The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Local heroes

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The “What does your milkman do” thread prompted me to think about local heroes – people you might see playing down the pub who are really good. Here’s Ben Smith, a local lad who is a smoking guitar player and more importantly, looks like he’s having a ton of fun whilst playing.

Yours?

https://youtu.be/yCqyVXEg09U

War for Planet of the Apes

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Venue:

Letchworth Cinema

Date: 16/07/2017

I came back to the the Apes quite recently, having seen the original film back in the day, the TV series, the cartoon..I mean, how many apes do you need? The one with Helena Bonham Carter was OK but nothing spesh…so the reboot series caught me by surprise. Bought in a 6 for a fiver second hand DVD clear out, Twang Jr negotiated that the twofer set of the first two films counted as one, so they cost a fraction of a quid – and they are brilliant. Telling the story of how the original ape dominance of the planet happened, “War for the Planet of the apes” picks up the story as groups of renegade and lawless humans fight back against the simian hoards and also against each other.

Studiously avoiding spoilers, the film is thoughtful and quite deep, with some glaring nudges to the ribs moments too (who, exactly, is the animal in this scenario…?) with plenty of action to keep the 13 year old in the group happy too. The ending neatly links to the start of the original film, and in google land you can find nerdy analyses plotting all » Continue Reading.

Tarantino

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I’ve been meaning to post about Tarantino for a while and today’s news that he is going to make a movie about the Manson murders prompts me. Surely a topic he can do well, though the opportunities for black humour currently escape me.

He’s a bit of a marmite figure, old Quentin. The first of his films that I saw was “Reservoir Dogs” though at the time I just thought it was just a pretty good, violent, caper movie. Then “Pulp Fiction” made me realise he’s a bit special. I think I saw “Four rooms” but can’t remember a thing about it. “Jackie Brown” was a real switch but again I was impressed, not least by the soundtrack. This is a guy who knows his music in a film context. The hoopla around the Kill Bills (sword noises sourced from 70s kung foo movies etc etc) raised a few alarm bells….was he un peu up himself? Mind you, the films were good. On to “Sin City” – amazing visually, though I have a vague feeling it dragged a bit….need to watch it again. Never saw “Dance me to the end of love”.

Then I lost interest…not anti, just not excited » Continue Reading.

Songs with epic endings

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I might have nicked this idea from Planet Rock – or maybe I misheard….songs with epic endings anyone?

I wonder if this is more a so called “classic rock” thing? Does it still happen? Show us!

Water, water, everywhere

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Last Sunday I got around to investigating Mrs. T’s contention that she could hear dripping from behind the washing machine. Obviously I put it off for ages but finally pulled the thing out (taking 3 seconds) to discover the bit which screws onto the water supply was indeed dripping. It took 1 second to tighten it and the dripping stopped. It seems to have been at it for, oooh, probably ages. The wall it was mounted on was soaked, as was the other side of it which has book shelves – removing the contents (all of which were wet/mouldy where they had been touching the wall) and the wall itself was wet. The adjoining side wall was also wet, up to about 2 feet. The floor is soaked, out to about 6 feet.

A week on, with the doors open, fans on and a dehumidifier running which has removed .75 litres so far, it all seems to be drying out quite well. But oddly, damp patches are reappearing on the floor screed though, so I wonder if there is more to this drying out business than meets the eye. Obviously before commencing refurbishment I want to be sure the » Continue Reading.

Jackson Browne

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Venue:

Royal Albert Hall

Date: 24/06/2017

Jackson takes the stage thankfully shorn of the huge beard he sported on the cover of 2008’s “Time the conquerer” from which album comes the opener, “Just say yeah”. This is followed by “The long way around” from 2014’s “Standing in the breach”. He’s clearly starting by doing new and doing political. The first set is dotted with political messages and references – a Cuban protest song here, a reference to Brexit or comparison between England (he means the UK) and Trump’s America there. But the band is glorious and the JB voice is in fine shape, if adopting the “two semitones down” technique entirely justifiable for a singer / songwriter legend in his 60s. From the first number Greg Leitz gives JB deity alumnus David Lindley a run for his money on lap steel, pedal steel and exquisitely phrased lead guitar. Other guitar duties are handled by Val McCallum who does the fast tricky stuff which would have been played by Danny Korchmar back in the day, swapping guitars like a juggler, until I could spot a pending country number as he grabbed his Telecaster or a rocker as he reached for » Continue Reading.

Best of the Dan

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A friend of mine asked me for a Dan playlist. I’ve favoured the bluesier / guitar heavy end. …what did I miss?

Bands not influenced by the Beatles?

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I saw having an enjoyable joshing session yesterday with @bartleby in which he expressed the view that no modern band isn’t influenced by the Beatles in some way. Obviously I argued manfully but he pretty much got the better of me. Help me out. Led Zeppelin? Gryphon?

Rockers playing classical stuff

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OK, it’s a bit naff. But in the classical world there are some great chunes so why not. I always have a bit of affection for this – Dave Edmunds judiciously speeded up for extra impact. I remember the single being in the charts when I was a nip.

There’s another thread about classical interpretations of rock just waiting to land which will be an order of magnitude naffer, trust me.

Other examples?

Who do we know here then?

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Some familiar faces, some less so (to me anyway). Can we name them?

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i449/charlieboy14/96347182d0de4c04101a1878f88f8c0e_zps0d8nlh5l.jpg

Initials fun

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I had a great day with the Grateful Dead but the beer I had with the Beatles wasn’t as good as the right state I got into with the Rolling Stones.

Your turn.

Funk!

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Suggest some good funk albums. Compilations welcome. I’ll start – “One nation under a groove” by Funkadelic. I feel the need to get on the one.

Playing air instruments

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There is great satisfaction to be gained from playing air instruments. Certain tracks always get to me….drum breaks played on the steering wheel of the car of course, but you can’t beat a bit of air Mini Moog on the dining room table whilst working from home…..see 2’45” on this classic. Loads of opportunities for playing along.

What’s your air fave?

Carbon fibre, velvet or sticky roller?

by 41 Comments

I just added a cool little goose neck clip on angle poise to the vinly setup so I can see the record properly when I play it….coloured vinly looks fab….anyway, it also makes very clear how much dust is on the record. I always give it a wipe with the Goldring carbon fibre brush but the bloody stuff pops back on (static, I guess) or some just won’t move. How do you wipe yours, so to speak?

The Afterword #59: Talking About Not Talking

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The lonely souls DFB and RubyBlue meet to discuss mental health again and specifically if – like the late great Bob Hoskins claimed – it’s good to talk

Whether it’s you, your friends, loved ones etc it’s hard to know what’s best to do. We perhaps don’t have any answers but perhaps our own experiences can help others empathise and give a couple of pointers. But – like many things – this podcast is mainly for our own benefit and anything else is a happy side effect.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/theafterwordpodcast/Mental_health_master.mp3

Twang’s new album….”Golden Age”

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Well, I did the February RPM Challenge again, which gave the world “Decades” last year which some of you have…this year I decided to channel the singer songwriters of the late 60s and 70s so it is tuneful if somewhat self absorbed and angsty – happily with the state of the world there is plenty to be angsty about. It’s not so much a pastiche or imitation of the greats (I mean, come on…) as an open hat doffing to some of the artists who have given me a lifetime of listening pleasure.

Grab it here for free or chuck some coppers in the hat which will go to charity.

https://jonathanroberts.bandcamp.com/album/golden-age

Allan Holdsworth RIP

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Another man down. I remember seeing this live on some TV show back in the day and thinking he was amazing. Which he was!

https://youtu.be/-eirykuoehA

The Afterword #58: The meet on the ledge ‘cast

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Twang hands the chair over to Retropath 2 to interview Fairport Convention founder Simon Nicol. In a wide ranging interview Retro manages to avoid all the usual tiresome questions (“what was Sandy like?”, “I bet that Richard is a right laugh on a pub crawl” etc) and covers Simon’s 50 year career and many other bands as well as exploring the realities of being a musician long after you should have found a proper job.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/theafterwordpodcast/Fairport_final.mp3

The Afterword #57: It’s the Coltranecast!

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Twang, Tiggerlion, Mike_H and El Hombre Malo convene in the pod to discuss the work of jazz colossus John Coltrane. From sheets of sound, Coltrane changes and the spiritual dimension to heroin and being scared to go beyond certain points in the man’s canon, much ground is covered. Tig has to admit there is an album even he doesn’t think he could improve with a spot of re-sequencing and Twang forgets to mention the Mighty Tull (whoops). A Spotify playlist of the panel’s recommended listening is in the comments.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/theafterwordpodcast/coltranecast_master.mp3

Grandaddy – “Last Place”

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What does it sound like?:

Grandaddy’s new album caught me off balance. I knew little about the band other than having a suspicion they were vaguely lo fi Americana…kinda a bit grungy and a bit whiny. Avoid, in other words. However, “Last Place” is nothing like that at all – it’s a strange mixture of gorgeous melodies mixed with woozy analogue synths, motorik style drum beats, grungy guitars and perfect stacked harmonies. Trust me, it makes a whole lot more sense when you hear it than from that description. The weird juxtaposition of styles is a modern day thing where people try to invent stuff by chucking strange ingredients together (rather like those TV chefs make chicken tikka marsala ice cream or whatever) however, the unifying ingredient here is the tunes, which are classic pop melodies set in a musical context which constantly surprises, and I like it a lot. The mood is at times quite joyful and at times wistful and contemplative, and that is fine with me too.

What does it all *mean*?

It’s toe tapping and interesting to listen to, so beyond that, is there a message here? It’s hard to interpret much from the lyrics – » Continue Reading.

Fairport Convention – “50:50@50”

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What does it sound like?:

I have to confess I haven’t kept up with recent manifestations of Fairport other than a few visits to Cropredy where I have always enjoyed them with the encouragement of a few pints of 6X, so I received their latest album, “50:50@50” with interest. It’s the band’s 50th anniversary, and the album is half new studio recordings and half live performances. Whilst the band’s more famous front persons are long gone, the lineup of Chris Leslie, Ric Saunders, Simon Nichol and of course Dave Pegg lack nothing in the folk chops department and sing and play to the highest standard throughout. It goes without saying that Gerry Conway in the drum department is thunderous and steady as ever. Robert Plant and Pentangle’s Jacqui McShee make guest appearances – Planty on a live version of “Jesus on the mainline” sounding like he’s having a top old time (you can hear him refer to the band as “spectacular” on the fade). The songs range from melancholy folk songs in a fairly traditional style, through to whimsical acoustic ditties (a DIY/sustaining relationships metaphor anyone?), a jaunty autobiographical song called “Our bus rolls on” which namechecks the band » Continue Reading.