The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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I Will Understand You

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Some of it is for dancing, some of it makes me laugh. Sometimes I’m awed by the beauty or the mind that created it. And some of it can crack me up emotionally, film and TV scenes, a story or just a passage in a book, but mostly it’s music what does it. ‘Stay’ by The Blue Nile is one such track. Whenever I try to sing along to it I can’t get through the line, ‘Stay, I will understand you’ without a massive lump in my throat choking up the words. It’s such an unusual line, and so desperate. I think it’s probably their best song.*

So if you care to, why not take an emotional journey and share the art that does you in, cracks you up & hits you in the feels – that is so good you can’t get the words out. [or, just enjoy the video]

https://youtu.be/QMfraXGzUq0

NME NoMorE*

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From Friday the NME will no longer be available as a weekly magazine. The final edition will bring to an end 66 years as one of the UK’s most iconic music publications.

I didn’t even know it had been free for over two years, so it won’t make a whole lot of difference to the current me, but the 17 year old me will miss it – sort of.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-43318898

David Byrne Apologises

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David Byrne has issued an apology for not having any women play on his new album – ‘American Utopia’ Does anyone else feel uneasy about that? I see myself as someone who believes in equality for all [that’s a simplified version what I believe, in order to keep this post short] But I wonder can I actually say that when I read about this issue and don’t fully support the ‘solution’? I welcome your views, partly as I am interested in what a mainly white & male blog has to say about a problem that we seem to be right in the middle of [albeit not as much as David Byrne is right now] and also, of course, because it’s not just white males who post here, but also because I believe that this place isn’t just an echo chamber and that I might learn something by asking the question.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/06/david-byrne-apologises-for-not-collaborating-with-women-on-album-with-25-male-contributors

Connections ~ what links these songs and what comes next? An easy Sunday quiz

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Here’s an easy question for a slightly somber Sunday. I’ll give you three songs and you tell me what links or connects them and also if you can read my mind, what song comes next [basicaly, what am I thinking?] After that, if you feel like it, please post two or three songs and let us lot find the link. Here we go,

1. Small World by Roddy Frame

2. Run by Stephen Fretwell

3. Half The World Away by Oasis

4 ?

The Queen Is Dead ~ Bargain Price Alert

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Amazon Uk is currently selling both the CD/DVD + Vinyl boxsets of The Queen Is Dead for a bargain price. Add in the BIGTHANKS code to get £10 off and you can get two copies of the CD/DVD and a copy of the vinyl boxset for £52.97 with free next day delivery. I know this because that’s what I just did. [They’re coming to an auction site near you soon]

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/deal/deal-alert-the-smiths-the-queen-is-dead-3cddvd-box/#more-137766

Kate Bush ‘Before The Dawn’ Vinyl Boxset Bargain Alert

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The Kate Bush ‘Before The Dawn’ Vinyl Boxset is currently available on Amazon for the tremendously low price of £24.99. Grab yourself a post Christmas pick-me-up at a bargain price.

https://youtu.be/huVJ30oEzls

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Dawn-VINYL-Kate-Bush/dp/B01LTHMSEI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1516266143&sr=1-26&linkCode=ll1&tag=superdeluxeed-21&linkId=38fdf42c83fd12a639a67325e7d0061b

In Memoriam of Edwin Hawkins, Post A Happy Song

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The ‘Oh Happy Day’ hit maker has sadly passed away. I have loved that song since the first time I heard it, it never fails to lift my spirits when I hear it and it will probably be played at my funeral. So, as a tribute to Edwin, here is his best known song [which is one of the best recordings ever made]

Should you be inclined, please post a ‘happy’ or uplifting song that you love.

Collaborative Spotify playlist to follow, natch.

https://youtu.be/hzj3pOdCOqU

Josh Ritter Free Album [& New Track] Download

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I know there are a few fans of Josh Ritter on here, if you haven’t got his most recent album, ‘Gathering’ you can get it free from Noisetrade. Also comes with a free new song.

Worth a look if you like melodic songs sung and played well, with strong lyrics and a slight Americana vibe.

Click on the link and his is one of the featured albums at the top of the page.

https://noisetrade.com

Festive TV Highlights – What Will You Be Watching? [and what should we avoid?]

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Two that jump out for me are ‘Alan Partridge: Why, When, Where, How And Whom’ [9pm Wednesday 27th, BBC2] ahead of a new series on the Beeb in 2018, a one hour special looking back on the phenomenon that is Partridge. And ‘Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out’ [9pm, Friday 29th, BBC2] a half hour, one off special which promises sketches shot on location, songs, skits and stunts. I can’t wait.

Have you spotted anything worthy of programming into the PVR? And what’s the worst thing you can imagine having to sit through?

Share your finds here, so that we may all wallow in some decent TV and deliver us from FOMO

Wintry, Autumnal songs

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One of the great things about this time of year is that wonderful feeling of being snug, cocooned and safe from the elements. Is there anything better as we approach Mid-winter than curling up at home, or in a cozy public house and gazing at the chilly outside, glass or bong in hand, whilst listening to songs that match the mood?

So, inspired by this track which I heard today on RadMac, I am throwing myself at the mercy of the Massive to ask for your favourite Wintry/Autumnal songs.

Please join in with your own selection, if you would like to, and I shall compile them all into a Spotty playlist in due course.

The aformentioned track is this – ‘Mary’ by Big Thief. I think its beautiful.

Mindhunter

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What does it sound like?:

Netflix [and to a lesser extent] Amazon are keeping me entertained in a way that I never thought TV could. The recent Films of 2017 thread got me thinking about why I don’t go to the cinema very often. Part of it is to do with the fuckwits, but part is to do with wanting more than cars blowing up and robots and CGI. Now, I know that not all cinema is like that, and maybe I’m falling foul of a laziness that infects my friends who ‘like’ music, but don’t know where I find the stuff i listen to – like I’m going off grid some how, rather than just having an above average interest in the medium. I probably just need to make more of an effort.The reason for this post is that Netflix have done it again, ‘Mindhunter’ is great TV. No, Mindhunter is great film making. Or great story telling. Or, I don’t know, all three. It focuses on the F.B.I’s attempts to understand and profile serial killers. Based on agent John E Douglas’s 1995 book ‘Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit’, Holden Ford [Jonathan Groff] is the » Continue Reading.

Where do you stand on Roxy Music?*

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I was tapping out a rhythm on my wine glass this evening (specifically the stem and base – try it and see) when it occurred to me that the riff resembled the opening sequencer bit on Roxy Music’s Same Old Scene. That naturally led me to ponder their place in this old scene that I like to call music. Are they given their props for their melding of rock, pop, roll, space and eyeliner. And saxophone? Or have they been tarnished by Ferry’s slide into crooner-ism? I have many fond memories of playing their albums, but can’t remember the last time I chose to listen to them. So tell me if there is something in what I’m saying, or am I just bogus, man.

He wanted to ‘capture the sights, the sounds, the smells’ of the album

by 30 Comments

Just when I thought musicians couldn’t get any more ridiculous along comes Josh Ritter to prove me wrong. For his new album ‘Gathering’, music just wasn’t enough. [Read the bizarre press release in the comments.] This from a musician I thought seemed almost normal. Ah well. Is this the beginning of a new trend? And if so, what would other albums ‘smell’ like? The new U2 for instance? Maybe I’m being too cynical, smell is after all one of the most evocative of senses and can transport one to a different time and place, so perhaps this will catch on. What say you, good people?

Soundbar Help

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Hey there all you Afterword cats – I am revving up to purchase a Soundbar to augment my Tellybox sound. I currently have the telly sound coming through an amplifier and speakers, but due to events which I won’t bore you with I find myself having to consider changing that set up. So, who owns or has used or experienced a Soundbar? And would you recommend the use of one which isn’t going to cost the earth? * Thank you in advance for your time and effort.

*for reference purposes, if I were to replace the speakers and stick with the current set-up I would not want to spend more than £200, so that is my budget