Just had the most incredible holiday in the States. (Flights were booked way before the current madness took hold so we couldn’t back out).
Places visited included LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Big Sur, Monterey for whale watching, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Grand Canyon and an amazing canoe trip on the Colorado River.
But enough of the boasting. I’m still a little jetlagged and, much as I would like, I don’t have the brainpower to go back through loads and loads of threads.
So can anyone sum up the last three weeks on here in a charming, descriptive and yet succinct manner please?
Thank you xx
Who’s the copywriter this week?
During the last three weeks, The Afterword has been obsessing about music that is fifty years old. And Donald Trump. We’ve been obsessing about Donald Trump too. Nothing much has changed.
Sounds like an amazing holiday, Scarlet. Any photos?
Some of us have been pushing against the tide.
https://softspot.bandcamp.com/
…or flogging a dead horse
Apparently. But you will rue the day!
Bri..I did listen to it but not for me ..soz.
Funny you should ask.
Currently ploughing through a collective 2.5k pics from two DSLRs and a phone. Yes, you read that right.
Everything was just soooooo photogenic.
However, I’m unlikely to be able to put anything up here as I’m not a Photobucketer (or any other online pic place).
Think yourselves very very lucky 🙂
Nope, not a thing.
We all agreed Ryan Adams’s The Prisoner has already won Album of the Year and no further debate on this matter is allowed….
But Lodey – there’s a new Sufjan Stevens album coming out on 9 June. Surely that’ll be battling it out with The Prisoner for the coveted Wrongness album of the Year title?
Can’t wait!
From what I’ve heard so far it is indeed darn good. ‘m looking forward to the Royal Albert Hall in September.
Ah, that’s where we take the pretentious little fucker and hang him upside down from the balcony and watch as he swings back and fore before leaving, ignoring his plaintive little whines “I’m an artist, I’m suffering for you” until one of our number thinks “no more, no more” and returns into the Hall and shoots him through the head?
Did someone have a glass or three of wine last night?
Ohhh! Does this mean I’m not your best mate?
*sobs*
Love em , leave em….
Although just wondering why I was in Hull?
Everybody in Hull is always wondering why they are in Hull.
‘Well, let’s see. First the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di’s clothes. I couldn’t believe it. . .’
Perfect, perfect, perfect; one of my all-time favourite movie-moments, this.
The Beatles have reformed, but with vat grown clones. They have been recording in secret for 6 months. They were hoping to make the anniversary of Sgt Pepper’s but artistic tensions mean their new album is out next month. There is speculation in their media as to their sound as they have been chrono-advanced to 24 years old, will it be new and modern or will it be retro Rubber Soul stuff.
Also: nothing has changed but we live underwater.
And how’s your great-great-great-grandaughter doing?
Pretty fine
Someone called Brian Matthew died. Then he didn’t. Then he did again.
Signing off our posts with capitalised aquatic creatures is now frowned upon.
HADDOCK
Shortly after last Tuesday’s alien invasion by the little green men from Tharg, there was a further surprise invasion on Wednesday by the purple people-eaters from Gntkblb. Our new intergalactic overlords have promised to deal sternly but fairly with Ed Sheeran.
Aluminium foil headgear is “out” and stainless steel colanders are back “in”.
Same mix of angst, shame, regret, jubilation and transcendental wonder as usual, really.
There have been no notable ructions, so far.
Um, Tharg is a being from Betelgeuse, not a place.
Tsk.
Please see The Galaxy’s Mightiest Comic for remedial education.
It’s not as good as it used to be.
But better than it’s going to be.
We are a bit slow on the uptake on here but have finally accepted that Gerry Rafferty is in fact dead. Also, in a show of how very 2017 we are we have debated the merits of an expensive reissue of an album originally released in 1967 that we all have in our collection yet probably no longer play because we know the songs inside out.
Apparently there is a book with some pictures and a couple of tracks that some producer has twiddled with to put a different sheen on. Oh and their might be a couple of demos that the songwriters were embarrassed about but are now happy to accept loads of wedge for.
Apparently £100 is a fair price for this.
If it was an Elvisfuckincostello box you`d be in for it faster than you fart you bloated brummie git!
`no longer play because we know the songs inside out`, so you no longer play albums you know the songs of? Strange but explains a lot.
Hope you weren’t flying United ….
Norwegian all the way.
Very cheap and no discernible dragging. Apart from my feet while getting on board to come home.
yeah baby, jazz is the new groove on the Afterword. Get on the Trane Scarlet.
I am hip to the vibez.
Possibly.
Not a great deal out of the ordinary, in reality.
BTW, as an enthusiastic whale watcher myself, what did you see off Monterey?
Humpbacks, plus a pod of around 200 dolphins, which was incredible and, we were told, pretty unusual. They just kept popping up. One even photobombed a whale fin pic.
The boat trip was on April 2 and apparently the orcas were supposed to turn up precisely on April 1.
Tardy little devils.
The whales were more plentiful than on my Norway whale watching last year.
Now I’m vaguely planning an Iceland trip next year and hoping I can cross orcas off my list after that.
Boston at Thanksgiving is pretty neat for Whales too. And the boat out to the banks is awesome. Wear a good coat.
You must go to Iceland. It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever been to.
According to another thread, they sell records there now!
I went to Iceland two years ago, hunting for the Northern Lights.
Went with a friend who was the most appalling travel companion one could wish for, at the tail end of the worst winter they’d had in a decade.
I saw no Lights and apparently everything that went wrong was my fault and everything that went ok was down to her.
If I drove through the howling snowstorm well, then that was down to her navigation (there was just one road to follow).
If she drove down a clear daylit road bunnyhopping and grinding unfamiliar gears, that was my fault.
I also got the blame for the foul weather and the lack of Lights due to cloud cover.
Seriously.
Despite that, I completely adored Iceland and all its barren majesty, and I’m utterly desperate to go back. I can’t wait to explore more.
I’m aiming at driving the whole ring road next summer.
The plan is to go with the person I hit America with and with whom I had a fantastic time.
Finally saw the Lights last year in Tromsø, Norway. Totally worth hauling my arse all the way to the Arctic Circle.
I missed the Lights too but the company I had, especially the local people, was wonderful.
Three weeks ago for work I found myself in “MacKenzie Country” which is an area of NZ in the South Island that has some kind of protection re light pollution. As it was a warm, clear, moonless night – I decided to drive somewhere pitch black and see if I could catch Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights.
After parking up and turning off the car lights I walked from the car into the blackness, looked up and…My God! The night sky was like you see in glossy astronomy books. The Milky Way alarmingly bright and clear and the odd shooting star. There were no Aurora action but it hardly mattered. I didn’t linger long because I was a bit overwhelmed by it. I have always lived in cities and have witnessed amazing night skies (a hill in Reigate, Halley’s Comet) – but nothing like this. It was like an Enya video.
When I got home a few days later, the news reported an amazing light show so I just missed it. And then at around the same time Depeche Mode release an album with a very fine shimmery song that mentions the Northern Lights. What does all this mean? Not a great deal – but I think we should always look for the extraordinary if at all possible. I’ll never forget that night sky.
Aaaahhggghhhh!
You can’t just say “dolphins”!
What flavour? Common (long or short beaked?), Pacific White Sided, Risso’s? I saw Northern Right Whale dolphins when I was in Monterey, they’re gorgeous things, like torpedos.
Iceland is indeed good for Orcas at the right time of year. Other than that, Vancouver Island is the main place to go for (almost) guaranteed Orcas.
Sorry *hangs head*
I can’t remember what flavour they were.
I’ll ask the other attendee later, they are usually very good at remembering useful detail such as that.
I have, however, filed in my head the Vancouver Island orca knowledge. I am possibly heading there in late summer next year so that would be extremely high on the activity list.
Aha!
Pacific white-sided dolphins.
Them’s the ones.
Fabulous! They’re beauties too, to be fair. Well, nearly all dolphins flavours are but PWS are especially so. Did they bowride the boat? They often do.
Vancouver island is gorgeous, one of the favourite places I’ve ever visited. The fact that it has Orcas seemingly all around it just adds a further dimension to that.
I was in Monterey last year and saw quite a few up close. My God have they got bad breath. Fascinating though.
Was it the whales with bad breath?
After all where would they buy large bottles of mouthwash?
A professional opportunity for Lenny Law there, I reckon.
He could set up a nice sub-aquatic whale dental care practice in Monterey.
Much better weather there than in Portsmouth. Probably less tooth decay too.
Yebbut, not that easy for the Isle of Wight is it? Not thought it through, have you? Eh?
Think it through?
I’m supposed to think it through?
Even the cops grooved with us down in Monterey.
A lot of old was played.
I am reliably informed by Donald Trump that the Ed Sheeran song The Galway Girl is a real toetapper and is a top tune on the Afterword.*
* May not be true.
Was Galway Girl actually discussed here?
I’ve not been on the blog much the last few weeks, but I heard Galway Girl on the radio while driving, and I think it may be one of the worst records I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
Sheeran’s world domination has largely been off my radar, so this was a real eye-opener. Is it representative of the rest of the album? Does he always do that fecking awful “fee-diddle-diddle” scatting thing near the end?
Possibly why I qualified it as not true. Saw some discussion about it probably not here.
Can we discuss it then? I’m not normally one to be negative about music, but I honestly thought it was a parody for the first two minutes. Here it is:
It’s shit. I feel the need to apologise to any Irish people in the vicinity if it comes on.
Which is quite often, as my nine year old has taken a real shine to Mr Sheeran. I am trying, but so far she is surprisingly resistant to the new Falls Of Rauros album.
I’m glad I’m not alone in finding the Sheeran phenomenon utterly baffling.
What does she think of Japandroids?
Oh god I have finally lost it – I thought that was rather good ( shuffles off and writes suicide note)
That one may be shite , this one is not
It’s the sheer quality of this that makes Ed Sheeran so SHITE.
Talking of sheer, the hashtag for his “Sheeran Album Party” got quite a lot of stick on Twitter. I wonder why?
#sheeranalbumparty
I’m Irish, me. Lasted 12 seconds. Ugly bastard too, eh?
There’s a show on TV called Just Tattoo Of Us. The premise is that you choose a tattoo for your mate, but he or she doesn’t know what it will be until it’s finished. People have been stitching each other up, giving their mates tattoos of Donald Trump or ones saying ‘slut’ and stuff like that.
Mrs Bangs thinks the tattoo bubble will soon burst but I’m not so sure.
Is it as good as E4’s “Tattoo Fixers”?
Representative sample dialogue:
Local simpleton: “I was out with me mates right, and I went to the tattoo parlour and got this done…” (pulls down underpants)
Presenter: “Is that….?”
Simpleton: “Yeah. It’s a small, barely legible tattoo of Anthea Turner having sex with a panther. My girlfriend hates it”.
*20 minutes later*
Presenter: “So, what I’ve done, right, is I’ve covered up your Anthea Turner with a really wicked tattoo of a massive black eagle attacking a huge pile of coal at midnight. It stretches from your knob to your chin. Hope you like it.”
Simpleton: (admiring self in mirror) “Oh wow, man. That’s amazing. I’m absolutely buzzing. Thanks!”
So spot on, it might be from an actual script.
I’ve decided to get a tattoo, but first I need to know what the Chinese pictograms are for “This is a shit tattoo.”
Those format TV shows get everywhere, even Germany. I lolled greatly at that – superior craftsmanship there, Bingo!
Bought LPs & CDs
Took the Baroness out for 3-4 meals
Bought CDs & DVDs
Walked the dog 21 times
Got massively drunk on red wine
Bought DVDs & LPs
Went to a Prog Rock Festival in Wales
Read 4 books
Bought CDs, LPs & DVDs
I`ve now spent all of my money
Not buying any more CDs, meals out, LPs, red wine, DVDs, Prog Festival tickets. I have plenty books to read
Still walking the dog
That`s the last 3 weeks, I hope the next 3 weeks pan out the same
Thank you all, this is making me smile and very much helping to lift the gloom of the post-holiday blues.
I’m normally quite ok with going back to work after a trip but this time it has hit really hard.
First-world problems…
Still, it’ll soon be time to start thinking about planning the next jaunt.
Despite its fast approaching first anniversary Brexit hasn’t ruined us all just yet. I still don’t accept Maradonas “Hand of God” goal but we still lost the quarter final 2-1, I stopped banging on about it about a week later. That hasn’t happened with the Brexit result yet and like buses another thread is due quite soon where we all shout really loudly without the slightest intention of changing our view or listening to the other sides reasoning. Having said that most of the writing here on the subject is more informative and illuminating than anything coming out of our blinkered press (on both sides). Did America even notice Brexit?
There were a few comments along the lines of ‘You guys are as crazy as us right now’ but for the most part, there was no one discussing politics.
Apart from the bartender at the bar I went drinking in where Elliott Smith used to hang out and write.
She was a Thai immigrant originally and had now had the right to vote. She voted Trump because she wanted a bit of a change.
I didn’t have the heart to point out that the change might not be to her benefit. I just tipped her well, which meant that she poured the drinks even stronger.
I haven’t been that wasted in probably about 10 years.
A bar where Elliot Smith used to write? Blimey, that can’t have been a very chipper place.
Was it Applebee’s? I hear he was mad for the lunchtime soup and salad special (Mon – Fri only).
I didn’t darken the door of any of those!
It was The Roost on Los Feliz Boulevard.
I was expecting a bit of a seedy dive-type place but it was resplendent with fairy lights and Easter decorations and very cheery.
I’ve bought a camera. A proper one (sorta). Hobbyist-grade digital Nikon DSLR with an extra telephoto lens.
I used to go roaming out with my Olympus OM-4 and a small selection of inexpensive lenses. I even had a go at processing my own films (B&W and colour) and making my own prints (B&W only, with rather mixed results) and then various other aspects of “life” intervened and my enthusiasm for it waned.
Now that I’m a retired person, I decided it was time to have another go. I want to take some better-than-phone-quality pix of some of the gigs that I go to.
I, for one, am looking forward to you posting loads of magnificently illustrated Nights Out.