Henry Horenstein photographs animals. Brilliantly.

In this era of bland sports stars whose every utterance seems to be filtered through their PRs, I would like to pay tribute to the great Alex Higgins, to whom the epithet "charismatic" is entirely apt yet woefully inadequate. He crackled with life and energy, particularly in his brilliant prime. The way he eyed up a potential pot on the snooker table one would think he was daring the ball not to find the pocket. He twitched and strutted around the baize, beaming with joy after an excellent shot and frowning with despair after a bad miss. He veered wildly between gentle humility and extreme arrogance, shedding tears of joy upon winning the world championship and coming to blows with fellow professionals and WPBSA officials. This duality of character was that of an extremely complex man whose unpredictable temperament and incredible talent brought him legions of fans. He was responsible as much as anyone for the explosion in popularity of his chosen sport. A handsome, rebellious cove who magnetized crowds with his maverick genius - he will be sorely missed.

Today I had confirmation once again that great music often finds me when I'm least expecting it.

I was sitting with my customary double espresso in the bucolic surrounds of Chippenham railway station when I spotted four gentlemen by the bus stop wielding instruments; a saxophone, a trombone, a bongo drum and - oh yes - a cowbell. They started to play and the air was filled with a most agreeable sound of polyrhythmic funky honking. I gleaned from the saxophonist that they were part of the Fall Out Marching Band who apparently have been going for ages and appear at CND rallies. They were destined for the Womad festival which I imagined would be most receptive to their good natured parping. I left them after a couple of tunes with a shout of "More cowbell!"

Here's a clip of the full ensemble...

I stuck on Forever Gold by The Isley Brothers a few minutes ago and was struck by the similarity of the drum intro to Live it Up (Part 1 & 2) and that of Gimme All Your Lovin' by ZZ Top. I've put both songs up in the comments.

Have any of you been suddenly affected by musical déjà vu? I'm not necessarily suggesting deliberate pilfering; rather songs where the link is more subtle yet still credible...

The recent thread about Live Aid prompted me to watch Queen's performance again - Freddie Mercury's toothy campery had me grinning like an idiot. Pointing his rump at the crowd, doing obscene things with his tongue, prancing around with his cut-off mike stand - this is the kind of behaviour I want from my rock stars. I feel real affection for him as a performer.

Same goes for Robert Smith of The Cure. I listened to Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me last night and was struck by the wonderful way he writes about being in love. He conveys the giddy, silly joyousness of it so brilliantly and this makes me really warm to him as a person. Plus of course he has silly hair and badly-applied lipstick which is good too.

How about you?

http://www.2112.net/rushfonts/index.html

Never let it be said that I am not a kind and thoughtful person.

Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World - "Sultans of Schwing"

I"m sorry, but as traditions go the vuvuzela is rubbish.

David Hepworth got it spot on on his blog.

Seeing as most of us seem to appreciate a good list around here - I know I do - what about your favourite musicians? I don't just mean Chopsmeister Numero Uno, but rather those guys and gals (now then, now then) whose playing really affects you. Try to keep to ten as it's a good exercise in self-discipline!

Here's my list, in no particular order...

1. Leo Nocentelli (Meters guitarist)

2. Bill Evans (jazz pianist)

3. Paul McCartney (bass)

4. Johnny Hodges (saxophone)

5. Joe Pass (jazz guitar)

6. Keith Richards (riff guitar)

7. Aretha Franklin (piano)

8. Martin Carthy (guitar)

9. John Bonham (seismic eruptions of rhythm)

10. Richard Thompson (guitar)

There has always been a lot of talk about cool rock n' roll bands. I'm sorry but most of them are nothing of the sort. Jazz musicians are cool. Positively chilled, in fact.

For more proof, see the comments...

Johnny Hodges

Just beautiful.

"Are you looking for something in our Easy Listening CDs category? If so you might be interested in these items..."

First recommendation? Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen.

I watched this wonderful programme on BBC4 last night and would recommend it to anyone interested in our folk music tradition. Make the effort to see it me hearties!

It's on the iPlayer for another 7 days... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s97c0

Mine?

Weevil "Honks" Marchingegno