This Guardian blog caught my eye this morning, as I sit at home and avoid doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
"When's the last time you really listened to an album?"
LP - Back in January, either 'Twelfth Night' or Don Maclean 'Tapestry', found in a charity shop, on my Rega P3
CD - Genesis 'Wind and Wuthering' in the car (on my way to an interview), and Epsilon Indi 'Crystal Soup' at home on my home hi-fi at the weekend just gone
MP3s - Coheed & Cambria on my 'Pod, and Bert Jansch with 'Pod plugged into my home hi-fi
I tend to agree with this comment - ironically, given my recent posts - by 'bertjansch':
"I dont know how much of this is down to the digital age and how much is simply down to growing up and just not having the liberty to fart round staring at lyric sheets. For almost all of us over 25s, an appreciation of music began in early to mid-teens when lets face it, we had a hell of a lot more free time to sit around darkened rooms, smoking fattie boombatties and listening to 'Meddle' while staring at the cover. I know i tend to skip the crap tracks on my ipod, but im an impatient bugger and even on vinyl The Crunge never got too many spins! You have made me all nostalgic now im going to skive off home to sit on the floor with the curtains drawn watch Live at Pompeii while my partner and our daughter are out at playgroup, hurrah!"
Replace 'partner and daughter' with 'wife and son', and 'Live at Pompeii' with 'Yes: Symphonic Live' and you've pretty much described my (new) plan for this afternoon.
Perhaps the music-listening thing has turned full circle. Back in the 50s and 60s it was all singles and EPs, with albums only being established commercially in the 60s. Perhaps it's the fault of the computer-generated supermarket CDs, with 2 or 3 'decent' tracks and a dozen or so fillers, that are to blame for downloading of single tracks taking over. I'm not really sure it's that important, though. Some albums cry out for end-to-end listening, others don't.
My main problem is finding time, and sharing a house with others who don't share a lot of my musical taste.
Thursday 28 February 2008
Please Stop Staring At Me
OK, some self-regarding nonsense for a while...
Following the Comment on the previous post 'All The Best Freaks Are Here', by Stuart Maconie, here are some expanded thoughts on the edition of the 'Freak Zone' Podcast that I heard. Please feel free to scatter 'IMO' liberally throughout this...
I stumbled upon this 'cast on iTunes while looking for something else. As I said, I rarely listen to DAB radio (I only have one, and that's in the kitchen, and other family members don't share much of my music taste), so was pleased to see this on offer, particularly with the title of "FreakZone: Brazilian Grooves and Bert Jansch 24 Feb 08".
With a running time of 19:33, and with the music rights issue, it was fairly obvious that music would be presented in brief extracts (although I have heard full radio shows before as Podcasts, contrary to what Mr Maconie suggests - perhaps they simply stumped up the royalties).
My main problem was that the Podcast didn't stand up as a separate entity. It was clearly edited from the full show (which I haven't heard yet) and came across as confusing, repetitive and shallow, and, most importantly of all, didn't do justice to the album under consideration. Three 30 second bits of tracks linked by some (but not enough) biographical detail - why no mention of Danny Thompson, given the earlier mention of The Pentangle? - which was repetitive, and seemingly sourced exclusively from Wikipedia.
I didn't like the dedication of less than 5 minutes to this album, followed by 13 minutes of Professor Justin Spear (complete with comedy voice) and his thesis on Brazilian Bossa Nova - it just seemed unbalanced.
in brief:
00.00 - 00.20: intro, complete with scat,
00.20 - 00.25: "...we'll have three tracks from... Avocet. Enjoy"
00.25 - 01.05: confusingly, given the introduction, some 'retro-garage'
01.05 - 01.25: we learn it's BJ's favourite of his own albums, and was only released on CD 15 years after the vinyl release
01.25 - 02.00: (a bit of) Kingfisher
02.00 - 3.15: another mention of the delayed CD release and some (interesting) biographic detail, and some info on the nature and recording of the album
3.15 - 3.50: (a bit of) Avocet
3.45 - 4.40: repeated recording details, and another mention of it being BJ's favourite. A mention of Martin Jenkins, without context, and no mention of Mr Thompson. The tracks are apparently named after birds, based on birds and have an ornithological bent
4.40 - 5.20: (a bit of) Bittern, with an abrupt edit into Dick Dale
6.00 - 'witty banter', and stuff I'm not hugely interested in. Chacun a son goût, of course.
Now obviously, in a live radio show, if you're playing an 18 minute track, there's less talk to be edited in, and I have no other FZ 'casts to compare it with. A main issue with this particular one was the repetitive nature of the information, and the omission of important info (cue 'funny' nerdy voice: musicians, label, in/out of print, previous and subsequent albums for an idea of where it fits into the oeuvre). I have the album - vinyl - but I think I would be in the dark listening to the Podcast on its own.
Now Stuart, thanks again for your comment - I couldn't resist rising to the challenge to explain my thoughts beyond my brief sketch. The Podcast certainly provoked me to re-visit the album on my iPod, and I will try to remember about the existence of BBC 6Music in future, and maybe 'Listen Again'.
Keep up the good work, and keep playing those 18 minute songs.
Any job going at the BBC for a 40 y-o disillusioned scientist with a passion for music, and prog in particular?
Following the Comment on the previous post 'All The Best Freaks Are Here', by Stuart Maconie, here are some expanded thoughts on the edition of the 'Freak Zone' Podcast that I heard. Please feel free to scatter 'IMO' liberally throughout this...
I stumbled upon this 'cast on iTunes while looking for something else. As I said, I rarely listen to DAB radio (I only have one, and that's in the kitchen, and other family members don't share much of my music taste), so was pleased to see this on offer, particularly with the title of "FreakZone: Brazilian Grooves and Bert Jansch 24 Feb 08".
With a running time of 19:33, and with the music rights issue, it was fairly obvious that music would be presented in brief extracts (although I have heard full radio shows before as Podcasts, contrary to what Mr Maconie suggests - perhaps they simply stumped up the royalties).
My main problem was that the Podcast didn't stand up as a separate entity. It was clearly edited from the full show (which I haven't heard yet) and came across as confusing, repetitive and shallow, and, most importantly of all, didn't do justice to the album under consideration. Three 30 second bits of tracks linked by some (but not enough) biographical detail - why no mention of Danny Thompson, given the earlier mention of The Pentangle? - which was repetitive, and seemingly sourced exclusively from Wikipedia.
I didn't like the dedication of less than 5 minutes to this album, followed by 13 minutes of Professor Justin Spear (complete with comedy voice) and his thesis on Brazilian Bossa Nova - it just seemed unbalanced.
in brief:
00.00 - 00.20: intro, complete with scat,
00.20 - 00.25: "...we'll have three tracks from... Avocet. Enjoy"
00.25 - 01.05: confusingly, given the introduction, some 'retro-garage'
01.05 - 01.25: we learn it's BJ's favourite of his own albums, and was only released on CD 15 years after the vinyl release
01.25 - 02.00: (a bit of) Kingfisher
02.00 - 3.15: another mention of the delayed CD release and some (interesting) biographic detail, and some info on the nature and recording of the album
3.15 - 3.50: (a bit of) Avocet
3.45 - 4.40: repeated recording details, and another mention of it being BJ's favourite. A mention of Martin Jenkins, without context, and no mention of Mr Thompson. The tracks are apparently named after birds, based on birds and have an ornithological bent
4.40 - 5.20: (a bit of) Bittern, with an abrupt edit into Dick Dale
6.00 - 'witty banter', and stuff I'm not hugely interested in. Chacun a son goût, of course.
Now obviously, in a live radio show, if you're playing an 18 minute track, there's less talk to be edited in, and I have no other FZ 'casts to compare it with. A main issue with this particular one was the repetitive nature of the information, and the omission of important info (cue 'funny' nerdy voice: musicians, label, in/out of print, previous and subsequent albums for an idea of where it fits into the oeuvre). I have the album - vinyl - but I think I would be in the dark listening to the Podcast on its own.
Now Stuart, thanks again for your comment - I couldn't resist rising to the challenge to explain my thoughts beyond my brief sketch. The Podcast certainly provoked me to re-visit the album on my iPod, and I will try to remember about the existence of BBC 6Music in future, and maybe 'Listen Again'.
Keep up the good work, and keep playing those 18 minute songs.
Any job going at the BBC for a 40 y-o disillusioned scientist with a passion for music, and prog in particular?
Wednesday 27 February 2008
All The Best Freaks Are Here
A new Podcast has belatedly come to my attention, the Freak Zone on BBC Radio 6Music. It's not often I get to listen to DAB radio, as a) besides the cricket on 5liveExtra, there's not much there, b) Radio 7 is available on the 'net, c) Radio 6Music is usually full of babbling DJs playing the usual indie-kid stuff, and d) I forget it's there.
I was expecting great things of this 'cast, having occasionally caught the full show in the past, but I was disappointed by both the brevity and the content. The Bert Jansch 'Avocet' album was featured, but the three tracks were only played for about a minute each. The last 10 minutes of the 15 minute programme were filled with 'witty banter' between Maconie and someone else about Brazilian Bossa Nova. Tiresome.
Recent download from here and here and the Avocet album featured in today's playlist:
FreakZone: Brazilian Grooves and Bert Jansch,
Avocet - Bert Jansch, magnificent,
Were You Blind That Day? - Steely Dan, an early version of Third World Man from 'Gaucho',
The Bear - Steely Dan,
The Second Arrangement - Steely Dan,
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin, a recording of the recent O2 show,
Kingfisher - Bert Jansch,
Come And Get It - Badfinger,
California - Joni Mitchell,
The Priest - Joni Mitchell,
La Fuente Del Ritmo - Santana,
The Lovecrafter - Patti Smith,
Ghost Dance - Patti Smith.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
I was expecting great things of this 'cast, having occasionally caught the full show in the past, but I was disappointed by both the brevity and the content. The Bert Jansch 'Avocet' album was featured, but the three tracks were only played for about a minute each. The last 10 minutes of the 15 minute programme were filled with 'witty banter' between Maconie and someone else about Brazilian Bossa Nova. Tiresome.
Recent download from here and here and the Avocet album featured in today's playlist:
FreakZone: Brazilian Grooves and Bert Jansch,
Avocet - Bert Jansch, magnificent,
Were You Blind That Day? - Steely Dan, an early version of Third World Man from 'Gaucho',
The Bear - Steely Dan,
The Second Arrangement - Steely Dan,
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin, a recording of the recent O2 show,
Kingfisher - Bert Jansch,
Come And Get It - Badfinger,
California - Joni Mitchell,
The Priest - Joni Mitchell,
La Fuente Del Ritmo - Santana,
The Lovecrafter - Patti Smith,
Ghost Dance - Patti Smith.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
Tuesday 26 February 2008
The Long March
Another trek into more futility. Today and tomorrow should do it for this week.
'Electronic' music today, although I tend to go my artist rather than individual albums or tracks, so many of these are un-electronic:
Opus 4 - The Art Of Noise,
We were poor... - Paddy McAloon, from his superb 'I Trawl the Megahertz' album,
The Model - Kraftwerk,
Ask The Mountains (Extended Version) - Vangelis with Stina Nordenstam,
Twenty Eighth Parallel - Vangelis,
Equinoxe 4 - Jean-Michel Jarre,
Hearts - Jon & Vangelis, from a 'Change We Must' live/demo CD, I think,
P.S. - Vangelis,
Sharkey's Night - Laurie Anderson,
Movement 5 - Vangelis,
The Tao of Love - Vangelis,
Part 2 Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit - Vangelis. Despite my extensive Vangelis collection (probably about 30 LPs and 15 or so CDs), I was unware of this until recently, and managed to find this MP3, clearly taken from an LP, if the pops and crackles are anything to go by. An interesting historical record.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 2
'Electronic' music today, although I tend to go my artist rather than individual albums or tracks, so many of these are un-electronic:
Opus 4 - The Art Of Noise,
We were poor... - Paddy McAloon, from his superb 'I Trawl the Megahertz' album,
The Model - Kraftwerk,
Ask The Mountains (Extended Version) - Vangelis with Stina Nordenstam,
Twenty Eighth Parallel - Vangelis,
Equinoxe 4 - Jean-Michel Jarre,
Hearts - Jon & Vangelis, from a 'Change We Must' live/demo CD, I think,
P.S. - Vangelis,
Sharkey's Night - Laurie Anderson,
Movement 5 - Vangelis,
The Tao of Love - Vangelis,
Part 2 Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit - Vangelis. Despite my extensive Vangelis collection (probably about 30 LPs and 15 or so CDs), I was unware of this until recently, and managed to find this MP3, clearly taken from an LP, if the pops and crackles are anything to go by. An interesting historical record.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 2
Thursday 21 February 2008
Hurting In A Different Way
Well, I wait for ages, and then two jobs come along at once: an interview the week after next, and a place at a University course, if I want it, in September. Decisions, decisions.
A spectularly futile day awaits today, as I've been told 'it might be good' if I come in. Unlikely.
Basin Street Blues - Jimmy Smith,
Princess Of Light - Robert Miles,
One Inch Rock ('68) - Tyrannosaurus Rex,
Come On Back - Caravan,
A Forest - The Cure,
House - Marillion, easily the best track on the .com album, and continuing a tradition of superb, extended final album tracks,
Radioactive Toy - Porcupine Tree,
Reunion - Patrick O'Hearn,
Sex Machine - Sly & the Family Stone, an extended jam and not really, IMO, particularly sexy.
This, however, is:
Half An Hour Is For Free - The Devil In Miss Jones (featuring Fats Bob Trumpet),
The Porn King - The Funky Filter,
Hatesex - Mr. Juno,
Suck My Disc - SonnyJim
T - 4; M - 4; D - 3
A spectularly futile day awaits today, as I've been told 'it might be good' if I come in. Unlikely.
Basin Street Blues - Jimmy Smith,
Princess Of Light - Robert Miles,
One Inch Rock ('68) - Tyrannosaurus Rex,
Come On Back - Caravan,
A Forest - The Cure,
House - Marillion, easily the best track on the .com album, and continuing a tradition of superb, extended final album tracks,
Radioactive Toy - Porcupine Tree,
Reunion - Patrick O'Hearn,
Sex Machine - Sly & the Family Stone, an extended jam and not really, IMO, particularly sexy.
This, however, is:
Half An Hour Is For Free - The Devil In Miss Jones (featuring Fats Bob Trumpet),
The Porn King - The Funky Filter,
Hatesex - Mr. Juno,
Suck My Disc - SonnyJim
T - 4; M - 4; D - 3
Wednesday 20 February 2008
Let N > 50
Since I've just swapped my iPod to allow me to carry my entire collection of music files, here's what's currently on it, with a filter of 50 tracks or more, as I did previously. Obviously, there'll be lots of duplicates, but a lot will be single/album/remix versions...
Marillion - 364
Yes - 286
Frank Zappa - 276
Jethro Tull - 261
Porcupine Tree - 236
Cocteau Twins - 235
Pink Floyd - 218
The Fall - 215
King Crimson - 193
Kate Bush - 176
Vangelis (solo) - 187
Genesis - 174
Gentle Giant - 171
Fleetwood Mac - 161
Rush - 157
Richard Wagner (mainly the Ring Cycle) - 148
Brian Eno (solo) - 145
David Sylvian (solo) - 126
Nick Drake - 124
Dream Theater - 98
Hawkwind - 97
Joni Mitchell - 97
John Martyn - 96
Robert Wyatt (solo) - 96
Steely Dan - 94
Peter Gabriel (solo) - 91
R.E.M. - 90
The Orb - 86
Caravan - 83
Asia - 82
The Beatles - 80
Kraftwerk - 79
Bauhaus - 76
Simon & Garfunkel - 75
Mike Oldfield - 74
Tangerine Dream - 73
Tim Buckley - 73
Tyrannosaurus Rex / T.Rex - 73
Sigur Ros - 71
Ozric Tentacles -69
Art of Noise - 69
David Bowie - 66
Suzanne Vega - 66
Jean-Michel Jarre - 66
Van Morrison - 65
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - 65
Robert Fripp (solo) - 65
James Taylor - 63
Jeff Buckley - 62
Led Zeppelin - 62
Rick Wakeman (solo) - 61
Lush - 60
Premiata Formeria Marconi / P.F.M. - 59
Coheed & Cambria - 59
This Mortal Coil - 59
Syd Barrett (solo) - 58
Talking Heads - 58
Pete Murphy (solo) - 57
Lucio Battisti - 57
Elton John - 56
Dead Can Dance - 55
Nine Inch Nails - 55
Miles Davis - 55
Supertramp - 54
Dire Straits - 54
The Enid - 53
Chris de Burgh - 53
Epsilon Indi - 52
Deep Purple - 52
The Who - 52
Sylvian/Fripp - 51
Plus, audiobooks (listed in 'Music') and the like, with tracks as either chapters or whole radio plays:
Agatha Christie - 247
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - 217
Round the Horne (Series 3) - 169
Sherlock Holmes stories - 100
Just A Minute - 85
The Smoking Room (Series 1) - 80
Isaac Asimov (I, Robot) - 78
Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) - 67
The War of the Worlds (BBC) - 61
P.G. Wodehouse (Wooster) - 56
total tracks: 19584
total time: 78:21:08:12
total size: 118.57 Gbytes
(excluding Podcasts + Audiobooks)
Marillion - 364
Yes - 286
Frank Zappa - 276
Jethro Tull - 261
Porcupine Tree - 236
Cocteau Twins - 235
Pink Floyd - 218
The Fall - 215
King Crimson - 193
Kate Bush - 176
Vangelis (solo) - 187
Genesis - 174
Gentle Giant - 171
Fleetwood Mac - 161
Rush - 157
Richard Wagner (mainly the Ring Cycle) - 148
Brian Eno (solo) - 145
David Sylvian (solo) - 126
Nick Drake - 124
Dream Theater - 98
Hawkwind - 97
Joni Mitchell - 97
John Martyn - 96
Robert Wyatt (solo) - 96
Steely Dan - 94
Peter Gabriel (solo) - 91
R.E.M. - 90
The Orb - 86
Caravan - 83
Asia - 82
The Beatles - 80
Kraftwerk - 79
Bauhaus - 76
Simon & Garfunkel - 75
Mike Oldfield - 74
Tangerine Dream - 73
Tim Buckley - 73
Tyrannosaurus Rex / T.Rex - 73
Sigur Ros - 71
Ozric Tentacles -69
Art of Noise - 69
David Bowie - 66
Suzanne Vega - 66
Jean-Michel Jarre - 66
Van Morrison - 65
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - 65
Robert Fripp (solo) - 65
James Taylor - 63
Jeff Buckley - 62
Led Zeppelin - 62
Rick Wakeman (solo) - 61
Lush - 60
Premiata Formeria Marconi / P.F.M. - 59
Coheed & Cambria - 59
This Mortal Coil - 59
Syd Barrett (solo) - 58
Talking Heads - 58
Pete Murphy (solo) - 57
Lucio Battisti - 57
Elton John - 56
Dead Can Dance - 55
Nine Inch Nails - 55
Miles Davis - 55
Supertramp - 54
Dire Straits - 54
The Enid - 53
Chris de Burgh - 53
Epsilon Indi - 52
Deep Purple - 52
The Who - 52
Sylvian/Fripp - 51
Plus, audiobooks (listed in 'Music') and the like, with tracks as either chapters or whole radio plays:
Agatha Christie - 247
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - 217
Round the Horne (Series 3) - 169
Sherlock Holmes stories - 100
Just A Minute - 85
The Smoking Room (Series 1) - 80
Isaac Asimov (I, Robot) - 78
Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) - 67
The War of the Worlds (BBC) - 61
P.G. Wodehouse (Wooster) - 56
total tracks: 19584
total time: 78:21:08:12
total size: 118.57 Gbytes
(excluding Podcasts + Audiobooks)
Living Here In Joytown
Well, after a day off, nursing an injured shoulder compounded by lugging IT gear around on Monday, a return to the futility of 'work'.
I've just swapped to my 160 Gb iPod, as the 60 Gb is becoming too difficult/time-consuming to manage properly (my home library is approaching 120 Gb), so I've got my whole library with me today. 'Not Spoken or Classical':
Beachball - Chef, from an r.e.m.IX remix album found here.
As You Are Now - Suzanne Vega,
Stay Hungry - Talking Heads,
Circle Dance - John Renbourn,
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles,
Valedictory - Gentle Giant,
Joytown - Kevin Gilbert,
I've Been High - Her Space Holiday/Marc Bianchi, from r.e.m.IX again,
I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King,
This is No Rehearsal - Porcupine Tree,
Pearl-2 - Judee Sill,
Johnny On The Monorail (A Very Different Version) - The Buggles,
Burning Bridge - Kate Bush,
In Dulce Jubilo - Mike Oldfield, via a 'Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers' CD with a brutal edit,
Electricity - Joni Mitchell,
Down Through The Night - Hawkwind,
La Villa Strangiato - Rush, from a 'Pink Pop' festival concert, recorded from my cassette collection.
If I leave home at 9, I can be at work at 10.30 and miss all the drones on the Tube. I can miss even more if I stay home, but I'm going to have to show up for a few weeks more...
T- 3; M - 4.5; D - 4.5
I've just swapped to my 160 Gb iPod, as the 60 Gb is becoming too difficult/time-consuming to manage properly (my home library is approaching 120 Gb), so I've got my whole library with me today. 'Not Spoken or Classical':
Beachball - Chef, from an r.e.m.IX remix album found here.
As You Are Now - Suzanne Vega,
Stay Hungry - Talking Heads,
Circle Dance - John Renbourn,
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles,
Valedictory - Gentle Giant,
Joytown - Kevin Gilbert,
I've Been High - Her Space Holiday/Marc Bianchi, from r.e.m.IX again,
I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King,
This is No Rehearsal - Porcupine Tree,
Pearl-2 - Judee Sill,
Johnny On The Monorail (A Very Different Version) - The Buggles,
Burning Bridge - Kate Bush,
In Dulce Jubilo - Mike Oldfield, via a 'Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers' CD with a brutal edit,
Electricity - Joni Mitchell,
Down Through The Night - Hawkwind,
La Villa Strangiato - Rush, from a 'Pink Pop' festival concert, recorded from my cassette collection.
If I leave home at 9, I can be at work at 10.30 and miss all the drones on the Tube. I can miss even more if I stay home, but I'm going to have to show up for a few weeks more...
T- 3; M - 4.5; D - 4.5
Monday 18 February 2008
Real Tears For Sale
News on Marillion's 15th, which I signed up for before christmas, including a bit of a new song 'Real Tears for Sale'...
Racket Club Studio Podcast
RSS Podcast Feed - http://www.marillion.com/marillion-pod.rss
Direct Link to MP3 - http://media.marillion.com/podcast/20080207.mp3
The first glimpse at Album 15 - including a sound clip from the new song "Real Tears For Sale". Coming to you from the Racket Club studio with Pete Trewavas and Steve Rothery.
Racket Club Studio Podcast
RSS Podcast Feed - http://www.marillion.com/marillion-pod.rss
Direct Link to MP3 - http://media.marillion.com/podcast/20080207.mp3
The first glimpse at Album 15 - including a sound clip from the new song "Real Tears For Sale". Coming to you from the Racket Club studio with Pete Trewavas and Steve Rothery.
Last Stand
Monday morning. A ridiculous trek to find that, yet again, my boss had decided to 'work from home'. Arsehole.
This morning's shuffle of 'Not Classical or Spoken' produced this prog-heavy selection:
My Fairy King - Queen,
Then - Yes,
Cat`s Squirrel - Jethro Tull,
Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia - Mogwai,
A.W.O.L. - Robert Wyatt,
Vincent - Don McLean,
For Free - Joni Mitchell,
Blood - Kleshnikoff, from Plague Songs,
Aspirations - Gentle Giant,
No One Can (Album version) - Marillion,
Achilles' Last Stand - Led Zeppelin,
Two Hearts Beat As One - U2, from their early 'good' period,
Lucky Seven - Chris Squire. Bliss.
T - 3; M - 4; D - 4
This morning's shuffle of 'Not Classical or Spoken' produced this prog-heavy selection:
My Fairy King - Queen,
Then - Yes,
Cat`s Squirrel - Jethro Tull,
Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia - Mogwai,
A.W.O.L. - Robert Wyatt,
Vincent - Don McLean,
For Free - Joni Mitchell,
Blood - Kleshnikoff, from Plague Songs,
Aspirations - Gentle Giant,
No One Can (Album version) - Marillion,
Achilles' Last Stand - Led Zeppelin,
Two Hearts Beat As One - U2, from their early 'good' period,
Lucky Seven - Chris Squire. Bliss.
T - 3; M - 4; D - 4
Friday 15 February 2008
Let Me Take You Far Away
Well, I've been ordered to come in again, despite the fact that NONE of the Senior Management will be around. I'd better be a good boy, I suppose.
Stick It Out - Rush,
Bridge (live) - Marillion, from the single CD Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury III
Holiday - Scorpions,
Baby Can I Hold You - Tracy Chapman,
Vote For Miles - Miles Davis,
Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix, Live At Woodstock 1969
Win Fall CD 2088 AD - The Fall,
Every You Every Me - Placebo,
Behind the Lines [Live] - Genesis, from Three Sides Live
It's You - Talk Talk.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 2
Stick It Out - Rush,
Bridge (live) - Marillion, from the single CD Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury III
Holiday - Scorpions,
Baby Can I Hold You - Tracy Chapman,
Vote For Miles - Miles Davis,
Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix, Live At Woodstock 1969
Win Fall CD 2088 AD - The Fall,
Every You Every Me - Placebo,
Behind the Lines [Live] - Genesis, from Three Sides Live
It's You - Talk Talk.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 2
Thursday 14 February 2008
Brooding on the Infinite
Well, my company limps on into oblivion. There is now a good chance of being paid my notice period and at least some redundancy at a 'future time', so I've still got to wander in occasionally.
This morning some recent downloads found on FreeAlbumsGalore, as mentioned the other day.
As my iPod is almost full (and my home library now extends to 120 Gb), I didn't have time for a drastic cull of it's contents, so just transferred a few albums:
Music for Elevators Vol. 1 - Various Artists,
Sun Ra and The Blues Project do Batman and Robin,
Early Japanese Electronic Music - Various Artists, from 1956, and
Stay EP - Wil Deynes.
oiece - skylined, from MfE
The Riddler's Retreat - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
tram14 - popcrash, MfE,
Batman Theme - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Better Way - Wil Deynes,
Nervous - Wil Deynes,
Joker is Wild - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Stay - Wil Deynes,
Batman and Robin Swing - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Variations on numerical principle of 7 - Makoto Moroi+Toshiro Mayuzumi, from EJEM,
fahrstuhl zum schafott - tomoroh hidari, MfE,
Batman and Robin over the Roofs - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Works for musique concrete Y - Toshiro Mayuzumi, EJEM,
triangulo - mendigo, MfE.
All in all, very interesting. The 'Elevator Music' is very good, although it would cause me to linger in the lift, rather than use it simply as a means of transport. There are 2 other Volumes available through here.
The Sun-Ra music is good fun, although some pieces seem to be going through the motions. On balance, pretty good grooves.
The Japanese music is fascinating, sounding a lot like Vangelis's 'Beaubourg' twenty years later. Lots of bleep and buzzes, and sampled speech, with occasional rhythms trying (and failing) to break through.
The Wil Deynes is less interesting, being straight forward rock/pop in a James Blunt-ish vein. It'll probably sound better in Summer, but it didn't fit well in this morning's playlist.
Today's title comes from a Round the Horne CD set I found here. Whilst a lot of it has aged, especially the musical interludes, it still has its moments, particularly the Julian and Sandy sketches and the double entendre overload. "It's all that larver bread you've been eating...".
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
This morning some recent downloads found on FreeAlbumsGalore, as mentioned the other day.
As my iPod is almost full (and my home library now extends to 120 Gb), I didn't have time for a drastic cull of it's contents, so just transferred a few albums:
Music for Elevators Vol. 1 - Various Artists,
Sun Ra and The Blues Project do Batman and Robin,
Early Japanese Electronic Music - Various Artists, from 1956, and
Stay EP - Wil Deynes.
oiece - skylined, from MfE
The Riddler's Retreat - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
tram14 - popcrash, MfE,
Batman Theme - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Better Way - Wil Deynes,
Nervous - Wil Deynes,
Joker is Wild - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Stay - Wil Deynes,
Batman and Robin Swing - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Variations on numerical principle of 7 - Makoto Moroi+Toshiro Mayuzumi, from EJEM,
fahrstuhl zum schafott - tomoroh hidari, MfE,
Batman and Robin over the Roofs - Sun Ra and the Blues Project,
Works for musique concrete Y - Toshiro Mayuzumi, EJEM,
triangulo - mendigo, MfE.
All in all, very interesting. The 'Elevator Music' is very good, although it would cause me to linger in the lift, rather than use it simply as a means of transport. There are 2 other Volumes available through here.
The Sun-Ra music is good fun, although some pieces seem to be going through the motions. On balance, pretty good grooves.
The Japanese music is fascinating, sounding a lot like Vangelis's 'Beaubourg' twenty years later. Lots of bleep and buzzes, and sampled speech, with occasional rhythms trying (and failing) to break through.
The Wil Deynes is less interesting, being straight forward rock/pop in a James Blunt-ish vein. It'll probably sound better in Summer, but it didn't fit well in this morning's playlist.
Today's title comes from a Round the Horne CD set I found here. Whilst a lot of it has aged, especially the musical interludes, it still has its moments, particularly the Julian and Sandy sketches and the double entendre overload. "It's all that larver bread you've been eating...".
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
Tuesday 12 February 2008
Winter Sun
I think I've been neglecting ths spirit of this blog lately, what with turmoil at work. With the late winter Sun at my back, and with a day off tomorrow, it's time to sit back, relax and re-focus...
I found a great blog yesterday - FreeAlbumsGalore - which links to various sources of free, legal music files and associated info and artwork. The full album list is here, and, while most of it is obscure and probably not to everyone's taste, if you don't like it, there's always iTunes, as it says at the bottom of this page.
A Gigantic Dub - Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators,
Dark Entries - Bauhaus,
One White Whale - Laurie Anderson,
Unheard Answer - Epsilon Indi,
On the Turning Away - Pink Floyd,
Movement 5, Soil Festivities - Vangelis. Still one of my favourite albums of all time,
C.R.E.E.P. - The Fall,
Desire - Talk Talk,
Yes, O Yes - The Fall,
From Now On - Supertramp. From The Fall to Supertramp - oh the joy of 'Shuffle',
Dying on the Vine - John Cale,
Dragonflys - Devendra Banhart,
A Child Is Father To The Man - The Beach Boys,
Stop - Pink Floyd, from The Wall,
Dreams of Surf - Vangelis.
A late, casual start to the day, as there's even less to do these days: T- 4; M - 4; D - 4
I found a great blog yesterday - FreeAlbumsGalore - which links to various sources of free, legal music files and associated info and artwork. The full album list is here, and, while most of it is obscure and probably not to everyone's taste, if you don't like it, there's always iTunes, as it says at the bottom of this page.
A Gigantic Dub - Tommy McCook & The Aggrovators,
Dark Entries - Bauhaus,
One White Whale - Laurie Anderson,
Unheard Answer - Epsilon Indi,
On the Turning Away - Pink Floyd,
Movement 5, Soil Festivities - Vangelis. Still one of my favourite albums of all time,
C.R.E.E.P. - The Fall,
Desire - Talk Talk,
Yes, O Yes - The Fall,
From Now On - Supertramp. From The Fall to Supertramp - oh the joy of 'Shuffle',
Dying on the Vine - John Cale,
Dragonflys - Devendra Banhart,
A Child Is Father To The Man - The Beach Boys,
Stop - Pink Floyd, from The Wall,
Dreams of Surf - Vangelis.
A late, casual start to the day, as there's even less to do these days: T- 4; M - 4; D - 4
Monday 11 February 2008
Tomorrow's World
Got to go in today, to hear the denouement, although I did get Friday off...
I had a great weekend, with family, at the Chinese New Year thing in London. I also saw 'The 39 Steps' on Saturday - very funny, and great fun.
Bird Flew By - Nick Drake,
then, as my my iPod shuffled to the neglected new 'Coheed & Cambria' album, No World for Tomorrow, I decided to listen to it in full. Splendid, although I still think it could do with less singing and more instrumental passages.
T - 4; M - 4.5; D - 3
I had a great weekend, with family, at the Chinese New Year thing in London. I also saw 'The 39 Steps' on Saturday - very funny, and great fun.
Bird Flew By - Nick Drake,
then, as my my iPod shuffled to the neglected new 'Coheed & Cambria' album, No World for Tomorrow, I decided to listen to it in full. Splendid, although I still think it could do with less singing and more instrumental passages.
T - 4; M - 4.5; D - 3
Thursday 7 February 2008
When Does Reason Stop and Killing Just Take Over?
A trek to work today, to get the meltdown of my company confirmed.
Lots of Prog, from what I call 'The Big Four'. King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd. Whilst not all albums from all these bands can be classified as 'Prog', they're my favourite bands.
I suppose the second division of prog-related favourites includes bands like Marillion, Rush, Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis and Gentle Giant, plus, at a pinch, Led Zepellin.
I'll have to come in tomorrow as well... Balls.
Lots of Prog, from what I call 'The Big Four'. King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd. Whilst not all albums from all these bands can be classified as 'Prog', they're my favourite bands.
I suppose the second division of prog-related favourites includes bands like Marillion, Rush, Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis and Gentle Giant, plus, at a pinch, Led Zepellin.
I'll have to come in tomorrow as well... Balls.
Wednesday 6 February 2008
Working from Home
OK, the first day of this brave new world...
Working from home is pretty good - if only I was being paid for it...
I caught a bit of the Radcliffe & Maconie show last night for the first time in weeks and was impressed by the "A Toys Orchestra" track towards the end of the show. The track played - Invisible - was in the Pink Floyd mold and very good.
Their website - here - is rather Flash-heavy, and mostly in Italian, but there are full tracks available to sample, which is always a Good Thing. I detect bits of Porcupine Tree, Floyd and even Caravan in there, I think. The new CD is out soon, and might be worth investing in.
Working from home is pretty good - if only I was being paid for it...
I caught a bit of the Radcliffe & Maconie show last night for the first time in weeks and was impressed by the "A Toys Orchestra" track towards the end of the show. The track played - Invisible - was in the Pink Floyd mold and very good.
Their website - here - is rather Flash-heavy, and mostly in Italian, but there are full tracks available to sample, which is always a Good Thing. I detect bits of Porcupine Tree, Floyd and even Caravan in there, I think. The new CD is out soon, and might be worth investing in.
Tuesday 5 February 2008
It's Only Goodbye
Well, for a bit at least.
The news came this morning that it's all over, and my company is in liquidation. So there you have it: no final salary, no notice, no redundancy. Thanks everyone, you useless bastards.
There will a month or so of turmoil, interspersed with job interviews, DIY and helping with the shutdown, so my posting here will probably be very sporadic. After that, I don't know.
Keep watching the skies...
The news came this morning that it's all over, and my company is in liquidation. So there you have it: no final salary, no notice, no redundancy. Thanks everyone, you useless bastards.
There will a month or so of turmoil, interspersed with job interviews, DIY and helping with the shutdown, so my posting here will probably be very sporadic. After that, I don't know.
Keep watching the skies...
I Don't Care Any More
I was recently introduced to 'Blubster', a peer-to-peer file sharing thing for music.
Probably of highly dubious legality, although I've heard conflicting advice on the 'net. It comes with oodles of spyware and pop-ups, so, if you're interested in installing it, be very careful. It downloads and installs itself, and by all accounts is a bugger to un-install, so be absolutely sure you want this thing on your home PC. I have it on an old laptop.
For my taste, there's not much there of interest, as it depends absolutely on the taste of the other users.
Anyway, for the journey into oblivion, a playlist of recent acquisitions from this service:
Long Way to Go - Cassie. I'm not sure how this happened - I think it was supposed to be the Phil Collins song,
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young,
Cortez the Killer - Neil Young,
Cocaine Eyes - Neil Young,
The Drums of Gauamela - Vangelis, from the 'Alexander' soundtrack,
Karma Police - Neil Young & Eddie Vedder,
Keep on Rocking in the Free World - Neil Young,
Rachel's Song - a remix of the Vangelis track,
Land of Confusion - Genesis, as I have very little 80s and 90s Genesis or Phil Collins,
Do You Remember? - Phil Collins, ditto,
She Rides a Harley Davidson - Neil Young,
Roxanne's Veil - Vangelis, with Vanessa Mae,
Titans - Vangelis, from Alexander again,
Thrasher - Neil Young,
True Colours - Phil Collins, although a different mix from the one I remember
I Don't Care Any More - Phil Collins.
T - 2; M - 3.5; D - 4
Probably of highly dubious legality, although I've heard conflicting advice on the 'net. It comes with oodles of spyware and pop-ups, so, if you're interested in installing it, be very careful. It downloads and installs itself, and by all accounts is a bugger to un-install, so be absolutely sure you want this thing on your home PC. I have it on an old laptop.
For my taste, there's not much there of interest, as it depends absolutely on the taste of the other users.
Anyway, for the journey into oblivion, a playlist of recent acquisitions from this service:
Long Way to Go - Cassie. I'm not sure how this happened - I think it was supposed to be the Phil Collins song,
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young,
Cortez the Killer - Neil Young,
Cocaine Eyes - Neil Young,
The Drums of Gauamela - Vangelis, from the 'Alexander' soundtrack,
Karma Police - Neil Young & Eddie Vedder,
Keep on Rocking in the Free World - Neil Young,
Rachel's Song - a remix of the Vangelis track,
Land of Confusion - Genesis, as I have very little 80s and 90s Genesis or Phil Collins,
Do You Remember? - Phil Collins, ditto,
She Rides a Harley Davidson - Neil Young,
Roxanne's Veil - Vangelis, with Vanessa Mae,
Titans - Vangelis, from Alexander again,
Thrasher - Neil Young,
True Colours - Phil Collins, although a different mix from the one I remember
I Don't Care Any More - Phil Collins.
T - 2; M - 3.5; D - 4
Monday 4 February 2008
Away, Away, Away - Look to the Future Day for Hope
Well, I'm still turning up for 'work' although I'm not sure why. Apparently, if we turn up this month, there's more chance of the administrator looking kindly on us, or something.
From the 'All music between 3 and 8 minutes long' playlist:
Kometensmelodie - Kraftwerk, from Autobahn,
In the Morning, Tamelin, from an 'Independent' freebie CS, years ago,
Flying Dutchman - Jethro Tull,
Unknown Soldier - Weather Report,
The Big Money - Rush,
Slang of Ages - the 'Dan,
The Start of Something Beautiful - Porcupine Tree,
Throw Down the Sword - Wishbone Ash,
Pilgrims - Van der Graaf Generator,
Zion's Blood - Lee 'Scratch' Perry,
You Don't Need Anyone (Moles Club Demo) - Marillion,
Seasons - The Notwist.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
From the 'All music between 3 and 8 minutes long' playlist:
Kometensmelodie - Kraftwerk, from Autobahn,
In the Morning, Tamelin, from an 'Independent' freebie CS, years ago,
Flying Dutchman - Jethro Tull,
Unknown Soldier - Weather Report,
The Big Money - Rush,
Slang of Ages - the 'Dan,
The Start of Something Beautiful - Porcupine Tree,
Throw Down the Sword - Wishbone Ash,
Pilgrims - Van der Graaf Generator,
Zion's Blood - Lee 'Scratch' Perry,
You Don't Need Anyone (Moles Club Demo) - Marillion,
Seasons - The Notwist.
T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3
Friday 1 February 2008
This is the End, My Friend
Rumours abound here that it's all over. We've been through it all before, but this time it looks as though it's for real.
So, instead of a list of this morning's highly enjoyable 'Jazz, Folk and Blues' playlist, and further reflections on Messrs Beadle and Kington, I'll just go and sit in a corner and rock gently.
So, instead of a list of this morning's highly enjoyable 'Jazz, Folk and Blues' playlist, and further reflections on Messrs Beadle and Kington, I'll just go and sit in a corner and rock gently.
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