Why not idle away valuable AW-scrolling time by putting song lyrics into Chat GPT and asking it what it thinks*, then getting people to guess the song? Here’s an easy one to start,,,

“These lines appear to be lyrics from a song. They convey a sense of admiration and infatuation. The speaker has seen a picture of someone and is enamored by their appearance, especially when they smile for the camera. There’s a feeling of excitement and anticipation for a big debut or moment of recognition. The mention of a pin shot and a letter suggests a sense of nostalgia or sentimental attachment to this person.

The overall tone of these lyrics is one of admiration, suggesting that the speaker is captivated by the subject of the song, emphasizing their beauty and the joy of capturing moments through photographs.“

*depending on your definition.

I was reading earlier about the Siouxsie show which advertised “+ special guests”, of which there were none, in the interim, there was a DJ set, and then the show didn’t start until half nine. A couple of weeks ago I saw Southside Johnny at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and similarly there was a man playing records and announcing that Johnny would be onstage in an hour’s time. On the BBC currently there is a man playing an hour’s worth of hits before The Pet Shop Boys (who presumably don’t need the most extensive of monitor checks before they go on, judging by the Glastonbury set where Chris Lowe didn’t even need to be on stage before they kicked off) I’m not one to downplay the skill of the DJ, or the need to put some money behind the bar, or to necessarily proselytize the Hepworthian, method, but really – couldn’t we just get on with it? I’d have missed the Iron Maiden traffic on the last train back to Ipswich if we had.

So, farewell then the HCH, who will be touring into 2025. As noted in The Independent – “Now, after having performed over a thousand concerts across their more than five-decade career, the “Hotel California” rockers – Dan Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey – will embark on their “swan song”.” It’s enough to bring a tear to an old sub-editor’s eye. Apparently they’re going to be accompanied by “…long time friends and fellow rock group Steely Dan” Hoping for branded steely knives at the merch desk!

I’ve dropped something. You can listen to it if you like – bear in mind though that I see the stats that tell me when someone only listened to the first forty seconds before clicking away! You can buy it (CDs will be available next month, so be patient if that’s your thing) and you can share it as far and as wide as you care to. Obviously I’m going to Blog about it, but in the meanwhilst, here it is…. Thank you, and gå godt.

https://thismuchtalent.bandcamp.com/album/belgian-whistles

We are pleased and proud to announce that we have new product dropping this week*.

‘Hollow Man’ was recorded remotely in lockdown by the entire group, and is coupled with a new version of crowd-pleasing, set-closing favourite ‘Nelson’. Both songs will be available on our Bandcamp site https://helenandtheneighbourhooddogs.bandcamp.com from Sunday March 21st.

Two accompanying videos will be aired as part of ‘What the Helstock?’ virtual festival on the Blue House Agency Facebook page livestream on Saturday the 20th – scheduled showtime is around half past eight GMT depending on prevailing winds and weather conditions in the East Anglian region – https://www.facebook.com/bhagency/

This is a digital only release, but you can listen to it a couple of times for free online before you make your mind up as to whether you want to own it or not. We also do parties, festivals and house concerts, so once we’re up and running again, if you like what you hear, do get in touch. https://www.facebook.com/helenandthedogs

*Ed – please check with the young folk to see if this is still what they do.

I think we can all agree that the calling card of the Greater Crested Coverdale is a thing of beauty that has served him well over decades of cockrockerdom. See also Bruce Dickinson’s “Scream for me [insert name of mittel European enormodome here]!” is a calling card once heard, never forgotten. I myself used to perform alongside a singer whose “We’re going to take a five minute break for ten minutes or so – see you in quarter of an hour” was rivalled in my affections only by his “Listen, we do a lot of weddings…”. I once saw Neil Finn announce the meta “Here’s a song stolen by Paul Young – now we’re stealing it back”, and Simon Nicol’s “This song (Matty Groves) has about seventeen verses and two chords – which is broadly the opposite of a Steely Dan song” enjoins an internal chuckle to this day. What other onstage aphorisms do the collective still recall fondly, I wonder?

I’ve recently spent some time on the front line in the retail wars – I can’t tell you exactly where, as there’s a clause in the contract regarding social media, but suffice to say the company concerned will probably be closing a branch near you shortly – and so at this festive time of year, I thought I might share a few reflections.

Firstly, people are generally nice, kind and interested in being interested. Many queries regarding back catalogue or hard-to-find items would begin “I don’t suppose you’ll have heard of this…” and folk would be delighted that you could describe the cover of (say) 24 Carat Purple, Wonsaponatime or correctly attribute the director of Barry Lyndon, even of you couldn’t actually order any of these items in for them. The number of times someone would mention that they would rather enquire in person than online was heartening, at least for those still employed in the retail sector. Then again, we never saw the constituency who preferred to sit in for the Amazon man, did we?

Mind you – you don’t get to describe the plot of a film you once saw most of on a plane and are determined » Continue Reading.

Very poor showing from The Times there today.

Mine: Michael Schenker Jimi Hendrix Albert King.

View post on imgur.com

It is one of the most stirring sights in rock – two drummers (one, ideally, left-handed) pounding away behind a couple of gurning soloists – but, and here is where I defer to the wisdom and knowledge of the Afterword, if you will, massif – is there generally a ‘lead’ drummer and a ‘rhythm’ drummer, or do they usually work out in advance where the fills are going to be? I haven’t watched enough Dead and/or Doobies to take an informed view. I saw The Waterboys a couple of years ago and one of the pair was essentially an over-qualified percussionist, and when Messrs Mattacks and Conway teamed up at Cropredy it was very much an eye-contact split-stereo effort, but these were temporary experiments. Did Butch Trucks habitually pull rank? And do get me started on the latest King Crimson line up.

Just finished Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys – which is epic, and thoroughly both commended and recommended – and saw that they put suggested Book Club questions at the end of novels these days. I can’t help thinking this would be a fine idea for albums – whether as additional tracks at the end of the CD or inserted subtly into the sleeve notes. “Do you think the vocals were too loud on track one?”, “How about that double-tracked guitar solo, eh?”, that sort of thing. Here’s my one: “What did Billy Joe throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge?”