Some questions:

1) Is there anyone here near Edinburgh or Fife?

OK, that's whittled down the majority. Now...

2) Does anyone fancy coming to a fundraising music quiz in Fife on Saturday night?

Hmmmmmmm.... anyone left? Just in case...

3) Can I tempt you to pop along? Licensed bar... free food (homemade chili, both real and veggie)... some great prizes... charity auction.... a chance to shine in front of the masses, revealing your intellectual heft and lofty command of the finer points of contemporary music trivia?

If so, reply here. It's to help raise money for a local playgroup, which keeps the little urchins off the street and prevents their parents sending them up chimneys or summat. I'll be there (in charge of the food as it happens) and it'd be nice if any local(ish) Wordites fancied turning it into a kind of mini MassiveMeet on the Fife Riviera?

Well, worth a shot...

It's Burns nicht the nicht!

So, in honour o' the great scoondrel himsel', here's a bit o' 'is less weel kent odes:

"Nine inch will please a lady" (or so I am told ;-)

`Come rede me, dame, come tell me, dame,
`My dame come tell me truly,
`What length o' graith, when weel ca'd hame,
`Will sair a woman duly?'
The carlin clew her wanton tail,
Her wanton tail sae ready
I learn'd a sang in Annandale,
Nine inch will please a lady.

But for a koontrie c*nt like mine,
In sooth, we're nae sae gentle;
We'll tak tway thumb-bread to the nine,
And that's a sonsy p-ntle:
O Leeze me on my Charlie lad,
I'll ne'er forget my Charlie!
Tway roarin handfu's and a daud,
He nidge't it in fu' rarely.

But weary fa' the laithron doup,
And may it ne'er be thrivin!
It's no the length that maks me loup,
But it's the double drivin.
Come nidge me, Tam, come nidge me, Tam,
Come nidge me o'er the nyvel!
Come lowse and lug your battering ram,
And thrash him at my gyvel!

AN ODE TAE A FERT

(in the styley of Burns, although quite probably someone else)

Oh what a sleekit horrible beastie
Lurks in yer belly efter the feastie
Just as ye sit doon amongst yer kin
There sterts to stir an enormous wind

Thae neeps and tatties and mushy peas
stert working like a gentle breeze
but soon the puddin wi the sauncie face
will have ye blawin all ower the place

Nae matter whit the hell ye dae
a'bodys gonnae have tae pay
even if you try to stifle
it's like a bullet oot a rifle

Haud yer bum tight tae the chair
tae try and stop the leakin air
shift yersel fae cheek tae cheek
prae to God it doesnae reek

but aw yer efforts go asunder
oot it comes like a clap a thunder
Richochets aroon the room
michty me a sonic boom

God almighty it fairly reeks
Hope ah huvnae shit ma breeks
tae the bog I better scurry
aw whit the hell it's nae ma worry

A'bodys roon aboot me chokin
wan or two are nearly bokin
I'll feel better for a while
Cannae help but raise a smile

Wis him! I shout wi’ accusin glower
alas to late, he's just keeled ower
Ye dirty bugger! they shout and stare
Ah dinnae feel welcome any mair

Where e're ye go let yer wind gan' free
sounds like just the job fur me
whit a fuss at rabbie's party
ower the sake o' ane wee ferty.

Last week we were fortunate enough to have a babysitter for the evening so decided to go to see a film. Whilst buying some ice-cream, it occured to me that the Ben & Jerry's flavours 'Cherry Garcia' and 'Phish Food' can't be alone in the world of foods to be influenced by, or created in tribute/memory of, a well known band or musical artist.

Sitting here now, though, I'll be damned if I can think of any other examples.

Anyone want to add to the list?

john

PS. Why don't we hear more about Phish (the band as opposed to the ice-cream flavour) in the UK? I am constantly blown away by how good the band is, and how effortlessly they weave various styles together in their albums. Have they ever toured outside of the US/Canada? I'd love to see them but not enough to fly across the pond ;-)

Hey everyone,

I know that it's perhaps a bit 'off piste' for the Word readership, and to be frank it's not something I ever expected to be posting here about, but I'd like to run something past you all and seek recommendations...

I'm interested in recommendations for chill-out music, in the 'Cafe Del Mar' vein, of which I am developing a strange fondness despite my very DNA rebelling against it. Truth be told, I'm looking for music that sort of 'washes over me' rather than anything that would encourage active engagement. So, whilst I love worthy acoustic guitar-driven poignant singer-songwriter observation music, it's not always conducive to 'background' listening. And, though I hate to admit it, I'm far too busy to be able to dedicate any time exclusively to music, so I need something that I can pop on the cans without it distracting me from work or whatever other activity I'm up to.

Through my limited forays into the genre (and its many offshoots) I have discovered artists like The Gotan Project, Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the like. All great stuff, but not always 'chill-out'. I've a couple of Cafe Del Mar cds which work, but what I've discovered is that (as with most music) it's at least 75% filler, so good compilations are I think the way to go for me.

So, recommend me some stuff, people... if you can, that is. Preferably stuff that's on iTunes so I can hear an excerpt before buying - this stuff is for the iPod after all, so iTunes lossy compressed AAC format doesn't put me off as it does for the 'serious listening' at home...

Cheers!

Hey folks,

I'm interested to find out if there are any websites dedicated to up-and-coming/unsigned bands (where I can do searches on various styles and so on without having to go to other sites to hear snippets etc.)?

I've got in mind something like a sort of 'Facebook for music' combined with the voting approach used in sites like the 'stack exchange' so that (in theory) the better stuff floats to the top.

I figure such a thing must exist but apart from MySpace I can't see (or, more likely, am not aware of) anything like this...

MySpace seems to have tried to branch into signed artists, video, news and all that - which is fine, but I want something purer, a conduit (if you will) into up-and-coming unsigned music without too much bias, and driven by voting and comments.

If such a thing doesn't exist, I'm tempted to create it. But I want to make sure that I'm not going to spend months of my life building something that nobody wants. However, I'm looking for a new creative project to take on in the new year and this is one itch I want to scratch (or abandon)...

So, to the Word Massive, if you know of something like this, please let me know. I love discovering new music and I have a hunch that many of you lot do too, so you're the ideal people to tell me that this is a great idea, go build, or 'been there, seen that, go find something more useful to create instead'...

OK, over to you...

Inspired by Jimmyshoes01's monumental success in dropping 5st in a year (well done laddie!) I thought it might be worth polling to see who's doing what (if anything) to shape up and what diets you've tried (and whether they worked out or not).

Since I hit 30, got married, etc., I've slowly increased my weight (involuntarily) by maybe 1/3st/year (I'm 38 now). Not huge by any means, but I'd like to shape up a bit and get back to where I ought to be by 40...

Since I have a long working day (leaving before 7am and back at around 6pm each day) plus two young kids and a GLW, I don't get much of a chance to do a whole lot of exercise apart from a 3/4 mile walk to and from the station at the work end, Yoga on a Monday night and the occasional swim). Plus, I tend to agree with the theory that exercise isn't necessarily a great way to lose weight (isn't it something like 3500 KCal in a pound of fat? Which means I'd lose at best 1lb per week if I did the gym twice a week in addition to my hour's swim and the yoga). Sure, it makes you fitter, but slimmer, perhaps not given the time I have to devote...

I've been trying out an approach called the '4 hour body' for around a month now. Maybe you've heard of it. The deal for me is that I tipped 15st (at 6' 1" tall) which doesn't sound too bad but I'm skinny-by-frame and am carrying perhaps 2st of fat (mainly around the belly although being reasonably tall it's not always noticeable to many). However, my plan is to drop to 13st or 14st by losing 2st of fat and bulking up in muscle.

A typical day goes like this:

* breakfast: 3 hard-boiled eggs (sometimes with a cup of cooked kidney beans);

* mid-morning coffee: black with sweetener (which I ought to cut out but I can't take my coffee without some sweetness in it)

* lunch: 200g lean ham with a side portion of spicy lentils; can of diet cola (my bad!)

* evening: something like 300g of chicken with a side of green beans or kidney beans and maybe some salad;

* later on: possible glass of red wine, otherwise maybe another diet cola or some Earl Gray (black with sweetener)

...and every 7th day (for me a Saturday) is 'cheat day' wherein you can pretty much eat whatever you want (within reason) - so this is where I get my rice-and-curry fix in, and my little weekly indulgence of a couple of white chocolate cookies and maybe a wee whisky later on.

I also pepper the week-day diet with some recommended supplements (garlic, green tea, stuff called polycosaml and alpha lipoic acid) which apparently helps convince the body that it wants to shrug off fat in favour of building muscle. Sounds alright to me...

So far I have no idea if I've lost any weight as such, but I think I look a bit thinner in the face and maybe the breeks are a bit looser than they were. Early days, and I've not got a set of scales (the FPO chucked them out, claiming that they were 'broken' (yeah, right, dear... ;-) ) so I'm judging it all on how I feel and look.

Maybe I'm crazy, but if it works it'll be worth the dull diet. I really ought to weigh myself or get a BFI check so I can determine if things are going in the right direction...

Anyway, anyone else doing anything similar (or radically different)?

Went to see Zappa Plays Zappa last night in Glasgow, and they were totally amazing. Quite how such music (frequently torturously complex) can be played with such precision, power, passion (and a humour jus) amazes me...

On the strength of his now virtuostic abilities, Dweezil must surely now rank amongst the best electric guitarists on the planet, and his old boy would be proud I am sure...

It got me to thinking: unless I'm mistaken, Word hasn't ever paid much attention to the late Uncle Frank, and with a body of work running to almost eighty albums, surely it's about high time there was a feature which interviews those who knew and worked with him. A more intriguing musical figure would be hard to find, and the breadth of his music is staggering (if not always to everyone's tastes)...

How about it, Word?

john

...does it normally take between subscribing* and receiving the first issue? I subscribed back at the very start of June and I still haven't received anything.

Am I being impatient or unreasonable? I subscribed to another magazine around the same time (nothing dodgy, I hasten to add) and I've just received my third issue from that subscription already. Which makes me wonder what's happening at Word Towers...

john

* I'd had a subscription but forgot to renew so subscribed again when I realised... resulting in at least three or four missed issues so far :(

...renewed my subscription. Money well spent, keep up the good work.

As you were :)

j

Hey folks,

I'm quite a fan of a good, interesting take on a well known song; something that doesn't attempt to copy the original too closely, and adds or perhaps subtracts from that song.

Which is why I figured we could do with a thread to post our favourite covers - beginning with one of mine. Only wish I had the ability and command of the guitar like this bloke:

So, what's YOUR favourite cover? YouTube preferred :)

Discuss (33 marks, use supplied graph paper where required).

So, have you done your honourable best for Queen and Country, and bought your Rage Against The Machine single yet? Even if you don't particularly like it, you should be willing to put aside mere personal preference and ensure that the bastard output of Herr Cowell's Musical Stazi don't win this battle...

As a proud man, son and father, I have paid my shillings to the War Effort (via ayeTunes) and purchased said single. Even though I think I may actually own the album from my student days. I digress...

If you haven't done it yet, what's keeping you? And if you have, please do speak up proudly!

F**k them, we won't let them ruin our xmas with another homogenised autotuned pile of sh!te masquerading as music!!!

Ah, um, as you were...

Good evening all.

I'm sitting here, cans on noggin, laptop on, um, lap, and the SB+ is streaming some fine sounds whilst the FPO indulges in Struckly Clam Don't Sing or somesuch.

Anyway, the mood I'm in, I thought what was called for was funky music. And that got me to thinking: what is my favourite rhythm section.

After a bit of deliberation, I've settled on the backline of Tower of Power - especially the Garibaldi:Rocco axis of funk. I doubt there's a tighter duo out there, occasional synergies of the JB family notwithstanding... there seems to be such an intensity when the ToP guys get going - tighter than a tight thing in a tight spot, faster than a scalded cat and with more precision than I can find a metaphorfor...

So, what's YOUR favourite rhythm section?

Can anyone recommend me some posh headphones - much be very good sounding and comfy. Thinking electrostatics, and nothing Bose or in-ear...

Particularly interested in hearing from anyone who might know about Stax electrostatics. Budget flexible (this is something I've agreed with the FPO who suggested that rather than new big speakers*, I might be as well to get good cans...)

* I had rather fancied a pair of Tannoys with 15" DC drive units but she freaked at the idea of speakers as big as sideboards with prices up there in the 'new small car' bracket....

I'm looking for the most utterly depressing records you can think of. Not necessarily dark, or bleak, just depressing (though dark and bleak invariably tend to tag along).

I'll start. I've always been a big fan of Magic & Loss, by Lou Reed, and it ticks all of the boxes - also a very fine record indeed...

So, I'll pick "Magician", from that album.

Your turn - one song, depressing as you like.....