Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Here is the Top 10 Neil Young tracks from those who voted….
1. Cortez The Killer 2. Powderfinger 3. Like a Hurricane 4. Revolution Blues 5. Ambulance Blues 6. Cinnamon Girl 7. Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black) 8. Old Man 9. Southern Man 10. Rockin’ In The Free World
Full results in the thread….
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We are under great pressure to get Halo for Twang Jr for Christmas – my instincts are fairly negative as it seems violent to me, though probably no less than some of the Minecraft games if I’m honest. Any views out there? He’s 11 going on 12. And “all” his friends already have it (cue “if they all put their fingers in the fire would you?” speech). Any thoughts?
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Twang, Dog Faced Boy, Ruby Blue and visitor Pip discuss the “Amy” movie, her albums and legacy. The team vary in their affection for the records, but agree that the film perfectly captures her tragic decline and the almost universal lack of care which was on offer when she really needed it. They explore the best (and worst) of the extensive live footage which is there for all the world to see and join in on the richly deserved shoeing of the likes of Graham Norton for their cheap shot comments in her darkest days.
See our heroine in her prime here…
https://youtu.be/GjfHqHROIhc
http://traffic.libsyn.com/theafterwordpodcast/amycast_master.m4a
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Time for another irrelevant poll – your best Neil Young songs. Usual rules apply – list the top 5 in order, number one gets 5 points etc. Neil songs in CSNY / Springfield etc (for example) are eligible. Bar drops Sunday night.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world!
PS Haterz spare us posts saying “none of them” or similar hilarious contributions. 🙂
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Just drifted into having a bit of modern country whilst doing a few bits and pieces. Wonderful singing, heartfelt lyrics, understated but superb playing – the too cool for school crowd will hate its sentimentality and formulaic approach but I love it. Another prime example below…
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Never really listened to the FF band but what I’ve heard I like – kinda big heartland rock. Where do I start? Is there an all-you-need album, or a bunch of tracks?
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13/11/2015
Hi all
There seems to be broad agreement about the 13th for a London pint, accepting there will never be a perfect date everyone can do. Our regular hang is unavailable so I suggest the Golden Lion in St. James’s Square – excellent pub, great beer and good location, a short walk from a number of tube stations and also from Waterloo / Charing Cross for those who prefer the outdoors to the tube.
http://www.goldenlion-stjames.co.uk/find-us
We don’t have a room – we will just lurk in a group. I used to work near there and it tended to clear out when the post work drinkers depart. Good grub too.
See you there from 6ish?
Cheers
Twang
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Anyone fancy a London pint in November? A Friday night?
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It must be most upsetting for a new artist to be immediately badged as “new Dylan” (Springsteen et al), “like J.J. Cale” (Dire Straits), “Zep lite” (Def Leppard but too many to mention) etc. Who’s to say these new artists are therefore immediately inferior? First, they probably aren’t that much like the supposed original..it’s just lazy journalistic shorthand. Second, who knows, maybe they are actually worth hearing anyway.
Who are your faves who sound a bit like XXX?
I give you JaR – melodic, slightly jazzy, funky with humour…they sound a bit like Steely Dan (and even have “Peg” guitar supremo Jay Graydon spanking the frets)….
What does it sound like?:
Epic is the first word which springs to mind. A very up front, punchy, dynamic, huge sounding riff laden guitar album. Subtle it ain’t. It came with no information at all but I learn from t’net that Tomoyasu Hotei is a London based Japanese guitarist who has worked with the likes of Michael Kamen, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones and has appeared on numerous guitar orientated projects with uber shredders like Steve Vai. He’s more that though – there are some decent songs and the production and playing are impeccable. Iggy guests on vocals growling that he wants to be my dog (doesn’t he always?) and other guest singers include Noko from Apollo 440 and Matt Tuck from Bullet for my Valentine.
What does it all *mean*?
Hotei grew up in the 80s so there’s an 80s guitar album feel about it which takes me back to when I first heard “Surfing for the alien” by Joe Satriani, which pretty much defined the genre and closed it at the same time. I’m a sucker for a good bit of righteous guitar playing of the sort that gives the post punk “the best solos » Continue Reading.
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Radio 4 are doing a re-examination of “Highway 61 Revisited” tomorrow at 1.30 presented by Andy Kershaw. This is a public service announcement.
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The first few All About Eve albums have been reissued with extra tracks etc. **Thrilled**. Used to love AAE back in the day.
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Venue:
Broadway Cinema, Letchworth
Date: 29/09/2015
It’s a performance of ”The Wall” interspersed with Roger making a road trip from Blighty across France where he visits the first World War grave of his Grandfather, eventually arriving at the Anzio/Monte Cassino war memorial where his father died in action. The massive stage show and concert with crack band features the likes of our Rog alongside Snowy White, Dave Kilminster and GE Smith on guitars. The Waters’ pipes are in good form, and there’s a “Dave” replacement for second vocals and a spot of reinforcement on the odd high note. Fair enough. He’s never struck me as an especially charismatic bloke but he fronts the ensemble really well and it must have been a hell of a moment for him personally. Guitar nerds will appreciate Snowy using a Dave Gilmore Stratocaster model – surely a (possibly personal) not so mute tribute to the man it now appears to take 3 top players to replace? The band recreate the album as superbly as you’d expect. The lighting, images and overall show is mind boggling and it must have been quite an occasion to be there. The menacing fascistic uniforms and many of » Continue Reading.
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I might be last to the party here but someone just casually mentioned in the dancing thread that there is a new Dangermouse remake starting tomorrow – 6pm on CBBC. Alexander Armstrong is voicing DM. This will be major news in our house. Twang Jr soaked up the box set from about age 3 and pretty much knows it off by heart. Faced with an autocratic Mrs.T demanding homework or similar duty, he will still mutter “Si Baroni” under his breath.
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/sep/26/return-of-kids-tv-show-danger-mouse
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What does it sound like?:
The 6th solo album from (currently moribund) Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre. Last year’s double live/studio album reflects the sound of his touring band at the time, and was preceded by “Away with Words” which is a largely acoustic (and quite exquisite) reinterpretation of Tull numbers. The latest album reflects Martin’s newfound confidence as a songwriter, harking back to his early days as a blues rocker as a jumping off point. There’s plenty of his tasteful acoustic playing, not only on guitar but also encompassing banjo, mandolin, bouzuki too. There are a couple of Tull reinterpretations – a much heavier “Skating away on the thin ice of a new day”, and a more faithful “Slow marching band” with multi layered guitars replacing the piano and strings of the original. An oddity is a beefy riff laden “Eleanor Rigby”, originally conceived as a Tull live interlude but fully realised here. It’s a very diverse set, bridging the old school blues rock Martin would have played in clubs in Birmingham in the late 60s through to more contemporary FM radio friendly sing along choruses and chamber folk rock.
What does it all *mean*?
Within Jethro Tull, » Continue Reading.
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Unashamedly nicked from the Grauniad, what’s your fave TV theme tune, and why? I immediately thought of “Stingray.” Back then, as a nipper, there was nothing more exciting. These “people” had American accents (yes kids, once it was unusual, or at least notable). Viewing it now, the sight of all those exclusively WASP right on “World” (AKA American) Aquanaut Security Patrol dudes in their uniforms, where any perceived alien threat could easily be sorted out with a Sting missile, fills me not with disgust at a misguided and over simplistic world, but with a sense of loss at the easy certainties of the era, when (channeling Gil Scott Heron) TV was in black and white, and so was everything else. And it starts with sirens, an explosion, and kettle drums. What more do you want?
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What does it sound like?:
Surely everyone has heard Jimi Hendrix? It sounds like that! (More below)….
What does it all *mean*?
Well, to this reviewer it just reaffirms, if it needed any affirmation, what an extraordinary musician Jimi Hendrix was, and you can only imagine the charisma surrounding him which could probably be seen from outer space. He plays beautiful blues (the version of “Red House” is one of the best I’ve heard, and I have the “Red House” CD containing only live versions of that song), burning rock and out there stoner (see recent thread) blissed out jamming on “Spanish Castle Magic”. His singing has never been better, and gives lie to those who suggest he can’t sing. He was dead less than three months later.
Goes well with…
Contrary to popular cliché you don’t have to be out of your box to appreciate Hendrix – I cooked the lunch with it on loud and it sounded bloody fantastic. The only problem is it’s hard not to be distracted by it, so working from home music it ain’t.
Might suit people who like…
You probably already know whether you like Jimi. I confess he is someone I » Continue Reading.
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I’m not a member, but occasional voter, however I’m quite fascinated. If it is Corbyn, I’m starting to wonder if it IS electoral suicide…maybe this is a big change moment. Perhaps there’ll be a groundswell of support for a rebalancing of wealth etc. Who knows!
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I love the stoner loping groove of this, especially the first track. Marvellous. More like this!
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What does it sound like?:
The Section were the backing band for pretty much all the US West Coast 70s artists, from James Taylor and Carole King to Jackson Browne and several thousand recording dates in between. Signed up when someone heard them jamming, they made this hitherto unavailable set of instrumentals. Whilst the playing is impeccable, so is the taste as anyone who recognises the names Leland Sklar, Craig Doerge, Danny Korchmar and Russ Kunkle would expect. As a bonus a very young Mike Brecker adds sax to a few numbers. It is jazzy in the way that Steely Dan are – highly melodic and grooving beautifully whilst constantly keeping your interest and avoiding the temptation for muso widdle widdle wibbling.
What does it all *mean*?
Great players make great music when left to their own devices. They know when to go for it and when to STFU. Limited players can make great music too of course!
Goes well with…
I got in the habit of listening to it whilst cooking with a large glass if red to hand.
Might suit people who like…
West Coast, Steely Dan, great ensemble playing.
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My trolly at Waitrose this morning didn’t have a shopping list holder. Had any first world problems lately?
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As my other thread may intimate, I’m looking to improve the performance of my main stereo somewhat. It’s decent if oldish kit (Arcam, Mission 741), but seems a bit muddy in the low end, and I’d like a bit more clarity. Never having been more than an amused onlooker of the audiophile world they are as bonkers as ever, with their 200 quid a foot speaker cable etc. There are glimmers of sanity though…here are my conclusions…..
1. Speaker positioning makes far more difference than the cable, especially distance from walls 2. Bi wiring makes a theoretical difference, but in the words of the scientific paper I read on the subject, moving your head slightly whilst listening would probably make more difference than biwiring 3. Budget but decent speaker cable is noticably better than cheap, and almost indistinguishable from super expensive 4. The T&E electrical cable they use for your ring main in the house is better than most speaker cable (solid copper, 12 AGW!!!) 5. The position you sit in makes a massive difference, as does the room layout, furniture etc. As most of these things are unavoidable constraints, beyond a certain point most further refinement can be ignored.
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What are your choices for CDs which sound fantastic, sonically? The ones you play to test out a stereo, if you ever do….and does anyone have experience of those audio test/reference CDs?
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Question posted by one of my favourite podcasters – The History of the Crusades podcast. I think I know the answer…what do you think?
Okay – I need some help on the heading for the next episode. In the episode, three separate characters undergo three separate changes of fortune. So, should the heading be: (a) reversals of fortune (b) reversal of fortunes (c) reversals of fortunes or (d) none of the above Any ideas? Someone well versed in the intricacies of the English language needs to save me from making a grammatical face plant…help!
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What does it sound like?:
Well, like a good bootleg (indeed, apparently these recording have been out there since broadcast) but here they’ve been cleaned up and mastered and they sound fantastic. This is the original Dan plus Michael McDonald on piano and occasional vocals (no David Palmer – good, for this punter). Baxter and Denny Diaz play like mad men, and it must have been great to see them back then. Dan and Walt hated touring but the audiences must have loved it based on these examples. There’s a radio show from Boston (not a college town..) and the Record Plant from March ’74, right before “Pretzel Logic” came out.. Jim Hodder swings like a bastard and Don is terrific on keys as well as issuing the Fagen sneer throughout.
What does it all *mean*?
It won’t convince any non-fans, but anyone who likes the Dan, especially those who maintain that anything after “Aja” was worthless, will love it. I have been playing it on heavy rotation and continue to marvel at the sound of great players playing great songs, live. The songs benefit from a looser feel and a spot of jamming, belying the idea that the » Continue Reading.
