The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Johan Neeskens

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2nd only to Cruyff as an football idol personifying the ‘total football’ of Ajax & ‘that’ Netherlands side of 1974, Johan Neeskens has passed away at 73 years. He was a defensive midfielder, but played in such a swashbuckling manner, he could taken for an attacker. Along with his pal Johan Cruyff, he won 3 European Cups in the early 70s & then they both departed for Barcelona in 73/74 aiding the Catalans to their first league title in decades & halting the era of near monopoly of Franco’s beloved Real Madrid. I was lucky enough to see him play a handful of times for Barcelona & later when the NY Cosmos played in the UK & he didn’t disappoint. There’s plenty of footage on YouTube, have a look, he’s great. RIP.

Books, please!

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I’d love any book recommendations the Massive might have, as I’m dithering over what to read next. My most recent reads have all been immensely enjoyable- ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ by Anthony Doerr, ‘An Instance Of The Fingerpost’ by Iain Pears & I’ve just finished the last part of Don Winslow’s gruesomely illuminating ‘Border’ trilogy, if that’s ant indicator of current tastes. I have the final part of the Wolf Hall trilogy & ‘To Paradise’ by Hanya Yanagitata on standby, but I’m not really feeling them right now. So, any meaty belters you’d recommend? I tend to prefer 400 pages plus, just to indulge in the immersion of a novel, but have no hard & fast preferences. Cheers!

Urgent ATM : Calling a German mobile phone from my UK moble (whilst in Berlin)

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Really basic stupid question time: off to Berlin tomorrow ( lucky me) & meeting the apartment key holder for the handover, & need to call him on arrival – the number he has given me begins with +49 172 … My question is, do I just put the whole number in & the network does the rest, or do I ‘drop’ the +49 & put a ‘0’ in front of the 172, similar to ‘dropping’ the +44 for a UK number? Apologies if this is so dumb it’s unbelievable but I can’t find an unambiguous answer online. Answers suitable for complete idiots would be much appreciated!

Things I’ve never seen at a gig before.

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The leader singer of the band I saw last night was eating Salt & Vinegar crisps between songs. That’s a first for me after decades of gigs. In addition, the bar didn’t take cash, so I stayed annoyingly almost completely sober – that’s also a first (the bar, not the sobriety) Then there was the chap who looked like the spit of Gandalf at the front leaning on the crash barrier, playing Wordle on his phone before the band came on – never seen that before either – mind you, he was sorting a Dukla Prague away kit, so no prizes for guessing the band (they were particularly excellent, it must be said). So, have you seen anything unprecedented at a fairly recent outing? I think we should be told.

ATM : Willy Nelson

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Having been blown away by a live version of ‘Hold Me til I Gain Control Again’ on Kershaw’s podcast, my shameful ignorance of his canon struck me. I know a handful of tunes but it’s largely blank. So, can I ask the Massive, not where should I start with Willy, but which single album of his would you save from your burning house? Cheers.

Hugh Pascall Quartet

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I was very lucky to catch this quartet this week in a very dinky upstairs room in Cardiff. Over 90 mins of top drawer classic Miles-esque music, as well as some cooking Be Bop for a measly £10! Had a brief chat with the charming & very effacing Hugh afterwards & was almost embarrassed that such beautiful & accomplished sounds was in front of an audience of 14 people tops (even crud open mic stand ups nites do better)- Hugh was very philosophical ‘that’s not bad for Jazz’. As they are on a UK tour & are so good, I thought it only right to give them a shout out. If it’s your bag & they’re coming near you, go check them out. The CD ‘Borderlands’ is also a very nice listen. BTW, I don’t know them or anything, but was taken aback about how good they are.

Characters from songs that could have lives beyond them ( possibly interacting with other characters from other songs).

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Saw a suggestion on a Steely Dan Twitter feed for characters from their songs inhabiting a movie. Who would be the leads & how would the plot develop? Their songs definitely lend themselves to a cinematic vibe & I could easily envisage a movie in a David Lynch/ neo-Noir style, possibly featuring Willem Defoe or Christopher Walken, not to mention who might play Dr Wu or the Babylon Sisters. It got me thinking, which song characters could live outside of their domain? What if David Watts met Billy Hunt? Dave from acquisitions crossed paths with Jennifer ( of De La Soul fame)? or if one of Fountains of Wayne’s characters stepped into a plot with Sweet Jane or Johnny the Fox? Any ideas?

Need some real greasy rocking blues? Beat this!

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Stumbled across this clip yesterday & it blew my head off. Pretty much everything about it is perfect for me: small club, Lazy Lester & 3 killer guitarists (no bass). The real revelation was the late ( & obviously great) Nick Curran. To my shame, I was unaware of him previously, but am certainly a fan having checked him out. He’s good, as in ‘Jimmy Vaughan’ kind of good. Wow!

Jimmy Greaves

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The goal machine surely deserves his own thread of appreciation. There will definitely be absolute respect as Spurs play Chelsea today. His stats are incredible & would be even greater if his headstrong ways & thirst hadn’t ticked off Sir Alf, who reportedly just blocked him after a certain point in the ‘66 World Cup. I saw him play for West Ham ( not my club) as a kid & was lucky to see him score, but to many he was the jolly , jokey bloke in the Pringle jumper cracking Dad jokes about ‘ The Accies’ & how Gordon Banks looked like a chimp. He surely had his demons & was courageously honest about them, but God, WHAT a player. RIP.

Andrew Bird & Jonathan Richman Live from the Great Room

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I stumbled across this yesterday. Fans of Andrew Bird will probably be aware of it & his hosting of other performers, but I was oblivious. I was charmed by the engagement in the conversation – Jonathan is a handful to attempt to keep on any kind of track & Andrew Bird does pretty well in his attempts pin him down. Essentially, there’s a nice mutual respect on display & a willingness to just try stuff, some of which is more successful than others. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the Live from the Great Room stuff.

ATM: How safe are Guadalajara and Mexico City?

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Eldest daughter making choices for foreign placements to Spanish speaking countries as part of University course. Has no interest in Spain itself, preferring Lain America-the Erasmus programme (while it still exists, has reciprocal arrangements in Lima, Guadalajara & Mexico City. She favours Mexico & to be frank, that gives me the willies (particularly Guadalajara). I’m not prone to being a protective worryguts, but sadly very little I read about modern Mexico is reassuring. Too much Don Winslow & current affairs reporting to be honest Anybody know first hand or know folks who do, who would strongly advise yay or nay about either of the Mexican Cities above? The stay would be for around 6 months , likely in 2022. Many thanks, peeps.

A bit of lockdown Jazz for you cats

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Stumbled across the ‘Live From Emmet’s Place’ postings this week. I think they are live streamed initially & then stay up on YouTube: the standard of playing is staggering at times as Emmet Cohen is joined by a selection of guests who sit in with his trio. Blimey! I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed watching YouTube this much. Vol 16 is probably my fave that I’ve checked out so far, but there is plenty to choose from. It features Patrick Bartley, who it turns out is rather good. Almost 2 hours worth, with a lot a variety. If this your thing, fill your boots!

Where has all the Aubergine Pickle gone?

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Does anybody on the AW know? Ever since lockdown Patak’s Aubergine Pickle has just disappeared. Obviously, at first I assumd it was a supply chain thing, like bog roll & hand sanitiser in the early days of the pandemic – now of course, pretty much everything is as it was, but not my beloved jars of gorgeous goo. Lime pickle & Mango chutney are there in abundance. Does anyone know why? We need to be told! I’m asking mostly ‘cos it’s curry night & it just ain’t the same. .