#AprilSongs #8 Blue Monday

There might be a few Blue Mondays before the end of April. The first one I've chosen is the Fats Domino one. When I say they will be a few Blue Mondays I mean that there are quite a few songs called "Blue Monday" although most people will now associate the title with the band New Order, though I am not sure that one will be included in the #AprilSongs sequence and there are quite a few other options.

The morning I finished Michael Moorcock's "The Skrayling Tree" and I now know what it meant as I hadn't a clue when I picked the book up. The book is a swirl of ideas and genres with references to Moorcock's early work as well as various mythologies and histories with a finale in a giant golden ziggurat on a frozen lake in extreme North America.

I'm not sure if that stimulated a dream that I suddenly remembered as I read the final sequence, where a couple of North American friends Pandora and Gina and I were posting Instagram videos of us walking out onto frozen lakes as far as we dared. Mine was the lake in Leazes Park and while I have seen it iced over I have never considered walking out on it. I remember as a kind walking over iced ponds and once the ice cracked while a friend was in the middle, I've never seen anyone move so fast and he got back to the shore without getting wet.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn for the first time this year, and it's April. Having said that it does look very well, whereas most years I think I am going to have to get it relaid, but it is looking good.

So I know it's Monday morning , but although it's grey we're getting closer to Spring and Summer. Have a good day.

#TenAlbumsInTenDays #4 - #1 - Bardo Jordan Reyne

I've been nominated for the #TenAlbumsInTenDays by my friend Tim Barlow and this is my fourth nomination and I'm always up for it but each time I want to take a new angle on it. Now generally we always probably hit our teenage years between 14-18 but I am wondering if I can do ten albums from the last decade. Too often people limit themselves to a particular time, and that doesn't mean that the albums of that time were bad or less good, but maybe they did hit us with more impact because we had a lot less experience of what was available to us.

So I am kicking of with Jordan Reyne's "Bardo" which is more hypnotic dark Celtic mood pieces, and a welcome return as she had said she was retiring from music. Ever since I first saw her, she has been the most striking artist I have have experienced, combining so much talent in one person.

When "Bardo" was announced I immediately pre-ordered it because I knew it would be brilliant, and I was not disappointed. Yes it is more Jordan Reyne, but that is more musical adventure and perfection , tinged with her antipodean Celtic menace, although I believe she is now based in Poland. That also brings  a connection with my Chain post yesterday which was the actual pronunciation of "Warszawa" from David Bowie's "Low".

I do hope to get to see her again, but will share the opener from "Bardo" with you "Exiter".

#AprilSongs #7 Sunday Evening

Continuing on in this sequence I've done the first week without being too obvious, and today is "Sunday Evening" by The Black Angels. On first listen you think 1960's Garage Psychedelia, but it's actually only five years old and I have a couple of their albums which I obviously need to revisit.

This is one of the problems with any music collection, you don't listen end to end, and very often will buy things then listen and forget or not even listen.. I am currently selling CDs that I wont play again on Discogs , I do actually like playing a single or album and share Vinyl Plays on my Instagram Channel under the tag #VitalVinyl

So today will be just relaxing though maybe a trip into town to get a few things, and maybe catch up on some TV shows, as well as possibly another blog post later on.

Just listening to 6Music interviewing to an artist talking about the last album they "streamed" , not listened to, and that is part of the problem that at times people don't really listen, but that has been with us since the advent of CD allowing us to program and skip stuff we didn't like or were bored with. Don't get me wrong I love the convenience of digital, but sometimes taking away the controls from you is a good thing which is why I listen to the Radio and Vinyl.

Enjoy your Sunday

My First Chain Appearance

Well I was chosen for The Chain once before but pulled at the last minute for what was deemed a better connection. I gave up when I heard a connection that was basically "Ronnie Wood or Keith Richard had a similar hairstyle", What? That week Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie were away so not to blame for that aberration.

Anyway yesterday I got a text from Sarah at 6Music as I had put in a suggestion that I had then forgotten about. I then remembered it was the Peter Schilling song "Major Tom" which is the theme song used in "Deutschland 83" (and 86 and 89) , the eighties cold war  German drama (with some very funny dry comedy).

The song is perfect eighties a la Flock of Seagulls, although I originally that it had been especially commissioned. It wasn't, but I had never heard it before in my life.

Then I met my friend Katie for a meal at Bohemian (now Junk It Up) which also had a vinyl section (yes I know, unusual cross selling) and the single that was at the front of their section was "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling, so I had to buy it.

While the lyrics sometimes hit the creakiness of Abba's (it is their second language after all) the very short chorus is wonderful and the overall song is great and sticks in your mind like all great pop music.

The Chain link is from Bowie's "Warszawa" from "Low" part of the Berlin Trilogy. The two connections are Berlin (via "Deutschland 83") and "Major Tom" with the "Space Oddity" connection. The show will be available for a bit here and my appearance is around 72 minutes in, 1.14.26 according to my friend Nigel.

So this is just to mark that I've been on The Chain. and my entry is recorded here, number 7868.

#AprilSongs #6 Saturday Night Fish Fry

SIx days into this and this morning I'm on https://www.thechain.uk/The Chain with by suggestion to follow Bowie's "Warszawa", but today's choice for #AprilSongs is Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry".

I am not sure when I first discovered Louis Jordan, but was almost shocked when I heard "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" because the main riff (played in alternative versions by brass and piano) is the same note sequence as Chuck Berry's signature guitar riff. So Chuck didn't get it from Michael J Fox in "Back To The Future" but from Louis Jordan back in the forties. Musicians always "borrow" from others but it would be nice to see a little acknowledgement (Led Zeppelin I'm looking at you).

Also the brass section reminds me of Frank Zappa's take on  "Stairway To Heaven" (which was the subject of a copyright claim for it's similarity to Spirit's "Taurus") on "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" where the brass section play the guitar solo perfectly.

So I need to shower before I get my phone call from 6Music.

#AprilSongs #5 - Friday

Still banned from posting on Facebook and no one has noticed, am getting about four visits for each of the #AprilSongs posts, but also the realisation that I am maybe too reliant on Facebook to spread my posts.

Anyway back to the sequence and the first thing that came to mind was "Friday on My Mind" the first UK Number one by an Australian band The Easybeats and covered by Bowie on his generally excellent "Pin Ups" album, but I have shared this before, though that is not a reason not to share again.

Instead I've gone into my JJ Cale catalogue and simply "Friday" with his wonderful hypnotic laid back guitar sound.from his "5" album, referring to weekly pay and a five day week, which are both gone for so many people these days. Seriously I think this song contains just a single chord, absolutely amazing but very listenable, with some sweet guitar licks.

I've also just heard an amazingly trippy piece by him called Durango which I have never heard before but is definitely JJ Cale territory with a touch of Steely Dan's "Do It Again".

So it's Friday morning and if you have a non working weekend have a great day.

#AprilSongs #4 - Thursday Afternoon

I'm still on my Facebook ban for daring to share the Helmut Newton image on the wall of No 28 (see here as it is still on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, go figure) . A lot of people will call Facebook Fascists or whatever, but essentially Facebook is a club, and you can opt to be in or out and if you are in you HAVE to abide by their rules no matter how petty they may seem. You have to decide if the rules are worth the benefits of being a member, and I enjoy being able to know what friends are up to and being able to share things. I just thought the Newton picture with the lights looked great, and it is , in my opinion, a vision of empowerment.

Anyway today's post in the #AprilSongs sequence is the one hour long piece "Thursday Afternoon" by Brian Eno. This is not a song or even really a song , it has no tune, but is a go to album to go to sleep to, because it is their but does not demand your attention. Brian supposedly invented Ambient Music when he had put on an album but it was too quiet for him to hear properly, but he was too ill to actually get up and turn up the record. This then gave him the idea to just have sounds that did not demand the listener's attention but still added to the atmospherics of the situation.

Last night I was wondering if I could actually complete the #AprilSongs sequence so, as I don't have a decent MP3 catalogue I thought I'd try just using Windows Explorer to search based on the day, and it worked, so as long as I actually post something each day, which shouldn't really be a problem.