I didn’t realise I wanted to say these things, or even realise that i felt them but following a lovely morning with my wonderful family my attention has been focussed on Fathers rather than on a random day to celebrate them.

My feelings about Fathers are somewhat confused. My relationship with my dad was not good, it became adequate as he got older and he and I both grew up a bit but for the period between about 10 and 30 I really had no relationship with him, didn’t see him for about ten years and frankly didn’t want to.

In that period I had a caring and secure home life made for me by my mother and my step-father John, step-father doesn’t begin to describe his role, he was my dad when my dad wasn’t there and is still the most tolerant person I have ever met. To put up with that, no doubt standard, S..t from a kid is hard enough but when you are only doing it because you love his mother must have ben even harder. I still aspire to be the man he was. When he died I felt that my Dad had died.

» Continue Reading.

First gig i went to was E&THR at the Roundhouse, exciting and I didn’t really understand it all but it made me want to go back for more. I bought the Live e.p. and the first two albums, not sure they ever had an Imperial phase but they were a very good live act, saw them several times at all the “old venues” rainbow, etc.

Haven’t bothered with recent incarnations because you can never go back but thank you Barrie.

“old bloke moan klaxon”

As I get older and continue to indulge my obsession with music there are a couple of things which seem to me to define the ageing process pretty clearly.

The first one is seeing a band headlining a festival or selling out a night or two at Wembley and thinking “what? surely the 2000 people who are likley to show up will feel quite lonely there”

I include the following bands about whom i missed the memo – Kasabian, Foghorn and the Machine, Foals (decent band I’d happily see at Shepherds Bush or the Forum so my provblem is not entirely driven by personal taste!). This isnt just an age thing, I completely see how Arctic Monkeys can sell out such venues for example and even The 1975, Christine and The Queens and others who have headlining festival slots.

The second is the growing trend to release albums which weren’t very good in box set/superdeluxe format. (this mild rant has been brought on by The Cult’s upcoming set of Sonic Temple which stretches to a 5CD box set with actual sweat from band members, some DNA and whatever else they can find laying around on » Continue Reading.

Its 1977 and I am about 15. I like a song that I see on TOTP and hear on the radio. I have no idea its based on a book which was made into a film in 1969. Nevertheless a few weeks later the film is on TV and I watch it, its really good, the credits refer to a writer called Horace McCoy. I go to the library and i order it because its not excatly in high demand. A few eeks later it arrives and i read it in about 2 hours (if that, its very short). 40 years later I’m chatting to my daughter about economic depression and the interwar years (because I am interested, because I studied it and because I don’t know anything about the Kardashians or Love Island). We get the dvd and the book, I read the book again and it makes me angry and sad all over again. We watch the film, its still good.

Before we had the internet you had to dig around a bit to find stuff out, a lyric here, an interview in the NME there and if you wanted to you could find out some interesting and » Continue Reading.

Just came across one of the many Sananda Maitreya albums and wondered what anyone here thinks of them. It sent me to Neither fish nor fowl which is nothing like as bad as some critics would have had us believe at the time but equally is not an undiscovered masterpiece. The lad can certainly still sing and write a decent tune although the string of double/triple albums suggest a Prince style lack of quality control/indulgence monitoring.

Went to BBC Maida Vale last night for the recording of Mastertapes with EC. Usually this programme relates to a single album but once you hit the level of EC or Paul McCartney it becomes more of a retrospective and that was the format for last night. Elvis played a few songs from the back catalogue and a few from the new album. As a raconteur he’s great and he has refined his art over the 40+ years and of course writing his book. Some good stories and a relatively rapid walk through the career from Dad and Joe Loss to working with heroes like McCartney and Bacharach. Q & A session didn’t work so well, possibly due to poor questions but he was on fine form after his recent illness “i feel chipper” It went on an hour later than planned due to the old adage (adapted) “I didn’t have time to give a short answer..” and John Wilson was very tolerant as host knowing that it can all be edited down – quite a challenge in this case.

It goes out on 13th October in two parts. Well worth a listen.

Just finished listening to the Creep Show album for the third time – enough to formulate a view I believe.

The thing is, I remember Cabaret Voltaire and how interesting their work seemed to be when they started. Repeated listening revealed a little more earnestness and dare I day it dullness. Fast forward (or rewind) thirty years and here we are again with added John Grant. Cards on the table I bloody love John Grant, recently sat through 2 hours of elbow live to see him support and do part of the encore. When he sings here the whole project shifts up a few gears but it just feels like something that they had fun doing but we have less fun listening to.

On reflection, the issue may be that i am tone deaf to this stuff. I don’t like LCD Soundsystem much either (and they owe their entire career to a combination of The Cabs (as I have never referred to them before) and the Fall.

Nevertheless, I am left with a feeling of why?

If you need one track try safe and sound which is basically Kraftwerk with John Grant singing – now that’s a project » Continue Reading.

I am as big a fan as anyone of the “imperial phase” (Imperial Bedroom phase if you will). But like many others I feel i have remained loyal way beyond the boundaries of common sense. (Juliet Letters, the Orchestral stuff etc.)

So, much to my own surprise last night I was looking for something to listen to and put on North. By way of context, it was late, I had a half decent single malt for company and was in a slightly maudlin mood for reasons that don’t really enhance the context – sick friends, missing lost loved ones etc.

Its actually pretty good. Its a mood piece and I hadn’t listened to it for a good ten years (regrettably i listened to some of his other recent work during those ten years and remain firmly unconvinced by swathes of it).

With hindsight whilst it lacks the immediacy of his pomp, its a thoughtful and obviously well crafted piece of work and whilst it wont make my top 5 Costello albums its much better than i gave it credit for at the time and i wish i’d listened to it a few more time sin the intervening period.

Tonight » Continue Reading.

A slightly unusual combination but let me explain. Noticed that today is Danny’s 60th and wish him well. One of the phrases I recall him overusing on his radio programme is the line about the media “if you’re not scared we aren’t doing our job”

Tonight, Mrs M and three of my wonderful children are off to see Ed Sheeran at the O2. Usually nothing to cause alarm but of course we live in slightly different times. They were all so excited and a simple stay safe seemed to cover it although we all seemed to make sure we told each other how much loved each other this morningbefore work/school.

Sitting in this evening waiting for them to come home I thought, “I know, the social media will tell me how its all going” so went on twitter and searched for Ed Sheeran O2.

First half a dozen things are headed terrorist threat at 02, a couple refer to police helicopters (over West London where the O2 isn’t!) and then there were the more typical pics of the stage from 400 yards away etc which was more like what i was expecting.

My point is this. Whilst the posts are » Continue Reading.

Just appeared on Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/18/chris-cornell-former-soundgarden-singer-dies-aged-52

Rarely do I find myself indulging in reflection, over-rated I’ve always thought and quite possibly dangerous. But, the other day I was listening to one of the word in your ear podcasts from a while back and the opening “what music was in the house when you were young” question set me off on a rare journey of indulgent reflection and reminiscence.

My answer to the question (which I will never be asked in its original context, just like the one about the desert island..) was that neither of my parents really seemed to like music that much. The albums that I recall being in the house were three Carpenters album (A song for you, now and then and close to you), an Alan Price album – between today and yesterday – the one with Jarrow song on it and a few MFB classical albums. These were all chosen by my mother. As to Dad, well strangely i recall 1,000 volts of holt but never remember him listening to it and that frankly is it. No sign of Elton john or even the Beatles despite them selling a few records in those days.. (2% of all records sold in 1973 » Continue Reading.

Apologies if this has been posted already but just the fact that he is still making music even if only for himself makes me happy.