Showing posts with label Echo and The Bunnymen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Echo and The Bunnymen. Show all posts

Thursday 3 December 2020

The Thirteenth Month

I have often wondered why we have twelve months when we say four weekes is a month. If that were so we'd be starting our thirteenth month tomorrow and would probably called Undecember (latin for eleven is Undecim) . Here is an explanation , apparently the romans started with ten months but then tried to match it to the (just over) 12 lunar cycles in a year so a 13 month year would be out of sync with th elunare cycles.

The thing remind me of imperial weights and money systems  (12 pennies to a shilling , 5 shillings to a crown , then there's half crowns , twenty shillings in a pound and twenty one shillings in a guinea. Then sixteen ounces to a pound, fourteen pounds to a stone etc , then you have twelve inches to a foot , three feet to a yard , six feet to a fathom etc.

Then you have tennis scoring which is weird as hell and the Duckworth-Lewis method in cricket for curtailed matches and all the weird scoring possibilities with light stopping play and more.

Metric is a far more sensible measurement system , although people still have problems with our swith to decimalisation fifty years back.

So this is my first post of the month and think I'm going to go with "The Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen because of the lunar cycles that prompted this post in th efirst place.

Wednesday 11 November 2020

2345

This is post 2345 on sevendaysin and I am not sure I would ever reach this number or keep posting for this long. I started here on the 18th of February 2007 and am still doing this now. I chose Echo and The Bunnymen's "Never Stop" because it is a great record and appropriate for the point of this post.

The thing is in life we do things that seem to never end (apart from the obvious Grim Reaper scenario) , such as washing up , cleaning , working , and watching TV and listening to music , plus walking and lots of other thing.

The thing is if you break things up into manageable chunks you can then enjoy the success of each finish point you define.

While working from home I have listened to several CD box sets which I don't think I could have done even walking to work. I have just finished the Electric Light Orchestra box and, apart from "Discovery" , I would rate all of the albums, although the first five are my favourites.

I have Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen boxes and they are being lined up for my next plays. Having a CD player to hand , plus the discs i sa great convenience, but it means I am not listening to much Radio 6 for a change as certain DJs I thing would be more at home on Radio 2 , so I don't feel I am mising anything.

So that's post 2345 , and basically I will never stop with this here blog.

Tuesday 11 February 2020

Stir Fry


Yesterday was a bit weird, we've had a bit of the latest global warming caused storm but it was fine walking into work listening to Echo and The Bunnymen's "More Songs To Learn and Sing" and with every song that came on wondering how this band were not the biggest draw in the world at some point.

At the weekend I was thinking this month I was maybe averaging one post every two days , then I realise on Sunday night I'd done seven in nine days and this will make it eight in eleven, but if I feel like writing I will do.

Walking home someone reckoned it was fine walking weather , which it was, though a bit blowy, until I got off the bus route, then the hailstones started coming down, the wind was blowing and they were cold and stinging and I had no umbrella (that would have just been destroyed by the wind) or protective headwear, but you just have to keep walking , about half a mile through an annoying hailstorm. It could have been much worse and getting into a warm house was most appreciated.

For tea I had got some prepared stir fry vegetables that implied it was hot and there was a sauce. There was no sauce so chucked the stuff (peppers , carrots, cabbage , beansprouts , water chestnuts and onions and more, in the pan with olive oil then added some brown sauce and sriracha sauce to give it some but . Five minutes later it was in the dish and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought I would need something else, but I didn't eat anything else and didn't feel hungry so that was a success and will be having more. You can see me cooking on my instagram feed here. To me it looks very tasty, and it was.

Last night the wind and rain were blowing and this morning looks grim so I'm not sure if I can walk into work (well I can but the bus option is very tempting) we shall see.

Music on this Tuesday will be "The Cutter" by Echo and The Bunnymen though any song from that album would be perfect.

Sunday 19 May 2019

FactoryZoo


Just shoved together two of my most liked record labels Factory from Manchester and Zoo from Liverpool because I do  have a book called "Factory".

Factory was the imprint of Tony / Anthony Wilson and brought us among others Joy Division , Happy Mondays , New Order and lots more as well as lots of iconic design ideas. The Hacienda Club used the black and yellow warning stripes , now every time I see it I don't think WARNING I thing HACIENDA or FACTORY . A brilliant idea. The film "24 Hour Party People" is about Tony Wilson and the lasting enigma of Factory Records. It was also responsible for releasing "Reach For Love" by Marcel King, one of my favourite records ever. It's also Shaun Ryder's favourite Factory single.

Everything on Factory had a catalogue number (The Hacienda was FAC51)

Zoo Records from Liverpool was nowhere near as influential as Factory but I remember getting a compilation (Street To Street: A Liverpool Album - 1978) and loving "Match of The Day" by Big In Japan, who featured Holly Johnson, Ian Broudie , Bill Drummond and Budgie. The label also featured Echo and The Bunnymen , Teardrop Explodes and lots more so still very important.

It is quite surprising that Zoo Records are almost impossible to track down these days and a lot of the Factory compilations are similar. Discogs seems to be the best way of sourcing them.

So it's Sunday , the weather is gorgeous , so I may relax and enjoy it or possibly nip out for a walk, but either way I am going to have a relaxing day. Hope you do too.


Monday 8 October 2018

Sleepwalking Into Pitch Blackness


One of the great things about being on holiday is having the option to lie in, which I took great advantage of this week. I only thought of getting up when light appeared through the curtains. This morning as I'm writing this, it is pitch black outside although it's getting a bit lighter. I am wondering whether to walk in or to take the bus.

The thing is that when it's dark, you tend to think it's not warm, and the lack of sunshine is probably a major factor in that.

This morning I switched on 6Music and they were playing "The Somnambulist" the new single by Echo and The Bunnymen. While I have always loved their sound this took me back to when I first heard "The Cutter" or "Seven Seas". Goose bumps and just wonderful music and every time I hear it I don't want it to end, and absolutely perfect record and a fantastic way to start a Monday morning.

The album it comes from is mainly transformations of some of their classic songs with a couple of new ones, it has a great title, "The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon", so I will be investigating that soon.

Well it's back to work today, so I'm going to make coffee, enjoy your Monday, only five days until the weekend.

Sunday 17 August 2014

Never Stop



Never Stop Having Fun
Well the last two weeks and the next two weeks for me have been and will be almost non stop. This is not a bad thing although time flies by and disappears as you try and fit everything in. Due to holidays at work we've only had half a team in, but everyone's working extra hard to make sure all runs smoothly and it's actually a pleasure to be in working with the girls and guys, who are absolutely excellent,  supportive with problems and helpful whenever you need them.

There's things we need to do before the bank holiday and I have a day and a half in hospital in the middle of it (tomorrow and Tuesday), I could have done without the overnight stay which they say is because of the ITP but they are just covering themselves and not too arsey so I'll go along with it. As I continually say the NHS is brilliant and hopefully I'll be able to play the guitar properly after the op, which would be amazing as I've never been able to play it before.

Also I am to blame for some of this time congestion as I've also fit in gigs by the Star Spangled Chestwigs, Penetration , Culture (tonight) and Bad Pollyanna (on Friday), so the latish nights are my own fault really, but wouldn't miss them for the world.

And this si one of the things about having fun and being positive, life is much better when you do things , and even better when you do things you enjoy , and even better when you do things you enjoy with friends and people you like like and love. Like I was out seeing friends on Friday and that was fantastic Paul , Fiona , Sarah , Colin  and Graham are fantastic company any day of the week, and that's just five people I'm lucky enough to have in my life.

Today I still have lots to do, but the sun is shining and the wind is blowing but that is fine, no rain at the moment. I know this week I will see many more friends, and have lots of fun , and have the odd moment where I think "I need to sleep" , but really I'd rather be doing something and enjoying myself.

The title is taken from and Echo and the Bunnymen track, so have a brilliant day everybody, my weekend is nowhere near finished and I hope yours isn't either , wherever in the world you are. Keep on smiling

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Penultimatum



Well my "A Post A Day In May" is almost complete. It hasnt been difficult but some posts have been concise to say the least And must thank my friend who reminded to post on a couple of occasion when it has completely slipped my mind.

So I have had the disipline to keep doing this . This post will possibly be my earliest one, though I once tried to do this and the accidentally published it before midnight.

What I was hoping with this blog was that it would inspire me to write a book. That inspiration is still lacking , that now with Amazon's free publisher you can publish your own book electronically whether you can write or not ....