Things

This week I decided to see my friend Krista so messaged her as I hadn't seen her for a while. She messaged me back and asked if we could meet at six. My first thought was that I was going to to be leaving work at 4:30 and wanted to go home, but thought so be stupid and decided to stay at work another hour so I could catch up with Krista. It was a half hour drink together in the Tyneside and she told me of a film she had been to see and invited me to Queercastle - Nocturnal Novocastrians closing party on Thursday , but it is on all week. so that will be a great thing to visit this lunchtime.

Then I woke up to my biggest ever Discogs order, it may not come off because of postage but we shall see.

I think the point of this is whenever you see an opportunity take it. A half hour chat with a friend can really make your day, whenever you do it, so if you get the opportunity take it.

I came home made my tea (Curried Chickpeas , Fish Fingers and Alphabites due to a Co Op offer though the Chickpeas came from Medina whire I mistakenly picked up a bunch of Mint instead of Coriander - how useless am I at times?).

I then watched the last two episodes of Waco  which to me had just been a suicide cult, however if the series is to be believed this was a group led by David Koresh who was a nutjob , but incredibly intelligent and potentially very dangerous but this was effectively a vicious attack by the FBI and ATF which resulted in the deaths of 75 people because of gung ho incompetence and cover up. Firing incendiary devices into building after you have filled with tear gas ( remembering there were 25 children in there) shows blatant stupidity and disregard for life. A truly great TV series.

So "Zombie" by Jamie T was on 6 Music , I love that record , a great chorus , so that's what we shall have.

So have an excellent Tuesday everyone.

Before Bed

This is post 1977. There can only be one song, can't there. Is this going to be the shortest post I've ever done?

Well not quite because this was my first ever blog post, and it was fairly short maybe about fifty words (I can't be bothered to count but you can do it yourself.

1977 was the year that punk really got underway. but it started way before that. The Bok sent demos to John Peel , Stiff Records and Rabid Records in Manchester. John Peel said we were primitive , Stiff sent a rejection letter , but Rabid wanted us. It was only when Rabid asked which studio we had recorded it that it dawned on us the reason for Peel's reaction. We'd never seen a studio and recorded direct to 2 track cassette. The single was decided, people stopped talking to be because the bassist said we were going to be on Top of The Pops , then Rabid went bust and the band split.

We formed on a Tuesday and played our first gig on the following Saturday, and it that time we managed to write and learn songs for something like a one hour set, including "Waiting For The Man" , "Gloria", "The Passenger" , "Egyptian Reggae" , "Shot By Both Sides" and the demos on the link above.

One of my favourite guitarists was Ollie Halsall who recommended learning with heavy gauge strings and playing with light gauge strings. What this didn't take into account was the fact that in the heat of the gig they went out of tune almost immediately. After a gig one guy said he was impressed with my in song tuning.

Anyway 1977 was the year of The Roxy , any number of punk bands , many still around now, and off course "1977" by The Clash , the "B" side of "White Riot".

"No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones

 In 1977"

Absolutely brilliant and The rolling Stones are still going but The Clash aren't , two trully great bands

Restart

I've decided to start sharing things on Facebook again (ie Instagram photos) but trying to generally keep it to positive items. If Facebook decide to ban me again there is nothing I can do, there is no option to contest a ban, but it's their club.

This weekend has been varied and busy, yesterday was at Sarah's birthday gathering in North Shields and then I got a friend request from a niece who I have not seen since I was hospitalised with my first bout of ITP in the mid eighties, and though my timeline is gonna look very sparse isn't it. One of the problems is that complaints , bad news and rumour spreads like wildfire while good news is seldom shared but it makes people it touched feel better and if I can do that to one person then it's worth doing.

Today I was thinking I needed to do something, but was feeling a little lethargic , but mowed the lawn, then caught an angry bee in the bedroom (well it was angry in the tube) , but I let it out the window and it went off at some speed.

This week I intend to see a lot of friends including Krista at Kota who I've not seen and Claire at Glamorous Owl who I manage to keep missing, and whoever happens to be about at RPM and Snackwallah and if the queues are low I may try Acropolis another addition to the Grainger Market.

Although I have been feeling apathetic and lethargic I'm obviously not as I've done a lot and have plans to do more. Sometimes you just have to do things and then that makes you feel better.

I was originally going to include Monty Python's "Eric The Half A Bee" (which you can listen to on Amazon or here) but the decided that " Flight of The Bumble Bee" from Tsar Sultan by  Rimsky Korsakov would be more appropriate with this animation. Remember Bees are important to the survival of the human race so always ensure you look out for them, they will only sting you if they have no other option , as it kills them and could very well kill you.

Look after the bees, without their pollination work , plants would not grow and we would very soon be starving.

With that thought have a great Sunday

What Happened To Cyberpunk?

Reading 2023 it definitely falls into the Cyberpunk genre. The Amazon series "Mr Robot" (with Rami Malek and Christian Slater)  was a classic TV example of the genre. I first became aware of it with William Gibson's "Neuromancer" although the film of "Blade Runner" is a possible starting point, although this then harks back to Philip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"..

The reason I ask is that Steampunk seems to be ubiquitous and also seemingly easily defines, although putting cogs on something DOES NOT make it Steampunk. Steampunk is an analogue , non digital world often accompanied by Victoriana and has it's origins in many of the Disney takes on HG Wells stories, but I digress.

How often is Cyberpunk mentioned, or seen as a genre, it's certainly passing me by. It's not that I miss it as such but it seems to be lost under the general science fiction banner. I would love to be pointed in the direction of recent Cyberpunk, and no doubt people will ask me why I haven't noticed "XXXX" or whatever.

So music wise we go with "Love Missile F1-11" by Sigue Sigue Sputnik which fits snugly with the genre.

2023

I've just finished reading "The Silent Companions" by Laura Purcell and while it's not my normal fare  it was fairly creepy and well written , and at the last sentence you don't know whether it was madness or supernatural evil, it is well worth a read it that is your particular taste.

My follow on from this is 2023:A Trilogy by The Justified Ancients of Mu Ma AKA The JAMS (Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) . This seems to have a similar dynamic to "How To Burn A Million Quid" the BBC Radio 4 Podcast about Cauty and Drummond burning a million quid. I wasn't too sure but bought it (along with "The Illuminatus Trilogy" by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson on the back of listening to the podcast. They were wondering about possibly annoying certain artists and corporations but Twitter doesn't have it's name amended.

The book is over 350 pages but I don't think it's going to be a problem as the introduction and initial page set up (among other things) a Mister Robot scenario.

So we got to share some KLF don't we? I found the slower remix of "justified and Ancient" with Tammy Wynette for your enjoyment.

The books are great fun though I thing I will be reading some Matt Haig ("How To Stop Time") after this

Life Is Louder

Was wandering through town today and noticed a lot of people in the street talking ...... to their phones. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, I do it, although some people make sure everyone in the quadrant can hear, it's as though they are shouting to ensure the other persona (and everyone) can hear.

The thing is this is everyone now. Pre mobile phone you used a call box, often at work people had individual offices so calls were private and not broadcast. We hear lots about making sure calls are secure, but lets face it, recording devices have a hell of a range these days.

I never thought it would happen but call boxes are disappearing, sometimes replaced by open boxes with huge advertising screens but really there is not much need for them these days, except when you are out of power or minutes on your mobile.

The thing is this is the way things are going and everyday life will get louder so for the first time I'm going to share some Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark with you with "Talking Loud and Clear".  This is a video I've never seen and also did you know that prior to their final name they were called The Id (namechecking "Forbidden Planet" I think.

Another short post but my third today.

Keep Talking

Went out at lunchtime chatted with a few people I only vaguely knew or didn't know , bought some vinyl, had a vegan curry and talked dub reggae and just feel so much better than I did this morning.

It was great to chat about the frightening state of politics, th egreat food available in the Grainger Market and the King Tubby / Richard Burton mash up with Dylan Thomas' tone poem "under Milk Wood" which you can buy on vinyl here. I have my own copy at home.

I know this is just a tiny, tiny post, but it is always good to get out and talk with people or friends, it can usually lift your mood and it certainly lifted mine today. I know I often just need to rest and sleep and night so mi gigging is going to be more sporadic, but there are plenty of afternoon gigs to fill the days, and I do love these. It's great to come out and have the rest of the evening to watch TV or relax.

So we gotta have the Dubwood All Stars don't we.

No Photographs

One of the annoying thing about the Facebook Ban is that I am now very reticent to share any pictures on Facebook. I've disconnected as, as far as I can, my Instagram Account which means I have now stopped sharing my walks and music on Facebook. I will share my blog posts and really that's it.

The real annoying thing is that I keep getting ads for voucher schemes often featuring girls wearing next to nothing, knowing full well that if I shared this thing that Facebook is shoving in my face it would be a three month ban.

I've reinstalled Facebook Messenger on my phone but Facebook is now reflecting my real life socialising, vitually non existent. This is my choice to reactivate but part of it may be old age and part may be just apathy.

I had a few friends who I would meet up with for lunch or after work, but whenever I suggested anything it was never convenient so I know when I am beaten.

This may sound like I'm on a downer, I'm not, just learning that as people get older they become more set in their ways, socialise in their own groups, and if I do want to meet up with people I need to actually do something that interestes them.

While I always stay positive, and know damned well that I could pick up the phone and speak to a few close friends there is a devil inside that says I can't be bothered. No doubt I will change and get my self out in the near future and in fact I am going to visit two friends this lunchtime. I have decided to just do this and visit The Glamorous Owl , RPM and maybe lunch at Snackwallah.

So what song goes with this, for some reason Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" comes to mind and what's not to like about that.

Contact

I was touched by the comments on Facebook on my first post ban post, although I think a few might just like but not bother reading the blog post. The biggest lesson out of this is not not rely of a Facebook as a single means of contact. Facebook does allow to share an email or phone number. My phone contact list is very big , and my blog gets updated regularly. So if you're worried about me you can email or text me or even phone me (I might not answer but leave a message and I'll get back to you).

This is just talking about me, but also think about how people would contact you if they were worried about you, do you have at least an alternate email of Facebook. My ban included messenger so when people contacted me by Messenger I could see their message but could not answer, luckily one of those friends had an alternate email contact which they also used so I could answer that way.

Last night I watched the film "Buried" 90 minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a coffin with a couple of mobile phones with which he tries to contact various people to try and facilitate his escape. An amazing and intense film. It reminds a little of Tom Hardy in Locke, except this ramps up the claustrophobia whereas Tom Hardy is in a car and not about to run out of power or air. This is the tagline:

"Imagine waking up in the dark and realising that you've been buried alive for reasons unknown to you, with nothing but a lighter, a mobile phone and only 90 minutes of oxygen left. Ryan Reynolds delivers an utterly compelling performance as everyman, Paul Conroy that is filled with fear, frustration, emotion and even a couple of dark laughs along the way."

So this morning we have bright sunshine and the Women's World Cup semi-final between England and the World Champions , the USA to look forward to, so that is tonight sorted for me.

So going with the title of this post we have to go with Edwin Starr's "Contact" don't we?

Where Was I?

I really don't know how to handle weather, if it's too hot I want to get inside and go to sleep, also today is grey and overcast and I would have loved to just stay in bed but it's start of the month and quarter end at work so I really need to go to work.

It looks like I'm unbanned from Facebook though I have a feeling that may only last until I share something. I won't share anything from Instagram, Facebook itself, photo uploads maybe just the posts I do on my blogs, and maybe youtube shares for birthdays but that's going to be a limited set of videos.

I will install Messenger back on my phone so that people can get in touch with me, but if you look at these posts you can see the pathetic bans have served with. One of the best things was that they give the opportunity to dispute the ban but you cannot submit a dispute because you are banned, very Kafkaesque. YOu can see the posts relating to the bans here if you are interested. Have spoken with a couple of people who say they know people who continually get banned for posting explicit content but usually just get a weeks ban.

But I have enjoyed the BBC coverage of Glastonbury, allowing me to enjoy the music without the discomfort, I also watched the finale of Deadwood which was just like an extra TV episode to wrap it up with the same amazing dialogue and acting, also the finale of The Looming Tower which effectively posits that when people don't work together then bad things can happen, a definite must watch. I followed that with Wild Bill with Rob Lowe which contained at least one OMG moment so that could mean another TV series to follow.

So I found a great live take of the The Mekons "Where Were You?", one of my favourite singles ever, for the the people who noticed I was "inactive" on Facebook during this ban.

Understand Rap - Stormzy Is A Signpost

.. a hell of a lot of people , usually white, middle aged and older, and stuck in the seventies when it was normal to treat non whites as second class. This weekend saw Stormzy headline at Glastonbury much to the annoying of may of the people I've mentioned, but I doubt they gave the amazing spectacle he led and presented more than five minutes.

  This introduction to Rap and Hip-Hop shows that the genesis of this begins nearly a century ago, and to be quite honest I personally think it goes back a lot longer than that , Rap is basically spoken word poetry often with an added rhythm backing which may eventually be seen as a song, but Rap can be just spoken word. It is NOT singing but it IS performance and it IS ART.

The subgenres sort of grate on me as it seems to dissipate the art form, so GRIME is Rap with an electronic 140 bpm a bit faster that the standard disco 125 bpm , but as far as I am concerned it is RAP. A lot of songs can be performed with the most basic percussive backing be it hand claps or foot taps.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company demonstrated this with their "Othello Rap", as do poets such as does John Cooper Clarke with his live performances and this goes back to Beat Poets and well before then to the oral folk traditions.

I will admit I didn't know any Stormzy songs or pieces but he is just part of the vast tableau of art available to us these day. The Glastonbury performance was a huge production, involving a huge amount of people and planning . Stormzy was the centre , and wrote a lot of the material, but there were bands, fireworks displays, gospel choirs , other rappers and an Ed Sheeran cover in the set.

It was not limited to Grime and Stormzy can sing as well rap.  The set is available for 4 weeks on BBC iPlayer here. After opening with "Know Me From" Stormzy ran through the debut album with extras such as the aforementioned "Shape of You" against a backdrop of digital screens, fireworks and supporting cast. This was an impressive performance regardless of genre and was inclusive not exclusive, and was very watchable and an incredible triumph.

I do hope this performance stays in the digital world so that everyone can experience this incredible performance.

Maybe I'm a bit lazy, not wanting to go to Glastonbury but they certainly know how to stage a show.

If you haven't seen Stormzy , set aside a couple of hours and watch this performance while you can.

Stormzy is a signpost worth following. Grime won't be your preferred option but you will be impressed by what it can deliver. Oh and feel free to watch the "Othello Rap" that is both clever and funny ..... and totally boatless

1967

I'm in the sixties in age and in post numbers. This is post 1967 an in the year 1967 we were getting a lot of great music, albums and singles coming our way. More of that in a minute.

Last night I decided to check my blood but couldn't find my testing meter. I though maybe it had dropped off my desk. I saw my banking PINSentry , tablets , testing strips, testing needle but no meter.. Maybe cleaners had moved it. No sign. I do have a new replacement but I am working through the old testing strips before I move to the new device, then just as I had given up I noticed it on top of my  PINSentry and I realised that I had noticed that there was something on top of the PINSentry but it didn't register. A similar incident yesterday was me wondering what had happened to my phone ....... which I was holding in my hand. What am I like?

It the mid sixties music had really started to take off after the initial kick from rock and roll and to be quite honest this blog post could go on for a very long time to properly write about . I remember seeing the Who playing  "My Generation" on maybe Top of The Pops and the Byrds doing "Mr Tambourine Man" on Thank Your Lucky Stars , and going to my uncle's friends who put on "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" by Pink Floyd. This was all in the period 1963-1969 and added to this you had The Beach Boys, Beatles , Kinks, Jimi Hendrix , Cream, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, The Doors and a veritable cornucopia of music and acts to choose from. See what I mean.

As I listed the albums below, Amazon told me I had purchased "Blonde on Blonde" in 2006, I don't remember buying it but I do know I have it.

Below are seven albums from the time and we will go for "Good Vibrations" from "Pet Sounds" by The beach Boys for you to enjoy this sunny Friday morning.

Stumbolero

While looking for something else I came across a flash mob take on Ravel's "Bolero" . I had seen a wonderful one for Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" from his Ninth Symphony and this is just as charming in the way it draws the crowd of all ages, races, sexes and any other division we have and they all love it. Enjoying the music, taking photographs and videos, and loving it.

The great thing about these flash mob performances is that you learn how the pieces are actually made up. It is truly fascinating.

There are many Classical Flash Mobs on Youtube, check this list here.

I know this is not a very meaty post but I just wanted to share this phenomenon with anyone who stumbles across this blog post.

Enjoy and maybe learn, and hopefully one day you will be lucky enough to see one......

Women's World Cup 2019 - How To Play Football - Target 1965

This is post 1965 and my original target this year was to hit 2K posts by the end of 2019. I've now changed that to hit it by the end of July, so that's another 35 posts to do. The blog has dropped off the Feedburner radar. I am quite amazed that although I have friends that read this , subscribers are virtually non existent, and you can't ask people to subscribe, I very seldom subscribe to anything so cannot point a finger.

I'm still enjoying the Women's World Cup but have a despairing chuckle at the number of people (mostly men) who won't watch because it's not real football. Every match is full of skill and passion and heartbreak. While the reactions of the Cameroon team were wrong , they were caused by extreme passion and the accusations of FIFA racism were over the top but given Europe and The USA's treatment of African nations and indigenous people in the past and even today that is an easy card to play. The referee should have immediately called the captain and coach over to the VAR screen to explain the decisions. The Cameroon disallowed goal was unfortunate but the correct decision.

The thing is the competition has been brilliant and very little cheating , cynical fouls and the like that permeates the men's game.

So it's a very grey morning as we head to another Glastonbury Weekend, and though I love music and like smaller Festivals , bt the thought of Glastonbury the Festival leaves me cold, but I love the town and Glastonbury Tor gives you some amazing views.

So given that with my last Women's World Cup post I used Echobelly's "Dark Therapy" (one of my favourite ever songs) , and Echobelly liked the post although I barely mentioned them, for this one I am going to choose the more appropriate and brilliantly uplifting "Great Things". This will get rid of the grey skies this Wednesday , a brilliant record.

Enjoy.

Blue Sky Thinking

Today I was at the RVI for a CTI scan and in the corridor I noticed so illuminated blue panels in the ceiling that looked like a real blue sky with blossom. You can see them here. Above the scanning table was a nine tile version , and I remarked that I kept noticing the butterfly. The staff told me there were five, but the doctor didn't know that. He said he would check later. They are quite expensive LED panels like this .....

.... the thing is they actually lift your spirits , like a real blue sky. The CTI scanner is far less constricting therefore less claustrophobic than an MRI scanner so it wasn't too constrictive, but even though it was raining and grey outside the ceiling panels had me convinced that it was a gorgeous day.

They are a superb idea to make places lift people's moods.

I've decided to share "Bits of Blue Sky" by Godley and Creme a five minute sampler of their "Goodby Blue Sky" album, from the compilation "Images".

Luck and The Mystery Cat

This morning I went out for the papers and outside the dentists I noticed a large cat. He looked very familiar, like my neighbour's cat who is also large and furry. The fact that he came to me, didn't run away and had a harness on made me think I had the right cat, so I picked him up and took him to my neighbours about five doors down.

It was the right cat, my neighbour thought the cat was in the back garden on his leash, but it turned out that he had probably escaped when my neighbour was putting a bin out.

It got me thinking how many times it's lucky that we just happen to be in the right place at the right time. If I had not gone for the papers then I wouldn't have seen the cat and he may have got lost. This was not caused by any deliberate action be it was just a confluence of events that had a good conclusion.

Often people talk about fate or destiny but it's just really coincidence.

I just wanted to record that this happened.

I've also done some hedge trimming and therefore filled my brown bin, and it that hedge were two derelict birds' nests. I've refilled the bird seed hoppers so will see if the rat comes back, hopefully he won't.

I think I'll share "Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)" which I first heard on The Best of T.Rex on the Fly label , but this was recorded as Tyrannosaurus Rex on the album Unicorn

Bookwise with Laura Purcell

I finished Matt Haig's excellent "Notes on a Nervous Planet" and decided to start on Laura Purcell's  novel "The Silent Companions". I bought the book from Amazon to to make up a package so I didn't have to pay postage and it is definitely not the sort of thing that I normally read, although it has definitely drawn me in with it's gothic creepiness. It jumps between three time periods the link being a potential murderess in an asylum , her family and their time ravaged home. It has been compared to various classic gothic novels, and although I I can't really comment on the comparison I can say despite finding it claustrophobic and not my normal far it has got my attention so well that I will happily continue on the end, and I don't really expect it to end well.

I had intended to hit 2K posts for this blog this year which meant I had to post about 210 this year,, but I have already posted 168 times so I could easily hit that target in July, which then means I will be thinking about hitting 3K posts.

Walking, I am still doing the rolling million steps every three months and to complete June I need to do another 56K steps by a week tomorrow so that is another positive for this morning.

I also need to mow the lawn and cut back some hedges, although it never fails to amaze be how much hedge actually grows and needs cutting back, but we have to remember that with a combination of photosynthesis and drawing water from the ground provided by rain plus the recycling of carbon dioxide to produce breathable are, these are essential to use staying alive.

I've also seen a rat in the garden, it actually looked cute and friendly, and was scavenging spilt bird seed and then looking round for something once the seed had gone. I think it was just an itinerant rat , like the hedgehogs and frogs that sometimes appear unexpectedly.

So what do we go with ? "Mad Alice Lane (A Ghost Story)" by (Peter) Lawlor fits the bill, named after a street in York. It was used in a Land Rover advert and reminds me a lot of Portishead and has a very disconcerting vibe while being a great record, although difficult to track down, but not impossible.

Enjoy your Sunday

Women ? Playing Football ?

I've just watched Australia vs Norway which went to extra time and penalties after watching  Germany vs Nigeria earlier. Som "men" has made a big thing about "not watching" the games. Well it's their loss. There is a lot of skill, some very nift touches, great goals, no acting like three year old spoilt brats, and the games are a joy to watch.

I think I've watched more of the Women's World Cup than I did of the men's. We are flooded with football but the women's game gives the impression of people playing for the joy of playing, not chasing a wage packet. And to be quite honest it's a slap on the arse for the misogynists.

Possibly the refereeing is not as polished as the playing, and also because women are generally smaller physically than men the pitches seem much bigger, but the games they give us are excellent, and that's what people come to watch.

The hard work, togetherness and pure joy that they generate is something truly to be savoured.

So what do we choose for music.

It has to be a girl band or singer. So I have gone with the gorgeous "Dark Therapy" by Echobelly who's female members included on vocals Sonya Madan,  Debbie Smith on guitar and Ruth Owen on bass. An incredible song from a great band.

If you haven't watched any of the Women's World Cup, start now. You will be impressed.