University Challenge (Monday 4th January 2010)

[JimN]

In the semi-final round between St John's, Oxford and Girton, Cambridge, this evening, one of the specialist rounds was on "instrumental hits".

The starter [for those in the USA, where the programme is called "College Bowl", that's a "toss-up"], was a request for the title and composer of an instrumental hit from the late 1950s (which turned out to be dead easy: Henry Mancini's Theme from Peter Gunn).

Neither team got it, which surprised me.

The bonus questions, when they arrived, consisted of three pieces of instrumental music to be identified:

(a) Apache - The Shadows
(b) Albatross - Fleetwood Mac and the by-then entirely predictable
(c) Telstar - The Tornados.

The team trying to answer those bonus questions (the Oxford college) didn't get one of them. Not even Telstar.

Disappointingly, Jeremy Paxman remarked that their grandparents should have been around to assist and that Telstar (and perhaps all four pieces of music) were "rubbish". He seemed dismayed that questions should be asked about anything but classical music or very contemporary offerings you might hear in a student union bar.

Isn't it amazing? Questions on the music of two to three centuries ago often attracts a fair-fisted effort from these student teams. Questions on relatively obscure albums from the last few years (usually by people you've never heard of, for all their alleged current appeal) will usually find one team member who can make a good guess or two. But ask them a question about the most popular part of the culture of the twentieth century, from Dixieland Jazz to electric blues via Broadway show tunes and Tin Pan Alley, and unless it's the Beatles (or one LP by Miles Davis), they usually can't answer. It doesn't matter whether it's The Tornados, Al Jolson, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Mel Tormé, Josef Locke or Jeff Beck - not a clue.

I am a great fan of University Challenge. I score myself on every broadcast and usually get between 30% and 40% of the answers right (there are 80 - 100 questions per edition). Most of them are not all that hard (unless on a rarified topic like organic chemistry or advanced mathematics) and many are asked in a way which telegraphs the correct answer to anyone with a bit of general knowledge and enough wit to make quick connections and draw obvious conclusions. I'm not sure I care for Paxo's flippant remark.

JN


PS: It wasn't the EMI recording of Apache.

PPS: You can see the programme at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ptvvz/University_Challenge_2009_2010_Episode_25/

The music question comes in at about 13:45.

PPPS: The same team had never even heard of (painter) Mondrian either.

[David Martin]

Paxman and his ilk are lucky people. Not many folks can make a living being a T@@T...

[keithmantle]

The questions where from the sixties, some oik answered The Eagles !!

[AlanMcKillop]

You only get between 30 - 40% of the answers correct? I'm surprised that it was so high.

[Martin Page]

The questions where from the sixties, some oik answered The Eagles !!

Perhaps the person thought it was The (Bristol) Eagles!

Martin.

[RayL]

(Devil's Advocate hat on!). Suppose we go back 50 years. It's 1960 and a group of university students are being quizzed about the music of 1912 (the equivalent in time that Telstar is from us in 2010). Would you expect them to be as familiar with the Turkey-trots and other popular music of a bygone age as they would be with Move It? Would these 1960s students be expected to be familiar with Nora Bayes, Gaby Deslys, Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar or Lillian Nordica (all popular in 1912)?

Ray L

[David Martin]

But, equally, Ray, would you accept that given the paucity (or absence?) of mass media in 1912, it would have been much harder - maybe impossible - for those earlier students to have instant access to facts about early popular music?

(Having said that, I well remember trying to get a music teacher to understand (in 1995) that the reason the class wasn't interested in her carefully prepared lesson on the music of The Beatles was that it was the equivalent of a teacher trying to interest an 11 year old DavidM in the music of Gracie Fields... When I arrived in the classroom, the kids were rioting and the teacher was shouting at them through a miniature PA system! She didn't last long...)

[Moderne]

It doesn't surprise me really, I'd have been amazed if they had answered any of them correctly. The last time I watched UC none of the contestants could identify The Skaters' Waltz! When you focus in on specific areas most young people's musical knowledge is quite appalling - unless it's connected to football, Britain's Got Talent, X-factor, X-box Nintendo 360, the Wii, adverts on the telly or a selection of about 10 DVDs which they will have watched about 50 times each! "It's from an M&S advert". Says it all!

Clive...can I be on the next series of Grumpy Old Men?

[Stratpicker]

Clive, why bother? Just stay here with us - see pointless arguments on thread "Cliff-how arrogant".
It don't get more grumpy than that!! LOL!
cheers
ian

[Moderne]

...I'd also like to agree with Jim and David re Paxman's "rubbish" jibe. Very disappointing: he's gone right down in my estimation.