The next album in the XTC Steven Wilson / 5.1 reissues has just been announced to be Apple Venus Vol 1. I, for one, am looking forward to this……

“2021 News: Restoration of multi track tapes is underway for the XTC album APPLE VENUS (vol 1). As soon as the cleaning & rebuild finishes, the man with the expert touch, Steven Wilson, will be making a 5.1 & new stereo mix. Another great quality APE release to look forward to”

https://twitter.com/apehouseXTC

To console the masses on here that are disappointed by Taylor only making #61 in the end of year poll, Prog Master Steven Wilson has recorded a cover of one of the tracks from the folklore album as part of his Future Bites sessions……

Its quite impressive that he managed to record and post this so quickly after the results of the poll came out and that he shows such consideration for the AW community.

I just noticed that in the menu bar above, this is now a “Forum” instead of a Blog and that now post to the Forum in the sidebar. It probably happened ages ago, but I only just noticed……

Does this mean that we are looking for a more discussion – my understanding of the difference is that a blog is an opinion piece, a forum is a platform for debate (I’m probably wrong). Does that mean an end to my days of no reply postings 🙂

Following on from the discussion last month on the censored versions being played on BBC Radio in these days of “enlightenment”, the latest controversy to befall this track is that it’s been released as a Christmas EP by no less than Jon Bon Jovi. It’s terrible.

If you can last that long, you’ll also note that it contains new radio friendly lyrics – something about an braggart that’s lost his swagger,,,,…

Again, it’s terrible….. but I guess it’s for some charity or something so maybe we can cut him some slack. Did I mention that it’s terrible ?

The album “Hymn To The Immortal Wind” by Japanese group Mono (not the 90’s britpop group of the same name, which I initially thought it was). Its from all the way back in 2009 (this is an anniversary release)

If you like Explosions In The Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros etc, then this will be right up upper proverbial street. Very cinematic in style, instrumental music that combines simple melodies, space and slowly building lush arrangements with moments rock noise (its produced by Steve Albini). I’m on my fourth listen in the last couple of days and an utterly transfixed. Off to discover their back catalogue……

Here’s the gorgeous “Burial at Sea” from the album…..

Head on over to Bandcamp for a free album download from prog rockers, I Am The Manic Whale. (their last album “Things Unseen” is very good)

https://iamthemanicwhale.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-selection-box

Love them or hate them, Foo Fighters are always entertaining and probably one of the best bands that I have seen live. They have been going for 25 years now – it only seemed like yesterday (well not really, but you know what I mean) that Nirvana were gracing our turntables, and yet now a quarter of a century later, the drummer’s “new” band (in which he is not even the drummer) are still going strong.

They have posted a film on YouTube looking back at their 25 years, which is good fun (plenty of taking the piss out of themselves) if you have a spare 25 minutes.

Anyway: Foo Fighters – love them or hate them ? Best bits etc etc

Any takers ?

A strictly limited (I.e. 1 only) boxset for 10 grand. Bargain.

https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/steven-wilson-to-release-an-ultra-deluxe-box-set-limited-to-one-unit/#more-162689

I finally got around to watching the recant BBC documentary on the Boomtown Rats last night, which I really enjoyed. It’s still available on iPlayer for those in the UK or have a VPN (warning: it does include obligatory talking head bits from Bonio).

I do remember Rat Trap, Like Clockwork and especially I Don’t Like Mondays on Top Of The Pops when I was younger, but I didn’t realise how big a group they were at the time – the documentary certainly gives the impression that they were one of the biggest groups around at the time (in the UK anyway – they never seemed to crack the US).

I haven’t listened to them for years, but at their peak they produced some very fine tracks – I dug out Fine Art Of Surfacing this morning and it still stands up.

I don’t recall any discussion about them on here, so any love in these parts ? Does anyone still remember them ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000jjr5/citizens-of-boomtown-the-story-of-the-boomtown-rats

There were a couple of mentions of certain films being too long and others that had their moments of brilliance in the thread on Funniest Movies – does that suggest that comedy is best suited to a shorter running time ?

Thus, as a companion to Twang’s thread on funniest movies. how about a complementary thread on Funniest TV Shows….. ? So are you a Terry & June fan or a Young Ones affecianado ?

My list would have to include… – Police Squad (as mentioned in the comments about Naked Gun) – Fawlty Towers – Blackadder – The Young Ones (a bit dated but I think still stands up, with enough moments of silliness to carry it – “Amazulu ? Is that right – I’m a Glaswegian….” – A League Of Gentlemen – A Very Peculiar Practice (I have a real soft spot for this…..)

Many others that could have made the list, so over to you………….

I know that we covered the Guy Pratt / Lockdown Licks sessions a while back – well now its the turn of Steven Wilson. He has a new album out early next year to plug and has started a “Future Bites Sessions” on YouTube with him doing tracks in his home studio,

Last week was a new track “King Ghost” from his forthcoming album and today he posted an old Porcupine Tree track “Collapse The Light Into Earth” (one of my favourite PT tracks)

For the music nerds amongst you, his comments on the YouTube post give some details of the Home Studio kit.

The following is the first paragraph of a Roger Ebert review written in 2006……

“It is the year 2020. A virus runs wild in the world, most Americans are dead, and Britain is ruled by a fascist dictator who promises security but not freedom. One man stands against him, the man named V, who moves through London like a wraith despite the desperate efforts of the police. He wears a mask showing the face of Guy Fawkes, who in 1605 tried to blow up the houses of Parliament. On Nov. 5, the eve of Guy Fawkes Day, British schoolchildren for centuries have started bonfires to burn Fawkes in effigy. On this eve in 2020, V saves a young TV reporter named Evey from rape at the hands of the police, forces her to join him, and makes a busy night of it by blowing up the Old Bailey courtrooms.”

For those that haven’t figured out, this is a review of V For Vendetta, the Matrix directors (I can’t remember how to spell their name) take on the Alan Moore graphic novel. My 19 year old son has been raving about if for a good while and I was thinking of » Continue Reading.

Would you like to see the Peanuts gang performing La Grange by ZZ Top ? Of course you would……

This just popped up on my YouTube and reminded me that (a) the theme from Local Hero is such a great track and (b) Mark Knopfler is still one of the greatest guitarists.

Dre Straits may continue to get (unfairly in my opinion) criticised and may never be “cool”, but he walked away from that almost 30 years ago and has continued to just produce great music in his own unassuming way since then (granted that making a squizillion dollars from being in Dire Straits makes that a lot easier).

I know there are a few on here that like Bear’s Den and this one seems to have slipped under the radar…..

Bear’s Den have released an album in collaboration with the composer Paul Frith, who basically took some of their songs, stripped them back and added piano and strings. Its rather good. I’m not familiar with Paul Frith – it appears that has worked with Radiohead amongst others and does some soundtrack work – there’s certainly a “cinematic” ambience added to some of these tracks.

Here’s “Auld Wives” from a live performance and I’ll put the original in the comments for compare and contrast…….

I think it was mentioned on here last week (probably by @niallb) that there’s a new album out by Dawes. Been listening to it a few times over the past week and its rather splendid. If you like their previous stuff, you’ll like this.

This track, “St Augustine at Night” is a current highlight – and it contains the great couplet that could have been written for me……

“Well I never put off til tomorrow, the things I should’ve done today. No, I’ve alwatys waited way longer than that.”

Listening to the radio this morning whilst sending the boy to school and they played Starship “Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now”, which is a million miles away from the original Jefferson Airplane and ‘White Rabbit”.

I know that it’s essentially a different group (albeit with some lineage), but it did get me thinking …..which group(s) have undergone the biggest transformation during their career ? I.e, which is/was the most different musically from when they started ?

I guess the obvious one to start would be Fleetwood Mac (although I would suggest they maintained some of their original DNA0.

Over to you……

Probably a question for the mods……

Having just updated Safari on my Mac, it reports what trackers the website has tried to contact and blocks them. On the Afterword site it gives two – doubleclick.net and google-analytics.com.

I presume that these are advertising trackers but wasn’t aware there was any advertising on this site – are they due to the embedded Youtube videos ?

We went to see Tenet on Friday night (which I really enjoyed, although still don’t fully comprehend). Anyway, before the film, they showed a trailer for the new Wonder Woman film which is set in the 1980s and used New Order’s Blue Monday. Nothing unusual about that you say….. but they have synchronised the trailer superbly with the track……

So according to the government it is okay to break international law in a ‘limited and specific way”.

I presume this means that if I go into Tesco (and not Waitrose) and steal only one two finger Kit-Kat (but leave the four finger ones behind) then I am okay….. ?

In what other ways are you looking forward to breaking the law in a ‘limited and specific way” ?

Not bad for a 72 year old……..

Amazing that this song is over 50 years old and still sounds fresh.