion, despite the original ‘cult status’ at the time. (One love! And other such musical legacies!)

Earlier I used the term ‘Old Skool’ as an adjective to describe a genre or era of music but what actually constitutes ‘old’ in that descriptive? When you submit the words to Google anything from the last 20-30 years can be returned, you even get tunes from less than ten years ago.

Frankly, “old school” is a completely relative term and depends upon the new or modern thing to which it is being compared. Once Beethoven hit the charts, Bach became “old school.” We now consider Rap music of the 1980s to be “old school” when compared to today’s Rap. (Quora.com)

The above provided an endorsement of my thinking, like life itself for so many today… if it ain’t happening now it ain’t considered to be “cool” anymore. As with most of the stuff that our yoof find ‘fashionable’ now, they’re unlikely to shower it with similar verbal accolades or cult status tomorrow. Not that I’m too worried about that personally, much of recent yesterday’s music isn’t up to much any way!

In slang, “old school” or “old skool” can refer to anything that is from an earlier era or anything that may be considered “old-fashioned”. The term is commonly used to suggest a high regard for something that has been shown to have lasting value or quality. (wikipedia.com)

The answer from the old wiki box of answers is a little better; it’s good to know that “anything that is from an earlier era” can also still be revered and held in “high regard.” At least that gives me hope for the future; some parts of the past are still considered to have “lasting value or quality” – perhaps one day yours truly might be ‘Old Skool’?