Revealing Corridors of Time Provoking Memories

So, the last week of my current career begins, and presages the start of my new creer in teaching. I didn't picture it all ending like this 15 years ago, I must admit...

Some downloaded stuff from BigO and then a shuffle of my ever-expanding iPod:

The Revealing Science of God,
The Remembering (Parts 1 & 2) - both Yes, from a "Tooleman Presents Yessongs 2" CDR,

Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Invisible Carpet - Ozric Tentacles,
Black Mountain - Nick Drake,
Girls Get the Bass in the Back (Hey Baby remix) - No Doubt,
A Day Like Today - Tom McRae,
Batteries Not Included - Jethro Tull,
Let There Be Light - Mike Oldfield,
Catch - The Cure,
Zero - The Smashing Pumpkins,
Satan Is My Motor - Cake. My band, from many years ago, played a great cover version of this song - great fun.

Then, for the walk to work, the Freak Zone Podcast. A vast improvement over the first one I encountered.

Lots of good stuff out or coming out soon - Angus and Julia Stone, Mike Oldfield, Billy Bragg, Dream Theater, etc. - don't know where I'm going to get the money from, though!

T - 3; M - 3.5; D - 2

Sleepwalking Through the Wreckage

So much stuff to do today, which probably means I'll spend the whole day surfing the net and staring out of the window...

Cloudburst Flight - Tangerine Dream,

Piano Phase (Steve Reich) - Group 180,

Burned By The Fire We Make - Adrian Belew,

We Do What We’re Told (Milgram's 37) - Peter Gabriel,

Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part IV) - King Crimson,

Variations on the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression - Frank Zappa,

Pushit - Tool,

Tales Of A Damson Knight - National Health,

Rhythm In Gold - Jethro Tull,

Sleepwalkers - Van Der Graaf Generator. There's a new album - Trisector - out now, which I haven't got round to hearing yet, although the reviews have been favourable. You can't go wrong with VdGG, surely?

When I See You Again - Fleetwood Mac. My girlfriend and Uni walked out on me as this was playing on my stereo all those years ago.

T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3

Unemployed

Well, that's it. The recent interview didn't pan out, so, from the end of next week, I'm unemployed. Thankfully I've made a few contingency plans, but it's still pretty shit.

FreakZone: Irmin Schmidt and Dutch Prog rock - BBC 6 Music, Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone
Dancing with the Lion - Andreas Vollenweider,
Midnight Blue - Robert Fripp,
Ballad Of An Elder Woman - John Martyn,
The Silent Sun - Genesis,
Little Boys - Devendra Banhart,
Mellotron Scratch - Porcupine Tree,
The Sorcerer - Herbie Hancock.

TMS Day 5 Podcast. I might be able to enjoy uninterrupted sleep at night, now that the Down Under series is over.

T - 3.5; M - 4; D - 2

Only Immortal For A Limited Time

Another trek in to the metropolis. I should be hearing about the dying embers of my career today...

An odd selection of 'Not Classical or Spoken'. Lots of stuff I didn't recognise, stuff I've probably heard only once or twice before.

Tears For Law (Garrathinya Run) - Yothu Yindi, from Birrkuta Wild Honey
New Times Square - Chris Rea,
No Man's Land - Syd Barrett,
You Woke Up My Neighbourhood - Billy Bragg,
Speed Trials - Elliott Smith, from a Worlds of Possibility compilation,
Behind The Sun - Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Bug Day - The Fall,
Life Is A Minestrone - 10cc,
The Art Of Slow Love [Compiled And Remixed By Youth] - The Art Of Noise,
All I Need - Air,
Dreamline - Rush,
For What You Dream Of (Full On Renaissance Mix) - Bedrock,
Soundtrack 2 / Act 5 - David Page Coffin, from the Caligari: An Exquisite Corpse soundtrack project.

A trip to the East Yorkshire coast at the weekend, to sit on the beach and watch the snow fall...

T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 4

Indistinguishable from Magic

So, farewell then, Arthur C. Clarke.

I grew up reading a lot of his inspirational books and short stories, many of which made a great impact on me. The sheer breadth and scope of imagination was awe-inspiring.

My favourites among the dozens:

Songs of Distant Earth,
The City and the Stars,
A Fall of Moondust,
Rendez-Vous With Rama,
Childhood's End,
2001 and sequels,
and many many short stories.

"The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion."

Ghost Box

I've managed to record last Sunday's Freak Zone, and enjoyed both it and the accompanying podcast. I also caught last week's Podcast which featured an interview with the guys responsible for Ghost Box - a collective of electronic and eclectic projects. Very good. Sign up at the Website and receive three free tracks...

Sites:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/freakzone/
http://www.ghostbox.co.uk/news.htm

Happiness In The Road

News from Marillion.com regarding the next album:

h, Pete, Mark, Ian, Steve

Marillion "Album 15" will be called Happiness Is The Road. It will consist of 2 separate CDs (full details on www.marillion.com/preorder).

Volume 1 is subtitled Essence and Volume 2 is subtitled The Hard Shoulder. Essence (Volume 1) is evolving at the moment into a thematic journey, whilst Volume 2 is more a collection of discrete songs. Recording is still going brilliantly and the new songs we've written have "knocked out" the few people we've played them to. More soon..

h, Pete, Mark, Ian, Steve


I'm not sure about the title, although I have a very good feeling about this album, a bit like Marbles.

Overnite Sensation

England levelled the series overnight, which put me in a better mood. I should be getting some news about the interview I went to a while ago, to see if I have a career still.

Some recent (free) acquisitions from various sampler sources. Remember, if you like any of this stuff, support the artists:

I Keep Faith - Billy Bragg, from an excellent Anti- sampler, to be found here. This track is from Mr Bragg's latest album, which will definitely be joining my collectoin soon...
Saturation (Unmastered) - John Frusciante. I'm not a great fan of RHCP, but this sampler of demoes is interesting,
Fallout (unmastered) - John Frusciante,
Dear Mr Fantasy - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, live, found at BigO.
Transliterator - DeVotchKa, this had a good review in 'The Independent' at the weekend, and the CD might be finding its way into my collection soon, if ths is anything to go by...
With The Wolf - Rainbow, from BigO; a bit muddy production on this rough mix, but very interesting,
Don't Lie To Me (Studio Rehearsal) - Big Star,
Come And Get It - Badfinger,
Comin' Home (A Light In The Black) - Rainbow,
Glad - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood,

Then, some catching up with a huge backlog of 'Thinking Allowed' Podcasts on my walk from the station: Superheroes and Ribbons BBC Radio 4.

T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 3

Light Entertainment

A day 'working from home', so more of this to pass the time while fixing lights on the attic...

Jumping Jack Flash (live) - Peter Frampton
Clipping The 8th (Hello Hello [Demo Version]) - Caravan
Strip The Soul - Porcupine Tree
Experience - Gentle Giant
Hoedown - Caravan
Painted Bird - Siouxsie And The Banshees
Zeit - Tangerine Dream
Ali Click - Brian Eno
Attack Ships On Fire Off The Shoulder Of Orion - A Beautiful Machine
Circle of Fire - Native American Music
Tuulilta Tuleva - Värttinä
You Burn Me Up I`m A Cigarette - Robert Fripp
Still Life In Mobile Homes - Japan
Ci Sei Solo Tu - Litfiba
Jawbone And The Air-Rifle - The Fall
Say It Like You Mean It - Matchbook Romance
Surucucu - Weather Report
Fade Away - Blur
7 Ghosts I - Nine Inch Nails
Parasite - Nick Drake
Track 7 - Unknown E. Europe music, found on a computer at work. I have no idea,
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 2 - The Flaming Lips
Thank You For Sending Me An Angel - Talking Heads
Kayleigh (Album Demo) - Marillion
Crying In The Night - Buckingham Nicks
The Time Of The Turning - Peter Gabriel
Bruise Pristine - Placebo
Formentera Lady - King Crimson
Singing Bridges (We All Fall) - Matchbook Romance
The Third Hoorah - Jethro Tull
Presto Vivace - UK
Ahma - Maria Kalaniemi & Aldargaz
D.C.B.A. - 25 - Jefferson Airplane
This House Is Condemned - Pulp
Pantomime Horse - Suede
Nena Lena - A Toys Orchestra
Wee Wee Man - Steeleye Span
John Barleycorn - Jethro Tull
Bornlivedie (Intro) [Live] - Porcupine Tree
02 - Hung Over Part Two - Godspeed You Black Emperor
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
Teen Beat - Fleetwood Mac
Song Of The Stars - Dead Can Dance
Untitled - Judee Sill
L'orque - Les Viox de L'Ocean
Good King Wenceslas - Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers
Wolf In The Breast - Cocteau Twins
Passion In Moisture - Mick Karn
Better Days - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Mediterranean C - Richard Wright
The Hunter - Free
River - Joni Mitchell
Nightingale - Norah Jones
Aegian Sea - Aphrodite's Child
Movement 3 - Vangelis, from 'Mask'
Song For Sharon - Joni Mitchell
Tiny Grief Song - Sinéad O'Connor
Quick And To The Pointless - Queens Of The Stone Age
3 Ghosts I - Nine Inch Nails
Penetrate - Godhead
Fixed ratio harmonic bells - Brian Eno

Seconds Out

Well, my second and last commute this week turned up the usual dross. However, my spirits were lifted by aspects of the overnight cricket (291-5 at close) and a chance to catch up with colleagues.

Some recent downloads from BigO and FreeAlbumsGalore:

Ambulance Blues - Neil Young, Live in Amsterdam, 2008: Solo Acoustic Set,
Vampire - Peter Tosh, from Equal Rights Demoes,
A Man Needs A Maid - Neil Young,
I Like It, I Love It - Lyrics Born, from an Anti- Digital Sampler Spring 2008,
In The Street (Studio Rehearsal) - Big Star, from Nobody Can Dance,
Seeing People You Know - The Young Republic,
4 Ghosts I - Nine Inch Nails,
You Get What You Deserve (Live) - Big Star,
Down By The River - Neil Young.

Then:
TMS: Day 1 (2nd Test) NZ v Eng, 13 Mar 08 BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra Podcast

T - 3; M - 4; D - 3

Not Waving But Drowning

After a very tedious week last week, culminating in the Friday interview (which went very well, thanks for asking), a trip to London to see my 'work' colleagues...

... only to find them all 'working from home'.

On the way, some '80s music, bringin back all kinds of memories from my formative years. I have most of these on 7"vinyl:

I`ll Find My Way Home - Jon & Vangelis,
Owner Of A Lonely Heart - Yes,
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads,
King Of Birds - R.E.M.,
Handsome Devil - The Smiths,
Close (To The Edit) - The Art Of Noise,
Madame Butterfly - Malcolm Maclaren,
Drowning in Berlin - The Mobiles,
19 - Paul Hardcastle,
Hide And Seek - Howard Jones,
Painted Bird - Siouxsie And The Banshees,

Then, on the walk from the station through Chelsea, the latest Nine Inch Nails album, from here. Available for free (Vol 1) or various prices for other versions (full I - IV sets). Very good - all kinds of moods, sounding like slowed down King Crimson (tCoL), Sigur Ros and Brian Eno, but also doing its own thing. Recommended.

5 Ghosts I,
4 Ghosts I,
6 Ghosts I,
1 Ghosts I.

T - 4; M - 3.5; D - 1. A real low point. A fidgeting coughing woman sat next to me intent on treading on my foot, and just general dreariness, impoliteness and tedium. A 45 minute drive to Slough might be a very Good Thing if the job comes off.

Capitulation

When I went to sleep last night, New Zealand had declared to leave England to score 300. They (England) then fell to 33-4.

This morning, the rout was complete. This team needs a kick up the arse. Apparently we have some of the top batsmen in the world, but our No.11 lasted longer than most of them.

We Lay Down And Wept

After 5 days away, a return to a day of despondency and cleaning up in preparation for the final curtain. I have another interview on Friday, which I desparately need...

Some ambient to accompany some reading, then a recent download from BigO:

Dem Wanderer - Eno, Moebius, Roedelius, Plank,
The Dance No. 3 - Laraaji, from the excellent Virgin Ambient Volume 2 - Imaginary Landscapes,
The End Of Words - Material,
Nuages - Ryuichi Sakamoto,
Sandtreader - Harold Budd. The SamadhiSound Podcast interview was interesting, but seems to have been the last in a very short series, for now, at least,
Pearls & Tears - Andreas Vollenweider,
forages in pine trees - chefkirk, a FreeAlbums Galore download (Music for Elevators), where you can now find links to Radiohead remixes and the new Charlatans album. Remember, if you find an artist you like, support the artist by buying their CDs,

Castles In The Air - Don McLean, Live at A & R Studios, NYC,
Winterwood - Don McLean,
Babylon - Don McLean, with rather tedious audience participation.

Just a comment, too, on the FreakZone Podcast. See also: All the best Freaks are here, please stop staring at me.

Much better - 30 minutes instead of <20, and the witty banter was replaced by interesting banter. Perhaps the Professor simply cared more for the chosen genre of music this week - it seemed like it. Perhaps they read my comments...

T - 4; M - 3; D - 3, although by now, I'm kinda past caring.