Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Organisers said the safety of festival-goers, artists, staff and crew was their “top priority” and the event had become “too difficult to plan, prepare and deliver”.
Anyone who has already booked tickets will be given the choice of a refund or the chance to hold onto their tickets for the 2021 festival.
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Bandcamp are today* waiving their fees so that the artists get all the money from sales. You can buy downloads, or CDs & vinyl (which come with free instant downloads in the format of your choice) and even t-shirts, coasters, mouse mats, and so on.
If you are of the jazz persuasion, I can recommend youngsters the Kansas Smitty’s house band. (https://kansassmittys.bandcamp.com/). They are also playing a live streaming gig at 5pm every day: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxCy6D_qKAEFunK0YEMG2Lg and look for ‘Live at 5’.
Cambridge folky-influenced indie-pop band Model Village (https://modelvillage.bandcamp.com/), for whom I do live sound and engineer their recordings, are doing a name-your-price today (they all have day jobs). My favourite is second album You Chose These Woes (https://modelvillage.bandcamp.com/album/you-chose-these-woes)
Fill your boots and support the artists.
(*) Until 12 midnight PST, whatever that is in old money
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Since I can’t do the usual Sunday afternoon vinyl afternoons in the local cafe, I’m thinking of doing it by podcast or Youtube live or something similar. There are quite a few disabled living in the village who don’t get out on a Sunday at the best of times.
I’ve only ever downloaded podcasts or contributed to AW pods while Twang did the heavy lifting.
I am familiar with recording hardware and editing software like Audacity. But where do I start with the rest of it?
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My fat fingers just produced this:
Abbary Road
Swedish glam/disco take on the Fab Four.
Over to the AW hive mind.
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I am very dull, as I readily admit. But there’s always worse to find, if you try hard enough.
I have just been ISO9001 audited at work, by a man from the British Standards Institute.
Honestly, he was enough to make me look like the life and soul of the party.
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12/03/2020
Come All Ye presents The Folk Cabaret. Every second Thursday of the month at The Blue Moon, Norfolk Street, Cambridge. A folk-roots night with a house band, guest artists (this month: Polly Paulusma and Annie Dressner; Kelly and Woolley) and a quiz. Live music 8pm-10pm. + weird’n’wonderful folk / world records until 11pm Free entry!
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Nothing to get me out of bed this year (as previous years).
Roxy Music -The Steven Wilson Stereo Mix 2LP probably comes closest.
I might pick up the Kraftwerk 1 & 2 if I see them around later.
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I’m sure we all heard the news on Radio 1 Newsbeat…
The Big Moon* have been announced as Record Store Day UK ambassadors for 2020.
(*) ask your nearest teenager
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/newsbeat-51652574/the-big-moon-record-shopping-is-like-a-religion
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Avoiding the obvious “in the charity shop rack” gag, I bet nobody guessed this. Crikey, no wonder she’s been quiet of late.
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29/02/2020
I’m having a gig on Saturday, in a small Cambridge club, to celebrate/commiserate turning 50 on Monday. Three bands: Pink Lemonade (all-girl pop-punk trio), The Pony Collaboration (indie pop) and Violet Woods (Nuggets-style garage-psyche). Following a few drop-outs, there are a handful of spaces. If any AfterWorders in the Cambridge area fancy coming along, PM me for details.
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29/03/2020
Abbey Read, Let It Bleed and Bridge Over Troubled Water played from remastered vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.
Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.
3-5pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.
The second of three EPs from Tape Runs Out was released on Friday with a launch gig on Saturday (I didn’t go).
Six tracks for 50 pence. I have recorded three of them in the past, but do not fear – there is none of my DNA on these versions.
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For some while now (a couple of years, at least) I have been engineering recordings by my pals Sam and David of their “Disco-Prog-Punk” take on trad. folk songs.
This Friday the album will finally be launched at the Cambridge Folk Club, which will almost definitely be the loudest gig ever there.
Here’s their video for The Bitter Withy, a song about the football career of the infant Jesus.
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Venue:
Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Date: 21/02/2020
I finally, at the third attempt, got to see Field Music live. Despite the best attempts of the weather to close major roads, and the resulting three hour drive, we made it with 15 minutes to spare.
Emma Pollock (ex-Delgados) came on with just a cellist as her third band member was stuck in Dundee. She did a Delgados tune and Paper and Glue from her first album, one from each of her second and third, a new one, and a rather good cover of John Cale’s Paris 1919. She was alright, engaged with the audience, but her guitar style suits having a band behind her.
During the interval I managed to track down @smudger and @bobness (who, it turns out, had been standing directly behind me) and then David Brewis came on stage to warn us we were going to hear the new album in sequence in full, followed by the hits.
What I hadn’t realised is the pulses at the start of the album are actually bombs exploding and it was loud and a bit frightening. The songs were excellent, and the audience (bar one » Continue Reading.
Memphis Industries (Field Music’s own label) are having a clearout of FM-related vinyl. Even with postage, it still works out at only £7.50 per album.
https://www.musicglue.com/memphisindustries/products/five-lps-for-30-pounds
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23/02/2020
Hounds of Love, So and Graceland played from remastered vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.
Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.
3-5pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.
13/02/2020
Every second Thursday of the month at The Blue Moon, Cambridge. A folk-roots night with a house band, guest artists and a quiz. Live music 8pm-10pm. + weird’n’wonderful folk / world records until late. Free entry!
I’m working the desk, so it’ll at least sound good.
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BVs on one track on the new produced-by-Bernard Butler album by young folkie Sam Lee.
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“Hi there, at the Holiday Inn last night at Celtic Connections festival Kris Drever had £4000 worth of gear stolen from the Holiday Inn.
Kris is a very well known and popular Scottish folk musician hailing from Orkney. A crime like this will stop him being able to work and providing for his family. Can you pledge to help him recoup these costs?”
What this doesn’t say is Kris is a lovely bloke, too.
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26/01/2020
Parklife, Definitely Maybe and His ‘n’ Hers played from 25th anniversary vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.
Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.
3-5pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.
Arise, Sir Rodders (before the ref’s count reaches ten)
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29/12/2019
Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise?, A Secret Wish, Slave to the Rhythm and Welcome to the Pleasuredome played from first pressing vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.
Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.
3-5pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.
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Our 8-y-o 42″ Panasonic plasma went bang on Christmas day as Mrs F changed channel as Call The Midwife started. If I can’t repair it (probably an open-circuit power supply capacitor, but who knows what else it took out), I’ll need to buy a new one.
Requirements: not massive (42″ or a bit bigger, but not huge), Freeview HD built in, 1080 resolution is fine (we have a Blu-ray player), at least 3 (ideally 4 or more) HDMI inputs, wired Ethernet and iPlayer built in, optical or coaxial audio output for connecting to the hi-fi, half-decent sound for when it isn’t, USB playback would be nice, value (budget in the hundreds not thousands – we watch no more than an hour a day), easy to use for the non-technical lady of the house.
We spread ourselves out so OLED is probably better than LCD for wide viewing angle.
I don’t keep up with TV, so don’t really know what’s best value. Any recommendations?
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It’s a quiet week at the news desk, so here’s an article explaining the music reissues market.
And a picture of Maria Carey, who seems to have forgotten to put on her undies.
