Music Is A Roundabout

I haven't bought a CD this year, not because of any particular reason but I've not had the opportunity. This weekend I'm in Whitby and there are two record shops there so the chances are I may pick up something there.

I was checking the new releases and it's amazing the longevity of some bands and musical collectives. In the fifties and sixties artists would have some singles with an aim to becoming an "entertainer" such as Bruce Forsyth or Des O'Connor, they've both made a few albums as well.

I noticed a new Penguin Cafe album, the band now fronted by Arthur Jeffes , eon of Simon who sadly died and bands didn't , as the Who suggested, "die before they got old".

Som bands stay there , new bands join and old ones drop off, but the composure of the musical roundabout is forever changing. People often look to their youth and stick with that, and if it makes you happy then that's fine. I go with the premise that 95% is rubbish ,, but the 5% is still a hefty chuck of decent music to get your teeth into.

I thought The Longpigs "On and On" was appropriate for this post. Oh and I checked that link and there is an excellent looking compilation available.

Have a fantastic day everybody.

If Less Is More, Think How Much More More Will Be

A quote from the series Frasier made my Doctor Crane. Last year was my highest number of postings since I started blogging. The first year (2007) I did six posts , last year it was 244, roughly two every three days, swollen by three months where I set myself a task of doing at least one post a day. My most prolific month was May 2012 where I posted 37 times.

Last January I posted 14 times and this is my 16th post so far this year. So really the more I post , the more I get to say and get to record. It's also therapeutic, although I try not to post about things that annoy or upset me, just things that inspire me and make me feel good, so I often include TED talks and songs that I really love.

I just went to TED and saw the talk above and , as usual , I've downloaded it because it just interests me. Enjoy the rest of the weekend

TVOD and Australia Day

This week I've used my traveling time to just read, no catch up TV , no TED talks , just reading. I don't know if that's calmed me down or not , but the benefit is that you can read and listen to music simultaneously. That's two things you engage with at the same time.

You can't watch TV and listen to music at the same time without losing track of one thing or the other.

This doesn't meant that TV or TED  is bad, it just means you have to watch and listen , whereas a book the whole of the experience comes through your eyes leaving your ears to engage in aural stimulations.

Itn other news I've been reminded it's Australia Day tomorrow which is a great reason to celebrate and that in turn reminded me it my dad's birthday in two days time. So that's an excuse to reproduce my Australia Day playlist from a couple of years back which you may or may not enjoy , but there is certainly a lot of great music come out of Australia. I still remember ordering The Saints "I'm Stranded" on the EMI Import print sometime around 1976, and it still sounds brilliant today.

   

Oh and the wonderful Tom Ravenscroft did an Australia Day special which you can listen to here.  I've downloaded to my phone to listen to this week.

Wake Up Time

OK this will be a short post after my last post that was longer than the short post I expected it to be. It's the final day of the week , so just another 11 hours to get through until I get home. I was just wondering , including traveling time, what is the average person's time away from home due to work and do they feel adequately rewarded for it? I do know there are people who have two and eve three hours each way commutes, which if you then add on eight hours at work, and take away six hours for sleep leaves you with four hours of the day you can call your own. Yes you can do that for a short period of time but it should never become the norm.

Anyway I am not wishing my life away but it is really good that it's the last day of the week and I'm looking forward to enjoying this weekend. For a song I was toying between David Bowie's cover of The Easybeats' "Friday On My Mind" (which was the first Australian global smash it I believe) but decided to go for the Cure's "Friday I'm In Love" just because I love it more !

Bagpuss On The Bed With Glasses

This will be very short, but I am going to keep posting , just because I can. I came home tonight to find Bagpuss had got glasses, courtesy of my cleaners (APM). It really cheered me up. I'm still reading Stuart Maconie's "The People's Songs" which is also making the train journeys fly by enjoyably. Sometimes you have to talk the calm and peace where you can find it.

Bagpuss On The Bed With Glasses

I saw one of these Facebook maxims that essential said live in the present , if to concentrate on what has happened you will stagnate and if you concentrate on what might happen you will worry and get yourself down, so if I wake up at night I just enjoy being warm and cosy in bed , and I deal with things when they need dealing with. I'm actually finding it very therapeutic , so will keep it up.

Had a nice lunch today for a friends birthday (which was yesterday) and tomorrow at work we'll be giving her a cake. It is really nice when good people can find something to celebrate together..

Anyway it's time for bed now, and I am going to enjoy my sleep.

Actually it's turned out to be quite a reasonable post, I was expecting it to be one or two lines, but it's amazing what you can do when you know friends are looking out for you and caring for you , and that makes you more positive in your outlook and able to deal with things and keep a smile on your face.

Well this looked like it had crashed, so I took a copy of the raw page and saved it just in case, but it seems to have saved now , so think it may be a good time to go to bed now.

Burned Out

Not posted much recently and realised I hadn't even read a book this year, so I started the new Stuart Maconie tome and am surprised how relaxed it makes me feel on the train. I've watch a lot of TV recently and maybe that is stressing me out, though the fact that you don't really have to do anything may be having some kind of weird adverse psychological effect. Maybe BBC's iPlayer is not the cure all or whatever I thought it was. Yes it is very clever and useful, but no use if it just eats up time that can be better and more usefully spent doing other things.



I also listened to the Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits while reading , which was a sort of double good whammy and hence the brilliant song that I've chosen for this post.

Sleeping With The TV On

I don't if I need to be worried, or I don't know if I should be just happy. I'm actually watching more TV on my phone thanks to the fact that BBC iPlayer allows downloads on my Samsung Galaxy Note2. This week I've watched various music related progammes, and the first episode of the new series on BBC3 called "Uncle", which I found excellent. I've downloaded a few duds, but iPlayer allows me to catch up on the way to and from work.

My problem is that I feel I'm watching less TED talks and reading fewer books. I haven't  read a book so far this year.

Handsome Dick Manitoba

I suppose the simple solution is just to pick a book and start reading it, but it is just another thing I can do while I travel. I can also watch other channels' downloads as well but BBC2, 3, and 4 provide enough excellent quality programmes to keep me going. I can also load films onto the phone and it does have a couple of eReaders so I can actually read book on the phone if I so wish.

The title is taken from a Dictators song (lead singer Handsome Dick Manitoba!) so I have to include that don't I.

Books On Board

Lots of Books

Paddingto Flare

And there's More

The last couple of times I have been to Paddington I've noticed a lovely bookshop on a barge walled Word on The Water. Follow the link to find out more as they are on Facebook.

There's a lot more pictures and some really good links there as well. A really interesting Facebook pages, although if you like books you are bound to like it!



As you come out of Paddington Station you see the barge and books right in front of you, and spoke to the owner who is a really pleasant guy. While the canal has lots of barges, it's brilliant to see something like this that makes you stop , and look and want to talk with people.

I was actually in a rush to get a train and ended up missing it because Word on The Water is so interesting in an area dominated by faceless offices and chains like Marks and Spencer and Tesco.

So although it was a long day yesterday, that was a bright unexpected end to a really good visit to London. Have a brilliant weekend everybody, I certainly will.

And they want more!!

The World Is Full of Wonder

Statuesque

Blue Dragon

Today have have watched two amazing TED talks, one showing some amazing nature photography and the other about 64 year old Diana Nyad who has done the impossible and swum the hundred miles between Cuba and Florida. The talk is here. Then I was directed to this amazing use of 3d Printing here. , and other amazing example here.






It is truly amazing what technology and willpower can bring into being.

The Diana Nyad talk was particularly inspiring because she acknowledged that although she did the physical swimming there is no way that she could have done that without the team of thirty people supporting her.  She still spent over fifty hours in the water, not allowed to touch the support boats or to rest, threatened by sharks and box jellyfish , having to swim at night in total darkness because the light attracts predators, and this was her fifth attempt at it , having been told that it was impossible.

The thing is in all our lives we can succeed if we get help and support from the people we care about and we know care for us, no matter how impossible the task or situation might seem. And as Diana states "Never Give Up" , you never know what could happen if you don't try , you know , you might just succeed!

So there's nothing happened on the horoscope front although I won a small bet on Monday night , lost a small one on Tuesday night , but didn't care because Preston won 3-2 against a decent Ipswich side in the FA Cup. So some good things have happened.

I hope good things happen for you!

Superstition

It's the 13th day of the year and also the 13th day of the month and some people regard 13 as an unlucky number. It has been ingrained into me that it's unlucky , but there is no logical reason for it. Numerous reasons are given such as Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper (well they all made up the 13 so anyone could be designated as the 13th one) and bakers used to always add an extra loaf to batches of a dozen in case one wasn't up to scratch. Well given in most cases that all the loaves would be fine doesn't that make 13 actually lucky for the recipients?

I's like seeing magpies , one for sorrow and two for joy , but it's all about interpretation. Missing a bus could be the the "sorrowful" event and catching one could be the "joyful" event. It's just how you choose to look at it.

It's like horoscopes, those wonderfully ambiguous, snippets of promise, given to us by the snake oil merchants that call themselves astrologers. Here's one of mine for today, I'm Libran by the way and that supposedly makes me a balanced personality:

"Once again, your dual nature pops up -- but this time, it's making life sweet! You can see both sides of every issue, and you can also find new ways to bring your people together. Have fun!"

Hmm, well that's clear as a thing that is not very clear. We shall see how sweet life is today and I will post tomorrow and see how I can fit events to prove that this was true (that should be easy ).

I always encourage positivity in myself and others, but that doesn't cause things to happen , but it will drive you towards instigating thing that will be beneficial to yourself. If you can be happy , and positive you are more likely to be confident in your decision making then either reap the benefits of the correct decision or easily deal with the fall out from an incorrect one. Always look for the positives in a situation.

Anyway there can only be one song for today, can't there? Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street does it get any better than that?

An addendum to this post, nothing in my "dual nature" manifested itself, nothing I did made life sweet , though lot's of communications received did that, and I didn't get an opportunity to bring people together that I was aware. Monday was a day much like any other, but if I do notice any horoscopes that come true I will say.

Mr Cave's A Window Cleaner Now!

Woke up this morning (sounds like a blues song , doesn't it), and the pavements outside were white and the skies were grey. This week is going to be busy again with trips to London and a concert at The Sage to fit in, but it's only by doing things that life is interesting.

This afternoon 6Music played an excellent Nick Cave song that I hadn't heard before that seemed appropriate for the apparent inclement weather which we may soon be getting.

This weather , short days and lack of sunshine doesn't make for the greatest of inspiration.

Also I seem to be downloading a lot of TV to my Samsung Note via BBC iPlayer , which is fine but this eats into the time I should be reading or maybe watching TED talks , although it does leave more time to do things when I am at home.

Anyway still lots to do, but wanted to share this great Nick Cave song , and hope you are ready for the week ahead.

Celebrate Good Times

No particular reason , apart from it's the weekend. It's colder than usual and this song came into my mind, by a band signed to ELP's Manticore label, PFM (Premiata, Forneria Marconi named after an Italian bakers, a bit more exotic than say The Warburtons or The Allied Bakeries!)

The skies here are very clear and cars are iced up, so in theory it may get a bit cold, but this is Newcastle so the temperature does dip every now and then.

I've also been alerted to the fact that the magnificent Dick Gaughan is playing the Sage next Thursday, so I think really I don't have the option to miss that despite the fact that I have to go to London the following day. Dick Gaughan has one of the most distinctive voices I've ever heard as well as being an excellent composer, guitarist and performer

Missing Things

I often want to post things when my post reaches a significant number, but I've just missed by 666th post and this is number 668. I've been absolutely shattered this week and am looking forward to a weekend to unwind hopefully.

I'm well aware that I haven't blogged for a couple of days and have been pointed in the direction of this blog which is most amusing, it's called French Yummy Mummy which is dead and gone now and thinks that anyone with a sense of humor and a modicum of intelligence will enjoy it. I certainly did.

Anyway, I think I'll just post the Iron Maiden song, two posts too late. Enjoy and have a brilliant weekend

A Mere Skirmish With My Left Hand ... and Other Stuff

I am right handed, but it's amazing the sort of things you need your left hand for. Late last week I flayed part of my left index finger with a potato peeler, which was very painful. But simple things like washing up, showering, washing, shaving became very difficult as plasters were washed off skin was caught and bleeding and pain ensued, not nice.

Anyway I have managed to smooth it off so it wont catch and I don't need a plaster on it.

It other news Rough Trade have opened a major record shop in New York (see here), and it is reckoned that there will be a major renaissance for record shops which is great news. They were always a great place to socialise and discover new stuff, and we're lucky in Newcastle that we still have some decent ones such as RPM and Reflex.

Eusebio 1966

Sad news in the deaths of Phil Everly and Eusebio, but the older you get the more these things seem to happen. We still have recordings and memories of them. Pity I don't have a video of Eusebio goals set to an Everly Brothers song though I'm not sure which one it would be, maybe "Walk Right Back".

Anyway enjoy the rest of the first weekend of the new year.

ABC DB

Got a taxi home last night and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was playing on the radio. It's nice to have something decent playing while you are going home. The taxi was an ABC one , who are my preferred taxi in Newcastle.

We were talking about favourite tracks and "Life On Mars" and "Changes" were mooted , though my favourite is probably "Station To Station". I said that I couldn't argue if anyone put forward "Heroes" as his best song , and the driver remarked that that song has Bowie, Brian Eno and Bob Fripp all bringing stuff to the table on that one , and it doesn't get muche better than that.

Any I hope you all have a great weekend. Enjoy yourselves.

12 From 13 in 14

These are just a dozen songs that caught my ear during the year. They are all part of my collection and would heartily recommend to give them a listen.  It's on a Grooveshark Playlist so hope you can play them.

My favourite of the year though was Public Service Broadcasting's Spitfire.



Enjoy the rest of New Year's Day everyone.

First Post Of 2014

Well I suppose I have to do this. I can't not post on New Year's Day can I. I've seen some great friends today, and it's funny how sometimes people worry about how the appear or sound, and they're my friends they are always wonderful to me. I love all contact with my friends and people I love.

Two niggles Google's controlling idiocy means I can't access my accounts via my Blu-Ray player as it's an "unknown device" but there is now no option to allow device to access my accounts. Then my Samsung Note has given me a 700 Mb Software Upgrade. My first  desktop had a 10 Mb hard disk (thanks for that Chris Brough, at the time that was an immense amount of storage, now it would just about hold an MP3 of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" or Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird") , but it was the first device I had at home that didn't need a floppy disk or cassette to start it. How times change. My phone is installing the update as I type.

So it's almost two in the morning and it's probably the best idea to see this update out , I need to because I have Wallace and Gromit in "A Matter of  Loaf And Death" on my BBC iPlayer, amongst other things.

So have a brilliant day and may your 2014 absolutely wonderful.

Goodbye 2013 - Hello 2014

Well it's the last day of December and thought I'd best post this before the day disappears. For some reason the lyrics to George Harrison's "Ding Dong" came to mind, extremely simple and a fitting end to my seasonal song a day for this December. I don't think this song has appeared on any Now! compilation , but really I'm not bothered as I love the sentiments:

"Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ring out the old
Ring in the new

Ring out the false
Ring in the true
Ring out the old
Ring in the new"

So I hope we have all learned from our 2013, and can look forward to 2014. One of the people I've been most impressed with is Pope Francis. I'm am not religious even though I was baptised, brought up a catholic and taught by Jesuits (most of who were very reasonable and always willing to hear the other persons view).

So going forward , Be Nice, be kind to others , help others less fortunate than you if you can and keep being positive. Hope your 2014 is a major improvement on your 2013 however good that was. Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

The New Year Draws Near

..and people are totting up their favourite things of the past year, which help provide inspiration going forward. There's always something new to look forward to and always new things to find and old things to discover.

Odeon Now

Inside One of The Odeos Auditoria

Despite having all of Lindisfarne's studio output and most of their live output I'd forgotten about "Winter Song" and this one is performed live at my favourite venue , The Mayfair, bulldozed for an entertainment complex while the old Odeon on Pilgrim Street in Newcastle lies rotting.

The Who Play The Odeon

Now if I had the money I'd buy that place and turn it into a new Mayfair, after all The Who played there in 1971, so if it staged The Who........

Very Tired And It's Work Tomorrow

So a very short post. Then I'm straight to bed.

The (non) Christmas related song has nothing to do with Christmas barring that Santa must draw rings round the world in his sleigh as he delivers his presents, so it has to be....


Super Furry Animals are cool

Tenuous Connections (Only Dogs and Water Horses)

All The World's A Stage

So Kelpies are water horses and Sheepdogs and I'm posting a seasonal song a day, and this is my most tenuous one so far , "By-Tor and The SNOW Dog" by Rush , the version is the one from the brilliant "All The Worlds A Stage" album. It has some wonderful guitar soundscapes by Alex Lifeson. It's today's tune. It's amazing what sort of connections our minds can make.

In the seventies I was listening to John Peel and a song came on called "Finding My Way". At first I thought it was a new Led Zeppelin offering, but no, it was by a Canadian power Trio called Rush, the singer Geddy Lee sounding like a cross between Zep's Robert Plant and Yes's Jon Anderson , a power falsetto.

I checked out the album "Fly By Night" but felt it was a bit wooden , barring "Finding My Way" , however when the live album "All The World's A Stage" was released that all changed and this was a real loud and impressive band.

I've always likened Rush to Abba , both have produced some of the greatest music ever, but often their lyrics let them down. While Abba have the excuse that they were Swedish writing in English, Rush are Canadian , and , unfortunately found inspiration in Ayn Rand. I think they've outgrown that now and are still touring and producing some wonderful music.

Anyway I hope your Christmas is still causing you lots of happiness and hope you have a brilliant weekend.

Tiring Week and No Show Snow For Christmas

Kelpie

 

I've been told by a good authority that Kelpies , as well  as being mythical Celtic Water Beasties are also a sheep dog, more information here. You learn something new everyday , or you can do if you are willing to listen, and that was something I didn't know, but brightened my day as I love dogs.

I've not seen much snow, just a little dusting the side of the road in the Scottish Borders.



Unfortunately I am titally shattered after this week , so this is a short post. Todays seasonal tune is "Snowman" by XTC and hopefully you can see the the time lapse video I did for it in my back garden. Love the song and love the album.

Enjoy

Motorway Kelpies

Yesterday and today I was amazed to pass two 30 metre high sculptures of what I though were horses heads. They are actually Kelpies and you can read all about them here. The main problem is that you see them as you are driving on the motorway (M8 or M9 can't remember) but they are majorly imp
ressive. I actually stopped on the hard shoulder to take some pictures one of which is below:

Kelpies on the Motorway

Anyway, I need to keep the seasonal songs going and thought maybe Can's treatment of "Silent Night" which I have always loved.

Christmas Has Come

..and actually there are still a lot of great seasonal and Christmas records to go and this gem by Saint Etienne is very appropriate for today. About six months back I was in the Opencast Software's offices and their CEO showed me the brilliant map below, a worthy addition to any wall and Saint Etienne used for one of their album covers (words and Music).

Also today is a great time to hear from friends and contact friends and bring each other closers. I've had some lovely messages already and expect to have more during the day.

So have a great day! Anything you like do it more, anything you don't like , find a better way or change it , and always be nice and look out for others less fortunate than yourself.

Have a brilliant Christmas.

As used on Words and Music

Christmas Eve

.....and this is a beautiful seasonal song, which caused me to buy the first album by the Fleet Foxes. I can hardly believe that this song is four years old.

Some wonderful things have happened today and I hope they keep on happening, that makes life the wonderful adventure that it is. I have now to work out seven more seasonal  songs to see the year out and was contemplating have The Muppets' "Ringing Of The Bells", which turns out to be just another reason to put a smile on your face.

So look after yourself, be happy , do things to put a smile on your face and make sure you have a wonderful Christmas.

Today we have had four seasons in one day, blue skies, bright sunshine, rain, snow, leaves falling , wind blowing , sleet, a lot of weather.

A Smile Before Christmas

This song came completely out of left field, suggested by a good friend. It's not that seasonal but embodies many of the qualities that should be encapsulated in the season's spirit. Caring for others and not being afraid to show your own feelings. Prefab Sprout while not my favourite band, have always produced music of excellent quality (though I never liked "King of Rock and Roll").

It also means the song I had for today will now be pushed back til tomorrow, so it's amazing how good things can slowly snowball, and before you know where you are there are lots of good things happening.

Our weather is getting worse but still not absolutely terrible and I have a feeling it will blow over, but I feel for anyone out on nights like this.

I hope you are warm tonight on pre Christmas Eve Eve , so have a great time and always have a smile for someone.

Longer Days Shorter Nights

Apparently we are due an Arctic Storm , a good friend tells  me, and that's confirmed by the cold wind, rain and weather forecast, but it is December 22nd. Today went into town and it was quiet. Went to The Stand in Newcastle for dinner (at 2pm - that's dinner time!), and bought a book of short seasonal stories called Twas the Night Before, Before Christmas' in aid of  NECA (North East Council on Addictions) , there's more details here. I immediately saw there was a story by mate John Scott so read that with more than one guffaw as I ate my tempura coley.

I'd been considering the Lou Reed song for my December list for a few days, but thought it would be a bit depressing, but it is a very listenable anti war song , and a good way to remember the great curmudgeon. A very intelligent man who wrote songs that everyone can play, that is a stroke of pure genius and what made the Velvet Underground truly great. If you you pick up a guitar you can play a Lou Reed song and sound good and cool. I will now have to do that for you won't I?

Anyway enjoy your day, night , and I may as well include a bit of John Scott at the bottom for you to enjoy too.

Today Is The Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice so the days are now going to get longer and lighter.  Though because of the nature of nature , nothing remains totally constant.

Sigur Ros always remind me of winter , I've heard their music and described "for glaciers" and can't argue with this. They are from Iceland so I think I can definitely describe this as a seasonal beauty.
A quote from the Youtube feed :

"The only reason for autumn and spring, is to jump in puddles." -- 

+John Kellden 

Which I can fully understand. The video for Hoppipolla is , well maybe , just what you'd expect from the band, I was hoping for one full of Arctic landscapes as the wind and rain blows outside my window.  Today I was contact by the son of a former work colleague who returned to Australia many moons ago , thanking me for the song I'd posted on his wall for the birthday , It was totally out of the blue , but is always nice to hear from people. The last Christmas song I posted by Glasvegas , I thought some people  may find a little depressing but I am glad friends saw the beauty in it. They are a wonderful band, and I remember my friend Kate saying how much she loved them because of they sing in a broad Glasgow accent (another friend now living in Africa)

Anyway enjoy , this and enjoy the rest of your pre Christmas Weekend.

20 Days In

Apparently the Winter Solstice begins tomorrow. So we finally reach the shortest day of the year and then the days start to get longer for us in the Northern Hemisphere and shorter for all my wonderful friends in the Southern Hemisphere. You win some , you lose some. Still we get the cold , rain and drizzle and in the Southern Hemisphere you have wonderful sunshine and warmth so everyone has some good news. I always concentrate on the good news and positives, not the bad , negatives.

At this point in the post I haven't a clue what to days song or music piece will be. I had considered The Goons "I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas"  but don't really think it fit's in with what I want, then I remembered the Glasvegas Christmas EP, so chose this lovely sounding , if very slightly depressing, song by them. I remember this was very expensive when I tried to get hold of it , but eventually found a copy. You can still pay £30 for it though the download is a more reasonable fiver.

Anyway , it's cold , but we can make it warm in our hearts. Be nice to everyone, show compassion , and enjoy your pre-Christmas weekend, and keep on smiling.

Not Quite Christmas Eve

This may have appeared on some compilation or other, but although it's not quite "Oiche Nollaig" (Christmas Eve), Micheal O Suilleabhain's short piano piece it certainly uplifting and enjoyable though possibly trawling jazzy waters.

John Cooper-Clarke once said he complained the the hotel manager about teh roof in his room:

Manager: What's the problem
JCC: I'd like one!

Remember this Christmas there will be a lot of people , homeless and freezing so if you can help, so so , in any way you can. Shelter always need help, especially with the spiteful lot running the country at the moment, so until the revolution comes, help your fellow man if you can. Here's a link for the homeless in the North East.

If you are lucky enough to be employed , have a roof over your head, enjoy yourself , be positive, be compassionate and have a brilliant time. Be positive and look forward to the new year.

All I Want For Christmas ....

...is a Dukla Prague Away Kit, but actually I already have one. Half Man Half Biscuit documented a lot of boyhood memories in this song including Subbuteo, Scalextric and the fact that the damned thing hardly ever worked. Kids these days don't know they're born. I remember the smoking transformer and smell of electrical burning, as well as fragility of Subbuteo.

The title is a play on "All I Want For Christmas is A Beatle" by Cilla Black a play on "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" by god knows who , but the less said about those the better.

Anyway I need to sort out my Christmas Cards (hopefully if Moonpig will play ball), so everyone have a great night and I hope that Christmas is brilliant for you. I now need to track down a song for tomorrow.

Christmas Spirit

A very long day so a short post. I'm actually thinking of writing a seasonal song myself as this was a difficult one to come up with. Full of pertinent points from Ian Anderson , Jethro Tull's "Christmas Song" and a brilliant and worthy addition to the list, they're the first band to have two in my list.

Christmas Spirit should not be just what you drink.

Santa Bob

I'm off to work very soon but this is just a quicky. Was listening to Cerys Matthews on 6Music yesterday and she had a guest on playing Christmas novelty records and they played Bob Dylan's "It Must Be Santa" . He got a lot of press for this mad manic polka but, he's Bob , he can do anything he wants, and if he wants to do a Christmas album why not. Remember you don't have to like like it or buy it. But the song is ful of fun and joi de vivre and should not be taken too seriously.

Just enjoy it, and have a great start to the week.

There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mama, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight

Another unexpected prompt from a Facebook group I subscribe to called  "I Used To Go To Newcastle Mayfair" and someone started a thread about the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and posted "There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mama, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight" a song that you have to love just for the title, and is brilliant to listen and sing along to as well.

I remember when the had a hit with a cover of Tom Jones' "Delilah" and Tony Blackburn was absolutely disgusted , "How dare the call themselves 'Sensational' he spat out as they came on,and it was their biggest hit , delivered with panache and a brilliant sense of humour. If Tom Jones had any objection then, I bet he loves it now.

I couldn't find the Top of The Pops performance so an Old Grey Whistle Test One will have to suffice, but it's still good.

Well looking out my back window the sky is blue with a few pink and white clouds, looking better than yesterday, so have a great Sunday everybody.

The Fear Of God

I always thought it was odd that the devil was the bad guy and god was the good good guy but sometimes he was painted as loving and caring and other times as the classic "dies irae" , angry , vengeful, and fearful . so we had to toe the line , go to church on Sundays and basically be scared of him (oh and yes he was a white man). The sequence in Monty Python's Holy Grail gave be a decent slant on this (where he complains about how depressing psalms are).


The thing is if a being is omnipresent and omnipotent then that being will not be concerned with human emotions and motivations , in fact if you can do anything , then pretty soon you would get very bored , well I would. Part of the the joy of living is the uncertainty if things and striving to achieve goals and not knowing what's going to happen next. Yes there are certain things in place and the sun tends to rise and the seasons are reasonably predictable (though still waiting for The Daily Mail & Express's ice ages and tsunamis), so you have reasonably solid foundations to build on when you want to do something.

If there is a god , and I'm hedging my bets by being agnostic, I believe that the god would want us to tho live our lives to the best of our ability, and be kind to every living thing. The insecurity of life is demonstrated in the TED talk below which I found difficult to take in just because of the concepts including the Higgs-Boson particle , and in a tangential move away the seasonal song is "I Smell Winter" by the Housemartins, which I don't think has appeared on any Christmas compilations.

Also the fact I'm doing a seasonal song a day and tagging it with Christmas , means that Christmas is now one of my most common tags on here , soon to outstrip Apple and iPhones! It's quite funny that some of my most used tags are about things that I don't particularly care about , a bit like on Twitter , where if you want your tweet to go viral usually it's a complaint , which surely is not what our god would want if that god were on Twitter.

Oh and I do follow God on Facebook here , he is very good and I can live with this God's existence. Have a brilliant weekend everybody.

Suddenly It's Christmas

This song always cheers me up , a Loudonesque take on the commercial season.  Though I'd just heard an acoustic version before, but what the hell I've put this one up. In case you didn't know Loudon is Martha and Rufus's dad and wrote a song for Rufus when he was born called "Rufus is a Tit Man" , how wrong he was!

Feeling better today after a good sleep , so off to work soon

A friend told me to listen to this guy, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, absolutely stunning, I always find it amazing that however old you get there is always something new to discover. Have a brilliant Friday everyone , I will!

Christmas Sentiment

I'm feeling under the weather, so just a shorty before I retire. Arthur Comix reminded me of this song , with , in my opinion, a wonderful rousing chorus. Half Man Half Biscuit are probably my favourite band of all time and this is just a great song , a wonderful antidote to the commercialisation of Christmas.

So really this post has nothing to do with Christmas sentiment , but really you should be nice to your fellow man and have a great whatever festival or god you follow.

Everyone have a great night and I will be back tomorrow with another great seasonal related song.

You Really Never Know

The only thing worse than something that doesn't work when it should is something that does work when it shouldn't. At the weekend a work laptop wouldn't connect to the home network by ethernet cable, however my home laptop connect up no problem.
Yesterday I tried again with another work laptop. It wouldn't connect. I disconnected everything, and rebooted everything, but still no go.

Ethernet Adapter

Checked my own laptop that connected no problem, so what was going on? Was there some weird work security? Checked my own laptop and looked at the connections and then it clicked. My home laptop was connecting via wifi, not the plugged-in cable.It turns out the problem was a dead ethernet adapter which effectively knocked out the whole wired network. This is what they look like -->


Then this morning the router decided to knock out the wifi , but managed to sort that as well, so all is back on track which is good.

Also his morning Chris Evans played Run With The Fox by Chris Squire and Alan White of Yes , so that can be our Yule Jewel.

You Never Know

Well the threatened Arctic blizzards have not materialised again,  and yesterday was actually quite warm. Today looks just like a normal day, apart from the fact it's still dark (and there's nothing much we can do about that), but at least we get to see the sun rise.

I've chosen "Blanche Com La Neige" by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Kate was mother to Rufus and Martha Wainwright but sadly died of sarcoma in 2010, a great loss to the music world. But enjoy this and track down the McGarrigle's other recordings , as well as the Wainwright's as well.

Another Day

Nothing much to say tonight. There's no snow and the weather is reasonable. It's really been just one of those days. The train wasn't late , neither was the bus, but again it was 2:30 before I got a sandwich to eat which isn't good.

Anyway just wishing peace and good stuff to everyone before I fall asleep.

The seasonal song is The Winter Solstice Song (Yule) by Lisa Thiel, who I know nothing about , but this is a very pleasant piece indeed.

SAD

The current weather certainly makes you feel that SAD (Seasonal Affective DisorderDisorder) is very real and unless you have something good happening can make you feel very down. SO if the lack of daylight and gray clouds are getting you down, put on some music to lightedn your heart or call a friend or just go out for a walk.

It's days like these when maybe the tropics start to look appealing, lots of sun and light to just make you feel good.

Today#s seasonal song is Holly Golightly's excellent Christmas Tree On Fire, both funny and brings a smile to your face. And then of course there's always Simon's Cat! Have a great day

Catman and Robin

More unexpected things this morning, of vourse I'm on the lookout for seasonal songs and my friend Lynn posted about having to chase a robin out of her kitchen at work which reminded me of another friend's (Jackie O'Grady) Christmas song "Little Red Robin".

Then when searching for the Little Red Robin song I found Simon's Cat a brilliant cartoon cartoon channel on Youtube originated by Simon Tofield. There's an introductory video on the website well worth watching. Absolutely charming and brilliant. There is a lot of catching up on this to do but sure is wonderful whether you do or don't like cats.

Have a brilliant Saturday everyone!!

Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition

One the points of this months blogs is to include seasonal songs that you don't normally hear, and was looking through my Youtube Channel and came across my video of Lord Rochester doing Rudolph's Ruin and The Central a Christmas or two back.

It just shows that things (such as boxes of chocolates and mystery presents) can pop up unexpectedly (like The Spanish Inquisition in Monty Python) , anyway what is totally expected is the very cold weather we are having at the moment. Just glad I am warm and in the house being able to type this.

Spare a thought and maybe a some help for those less fortunate than yourselves, look out for your fellow humans , and one day they will spread the kindness. I've some great encouragement and kind words today , so looking forward to an enjoyable weekend. I hope you have one too.

The Wind Is Up

It's been very load all night and then wheely bin has luckily been blown into a corner, rather than into the road. It is December so it's all we should expect and at least we haven't got rain or the six inches of snow the red tops forecast about three weeks back for our Arctic November.

Anyway it's time to get off to work and see what the East Coast revised schedule has in store for me.

And today's seasonal song is the wonderful "Christmas Song" by the Raveonettes.

Who's That In A Winter Wonderland?

For December I'm including a seasonal related song every day, but not one that appears on any "Now That's What I Call Christmas" album, although I don't think it's too much of a challenge. Also I want it to be stuff that you can listen to as well. So toady it's the turn of the rather excellent Grandaddy.

While the season was hijacked by the catholic church, it's obviously rooted in pagan worship and really on god is much the same as another, but doesn't stop us practicing goodwill to all men and women, and really it shouldn't be just now but every day of the year.

We should be there for our friends, family and those in need , we should always extend a helping hand , because if we show kindness to others then they will pass that kindness on. Yes there are a few who will try and take advantage, but don't let them spoil the good stuff. Practice lots of hugs with the person nearest you and you will feel great. Have a wonderful night everyone.

Stitched Up to Shine A Light and Ring In The Solstice

Well the nurse could only find nine of the ten stitches, but she was brilliant a shining example of our wonderful NHS. Am I really that fat, that I can lose a stitch? Removal stung  a bit but should be ok. Also bought a normal fitting LED today from Clas Ohlson. Reasonably priced and it's now saving me about 10p a day as it's on 24/7 so will pay for itself in just over a month.

Ok, seasonal song time and we obviously go for "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" by Jethro Tull.

First Monday In December

And I'm going to get the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl out of the the way for today's seasonal song. Just because things are popular doesn't make them bad. You can also get the video on iTunes here.

Today is the first Monday in December, the weather is still mild and no doubt corporations will be trying to get us to spend lots more money over the coming weeks to buy stuff we don't need.

I will not be spending money I don't need to, I will be enjoying myself with friends. I have a choice of six gigs I can go and see this week. I may not see any, but I do have that choice and the half price black friday television never even came on my radar. You should only buy things when you need them or they have something that can positively enhance your life.

So have a brilliant day, a brilliant week , It's time for work. Oh I haven't mentioned the "C" word!!