Showing posts with label Star Wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Wars. Show all posts

Saturday 6 June 2020

Every Piece Of Vinyl ....


I was looking at all the books I have,  and was thinking "Will I ever read all of these?" . The same goes for DVDs and CDs . With the digitalisation of music, plus streaming , and the phenomenal fall in price music has become easy to buy without listening to it.

People used to make tapes and that had to be done in real time , but now it's just a playlist and if there is little effort in producing it then there will be little attention payed to it by listener. I see loads of playlists shared each day , but will take more notice of a single song in some format or other.

Digital media is so easy to aquire , put aside for future listening, then never revisit. Books are slightly different in that you may put them aside, but usually you have them displayed in a bookcase or something and always tend to buy them with at least the intention of reading. That is not always the case with digital media, and you can include ebooks with that , so easy to acquire and so easy to forget about.

I have bought very few ebooks but have acquired a lot as many are public domain and available for free or very cheaply.

Back to vinyl , every record I have has been played at least once, and many times more often. Buying vinyl creates a sort of tangible connection with the music, the covers are often an adventure in themselves (thinking Hawkwind's "In Search of Space" and Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" newspaper cover).

I have a few picture discs including Kate Bush's zoetropic picture disc of "Running Up That Hill" and the Star Wars and Jack White " Lazaretto"discs with the etched holograms all of which need lights or strobes to bring out the images, but I can't find the Kate Bush one although I posted it on instagram a few years back, maybe I will try doing it again soon and put it on Youtube.

So what should I share this time, we'll go with "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath because of the Vertigo Swirl which is one of the best simple optical effects I have ever seen , and you don't get that on digital, sometimes it's great to watch the record just  play.

Monday 4 May 2020

May The Force ...


.. be with you , those memes will be all over social media today and that's a good thing as it will bring smiles to some people and good natured groans to others. This is my fourth (I always wonder whether it's forth or fourth but it is fourth) day of joining in with #maywriteabit and I didn't think I would even get this far with it, but I have,

I'm thinking that my blog looks very untidy so may change the layout  this week, but my inherent laziness means I probably won't . I had tried Wordpress but that seemed very inflexible for me , but lots of people use it so I am in a tiny minority with that which my usual position.

On Friday morning I forgot to change my Contact Lenses (they are monthly ones) , on Saturday I forgot to put out my daily tablets (but did take my Insulin) , and the latter was because I got distracted by something else though just ended up sorting them an hour later.

On Saturday , thanks to this computer I didn't get to bed until two o'clock Sunday morning thanks to doing my first Sunday blog post and sending birthday greetings to four people on Facebook.

I listened to some records on Sunday Morning, Bob Marley and The Strawbs (who's name is apparently a contraction of The Strawberry Hill Boys) "Grave New World" (you can see my Instagram post here and the vinyl original has one of the most impressive covers you will ever see) and will choose one of my favourite Marley cuts (and there are a lot of those) "Small Axe" which is not one that's often played (or I don't hear it on the radio) so I will share it with you.

Saturday 4 May 2019

May The Fourth .... Be With You ..... Star Wars Day


Today is a very sunny May 4th to start the Bank Holiday Weekend. Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca died this week aged 74, he was 7'3" and played Chewbacca in all th elive action Star Wars films.

May blogging is a lot more leisurely, this being my second May post in four days. The song I'm going to play is "Take It Easy On Me" by Irish band A House, just because it came on The Chain just as I started to write this, and it's just one of those moments when one of those great records you had forgotten about comes on the radio (This time RadMac on 6Music)

So today is going to be a mowing the lawn and posting things day, assuming that the weather holds but we shall see how that goes.

I know this is a very short post as I can't really think of anything more to say at the moment so will leave you with A House, and have a good weekend.

Saturday 21 April 2018

#TenAlbumsInTenDays #3 - Future Games (A Magical Kahauna Dream) - Spirit

Before the internet and email and mobil phones the was CB , Citizen's Band Radio. I'm not exactly sure what the attraction of this was for the average person but I know a few people who had CB Radio set ups.I could see a use for it for long distance lorry drivers and this was documented in the CW McCall song "Convoy".

This album opens with a track called "CB Talk" with Randy California descring the Spirit album. I had been majorly impressed by  "Spirit of '76" but this album took things to another level for me. The songs are excellent but are spliced with soundbites from Star Trek (this was just pre Star Wars), Science Fiction "B" Movies and The Muppet Show. There are a lot of interjections from "Jack Bond" the drummer Ed Cassidy's creation (he was also Randy California's father in law!)

It was like a movie for the ears, carried along by the excellent songs. California was favouribly compared with Jimi Hendrix but he was definitely his own man, but they still tackle Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" and deliver a creditable take although no one has ever touched the Hendrix version.

The songs are California sun influenced as well as being touched by certain other substances. THis album is my favourite all time album and when I first got it I was working shifts so would often drift off listening to this during the day.

Like all good albums you listen to it as a whole and ideally it should just be continously played, non stop.

I'm not sure if this was the first album where not musical dialogue was used an intefral part of the album,a concept later embraced by, among others, Big Audio Dynamite and Public Service Broadcasting.

Tuesday 19 December 2017

Edinburgh 2017 #2 - Elvis Shakespeare


When I was last in Edinburgh I researched where there were any record shops in Edinburgh other than FOPP (who are owned by HMV I believe) and found a a few that looked more than interesting. HMV had been moved out to Leith in their shopping centre and while I went there last time that area really didn't bear a repeat visit, but on the bus to and from there I did notice Elvis Shakespeare which is one of the best names for a shop ever.

Elvis Shakespeare is full of music and printed words and theguys in the shop were great to talk to and one of them reckoned I was the same age as him (53). There is lots to browse and I walked there on Saturday morning so this was helpful in me hitting 20K steps on Saturday. We chatted and I said the problem now is finding something interesting, ideally on vinyl when I saw a copy of The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" EP , and I loved the film when I saw it as a kid (it had the Bonzo Dog Band and strippers) but remember my uncle's friends bringing it to a party at my parents.

It was released as an album, and I have the DVD of it and now I have it as the 1981 reissue vinyl double EP.

I was talking to the guy and I mentioned that I'd bought the "Star Wars:The Force Awakens" soundtrack on vinyl just for the 3D Tie Fighter and Millenium Falcon hologram etchings which, while they are not hugely impressive to look at, the very fact that someone thought of it , did it, and it works still has my mingd in knots. You can see it here.

As I was leaving I saw a green vinyl copy of "Happy Christmas: War Is Over" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono so I took that as well.

On the Sunday I was in FOPP and heard someone asking about a Star Wars soundtrack with a hologram, the assistant wasn't sure so I told him what it was and it turned out that the guy asking was the guy from Elvis Shakespeare , so that was a coincidence.

So maybe I will go for "Happy Christmas:War Is Over" for you to listen to. Have a great Tuesday everybody.

Saturday 11 November 2017

Regression


Was just wondering if my purchasing of vinyl was a sort of childhood regression. While I have never actually grown up, I do like to have actual things. Digital recordings are convenient to listen to music and watch video on the move, but it' gives a wonderful pleasure to have a wonderfull packaged item.

Albums like Hawkwind's "XIn Seach of Space" (See video here on my Instagram Channel where there are more examples. These include picture discs and I am still stunned by the holograms on the Star Wars - The Force Awakens soundtrack album (see here) which I now have on order.

Public Image Ltd's "Metal Box" shows that you can do similar things with CDs but often the size of things are scaled down, but that is still a beautifully packaged CD.

So basically I am still 15 at heart and I like a lot of the things I liked when I was 15. While a lot of music is coming out on vinyl I seldom see inventive and impressive packaging like the stuff that Barney Bubbles would come up with for Hawkwind or Hypgnosis' packaging for Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon" and "Wish You Were Here"

So what should I leave you with? I think Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" on vinyl featuring the Vertigo Swirl , still my favourite label , and you can see that on a CD, and at 500 rpm even if you could you would miss the hypnotic effect.

Have a great Saturday night everybody.

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Optical Delusion



This morning I woke up, looked out of the window, across the street and saw Darth Vader looking back in my direction. I blinked, looked again and realised that it was a wheelie bin , not Darth Vader. I quite often look and see things that aren't there, usually caused by failing light, seeing something at an unusual angle , or something looking like something else.

I got thinking, is this how ghosts, miraculous visions, angels and religious icons find there way into real life? I know people who refuse to admit they are wrong even when they have made a huge mistake, and it only takes one of these to convince themselves and the gullible that a ghost or god has manifest themselves. It's just a little thought for a very short post.

I know I said I was going to write about Christmas but we have another few days before that hits us and I must have written a lot of Christmas posts before. I just wanted to say how sometimes we thing we see things that aren't what we think.

So I will include my optical illusion slideshow  with the Temptations "Just My Imagination" for you to enjoy before you go to bed. Sleep well my friends.



Monday 29 August 2016

Find Something Good To Enjoy and Smile


I was going to write a post on And Annoyingly but decided to write something positive about enjoyable stuff. I am sick of people defending Donald Trump and attacking Jeremy Corbyn, Corbyn has his faults but is still the best option for a Labour leader. That's all I am going to say.

Vinyl Beauty
Maybe I shouldn't go on Facebook, but I do I have interactions with some wonderful friends on there, and then I feel better, and put on some music such as Stomu Yamash'ta's Floating Music. I remember buying it on Island's mid priced label for £1.49 when it came out around 1972, I had seen Man From The East on TV so I bought it and loved it. Just an example of me liking something that no one else in my social circles had even come close to , and when they heard hit they weren't exactly supportive, but that's their loss. It's always good to try new things but I've never been taken by smooth lounge jazz , but this was a complete different universe.  You can hear a bit of it here and here.




While this may not be the most exciting way to spend the last day of the bank holiday, it makes me feel good and therefore it is good. It is very easy to get sidetracked by negatives but have just booked La Rosa for my birthday as well , and it's my favourite hotel in my favourite holiday place, Whitby. On the phone they know who I am even though it's a year since I stayed there.

I also phoned and spoke with my dad, and over the weekend gave my eldest daughter something towards a Big Daisy Kiss Star Wars hand bag that she wants for her birthday. At least this year I won't forget that. That's inspired me to put up Meco's Disco take on Star Wars and that WILL bring a smile to your face.

Anyway as the sun sets on the Bank Holiday , smile , enjoy yourself and set yourself up for a brilliant week. I have done, so you do the same.

Wednesday 4 May 2016

Clouds and Blue Skies - May The Fourth Be With You


A very short post today . Something I noticed last night. Clouds are probably the the biggest things that we see everyday . The affect our lives , blocking the sun and cooling us down , raining on us , distributing water, colours from black to white with sun influenced shades of red.

Very often I will see an amazing cloud formation and seconds later it has gone , and really sometimes life can be like that. If you don't take the opportunity when it's presented it's gone. Cloud's are the epitome of that , especially on a windy day. The number of times I have looked for a better perspective and then lost the image is countless, however because of what I have lost , and the fact I carry a phone that can take a decent photograph I can now capture images that previously would have just existed in my memory,

The Sky Last Night
So I'm going to include Clouds by Joni Mitchell and an excellent TED talk on the joy of watching clouds. It's a sunny day here.


Oh and it's May The Fourth - Star Wars Day ... but I wouldn't write about that would I?

Sunday 28 October 2012

Apple: License To Make You Ill!!

I think where we're under pressure we tend to want to hit out at something , though sometimes the pressure is not caused by anything you have any control over so the upport of peers and friends becomes important in helping you through. The thing is it makes to more susceptible to hit out out when things go wrong , though generally I don't do "under pressure" , I do "laid back" and that works for me . Calming down  is a great way to become really productive, but ......

Yesterday was talking to a friend who hadn't heard of Eddie Izzard when I mentioned his "Star Wars Death Star Canteen" sketch and his 43 Marathons in 51 days , and this little observation on iTunes came up , which spurred this post!!:



Anyway a few weeks back I got an Apple iPad and general it's fine . I subscribe to the Sunday Times which includes a subscriptions via the iPad Apllication , so I thought rather than going out to the shop I'd just get it on the iPad . No way - the copy is there but the download is greyed out . I can download free bits but this week it wont let me download the bit I've paid for , which I was going to do so Fiona could read it while I went to the shop to get my paper copy , along with some Lavazza or Taylor's of Harrogate Coffee , but No - I could download my PAID FOR Sunday Times copy , so had to make do with the paper copy.

The thing is , all apps are supposed to go therough rigourous testing and you have to pay Apple $100 to get your app on the Apps Store. I've given up complaining to Apple or anything to do with then because they will never admit there is a problem.

Despite the effective dropping of DRM for music Apple still include their own licensing information and this does fail at times but they wondt admit it . It happened to me and they gave me five song credits but never admitted that anything had gone  wrong.

And Eddie Izzard is right about the terms and conditions . They keep bringing out new versions of iTunes which also includes Quicktime , Bonjour (odd name for an American Product given they renamed French Fries Freedom Fries when the French would supply cannon fodder for The Iraq War) , and it's always a full 100 Mb download . Sometimes updates are days apart. Once around version 10 the download failed because the wrong version of Quicktime was bundled. But al ltheat happened that you were left with a dead version of iTunes.

Apple wouldnt admit there was a fault , they're as bad as football referees with their Teflon attitudes!

Apple products are fine , I just which they would hold their hands up now and then and admit they can't get it right every time.. Any here's the Death Star Canteen  sketch:


Monday 10 November 2008

Blue Harvest, Star Wars and The Family

Just think that this is one of the greatest spoofs ever. Leia recording the help message is one of the many spot on hoots in this 46 minute episode , which you can only get as a stand alone DVD:






The cover is brilliant containg the disc featuring Peter as Han Solo, Bryan the dog as Chewbacca and Stewie as Darth , a must have artefact for every household.


Though if you want to go even more extreme there's always American Dad






Three series so far and still not ben pulled!!