How come he don't come and p.l.p. with me
Down at the meter no more?
How come he turn off the t.v.
And he hang that sign on the door?
We call and we call 'How come?' we say
What could make a boy behave this way?
He learn all of the lines, and every time he
don't suffer when he talk
And it's true! It's true! He sure is aquired a
cool and inspired sorta jazz when he walk
Where's his jacket and his old blue jeans?
If this ain't healthy is it some kinda clean?
I think Chuck E's in love
from Chuck E's in love by Rickie Lee Jones as far as I know the only song that mentions a public leaning post!
Other leaning somgs are:
Lean on Me - Bill Withers (also covered by the Housemartins)
Lean woman Blues - T Rex
Hmm thats about all I can come up with - pretty poor show if you ask me.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The inner crumpledness of the creative mind
Leo L30 took this excellent picture of crumpled metal, it almost looks like a painting. I am feeling somewhat crumpled today, I spent the day deliberately not doing much as I needed to slow down and recharge my batteries. It is hard though to give yourself a day off, I find that I go through feelings of guilt, naughtiness and urges to work to assuage my guilt. Sad eh?
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
The Blandness of shopping Centres a Plea for the return of old fashioned Record Stores (you know the kind where the assistants love music)
Super Gogo took this great picture of a record store of the kind that you don't see too often anymore. When I was a kid every small town had at least one record store - sometimes two and there were loads in every city. This store reminds me very much of the store in the film High Fidelity (a great film incidently). The kind of store where the assistants love music and know what they are talking about.
We live in such a chain store, superstore culture these days that these stores are almost a thing of the past. And sadly even fanatics like me often end up buying our music in the chains cos we can't afford to shop anywhere else.
That said there are a couple of small stores in Norwich that I like to have a browse in especially the 2nd hand stuff (circular sounds). It's so hard for small stores to compete these days and it's sad because all the personality has gone from shopping. They just opened another shopping Mall in Norwich and it looks just like the other one and you could be in any city, in any country.
call me old fashioned but I like air between my shops and I also like quirky little stores that don't sell the same stuff as all the other shops. To me it seems harder to be an individual now than ever before. Everything is bland and well packaged but there's no real flavour or bite to any of it. (click on the word flavour if you want to know what flavour YOU are!)
We live in such a chain store, superstore culture these days that these stores are almost a thing of the past. And sadly even fanatics like me often end up buying our music in the chains cos we can't afford to shop anywhere else.
That said there are a couple of small stores in Norwich that I like to have a browse in especially the 2nd hand stuff (circular sounds). It's so hard for small stores to compete these days and it's sad because all the personality has gone from shopping. They just opened another shopping Mall in Norwich and it looks just like the other one and you could be in any city, in any country.
call me old fashioned but I like air between my shops and I also like quirky little stores that don't sell the same stuff as all the other shops. To me it seems harder to be an individual now than ever before. Everything is bland and well packaged but there's no real flavour or bite to any of it. (click on the word flavour if you want to know what flavour YOU are!)
Monday, September 26, 2005
Bob Dylan, david Bowie and all that
Just finished watching the first part of Martin Scorsese's film about one of the greatest poets of all time Bob Dylan.
It reminded me just what a great poet Dylan is (and how he is till a very sexy man - probably more so now than when he was younger!!).
"It was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart
You tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasn't enough to change my heart.
Now everything's a little upside down, as
a matter of fact the wheels have stopped,
What's good is bad, what's bad is good, you'll find
out when you reach the top
You're on the bottom."
(from Idiot Wind)
Apologies must go to David Bowie and Nirvana amongst others. I realised that I was very remiss with which Bowie songs I included in my top 100. I should have definitely had Can You Hear Me (from young Americans), Jump They Say from Black Tie, White Noise and Little Wonder from Earthling - should be included if only for the lyrics - "Stinky weather, Fat shaky hands, Dopey morning Doc, Grumpy gnomes, Little wonder then, little wonder, You little wonder, little wonder you. Big screen dolls, tits and explosions, Sleepytime, Bashful but nude, Little wonder then, little wonder, You little wonder, little wonder you. I'm getting it."
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Steve Miller and The Sacredness of Track Order
One of my bugbears is when you go to buy an album you had on vinyl and discover that they have changed the order of the tracks. It's bad enough when they completely change the cover, although I can mostly just about live with that (although it did stop me buying Relics by Pink Floyd recently!). But to change the track order is sacrilege.
I know all the argument, this is the order they were meant to be in, it makes more sense in this order etc. But what about the fans, those of us who have listened to the tracks in that order for years. We know which track is going to come next and itare devastated if it doesn't.
Earlier this year I repurchased Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller, but when I looked at the tracks they were in the wrong order. In the end I ordered an import off Amazon because it was the only copy I could find that had the tracks in the original order. I have to know that after Fly Like an Eagle comes Wild Mountain Honey and that You Send Me will always come after Keep on Rockin Me Baby! Sad - maybe I am - but I looked at the album on the net today and now they seem to be selling it with the original track order again - so maybe I am not the only one who feels that way!
I know all the argument, this is the order they were meant to be in, it makes more sense in this order etc. But what about the fans, those of us who have listened to the tracks in that order for years. We know which track is going to come next and itare devastated if it doesn't.
Earlier this year I repurchased Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller, but when I looked at the tracks they were in the wrong order. In the end I ordered an import off Amazon because it was the only copy I could find that had the tracks in the original order. I have to know that after Fly Like an Eagle comes Wild Mountain Honey and that You Send Me will always come after Keep on Rockin Me Baby! Sad - maybe I am - but I looked at the album on the net today and now they seem to be selling it with the original track order again - so maybe I am not the only one who feels that way!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
First Impressions
For some reason I find it fascinating to know which album of particular bands/artists that people first bought. For one thing that first album that you buy determines how much you like (or don't like) the band, but it can also completely colour your view of a band.
With some bands like the Clash I bought a lot of singles before I ever owned one of their albums. The first LP I bought of theirs was London Calling, but I bought and still own most of their early singles.
other albums that I got as a teenager were happy accidents, records or tapes bought second hand that awakened my interest in a band. The first of these was Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin, an LP that I bought off of my parents friend George. It was interesting to have this as my first Zep as it is a lot more mellow than most of their stuff. From the same friend I also bought a pre-recorded tape of Aladin Sane by David Bowie and so my life long love affair with David Bowie began and I quickly followed this purchase with Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity. I bought the aforementioned bowie LPs with my birthday money from a mail order record company (I must have been 13 or 14) and at the same time I got A farewell to Kings by Rush. An album that would hardly be off of my turntable for the next couple of years.
I think often (well for me anyway) the first album you buy by a band will remain your favourite - like Abbas Arrival, which I owned when I was 12 and repurchased on cd recently. There are exceptions to this though, my first Yes LP was Close to the Edge but if I play Yes now it is more likely to be the album 2112.
Other 1sts
The Smiths - The Smiths
Captain Beefheart - Blue Jeans and Moonbeams
Crosby Stills Nash & Young - So Far
Genesis - And then There Were Three (my favourite now though is probably Abacab)
Hawkwind - Live 79
Deep Purple - 24 Carat Purple
Pink Floyd - Relics
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Of course sometimes the first album that you buy by an artist is the only album of theirs that you purchase, either because you are not so keen on their other stuff (for example I love Wave by Patti Smith but am not keen on her other albums) or you just grow up and move on...examples of this are Yazoo and the Thompson Twins (yes I really did!)
With some bands like the Clash I bought a lot of singles before I ever owned one of their albums. The first LP I bought of theirs was London Calling, but I bought and still own most of their early singles.
other albums that I got as a teenager were happy accidents, records or tapes bought second hand that awakened my interest in a band. The first of these was Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin, an LP that I bought off of my parents friend George. It was interesting to have this as my first Zep as it is a lot more mellow than most of their stuff. From the same friend I also bought a pre-recorded tape of Aladin Sane by David Bowie and so my life long love affair with David Bowie began and I quickly followed this purchase with Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity. I bought the aforementioned bowie LPs with my birthday money from a mail order record company (I must have been 13 or 14) and at the same time I got A farewell to Kings by Rush. An album that would hardly be off of my turntable for the next couple of years.
I think often (well for me anyway) the first album you buy by a band will remain your favourite - like Abbas Arrival, which I owned when I was 12 and repurchased on cd recently. There are exceptions to this though, my first Yes LP was Close to the Edge but if I play Yes now it is more likely to be the album 2112.
Other 1sts
The Smiths - The Smiths
Captain Beefheart - Blue Jeans and Moonbeams
Crosby Stills Nash & Young - So Far
Genesis - And then There Were Three (my favourite now though is probably Abacab)
Hawkwind - Live 79
Deep Purple - 24 Carat Purple
Pink Floyd - Relics
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Of course sometimes the first album that you buy by an artist is the only album of theirs that you purchase, either because you are not so keen on their other stuff (for example I love Wave by Patti Smith but am not keen on her other albums) or you just grow up and move on...examples of this are Yazoo and the Thompson Twins (yes I really did!)
Friday, September 16, 2005
Coffee, autumn and all that malarky
I started walking into the city at 8am this morning as there is a bus strike today. During my walk I experienced cloud, wind, brilliant sunshine and bucketing rain. By 8.35 I was sitting in s cafe drinking this cup of coffee and writing about it....
I love autumn. It's without a doubt my favourite season of the year. It sounds corny but there is something magical about it. Autumn is a feast for the senses, it is a time of transition.
For smell you have leaf mould, bonfires, chestnuts roasting, for sight you have glorous colours (red, gold, yellow and brown), bonfires and fireworks, for taste there are chestnuts, baked poatoes and halloween sweeties, for the ears there is the crunch of leaves underfoot, fireworks and the crackle of bonfires, for touch there is smooth conkers inside prickly shells, crispy leaves, sparklers and pumpkins to carve.
The down side of autumn is knowing what to wear. If you put on trouser socks and shoes you can be sweating like a warm cheese by 11 am and conversely if you choose a skirt and sandals you can be caught in downpour whilst being battered mercilessly by artic winds. You just can't win. I sometimes resort to taking extra clothes out with me. Sad I know but it can save a great deal of misery in the long run.
My top 5 Autumn Smells
1) Bonfires/woodsmoke
2) Leaf mould
3) Spent Fireworks
4) Roasting chestnuts
5) Toasting pumpkin (as those halloween candles slowly sear the inside of that lovingly carved pumpkin head)
I once wrote a slightly corny poem about autumn and it goes like this:
Autumn
Golden autumn,
Showering bronzed leaves earthwards,
Your copper-coated fingers
Creep across the belly of the land.
I am humbled by your frosted silences,
Your wheat-filled ears overflow with rain,
Earthbound chestnuts
Like skydiving missiles assault the ground.
I breathe deeply of your bounteous,
Bonfire-scented air;
I crunch through your leaf-encrusted streets
To pay homage at your fruit-laden altar.
I bask in your sunshine
And revel in your rainbows,
I taste the burnished beauty of your berries
And know that all is not lost in the world.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Meerkats and all that... who are they and why are they coming?
These stencils are all over Norwich city centre. I looked on the web to see if I could get to the bottom of it and all I got was that the meerkats are coming to Indianapolis zoo in 2006 and I'm sure that's not it.
What could it be I am intrigued -
things it could mean:
1) a band
2) a website (but they would have put a url surely)
3) a cartoon
4) real meerkats coming to take over Norwich and the world.
5) a gang of some kind
I guess it is high time that I finished my top 100 tracks as well, because i seem to have been dragging it out for a long time so here goes...
MY TOP 100 TRACKS OF ALL TIME
71 - 100
71) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Everyone knows that opening guitar riff. Dust down your air guitar and shake loose that hair....
72) David Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys -Hello Spaceboy
More magic from Senor Bowie, this time with a little dance treatment from the P.S.Bs - it's enough to send a girl into orbit.
73) Talking Heads - Burning Down the House
hadn't listened to the Heads for some while and then heard them recently at a party. What amazed me is how dancable it is, and how much I still like it.
Watch out
You might get what you’re after
Cool babies
Strange but not a stranger
I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
74) Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle
Time keeps on trippin, trippin trippin...into the future
75) Bob Dylan - The Changing of the Guard
From Street Legal, and know he doesn't mean the guard at Buckingham Palace! I've said it before and I'll say it again I love the lyrics of this track.
76) Roxy Music - out of the Blue
I absolutely love this track and maybe it should have been higher up the chart. The into is sublime and always sends a shiver up and down my spine. Brian Ferry has a very sexy voice.
77) Manic Street Preachers - A Design for Life
From the album Everything Must Go.
Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
What price now for a shallow piece of dignity
For me this is their best album and there may be another track in this chart...
78)Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must go
Was hard to narrow it down to two tracks, other contenders were Enola Alone and Austrailia
79) Mark Cohn - perfect Love (with James taylor)
From the delicious album simply titled Mark Cohn. Once again hard to choose just one track. It was a toss up between this one and Walking in Memphis (two very different tracks). Love James Taylors harmonies on this track, they give it a drop of extra magic.
80) Ray Lamontagne - Trouble
From the album of the same name. The only thing I don't like about this album is the picture on the cover!
81) Justin Heywood - Forever Autumn
Yes I know it's a bit corny but I like it anyway, featured on Jeff Waynes War of The Worlds. A feel good song.
82) Gary Numan - Cars
From the brilliant album The Pleasure Principle. I recently brough Premier Hits, but it just wasn't as good so I ended up buying the Pleasure Principle on cd (i think I still have it on vynl). it was a close run thing between this track and M.E., which incidently is where Basement Jaxx sampled the Moog synth bass line used in the song Where's Your Head At.
83) David Bowie - Can you Hear Me
Another great track from Young Americans, heartfelt!
84) David Bowie - Jump They Say
From the album Black Tie White Noise. This track also has a great video.
85) Jet - Are you gonna be my Girl
Pure pop genius
86) Bad Company - Shooting Star
From the album Straight Shooter.
87) John Lennon - Number Nine Dream
I love this track, much prefer this to the more famous Imagine.
88) Jackson Browne - Late for the Sky
Thanks to the excellent Nick Hornby for introducing me to this track.
89) UB40 - One in ten
Hard to choose a UB40 track, my favourite album of theirs is Labour of Love (the original) But I think their early tracks are definitely the most meaningful and they really sum up what the 1980s were about for us ordinary folks.
90) Simply Red - Stars
I know it's probably not cool but I do like the album Stars...
91) The Police - Roxanne
From Outlandos d'Amour
I rmember when I bought this in the co-op, I was so pleased and I couldn't wait to get home and play it, I must have been 12 or 13. Definitely the best Police album - a bit raw and unpolished but with such energy and vision - wow!
92) REM - Man on the Moon
From Automatic for the People one of the greatest albums ever made.
93) Robbie Williams - Feel
Not keen on Robbie as a person, but really like a couple of his tracks and this is one of them.
94) Paul Weller - You do Something to Me
a great love song
95) Led Zeppelin - Ramble On
Great, no more no less.
96) Radiohead - Street Spirit (fade out again)
sorry this deserves to be higher, the chart is just a formality really - it's the inclusion that counts.
97) Wishbone Ash - Blowin Free
This should have been higher too!
98) Phil Collins - Against All Odds
I know, I know, well doesn't everyone have a guilty secret. And what's so bad about Phil Collins anyway?
99) Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
This track always reminds me of a film called The Breakfast Club that I really liked when i was younger - about a bunch of kids in detention on a Saturday morning.
100) Depeche Mode - I feel You
A Great track
sorry to all those tracks that just didn't quite make it like Climax Blues Band - Couldn't Get it Right, Sniff n hthe Tears - Drivers Seat and Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper.
What could it be I am intrigued -
things it could mean:
1) a band
2) a website (but they would have put a url surely)
3) a cartoon
4) real meerkats coming to take over Norwich and the world.
5) a gang of some kind
I guess it is high time that I finished my top 100 tracks as well, because i seem to have been dragging it out for a long time so here goes...
MY TOP 100 TRACKS OF ALL TIME
71 - 100
71) Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Everyone knows that opening guitar riff. Dust down your air guitar and shake loose that hair....
72) David Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys -Hello Spaceboy
More magic from Senor Bowie, this time with a little dance treatment from the P.S.Bs - it's enough to send a girl into orbit.
73) Talking Heads - Burning Down the House
hadn't listened to the Heads for some while and then heard them recently at a party. What amazed me is how dancable it is, and how much I still like it.
Watch out
You might get what you’re after
Cool babies
Strange but not a stranger
I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
74) Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle
Time keeps on trippin, trippin trippin...into the future
75) Bob Dylan - The Changing of the Guard
From Street Legal, and know he doesn't mean the guard at Buckingham Palace! I've said it before and I'll say it again I love the lyrics of this track.
76) Roxy Music - out of the Blue
I absolutely love this track and maybe it should have been higher up the chart. The into is sublime and always sends a shiver up and down my spine. Brian Ferry has a very sexy voice.
77) Manic Street Preachers - A Design for Life
From the album Everything Must Go.
Libraries gave us power
Then work came and made us free
What price now for a shallow piece of dignity
For me this is their best album and there may be another track in this chart...
78)Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must go
Was hard to narrow it down to two tracks, other contenders were Enola Alone and Austrailia
79) Mark Cohn - perfect Love (with James taylor)
From the delicious album simply titled Mark Cohn. Once again hard to choose just one track. It was a toss up between this one and Walking in Memphis (two very different tracks). Love James Taylors harmonies on this track, they give it a drop of extra magic.
80) Ray Lamontagne - Trouble
From the album of the same name. The only thing I don't like about this album is the picture on the cover!
81) Justin Heywood - Forever Autumn
Yes I know it's a bit corny but I like it anyway, featured on Jeff Waynes War of The Worlds. A feel good song.
82) Gary Numan - Cars
From the brilliant album The Pleasure Principle. I recently brough Premier Hits, but it just wasn't as good so I ended up buying the Pleasure Principle on cd (i think I still have it on vynl). it was a close run thing between this track and M.E., which incidently is where Basement Jaxx sampled the Moog synth bass line used in the song Where's Your Head At.
83) David Bowie - Can you Hear Me
Another great track from Young Americans, heartfelt!
84) David Bowie - Jump They Say
From the album Black Tie White Noise. This track also has a great video.
85) Jet - Are you gonna be my Girl
Pure pop genius
86) Bad Company - Shooting Star
From the album Straight Shooter.
87) John Lennon - Number Nine Dream
I love this track, much prefer this to the more famous Imagine.
88) Jackson Browne - Late for the Sky
Thanks to the excellent Nick Hornby for introducing me to this track.
89) UB40 - One in ten
Hard to choose a UB40 track, my favourite album of theirs is Labour of Love (the original) But I think their early tracks are definitely the most meaningful and they really sum up what the 1980s were about for us ordinary folks.
90) Simply Red - Stars
I know it's probably not cool but I do like the album Stars...
91) The Police - Roxanne
From Outlandos d'Amour
I rmember when I bought this in the co-op, I was so pleased and I couldn't wait to get home and play it, I must have been 12 or 13. Definitely the best Police album - a bit raw and unpolished but with such energy and vision - wow!
92) REM - Man on the Moon
From Automatic for the People one of the greatest albums ever made.
93) Robbie Williams - Feel
Not keen on Robbie as a person, but really like a couple of his tracks and this is one of them.
94) Paul Weller - You do Something to Me
a great love song
95) Led Zeppelin - Ramble On
Great, no more no less.
96) Radiohead - Street Spirit (fade out again)
sorry this deserves to be higher, the chart is just a formality really - it's the inclusion that counts.
97) Wishbone Ash - Blowin Free
This should have been higher too!
98) Phil Collins - Against All Odds
I know, I know, well doesn't everyone have a guilty secret. And what's so bad about Phil Collins anyway?
99) Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
This track always reminds me of a film called The Breakfast Club that I really liked when i was younger - about a bunch of kids in detention on a Saturday morning.
100) Depeche Mode - I feel You
A Great track
sorry to all those tracks that just didn't quite make it like Climax Blues Band - Couldn't Get it Right, Sniff n hthe Tears - Drivers Seat and Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Top 100 Songs - 51 - 70
51) Greenday - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
From the most excellent album American Idiot. Absolutely love this track and it has an excellent video too.
52) David Gray - Babylon
From the album White Ladder. David has such an excellent voice and I really admire his lyric writing as well. Amazing to think that this album was recorded in his living room.
53) Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels
From the album Songs From The Big Chair. Songs is a fantastic album and is one of the few albums from the 1980s that still sounds modern today.
54) Gary Jules - Mad World
From the album Trading Snakeoil for Wolf Tickets. Another Tears for Fears track, but this version sung by the oh so soulful gary Jules. This is a haunting version of the song and it featured on the soundtrack for the awesome film Donnie Darko.
55) Faithless - Not Enuff Love
From Outrospective. D introduced me to this album when I was first seeing him so for me it has nostalgic connotations now as well as being a must-own album. This track is best listened to in a dark room with a sexy member of the opposite sex.
56) Deep Purple - Black Night
Wasn't sure whether to have this track, Smoke on the Water or something from the album Come Taste the Band. This is a true Purple landmark featuring Ian Gillan on Vocals. I was a huge fan of Come Taste the Band as a teenager but somehow it's just not so ROCK with David Coverdale on vocals.
57) David Byrne and Brian Eno
From My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Bush of Ghosts is an album that EVERYONE should own - whaddya mean you haven't heard it? It is awesome and this is just one excellent track of many...America is waiting for a message of some sort or another...
58) Iggy Pop - The Passenger
Bless his cotton socks. Iggy does some great tracks when he is concentrating on music rather than flaaping his privates around. A classic.
59) Lou Reed - Charleys Girl
From Coney Island Baby. Everyone needs some Lou Reed in their top tracks. I found it a hard task to narrow it down, but love the whole of Coney Island Baby.
60) Blur - The Universal
Was hard to pick one Blur track too - Coffee and TV was a close second and may appear yet!
61) New Model Army - Family
This is a track that holds great resonance with me - I was that lonely teenager who left home at 16 looking for a place to fit in, and a replacement family. Still chokes me up now.
62) D'angelo - Aint no Sunshine
I love this song and D'Angelo does a great version of it. I downloaded lots of versions by different artists last year as I was looking for a version that I heard in a bar in Lesvos. Never did find out who sang it (it was a woman). Other great versions are by Jars of Clay and Eva Cassidy.
63) Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun
From Dig Your Own Hole. This is my favourite Chemical album, makes me want to dance!
64) The Ruts - Something that I Said
The Ruts might have really been something if Malcom Owen hadn't died so tragically. They had already made some brilliant tracks.
65) The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
Was amazed when I saw The Rats on the Brit awards last year (or was it the year before). I had forgotten how full and rich their sound was. It's hard to appreciate that when the track that is always played is I don't like Mondays. Don't get me wrong that was good but there was so much more to them than that.
66) Cat Stevens - Hard Headed Woman
From the superb album Tea for the Tillerman. Love every track on this one!
67) Lightning Seeds - Love Explosion
i smile at all the moments that make me hold my breath make me tell myself
the hours were never lost on you a mystery is what you are to me
hold me tight for a million years your love in mine it's like holy wine
lost inside those big brown eyes your lips touch mine and my eyes go blind
reaching out skin touch skin reaching out my lips come down to the love explosion
mission of sin reaching out my lips come down to the love explo-osion
68) Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
From Relics. wanted to buy this on CD but was appallled to find that they have changed the cover. I was so incensed that I didn't buy it. A true work of genius none the less and early Floyd at it's weird best.
69) Hawkwind - Lighthouse/ Quark strangeness and Charm
I'm afraid that I just couldn't choose between these two tracks, so number 69 is an unprecedented joint affair. The live version of Lighthouse (from Live 79) and Quark Strangeness and Charm from the album of the same name. I had to include Hawkwind as they were such a big part of my life when I was younger. They were the first proper concert I went to at the Rainbow theatre in London, and they were supported by an awful band called Miles over Matter who I felt sorry for as they got such a bad reception. I remember that there were weird cartoon films. I later read that backstage at that gig Dave Brock and Bob Calvert had been trying to kill each other backstage while Michael Moorcock was on stage reading poetry.
ALways worry when you see men in white coats at a concert.
70) Jethro Tull - Aqualung
from the album of the same name, it was either this one or something off Heavy Horses.
From the most excellent album American Idiot. Absolutely love this track and it has an excellent video too.
52) David Gray - Babylon
From the album White Ladder. David has such an excellent voice and I really admire his lyric writing as well. Amazing to think that this album was recorded in his living room.
53) Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels
From the album Songs From The Big Chair. Songs is a fantastic album and is one of the few albums from the 1980s that still sounds modern today.
54) Gary Jules - Mad World
From the album Trading Snakeoil for Wolf Tickets. Another Tears for Fears track, but this version sung by the oh so soulful gary Jules. This is a haunting version of the song and it featured on the soundtrack for the awesome film Donnie Darko.
55) Faithless - Not Enuff Love
From Outrospective. D introduced me to this album when I was first seeing him so for me it has nostalgic connotations now as well as being a must-own album. This track is best listened to in a dark room with a sexy member of the opposite sex.
56) Deep Purple - Black Night
Wasn't sure whether to have this track, Smoke on the Water or something from the album Come Taste the Band. This is a true Purple landmark featuring Ian Gillan on Vocals. I was a huge fan of Come Taste the Band as a teenager but somehow it's just not so ROCK with David Coverdale on vocals.
57) David Byrne and Brian Eno
From My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Bush of Ghosts is an album that EVERYONE should own - whaddya mean you haven't heard it? It is awesome and this is just one excellent track of many...America is waiting for a message of some sort or another...
58) Iggy Pop - The Passenger
Bless his cotton socks. Iggy does some great tracks when he is concentrating on music rather than flaaping his privates around. A classic.
59) Lou Reed - Charleys Girl
From Coney Island Baby. Everyone needs some Lou Reed in their top tracks. I found it a hard task to narrow it down, but love the whole of Coney Island Baby.
60) Blur - The Universal
Was hard to pick one Blur track too - Coffee and TV was a close second and may appear yet!
61) New Model Army - Family
This is a track that holds great resonance with me - I was that lonely teenager who left home at 16 looking for a place to fit in, and a replacement family. Still chokes me up now.
62) D'angelo - Aint no Sunshine
I love this song and D'Angelo does a great version of it. I downloaded lots of versions by different artists last year as I was looking for a version that I heard in a bar in Lesvos. Never did find out who sang it (it was a woman). Other great versions are by Jars of Clay and Eva Cassidy.
63) Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun
From Dig Your Own Hole. This is my favourite Chemical album, makes me want to dance!
64) The Ruts - Something that I Said
The Ruts might have really been something if Malcom Owen hadn't died so tragically. They had already made some brilliant tracks.
65) The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
Was amazed when I saw The Rats on the Brit awards last year (or was it the year before). I had forgotten how full and rich their sound was. It's hard to appreciate that when the track that is always played is I don't like Mondays. Don't get me wrong that was good but there was so much more to them than that.
66) Cat Stevens - Hard Headed Woman
From the superb album Tea for the Tillerman. Love every track on this one!
67) Lightning Seeds - Love Explosion
i smile at all the moments that make me hold my breath make me tell myself
the hours were never lost on you a mystery is what you are to me
hold me tight for a million years your love in mine it's like holy wine
lost inside those big brown eyes your lips touch mine and my eyes go blind
reaching out skin touch skin reaching out my lips come down to the love explosion
mission of sin reaching out my lips come down to the love explo-osion
68) Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
From Relics. wanted to buy this on CD but was appallled to find that they have changed the cover. I was so incensed that I didn't buy it. A true work of genius none the less and early Floyd at it's weird best.
69) Hawkwind - Lighthouse/ Quark strangeness and Charm
I'm afraid that I just couldn't choose between these two tracks, so number 69 is an unprecedented joint affair. The live version of Lighthouse (from Live 79) and Quark Strangeness and Charm from the album of the same name. I had to include Hawkwind as they were such a big part of my life when I was younger. They were the first proper concert I went to at the Rainbow theatre in London, and they were supported by an awful band called Miles over Matter who I felt sorry for as they got such a bad reception. I remember that there were weird cartoon films. I later read that backstage at that gig Dave Brock and Bob Calvert had been trying to kill each other backstage while Michael Moorcock was on stage reading poetry.
ALways worry when you see men in white coats at a concert.
70) Jethro Tull - Aqualung
from the album of the same name, it was either this one or something off Heavy Horses.
Is there room for me in there Jar Jar? Build me a Life Sized Lego Space Ship and let me Fly Away
N made this foe a Lego Star Wars competition and I think it's great. Wish you could get a life sized one.
I have felt like flying away today, I had a workman doing some electrical work at my house and just when I thought he had nearly finished he told me that they have to come back again next week and take the floors up - aaargh.....
I am never quite sure how to deal with workmen, I know some people go out and leave them to it - but I always feel like I have to stay around. Not sure why, it's either an issue of being in control or maybe i ahve watched too many tv programmes about workmen who rip you off or go through your stuff...
I have felt like flying away today, I had a workman doing some electrical work at my house and just when I thought he had nearly finished he told me that they have to come back again next week and take the floors up - aaargh.....
I am never quite sure how to deal with workmen, I know some people go out and leave them to it - but I always feel like I have to stay around. Not sure why, it's either an issue of being in control or maybe i ahve watched too many tv programmes about workmen who rip you off or go through your stuff...
Monday, September 12, 2005
Where do we go to?
Love this graffiti from down the alleyway to my house. I wonder if Sam is still alive... I guess not. The two houses next to each other have always been rented and there is all sorts of things scratched into the passageway wall. It is covered over so it hasn't been eroded by rain. I think this must have been done soon after the house were built.. it could have even beeen one of the builders leaving his mark. You can see other graffiti on my flickr photo blog.
I was going to do a bit more of my top 100 songs of all time but I don't have time now, might come back and do it later. I realised that I will have to add Babylon by David Gray as saw the video on VH1 and remembered just how much I like it.
I wonder if I am too old to become a music journalist, maybe in my next life...
I was going to do a bit more of my top 100 songs of all time but I don't have time now, might come back and do it later. I realised that I will have to add Babylon by David Gray as saw the video on VH1 and remembered just how much I like it.
I wonder if I am too old to become a music journalist, maybe in my next life...
Sunday, September 11, 2005
The window to my soul - or the soul as an overgrown and slightly delapidated garden
I imagine this is what you would see if you looked through a window to my soul. Everything would be lush and green but wild and overgrown.
Downloaded Two Princes by the Spin Doctors last night. I kept hearing it on different things on TV and couldn't remember the band. I did have that album on tape years ago but I think that I didn't much like the rest of it, It certainly wasn't memorable enough for me to remember it now!
Downloaded Two Princes by the Spin Doctors last night. I kept hearing it on different things on TV and couldn't remember the band. I did have that album on tape years ago but I think that I didn't much like the rest of it, It certainly wasn't memorable enough for me to remember it now!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
The Suffocating Aroma of Insincerity
Don't you just hate department stores? The worst thing about them for me is the cosmetic and perfume departments. For some reason (in Norwich anyway) these departments are always located on the ground floor near to the entrance, meaning that you have to pass through them to get anywhere else in the store.
We went into Jarrolds today to get something from the art department (why is it that the art and toy departments - the most interesting in my opinion are always on the top floor?) and our senses were immediately assaulted by an array of chemically produced wafts. Add to that the vile lighting and the fake tanned, heavily made-up assistants proffering their sprays to you as you pass and you get a sensory overload of the headache inducing kind. A friend of mine who went shopping for cosmetics in one of these departments recently reported that the staff were openly bitching about the customers and their looks. Would you want a makeover from someone you knew was going to bitch about you to their mate the minute you left?
It's not that I am against perfumes and cosmetics per se, it's just that I prefer mine to be a bit more natural and not tested on rabbits and dogs. I buy mine at Body Shop or Lush. I also prefer them a bit more subtle, and I don't want them in my face whenever I walk into a shop.
Friday, September 09, 2005
WHAT A LOT OF ROT - TOP 100S AND ALL THAT
I have been feeling a bit like this piece of wood this week, holey and rotten. Plus I am writing my blog today on a terminal at the public library because (wait for it!) there is a mouse sized spider in my computer room and I am too scared to go in there and sit at the pc. Laughable I know but there it is and I kid you not it is the size of a small mouse and boy can it run fast.
Well to more important matters. I thought that I might do a bit more of my top 100 songs of all time.
Here goes....
31 - 50 OF MY TOP 100 SONGS OF ALL TIME
31) Crosby Stills Nash and Young - Wooden Ships
This was another track that was hard to choose, I had it down to this one or Heplessly Hoping, both of which are excellent in my opinion. I have loved CSNY since I was a teen those harmonies stir something within my soul.
32) The Who - We Won't Get Fooled Again
Love the Who and this a classic. Was great to see them perform it again on Live8 recently. Roger Daltrey is still charismatic after all these years.
33) U2 - it's a Beautiful Day
Another hard track to choose and U2 have done so many good ones. This one is uplifting though and i like that in a song!
34) James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Adore James Taylor and it was a toss up between this track and Fire and Rain. JT is great for when you are feeling blue.
35)Steelydan - Barrytown
From the most excellent album Pretzel Logic. This has always been my favourite ST track. Not sure why actually but sends a shiver down my spine.
36) Roy Harper - How does it Feel
from Folk Jokepus
Used to be absolutely mad on Roy when I was younger. Very good for young hippies, not quite so keen now as I was but have been revisiting him recently for nostalic reasons. My favourite album as a teenager was The Unknown Soldier, but it does not date so well as this one. Some of the lyrics on Folk Jokepus make me cringe a little now - but you miust remember it was made around 1973 and things have changed a lot since then.
37) Don Mclean - American Pie
An absolute classic that I still can remember the words to. A long, long time ago...
38) Stiff Little Fingers - At the Edge
Didn't have much by SLF, but loved this single and it still sounds fresh today. Seems more and more relevant as N heads towards being a teen, hope I'm not like the parents in the song though...
39) The Clash - White Man in Hammersmith Palais
You can never have too much Clash can you? This is early Clash, and one of their best.
40) Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
From the album 2112
Rocking Yes. This reminds me of a time when I was staying in Devon and drinking far too much. Great Summer listening.
41) Bob Dylan - Knocking on Heavens Door
From the soundtrack to the excellent but weird film Pat Garret and Billy the Kid.
haunting.
42) The Smiths - Last night I dreamt that Somebody Loved me
A poignant moment from Morrisey et al.
43)Santana - She's not There
There was a local band in my hometown that used to play this song, but this is the best version I have heard. The combination of superb guitar and vocals just gives it a special something.
44) Doors - When the Musics Over
This really is brilliant. I can't often be bothered to listen to the doors these days, the tracks are so long. Really you have to listen to it in a darkish room with candles and incense and minimal conversation - then it can really blow you away.
45) Horslips - sure the Boy was Green
From the album Aliens
Horslips somehow never got the fame and recognition that they so obviously deserve (give this album a listen and you will see what I mean!).
46) Billy Bragg - The New Brunette
"Shirley...." A sublime moment from the Bragster, excellent lyrics!
47) The Beatles - here comes the Sun
From Abbey Road.
Well you've gotta have a Beatles song haven't you? I always remember someone playing this after a party and the sun came out ...oh those heady days of youth...
48)Patti Smith - Frederick
From Wave
Was heavily into Patti Smith for a while, she is best known for her famous single Because the Night, ehich is NOT on this album.
49) Thin Lizzy - Don't believe a Word
Loved Phil Lynott and not just for his sultry looks. Classic rocking stuff!
50) Guns n Roses - Sweet Child O Mine
Unleash those air guitars Slash is in the house.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Life is a Blur and I don't mean the band
I feel a bit like this photo today...not used to these very early mornings after the summer hols...ah well.
Talking of Blur the band I whink one of their tracks will be in my top 100 but as yet I haven't decided which one, it will either be The Universal, End of a Century or Coffee and Tv. Hmm maybe that is a cue to put some music on. darn it have also just realised that I have missed out Dire Straits, John Martyn and Suede.
PUPSKI'S TOP 100 SONGS OF ALL TIME
1. David Bowie - Young Americans
from the album of the same name, excellent lyrics, excellent musicians, excellent everything!
2. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Absolutely sublime, got into Pink Floyd when I was 12 and still love them now, the fisrt PF album I owned was Relics.
3. Bob Dylan - Oh Sister
From Desire, I always think this is about incest. I know bob doesn't have the best voice but he really has something.
4. Joni Mitchell - River
Love it, I know just how she feels. This song makes me happy.
5. Dire Straits - Telegraph Road
From Love Over Gold, there is so much in this track, I revisited recently and was amazed at how fresh it sounds.
6. Led Zeppelin - Black Dog
I could air guitar all day to Led Zep. From Led Zeppelin IV.
7. Stevie Wonder - I believe (when I Fall in Love)
From Talking Book, It's every girls dream that someone would write them
a song like this! This track was used to play out the excellent film High Fidelity.
8. David Bowie - Cat People (Putting out the Fire)
From Let's Dance. Bowie at his best, slow intro and brooding vocals, excellent!
9. Lightning Seeds - Sense
The great Terry Hall collaborated with Ian Broudie on this track. I know that it's not fashionable but I absolutely love the Lightning Seeds, this little gem is from the album Pure.
10. Led Zeppelin - The Immigrant Song
"We come from the land of the ice and snow,
from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow."
Sheer rocking brilliance, from the album Led Zepplein III.
11. Radiohead - Creep
From Pablo Honey, excellent Lyrics.
12. Sting - Brand New Day
from the Album of the Same name.
I love this album and it was hard to choose one track. I always thought it was a good move to make such a good track the last one as it leaves you wanting more.
13. David Gray - Sail Away
From White Ladder, was tempted to include all the tracks from this album, there is not a dud on it.
14. Primal Scream - Movin on Up
From Screamadelica. If this track doesn't get you up on your feet dancing then nothing will! Feel good music for summer time, winter time, anytime!
15.The Clash - Stay Free.
I have loved the Clash since I saw them perform Clash City Rockers
on BBC2 in 1979, this is a feel good track as well, with a serious undercurrent. Recently cropped up in the film School of Rock.
16. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
From The Wall, an excellent track. I remember it from the first time I saw the Wall at the cinema, I was so chuffed to get in (I was 16and it was an 18!). Sadly I know how he feels - think a lot of ushave had those weird times in our lives.
17. Bob Marley - Redemption Songs
It was hard to choose a Bob Marley song. I have always loved this one and it is associated with a sad time in my 20s.
18. John Martyn - Over the Hill
From Solid Air, Solid Air would definitely be in my top 10 albumsof all time! Soulful, stoned and sublime!
19. Van Morrison - And it Stoned me
From Moondance, another in my top 10 albums of all time.
20. Genesis - Abacab
From Abacab. I really like Genesis sans Peter Gabriel and I love this track and not just because it evokes memories of my mispent youth.
21. Jose Feliciano - California Dreaming
Some of Joses covers are a bit corny, but this one is great. The flamenco guitar really adds something to the track, and when he starts singing in Spanish my legs turn to jelly.
22. Bob Dylan - Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)
From Street Legal
Dylan on fine form, favourite line:
"Senor, senor, do you know where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before.
Is there any truth in that, senor?"
23. Simon and Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York
In my opinion by far the best track by S and G. Haunting. Heard more recently on the soundtrack of the great movie Garden State.
24. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Not that keen on Brucie, but there are two tracks of his I love and this is one of them. Cited in the book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby as one of the top 5 opening tracks on an album.
25. Rush - Spirit of Radio
I hadn't heard this track for about 12 years and I could still remember the lyrics word for word! I used to love Rush, this is one their more accessible tracks. Rushare great for air guitarists, and they boast some corking lyrics.
26. Black Uhuru - Guess who's Coming to Dinner
From the album of the same name.
One of the best reggae albums of all time.
27. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - Come up and See Me (make me smile)
From The Best Years of Our Lives. I remember Steve barefoot and wired on Top of the Pops, love the guitar solo.
28. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
One of the great rock classics, made all the more poignant by the tragic deaths of half the band.
29. Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed
Don't generally like Macca all that much, but love this - it's so romantic. Would love someone to write me a song like this.
30. Fleetwood Mac - Landslide
Hard to choose a Fleetwood number, I was a huge fan of Rumours as a teenager, but love this track too.
Well will have to finish there stay tuned for another exciting installment of my Top 100 songs of all time Later
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Salubriousness abounds...chips and scraps with a portion of mushy bins please.
Wasn't sure if the mushy peas etc were in the bins or if you were supposed to sit in bins to eat them... and is the street sweeper there to clean up after you or to add to the ambience?
Today has felt long, I was up at 6.30am as it was N's first day at high school. I spent two hours (well nearly) sitting in Ottakars cafe working out what songs to put in my top 100 songs of all time.
To begin with I thought that I was going to find it difficult but now I realise that it is hard to just have 100. The hard bit is who to leave out. I also can't decide whether to have a general hundred or to do it in order of favourites. I think it has to be in order but that is hard too as favourites change...
I will put it in my blog eventually but I need to work on it a bit more first and put the songs in order. But I can tell you that Bob Dylan is in there as are Van (the man) Morrison, the Smiths, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. i say no more!
Today has felt long, I was up at 6.30am as it was N's first day at high school. I spent two hours (well nearly) sitting in Ottakars cafe working out what songs to put in my top 100 songs of all time.
To begin with I thought that I was going to find it difficult but now I realise that it is hard to just have 100. The hard bit is who to leave out. I also can't decide whether to have a general hundred or to do it in order of favourites. I think it has to be in order but that is hard too as favourites change...
I will put it in my blog eventually but I need to work on it a bit more first and put the songs in order. But I can tell you that Bob Dylan is in there as are Van (the man) Morrison, the Smiths, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. i say no more!
Monday, September 05, 2005
Just Stretching my Wings
I feel a bit like this cormorant today, like I need to stretch my wings!
D and I drove to Hertfordshire yesterday and on the way we were listening to tunes that I had put on the MP3 player. I was disturbed to discover that I seem to have lost the ability to play air guitar properly.
True we were in a car, but still that's no excuse. I wonder if you can go to air guitar classes...and if not, why not? It would be a great tension reliever, there could be classes for mums, for businessmen...the possibilities are endless.
I was guitaring along to Sweet child O Mine by Guns n Roses, although sadly we discovered that I had only downloaded 2 thirds of the track!
My Top 5 Air Guitar Bands
1) Rush
2) Led Zeppelin
3) Guns n Roses
4)Deep Purple
5) Lynyrd Skynyrd
hmm feel like Jimi Hendrix should have been in there but he was more of a boys guitar player.
I have been enjoying revisiting rock greats from my past. I was a real heavy metal biker chick for a while in my teens - heavily (scuse the pun!) into bands like AC DC, Whitesnake, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath and all the bands mentioned above. I must admit though that there have been a couple of bands that I have revisied and thought why? My friend Rae and I were heavily into a band called Girl in the early 80s, I dug their LP out the other day and it is fairly awful. I think part of it was having a band that not everyone else was into. I remember we were thrilled when they made it onto Top of the Pops.
D and I drove to Hertfordshire yesterday and on the way we were listening to tunes that I had put on the MP3 player. I was disturbed to discover that I seem to have lost the ability to play air guitar properly.
True we were in a car, but still that's no excuse. I wonder if you can go to air guitar classes...and if not, why not? It would be a great tension reliever, there could be classes for mums, for businessmen...the possibilities are endless.
I was guitaring along to Sweet child O Mine by Guns n Roses, although sadly we discovered that I had only downloaded 2 thirds of the track!
My Top 5 Air Guitar Bands
1) Rush
2) Led Zeppelin
3) Guns n Roses
4)Deep Purple
5) Lynyrd Skynyrd
hmm feel like Jimi Hendrix should have been in there but he was more of a boys guitar player.
I have been enjoying revisiting rock greats from my past. I was a real heavy metal biker chick for a while in my teens - heavily (scuse the pun!) into bands like AC DC, Whitesnake, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath and all the bands mentioned above. I must admit though that there have been a couple of bands that I have revisied and thought why? My friend Rae and I were heavily into a band called Girl in the early 80s, I dug their LP out the other day and it is fairly awful. I think part of it was having a band that not everyone else was into. I remember we were thrilled when they made it onto Top of the Pops.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
I'm a Tot and you're a Tot, a girls hankering to be a puppet TV Star
Fancy a ride with these three? Well sadly adults are too big to fit on the ride! Shame!
Seriously though, I used to watch Tots TV with N when he was little and I wouldn't mind being Tilly (she's the girl). For a start she has a very alluring French accent, guranteed to turn the boys on. Secondly the Tots live in a beautiful thatched cottage in Suffolk, all they do is play all day and they have a pet squirrel. Tilly also has a magic sack - le sac magique. So you see it could be a pretty good life all in all.
True you would have to put up with those boys Tom and Tiny, but Tilly is in control I think.
It's great how everything in seaside towns is a bit out of date. The arcade machines are things like the empire strikes back, years old but great for retro kids who are into Star Wars. Tots TV was popular in the mid 1990s and a lot of kids now might not even know who they are... although I think they were showing repeats recently.
I like this about those small coastal towns though. I find the datedness oddly comforting, I like the fact that they are not trying to hard and you can just take it or leave it. And of course if there's no other choice we often take it.
I like those 2p arcade machines, although I resisted the temptations of the arcade this time.
5 great things to do in Cromer
1) paddle in the sea
2)visit the second hand book shop and buy a book
3) have crumpets and earl grey tea in a cafe and read your new book
4)take photos
5)ummmm- go home again
Seriously though, I used to watch Tots TV with N when he was little and I wouldn't mind being Tilly (she's the girl). For a start she has a very alluring French accent, guranteed to turn the boys on. Secondly the Tots live in a beautiful thatched cottage in Suffolk, all they do is play all day and they have a pet squirrel. Tilly also has a magic sack - le sac magique. So you see it could be a pretty good life all in all.
True you would have to put up with those boys Tom and Tiny, but Tilly is in control I think.
It's great how everything in seaside towns is a bit out of date. The arcade machines are things like the empire strikes back, years old but great for retro kids who are into Star Wars. Tots TV was popular in the mid 1990s and a lot of kids now might not even know who they are... although I think they were showing repeats recently.
I like this about those small coastal towns though. I find the datedness oddly comforting, I like the fact that they are not trying to hard and you can just take it or leave it. And of course if there's no other choice we often take it.
I like those 2p arcade machines, although I resisted the temptations of the arcade this time.
5 great things to do in Cromer
1) paddle in the sea
2)visit the second hand book shop and buy a book
3) have crumpets and earl grey tea in a cafe and read your new book
4)take photos
5)ummmm- go home again
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Stewpot and Magic Roundabout...
I have been rmembering the awful records that stewpot (Ed Stewart) used to play on children's favourites on radio 1 on a Saturday morning. Can you imagine they wouldn't play stuff for kids on radio 1 now. It wouldn't be cool enough.
Mind you I didn't like most of it and i WAS a kid!
corkers I can remember are:
Little White Bull - Tommy Steele
My Brother - Terry Scott
Camp Grenada
Grandad - Clive Dunn
The Ugly Duckling - Mike Read
Various Rolf Harris numbers
kids today just wouldn't stand for it. Mind you I didn't mind old Rolfy that much, they used to play his records at school along with a creepy LP of Dougal and the Blue Cat,which is from the Magic Roundabout film of the same name. Now that was a CREEPY film! That blue cat was so sinister and scary...
Mind you I didn't like most of it and i WAS a kid!
corkers I can remember are:
Little White Bull - Tommy Steele
My Brother - Terry Scott
Camp Grenada
Grandad - Clive Dunn
The Ugly Duckling - Mike Read
Various Rolf Harris numbers
kids today just wouldn't stand for it. Mind you I didn't mind old Rolfy that much, they used to play his records at school along with a creepy LP of Dougal and the Blue Cat,which is from the Magic Roundabout film of the same name. Now that was a CREEPY film! That blue cat was so sinister and scary...
Meals only and great tunes of the past
Saw this great sign outside a restaurant in Cromer today!
I went to the coast by train, I love train journeys, they are a great time to reflect. There are several things I like to do on train journeys
1) read a novel
2) listen to music
3) write
4) chill out and look at the scenery
I did all of these today except reading a novel. I had spent ages on the PC last night changing the tracks on my MP3 player. You would think that 60 tracks would be enough for anyone wouldn't you but it is actually very hard to choose. However, choose I did eventually, although it was hard and I had to download some new ones that I had read about in High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and in his 31 greatest songs (although I have to say I didn't agree with all of them!)
This got me thinking about my greatest faves and I decided that I would work on my top 100 songs (or maybe 50). So far I have got 30 (watch this space!).
It also got me thinking about how much music has been an influence in my life. When I was younger it was one of the most important things to me. I used to have secret aspirations to be a music journalist when I was younger. I'm not sure that I ever told anyone and of course I had no idea how to go about making this dream a reality. (I sometimes wonder what I could have achieved had anyone taken an interest when I was a teenager).
I used to daydream about writing for NME or melody maker. How cool to get paid for doing something that you enjoy anyway.
My earliest musical memory is being in the kitchen of my childhood home with my mum. My dad had rigged up these speakers so that you could play the stereo in the living room and listen to it in the kitchen and for some reason my mum was playing Like a rubber ball by Bobby Vee and I was singing along, somehow I knew all the words and I remember my mum was really impressed, I was about 4 I think or younger. Why she was listening to Bobby Vee I don't know as that was not her usual type of music.
I also have odd memories of Top of the Pops, which we always watched. Steve Harley sitting on the stage with bare feet, the sinister "Sparks", Pans people dancing to: Monster Mash, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Dancing with the Captain, and Woa I'm going to Barbados. My brother liked Showaddywaddy and the Wombles and my sister was a fan of Leo Sayer.
There were those records that stayed at number one for weeks though noone seemed to like them - like I am Sailing by Rod Stewart and Mull of Kintyre by Wings, even Bohemian Rhapsody was annoying after six weeks or so at number one!
I found Top of the Pops more interesting as teenager. Videos like Ashes to Ashes, Boys Keep Swinging and I am a DJ by David Bowie were real visual treats, and it was always a thrill when a little known band you were a fan of finally got a TOTP appearence (like Girl or Whitesnake).
I went to the coast by train, I love train journeys, they are a great time to reflect. There are several things I like to do on train journeys
1) read a novel
2) listen to music
3) write
4) chill out and look at the scenery
I did all of these today except reading a novel. I had spent ages on the PC last night changing the tracks on my MP3 player. You would think that 60 tracks would be enough for anyone wouldn't you but it is actually very hard to choose. However, choose I did eventually, although it was hard and I had to download some new ones that I had read about in High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and in his 31 greatest songs (although I have to say I didn't agree with all of them!)
This got me thinking about my greatest faves and I decided that I would work on my top 100 songs (or maybe 50). So far I have got 30 (watch this space!).
It also got me thinking about how much music has been an influence in my life. When I was younger it was one of the most important things to me. I used to have secret aspirations to be a music journalist when I was younger. I'm not sure that I ever told anyone and of course I had no idea how to go about making this dream a reality. (I sometimes wonder what I could have achieved had anyone taken an interest when I was a teenager).
I used to daydream about writing for NME or melody maker. How cool to get paid for doing something that you enjoy anyway.
My earliest musical memory is being in the kitchen of my childhood home with my mum. My dad had rigged up these speakers so that you could play the stereo in the living room and listen to it in the kitchen and for some reason my mum was playing Like a rubber ball by Bobby Vee and I was singing along, somehow I knew all the words and I remember my mum was really impressed, I was about 4 I think or younger. Why she was listening to Bobby Vee I don't know as that was not her usual type of music.
I also have odd memories of Top of the Pops, which we always watched. Steve Harley sitting on the stage with bare feet, the sinister "Sparks", Pans people dancing to: Monster Mash, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Dancing with the Captain, and Woa I'm going to Barbados. My brother liked Showaddywaddy and the Wombles and my sister was a fan of Leo Sayer.
There were those records that stayed at number one for weeks though noone seemed to like them - like I am Sailing by Rod Stewart and Mull of Kintyre by Wings, even Bohemian Rhapsody was annoying after six weeks or so at number one!
I found Top of the Pops more interesting as teenager. Videos like Ashes to Ashes, Boys Keep Swinging and I am a DJ by David Bowie were real visual treats, and it was always a thrill when a little known band you were a fan of finally got a TOTP appearence (like Girl or Whitesnake).
Thursday, September 01, 2005
When I grow up I want to be an astronaut!
When I grow up there's lots of things I'd like to be ...
a popstar
an artist
a healer
a writer
a photographer
own a restaraunt
run an outdoor nursery
beautiful
happy
a good mum
a barbie doll
a popstar
an artist
a healer
a writer
a photographer
own a restaraunt
run an outdoor nursery
beautiful
happy
a good mum
a barbie doll
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