Woofers and tweeters just don’t do it for me

Feb 22 2008 by Valerie Hill, Liverpool Daily Post

APPARENTLY, not only are women from Venus and men from Mars, but their fundamental differences are reflected in the music they like.

Men like heavier Martian music and all the techy, anoraky details about amps and how it was made.

We Venusians (you’ll be shocked and surprised to learn) tend to respond on an emotional level, squealing that we love the song, possibly leaping up and dancing to it.

Quite probably one response will be followed by the other, plus a quick bout of inexplicable weeping.

But, on the basis that some truths should never be uttered, the BBC’s head of pop has broken this taboo and pointed out this musical Nellie the Elephant in the room.

Lesley Douglas has declared that men listen to music on an intellectual level while women respond from the heart.

Curiously, we women aren’t interested in track listings and production techniques.

But Ms Douglas faced the ire of foaming male listeners when she tried to address the problems of BBC 6, the digital radio rock music station.

Ms Douglas, who co-ordinates pop music across radio and television (sounds like a hard job), argued that the station’s output had marginalised female listeners.

Her main sin has been to introduce on to the station a “personality DJ” called George Lamb who has a “warmer, more female-friendly touch” (can’t you get arrested for that?).

Mr Lamb’s morning banter has antagonised male listeners to the station so much that they’re campaigning for his removal, citing his “meaningless drivel”.

With a regular listenership of 500,000 people, 6 Music is aimed at 30-somethings. They’re just the kind of sardonic group who would especially bristle at what a BBC website calls “Lamby’s lingo”.

As this includes such hip phrases like “feelin’ it” and “wackola”, I think I’m starting to understand why the hairy rockers are revolting, so to speak.

They’re far more discerning than the music lovers Frank Zappa described when he proclaimed: “Most rock journalism is written by people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read.”

Ms Douglas hit back saying on Radio 4’s Feedback that, for its first five years, the station has been “very, very male-biased”.

She added: “For a station that has music at its heart, it’s only right to make it more open to female listeners. It’s partly how you talk about music.

“For women, there tends to be a more emotional reaction to music. Men tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of music.”

She said there was “no reason” why women shouldn’t love music as much as men. We do and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do it dancing round a handbag if we want to.

What do I know? When I was stopped in the street by a market researcher and asked what was the last tape I bought, I was forced to reply that it was an audio cleaner (I’m a big fan and have several versions).