Too much mulled wine last night produced a slight hangover, alleviated by a mix of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and related bands (Silver Mt Zion, Fly Pan Am etc.). Perfect in the circumstances. I first saw GYBE! at the RFH just after the release of A#F#infinity - they played with Sigur Ros. I'd heard them on Mixing It and John Peel's shows and was mesmerised. Althought the novelty has perhaps worn off, the various splinter groups are interesting.
More Action! Less Tears! - Silver Mt Zion
They Don't Sleep Anymore On The Beach - GYBE!
Goodbye Desolate Railyard - Silver Mt Zion
The Landlord Is Dead - Do Make Say Think
Motherfucker=Redeemer (Part 1) - GYBE!
Built The Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!) - Silver Mt Zion
Blais Bailey Finnegan III - GYBE!
Those bloody wheeled suitcases are multiplying. Buy a bag, for god's sake.
Delays throughout this morning. An interval of 8 minutes between trains at rush hour just leads to frayed tempers and packed trains; on the plus side, I just got some vouchers back from the delays caused by the chaos in late November. 10 quid. A small victory, but pleasing nonetheless.
Tuesday, 12 December 2006
Monday, 11 December 2006
Festive Spirit
OK, the weekend came and went, and I'm feeling a bit more festive. We saw a few friends this w/e and our xmas tree went up. We also started to kind of thinking it might be a good idea if we planned to sort of make an effort to try and find all our friends' addresses and made a start on planning to write some cards to them.
On the Tube, more of those sodding suitcases on wheels. Where's everybody going at 8 in the morning? Plus, why is it a good idea to try and cram a 4 year old child, in a buggy, into an already packed train at rush hour? For Christ's sake, fold it up (the buggy, not the child, although it would be tempting). And don't go to C. London at 8am.
Some work to catch up on, so not much music today. I did listen to Mark Kermode's film review Podcast, which is always entertaining. My walk from the Tube was accompanied by 'Ys' by Joanna Newsom - a strange album, which I'm not sure I 'get' yet.
On the Tube, more of those sodding suitcases on wheels. Where's everybody going at 8 in the morning? Plus, why is it a good idea to try and cram a 4 year old child, in a buggy, into an already packed train at rush hour? For Christ's sake, fold it up (the buggy, not the child, although it would be tempting). And don't go to C. London at 8am.
Some work to catch up on, so not much music today. I did listen to Mark Kermode's film review Podcast, which is always entertaining. My walk from the Tube was accompanied by 'Ys' by Joanna Newsom - a strange album, which I'm not sure I 'get' yet.
Friday, 8 December 2006
Off Your Trolley
Today seemed to be 'Bring Your Ridiculously Large Wheeled Suitcase and Haul It Around Slowly, Stopping Every 5 Yards' Day. Have I missed a holiday, or something? I've seldom seen so many people with those wheeled cases wandering around like they've only just learned how to walk upright.
It's been an odd week. I should be feeling festive by now, but, with one thing and another at work, I just feel tired.
Today I cheered myself up a bit by listening to the 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' 30th Anniversary Show, and then listened to the whole of Scott Matthews' CD. I saw his video on Channel 4 by accident this morning; I've had this album since before it was officially released, and it's very good - think Nick Drake/Jeff Buckley with Eastern influences. It's good to see him getting exposure.
Got to work 20 minutes late (again).
T - 3; M - 4; D - 2
It's been an odd week. I should be feeling festive by now, but, with one thing and another at work, I just feel tired.
Today I cheered myself up a bit by listening to the 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' 30th Anniversary Show, and then listened to the whole of Scott Matthews' CD. I saw his video on Channel 4 by accident this morning; I've had this album since before it was officially released, and it's very good - think Nick Drake/Jeff Buckley with Eastern influences. It's good to see him getting exposure.
Got to work 20 minutes late (again).
T - 3; M - 4; D - 2
Thursday, 7 December 2006
Don't Strain Yourself
Hmmm... Just had an interesting conversation with my line manager about the plan for the rest for the week. We decided what to do, and I said I'd get on with, when he said 'Don't strain yourself'. Huh?
Some Are Wise and Some Are Otherwise
A slight hangover this morning, after last night's festivities at a 'top West End restaurant'. Plenty of C-list celebrities, apparently, although they all seemed to be small effeminate men. A glass of whisky for £9, so that should keep the riff-raff out.
The Tube was up to its usual tricks, which meant I was a record 1 hour late for work. In the circumstances, it didn't matter.
Despite specifying Genesis (pre-80s) as a favourite band, today I fancied Phil Collins-era Genesis. There's a hell of a lot of dross, but some fine stuff to mellow out to, including:
Ripples, from the excellent 'Trick of the Tail' album,
Abacab, from the truly awful album of the same name,
Duke's Travels/Duke's End,
Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea,
Inside And Out, from 'Spot the Pigeon',
Blood On The Rooftops, and
Fading Lights.
M - 4; T - 3; D - 4.
The Tube was up to its usual tricks, which meant I was a record 1 hour late for work. In the circumstances, it didn't matter.
Despite specifying Genesis (pre-80s) as a favourite band, today I fancied Phil Collins-era Genesis. There's a hell of a lot of dross, but some fine stuff to mellow out to, including:
Ripples, from the excellent 'Trick of the Tail' album,
Abacab, from the truly awful album of the same name,
Duke's Travels/Duke's End,
Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea,
Inside And Out, from 'Spot the Pigeon',
Blood On The Rooftops, and
Fading Lights.
M - 4; T - 3; D - 4.
Wednesday, 6 December 2006
Change of Scene
A trip from Mill Hill East this morning. A strange little station, all alone on its little single track.
The good thing is that the train's always empty. So why then, did one arse, upon entering the carriage and seeing me with my legs crossed, move down the train, causing me to politely uncross my legs, and then sit opposite me? Moron.
I moved.
Today was On-The-Go, and started with Blue Oyster Cult's 'Madness to the Method' from the Club Ninja album, 'Cantonese Boy' by Japan, 'Hide and Seek' by Howard Jones - my wife has this album on cassette and I only like this track. As 'signal problems at Charing Cross' became evident, we were left sitting in the tunnel, but I had LZ 'Achilles' Last Stand' to listen to, so that was okay.
Some Jaco next: 'Midwestern Night's Dream' with Pat Metheny, then Coheed and Cambria's 'Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial)' - a former colleague got me into this excellent prog-related band earlier in the year. Next I fancied some David Sylvian - a few tracks from the Gone to Earth CD.
It's our work's xmas party tonight, so I'll have to do my best to avoid the attention of one or two of the secretaries.
T - 3, M - 4, D - 2
The good thing is that the train's always empty. So why then, did one arse, upon entering the carriage and seeing me with my legs crossed, move down the train, causing me to politely uncross my legs, and then sit opposite me? Moron.
I moved.
Today was On-The-Go, and started with Blue Oyster Cult's 'Madness to the Method' from the Club Ninja album, 'Cantonese Boy' by Japan, 'Hide and Seek' by Howard Jones - my wife has this album on cassette and I only like this track. As 'signal problems at Charing Cross' became evident, we were left sitting in the tunnel, but I had LZ 'Achilles' Last Stand' to listen to, so that was okay.
Some Jaco next: 'Midwestern Night's Dream' with Pat Metheny, then Coheed and Cambria's 'Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial)' - a former colleague got me into this excellent prog-related band earlier in the year. Next I fancied some David Sylvian - a few tracks from the Gone to Earth CD.
It's our work's xmas party tonight, so I'll have to do my best to avoid the attention of one or two of the secretaries.
T - 3, M - 4, D - 2
Tuesday, 5 December 2006
Kicking and Screaming Part 1
A (growing) list of albums I have trouble with. A couple of years ago, a friend gave me a copy of the first Franz Ferdinand CD as a xmas present in '...an attempt to bring my record collection kicking and screaming into the 21st Century'. Ho ho.
Anyway, I don't think I've ever got past Track 3. Banal rubbish: it's obvious they're trying just a bit too hard. Here, off the top of my head, are other CDs I've never heard in full.
White Stripes - Elephant
Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
late REM, especially Monster
Muse - Origin of Symmetry (actually, everything before the current one)
Anyway, I don't think I've ever got past Track 3. Banal rubbish: it's obvious they're trying just a bit too hard. Here, off the top of my head, are other CDs I've never heard in full.
White Stripes - Elephant
Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
late REM, especially Monster
Muse - Origin of Symmetry (actually, everything before the current one)
December Will Be Magic Again
An early start this morning. However, London Underground had different ideas, and I arrived at work just 5 minutes earlier than usual. Plus, England contrived to throw away the Second Ashes Test in spectacular fashion. I'm fed up.
The only thing to lift my spirits this morning was Kate Bush's Aerial album, the whole of Disc 2. I had too much wine last night, and this was just mellow enough.
After that, I was so frustrated by the Tube that I couldn't find the right music. I tried Frank Zappa, Frankie Goes to Hollywood (after FZ in the list) and finally settled on John Martyn 'Live in Leeds'.
T 2; M 4; D 3 - too packed to behave
The only thing to lift my spirits this morning was Kate Bush's Aerial album, the whole of Disc 2. I had too much wine last night, and this was just mellow enough.
After that, I was so frustrated by the Tube that I couldn't find the right music. I tried Frank Zappa, Frankie Goes to Hollywood (after FZ in the list) and finally settled on John Martyn 'Live in Leeds'.
T 2; M 4; D 3 - too packed to behave
Monday, 4 December 2006
Average
After a full weekend, including a trip to Crystal Palace to see 'Peter Pan On Ice' with my wife and son, it was time to relax on this morning's commute. A Shuffle of 'folk and guitarists' produced Sandy Denny, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Suzanne Vega, Tom McRae, Boo Hewerdine amongst others, which suited my mood perfectly on this sunny morning.
My thoughts turned to my travelling companions: If you're new to London and buy a house near, say, East Finchley, expecting a pleasant ride into the City or wherever on the basis of the Tube map, it must be so bloody annoying to NEVER get a seat on the train. You pay, what, £1000 a year and cram into a full train every day.
Anyway, bollocks to them; I had a seat all the way and had a very average commute. I actually arrived on time to work.
Apparently the Waterloo & City line has been closed due to 'dust'. Well done, everybody.
While I'm here, I must mention a book I read while commuting earlier in the year - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It's awful. To make matters worse, it's about 1000 pages long and is awful throughout. I expected (why, I don't know) some sort of Holmes/Watson interaction between the two main characters, perhaps in some light-hearted, but strangely intriguing, romp through Victorian London or similar. What I got was a dry, badly-edited, meandering tale of nothing in particular, filled with nonsense about magic and fairies. When I was about 80% through it, a chap on the Tube asked me if it was any good. He'd started it and stopped half-way through - since I'd almost finished it, I must know whether it improved. It hadn't. I was waiting for a fast-paced, exciting ending, in which everything was revealed and loose ends were tied up. It wasn't and they weren't.
Avoid this book. It weighs too much for a commute, and is a complete waste of time.
My thoughts turned to my travelling companions: If you're new to London and buy a house near, say, East Finchley, expecting a pleasant ride into the City or wherever on the basis of the Tube map, it must be so bloody annoying to NEVER get a seat on the train. You pay, what, £1000 a year and cram into a full train every day.
Anyway, bollocks to them; I had a seat all the way and had a very average commute. I actually arrived on time to work.
Apparently the Waterloo & City line has been closed due to 'dust'. Well done, everybody.
While I'm here, I must mention a book I read while commuting earlier in the year - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It's awful. To make matters worse, it's about 1000 pages long and is awful throughout. I expected (why, I don't know) some sort of Holmes/Watson interaction between the two main characters, perhaps in some light-hearted, but strangely intriguing, romp through Victorian London or similar. What I got was a dry, badly-edited, meandering tale of nothing in particular, filled with nonsense about magic and fairies. When I was about 80% through it, a chap on the Tube asked me if it was any good. He'd started it and stopped half-way through - since I'd almost finished it, I must know whether it improved. It hadn't. I was waiting for a fast-paced, exciting ending, in which everything was revealed and loose ends were tied up. It wasn't and they weren't.
Avoid this book. It weighs too much for a commute, and is a complete waste of time.
Friday, 1 December 2006
Stand Up and be Counted
One of my favourite albums in my collection is 'Stand Up' by Jethro Tull, partly because it's great music and partly because it's on big, thick vinyl with the original pink Island label with the 'pop-up' record sleeve. I downloaded it recently, and listened to the whole thing today. I've downloaded a bunch of albums recently from a couple of Russian sites, focusing on those I already have on LP. I've about 600 LPs, and have found about a third of them for very little extra cost.
Trivial irritations today... If the indicator says Charing Cross, but there's no time given, it means the next train is going via Bank. Also, the Independent crossword featured the word 'doable' in one of the clues. This is an ugly word, and I don't know it's becoming common when we already have 'feasible'. My boss once gave me a Report to edit which contained both 'doable' and its bastard off-spring 'do-ability'. Horrible.
A few shuffle tracks after the mighty Tull - Peter Gabriel's German version of 'Games Without Frontiers', which is a bit odd. I thought the Kate Bush bit would also by in German, but, as it's in French, I think it makes sense for it to remain so. Next was a track off the new Beatles 'Love' album. I don't get the Beatles. I know that they are pioneers of pop music and forever changed the music scene etc. etc., but I don't like it as much as I'm expected to. One recent review in the Independent made some remarks about 'Strawberry Fields Forever' along the lines of: 'Wow, what clarity - who but Ringo would have heard those drum fills and thought they were important before being revealed in the new mix?'. Bollocks. I loved the drum playing in this track before being re-mixed, mainly for these little patterns. Maybe I listen to music differently to others. Last track was the excellent 'The Jezebel Spirit' from Eno/Byrne, which made me feel better.
T 3; M 4; D 3 - one woman tried to get on the train before I got off, which, as I have to bend down, is bloody irritating.
Trivial irritations today... If the indicator says Charing Cross, but there's no time given, it means the next train is going via Bank. Also, the Independent crossword featured the word 'doable' in one of the clues. This is an ugly word, and I don't know it's becoming common when we already have 'feasible'. My boss once gave me a Report to edit which contained both 'doable' and its bastard off-spring 'do-ability'. Horrible.
A few shuffle tracks after the mighty Tull - Peter Gabriel's German version of 'Games Without Frontiers', which is a bit odd. I thought the Kate Bush bit would also by in German, but, as it's in French, I think it makes sense for it to remain so. Next was a track off the new Beatles 'Love' album. I don't get the Beatles. I know that they are pioneers of pop music and forever changed the music scene etc. etc., but I don't like it as much as I'm expected to. One recent review in the Independent made some remarks about 'Strawberry Fields Forever' along the lines of: 'Wow, what clarity - who but Ringo would have heard those drum fills and thought they were important before being revealed in the new mix?'. Bollocks. I loved the drum playing in this track before being re-mixed, mainly for these little patterns. Maybe I listen to music differently to others. Last track was the excellent 'The Jezebel Spirit' from Eno/Byrne, which made me feel better.
T 3; M 4; D 3 - one woman tried to get on the train before I got off, which, as I have to bend down, is bloody irritating.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
