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Farewell, Jo Whiley. We're sort of sorry |
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Story filed Friday, 18 September 2009 |
 Jo Whiley broadcasts her last Radio One weekday show today - right now, in fact. At the time of writing she's playing Kasabian.
Over the last few years Jo has become the postergirl for landfill indie and, to some, a cheerleader for everything that is the opposite of brilliant pop music. Her name has become synonymous with terrible guitar bands but it's become an obsession that doesn't always bear much relation to the reality of the situation.
For a start, at the very heart of it, Jo Whiley is a broadcaster not, for example, just some moron off the telly who's been given a radio show. That's one good thing.
Secondly, and most importantly, she is a broadcaster who is passionate about music. In that sense Whiley is similar to Edith Bowman, who also finishes her weekday run on Radio One today and, like Whiley, is moving to a weekend slot. Both these DJs have what we would describe as an utterly woeful taste in music. But while pop fans - those who listened aghast as Jo Whiley attempted to sound interested in what we perceived to be an 'important' pop exclusive first play - may consider that she is passionate about the 'wrong' music
(in truth, to a Radio One audience, she was passionate about the
'right' music), she is at least passionate about music. How is it
ever wrong to be passionate about music? She and Edith Bowman are both music people, like we are, and there are precious few of those on daytime radio.
A true
and genuine passion for music - ANY music, except acid jazz - is better than no passion at all. And it is a million times better than some sort of
transient, clueless, cool-chasing, foundationless and inane obsession with 'lifestyle rock'. Or, to put it another way, if you're happy today that Jo Whiley's leaving daytime Radio One, try her replacement Fearne Cotton for two weeks then tell us you don't want Jo back on air.
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