Bingewatch

I know a lot of people, mainly Netflix subscribers, who's normal mode d'etre for watching television series in binge watching. It's something that I can't actually do, I feel that I'm overdosing on whatever I'm watching. I completed "Britannia" in a week due to my NOW TV subscription coming to an end, and i have been watching "Black Sails" but have never exceeded three episodes at one sitting.

I also have a number of series to work through, and often I watch films over two or three sessions, maybe I have a short attention span. One of the good things about Amazon Prime and subscription schannel box sets is that you aren't interrupted by adverts, although what you are going to to watch does take the time it says it's going to take.

The blog posts still don't seem to be getting the hits that they were, but I keep getting chunks of hits like 140 yesterday from Hungary so I don't know how that is working. It maybe that Google Reporting is being a bit flakey at the moment but that is difficult to quantify or identify.

So I've banged on about watching television and my blog and it's probably time to share some music with you, and for not reason at all I am going to share Nazareth's "Silver Dollar Forger (Parts I & II)" essentially for Part 2 which I just love, amazing phased guitar out to coda, from "Rampant", which is a brilliant album, Manny Charlton was a wonderful guitarist.

Desert Island Discs

Today my friend Krista published her Desert Island Discs selection on Facebook here, and as such inspired me to do one. I thought I best read the concept of what it is, though I roughly knew it, but here's a definition:

"Each week a guest, called a 'castaway' during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usually, but not always, music), a book and a luxury item that they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island, whilst discussing their lives and the reasons for their choices."

So that's basically what I'm going to follow, Krista had annotated hers with years and events but  maybe mine wont be that detailed, though hopefully it will provide you with a little insight into what makes me tick. Although this will be albums it is not necessarily my favourite album list, just albums that mean something to me and I wouldn't grow tired of. It also dates me fairly and squarely in the late sixties, early seventies but that's just the nature of the beast.

So here goes:

1. Future Games by Spirit: Still my favourite album of all time and it's sort of a film for the ears featuring dialogue from Star Trek and Sci-Fi "B" Movies with some fine songs and plying. I still listen to it a lot and it still makes my mind fly.
2. Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix Experience: An absolutely gorgeous cornucopia of blues, space rock and containing his take on Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" which must rate as the best cover version ever, a double album that again takes you places that you want to be.
3. Live At San Quentin by Johnny Cash: My dad introduced me to Johnny Cash, and my friend Chris Waring reinforced that, although he was not deemed cool by my school contemporaries, though he is now. This is one of his live prison albums and just encapsulates the outlaw spirit that a lot of us would like to live.
4. Stranded by Roxy Music: Always one of my favourite bands, and though this was the first without Brian Eno in contains what is probably their finest song "Mother of Pearl" and that is something that would have to be in my music collection.
5. Quadrophenia by The Who: Their second concept album which actually makes a lot more sense than "Tommy" and contained a photo story book about Jimmy the Mod ending up on Brighton beach, which I spent time on when I was down there. Lots of unforgettable songs with motifs for each band member, each representing a facet of Jimmy's "quadrophenia".
6. Blood on the tracks by Bob Dylan: There are lots of choices for Dylan but this has "Lily,Rosemary and The Jack of Hearts" one of my favourites story songs that I never tire of, and "If You See Her, Say Hello" which still makes me think about my split with my first girlfriend. The album was about Dylan's divorce so no surprise there.
7. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps by David Bowie: Again not even my favourite Bowie album but a consistently excellent one with not a dud on there. Maybe tomorrow I would have chosen differently but I wouldn't complain if you put this album on.
8. Li'l Beethoven by Sparks: This is just like a box of musical fireworks. Sparks always surprise and delight and bring a smile to your face and this is probably my favourite album of theirs.

Book:

Clive Barker's Imajica: A thousand pages of majick, adventure, magical creatures spanning five dimensions, and one of those books you just don't want to end, but it is always a delight to read again.

Luxury Item:

A Guitar: And maybe one day I can learn how to play, though just making noise on one is always very therapeutic for me.

So that is my Desert Island selection, tomorrow it may be different but I wouldn't complain if this was all I had on that Desert Island.

Music IS a Drug

Today I listened to Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful of Secrets" and followed that up with XTC's "Mummer" and when "Beating of Hearts" came on I thought wow this is so good, I want more. I had been going thru "A Saucerful of Secrets" thinking how sinister and disturbing "Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun" and getting lost in the three part soundscape of the title track, and the songs that close each side "Corporal Clegg" half comedy/half tragedy and Syd Barrett's farewell appearance with the band "Jugband Blues" which seems an almost cut and paste effort but sad realising the burnt out genius that this was showing us, and still is. Evering song is like a pill that makes you want another.

I think "Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun" and the title track on "A Saucerful of Secrets"are absolutely excellent but they are improved on in the live versions on the album "Ummagumma". I remember going into a shop that sold records at Lane Ends in Preston and the hipster salesperson told me they didn't sell singles!! I never darkened their door again.

Someone once described Ramones songs as like Smarties, you cant have just one you have to have lots.

So onto "Mummer" and "Beating of Hearts" which when you listen on headphones you get the low frequency hit after Andy Partridge sings "Louder Than Bombers In Flight" every time, you know it's coming, and eventually it finishes and you want the next one "Wonderland" and interlude before the single "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and it continues on and you enjoy every moment.

I definitely could not be without music, even when I have nothing to play or not player or musical instrument handy, it's still there in my head, sometimes songs and pieces I know, sometimes things I want to rediscover.

I just felt I had to put this down here, before I go and sort out my tea, it was just an idea or a concept and it's an excuse to share this incredible XTC song. Have a great Saturday Night everybody.

We Want Our Empire Back!

After finishing Michael Moorcock's "History of The Runestaff" I've continued with the follow up trilogy "Chronicles of Castle Brass". The first is set in a post apocalyptic world (so post that the human race is now functioning again) with the British Empire re imagines as a mad, evil, ever expansive war mongers (which really is close to what it really was, and at the start of the next book there is a resurgence of desire for a return to the "Dark Empire" which closely reminds of the brexit mindset of isolationism while expecting everyone to do what they want.

The best analogy for brexit is the Netflix one from David Osler (@finance_LL):

"I'm going to cancel Netflix and negotiate with each film producer separately, to get the best deal for me and my family #Brexit" 

A Little of the genius of David Osler

 That's it in a nutshell, I don't need to say anymore. You can read more here.  and some of his tweets you can see to the right. Brilliant.

I still haven't got Netflix and was thinking of the time it takes if you want to download a series from an illegal site, with the risks involved, maybe two or three hours. For £5.99 you can get a month of Netflix and watch as much as you want. An hour of my time is worth a lot more than £5.99 so really it's no contest, I will be subscribing eventually.

That's enough of that, today I have to go and pick up some Bowie vinyl that the GPO decided to deliver at mid day on Friday and I do intend to have a most relaxing weekend although that seldom happens and there will be things to do.


 have just started the last episode of series three of "Black Sails" so I have plenty of ways of spending my time.

I was going to choose a Bowie piece as I'd mentioned him, but thinking on "Black Sails" we'll go for some Alestorm to wake us all up.

Have a good Saturday.

Foggy Notions

Walking into work this morning it is very foggy. On the sixth floor you can't see the river, or across the river. With th efog I immediately thought of "Foggy Notion" by the Velvet Underground and was surprised to find the Super Deluxe sets shown below. One thing the Velvet Underground were not is Super Deluxe. They made music that almost anyone could play but they set a template for a million garage bands with songs of three chords or less that could be quiet or noisy but always worth listening to.

The Super Deluxe reminds of phone and broadband companies pushing their superfast and ultrafast services. If it's fast it's fast. that's all you need to know. Same with film and TV with UltraHD etc etc, it's irrelevant how good the picture is if the story is rubbish.

Someone told me I had to watch "Taken" in HD, I recorded it from Film4 and watched it and .... it was just another Liam Neeson film with Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson. I had another friend who told me when you watched a certain sci fi film in HD you could see the space backdrop was a black curtain! I don't want to see that, I want to enjoy the film.

I have the whole original Adams Family on DVD, the picture transfer is appalling but two minutes ito it you don't notice because the script and acting is razor sharp,

So, it's Friday, have a brilliant day.

Middle of the Night Post

Not quite, a lot of today has been wrestling with Power Pivot and finally making some decent progress, but am still affected by the shortened daylight hours, but it does mean I get to see some decent sunrises but it has been cold when walking in a morning so it is very tempting to just take the bus.

It is dark outside now and this is an excuse to share Public Service Broadcasting's take on WH Auden's "Night Mail" (the full poem is here) and I was thinking it was a Betjamin poem. I've shared Auden before, Alex Harvey covered his "Roman Wall Blues" as "Soldier on The Wall" and I did a video here.

So that's quite a lot of information is very few words which is always good.

I'm on track to pass 300 posts this year and to post my 2,000th post next year, which is something that I just didn't expect to do so that is good. My walking is also hitting the targets so that is another plus.

Tomorrow is Friday, and I am surprised that I've posted very day this week and could possibly hit 300 posts before the end of November, although that is very unlikely, but it does mean I have been posting an average of almost one a day this year.

So enjoy everything I've shared with you and enjoy your Friday too.

Remember A Day

I walked into work this morning as was listening to Thousand Yard Stare's "Live at Electric Studios" and had been wondering who the intro to the instrumental "Petrichor" remind me of, and today realised it was post Roger Waters Pink Floyd, pretty threatening before returning to familiar TYS territory.

The album is excellent but I have been listening to a lot of them this week so decided to to go to Floyd's last album that featured Syd Barrett, "A Saucerful of Secrets" which my friend Harry Clark referred to as "Y D" because of the titling on the cover, which is one of those that you can always lose yourself in wuth it's magu, planets and magical and alchemical devices and colouring.

The secongd song in is the one I took the post title from and still one of my favourites though I first heard it on "Relics" an early cheap compilation featuring a Nick Mason drawn Heath Robinson like cover, another that you can sit andlook at and lose yourself in though it's better to have the vinyl version than the CD or digital version.

I've shared a version used as a soundtack to the Japanese animation "The Wanderer" for you to enjoy.