With the Olympics coming up can you name one event that should NOT be in it and one that isn't but should be?

My turn first.
Not in - Synchronised Diving - you get a medal for jumping into the pool as a mate wearing some equally dodgy speedos.

In - cycling races using Boris Bikes rather than the £5k ones that Chris Hoy and his chums use. Would even things out by taking the technology out of the equation. I would like to see racers try to make the Boris Bike stand still on the brow of the velodrome. They might have to keep going.

Just got back. Very good gig from one of my favourite bands apart from one thing. No recognition of Sound of Lies in the set list. Guess its because its the record they made just after Olson left but seems a shame to erase it from history. Only one from Smile - a gorgeous Break in the Clouds - and a couple from Rainy Day Music. While I like Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass as much as anyone they do have a very good back catalogue and I would have liked to hear the likes of Big Star, Trouble and the Golden Smog "until you came along'. There were though a few from Mockingbird time which went well, especially She walks in so many ways.

So a great gig but could have been better if they had cast the net a little wider. Or played a little longer!

By the way the audience must have been full of Word readers as there was absolutely no chatting through the songs at least in my part of the hall.

I had the misfortune to watch 5 minutes of the Gazza interview with the vomit inducing Piers Morgan last night. Usual load of crap about 'his demons' and feeling empty when football was taken away from him as if it was'nt his behaviour that caused it to be taken away. Gazza looked like death warmed up, twenty years older than his actual age with wax like skin.

The thing that made me turn off was his extraodinary assertion that he survived a month on no food, no water just four bottles of whisky and sixteen grammes of coke a day. That seemed to me utter b******s but friend Morgan just accepted it.

Any doctors out there? or anyone feeling sympathy for Gazza?

Dear all

in a moment of madness given my lack of technology skills I downloaded two books from Amazon to my Mac. Now I want to put them onto my iPad. I can see them sitting in the Kindle application on the Mac but now what?

Anyone know how?

cheers

KGB

For those of you interested in what used to be called alt. country (remember the web site ALt.Country.UK ??) you may have noticed that three artists who were the leaders of this 'genre' have all issued new CDs this month. I am referring to the Jayhawks, Wilco and Ryan Adams. You will recall albums like Hollywood Town Hall, Being There (and earlier Uncle Tupelo featuring Jeff Tweedy) and Gold as landmark alt.country records.

Having purchased Mockingbird Time (the Jayhawks) and the Whole Love by Wilco I can heartily recommend both. Much has been made of the Jayhawks getting back together, probably for economic rather than artistic reasons but the record is very good if requiring a few listens. Its not as good as the early Olsen / Louris records and not a patch on the Sound of Lies but worth buying if you are a fan. I did notice that Olsen's voice has become a tad whiney.

The Whole Love is fantastic and probably finds Wilco showing why they are probably the best rock band in the world at the moment. The songs are great and the musicianship outstanding. Wilco continue to always progress and try different things.

I havent bought a Ryan Adams record since Demolition . I found the Love is Hell Cds dreadful and the live performances that went with them embarrasing as he fell off his stool drunk the night I saw him. I didnt care much for the Cardinals thing either as I found them turgid and derivative. I had a listen to the new one Ashes and Fire and didnt care much for it either. Some have said its a return to form but I dont see it and I still put him down as a lost talent.

So my summary is Jayhawks - buy it if you were a fan but dont expect to find 'Waiting for the Sun' or 'Blue' on it; Wilco - one of the best releases this year; Ryan Adams - might be better than recent output but nowhere near as good as say Pneumonia or Demolition (I found Gold a bit hard going).

Strangely in the Amazon Charts Ryan Adams is at 19, Wilco at 176 and the Jayhwayks at 776.

Any other Alt.country fans with a view?

Fans of the above - Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe and John Hiatt, previously all in Little Village - will have noticed that all three have released new CDs at around the same time. Coincidence maybe but a chance to compare where them if you want to. I would guess that if you like one you probably like all three and that Word readers of a certain age might count themselves in that group.

Having bought two of them I would grade them as follows;

1. Nick Lowe -absolutely fantastic. I have just been on a long flight and managed to listen to it five times over and I really like it. His voice has changed and the songs are just great. Another triumph and a fifth astonishing release in a row. Maybe not as good as At my Age but still great. Personal favourites are Sensitive Man (a hoot) and Shame on the rain.

2. John Hiatt - a big surprise and his best for a long time. One or two a bit overblown but redeemed by tracks like Detroit Made and Adios to California.

(I downloaded both the above for £10 on Amazon - bargain)

3. Ry Cooder Pull up some dust and sit down - I saw someone write this was a masterpiece but I just cant agree. It sounded like a lot of cliched lyrics put to some rather ordinary Ry Cooder music and not a patch on Boomers Story or Into the Purple valley. Maybe its me but I cant get on with protest CDs. While we can all get angry with the bankers it doesnt mean that it makes great music.

Others may differ but my view on these is Nick - quality - John H - surprisingly good given recent activity (actually probably sensational) - Ry - disappointing.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b9075a3c-cea2-11e0-a22c-00144feabdc0.html...

came across this article in the FT Weekend. To quote:

George Orwell, in his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” (just 13 pages long, yet the complete guide on how to write), lists some other “worn-out and useless” words and phrases that were disappearing: jackboot, Achilles’ heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno. “Political language,” writes Orwell, “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” He believed that bad language stopped people from thinking clearly. With a new political season about to start, now is a good time to get rid of another batch of bogus words and phrases:

Simon Kuper goes on to make up his own list.

Any additions? Not necessarily politics related

How about:
War Zone - as in Reading Town Centre is like a War Zone every Friday night when the pubs close and five skinheads have a fight?
Demons - he / she had her 'demons' - i.e. he / she was a drug addict.

Just got the Highwaymen CD (Cash, Nelson, Jennings) for £2.98 from Amazon.. Great price for a great record. its got a song on it called Jim I wore a tie today which is about friends attending Jim's funeral. It set me thinking as to what is the best funeral song. The other one I really like is Long Black Limousine by the Burritos. Any others?

Was at the Shepherds Bush Empire yesterday to see James Hunter and Imelda May. I must confess to never having heard of Imelda May and mainly went there to see James Hunter. A couple of points:

1. Why is James Hunter doing support gigs? IMHO he is one of the best live acts around and a recent Grammy nominee. In the middle of his set he does an old R&B song 'Baby Dont Do it' and it is fantastic.
2. Not impressed by Imelda May. I saw on Amazon (today) that she lists Wanda Jackson and Patsy Cline as influences but I dont recall either having a squeaky little voice. She had a rockabilly band backing her which were proficient though I did get sick of the trumpet solos. Perhaps its a fashion thing as there were a lot of women at the gig, many of them slicked up a la Imelda.
3. Never been in a worse gig for people talking through the performances. Seems to be getting worse.

I didnt stay for the whole of IM's set. Remain baffled that James Hunter isnt more popular.

Did anyone else read the following in Mens Health magazine listed as a modern pandemic?

The Rock - O - Pause (aka Hepworth's Syndrome)- the point in when men in their thirties lose touch with music. Symptoms include the belief that '70s folk or post punk is in fact the thing of the moment, £50 box set binges and subscribing to Word magazine. Still its better than being a dad in a Pendululum T - Shirt.

What has David Hepworth done to upset Mens Health magazine, e,g, stating the obvious that its exactly the same every month. Mind you after reading Mr Hepworth's column reflecting on his record collection perhaps there is something in it. What about Danny Baker's revelation that he never listens to new music, preferring to rediscover 25 or 6 to 4 and other highlights from Chicago?

The comment is harsh but is it fair? Are Word Subscribers suffering from the Rock - O - Pause? I would probably own up to it but would put the age when it sets in a little higher - say 45 - 50. The only exceptions for me are people like Richard Hawley who sound like they are from the 70's. But I have to admit to being clueless when reading the review section of Word. Who are Muse for instance? Should I take HRT to find out?

The Jayhawks are probably my favourite band and I was pleased to see them featured in the Cult Heroes feature in this months magazine. The Sound of Lies is the great undiscovered album of all time in my opinion.

They have an anthology out this week. There is a single CD which is a really good compilation of the best songs from their releases over the years. I would imagine that fans like myself will have all of these. then there is a 'deluxe' edition which has the demos, covers, live versions plus a DVD of a few of their songs. I guess most devotees would go for this. However the price of the deluxe version is £26.99 on Amazon, Play etc... You are being asked to pay £16 extra for the additional material. This seems absolutely outrageous. The recent Nick Lowe had two CDS of 'greatest hits' plus a really good DVD of a live concert. All for £2 more than a normal CD.

Perhaps if there is someone from American, the label, who reads this they could explain the pricing and whether they expect anyone to buy it at that price. (you can buy it from America at around £15).

Being part of the Saturday night Dylan fiasco at the O2 when reports of people's journeys home were akin to the last chopper out of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war I was interested to hear that TFL have announced that they will run a ferry across the Thames from the Reuters dock near East India DLR on gig nights when the Jubilee is not working. However its not on their site so perhaps to soon to say thank you Boris. Anyone seen an official announcement?

You probably havent heard of this as it didnt pass Fraser Lewry's 10% test so it wasnt reviewed in Word (unlike Ape School, Tortoise and Lindstrom and Prins Thomas among other essential releases). But for those out there who like American Roots music its a gem.

The CD was recorded initially as a way to help Chris Gaffney meet his medical bills due to his not having insurance (hail hail the NHS) but he unfortunately died before it was released. It was put together by Dave Alvin who plays lead on a number of songs and includes contributions from Joe Ely, Los Lobos, Boz Scaggs, Calexico and Tom russell among others. Freddy Fender with Ry Cooder is on it and King of the Blues by Robbie Fulks is a standout track. Chris Gaffney's last song 'the guitars of my dead friends' makes a poignant final track.

Dave Alvin is one of the all time greats who doesnt get the recognition he deserves. He also has a new CD out, also not reviewed in Word (probably because Fraser does'nt think we want to read reviews of artists who have had a few CDs out). I know we Brits rightly revere Richard Thompson but Dave Alvin's achievements are an American equivalent - try out Public Domain the CD that won him a Grammy in 2001.

Anyway as I say this is a great record and if you liked say the recent Flatlanders record or anything by Dave Alvin you will also like this.

Apparently it is according to the Guardian Music supplement. And Croydon by Captain Sensible is the close runner up. Unfortunately I have never heard either and have no desire to either but surely we can do better than the tree huggers?

personally I think the Americans have this category all to themselves. When we do it all we have to offer is apparently Grimsby and croydon - Abergavenny did get a mention too. The yanks have thousands of place names that always seem more remote and romantic. They have whole songs based on place names (route 66, Wanted Man, evem I've been everywhere man).

I would offer Memphis tennessee (obvious) and Lake Charles by Lucinda Williams.

Any other suggestions?

The only section of Word that I think is poor is the CD review section - only the new CDs not the rereleases. May be just me but it seems to miss so many CDs - for example a close competitor UC*N* had Iron and Wine, Derek Trucks, Dave Alvin, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, Christy Moore. every month Word starts off with a CDs by people I have never heard of (again could be me) - this month VV Brown, Ebony Bones, Gossip, Florence and the Machine, Lindstrom and Prins Thomas aka the Wizards of Oslo. Nearly certain that there was no review of last Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen. Perhaps because others have them and you dont see a reason to do them.

In these days where its almost impossible to find out whats coming out by listening to the radio the review section is important.

Finally i would rather it had stars (controversy!!). Most Word reviews you cant really tell whether the reviewer rates the CD or not once you find an artist that you may be vaguely interested in.

It wasnt always like this when your Hepworths etc. could be bothered to do a review.

Interested in what others have to say. Perhaps like me they now get Word for the first 70 pages and the last 20 and U C**T of the reviews.