Mugged By Apple

It's not out of choice but I have iTunes on my PC . A couple of weeks back I bought Rebel Get By by General Fiasco , and paid my 79p which is fine. However I looked at my list of purchased items and theres two tunes in there that I didnt know I'd bought. Because I'd left myself logged in on iTunes it had done the purchase when I copied the url of the song I wanted to listen.

So if you must have an iPod , and therefore iTunes, beware if you buy stuff off iTunes , log out when you're finished with it!

I Know It's 2009 But...

Working from home , listening to BBC Radio 2 , with Johnny Walker standing in for Terry Wogan and they've just played "Uncle John's Band" from Workingmen's Dead by The Grateful Dead on daytime Radio 2 . Whatever next , I ask you?

By the Way Uncle John's Band just happens to be a totally gorgeous record as this live performance from Alpine Valley 1989 proves:

Punk Not Dad? In Me Shed? Lisa Rogers?

After finding out that BBC Radio 7 are broadcasting Kenny Everett shows in their entirety a friend returned this to me and very funny it is too:

It's over thirty years since the first British punk single hit the shops which was "New Rose" by The Damned released on Stiff Records which I purchased from Malcolm's in Chorley, and not "Anarchy In The UK" by the Sex Pistols released on EMI , withdrawn very quickly netting me £25 in the process as well as a copy of "Never Mind The Bollocks" which I'm allowed to say and print thanks to the work of the great , late John Mortimer ("Rumpole of The Bailey" and all that!!!!

The Omega Man (and Woman)

A couple of months back I was having various problems with blood pressure tablets that were affecting me both physically and mentally. The tablets were working but the side effects were rubbish , affecting both thinking process and the causing what Pele describes as 'erectile dysfunction'. The problem is diabetes is a debilitating condition and things are only going to get worse , or so they tell me. A possible solution was Viagara , but it's both expensive , and they only prescribe you four tablets a month , when really I want something that'll work on a daily basis.I then came across this in Boots, Cardio-Ace.

Cardio-Ace is essentially Omega-3 Oil , which can be found in oily fish to name but one source. Not availableon prescription because you can get it from a decent diet. Anyway this stuff works. At my annual Diabetic Review the nurse explained how it works. Basically as we get older our arteries and veins get clogged up with fat and gunk making it more difficult for the blood to get round the body and provide stuff like oxygen for the brain etc. What Omega 3 does is act like a brillo pad on your arteries and veins clearing away the gunk leaving your body in a fully functioning state. Would recomend this stuff to anybody . It works!!

Proper Properganda

Recently got involved with Proper Distribution distributing magazines and reviewing gigs and CDs after reading "Last Shop Standing" by Graham Jones (see here). The book mentions how Tesco demanded ten grand from Proper to talk with them about distribution , to which Proper decided against supplying the supermarket chain.

Despite the apparent impossibilty of competing against the supermarkets and X-Factor production line it's great to see that somebody can still produce quality stuff with integrity. Just tried this Amazon Widget thing here:





The label promotes modern stuff , esoteric stuff , repackages old stuff beautifully and it's a pleasure that they exist and care. The only equivalent I can think of is maybe Voiceprint who are based in Houghton-Le-Spring , I believe.



If you'd like to get involved the details are here and the Properganda page is here

Michael Jackson - Not of this Earth (Any More)

Jacko dies at 50 from a heart attack. Sony / BMG Executives must be rubbing their hands with glee.

I'm not a huge fan of Michael Jackson , preferring his early , vibrant Jackson Five work to his later work. Off The Wall was a very good album , but Thriller , despite it being the number one seller of all time (50 million sales and counting) was the start of the slippery slope.

The worst thing is that the media are already trying to dissect his life , talk of family abuse , hangers on crawling out the woodwork.

Just remember his music and slap anyone who tries to dig the dirt.

Motion Blur

In this modern age where things get superceded almost before you buy them , I was suprised (or maybe not surprised ) that HD TVs suffer from something called motion blur , a shadow following something that moves across the screen. Apparentlly the new LED TV sets dont have it. I've always been worried about the HDTV situation which advertises it's product by shoeing and in focus forecound item (such as Wayne Rooney) against a blurred background. I don't want a picture with a blurred background , especially if I'm paying a lot for it.

Incidentally the version of True Colours in the Sky advert is by Ane Brun , available here.

About 5 years back I bought a Beko 32" CRT Television that is still going striong and gives a decent picture. Think I may wait untoil these flat TVs have themseves sorted out.

Last week we had another storming General Fiasco gig , album due in January , at the O2 Academy in Newcastle. This band is so good it's not true. When they introduce a new song you're actually looking forward to it because it's more genius from Owen (bass + vox) , Enda (Geetar) and Leaky (Drumz). They're back in September , I'll be deffo there..

Also next week Blur play the academy in preparation for their O2 Arena Gig. I'll be going for a curry at the Spice Cube.