*yes I know, it’s only another way of saying ‘guilty pleasures’ but whatever – I’ve always loved this by Ms. Arena (sadly, not married to noted American soccer coach Bruce as far as I know :-))

Genius segue from Abba’s SOS to Message in a Bottle (from about 09:10 mins) in this life-affirming performance by tribute band nonpareil Bjorn Again. Probably also the best tribute band name ever as well. ‘Champagne Vauxhall Nova’ comes close but sadly the actual band couldn’t live up to their name!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here but just wanted to post this from an act I’ve mentioned on here before. The first professionally recorded performance I’ve come across of theirs. With guest appearances by Reina del Cid. Great stuff.

The above, as well as being just a great record on its own merits, must’ve influenced countless bands. Teenage Fanclub freely admit as such. What are your suggestions for almost obscenely influential records?

As this video explains – quite literally in the case of Jani Lane.

I’ve posted on here before about Mike Massé and how I loved his many YouTube videos of him doing cover versions (notably Toto’s Africa) from a pub in Salt Lake City. Partly through me wanting to learn how to play some of those songs I’ve stumbled across a whole world of cover versions on YT and much of it is very well done and hugely enjoyable. Reina del Cid a prime example.

My teenage daughters are currently mainlining Friends re-runs on Netflix so I’m inevitably drawn in as well. I forget which season / episode it was but this was used in one of many Ross/Rachel ‘off’ moments.

Easily amongst my top ten Beach Boys songs and this is a pretty good grungey version by GLB.

Reports indicate Gareth Bale is very close to leaving Real Madrid for an eye-watering contract in China. At the risk of rehashing the old ‘where did it all go wrong?’ story about George Best, I still can’t help but see it as a waste. He’ll already be amongst the richest sportspeople and presumably more than set for life. Just a shame that he’s apparently decided to go to China at his age. He’s undoubtedly still young enough to perform at the very highest level in one of the top five leagues in Europe. Even the MLS would surely be a better option.

to eschew all forms of alcoholic drinks bar one, which one would you save?

After extensive research conducted over decades, in my case it would be:

Whisky. Scotch Whisky. Allowable variants include Irish and Japanese whisk(e)y.

I admit I’m probably sold on the marketing and the imagery and the sense of place which I know others experience through wine for example. But as I say, that’s me.

Less favourable variants – Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. It’s nothing to do with quality – I’m just not personally as keen on the sweet taste.

Anyway – that’s my view. Your thoughts?

Just seen on my Nick Lowe fb fan club that Ellen & Hepworth interviewed Will Birch about the imminent release of his biography of the Cruel to be Kind hitmaker. Have already got the book on pre-order but looking forward to hearing this.

*which is why I missed this event.

Had some discussion on the Nick Lowe fan club pages that I’m a member of about how Cruel to be Kind was influenced by the wonderful The Love I Lost by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. I said that I’d always loved that song but couldn’t really see a link to CTBK. But someone posted a Tom Moulton remix of The Love I Lost and I can kind of see it now. Also that Costello’s Alison was influenced by The Detroit Spinners’ Ghetto Child.

But due to that discussion I’ve discovered Tom Moulton in a big way – what a guy! The inventor of the ‘breakdown’ and the 12″ single. Some 12″ mixes were a self-indulgent waste of vinyl but someone commented that Moulton’s mixes are just perfect – enhancing elements of the track without overstaying their welcome for a second. I agree 100%.

Absolutely wonderful stuff. I’m embarrassed and annoyed with myself that I’ve only discovered him now.

Where might one go about purchasing a Nick Lowe vinyl disc for example? I’m in the Yorkshire & The Humber region so anywhere within reasonable travelling distance considered.

Then I just need to acquire a turntable, which is a whole ‘nother thread 🙂

Again prompted by my Nick Lowe obsession, and I realise it’s a ridiculously wide category, but would appreciate pointers in the direction of essential albums of the genre. Particularly veering towards the soul end of the spectrum but any informed suggestions most welcome. Cheers in advance.

Anything available online?

Some of you may know I’m in the midst of a major Nick Lowe obsession just now, and have been eagerly consuming everything related.

Just stumbled across this duet between his Rockpile bandmate Dave Edmunds and Nick’s then wife Carlene Carter.

I love this song, though it’s lyrics may raise an eyebrow these days! But genuine warmth comes across between the two of them and I don’t mean that in a pervy way. It follows on from the wonderful Born Fighters doc from the late 70s when Edmunds tried to talk his mate into taking it easy.

But, back to the point – Carlene – wow.

(*Not the name of Nick’s new band. Fear not – Los Straitjackets remain, wonderfully, in place :-))

Some months ago I bought tickets to see Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets at the nearest gig to me (Hull).

Well I can report that last Friday’s gig was indeed wonderful. I have been in full-on, obsessive, watch-and-listen-to-everything-ever-recorded-by-Nick mode ever since and absolutely love this interview from The Late Show 1990.

What stands out is his absolute conviction, aged 40, that his songwriting life is just beginning and that he’s sure he’ll both sound and look fantastic aged 60. Well he’s now 70 and in the midst of a major, life-affirming tour so his prediction turned out pretty sound!

Love 5th Dimension and think this cover of Wedding Bell Blues by Morrissey and Billie Joe Armstrong is great.

Well that’s me off antidepressants completely (tapered off over a couple of months), having been on Citalopram initially then Sertraline for the best part of a decade (much of a muchness in my experience). This is certainly not because everything is hunky dory, more that I felt that they were having no positive effect whatsoever (if they ever did).

Disclaimer – this is not an anti-antidepressant rant. For some / many people they can be invaluable. I’m not sure they were ever going to work for my particular situation which I believe is persistent depressive disorder (The artist formerly known as dysthymia). But your mileage may vary.

The point of this post though is that one effect that I’ve noticed quite significantly since the drug has left my system (weeks ago) has been the return of emotion. I can find myself welling up quite easily now, most recently on hearing this – a tune that’s always been one of my faves but which I seemed to experience on a heightened level.

Anyway – I’d be interested to hear if anyone has experienced similar.

I’ve known for a long time that Paul Weller can be, shall we say, somewhat magpie-like in his attitude to a good tune. In my youth I’d been fully aware that he’d basically ‘sampled’ Taxman for Start! but I felt then (and still do) that the newer song was sufficiently different for the link to be purely inspirational rather than plagiaristic. Start! remains one of my favourite Jam songs – a discordant new wave howl punctuated with sweetness (‘If I never ever see you…’).

This segues seamlessly into the He’s So Fine / My Sweet Lord situation and again I’d make the case that the songs were so different in style that the undeniable melodic similarity between the two is irrelevant. As we know, George was eventually found guilty of ‘unconscious plagiarism’.

Came across this site today though and it does paint our Paul in a rather unflattering light. The chances of him taking a hook and ‘making it his own’ recede with every passing year and can certainly not be passed off as the innocence of youth.

The Steal Council

I realise I am 12 million views behind the times but stumbled upon this earlier and it is wonderful, as are all of the YouTube performances I’ve seen by him and various collaborators. Unpretentious but fantastically faithful and respectful covers. An ‘overnight sensation’ on YouTube after playing a pizza joint in Salt Lake City for a decade or more. He and his friend Jeff Hall in the Africa video and many others both worked as attorneys in Utah. Massé has now become a full-time musician. Yes it may not be cool but the guy puts everything into performing a song to the fullest. Hugely enjoyable.

Sad to hear of the death of legendary sportswriter Hugh McIlvanney. He and his late younger brother and ‘father of Tartan Noir’ crime writer William have been affectionately parodied in Scotland for years for their eloquent opining on fitba’. But the key word is affectionately. I won’t rehash the many thoughtful obituaries but given that the paper with which Hugh was probably most associated is The Observer this one is probably the pick of the bunch. Not sure whether the YouTube clip of the doc Busby, Stein & Shankly – The Football Men is narrated by Hugh or William but Hugh had a major input into it either way.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/25/hugh-mcilvanney-obituary

Ok, not quite bitter but bemused.

The oversized label is one thing. It’s meant to represent a ‘laid back Caribbean attitude’ apparently. Hmmm.

But the thing that annoys me about the product is the fact that as soon as the bottle is inverted to any degree it, ahem, ejaculates the contents out with some force. Bearing in mind that this is meant to be something that is measured with a degree of precision this seems something of a design flaw, and not a ‘charming’ one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters