How It Hits You

I feel absolutely dreadful. This blog has taken a rather self-pitying tone lately, I appreciate, but I really do feel awful - cold, tired and generally 'ill'.

Some Christmas music to cheer me up and, whilst it went better than last year, it didn't really alter my mood.

Winter - Paul O'Reilly,
Once In Royal David's City - Gauntlett, from a Classic FM freebie CD,
A Christmas Song - Jethro Tull,
I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day - Wizzard,
2000 Years - Jon Anderson,
Gaudette - Steeleye Span,
As With Gladness Men of Old - Kocher,
How It Hits You - Jon Anderson,
Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (A Spotless Rose is growing) - Praetorius,
Concerto grosso in G Minor: Op. 6/8, 'Christmas Concerto' - Vivace/Grave; Allegro; Adagio/Allegro/Adagio; Vivace; Allegro; Pastorale - Corelli,
The Holly And The Ivy - Jon Anderson,
The Nutcracker - Waltz of the Snowflakes - Tchaikovsky,
Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow - Jethro Tull.

I need a week of sleeping, and less Southern Comfort...

T - 2; M -3.5; D - 3

High Vibration Go On

Well, back to 'work'.

I spent most of yesterday recording old cassettes to WAV files using Hi-Q and Nero, including old tapes of various bands I was in in my youth, and a couple of treasured BBC recordings.

1 - Pink Floyd, live at the time of Atom Heart Mother, including the rare-ish 'Embryo' as well as 'Careful With that Axe, Eugene', 'If' and 'Fat Old Sun'. One of my favourite PF albums, AHM.

2 - Yes live in 1978. There's a 'Big Medley' of Time and a Word, The Fish, Perpetual Change and Soon which seems to have been used in the 'Word Is Live' boxset. Definitely my favourite tape.

The commute was filled with the Yes concert. I think I know every note by now...

Circus of Heaven,
The Big Medley,
Don't Kill The Whale,
Clap,
Starship Troopers,
On the Silent Wings of Freedom,
Awaken,
Your Move,
Roundabout.

T - 4; M - 5; D - 4

Am I Still Ill?

Seemingly, yes.

Still, there's more chance to catch up with the ADBS and rip the latest Count Arthur Strong Show. That and copy a few of the ancient cassette tapes I re-found in the garage yesterday.

Ho hum. Or should that be ho-ho-ho hum?

Normal (grumpy) service to be resumed tomorrow, I hope.

Decrepitude

More illness. I can't remember the last time I 'worked' a full week, what with sickness and long weekends away.

Time to catch up on some All Day Breakfast Shows...

Ill

No commute today due to illness. Great unpleasantness.

'Cause in This World of Troubles My Music Pulls Me Through

Bugger me, my music collection's good.

While I was feeling sorry for myself, I put the 'Pod on Shuffle and listened to the following while watching the rain fall...

Rising Thermal - Jon Hassell/Brian Eno
Fruit Tree - Nick Drake
Spiral - Jethro Tull
They're Red Hot - Robert Johnson
Thank You, Whoever You Are (Promo) - Marillion
Brujo - National Health
Leave It - Yes
Kupuri - System 7
A Clearing - Brian Eno
Nobody's Car (London, 1984) - Jethro Tull
Market Square Heroes (Battle Priest Version) - Marillion
Pirates - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Upside Down - Hawkwind
Future Baby Mama - Prince
Little Sir Hugh - Steeleye Span
T.N.T.F.X - National Health
He Tried To Show Them Magic - Ambassadors Return - Pure Reason Revolution
Colourflow In Mind - Porcupine Tree
Winter Sadness - Kool & The Gang
Last Rendez-vous - Jean-Michel Jarre
Sossity, You`re A Woman - Jethro Tull
Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush
Drone In D - Fyfe Dangerfield
For My Lover - Tracy Chapman
Puirt-A-Beul Set - Julie Fowlis
We Agree - Yes
View From The Hill - Fish
Lotteryland - Richard & Danny Thompson
Resist - Rush
Scrap Yard - Tangerine Dream
Night By Night - Steely Dan
New Feet - Brian Eno And David Byrne
Cinema - Yes
Clowns And Jugglers - Syd Barrett
Soldier Of The Heart - 2 - Judee Sill
Your Signs - Notwist
The Jug Of Punch - The Clancy Brothers
Duchess [Live] - Genesis
Hard As Love (Demo Version) - Marillion
Love Me Do - The Beatles
Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills) - Brian Eno
Golf Girl - Caravan
Stories For Boys - U2
Hallucinations - Tim Buckley
The Fall Of The House Of Usher - I Prelude - Alan Parsons Project
Manoeuvre - AMM
Cruel Sister - Pentangle
Tears - Rush
Ripples - Genesis
I Am Waiting - Yes
Release, Release - Yes
Hello Hello - Caravan
The Sphinx Returns - Van der Graaf Generator
Tunnel Of Love - Dire Straits
Chase The Blues Away - Tim Buckley
So Long Ago, So Clear (With Jon Anderson) - Vangelis
Pilgrims - Van der Graaf Generator
In The Tower - Yes
Taking the Veil - David Sylvian
Streets Of Fear - Hawkwind
Drop In From The Top - Richard Wright
It's A Sight To Behold - Devendra Banhart
Hazey Jane II - Nick Drake
The Damage - Marillion
Unquiet Slumber For The Sleepers... - Genesis
Octopussy - System 7

Now for some BBC London Danny Baker. The word from the Treehouse is that the ADBS will be back, and Wippit will refund everyone so far as an apology.

Nadir's Last Chance

Another day off sick. I haven't felt this miserable for a while.


On the way home last night I was listening to the new Porcupine Tree 'Nil Recurring' EP on my 'Pod, when the guy next to me shot me a sideways look and then continued to stare at me for 30 seconds. OK, I'd got to a loud bit, but I was so absolutely pissed off, I could have just punched him in his shiny face there and then.

Something must be done to end this.

Bones and Powders

Well, I've finally got to the end of the Baker and Kelly compilations, and very fine they were too.

After the days off for cold, I began to regret coming back so soon. Staring down a long tunnel, or looking through a telescope the wrong way...

Shuffle All:

A Place to Call My Own - Genesis
Blue Hour - Turin Brakes
You Make Loving Fun (rough) - Fleetwood Mac
Crime in the Desert - Brian Eno & John Cale
4 A.M. - Cherry Ghost
Sad Horses - No River City. I have no idea where I've got this from,
The Bell in The Sea (demo) - Marillion
Late November - Sandy Denny
Rainy Taxi - Porcupine Tree
Stranger By The Minute (Edit) - Porcupine Tree
Saviour, Are You With Me? - Mick Karn
Lily Pond - Vashti Bunyan
The Old Master Painter - The Beach Boys

On the job front, I have a couple of things to consider before I make the next move. Still no news about my current position.

T - 4; M - 4; D - 3

We Approach The End Of Days...

Another day off recovering from my cold. Time to catch up on ligging around in my dressing gown and re-arranging my record collection. Interesting comment, via 'Listen Again', from Danny Baker: 'We approach the end of days, in the afternoon retreat', much discussed on the Treehouse.

Octopus, Octavarium, Octafish, Octandre, October

Well, the weekend came and went, and inflicted me with a cold. So, yet another day at home and no commute.

It seems that the 'Ladies' Bras', first promoted by Danny Baker's 'All Day Breakfast Show', has reached the Top 40 after being taking up by Radio 1. A remix, apparently. On the subject, my speculation is that Mr Baker is seeing more of a future in a music-based show, as mentioned last week on BBC London's two-handers with Mr Kelly. Baylen Leonard is doing the Breakfast Show (why, I don't know) and David Kuo is apparently producing a Podcast for Motley Fool.

The fact that the (currently free) B/K Podcast is still being made by Wippit leads me to believe that the relation between B&K and Wippit is still okay, despite the speculation. Why else would it be continuing?

I predict the end of the ADBS, to be replaced by a B&K music show, if the rights issues can be sorted. The football thing will probably continue and also part-replace the ADBS. But Wippit seriously need to get its act together. Anyone can become a millionaire by taking people's money for no service...

Lack of Sleep

After a sunny Bank Holiday, what should have been a return to the daily grind (and waiting for a job offer) was disrupted by my son having a fever overnight. So, a day of cBeebies, jigsaws, building rockets etc. etc. Still it's more productive than actually being at work these days.

Prawn Sacrifice

Mild food poisoning, so back to bed and no commute.

Pain In The Neck

Ho ho. Yes, I woke up with a really stiff neck, worse than the pain I've had for the last week or so, so a trip to the GP and a day off.

My 'Panda Bear' CD came, and I also downloaded a few things, so there may be a couple of reviews in the coming week's commute.

For now, though, that's it. Back to the cricket :-)

Snakes and Arrows

... tell me the good news first...

My new Rush CD 'Snakes and Arrows' came this morning. A bit of a surprise, as CD-WOW has not had a good recent record of delivering on time (see Marillion and Porcupine Tree - the latter has still not arrived).

Got a nasty throat infection, which makes me sound like Barry White, so I'm at home resting and sorting out job applications...

The Rush CD is excellent on first listen. Much better production than 'Vapor Trails', and it hangs together well. The inclusion of the two instrumentals, and the prominence of the acoustic guitar on a couple of tracks break thing up a little. I've heard some reviews comparing it to 'Hemispheres', but I can't see it. What I hear is confident musicians doing their own thing, returning to the themes of isolation in modern life (The Way the Wind Blows is particularly effective) but with an optimisitic slant (We Hold On).

I think I'll be coming back this repeatedly. 8 out of 10 for me

Greetings from a Dead Man

... Well, not dead, he just smells a bit funny...

Not feeling great, but I joined the 'angular mass' of commuters anyway. Some recent acquisitions, mainly vinyl replacements:

Joe the Lion - David Bowie. More vinyl replacement,
Cannon Ball - Weather Report. Ditto,
Greetings from a Dead Man - Eurythmics, from the brilliant '1984' album. 'Julia' is just gorgeous...
Death of Samantha - Yoko Ono with Porcupine Tree (actually Steve Wilson, according to his website),
Dervish D - Vangelis,
Larks' Tongues in Aspic Pt IV - King Crimson, Live in Pennsylvania,
Si - Yes. For many years I thought this was pronouced 'sigh', but can see now that it's probably pronouced 'see', ie the Italian 'Si', which of course means 'Yes',
Joe the Lion [remix] - DB again,
East of Asteroid - 801,
North American Scum - LCD Soundsystem. I bought this on the back of rave reviews in the Independent and Guardian. Haven't had chance to listen to the whole of yet, but it's pretty good,
then, for no real reason, I fancied 'Three Sides Live' from Genesis and got as far as 'Duchess' before arriving at work.

Last night's 'Where's the Skill In That?' was very good. There's now a repeat on Sunday evening, which I would recommend highly.

CD-WOW are really screwing up my Marillion order. Cheap, but not that reliable, it seems.

T - 4; M - 4; D - 4

Sickie

Actually, no, I really am ill this morning. A mixture of hay-fever with a cold accompanied by a raging headache. I need some sleep...

No commute, so no play-list, although I did listen to the 2nd installment of Danny Baker's thing. OK, but a little flat and I've heard many of the stories before. I'm sure it'll get better as time passes - perhaps 1 hour is too long? Especially if there are to be no phone-ins to spice things up. Danny suggested that he would probably charge for the podcast in the near future, and offer it as a daily alternative to the dross that currently passes for Breakfast radio in London. A daily download is probably too much for me, as it involves too much like technology first thing in the morning, but the occasional episode would be welcome...

Also, looking forward to tonight's 'Where's the Skill In That?' on Resonance FM. It's now got a repeat on Sunday's at 7pm, which is probably better for me, if I remember. I could at least set up my computer to record it. The playlist (originally posted here)

1 The Varp : Bee Sting Soup (4.20)
2 Hanne Hukkelberg : Berlin / Fourteen (5.10 + 4.07)
3 Aronas : The Splits (3.41)
4 Flourescent Grey : I Am A Photograph Of My Old Driveway (5.30)
5 Paul Curreri : The Wasp (2.09)
6 Alexandra Gardner : Luminoso (2003) for guitar & sampled sounds (6.14)
7 Chad Oliveiri : This Just Happened (4.21)
8 Paul De Aragon : Driftin’ Love Cycle (3.22)
9 David Karsten Daniels : Jesus & The Devil/Sharp Teeth 1/Minnows (9.45)
10 Hanne Hukkelberg : Ticking Bomb (4.58)

Currently listening to some Vangelis downloads before I go and have a lie down.