Entertainment For Lively Minds
First Friday of the Month
Posted by badartdog on 5 June 2009 - 6:17pm.
are we still doing that word of mouth type recommendy thing?
If so:
Heard - nothing new, enjoyed downloads of Kimono My House and Propaganda by Sparks - I think Kimono was the first LP I bought with my own pocket money. They both still sound good to me.
Read - well, reading, Jake Arnott's The Long Firm - I wanted something set in the 60s after a day immersing myself in the wonderful www.nickelinthemachine.com blog.
Saw - finally got round to watching all the episodes of Inbetweeners- ott at times, but funny nonetheless. Well acted - the kids are, I believe all in their 20s, but that never jars. Available on 4od.
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OK, my turn...
Heard - 'The Vodoun Effect' by Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou (Analog Africa) As it says on the tin (or box to be more precise): 'Funk and Sato from Benin's obscure labels'. Marvellous stuff.
Read - Human Rights - A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press) I feel better informed already.
Seen - John Pilger - Documentaries That Changed The World A selection of marvellous and revealing documentaries by the respected journalist and filmmaker.
Me next...
Heard: The Liberty Of Norton Folgate by Madness. "Cor Blimey" it's terrific.
Read: Have been immersing myself in the Irish and British newspapers all month to follow each government's travails. Can't decide which Prime Minister will resign first!
Seen: Curb Your Enthusiasm Series 6: Sublime! Also Flight Of The Conchords Series 2 on BBC4: disappointing so far. Also watched an interesting two part documentary on BBC4 called How The Celts Saved Britain. And loads of current affairs tv (see Read section above).
My turn
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women bloody marvellous as is a Yardbirds anthology that I recently got.
Reading Last shop still standing - about the demise of record shops. I had to hunt for it because a lot of stores stopped stocking apparently because of potential lawsuit. Not surprised as a few people are lambasted.
Watched The apprentice - absolutely compulsive viewing in this household - made a mistake getting rid of Deborah and Lorraine who I think would have been better finalists.
Re PM - Gordon Brown is getting an unjustified shit-kicking in my opinion. Cameron looks like the type of guy who would tuck his shirt in his underpants and for that reason alone would not get my vote!!
Is It That Time Again ?
Heard : The Ramones, It's Alive. Still sound absolutely fantastic on vinyl. I'm sure that the only "live" vocals on it are Dee Dee's "WUNCHEWTREEFAW"s, but it still makes me happy. I can see why Stimpy thinks it is the only Ramones album you need, but I need more, including the great bossa nova Ramones covers album. Oops, that was 2.
Read : finished Carter Beats The Devil by Glen David Gold. Mystery / thriller around magicians, very good.
Seen : Star Trek, at the IMAX. good fun
I'll have a go
Heard: The new Manics and Howling Bells albums. Both better than I expected.
Read: Most recently finished: Black & Blue by Ian Rankin. I'm reading the Rebus books in order. This was undoubtedly the best yet. Currently reading: Notes On A Scandal by Zoë Heller. Horrible in a quite brilliant way.
Seen: Haven't watched any telly except the two cup finals recently. Last film I saw was Star Trek, which was GREAT!
Another month gone
Heard: A lot of ZZ Top in the past few days. Not subtle but what a great rhythmic noise it is. Ian Dury's 'Razzle In My Pocket' popped up on my ipod recently to make me smile inordinately.
Read(ing): 'A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush' by Eric Newby. His first travel book, written in 1956. Very droll and quite astonishing. Reminds me of 'Three Men in a Boat'.
Seen: 'Bolt' and 'The Polar Express'. Chosen by my daughter. How much more can animation technically improve?
It is Madness!
What a corking record. I confess the cover disc track of a month or 2 back underwhelmed, but swayed by the praise offered, as well as it being on e music, it meant it was worth a punt. And am I glad I plunged. Marvellous marvellous stuff. Requires immersion however, as it takes a track or 2 to discard the years between the last Madness song of repute and now, and find again the gleeful mindset of a terrific set of tunes set to perky arrangements, so leave it on to go around again. Like a cheerful Squeeze record. Highly commended. Best fun since Baggy Trousers (1980.......)
hmmmm
am reading and enjoying - kate atkinson; when will there be good news
watching: am rewatching house of cards and subsequent series. excellent
listening: winged migration - particularly robert wyatt's songs
and drinking; youngs special.
In the last week or so.....
Heard - Now Hear This - I've put the last 10 months free cds in my car and it's really been a pleasant surprise. It's like listening to someone elses mp3 player on shuffle who has a similar musical sensibility to mine. Occasionally a well known gem pops up, and there's tons of brand new Americana/Roots/Folk/Blues. I do skip the Rap and Electronica though.
Seen - Simon and Garfunkel - Concert In Central Park 1981 - Must be 25 years since I've seen this. From The Collection(5 CDs and 1 DVD). Wonderfull!! I hardly watch telly.
Read - Outer Dark - Conor McCarthy - Novel set at the turn of the 19/20th century in Appalachia. A lot of it written in the vernacular of that time so sometimes it's hard going. It is a little slow but both gripping and terrifying nonetheless.
Well....
Heard: agree with everyone about the very good new Madness cd. Also caught up with Empire of the Sun's excellent "Walking on a Dream" (£4 from 7Digital!) I played Air's "Pocket Symphony" recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Seen: I got the dvd of "Defiance" with Daniel Craig and although his accent appears to wander a bit at times, it's a very powerful film. Recommended.
Read: I'm going through a Japanese phase. I thoroughly enjoyed Kazuo Ishiguro's "Nocturnes" collection of short stories and am now reading Haruki Murakami's "Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World."
here goes
Heard- Super Ape by The Upsetters, inspired by all the Island articles in various magazines.
Seen- Coraline, at the pictures with the kids on a rainy seaside morning. Really enjoyable.
Read- Happy like murderers by Gordon Burn,a great if unsettling read. I know it's about Fred and Rose West ,and you should know what to expect, but man alive it's grim.
I like Gordon Burn's
writing a lot - but couldn't bring myself to start that one.
RIP
Shocked to read of Burns' untimely death in this month's magazine - a true original.
Reading "Deception:
Reading
"Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons":
We have spent billions on a war against a country that we knew did not have WMD and lent billions to a country that we knew did - because we made it possible for them to do so. Funny old world. Or would be if were not so damn scary.
"Past Imperfect": Julian Fellowes.
A complete antidote to the above. Frothy, bitch, light. Hard to know who's snobbier the characters or the author - but well written and enjoyable.
Watching:
"The Wire": Complete Box Series. Will have to get back to you
Listening:
Old - Lots of Free, Traffic, Faces and Fairport. Expect a blog or two soon.
And also "Jordan: The Comeback" - Prefab Sprout. The soundtrack of our summer in Cornwall and a big hit with the kids (6 & 4). My 4 yr old son asked of track 2 - "is he singing I want to have a wild horsey?"
"I want to have a wild horsey..."
Classic, Lt. Sheeve. If only it were possible to rescind your recent execution. (That's the big problem with the death penalty...)
I decided the wild horsey deserved a YouTube insert of its own and, good Lord, it tells me the spoken vocal is by Jenny Agutter. *Swoons in utter delight...*
I knew that voice was familiar - its identity's been bugging me for ages.
Sir Nigel - you're a scholar and gentleman
Many thanks for posting my son's current favourite song. His other favourite is Thin Lizzy's "Boys are Back in Town". I have high hopes for him.
As for my Lazarus like comeback - had I been lucky enough to have Jenny Agutter say "I want to have you" as she does on this track - it would have felt like dying and going to heaven anyway...
Yeah, but
who says you're going to heaven?
Lest it be forgotten, you chose Rod over the Isleys.
*I* may be able to forgive you, but I can't speak for the Ultimate Judge of taste :-)
However,
my academic credentials and my gentility (together with my fondness for kids - aren't four year olds fun?) prompt this:
The boy's on the right track. But where does he stand on the Rod/Isleys question?
Ultimate Judge of talent?
Sorry, I've been busy, I'll get back to youse.....
Who died
and left you in charge, Retro?
Oh yeah, Nietzsche had the answer to that one :-)
Fair enough, then. Carry on.
Answer:
On a superficial level the then still valid Rod Stewart, opening and educating the ears of an audience, many unfamailiar with the originals. Of those many, a proportion were neither interested enough or motivated enough to seek the source material, perhaps explaining his bewilderingly ongoing popularity. On the other hand, there were Word readers......
(Book that slot in Pseuds corner, please, nige)
In his prime
Rod was great, but I think I shall find your phrase "bewilderingly ongoing popularity" very useful from now on. Thanks, Retro.
NB The Isleys were still streets ahead. And so I think I barge in ahead of anyone here in the Pseuds' Corner queue with this:- In the spirit of Galileo's apocryphal response to the Inquisition : "Nonetheless they move me."
Ooh that's a big pecadillo
but in all fairness - it's my only one.
I bow to no man in my admiration for the Brothers Isley in normal circumstances. The peculiarity of my affection for Rod's "This Old Heart..." doesn't mean I prefer bhis versions over the originals in the case of Sam Cooke or The Temptations for example. And to be fair - he does do the one I like with Al Green's band and producer
No, the only time I prefer Rod's versions to the originals are in the case of The Zim - but that's only natural isn't it?
I am trying to raise my kids right though - my 6 year old daughter's current fave is
You're clearly doing
a fine job, sheeve, and thank you for getting me listening to classic Stevie (the sound of joy itself).
He's the perfect solution to a damp and dreary Monday morning:
Rather crap
Here are my last 3 and they weren´t terribly good.
Finally got round to watching "Apocalypse Now Redux" and the extra bits, the sex scene in the helicopter the lessons of DienBienPhu from the snooty French are just terrible, terrible.
Read "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith. It´s Ok
Heard The Manics latest and naaa..
Tea with Bill Wyman
Books: Craig Brown’s The Tony Years and Chagall: Love and Exile by Jackie Wullschlager - turns out Chagall lived in the same village as Bill Wyman “ar lar sarf of Fraance” and they’d take tea together.
Music: Arthur Alexander and loads of Doo-wop
Booze: Pear cider