I was browsing some Bowie today on my iPod and was struck by the huge stretch of silence after the intro to his 1980 remake of Space Oddity (my favourite version). It clocks in at about 13 seconds of absolute silence before the song returns. Can anyone beat that in a mainstream rock/pop release (i.e. no John Cage or other such wankery).

On a related note, I recall reading somewhere, possibly here, that when Low performed live for the BBC years ago the emergency dead-air tape kept triggering due to their moribund mid-song silences. If true I imagine the Bowie track didn't get much radio action.

Below, Space Oddity (1980), Silence starts just before the minute mark.

Thre were ructions when Yes replaced their unwell singer with the frontman from a Yes tribute band, Close To The Edge.

I thought Benoit David was having a decent enough stab at a thankless task, but now he has gone above and beyond the call of duty by falling ill just as the band are about embark on the Asia-Pacific leg of their tour and the singer from Roundabout has been recruited to fill in for him.

http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/transaction-report-yes-replaces...

The only think that would make it better is if Roundabout were not a Yes tribute band but a Close To The Edge tribute band.

The singer from Fragile must be making sure his diary is clear just in case...

..(Is, she's still around) a jewish girl from Sydney.
Ladies and Gentlemen Renee Geyer,

In the words of Monty Burns "I know what I like..and I don't hate this"....
Even though
1/They obviously want to make movies really.
2/The singer looks like him off Green Wing, who in turn looks like Donkey from "Shrek"
3/They're a little precious.
4/They owe a little to The Kinks (all right..a lot)

for a weekend of soul searching as my 16 year old son enjoyed telling me (probably followed by a mumbled silly old bugger), lot's of time to go over my future, reflect on the past and I think my mind is clearer but I won't bore you with the details. Anyway so as not disappoint you all on my return I heard this on Absolute 80's on the way to my retreat and it's stuck in my head all weekend and seems to strike some sort of chord, maybe Colin H will tell me it's a F/17 minor or something. Oh by the way, have I missed much? By the way number 2, this is a tuuuuune and I'll hear nothing else ok!

Howard Jones "Pearl In The Shell"

Most perceptive of the crappy TOTPs of the 1970s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UBsLy5ayHU4

There were a few of note in 2011 but I reckon this'll take some beating in 2012...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16905521

New issue - Word 109 - page 12. Photo in bottom RH corner. Caption 'Pip Brown, AKA Ladykawke...' I'm reading this as ladycock. Maybe its' the Scottish accent. But it reads like ladycock. I think Ms Brown would contest this accusation by your good selves. Gives a new meaning to listening to the tranny...

OK. No spoilers. But where was Eric Arthur Blair in the 'Best' section? Great-grandson of a country gentleman who married the daughter of an Earl. Eton, Cambridge, and stint working on the front line of British Empire... Surely he qualifies as a 'toff'?

One of the greatest writers in English of the 20th century; fearsome, intelligent, and true. A hero to many, and so much more worthy a winner than... No spoilers.

She doesn't care about business, does she? She's so noncommercial.

Oh hang on, she did it after saying yes to the NFL and performing to hundreds of millions with Madonna during the Super Bowl. Wonder how much she got paid.

Still, she stuck it to them,eh? What a rebel.

I am not sure I can blame home taping but something has killed music. The last quarter of the 19th century and nearly all the 20th century saw an unprecedented explosion in popular music. There's no point listing the huge variety of types of music here, we all know what they are. For me this explosion stopped in the 90s with rap. There have been a few splutterings but everything since this time, mostly, if not entirely, has been disappointingly derivative. Maybe I'm just getting old but I feel very lucky to have lived through such an amazing time. I would love to get excited about new music but most of time just can't find any. Just like technology had a huge amount to do with the expansion of popular music, maybe it's technology that's finally killed it. I wonder what the massive think.

Talking of which I wrote this on my iPhone using Siri! Amazing.

The Buzzcocks at the RAR gig in Victoria Park? The Clash headlining? Do your homework. Clumsy!

I saw, X-Ray Specs, Steele Pulse, The Clash and finally at the top of the bill The Tom Robinson Band!

Very, very poor - I think you need to do some lines.

What on earth does "The" Word think it is doing putting the Lady bloody Gaga on the cover? Have you given up being a "serious" rock magazine and decided to become a teenage rag?

Selling records is NOT the same as being talented. Have we really reached the stage where scrubbers wearing thongs and silly hats is valued over real, hard-earned musicianship? Do you really need to sell copies of your "magazine" that much?

Additionally, that's THREE months recently you have had a woman on the cover. OK, one was dead and the other was pictured next to Derek Jameson (or Leonard Cohen, I wasn't sure), but still, are you turning the magazine into some sort of PC-crazed organ which has to show the "girls" regardless of merit?

I'm fairly sure that this will turn A LOT of readers off. Bad show, "the" Word, bad show.

*wipes brow with Creedence Clearwater Revival t-shirt*

This looks nice http://www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk/performance/18786.aspx

Sandy Denny homage gig on Mon 28th May at Bridgewater hall, Manchester. MD and several of the band are from Bellowhead, plus the mighty Jerry Donohue on gtr. Singers inc Thea Gilmore, Joan "as Policewoman" Wasser, and Matt "Maddy" Prior now that he's no longer detained in Dubai

The Boptists are doing the annual cleanout.
Mrs Boptist has decreed that archive of old mags must go.
Now - I have got a stay of execution on Word of course.

However, - I hope Frazier won't blacklist me for this - I have a large collection of Mojo starting with 1ssue 1 and almost complete to approx issue 125.
I am looking for a home for these.

Unfortunately I live in Ireland so most unlikely I could get them to the UK.

Any interest.