The Afterword

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Funk!

by 62 Comments

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

by 20 Comments

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”

by 7 Comments

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.

Help needed!

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I need a few words spoken by a Canadian accented woman for a recording project I’m doing….anyone know someone? A simple phone recording would do. If you know anyone let me know. It will literally take 30 seconds….Ta!

Let’s plot an action movie…

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I just watched an action movie, name withheld. It was OK but I realised I could anticipate the entire plot as it rolled out. So let’s plot an action movie – no cliché to be left unturned. The setup:

Hero – American, he (and it is a he) is wronged due to his inability to accept corrupt authority or do the wrong thing

Baddie – foreign, maybe non specific “Asian”, almost certainly with a duplicitous Frenchman

Hero’s girlfriend – lovely, but homely, probably professional e.g. doctor, teacher

Setting – contained space e.g building, office block, shopping mall, café, factory, plus freeways where you can drive really fast at any time of the day (especially rush hour)

Baddie’s objective – downfall of America and / or baddie world domination (let’s face it the two are hardly mutually exclusive)

At the end the lead baddie fights the hero who takes a terrible beating but……

You fill in the gaps. (…through gritted teeth..) no cliché gets left behind…

Over to you.

Garden buildings

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I’m thinking about putting a building in the corner of the garden as a home gym. I like exercise and I would use it (as opposed to commercial gyms which I don’t and won’t). The options for the building itself are enormous, from the humble shed with internal insulation and a bit of cladding through to deluxe factory produced designer efforts better suited to Grand Designs. Any experience here of getting a suitable building installed (the contents are irrelevant really – studio, office etc)?

Time for a joke thread

by 33 Comments

Who lives in the Blue House?…………………………………Mr. Blue

Who lives in the Red House?………………………………….Mr. Red

Who lives in the Yellow House?……………………………….Mr. Yellow

Who lives in the White House?…………………………………Donald Trump?

No! Mr. Orange!

Thanks Twang Jr.

You say you want a revolution – Victoria & Albert Museum

by 11 Comments

Venue:

Victoria & Albert Museum

Date: 12/02/2017

This exhibition looks at the counter culture from its origins in the 60s through to the late 70s. It links pop music, fashion, protest, the human rights movement, political protest and reaction through the Black Panthers, anti-Vietnam and alternative living through to the rise of Arpanet and the internet (with a facsimile of the first mouse – a little wooden box known then as the “X-Y Co-ordinates plotter”) into one narrative. There’s lots of music, and a “festival space” with fake grass, bean bags and the “Woodstock” film playing on a huge stage behind a faux band setup. As you wander there’s an old school record rack with a load of period albums you can flick through. Lots of video stuff, natch. The soundtrack on headphones is clever – it connects to each individual exhibit, so in the bit on early folk protest you get early Dylan and Woodie Guthrie…later you’re getting James Brown in the black awareness area. There are lots of period things which might not be considered art but are part of the narrative – early 70s “Playboy” sits next to a display about the Oz trial and a » Continue Reading.

Top record shops

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I had a tip top trip to my local record shop on Saturday. Picked up a vinly bargain – Danny Korchmar’s solo album, being the album I didn’t know existed till then, for a quid in the sale (mint) plus the chap behind the counter got chatting to Twang Jr about his preferred music (rock!!) and pressed two free singles on him (Deep Purple “Speed King” and Tom Petty “Won’t back down”). Top shop. So share your local top record shops, that they may gain Afterword dosh rather than the Dodgers.

Mods – remove if breaching something but I have no connection with this fine establishment other than as a punter….

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i449/charlieboy14/20170213_102806_zpsdjknumzq.jpg

Songs with real stuff in them

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Recently I’ve become fond of songs with real stuff in them – clips of speeches, film etc. Spirit’s fantastic “Future Games” is the first time I heard this – a whole album interspersed with bit of Star Trek, The Muppets, US radio…and more recently we have Public Service Broadcasting who do it really well too. In fact I did a recording project with a load of clips in too (though modesty prohibits posting one of my own – copies available on request…). This clip is a favourite of Twang Jr who learned the sax part, but what got me is the sensational clip of JFK. Post other examples here…

https://youtu.be/kV8yjMeU2X0

Let’s boogie!

by 15 Comments

It’s raining, the world is going to hell in a handcart and there’s a feeling we haven’t even got started yet. I am drawn to loud, dumb, thrashy boogie. Join in.

PS I love that you can hear the amps buzzing as the track fades out…

https://youtu.be/uOa79rPtd3o

Singing along with the BVs

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Nothing beats bellowing out the backing vocals where they have a proper role to play rather than weedy oooohs and ahhs. This one popped up today….the BVs make it IMHO. Great video too actually – various Heartbreakers, future Robert Plant sideman and Albert Lee doing that chicken’ picking’ thing. And Carleen having the time of her life, as a member of the first family of country music should. Sing along!

What do you bellow along to?

https://youtu.be/6ZMcVuBg9D4

Album best of…

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Just for fun, define a best of for your choice of artist by listing your favourite track from each of their albums in release order. Live albums tracks are OK if unique to that album. Best Ofs are not. Singles excluded unless on an album. Mine in comments….

Best superhero film?

by 63 Comments

After some extensive and ear fatiguing research, Twang Jr and I have agreed the best superhero film is, without doubt, “Captain America – Avengers Civil War”. Close behind is “Avengers Assemble”, with “Ant Man” third. Most disappointing is “Batman vs Superman”. We watched the first half hour of the original Superman/Christopher Reeve (“you’ll believe a man can fly…”) but it was horribly dated and of its time. I have a lot of time for the first few Spidy films, but the Batman ones leave me (almost literally) cold – too dark, wet, not enough action. The Marvel secret is combining action, humour, pace and colour in a complete rush of excitement. All the dark dripping alleys of Gotham City can’t beat it.

Any other contenders?

PS – we were unable to agree on best superhero. My candidate was Thor but TJ vetoed this in the basis that he’s not really a superhero, he’s “just” a God. His choice is Iron Man who is all together too pleased with himself for my liking. So we settled on Cap.