I Smell Winter

There was a red sky last night , and one this morning, so I don't know what that means. It's cold and snow is forecast. I have a feeling that we may be in for some inclement weather. This week it has been dark and windy and not conducive to sitting out on the porch with a drink.

This month my walking has been excellent and I expect to hit the target by Saturday, so almost a week to spare.

I also  have been listening to more Bowie, this time "The Lodger" and again, I am finding it an incredible list, possibly "Yassassin (Turkish for Long Live" is one of my favourites but all the songs are excellent. I just can't believe that one person can be responsible for so much consistenly excellent music, but I am not complaining.

I took th etitle of the post from and excellent Housemartins song which seemed perfect for the time of year, and the video highlights the plight of the homeless and rough sleepers, and it has majorly worsened since this song was released and this video put together.

If you can please support organisations such as Shelter to help get people into accomodation.

The Bowie Result

Yesterday I started listening to "Heathen" and after two songs the power ran out on my Emopeak headphones. in th emiddle of "Slip Away" the third song. Due to inclement weather I decided to tak ethe bus into work and restart my listening this morning and while I wouldn't say it's my favourite Bowie album it's just another excellent collection of songs.

"Afraid" sounds like The Flamin' Groovies and lots of songs have a familiarity, but never want to skip to the next one because the currnet song is always excellent.

So basically the result , in my opinion, is that this Bowie album may not be your favourite but you still want to listen to it and are enjoying the aural ride. The single at the time was "Everybody Says Hi" but I like every song on the album and this has whetted my appetite for other Bowie albums outside of the favourites canon.

A Bowie Experiment

Today I will test my theory that I proposed in my last but one post here that the Bowie album you are listening to is your favourite Bowie album. I will make sure it's one that is not on my usual list of favourites, maybe Heathen or Outside, but I will let you know later which one I chose.

It is still very dark outside and it is Monday.

6Music is doing a Home Town Glory feature on Glastonbury, and I remember the only time I visited there there was a pub / hotel called Backpackers with a sign on the door saying "No Jeans, No Shorts, No Backpacks" not sure if it was meant in irony or stupidity, we didn't go in.

I found a market with a record shop and my mate Mike O'Brien had either told me about or played this amazing version of "I Fought The Law" by Oysterband with Yarinistan, and I found a compilation CD which had it on. I put a slideshow on Youtube because I couldn't find an online copy anywhere.

So enjoy this on your Monday.

Did Digital Nearly Kill Music ... And is Vinyl Bringing It Back To Life?

Three years back I wrote a history of music media in a post here, and at the weekend I nipped into Vinyl Guru and got talking with the lady in there about how when you buy vinyl you feel you have actually got something. You have sleeves, booklets and picture discs. I'm sure I did a post that said CDs were the McDonaldisation of music, all of a sudden you could skip songs , program the order , and the CD jewel cases are not something that look good, though they are very functional.

MP3 became even more dismissive of musical content, and a lot of the iPod generation can't even listen to a full song. When you wanted to record a tape for someone it had to be done in real time, even from CD, but now it's all Spotify and Deezer playlists which, lets face it can be done in thirty seconds, although a well done one can take time to put together.

These days I see a lot more people browsing the vinyl sections of shops and Newcastle now has a lot of shops where you can buy vinyl and this post has a list of them. One thing is there don't seem to be that many impressive covers such as Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" newspaper cover, or Hawkwind's "In Search Of Space", although "Space Ritual" is a available in it's full six square foot fold out. I was in Reflex and noticed  "Faust Tapes" was £25, when I bought the original release it was 49p !

Vinyl provides more than just music, and the shops often provide coffee and food while you browse. People still complain about the cost of music, but remember if albums had kept pace with inflation you would be paying £80 for an album.

When I was in Vinyl Guru I spotted a 12" copy of Biko by Peter Gabriel, which I mainly wanted for the "B" side "Shosholoza" which I don't think is officially available digitally, but I found this lovely rendition of it for you to enjoy.

The Problem With Listening To David Bowie Albums

On this morning's walk I decided to put on David Bowie's "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps". I am still taken in by the dirty production sound on the music, but was almost shocked at the consistency of the songs on itl Almost every song is top notch, with the slightest of dips for "Scream Like A Baby" which would be a standout song on almost any other album.

Starting with "It's No Game #1" which is an amazing opener, into "Up The Hill Backwards" with it's mutant "Not Fade Away" intro riff, then the triumvirate of singles, the title track , "Ashes To Ashes" and "Fashion",, the "Teenage Wildlife" doesn't let up. "ScreamLike A Baby" is the slightest of lulls before we are hit with "Kingdom Come" (a Tom Verlaine song) and the closing reprise of "It's No Game #2". Absolutely stunning.

ANd here comes the problem with listening to David Bowie albums, and it is not actually a problem. My friend John Scott posted on Facebook here  his 10 favourite Bowie albums and asked for people's favourite three Bowie albums. I listed my three with the caveat that it would change tomorrow. Usually I say "Station To Station" or "The Man Who Sold The World" but you know my opinion on "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps".

Basically whichever Bowie album you are listening to is your favourite Bowie album. You don't skip songs on a Bowie album, you discover things you haven't heard before, which is a great situation to be in for any artist.

As well as that it's Friday so enjoy.

Octoberpost

This is intended to be a short post just to say I have equalled my record number of posts on this blog for a year and I still have just over two months of the year left.  It was helped by my #August50 sequence that was the first time I did fifty posts in a month , and I am sure I won't be doing that again any time soon.

As I'm writing this it's dark, fireworks are going off and dogs are barking. It should be illegal except on designated nights because it upsets and scares pets and it is nowhere near Guy Fawkes night or Bonfire Night whichever you want to call it or celebrate.

For some reasons Barclay James Harvest's "Octoberon" album came to mind, just for the title although I loved the cover I don't really know the album, but I do remember "Rock'n'Roll Star" being a single. They produced some great music but never really hit paydirt, though apparently they gave Harvest records it's name, and they had , among others, Pink Floyd on their roster.

I first got into them seeing them perform "Thank You" on  The Old Grey Whistle Test with its brilliant loping guitar riff and I've alwys enjoyed their music though they are not the top of my playlists.

Well my next post will set a new record, so I am sure that will happen before October fades away .....

Unsummer

Woke up at  quarter to six, drinking coffee and the first song on the radio is "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. Last night I watched Pointless, Letterbox and two episodes of "Black Sails" and had a butter pie for tea. Nights and mornings are drawing in and there is more dark than light. Summer is definitely gone for this year.

Having said that yesterday was like a summer's day .... minus the heat.

We have now hit Thursday this week and as you can tell by what I am writing, not much is happening at the moment, although I noticed signs of screen burn on my Google Pixel, so I changed the picture to The Huntress of Skipton Castle Woods which looks almost ghostly and ethereal on the phone. My friend Helen noted that that it might be scary to come across in the dark, which reminds me of a ghost story told to me by my good friend Chris who we lost six years back.

One night he was walking back from helping out bailing on a farm. It was late but was walking back over fields and it took him through a smallish wood. A way ahead of him he saw some rectangular grey shapes floating about a foot off the ground. He had had a few pints but started to get more perturbed as he looked round not having a clue what these things were. In the end he broke into a run and then ran into one of the shapes.....

...as he was brought down , all was revealed, the creature was a sheep with a black head and black legs. Another logical explanation for a supernatural ghostly event.

I found "Mad Alice Lane(A Ghost Story)" by Pete Lawlor (ex of Stiltskin) to go with this. I don't know if this is readily available but was used in a Land Rover advert in 1996, still a very atmospheric song. I love it. It's on a "Spirit of New Age" compilation and this is what Pete says:

"Mad Alice Lane. I named this after a spooky alleyway I walked past before doing a gig in York. It was used in the Landrover commercial made by Nils and Roland (Harfensixpence is better than Harfenpenny is better than...) at Dorlands."

Enjoy your Thursday.