The Afterword

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Musical pick me up

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I’m approaching the end of a contract and a major drama exploded today resulting in me having to run around like the proverbial fly with blue nether regions. Not at all what I had in mind for Friday before departure. So I need a musical pick me up. It used to be the first Boston album but today it is Karnataka – pop/goth/prog, with soaring female vocals, stacked vocal harmonies, tons of keyboards, lead guitars, tempo changes and all in a melodic ear friendly package. And drums that go be dum be dum be dum be dum CRACK across the stereo spectrum. Marvellous. What picks you up?

https://youtu.be/YifgGBPAbgw

It’s the Endofyearcast, or “where are all the guests?”

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DogFaceBoy, Twang, the Cheshire Cat, Pencilsqueezer, Steerpike and El Hombre Malo struggle with technical gremlins and seasonal torpor to discuss the year past and the one to come. The Cat lives up to his fictional namesake by disappearing regularly and El Hombre wanders in the Skype wilderness before finding the way in. Nonetheless some highlights are identified, and in AW tradition an argument breaks out over Joanna Newsom.

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

Google Play or Spotify?

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We talk about Spotty here a lot but are there any Google Play fans? What puts me off Spot is the download function on Android – it requires a lash up of monumental proportions to get it to download to the phone’s SD card which is hopeless. Apparently Google Play is better. Any views?

End of year review podcast

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Hi all – we’ll be recording a review of 2015 podcast on Sunday evening 3rd Jan from 8.30pm – 10pm. All are welcome to participate for as little or long as you like – you just need to dial into my Skype and I’ll add you into the chat. In theory anyway, technical gremlins notwithstanding. If you don’t have my Skype, PM me. Even popping in just to say hello would be great!

Star Wars?

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I saw the first Star Wars film when it came out and quite enjoyed it as far as I can remember, but felt no need to see any of the others. ..however Twang Jr is keen to watch the series en famille…so tell me, Massive, is it better to watch them in order of release, or prequels first in literal historic sequence? Or is a selection of the best ones enough?

Lowbrow contribution

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I know we’re all busy being angry about Daily Mail columnists, The Guardian, the Government etc etc, but in between the outrage I just thought I’d mention there’s a rather fun new Freeview channel called TalkingPicturesTV featuring mostly 70s pulp movies of the sort I rather enjoy. Currently rediscovering “Can you keep it up all week.”. Tomorrow night there’s “Hannie Caulder” with Raquel Welch and Ernest Borgnine. This is a public service announcement.

Video editing – WTF?

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Does anyone understand video editing? I don’t do it that often and it always drives me completely insane with all the codecs and containers and arcane dimensions, 1024×576, 16:9 etc etc. If a kind person could do a 101 for morons I would be most grateful. Currently I have a file in which everything is stretched so everyone looks tall and thin (and not in a good way) and whatever I do I can’t get the editor to display it properly – think is, I don’t understand what the parameters mean…some other files display / render OK, but this one doesn’t (even though it looks OK through simple views like Quick Time, or even MS Movie Maker). So I can’t do any sort of diagnostic as I don’t know what I’m looking for. HELP!

Boxing

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It seems we have a British world heavyweight boxing champion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/boxing/34014640

I didn’t even know there might be one…I only have peripheral interest in the sport which can never be called a game…though when I was a kid, fights by Ali, Frazier etc were mainstream television. Of course the alleged corruption and multiplicity of WBO/A/X/Y/Z has degraded it badly. I can imagine some of you out there blanching at the very thought of watching boxing, but there’s something compelling about it…even the Benn/Eubank duels were exciting…I might have watched it if it had been on terrestrial. Here’s Ali, roping a dope

https://youtu.be/sTn9GeHs11I

Jethro Tull – “Too old to rock ’n’ roll: too young to die!”

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What does it sound like?:

It’s the latest Steven Wilson remix of the Tull back catalogue, and it sounds fantastic. Interestingly they were unable to find all the original multi tracks of the album sessions, so only 5 tracks from the original album received the Wilson remix treatment here. Fear not however – amongst the extras is a TV special filmed for the Beeb where the union rules of the time required the band to re-record the music, and happily these multi tracks are present and correct and sounding sparkly after the Wilson magic has been applied. Pause and think about that for a moment.….they re-recorded the whole flipping album, in a couple of days, for a TV show. Lucky other prog bands, used to taking 18 months to produce their latest magnum opus, weren’t into making TV specials! This is an oddity on the Tull canon, being the album most fans of the band are a bit “meh” about…originally including this reviewer. The packaging of the original album was terrific, with a full strip cartoon telling the story of Ray Lomax, an old school un-reconstituted rocker who finds himself out of place and time but who, by a » Continue Reading.

The Afterword fave Neil Young tracks

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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….

ATM – X-Box gamers – Halo?

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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?

The Afterword #34: Back to black chinwagging on “Amy”.

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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

Time for another irrelevant poll – Best Neil

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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. 🙂

Saturday country moment…

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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…

London Pint 13/11/15

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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

That sounds like….

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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)….

Hotei “Strangers”

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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.

All About Eve

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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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfonGzxq778

“Roger Waters – The Wall”

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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.

New Dangermouse!!!

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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

Martin Barre – “Back to Steel”

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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.