With The Possible Exception of Being Garth Crooks - #AnimalAugust #9

Every time I wash a sieve the Half Man Half Biscuit song "Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes"  from "Look Dad, No Tunes" comes to mind:

"There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves

There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves

With the possible exception

Of being Garth Crooks

There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves"

Possibly very true but what Garth Crooks has done to incur Nigel Blackwell's ire , I haven't a clue.

Today is very hot and clammy but foggy. I went to Morrison's but wearing the mask can feel a bit claustrophobic , but we are in a different world now until a vaccine is found for COVID-19 . The mask is annoying the alternative is frightening.

Talking of claustrophobia , which I suffer from slightly, that is the feeling that I am getting in "The Lost" by Jonathan Aycliffe , being trapped but frightened of what might happen, ironically I'm enjoying it , and saw parallels in "The Revenant" in the cold, snow , and forest settings , although one is in North America and the other is in Romania. Leonardo Dicaprio's fight with the cear is stunning, and Tom Hardy play s a great villain.

Keeping with Half Man Half Biscuit for #AnimalAugust we will go with "King of Rome" which is about a pigeon , and one of their covers but not officially available digitally. Here is a list of their covers. Luckily for everyone it is on Youtube and you can listen to it on this post.

Be Prepared - #AnimalAugust #8

This weekend has been mostly vegetarian / vegan and I do find that good vegan food is generally more palatable that most animal carcass based food. But I am not a vegan , not even a vegetarian, but do enjoy fish and sometimes chicken. The vegan stuff is generally a lot lighter on the stomach and always goes down well, and you never have to wonder what's actually in a vegan meal.

Sometimes some stuff can seem a bit bland but that's why vegan cooks are more inventive in their meal preparation, so vegan meals tend to bevery morish.

Just thinking of the next post number that I will mark and it will be 2345 , which will probably happen in September at the current rate of writing .

This morning I have started my #MusicWhileYouWork with a Go Go Midgets EP and "The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads" by Lift To Experience , which twenty years on is still an awesome experience to listen to, and that is their only release that I am aware of although Josh T Pearson released a solo album and several EPs.

I am currently working through "From The Beginning" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer which , like the curate's egg, is good in parts , th einterview wit Aaron Copeland over their take on "Fanfare For The Common Man" is illuminating , as their version is a six minute jam bookended by the actual "Fanfare For The Common Man".

The Jonathan Aycliffe novel "The Lost" which I had regarded as almost comic has taken a much darker turn in the second half, with and ever increasing body count, which although I have read it before I had forgotten about. The book is excellent and half way through I am looking forward to find out what lies in store in the Carpathian monthains.

For #AnimalAugust we shall go with a live take of "The Dog, The Dog , He's At It Again" although it's not really about a dog , but it's an excellent song by Caravan.

Bingeing - #AnimalAugust #7

I never thought I could say I binge watched anything , but recently I have polished off "The IT Crowd" and am nearly though "The End of the F**king World" , also finishing "What We Di In The Shadows" as well. If the episodes are under thirty minutes then it is quite easy to watch a few episodes at a time. Oh I forgot "30 Rock" and "Parks and Recreation" as well thanks to the Sky Comedy Channel and I am  working my way through "Veep" and "Silicon Valley".

I've also completed "Brassic" , "Tales From The Loop", "Vikings" and the first series of "Miracle Workers" , so this would all imply I've been binge watching.

I am also working my way though my CD collection (mainly the box sets) while I am working from home, and while most of this is revisiting, it does allow me to choose my listening. I do pepper it with a little 6Music as it's always good to hear new stuff.

Also this is the seventh post this month so I'm almost binge writing , although I have had some months where I have averaged almost two posts a day. I hadn't intended to write this as I want to go to bed, but it's hot and I've now written this, so happy to share.

For #AnimalAugust I am going to share "Caterpillar" by The Cure.

Sleep well. Work tomorrow.

Dreamworks - #AnimalAugust #6

Would this morning from a weird dream sequence. I was in an open plan office with my boss and team and someone started playing loud music but I was on a call . My boss suggested we move to an office (my normal response would be to tell whoever was making the noise to quieten down) , then I wanted a shower but couldn't because there was some guy in the shower bed (that is a bed that you had to sleep in before having a shower) so I couldn't and thought I will have to go home. The dream made no sense at all, although probably influenced by the fact that I listen to a lot of music while I am working from home. One of the things about the dream was to keep on going to get things done which I do normally anyway , but really it's Sunday afternoon , and the dream is almost completely gone from my memory.

This morning I tried to share an article on Facebook , but know I would probably be banned because it would not share the link without the Guardian image. The article is here and the image is not pornographic or offensive but Facebook's algorithms are dodgy to say the least. Her Instagram posts are here. The article's headline is :

"Instagram ‘censorship’ of black model's photo reignites claims of race bias #IwanttoseeNyome outcry after social media platform repeatedly removes pictures of Nyome Nicholas-Williams"

Now if this were a topless white man , nothing would be said.

TV is still providing a lot to watch though I have just finished "The IT Crowd" on All 4 and thought it was great , love the room with all the seventies technology like the 8-Track Sphere and the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore Pet and the Altair 8000 (wasn't that a planet in "Forbidden Planet" ?

So to keep #AnimalAugust, on track I'm going with  "I Love My Dog" by Yusuf Islam as part of a live "greatest hits medley"  ,  when he originally released it he was Cat Stevens , and his is one of the box sets on my #MusicWhileYouWork list ("On The Road To Find Out") while I am working from home.

Homework - #AnimalAugust #5

This week has been another working from home. Using Microsoft Teams means that you can contact people when they are at work so it's not a problem and you don't feel isolated.

This week has also allowed me to listen to a lot of CDs including some that are for sale on Discogs because I don't really play them all that much , although ironically my sale pile is the closest CD group to my CD player. The reason for this is that generally  I am finding 6Music a bit samey , although the DJ banter makes you feel you are with somebody and you do hear new music which is a great reason for listening to the radio.

The Cds I went through include "The Raven" by Lou Reed and the first Stone Roses album, plus a Fotheringay box set  (I am fairly eclectic which you know if you follow this blog, but that's only half a dozen people). Also for the #AnimalAugust we will go for a live take of "The Raven" by Lou Reed based on the writings of Edgar Allen Poe.

On the book front I have finished "Everville" and while it is an excellent book it left a lot of unanswered threads, possibly ripe for a third book of the series. I am now rereading "The Lost" by Jonathan Aycliffe which is a bit lighter than his normal stuff with some wry black humour similar to the recent BBC take on "Dracula".

The weather is good so enjoy your Saturday.

The Wicker Tree - #AnimalAugust #4

A few years back I picked up blu ray copies of "The Wicker Man" and "The Wicker Tree" Robin Hardy films separated by nearly forty years. "The Wicker Man" is a masterpiece and does not need and never needed a follow up, but generally the people who watch  "The Wicker Tree" will be fans of "The Wicker Man" and as such extreme disappoint may be the best that you can experience.

The film was made in 2011 and lots of things hark back to the seventies, some of the acting is very two dimensional, and the storyline (two born again US Christian hicks sent as missionaries to pagan Scotland and ending up as targets for the pagans) is very shallow , though there are some good one liners and digs at Bible Thumpers , Graham McTavish as Sir Lachlan Morrison is excellent as the Christopher Lee / Lord Summerisle figure.

Also the landscape shots and scenery is top notch, even the ruined castle is very impressive.

The problem is that if "The Wicker Man" is this season's Liverpool , the "The Wicker Tree" is this season's Wycombe Wanderers , in their own sphere absolutely fine , but you try and compare and latter is bound to come a cropper.

The film is short , maybe 100 minutes but is probably far more watchable that Nicholas Cage's  "The Wicker Man" remake. and I wouldn't put you off it. I was apprehensive when I saw the IMDB ratings but those fears were , in my opinion, unfounded.

So what #AnimalAugust song should I share with you , it's still a bit reptilian , as the first thing that came to mind is "The Snake" by The Pink Fairies from the "Never, Never Land" album , but this is a 2014 live recording from The 100 Club , where I went to see Ben Waters.

Enjoy the Pink Fairies and give The Wicker Tree a visit.

The Midgard Serpent #AnimalAugust #3

Still another sixty pages to go in "Everville" and still have no real clue about the Uad Uroboros, the monsters of the book. The Uroboros part is based on Ouroboros , the self sunstaining perpetual worm or snake that surronds the world based on the Midgard Serpent Jörmungandr from Norse mythology.

While thoroughly enjoying the book , I am still confused as to why I bought this and never actually read it, it will definitely be revisited, and I know one of the characters Harry D'Amour maybe just from "The Scarlet Gospels" or "The Great and Secret Show" , so it is slightly surprising.

It is a very grey Tuesday but the rain has stopped and I have been listening to a couple of CD boxes today. One was the first five Alice Cooper albums and this just confirmed that they didn't really take off until "Love It To Death" with some impressive songs with one of their best (and creepiest) "The Ballad of Dwight Fry" sseguing with with frightening but originally funny synchronicity into Rolf Harris' "Sun Arise" . The Cooper song refers to a child stalker and well you know what I mean. The album is still excellent.

"Killer" is even better , but not of the albums hit forty minutes so that was a great morning's listening.

I am now listening to the "Zang Tumb Tuum" box set which is 3CDs and a DVD , and while there is some good stuff on there, I liked the Alice Cooper albums better.

In keeping with #AnimalAugust (and the Midgard Serpent) I am going with the excellent Northern Soul song "The Snake" by Al Wilson , a truly great record that always grabs your attention when it comes on the radio.