The Pipettes are still very good, but more importantly, BBC Radio Wales is an absolute hoot

Top Tips To Combat Boredom Part 17: Listen to BBC Radio Wales.

It's incredible.

I only tuned in to listen to the Pipettes debut their new single ("you know it's a desperately lonely Sunday night when..."). Instead, I found the kind of rich, very British broadcasting the BBC has foresaken in favour of Fearne "The Devil" Cotton: warm, slightly eccentric, exceptionally comfortable listening. The audio equivelant of slipping on a pair of slippers, with Cotton's show - by way of contrast - closely relating to the experience of performing Riverdance on broken glass. I wouldn't reccomend the chap who introduced The Pipettes in general. The show's music was largely local (read: terrible), but the program before that - check the schedule if you're inexplicably keen - was some daft old woman banging on about dreams, and playing old love songs. It was blissful.

Talking of blissful - on to the Pipettes' newby (this is a blog about Pop Music, after all. And not a very good one at that). 'Stop The Music' is the first proper taster from a band who shed members like old skin, yet never cease to dazzle. Produced by Martin Rushent - the architect behind Human League's masterpiece Dare - this is a lush and lyrically melancholic return from the Saunders Sisters (aka singers Ani and Gwenno Saunders). It is, of course, still incredibly dance-inducing, with the musical reference points shimmying from the 60s swing of 'Pull Shapes' right into a very 70s strut. It sounds like nothing in the charts at the moment, and is unlikely to bother the Top 100, but I guess that's life, isn't it?

So a shit Sunday night in served up two life lessons.

1) The Pipettes are the same brave, under-appreciated Pop Pandas we fell in love with in 2006 (this image works on two levels: pandas are black and white, much like the Pipettes' dressing up box, and, like the panda, the Pipettes seemed very near extinction until recently).
2) BBC Radio Wales is amazing.

To hear 'Stop the Music,' fast forward to 30 odd minutes or so, as it's worth it. Scout's honour.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00nqhy8