Pop Shield

Last night I had a strange dream on a recurring theme. In an earlier incarnation of this nightmare, I was in ABC1 continuity suite due to play out an episode of Farmers Tomorrow. It was a tight turnaround between recording and play-out. Just moments before transmission I discovered that the computer had failed to successfully save the recording. Luckily the programme was backed up on a lesser-known format called SANDWICH. I turned around to grab the backup sandwich only to find it was being eaten by a work experience girl sitting at the back of the studio. Noooo!

In last night’s version, I was wondering around Maid Of Orleans Studios looking for some equipment. When I entered Studio 3, I was commandeered by two of R&B diva Kerry Rowrand’s backing singers. They were trying to find the singer some better headphones because she didn’t like the mix in hers. I was about to explain that changing the headphones wouldn’t help when the red light went on and the recording was underway. At the end of the song the Tour Manager, who appeared to have taken over the proceedings, said the take was good and Kerry needed to go. He then said the master recording had failed because the lead singer lacked confidence. He pointed to a CF Recorder sitting on a shelf in the studio holding the backup. The man tipped up the machine and liquid marmite poured out of it into in a marmite jar which he handed to me and asked me to take it to Jamie and Rupert in the control room. I was in a hurry to get back to my own studio so I started to run. But the lid was not screwed on properly and the black liquid started to escape. I lost about twenty percent of it, but I had no means of working out which part of the recording I had lost. Was it the bassline? Was it the middle 8? Was it the top end? I considered dumping the jar in the hope that somebody MUST have had the sense to press record in the control room, and then I woke up.

Marmite? Sandwiches? What on earth is going on here?!