Showing posts with label Ramones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramones. Show all posts

Friday 16 April 2021

Influential

This week I have been watching a couple of music programs / documentaries that I noticed on Amazon Prime. They were "Tom Waits : Under The Influence" and "Captain Beefheart: Under Review" . I am still working through the Captain Beefheart one which is is an in depth take on his development and influences with input from band members and music critics.

The Tom Waits one is an interesting one because it concentrates on the influences on Tom Waits' music by giving you potted histories of the artists that influenced him (sorry about the repetition of the word influence there ) . This has the effect of introducing you to each of these artists by sharing interviews , live video , music and text.

So we see Jack Kerouac , Frank Sinatra , Lord Buckley , Captain Beefheart (he an Tom have more than a passing visual resemblance)  , Ken Nordine who made his way doing voiceovers but also rapped as well as Kerouac and the beat poets but Nordine was low in his delivery letting the listener have time to take in the verbal images he was sharing. This documentary packs so much into it that you want to find out about the artists who influenced Tom Waits. 

As well as these Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht surface in the "SwordfishTrombones" universe with songs like "Underground" confirming this.

Beefheart's marimba influence appears on "Sixteen Shells" but the sound is undoubtedly Tom Waits.

Waits took things on board and progressed the ideas to make a decidedly Waitsian sound  and in that he has become an influence for many artists going forward , being covered by artists as diverse as The Eagles , Rod Stewart , Screaming Jay Hawkins and The Ramones.

Bothe documentaries feature the very articulate John French , "Drumbo" drummer and guitarist with various incarnations of Beefheart's  Magic Bands,

"Captain Beefheart: Under Review" concentrates on Beefheart and his music and bands and while challenging, is a great primer for the music , how he reinvented the standard song structures resulting in sounds that are most definitely challenging to the ear.

So what songs do we go with , well for Tom Waits it's "Sixteen shells from a thirty ought six" and Captain Beefheart "Big Eyed Beans From Venus" . If you can watch the documentaries , but check out the music. You never know you may discover something you like.

On a side note if you do blog you can earn a little pin money by advertising various things like the music links below and adsense to the right. , or direct links such as tattoo style fonts online which have some snazzy music related fonts to featuring in your work.

I am still writing "Mitarantula" so again that might be another repostory to use some eye striking fonts, although just on the front page rather than the whole book or document. The right font in a book can drag the reader in or throw the reader out. 

Good fonts should be easy to read and should not  put the reader off. I think most of this is plain Ariel.

Monday 25 May 2020

Growing Old is Mandatory but Growing Up is Optional.


yesterday I was feeling in a black and down mood that I couldn't shake off, not sure why, but it was like I couldn't snap out of it , but there is always part of my mind that says YOU CAN hit normal again. The weather ranged from sunny to overcast , and overcast doesn't hely.

I have a dripping tap that I can't fix and don't want to risk a flood despite the online help that shows how to "simply" fix , but I have contacted someone to actually do the job so awaiting a call back (it is a Bank Holiday).

I don't think my mood was helped by watching episodes of "White Lines" , "Vikings" and "Altered Carbon" , all excellent TV but not exactly taking you to happy place (and still 50 episodes of "Vikings" to go)  , but actually watching "Spy" with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham really lifted my spirits ant the end of the day , both of them providing comedy gold in this James Bond spoof  with lots of violence and swearing but absolutely great entertainment.

I also couldn't even be bothered to write, but enjoyed listening to a few records. Sat at the keyboard to learn Tom Waits' "In The Neighbourhood" and then at the guitar for a run through "Crossroads" and "Cocaine" all of which were adequate but not yer shareable.

I didn't even want to walk, but then got myself out and actually completed my 11K steps for the day and that again made me feel better.

For me , it's basically find something that makes you feel better and do that that. Hitting targets is usually good , but maybe avoid the darker things.

Having said that I am going to share Tom Waits' "I Don't Wanna Grow Up"  which featured in the "Cracked Jukebox" documentary broadcast on the BBC, and is really one of my aims of life. The song appears on the soundtrack of the film "Jojo Rabbit" as well.

Apparently the Ramones covered this , so I need to find that don't I? I did, and really OMG that is soooooo god The Ramones covering Tom Waits , almost as revelatory as Hendrix covering Dylan, that is brilliant and has made this weekend end on a definite upward trajectory.

Great quote from the Youtube feed:

"My dad always said growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional."

Today is Bank Holiday Monday and I intend to enjoy it very much.


Monday 6 May 2019

You Have To Watch This In HD


A friend of mine asked me to watch something on a new Hi Def video player many years back and he enthused about the fact that in the space sequences you could see that the backdrop was actually a black curtain. I told him I don't want to see a black curtain I wasnt to see a great film.

Another friend told me I had to see "Taken" in HD. I recorded it in normal resolution and watched it and thought, it's just a typical Liam Neeson film.

I have a DVD set of the original Addams Family and put it on and the transfer to DVD is not that great, like a crackly vinyl record for the eyes, but five minutes into the first episode you don't see the white screen noise you nee the excellent acting the hilarious story and the great characters.

I recently watched "Dr Strange" on oddity from the new Marvel Studios which was absolutely excellent and the special effects, particularly the folding buildings sequences (stolen from Christopher Nolan's "Inception" ?) are the sort of thing that would probably benefit from Hi Def but looked great in normal definition.

Since we switched to digital transmissions, most transmissions are fine in normal definition but sometimes they get it by digital drop out and pixelation (which I don't remember from analogue transmissions) but it my be like DAB against normal radio, mostly DAB is perfect but it can drop out, whereas normal radio you get interference and fading.

A year or two back we had another 3D TV push which dropped off , "Watch Football In 3D" they said, go to a real football match I said. There's no 3D sports broadcasts no although still a lot of films. Again it's something for those absolutely ridiculous disaster / horror movies (examples here)

Basically if a film or program is worth watching the quality of the media becomes secondary, yes it's great if you can see the best picture possible, but I'd rather have a great film on low res media than a bad film on hi res media.

So I have to share The Addams Family dancing to The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", what's not to like?

Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday.

Friday 11 May 2018

SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER


Probably the main reason for writing on this blog is as a diary so I can record things that happen and that I want to remember.

Although I have written one post about our great friend and inspiration Craig Puranen Wilson here I want to record some memories from what was a wonderful day today. I reconnected with Bethany, Andrew and Katie and and hugged Krista for the first time since Craig left us. I hadn't intened to write this but part of me wanted to remember today permanently.

I came with Ange and Andrew and we were not sure if we wald all fit into the Chapel for the service. We did do and I didn't get to meet up with Sophia and Nicky but shared hugs with Jon, Hedley and Bethany remembering why we were there.

It was a humanist celebration of Craig's life and his achievements including books, bands, music and travel and his work with the Comfrey Project that helps refugees and asylum seekers, and if you want to help visit their site for more information. There was a collection box at the service so Craig and Krista are still helping.

There were emotional readings and Bethany sang two songs beautifully, "Wild is the Wind" and "Jerusalem", accompanied by Kit Haigh (Thanks Jon and see his Art installation at Art In The Barn) which garnered emotional responses.

There were tributes and readings and at the end the Ramone's "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" was played and the congregation joined in very vocally before finishing with tumultuous applause.

After saying goodbyes we met up at the Cumberland Arms although I couldn't see anyone I definitely knew until I spotted Jon Lee's pink "Hello Kitty" socks, and realse Hedley and Jon were there along with Andrew and Michael.

A beautifully emotional ceremony and was so happy to see Krista laughing at the end as we all sang Sheena out.

I just felt I had to write this down. If anyone wants their name removing let me know, but it's a small way of remembering what happened on the day we said goodbye to someone who will never be forgotten.

Saturday 10 February 2018

Rumours of ...


Apparently there are rumours that tomorrow there will be snow. It's raining at the moment and if it gets colder the precipitation may very possibly turn to snow.

I've just found a silver polishing cloth under my computer desk, I haven't a clue if it's mine or Fiona's or something the cleaners from APM have dropped.

Today has been relativelty relaxed and I've only done a little walking but still hit 10.5K steps. I didn't get to town but just walked doing food shopping at Aldi.

I phoned Virgin about the delivery of the new V6 box and got a complete arsey person who told me I'd have to wait in all day Monday after being told it would be delivered between eight and nine in the morning. I put the phone down , knowing I was beaten by the idiot on the other end of the phone who kept repeating the same thing over and over again, but I also know these people actually are told to stick to scripts, so I blame Virgin management, another example of Richard Branson's complete disdan for the public.

This maybe should be on my And Annoyingly blog but I usually try to be positive, there is so much negativity in the world and I don't want any part of it.

So what could be more uplifting than The Addams Family dancing to The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop". Enjoy this, keep warm and dry, and sleep well.



Wednesday 16 November 2016

Mortality - #ALifeInNumbers #53



A weird thing happened last night. I was going to see The Bonzo Dog Band at the Sage and decided to walk from the centre of town to the Sage over the Tyne Bridge. As you walk over the bridge there's a big sign with the Samaritans phone number to help people who may be thinking of ending it because things are so bad jumping over the side is the only way they can see of dealing with things. I know how easy it is to jump over the side because I did it in a charity abseil. While I have fleetingly thought of that once or twice in my life I reasoned that was not the way to make things better, also the number of people I would hurt by doing that weighed on my mind, and am I in a good place now.

Watching the Bonzo's it was great to see Rodney Slater (75) saying the crowd were getting better at getting older and a great night was had by all. After the gig it 15 minutes til the next bus and I walked back across the Bridge and had looked over the side and got vertigo, but when you come into Newcastle it's wonderful that you are walking above the rooftops. But again it is worrying that the exit option is so close. If ever you feel like this talk to friends or Samaritans, think of your friends, loved ones and people who rely on. We probably don't tell each other how much we like or love each other.

The other thing is that the older we get the more likely we are to lose friends and loved ones, Leonard Cohen recently declared he was gong to live forever on the front of the Times Culture magazine. I think he had a feeling he was on his way and was displaying his wonderful sense of humour. Enjoy your time with loved ones and friends, that will give you memories that will stay with you forever.

One other thing is that while I was waiting for the bus there's a psychological block that tells you it's a long way because it's across the river. I walked up to St James in around 15 minutes and saw my bus at the traffic lights , so had to then run 250 yards, which luckily I can still do.

Anyway back to #ALifeInNumbers and we hit 53. Sorry if this has been dark, it's actually meant to be positive and helpful.The song is "53rd and 3rd" by The Ramones and we have the album version and a live version with Rancid. This is classic Ramones and a great way to wake up your Wednesday.

Have a great day by friends, the weekend is in sight.



Monday 17 October 2016

Bottled It With "26" and Son Palace Discovered - #ALifeInNumbers #26


Today has been a weird day. I am absolutely shattered. I'm still hit with this lurgi but went into work, then came home mowed the lawn and covered the garden furniture. As well as working I got tickets for Goat at the Riverside on Thursday from RPM and was asked to review and push a new CD by Son Palace called Accumulations , so I have been busy and am ready for tea and TV.

As I write this I'm listening to the first track on the Son Palace album , "Joey and Mo", it shounds familiar making me thing thing of Neil Young and The Velvet Underground. The album is short, clocking at 28 minutes , but then so did the first Ramones album. It sounds like "Joe and Mo" is an instrumental and I like it a lot, I need to see if we have a youtube video.

The second track "Page To Pillow" has a pastoral feel, again a guitar based instrumental and the first two songs on this album warrant further investigation and listening.

Anyway the song for #ALifeInNumbers is "26" by Catfish and The Bottlemen who have produced a couple of excellent albums , but this only got in because it was called "26" but it is excellent. It's rock and it's good.

Up to track 3 of the Son Palace album "Feathers Like A Wild Beast", and now I am thinking Nick Drake and Pentangle, but loving the distant dustbin drum sound on "Experimental Move". Anyway if you want a copy get yourself along to RPM in Newcastle, it always amazes me that peopel come up with new music. Now listening to "Accumulation" , all tracks have been instrumental and this just has an eerie edge to it, but could be an out take from "Tubular Bells".

An album I would buy if I didn't already have it, it is beautiful. I can't find them on the net so get yourself down to RPM and get this beauty. I know this has been hijacked , but this album is beautiful



Tuesday 5 April 2016

Justin Bieber vs Guns 'n' Roses (Sex Pistols and Monkees)


Singer?
My friend Kaz has just taken offence that Justin Bieber has Dreadlocks . I am amazed the amount of offence this guy causes . I can't sauy I have listened to his stuff, I saw him on Graham Norton and found him annoying , a bit like Little Jimmy Osmond singing "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool", but Bieber is an easy target , he sells records (or downloads) by the truckload and can probably have any girl he wants .... which a sort of definition for a rock star.



Then you get Guns 'n' Roses reforming and people going on about how important they are. To me they made one half decent album , I'm ok with em apart from their anagramatic singer , and their main legacy seems to be that they turned up very late for gigs and showed inordinate disdain for their fans.

I am old enough to be a great grandad , and remember parents getting offended at the music I listened to and the clothes I wore. I now get offended when I see kids  wearing Sex Pistols , Nirvana and Ramones T-Shirts because they think they are clothing brands. I don't know if attitudes have changed, I certainly am not your average parent  when it comes to music. One thing to remember is the Sex Pistols were as manufactured as Bieber, like the Monkees and in fact The Sex Pistols covered a Monkees song almost in acknowledgement , so I have included that here.

But I have come to this conclusion, Justin Bieber continues to cause offence and annoy people sell records and get the girls, Guns 'n' Roses reform and their best numbers are cover versions , so it seems to be Bieber embodies the spirit of rock and roll a lot more than most of your classic rock bands.

I still haven't listened to anything by him

Have a great Tuesday everybody

Saturday 16 June 2012

Some Bands Do .... Some Bands Don't


Thanks to Carol for reminding me I'd not posted for ages. This has been running around in my head for a couple of weeks. It is a post in response to John Scott and possibly Gavin Webster's detestation of Steely Dan. John's original gripe was that reruns of The Old Grey Whistle Test were marred when Souixsie and The Banshees were juxtaposed with the video below, and I fully support him on this however ......



 
 

Reelin' in the Years is a damned fine song . This video doubly marred by the performing seal / walrus hybrid jumping around on staging during his guitar solo. Not good.

In the seventies a friend of mine, Jon Ashurst,  described Steely Dan as the greatest most boring band in the world ,and listen to them and you can see why that description  fits so well.  The music papers used phrases like "educated rock" etc , which , lets face it rock is meant to blow you away  , if you want sedating listen to the charts.

Then at som point they released the lead track for the film "FM" . "No static at All" they promised and we know that was a lie. AOR (Adult Orientated Rock)  Boz Scaggs , Kenny Logins et al paving the way for poodle rock balladeers of the eighties like REO Speedwagon , the descent into syrup rock of Chicago and other musical disasters and cul-de-sacs.

Steely Dan are probably more detested fro what they caused than what they are.

The thing is Steely Dan have no place next to punk rock , but I have Steely Dan and The Ramones and Sex Pistols in my collection , and dont feel that's a problem . Below is a playlist of half a dozen listenable Steely Dan songs and you should try it , you might enjoy it. Incidentally both "Dallas" and "Sail The Waterway" , "B" sides from their first two singles have been disowned by the band and never officially appeard in digital format , but they are two of my favourite Steely Dan songs! Though my all time favourite is still "Barrytown".



Listenable Steely Dan by Mike Singleton on Grooveshark


Steely Dan arent for everyone , but they are and excellent band , well worth a listen.

Friday 18 May 2012

The Weekend Starts Here



I've still not voiced a blog entry even though I have the technology and the Samsung Galaxy Note will allow me to do it. Tonight the Rawmones , a Ramones tribute band anchored by the hardest working man in the world Adas Pepper , play Trillians in Newcastle . Will be toddling along there after a few (non alcoholic) drinks at The Stand.

This is just obviously a diary entry , but Mark Radcliffe is playing the wonderful record "Fanfare" by Eric Matthews. The vido is brilliant and the MP3 is it the jukebok at the top of this entry:

Thursday 25 February 2010

The Greatest Punk Album In The World Ever...






Mention the word punk to most people and it conjures images of the Ramones, Sex Pistols , The Clash and 1977. What I loved about the ethos is that anything you heard YOU could play , wheter you could play an instrument or not. Yesterday I took delivery of the album on the right , Live at The Roxy WC2 1977 . This contains no music by any of the bands above , the only ones still performing being The Buzzcocks and Wire , but it's rough and exciting and makes anyone either turn off or think "I can do that" which is why I think it is THE essential punk album.

It also contains Eater's rewrite of Alice Cooper's "18" as "15" . It's the sort of album that would annoy your parents and anyone brought up on a diet of the "Now" series , though we do know at some point they will release "Now That's What I Call Punk 21"!! featuring Blondie , Sex Pistols , The Damned and anyone else they can license. Really , if you like punk, you need The Roxy album!!