At their best, Gentle Giant made some astonishing music.

https://www.facebook.com/derek.shulman/posts/pfbid02kRcvJPciafyivurDSSdsM46GMV5VJXvWde6P5b66dPauKLxj1TrqKKhLcoNnSshkl

4000 Aussie dollars for a couple of Gentle Giant LPs? Have they become highly collectible??

https://7news.com.au/news/crime/castlemaine-burglary-with-150000-records-stolen-including-acdc-metallica-and-jethro-tull-c-9274194

An interesting choice by Ian Anderson to go ahead with some recent performances even though some members of the band were unable to perform because they had caught Covid.

The show went on with audiofiles taking the place of the stricken band members.

Obviously, the current iteration of Tull is pretty much Anderson’s backing band, so in purely musical terms there may be no real loss to subbing a live performer with a digital recording.

Still, I suspect I’d feel somewhat short changed if I had a ticket to a band performance and not everyone was there.

https://jethrotull.com/tough-times-tough-choices-the-use-of-live-performance-substitute-audio-files/

Not sure if this was posted previously, but I stumbled across it today when going down a Gentle Giant rabbit hole on Youtube.

Seeing the former band members performing gave me a lot of pleasure, as did the other musicians playing a classic GG track with dexterity and love.

I’ve read the thread about British retail with interest, including the sense that we’ll miss WH Smiths and/or the High Street experience if they disappear.

This is a position which is often quoted about something which is seemingly integral to our lives – such as the BBC.

I wonder, though, if it really holds water?

For instance, I doubt I would miss the BBC that much. I get my daily fix of news online (never from the BBC website, which is pretty woeful), I have entertainment options coming out of my ears, and music which I don’t own is a mouse click away.

Similarly, with the High Street experience. If the population truly valued it, it wouldn’t be in its death throes. However, the reality is that, for the most part, people prefer shopping online. It’s cheaper, it’s easier, the and customer service is generally better.

Are we just trying to hold on to entities which have previously been the foundations of our lives but which have failed to keep up with our changing habits and lifestyles … and we’re just disconcerted about the (potential) disappearance of such foundations, rather than actually needing or wanting them?

I have been exploring the nether regions of The Association’s back catalogue after their smash hit ‘Along Comes Mary’ was used in the soundtrack of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.

While their back catalogue offers very slim pickings, I think they deserve plenty of credit for the use of the ‘baba-doo-bah’ lyrical hook in Mary.

This sent me down a very pointless rabbit hole of trying to find more top tunes which have ‘dooby-de-doos’ or ‘bibbidy-las’ as part of the lyrics/instrumentation.

Below are my top 2 choices. But there must be more fine examples of this much overlooked genre.

While doing some important lockdown research on the Banana Splits, I was reminded about the Sour Grapes Bunch and the groovetastic song they danced to.

Which got me thinking about all the great songs and tunes which used to populate kids TV.

What were your favourites? While you’re thinking, do the ‘dip and scoop’ a few times along with the Bunch.

I really enjoyed this documentary about the Shads. While they have a bit of reputation for being somewhat safe and predictable, the programme captures a sense of how thrilling it must have been when they burst onto the scene with Apache – kicking off an astonishing run of hits.

Where do we stand on the Shads?

Further to the vintage vinyl thread….

It seems I may have in my collection a few fairly valuable vinyl LPs. Rather than go down the ebay route, I’d much rather take them to a 2nd hand shop and do a quick deal, even if I don’t make as much money from the deal.

So, does anyone know of a shop with a 30 mile radius of Redhill that wouldn’t try to screw me?

This has been troubling me for quite some time. But does anyone else suspect that Rick Stein and Ralph McTell could be the same person?

The look veeerrrry similar, they have the same vocal inflections, and Ralph can cook a fantastic fish soup.

Let’s check out the evidence. Here’s Ralph being interviewed (in a kitchen, which makes it even more suspicious).

Who rocks harder – Joe Lynn Turner or Dirk Diggler? they have similar styles and looks – but overall I think Dirk shades it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYAAbbuEpnw