Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Obituary
The former Dr Hook singer has passed at age 76. He was a fine singer with a very recognisable voice. The only one of his gigs I attended was in 2008 when he was a member of Bill Wyman & the Rhythm KIngs. He gave a fine performance.
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Are we the last generation to…. Read a physical newspaper Post a letter Watch linear TV rather than streaming on demand Fill a car with petrol or diesel Buy a cd
Any thoughts or any other candidates for the scrap heap…
“Judas!”
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It may mean nothing to you, but this year’s context is underway in Vienna.
5 songs down so far, 20 to go. Israel’s song passed without incident and also without leaving any impression at all, so I don’t see it as a contender. I’m always wrong with my predictions though, which is part of the fun.
My big flexi disc collecting feature in the Scottish Courier paper/magazine has been put back until 30th May (curse you Alan Cummings article!) but you can see it on the newspaper’s website right now if you like. I do look a bit worried in one pic but I’m not, I’m just an old record collecting obsessive.
Carnoustie collector Shane on lifelong vinyl obsession including rare Slade Christmas invite
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I’ve become keen on small bluegrass/not quite bluegrass bands – couple of guitars, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, bass, invariably a gorgeous Eartrumpet mike. Stumbled on these guys doing an absolutely beautiful cover of Harvest Moon – so simple, so musical, and very cool. They are all about covers, but they seem to smash them all out of the park every time.
The two brothers are the core of the group, and there seems to be a shifting group of people who pop in and out. A. J. Lee has a band called Blue Summit – they do a hilarious shitkicking cover of I’m a Believer.
F***ing AI eh?
Incidentally, I actually quite like the song…
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This post will probably fall on deaf ears (especially after all the recent hearing related threads), but I continue on my mission to sing the praises of the Japanese group “Mono”…
With all the crap in the world right now, what you need is this gloriously uplifting track “Gerbera” – the second track released from their forthcoming album “Snowdrop”
Video in (probably the only) comment on this thread 😉
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He was an original member of the Coronation Street cast, playing Ken Barlow’s brother. He turned up in Brookside, where his character NIcholas Black married Heather Huntington (Amanda Burton) before shockingly revealing he was a middle class heroin addict. But, I most fondly remember him from presenting Picture Box, whose theme seems to have inspired the entire career of Boards of Canada.
He’ll have a head full of steam reading this.
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What does it sound like?:
Autobahn was Kraftwerk’s break through album, a top ten hit in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany but Radio-Activity was their proof of concept for a complete LP. It’s their first entirely electronic album and it brought together the Fab Four that would see them through their biggest successes. Klaus Röder, and his guitar and violin, was ditched and replaced by Karl Bartos on electronic percussion. Wolfgang Flür abandoned analogue percussion altogether for electronic. The original founders, Ralph Hütter and Florian Schneider, tackled the vocals and synthesisers and composed all of the tracks. Their friend and fellow conceptualist, Emil Schult, contributed lyrics and artwork. The most significant change was Hütter’s deployment of the Orchestron, an instrument he bought in America when they toured Autobahn. The Vako Orchestron is a keyboard that produces its sound through electronic amplification of sounds pre-recorded as an optical track on a disc. It was meant to be an alternative to the mellotron. There were only eight discs for the Orchestron: Violin, Hammond B3, Flute, Cello, Vocal Choir, Saxophone, Pipe organ, and French horn. Vocal Choir is all over Radio-Activity. It was lo-fidelity as scratches on the disc were audible on pressing the keys, » Continue Reading.
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Venue:
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Date: 11/05/2026
Emmylou Harris released her first album in 1969. Long deleted, ‘Gliding Bird’ made little impression when it was released and it wasn’t until 1972 that she surfaced again, duetting memorably on Gram Parsons’s first solo album ‘GP’ and subsequently on his posthumously released ‘Grievous Angel’ in 1974. Her next solo album, ‘Pieces of the Sky’ was released in 1975, was a commercial success, and was the first of a string of magnificent albums she released in the 70s. She came to the attention of many of us in the UK with a couple of Old Grey Whistle Test performances, and she toured here with the Hot Band, that incredible ensemble featuring the likes of Glen D. Hardin. James Burton and then Albert Lee, and a young Rodney Crowell. She was like no female country singer we’d ever seen – in jeans rather than rhinestone covered dresses, wielding a large acoustic guitar, beautiful, undeniably. But beyond that, her voice, her selection of material, and her band were all captivating.
She kept working through the 80s and 90s but with less commercial success, her music moving sometimes uneasily between bluegrass and country and more MOR » Continue Reading.
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As some of you may know, today, the 13th of May, is INTERNATION DYLAN THOMAS DAY and around the world various activities have taken place to celebrate the great Welsh poet. I discovered thIs fact yesterday when I went along to Rönnells Antiquarian Bookshop to listen to a reading of UNDER MILK WOOD. Completely free of charge.
Rönnells is exactly how I want a bookshop to be. Piled high with wonderfully obscure books, it’s staffed by enthusiastic bibliophiles with an impressive level of arcane knowledge, It’s a marvelous venue for smaller, more intimate gigs, poetry readings etc. I’ve seen concerts here by both James Yorkston and the Secondhand Orchestra and Welsh guitarist Gwenifer Raymond.
However I was apprehensive. Would anyone turn up? Does anyone in Sweden in 2026 know who Dylan Thomas was?
Would I be able to understand the poem in Swedish?
Would the translation capture the lyricism and the humour of the original?
I needn’t have worried about any of these things. The bookshop was completely packed. I coped quite well with the Swedish. And the seven readers who brought Llaregybb to life did a splendid job.
What an extraordinary gallery of characters Thomas created. Dai » Continue Reading.
For me they’re just about the only new band that float HMS Eddie
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From my local area’s BBC online news pages.
City of London Police said it discovered more than 6,000 fake records worth an estimated £260,000 at a large warehouse in Luton on 22 April. Police are working in conjunction with the BPI on this.
“Vinyl has seen a strong resurgence in recent years, increasing its commercial value – as ever criminals are quick to exploit emerging trends for profit,” said police sgt. James Kirk.
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One of my fave music authors, Graeme Thomson (Kate Bush, Simple Minds, etc), writes about one of my fave acts (Talk Talk).
Out next Thursday.
https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/In-Another-World/Graeme-Thomson/9781917923613
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The Californian responding to Niall’s post blames Wishbone Ash. My road to … pardon started with Deep Purple in Rock tour, consolidated with Jeff Beck’s Wired Tour and nail in the coffin was Grinderman.
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According to reports, 80 Labour MPs have now called for either immediate resignation or a timetable towards his resignation. Starmer is resisting – at the moment. Not sure that Streeting or Rayner in charge would change anything much.
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As welcome as a new Deep Purple record is, they’re really going to town with this collaboration with Revox…click on buy for the prices!!
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30/11/2026
Record label Last Night From Glasgow is re-releasing both albums by late-80s/early-90s nearly-rans The Fat Lady Sings.
To mark the occasion, Nick Kelly and the Johnson-era lineup (i.e. not including founding member Robert Hamilton on the drums) are playing one Monday night in late November at Oran Mor.
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Here’s a link to a very good hearing test provided by the National Institute for Deaf People. Headphones will help.
https://rnid.org.uk/information-and-support/take-online-hearing-check/
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What does it sound like?:
A look at two RSD releases, both double vinyl albums. If memory serves, this Crimson set was originally part of the huge Road To Red box set that appeared around ten years ago, but this marks its first standalone release. It captures the band on top form on their 1974 US tour, with highlights being a fiery take on Larks Tongues, a nice Exiles, and best of all the closing quite magnificent pairing of Fracture and Starless. Appended as a bonus is a fine performance of 21st Century Schizoid Man captured a couple of days later at a show in Central Park. Further good news for fans is that July will see the release of a 2LP/cd set capturing the highlights of the band’s four night run in New York in September 2014. This marks the start of a new series of releases for the ‘seven headed beast’ line up that existed from 2014-2021, and will be followed later this year by a two bluray set that comprises all 19 shows from that 2014 US tour. The XTC set is the first in a proposed series of live recordings. This one captures the band » Continue Reading.
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This has gone viral Paul Sinclair being told to fuck off in a record store in Berlin. I doubt that is no. 1 in the retail training manual
Venue:
Portland Arms – Cambridge
Date: 07/05/2026
Well that’s a band I want to see again! Great fun. Despite the fairly low turn out, the band showed great enthusiasm and the songs (even the very new ones) were all delivered slickly with tongues often firmly in cheeks.
There’s already a long list of bands that are cited in the “if you like this then try Barbara” category such as Divine Comedy and ABBA but I would add Sparks and Deaf School to the list. I think it’s probably impossible for me to dislike a band with “bop showaddy” and “oo bop” in the backing vocals along with the constant harmonies.
One major problem/gripe though. The doors opened at 7:30. The main (only) act was on stage at 8pm!!! Now I have no real problem with this but that is not convention. There was nothing on the band or venue social media (that I could find anyway) that gave any warning of this. I missed the first couple of songs. The timings showed doors open at 7:30pm, finish time was shown as 11pm. With no warning, I think even starting at 8:30pm is a little (unconventionally) early. It » Continue Reading.
