Aqualung

Still on a Jethro Tull kick and decided to spin "Aqualung" on yesterday's walk to work. Aqualung is a fine album and full of great songs about Ian Anderson's attitudes to religion and God and obviously he's not too impressed.

The album is great and then gets blown apart by the standout song "Locomotive Breath", which starts out with a piece of more than acceptable lounge piano  before drifting into a little more upbeat driving piano before stopping and hitting you fair and square with that monster three chord riff, as potent as anything you will ever hear. It is so good that it just put's the rest of the album in the shade.

The thing is "Wond'ring Aloud", "Wind Up" and the sinister title track (I'm sure the red tops would have an obnoxious field day if the knew about the second line of that song). It is a great album though, but in my opinion only betterd by "Thick as a Brick" and "Passion Play", but does bear lots of repeated listening.

It seems that Google are ditching Google+ and this combined with Facebook's suppressions means that each post in this blog barely hits double figures for visits and reads, but as I have said this is for me and if others find it interesting then that is good.

We're in a 28 day February which means and increase in the number of steps I have to take to hit my monthly 340K steps, but I did it last year and this year shouldn't be a problem either.

It is Friday which is good, and I will share you the Fargo into that uses "Locomotive Breath" to stunning effect., but get yourself a copy of the album if you don't already have it.

Grey Christmas

Weatherwise this must be one of the greyest Christmases I have ever seen. Christmas has been fine but the weather has not been too cold and seriously is just plain grey. The good news is that since the Winter Solstice we are getting more daylight, as I noticed leaving a desolate workplace at around four of the clock today.

That always makes me think of F Paul Wilson's "Nightworld" the finale of The Adversary series which kicked off with "The Keep". The shortening of the days doesn't stop when it should and hence the title of the book. Check it out, well check out the whole series, there are six excellent book and "The Keep" was turned in to a half decent film by Michael Mann.

I've been listening to a lot of Jethro Tull recently and decided to put a couple of albums on my phone, but managed to just load up the "Aqualung" out takes, but I have since rectified that. Basically the out takes didn't include "Locomotive Breath" which I included in a recent post when it was used as an opener to "Fargo". So a few Tull albums and my complete Janelle Monae and Jordan Reyne collection have been installed for my listening pleasure.

So who do I choose to share with you, maybe Jordan Reyne who's new album "Bardo" is just out but I will choose the piece that stunned me when I first saw her many moons ago at Think Tank, the hypnotically beautiful and disturbing "Shadow Line".

Lazy December

I've not done many posts this month and will probably not do many more. It might be because it's dark and cold, and I know at some point I've got to go out to work. For some reason I don't want to walk so this may be the first month that I don't hit my 340K target, although we are barely half way through the month.

Last night I wanted to go and see Bessie and The Zinc Buckets at Trillians, but wimped out because I was tired, and it was dark and cold and thought I'd probably end up catching a cold, and this morning I actually have one.

THe thing is concentrating on the negatives just drags you down further and I just found that Penetration are playing the Black Bull on the 23rd (Christmas Eve Eve) so that is something to look forward to and enjoy, and I will definitely get myself out for that,

Last night I stayed in the warm and listened to Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" and watch "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" with Tom Cruise which seems to be a perfect Liam Neeson vehicle.

And that reminds me of the amazing intro toe "Fargo" in Series two featuring Tull's "Locomotive Breath" , very dark, but wonderfully staged.

Enjoy your Thursday.

Less Is Not More

I think it was a line from "Frasier" when Doctor Crane said "If Less is More, Just Think How Much More More would be!!" , which is about right for most things.

I look at some of my old blog posts and they are barely fifty words, now I think I average maybe 250 , though some may even be bigger than that. This first paragraph has already hit seventy words, and I seemed to remember at school we were expected to deliver an essay in one of two hundred words. Mybe that's just my imagination twisting, maybe it was 500 or a thousand words for essays. That would give  you more space to develop the essay. One or  two hunder is hardly anything so I think maybe I made a mistake.

Anyway tonight I completed Fargo and Submarine, and I clocked up 12.5K steps on my walk after worrying I would be behind on the first day, but I am a thousand steps ahead.

I didn't see any rats today, though it was mostly an urban walk in.

I am quite tired now, and I only listened to a single album today , but it was the wonderful Penguin Eggs by Nic Jones.  It opens with Canadee-I-O possibly the most beautiful acoustic introduction that I can think of, and continues in a wonderfulk folk vein with amazing playing and singing throughout. For some reason I avaoided the song though I had heard much about it, expecting it to be standard folk fare, but it is anything but. Nic was involved in a horrific car accident disintegrating vertually evey bone in his limbs and the some but in the last few years he has reappeared on stage with his son and others.

I'll include the original and the return version of Canadee-I-O so you can marvel and this very special talent.

Oh and this post is about 320 words, so it's above my average.

Time for bed now.

One Must Write

Well I must. Even if it's just ten words. It keeps my blog going and it keeps me going. I would love to be able to write for a living, like my friend Paul Campbell although then I probably wouldn't want to write with limitations (ie someone commissioning me to do something), though I love the way Paul manages to stamp himself on his TV scripts making them watchable and fun, I still love is "Waiting For Godot", Zombies , Film Noir and Mobile phone stamps on a daytime soap , absolute genius. Actually there's a full length version of Godot on Youtube here.

Anyway this week has been totally mad for some reason. I am shattered, so thankfully the weekend has arrived. That means I may have a chance for a lie in and some rest.

I suppose on of the things about living in Newcastle there is always something going on , and the temptation to join in is sometimes too much, however.....

Tonight Preston play Wigan and I am going to have Fish and Chips for tea. I am not going to wear myself out or anything , just hopefully enjoy my evening as a relaxing precursor to the weekend.

And what should we play?

Maybe go with one of the greatest program intros ever.....Fargo using Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath" from the album Aqualung.

Have a great start to the weekend my friends