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Records which I purchased from Malcolm's in Chorley, and not "Anarchy In The UK" by the Sex Pistols released on EMI , withdrawn very quickly netting me £25 in the process as well as a copy of "Never Mind The Bollocks" which I'm allowed to say and print thanks to the work of the great ,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.

Remake / Remodel

In his book "Last Shop Standing" Graham Jones (see here) remarks on how Greatest Hits packages and compilations are stagnating the music industry. Apparently Roxy Music have had seven such items , and over the past week there's another Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits, another compilation to celebrate Blur's reformation called Midlife and another Black Sabbath Greatest Hits Compilation.




Add this to the rush of "Platinum Collections", "Dad Rock" compilations for Fathers Day , and similar ones on Mothers Day, Christmas and the like and you can see just how bloated and lazy the corporate music industry has become concentrating solely on moving product rather than nurturing music . The two items should be compatible , though the fact that the industry is run by accountants shows in spades.








I put together a short video featuring recycled music , soundtracked by Roxy Music's Remake/Remodel from their eponymous debut, available for download here.

However in some ways greatest hits are not all bad, they may be a good introduction to a band , and it's good to see bands still touring even if they do rest on their laurels so to speak. Fleetwood Mac (with the genius of Lindsey Buckingham) and Fairport Convention are two that spring to mind. But the best news on this front for was that Arthur Jeffes, the son of the late great Simon Jeffes has put together a band to play the music of the truly wonderful Penguin Cafe Orchestra and will be touring with them , including old and new compositions. Now that IS worth looking forward to. Information here.