I’m not. But it seems everybody else is, including members of my family – Mrs M, usually suspicious of (and unable to comprehend) any new tech, uses it to re-write/re-word/re-configure her own writings for her PhD. My son uses it for everything from helping me write a letter to the local council to sussing out details of his car insurance policy.

My only encounter with it was a few years ago when I asked to for a biography of me. It listed a whole bunch of non-existent musical compositions. I realise that’s not how you’re supposed to use it, and that it has evolved since then.

Still – I don’t think I have any need of it atm, but maybe I’m wrong…

Anyone else?

Reading The Boys are Back in Town thread about Oasis took me back to the mid-nineties. Even though I’d just turned 40 I was still curious about pop, and thought maybe this BritPop stuff resurrecting the sound of the sixties might be worth a listen. On that basis I bought Morning Glory. The sound of it was a bit too noisy for me but I could appreciate clever Noel. Making a singalong pop anthem out of the title of a George Harrison electronic film soundtrack? Genius of a kind.

But I digress. I would have bought the album in early 1996, at which point my children were aged 6, 4 and 2. The then six year old, now aged 35, LOVED Wonderwall!

I now have grandchildren aged 6 and 3. The current six year old has recently discovered The Presidents Of The United States of America’s song “Peaches” and screams it out with ear-splitting commitment and energy

But I digress again. In the past we have asked the question “how old are you?’ and “what’s your job?” and so on.

If you have kids and further down-the-line little ones, how old are they.

In this format

Children – 3 (aged » Continue Reading.

That’s all. What are you good at?

I had this conversation, on a professional level, with a couple of close friends a few years ago and I often think of it. Those friends were all, like me, musicians, and we talked about music-related things.

But I don’t want this post to be job specific.

Can you describe what you are good at doing, without going into details, about your work?

How about ONE easy-to-understand work-related thing, and a couple of others, domestic, personal, whatever.

Here are mine…

I’m good at…

Arranging music, and organising people for recording sessions.

Doing the washing (looking out for the best days to actually put the washing on and know that there’s fine weather for drying)

Making dinner out of whatever’s in the fridge.

Go go go!!!!

Daughter No 2 (there’s a son in between) celebrates her 30th in a few weeks. She LOVES birthdays, especially hers. Mrs M and I asked her what she wanted last night and, unusually, she couldn’t actually think of anything.

I’ll list a few non-starters –

CDs, records etc. She loves music, plays it constantly, but she’s a total digital native so everything is online

Kitchen stuff – she says she’s got all she needs, plus, although she really wants a good quality lettuce spinner thing, she doesn’t think that’s a suitable present for a milestone birthday, which Mrs M and I totally get. (Although I suspect Mrs M will buy her one anyway).

Books – Again Mrs M will inevitably buy her a book, cos that’s what she does for everyone whether they want it or not. Thank God she bought me Earth To Moon for my last birthday because while I’m not a reader, I did say I would like to read it.

Skin care/beauty stuff – she’s obsessed with this and buys her own from social media people

Any ideas gratefully received

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks – Where’s The Money?

I’ll start.

The Pointer Sisters – Fire, at 1.50

Link in comments

Silly old bugger

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-04/neil-young-backflips-on-glastonbury-performance/104784440?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

A friend showed me this one – archive dot ph – which enables you to read an article that’s behind a paywall. So for example I saw this headline in Rolling Stone “The Democrats Are Winning The Record Store Battle”, copied the URL, bunged it into that webpage and lo and behold was able to read it.

Of course there is the issue, no pun intended, of supporting print journalism, especially what remains of the music press. (Although RS these days is about much more than just music). I think if I wanted to read large chunks of Rolling Stone every day I’d subscribe, but that’s not the case. Between us Mrs M and I subscribe to a bunch of mags/papers we like to read regularly.

http://archive.ph

Classic British 60s R’nB

Saw him in 2013 with Alan Price at the Half Moon in Putney. Shook his hand. Of course i didn’t get a photo.

Today I played piano at a funeral. I didn’t know the family, I was asked to do it by a friend of a friend.

Before the service they requested Beethoven’s “Für Elise”, “Men Of Harlech” (the school song of the chap that died), Liszt’s “Liebestraum 3” and Chopin’s Nocturne in Eb Op9 No 2. I could play all those except the Liszt, I had to find a simplified version.

The Hymn was “Morning Has Broken”. I channelled Rick.

After the service they asked for “Song For Guy” (lovely), and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What A Wonderful World”. Nice.

During the service, as I was listening to this family tell stories about people I didn’t know, I of course thought about funerals in my family – my sister (34 years ago now), my Mum and Dad (in the last decade), and what my own funeral might be like, assuming I go before my wife. That got a bit upsetting I have to say.

Anyway, what was just a gig for me turned into a major think piece about all sorts of stuff.

How was your day??