Late Again

That's twice in a week I've been up past midnight , mainly because of writing blog post, but last week was after a brilliant gig (see here) and yesterday I had been walmost hypnotised watching Stanley Kubrick's "2001:A Space Odyssey", fifty years on and some of the decor is very sixties but the classically accompanied space sequences are still mostly jaw dropping. Remember this was way before CGI so it was all models and backdrops and stop motion animation.

Anyway it means that I do have some way of activating myself to stay up beyond my usual ten o'clock, though I am not too sure what that is. Yes oit's doing something that stimulates my mind and brain, but I am not too sure what that is but it proves I can stay up late again.

That takes me back to 1972 , four years after  "2001:A Space Odyssey" was released , and I first heard Stealers Wheel on The Old Grey Whistle Test  playing "Late Again". Most people have only heard "Stuck In The Middle With You" from the ear removal scene in "Reservoir Dogs" but Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty had a bit more in their locker than just that, and are worth investigating further, although Rafferty did hit paydirt with "Baker Street".

So although I was up til about two this morning , I got up at seven thirty, so doubt will have a nap this afternoon, and probably an early night tonight as I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning.

Again my tangentiality has linked Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Stealers Wheel and Quentin Tarantino.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

#AprilSongs #28 National Avenue (Sunday Afternoon)

I know it's quarter past twelve on SUnday morning and I've just posted a piece featuring Red Guitars, but while checking out their music I noticed that "National Avenue(Sunday Afternoon) would be perfect to close the Sundays. Five minuted of lovely jangliness from the "Tales of the Expected" album that you can pick up on CD for about £25.

So this is going to be a very short post because of the time and the fact I've been to Edinburgh today, although it is Sunday and I could actually have a lie in.

So if you are reading this now and you are in the UK it's time for bed, if you are anywhere else leave a comment and enjoy the song.

There WAS a DIN

I'm so impressed with my new record player from RPM (which you can see in actione here)  I began to think of using my networked digital music through it to see how it performs and maybe even my DVD Audio which could be awesome.

One problem , no input although Marek told me there was one. The was a TAPE socket but it was blocked with a metal plug, until Marek told me to go and look again, amd sure enough , I'd missed the fact that it was a five pin DIN socket. Now seriously I  don't think I've ever used one since I was a teenager but it looks like I will be using one again.

At first I though of connecting it to a Bluetooth receiver but then I thought ,why not just plug it into the digital player and just remove another potential failure point. So I went to the garage and looked in my cable box and there wasn't one but I also thought that's full of cables and plugs that I have never ever used and probably never will , so I think it needs disposing of.

Too many times we keep things "just in case" and they just take up space and rot.

So what to play other than "Good Technology" by Red Guitars. Ironically their "America and Me" was one of the first pieces of vinyl I bought in this second phase as it wasn't available digitally. They are still very difficult to track down with vinyl being the safest option, I could find any download or streaming options, but they are an excellent band.

#AprilSongs #27 Saturday Night's (Alright for Fighting)

I originally was going to choose "Book of Saturday" by King Crimson for this but I had got it mixed up with "The Great Deceiver" (this is an acoustic reinterpretation and is rather good but you get the idea) from "Starless and Bible Black" ( What a wonderful and perfect description of dark night from "Under Milkwood" by Dylan Thomas) but the two songs could not be more different, the former in my opinion being fairly insipid while the latter is a brass assault and brilliant album opener. They are both on Youtube so you can check them out.

So then I though well "Saturday Night's (Alright for Fighting)" is one of Elton John's best and maybe a little obvious, but has some great lyrics and one of my favourite couplets:

"I'm a juvenile product of the working class 

Whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass"

I've found an excellent 1984 live take which shows how good Elton John can be. This is the final #AprilSongs Saturday song and the whole sequence will be complete on the first of May.

Last I night I went to see Half Man Half Biscuit at The Boiler Shop and it was an amazing gig at a great venue. I managed to meet two people who I knew but had forgotten. The first was Clare (I don't know if that is the correct spelling as there are so many ways to spell the name)  from the Glamorous Owl (and if you want to partake in one of their excellent ring making workshops you get 20% off on the site) and I managed to compound my ignorance by not realising she had the names of the band on her T Shirt. She was with Victoria (who now lives in Liverpool) and a very affable Anarchist who I have probably seen at the Black Bull.

The other person was someone I have worked with, but it must be at least fifteen years back, but he recognised me but we had about two minutes at the bar.

Anyway have an enjoyable Saturday, I am off to Edinburgh.

#AprilSongs #26 Black Friday

This is early because tomorrow morning I need go and get some milk, go to the Post Office Depot to pick up "All Good Clean Fun" on vinyl, then post a "Best of" Sandie Shaw to fulfil a Discogs order (I notice that a new one on Amazon will set you back £143 maybe the buyer saw this), then go to work, and afterwards go to the Boiler Shop to see Half Man Half Biscuit.

So for the #AprilSongs sequence I'm closing Friday with Steely Dan's "Black Friday", the opening song from "Katy Lied" which featured a Katydid on the cover. Steely Dan took their name from a Steam Powered Sex Toy in William Burroughs "The Naked Lunch". I only recently found out that "Black Friday" was when businesses finally hit paydirt and went into profit for the financial year supposedly, though it may have once been true, I doubt it happens today.

So this is my third post today although it's an early installment for tomorrow so I will now leave you to enjoy some classic live Steely Dan.

About The Facebook Ban - Entrapment?

I've now been banned three times from Facebook. There seems to be a sliding scale, the first one was a day, the second was three days and the third seven days with Messenger shut down as well. As I've said being on Social Media is like being in a club, and you need to abide by their rules and the rules need to be consistent and need to address any potential transgression properly, I don't believe Facebook do, and their bans are almost arbitrary, I have reported racist , misogynist and race iting posts to no avail (but they get clicks don't they) , although Facebook has started to ban some extreme right wing groups and pages.

So here's what happened to me (so far):

1. I was watching the Peter Greenaway film "Drowning By Numbers" which is rather excellent art film and three women who murder their partners, and it does contain sex and nudity, but it is both funny and well presented. See if you can spot why I was banned. My problem with this is that it was IMDB that posted the image, which again is hardly explicit. The IMDB page is here.
2. I then shared a picture of an Helmut Newton image on the wall of No 28, I am OK with this as I thought the lighting on the image obscured the nudity. Facebook decided it didn't. The image is still on my Instagram feed here and is somewhere in my Facebook photographs without the light obscuration (is that a word)
3. The current one, which is virtual entrapment was caused by me sharing an image / link that appeared in my Facebook feed. I thought it was amusing so shared it and was immediately hit with a seven day ban from Facebook and Messenger. Because it was instant that meant the Facebook had decided to share it with me knowing I would probably share with others, so it my opinion I was set up. I have no way of complaining or arguing my case because everything, apart from seeing feeds is now banned for me. When I am let back on it won't be worth pursuing this, but I am now worried that anything I share could result in a ban. I am intending to share this post on Saturday and that may result in a month or permanent ban. The link is here. described by "Well, People Are Painting Glittery Easter Eggs Onto Their Butts Now"

The thing is my only contact on Facebook is via Messenger or a Facebook Posts , so if people are contacting me I cannot reply. So basically this is just a "Beware What You Share" PSA , just because it's in your feed doesn't mean Facebook won't ban you for it. The original post I shared is still on Facebook , so obviously there's a lack of consistency as well.

I just wanted to document this the let people know what happened. I've included "Number 2" from the "Drowning By Numbers" film soundtrack by Michael Nyman a long time collaborator of Peter Greenaway.

#AprilSongs #25 Thursday's Keeper

Hitting the final Thursday in the sequence and we will take "Thursday's Keeper" by The Orb from the album"Cydonia". It past years that would have been enough for a post and I am tempted at some point to do a one word post , a nonsensical post and a gobbledegook post just to see who actually reads them.

Anyway I've always liked the Orb with their generally long trippy  tracks and songs , particularly "Little Fluffy Clouds"  with their mix of samples and rhythms and sounds, which inspired a heck of a lot of other bands while harking back to space rock and kraut rock such as Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and Neu!, all bands I have mentioned or written about before in this blog so you can use the tags if you want to explore a little further.

Anyway it's Thursday so have a good one everybody.