Xeronius

Another made up word, although it may be real. Sometimes Google is a positive. Turns out there are bands, artists , twitter users with that name but no definition, but a name wouldn't have a definition.

I heard some lyrics to a "Christmas" song on 6Music this morning which were essentially:

"I Hate This Time of Year

 It's Dark and it's Cold

And I Feel I'm Getting Old.."

To me that doesn't exactly give me positive vibes, quite the opposite. I don't think it'll be on my Christmas playlist. The song is "Home Alone, Too" by The Staves and can be listened to here (a radio session).

I decided to watch the final episodes of "Electric Dreams" Channel4's series based on Philip K Dicks' short stories, and"The Father Figure" played like and excellent Stephen King story, "Autofac" featured the wonderful Janelle Monae (her "Dirty Computer" is my album of 2018) in a post apocalyptic Amazon scenario which featured, for me, a brilliant twist. I am currently watching "Safe and Sound", with the chilling exchange:

Q: "Have your ever seen a terrorist attack?"

A: "They're on the news feed all the time"

You can see them on all 4 here.

So I think to accompanty this pre Christmas post we got to have more Janelle Monae, haven't we.

Time Split

My mind is all over the place at times and I am very good at lateral thinking, or as most people see it, going off on a tangent. This morning my alarm went off just after 5:30 although I really wanted it to go off at 5:45 but I had set the time fifteen minutes too fast, so I switched the alarm off, then made the effort to set the time so it was just five minutes fast, which meant that I had another ten minutes before the alarm went off.

That meant I had sort of split time getting two lie ins for the proce of one, also meaning that in future I will be actually hearing the alarm at roughly the time it should do. I almost feel like Doctor Who.

It is Monday and the beginning of the final week before Christmas, I've managed to catch up on all my TV, and also added the "Riverworld" books by Philip Jose Farmer to my to reread list. It is an excellent concept but the only downside is that it stops me, or puts off reading new books, and I have a lot of those to get through.

My walking in December has been attrocious, but over the weekend I have got ahead of my required target, so I do stand a chance of actually stay on track. I have done this for nineteen months running now so I want to keep that up. The big wall is the fact that it is dark and cold in a morning so it's not that inviting to walk to work.

The winter solstice is coming up so after that day, 23rd December I think, the days will start getting longer.

So what song should I drag in today. Following "Riverworld" I'll go for Billy Joel's "River of Dreams".

Have a great day everyone.

Tired but Positive

This weekend I have been tired, lethargic and apathetic. This post will be short because even writing this is a pain. It's strange in this mood everything that fails becomes a major failure.

One example is the Moonpig small card option not working like it has for previous years and that means I'll probably have to hand write Christmas cards. While that in itself is not a major problem, suddenly you have to look up everyone's address, and that becomes a tiresome task.

I've been feeling tired and headachey, also I am re reading "The Swords of Corum" by Michael Moorcock and there is a particularly traumatic event which I knew was coming but didn't want to read, but it is extremely necessary to the plot and now I have got past that. So maybe in some small way that has affected me.

On a more positive note my friend Ellen Mellor has published a new book "Ghostkin", and the Amazon reviews are excellent, follow the link below to find out more, and then you can buy it. I haven't got it yet but I'm a slow reader but will get round to it., then there are a few more on the list to be read.

I know tomorrow I will feel better (I hope), and I will despatch my Christmas cards. I must be feeling a little more positive as I've actually managed to write this, although I will be in bed as soon as I publish this.

So what music should I share with you, I'm going to go with "Veteran of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult which was co written with Moorcock because that about sums up my current state of being.

Sleep well, it's Monday tomorrow.

Bright Light

I was out tonight and someone had a very bright LED security light above their front door. It's amazing how quickly ubiquitous LED's have become especially at Christmas. I do have two at the rear of my house and they're solar powered so don't have any wiring and are excellent if you have to nip out in the dark but sometimes a bit annoying when the wind gets up.

My whole house is LED lit and it saves a hell of a lot of money. Basically incandescent lights are heaters that give off light, although some LED's now are incredibly bright while not consuming that much power. We have one at the front door that's on permanently and you can touch it with your hand and just feel the cold glass of the bulb.

Again when I was out the streets are brightly lit with Christmas decorative light, you don't need street lights to light your way.  Some are lovely and some are tacky but all drive the darkness away.

I'm sharing a live take on one of my favourite Kraftwerk songs "Neon Lights" which sort of encapsulates the feeling although we have LED rather than neon.

It's Friday night so enjoy your weekend, the penultimate one before Christmas.

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.

Back

Looking outside the cars are frozen up. I don't have a car, so I don't go through the harassment of scraping the ice off the windscreen in a morning, but it does make it cold going for the bus or walking in. This is where my full ear Emopeak headphones come into their own, as well as providing great sound, they keep your ears warm.

Christmas decorations are up and I do have one or two presents to sort out, but Amazon Wish lists are a great convenience.

Last few days I've not really felt like writing anything although I did want to write something to mark the Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley's passing and finally did that last night here.

This morning 6Music reminded me of the excellent "Thank God It's Not Christmas" from "Kimono My House" by Sparks so I'll share that with you before I trip off to work.

Settle For This

This is my 300th post this year but it is really just going to be a list of reasons why I like Settle. I have been once before maybe fifteen years back, so maybe my priorities have changed and maybe Settle has changed. Like Totnes it has no chains, no Greggs, no Fatface, no McDonald's, no Starbucks.

It has a Barclays and HSBC and Skipton Building Society so you can get money. There are also cash points at the Co Op garage and Booths Supermarket.

It has loads of coffee shops and cafes and three excellent pubs, The Royal Oak, The Golden Lion and The Talbot Arms.

It's in the middle of the Leeds to Carlisle railway line and Skipton is quite close by rail, also there's a regular bus between Skipton and Lancaster that runs through Settle.

The people are all really friendly and talk with you.

Mike Harding lives here and he talks with everybody.

There's great countryside views from Castlebergh Crag and along the River Ribble.

I have still not visited all the places in Settle and next time I come I may not use a car, just come by train, it's that easy.

So what piece of music should I share with you today, given that the only musical connection I've mentioned is Mike Harding., though I prefer his long poems like "Napoleon's Retreat From Wigan" and the like, but he does have an extensive catalogue.

But I'd missed the Victoria Hall where they show films and concerts and next week The Albion Christmas Band are playing next Friday but I won't be here, but I will share their take on "Sans Day Carol" with you.

Settle, Skipton, Sound Bar and Russia

I have to say Settle is a lovely place to say, although not a place to drive round. The people are friendly and everything is in walking distance. On Monday I met up with a hero of mine Mike Harding in The Golden Lion although missed him in The Royal Oak the same night, and absolutely lovely, funny and great man.

The cottage we're in is at the bottom of Castlebergh Crag and I went up there Monday afternoon and took this video. There's a few photographs and my fear of heights was tested. The Crag is used for rock climbing but that's not anything I will try out of choice.

Russia?

Incidentally the blog has had over a thousand hits from Russia for some reason, I don't see my posts as particularly Russo-centric, but I'm not complaining to much.

Yesterday I took a trip to Skipton to revisit The Huntress of Skipton Castle woods and see what the town had to offer as I'd only been briefly once before.

The train journey was incredibly cheap, half what The Trainline tried to charge me, which would have been cheap anyway.

My big discovery of the day was The Skipton Sound Bar and vinyl and music shop and bar and there's a short video I took here. The people are really friendly and I picked up a newspaper copy of "Thick as a Brick" by Jethro Tull, a Kool and the Gang 12"single and a Best of Duke Ellington 45rpm single. I'd recommend the place to anyone.

It is worth visiting for their posters and photographs, but they are very welcoming and were really helpful when I couldn't open my bottle of prosecco.

I also had coffee and cake at The Kibble Bakery a dog cafe which was again most excellent and much preferable to the adjacent Cafe Nero.


So I'll leave you with the lead track from the Best of Duke Ellington single which is actually rather good.

Two Suns

When I've been looking for music to share the image of this Pink Floyd song is always there in the selection list, so this has come thanks to Youtube prompting. It is a wonderful song, with a great evocative title "Two Suns In The Sunset" referring to a nuclear blast although the song is anything but based on the music but but the words do tear into you.

It's from "The Final Cut" which I think was Roger Waters finale with the band.

I suppose this song has been haunting me and now I have shared it with you, in it's brilliant bittersweetness of the finality of life, but the song will finish and life will continue but we do need that memento mori to keep us grounded in reality.

It is late on Sunday night and I'm in the basement lounge of the Settle holiday cottage having watched a few interesting programs tonight. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but I will see Mike Harding, and , weather permitting, may go to the top of Castlebergh Crag above Settle to get some views of the place.

.

Copy Wrong

I do find copyright application very strange and often just like bullying for the sake of it, like you see from traffic wardens, council officials and post office counter staff. I have just had eight notices from Instagram for copyright infringement from Warner Brothers for an old video, which is now blocked, which I posted to show off a shop (RPM) and it's vintage record players. Now anyone interested in the music would have probably gone out and bought it, so what I was doing was free advertising, but no that has to be stopped.

I posted a Christopher Lee video which YouTube initially took down for the same reason after nearly hitting 10K hits in one day, details are here, but Charlemagne Productions, the copyright owners were absolutely fine with it, since we lost Christopher Lee it seems we can now post, so my latest post has hit 10K.

This is just my opinion but copyright should enforced if people are being detrimental to the originator, or effectively stealing from the originator, say trying to advertise your own product using copyrighted music. If you are trying to share the music with others to get others to support the artist by buying records and going to concerts then that should be OK although it's probably impossible for a machine to determine where the real benefit lies.

Although this is my second time in Settle this is the first post that I've mentioned it in, and it is a lovely place but not the best place to drive in. I may write more about it this week but I am enjoying it. Among other thing it is home to the world's smallest Art Gallery which was opened by Brian May of Queen (my mate Jim Stevenson told me that) and you can see my Instagram take on it here.

Another plus is that Mike Harding lives here and hopefully I'll get to see him on Monday night.

This afternoon Guy Garvey played a song by The Monkees "Me and Magdalena" which I had never heard it before, and it's absolutely wonderful so that is the one that I will share with you.

Latte Liking

Whether it's because I'm old and softm my preference is for cafe latte or milky coffee, and this has now caused me to relearn to use a microwave (well th eone at work). Although work provide coffee and milk for coffee I have now taken to getting a litre of skimmed milk to make a very palatable cup of milky coffee,

I do remember when it was tea or coffee and either black or white, with or without sugar, now the "choice" is ludicrous. When I was at EE at the Costa Bar in the basement in Paddington there was someone in from of me how asked for a double shot espresso decaffeinated skinny soya latte. I did think a pummelling was in order,

So this is the last day of November 2018, and am hopefully going to be chatting with Mike Harding on Monday, but think a good song to share with you would be Rick Danko's "Java Blues" (he was the bassist with The Band, but of course sang and played other instruments).

It's Friday so enjoy your weekend.

A Wordless Weekend and That Christopher Lee Video

I didn't post anything this weekend. No particular reason although I was in Edinburgh on Saturday, and Sunday was a just plain lazy day although I did get out and do a couple of things as well as cooking Aloo Chole for tea, so that means I have something good, vegan and tasty to eat over the next few days. I've loved it ever since I got it from the excellent Rajnagar as a takeaway, and I still get it, but I now also make it myself as it's a great one pot meal so you don't have much washing up.

The Edinburgh trains going and coming were rammed due to Cross-Country treating their customers like cash cows rather than customers but that is the nature of what happens with privatisation, the bottom line is all that matters is lining the pockets of owners and shareholders by whatever means possible,

On a more positive note That Christopher Lee Video is nudging towards 10K views with 200 likes adn a lot of positive comments. I first posted it in 2014 when I found out he was producing Heavy Metal music and on the first day it hit nearly 10K views before Youtube pulled it. Click on th elink to find out more. But I think it may actually surpass my Nick Cave / Dr Seuss "Red Right Hand" video which is standing around 16K although I have updated it and the upgrade has only 2K views so far, but you can see it here.

So although it's only Monday the week is off to a good start, so enjoy your Monday and Christopher Lee's take on Paul Anka / Frank Sinatra's "My Way" which in my opinion ourt muscles the Sid Vicious version by a long chalk,

I See Red

If you read my last post you may think this is a continuation of it but it's not really. The title is stolen from a Split Enz song and yesterday I was reading a QI book on my phone which told me when we blush our stomachs turn redder too, and the acid in your stomach would actually burn you skin if it had direct contact, it seems we have more in common with Alien and Predator than we think.

I love reading, especially things that stimulate my imagination or tell me interesting things that I don't know (and the QI books are excellent for that). I suppose Science fiction and fantasy stimulate my imagination although then again I have read a lot of biographies and straight science books (though often these swamp my minimal intellect). The QI books are ideal for ereaders to drop in and out of although mty youngest daughter does most of her reading on the move on her phone.

We have hit another Friday and it's Black Friday. I used think this was named because of some terrible thing that has happened but apparently when companies go into the black from profits in the financial year. We are only half way through the financial year!! Personally my own Black Friday for the financial year of 2019 will be sometime in 2029 thanks to continues wage suppression, and I am very well paid compared with a lot of people I know (though not well paid for what I do, although the fact that I am so conveniently located, the people I work with are great and the work is interesting are major mitigating factors).

So without further ado we will continue on our merry way. Have a great Friday.

Spirit of the Age

I don't know if it's getting older , diabetes sided effects, our current grey weatrher, but at times I seem to be getting a little narkier when things don't turn out as expected (buses being late or not turning up, Post Office trying to deliver items on a work day in the middle of the day and not leaving it with a neighbour then offering a redelivery option to "my local Post Office" but not giving me the option to deliver to my local Post Office but only to a smaller one three quarters of a mile away, then the item not being there because they don't deliver til after two.

I know these are just situations caused by events that usually can't be predicted or catered for, and I just decide to calm down because anger is a wasteful emotion unless positively channelled (thinking Public Image Limited's "Rise", "Anger is an Energy").

As I've mentioned the weather is attrociously dreary, so not exactly inspirational so I wasn't sure I was going to write anything today, I didn't yesterday.

A propos of nothing I noticed a Tupperware contained of sliced cucumber in the work fridge, not the most appetising of snacks or meals.

Anyway "Spirit of the Age" was the opener from Hawkwid's excellent "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" so I will share that with you today. I love the concept, story and black sense of humour in this extended take on the song.

Mistakes

This morning I was walking along the street and a guy said be "Morning Luv, How Are You?" .... then I realise he was addressing a woman behind me. That does happen to me a lot where I think people are speaking to me or waving at me but it's someone behind me that is the object of their attention.

I spend a lot of my time making mistakes and correcting them. I'll often misread words and think "What the Heck?" before realising that I was mistaken in what I read.

At work I thought I had made a huge mistakes in a data extract I had run, but after speaking to someone in the know had the situation properly explained and it turned out that I had actually got it right but thought that I had made a mistake.

Life is peppered with these sort of things, sometimes they are mistakes sometimes you just think they are mistakes.

So naturally I will share "My Mistake" buy Split Enz who I cought live in the early seventies long before they morphed into Crowded House.

Bingewatch

I know a lot of people, mainly Netflix subscribers, who's normal mode d'etre for watching television series in binge watching. It's something that I can't actually do, I feel that I'm overdosing on whatever I'm watching. I completed "Britannia" in a week due to my NOW TV subscription coming to an end, and i have been watching "Black Sails" but have never exceeded three episodes at one sitting.

I also have a number of series to work through, and often I watch films over two or three sessions, maybe I have a short attention span. One of the good things about Amazon Prime and subscription schannel box sets is that you aren't interrupted by adverts, although what you are going to to watch does take the time it says it's going to take.

The blog posts still don't seem to be getting the hits that they were, but I keep getting chunks of hits like 140 yesterday from Hungary so I don't know how that is working. It maybe that Google Reporting is being a bit flakey at the moment but that is difficult to quantify or identify.

So I've banged on about watching television and my blog and it's probably time to share some music with you, and for not reason at all I am going to share Nazareth's "Silver Dollar Forger (Parts I & II)" essentially for Part 2 which I just love, amazing phased guitar out to coda, from "Rampant", which is a brilliant album, Manny Charlton was a wonderful guitarist.

Desert Island Discs

Today my friend Krista published her Desert Island Discs selection on Facebook here, and as such inspired me to do one. I thought I best read the concept of what it is, though I roughly knew it, but here's a definition:

"Each week a guest, called a 'castaway' during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usually, but not always, music), a book and a luxury item that they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island, whilst discussing their lives and the reasons for their choices."

So that's basically what I'm going to follow, Krista had annotated hers with years and events but  maybe mine wont be that detailed, though hopefully it will provide you with a little insight into what makes me tick. Although this will be albums it is not necessarily my favourite album list, just albums that mean something to me and I wouldn't grow tired of. It also dates me fairly and squarely in the late sixties, early seventies but that's just the nature of the beast.

So here goes:

1. Future Games by Spirit: Still my favourite album of all time and it's sort of a film for the ears featuring dialogue from Star Trek and Sci-Fi "B" Movies with some fine songs and plying. I still listen to it a lot and it still makes my mind fly.
2. Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix Experience: An absolutely gorgeous cornucopia of blues, space rock and containing his take on Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" which must rate as the best cover version ever, a double album that again takes you places that you want to be.
3. Live At San Quentin by Johnny Cash: My dad introduced me to Johnny Cash, and my friend Chris Waring reinforced that, although he was not deemed cool by my school contemporaries, though he is now. This is one of his live prison albums and just encapsulates the outlaw spirit that a lot of us would like to live.
4. Stranded by Roxy Music: Always one of my favourite bands, and though this was the first without Brian Eno in contains what is probably their finest song "Mother of Pearl" and that is something that would have to be in my music collection.
5. Quadrophenia by The Who: Their second concept album which actually makes a lot more sense than "Tommy" and contained a photo story book about Jimmy the Mod ending up on Brighton beach, which I spent time on when I was down there. Lots of unforgettable songs with motifs for each band member, each representing a facet of Jimmy's "quadrophenia".
6. Blood on the tracks by Bob Dylan: There are lots of choices for Dylan but this has "Lily,Rosemary and The Jack of Hearts" one of my favourites story songs that I never tire of, and "If You See Her, Say Hello" which still makes me think about my split with my first girlfriend. The album was about Dylan's divorce so no surprise there.
7. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps by David Bowie: Again not even my favourite Bowie album but a consistently excellent one with not a dud on there. Maybe tomorrow I would have chosen differently but I wouldn't complain if you put this album on.
8. Li'l Beethoven by Sparks: This is just like a box of musical fireworks. Sparks always surprise and delight and bring a smile to your face and this is probably my favourite album of theirs.

Book:

Clive Barker's Imajica: A thousand pages of majick, adventure, magical creatures spanning five dimensions, and one of those books you just don't want to end, but it is always a delight to read again.

Luxury Item:

A Guitar: And maybe one day I can learn how to play, though just making noise on one is always very therapeutic for me.

So that is my Desert Island selection, tomorrow it may be different but I wouldn't complain if this was all I had on that Desert Island.

Music IS a Drug

Today I listened to Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets" and followed that up with XTC's "Mummer" and when "Beating of Hearts" came on I thought wow this is so good, I want more. I had been going thru "A Saucerful of Secrets" thinking how sinister and disturbing "Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun" and getting lost in the three part soundscape of the title track, and the songs that close each side "Corporal Clegg" half comedy/half tragedy and Syd Barrett's farewell appearance with the band "Jugband Blues" which seems an almost cut and paste effort but sad realising the burnt out genius that this was showing us, and still is. Evering song is like a pill that makes you want another.

I think "Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun" and the title track on "A Saucerful of Secrets"are absolutely excellent but they are improved on in the live versions on the album "Ummagumma". I remember going into a shop that sold records at Lane Ends in Preston and the hipster salesperson told me they didn't sell singles!! I never darkened their door again.

Someone once described Ramones songs as like Smarties, you cant have just one you have to have lots.

So onto "Mummer" and "Beating of Hearts" which when you listen on headphones you get the low frequency hit after Andy Partridge sings "Louder Than Bombers In Flight" every time, you know it's coming, and eventually it finishes and you want the next one "Wonderland" and interlude before the single "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and it continues on and you enjoy every moment.

I definitely could not be without music, even when I have nothing to play or not player or musical instrument handy, it's still there in my head, sometimes songs and pieces I know, sometimes things I want to rediscover.

I just felt I had to put this down here, before I go and sort out my tea, it was just an idea or a concept and it's an excuse to share this incredible XTC song. Have a great Saturday Night everybody.

We Want Our Empire Back!

After finishing Michael Moorcock's "History of The Runestaff" I've continued with the follow up trilogy "Chronicles of Castle Brass". The first is set in a post apocalyptic world (so post that the human race is now functioning again) with the British Empire re imagines as a mad, evil, ever expansive war mongers (which really is close to what it really was, and at the start of the next book there is a resurgence of desire for a return to the "Dark Empire" which closely reminds of the brexit mindset of isolationism while expecting everyone to do what they want.

The best analogy for brexit is the Netflix one from David Osler (@finance_LL):

"I'm going to cancel Netflix and negotiate with each film producer separately, to get the best deal for me and my family #Brexit" 

A Little of the genius of David Osler

 That's it in a nutshell, I don't need to say anymore. You can read more here.  and some of his tweets you can see to the right. Brilliant.

I still haven't got Netflix and was thinking of the time it takes if you want to download a series from an illegal site, with the risks involved, maybe two or three hours. For £5.99 you can get a month of Netflix and watch as much as you want. An hour of my time is worth a lot more than £5.99 so really it's no contest, I will be subscribing eventually.

That's enough of that, today I have to go and pick up some Bowie vinyl that the GPO decided to deliver at mid day on Friday and I do intend to have a most relaxing weekend although that seldom happens and there will be things to do.


 have just started the last episode of series three of "Black Sails" so I have plenty of ways of spending my time.

I was going to choose a Bowie piece as I'd mentioned him, but thinking on "Black Sails" we'll go for some Alestorm to wake us all up.

Have a good Saturday.

Foggy Notions

Walking into work this morning it is very foggy. On the sixth floor you can't see the river, or across the river. With th efog I immediately thought of "Foggy Notion" by the Velvet Underground and was surprised to find the Super Deluxe sets shown below. One thing the Velvet Underground were not is Super Deluxe. They made music that almost anyone could play but they set a template for a million garage bands with songs of three chords or less that could be quiet or noisy but always worth listening to.

The Super Deluxe reminds of phone and broadband companies pushing their superfast and ultrafast services. If it's fast it's fast. that's all you need to know. Same with film and TV with UltraHD etc etc, it's irrelevant how good the picture is if the story is rubbish.

Someone told me I had to watch "Taken" in HD, I recorded it from Film4 and watched it and .... it was just another Liam Neeson film with Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson. I had another friend who told me when you watched a certain sci fi film in HD you could see the space backdrop was a black curtain! I don't want to see that, I want to enjoy the film.

I have the whole original Adams Family on DVD, the picture transfer is appalling but two minutes ito it you don't notice because the script and acting is razor sharp,

So, it's Friday, have a brilliant day.