What would happen were Theresa May to side with Putin against MI5, MI6, Scotland Yard, et al on a matter of grave and urgent importance to the United Kingdom?
A Matter for Oddjob?
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Any Idea What’s Goin’ On?
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Just wondering, how many of this Top Hundred can you honestly claim to have heard of before? I accept this is posted by an old guy living in France who has no idea what’s for lunch today or who these people are but all I can manage is 11. Beat my score and I’ll send you a packet of digestives and a signed copy of my autobiography ” So many women, so little time”.
http://thequietus.com/articles/24980-albums-of-the-year-so-far-chart-2018
Del Amitri – These Are Such Perfect Days
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Author:Charles Rawlings-Way
The thing (that we’ll kiss goodbye) is, Justin Currie was right. The story of Del Amitri is not that dramatic. Nobody died, no-one fell out, there is no heroin hell, no cocaine-fuelled wrecking of hotel rooms, although (spoiler alert) some watches do get damaged. This is a wholly functional account of how the music business worked in The Nineties, filtered through the prism of a fan of one of the bands who were there. Guitarists and drummers come and go, advances are advanced, deals are dealt, tours are toured but, ultimately, nothing ever happens. The ‘Where are they now?’, discography and gig list are exemplary and everyone involved comes out of the whole odyssey sounding like a terribly good sort but, ultimately, it’s no Hammer of the Gods.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Diary of a Rock n’ Roll Star. Overuse of the word ‘axeman’, footnotes.
One thing you’ve learned
There’s more money to be made writing for The Fast Show than there is in being a guitarist in Del Amitri. Also, that scene of the guitar player having a breakdown in a launderette in America was faked.
Grammatical crimes in the name of a rhyme
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Had a chuckle listening to Bon Scott
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer I’m gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll A rock ‘n’ roll star Yes I are!
Holiday consumption recommendations?
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I’m off to rural France for 2 weeks of chilling (me and the vino) and a bit of catching up on the reading and listening. So what are your recommendations, along with a bit of a description of the flavour, for:
1. A “must listen” album 2. A good (auto) biography 3. Page turner fiction 4. Non-fiction
Bring it on.
Seemingly lightweight also-ran pop stars that turned into heavy hitters
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Thanks to @metal-mickey, I am thinking about music industry heavy hitters. Not necessarily well-known producers like Trevor Horn but the more obscure band member who paid his or her dues on the circuit but ended up running the show behind the scenes.
As is per usual, I am not going to google anything (but you are welcome to). I know that the rubbery-faced big eyebrowed funnyman from Darts, one Den Hegarty, became a grande fromage of some sort. Also Ken from Bros, I believe, did extremely well once he was made to hang up his storewashed jeans. But what others are there?
Did the effeminate one out of Mud end up owning a majority share of Spotify? Did Kay from Toto Coelo use her “I Eat Cannibals!” royalties to buy the publishing rights to Hallelujah off the then-very-skint Leonard Cohen? Did Keith from Candy Flip turn his hand to accountancy and now represents Jay-Z, Beyoncé and over a thousand other artists?
True stories are a bonus. For within these stories, lies a kernel of hope and perhaps inspiration. And that’s an unbeatable combination.
Majority: 6
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Those bigot maniacs in the DUP are the tail wagging a democracy of 60+million people, the vast majority of whom hate their fucking guts. The country has gone to the orange dogs.
Going a bit red in Helsinki
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Has he gone too far?
I watched the press conference and could see that, more than ever, President Trump was completely out of his depth. Putin’s expression was one of incredulity as Trump stumbled his way into a calamity entirely of his own making.
Or is this the cunning mind of a master negotiator? He’s certainly an enigma – I’ll give him that. Rather than just disagreeing with him on political and social matters, these days I am thinking that he’s not right in the head. Not in an I-think-he’s-stupid way, more a he-needs-professional-help way.
Second Rate Bands That Now Seem First Rate
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Gene. Perennial mid-afternoon act on the NME stage of the nineties. Martin Rossiter a second-rate Morrissey with his controversial interviews. That memorable quote ‘they chose the only time in history when sounding like the Smiths was a bad idea’. There at the birth of indie landfill. Except now. I’ve listened to Olympian and Drawn To the Deep End and they are great. Just great. Much better than I thought at the time. I’m not saying if they were starting today they’d have been world-conquering, but Steve Mason’s guitar lines, Rossiter’s vocals and the all-round sturdiness of the songwriting have aged surprisingly well. Other bands please who were second-raters at the time who have now become firm favourites.
Phoenix Festival,It Was 25 Years Ago Today
25 years ago today I went to my first proper 3 day,camping out festival,namely the Phoenix Festival at Long Marston Airfield. There were 8 of us and the first thing that greeted us were closed roads due to “crusties” who refused to pay to get in. “I mean Eavis gives us a field at Glastonbury so why can’t we have one here” an unwashed fuckwit explained to me in an accent that suggested he didn’t come from a council estate. Thankfully, “The Man” refused to let them in and they skulked off,probably back to mater and pater and now presumably running a section in the Home Office. But this didn’t happen until the middle of the night so we had to leave the cars,carry tents and assorted equipment for a couple of miles and pitch up in the dark. It was a cracking weekend and I saw some great acts. Pulp performing to a half full tent on Friday afternoon. Sonic Youth with a barnstorming friday main stage headline slot. Gil Scott Heron on the Jazz stage Saturday and comedy slots,the best of which was Woody Bop Muddy and his Record Graveyard. All this for £49!!! I went for the » Continue Reading.
Email from my Dad
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From my Aged Pa (98). Thought I’d share it with the vibrant online community that is the Afterword:
Just heard from Trumpole. He wished to know what to say to Ras Putin. I said best thing, say if he’s going to blow up the world, he’d better get on with it before the global warmth does it. Trumpole said ‘That’s bullshit Ern (he allus calls me Ern in emails when he wants privacy) it just ain’ gonna happen. All those trillion ton icebergs falling in the seas are gonna cool everything down and we’ll prolly have another Ice Age. Think of big gin and tonics.”
I am having a bit of bother with him
Annoying middle aged rock snobs
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Thanks, Moose, for this recommendation. If this doesn’t make 100 responses I’ll be gutted.
I am an inveterate ‘deconstructor’ of rock snobs. In the punk years I would be pogoing at punk gigs in a dog-chewed t-shirt, flares, and centre-parted shoulder length hair then off to see Genesis (post Hackett) the next week. My main objection was peers who repeated received NME wisdom with flagrant insincerity to try and keep in with the genuinely cool kids.
I recently told someone who only listens to skronky lo-fi out-takes from bands on John peel in his last year that ‘I like marillion, but only their later stuff’.
I often use the Partridge inversion (as in ‘Gallagher and lyle- the singer-song writers Simon and garfunkel COULD have been”).
I am utterly sincere in the music I like, and genuinely like Al sorts (I probably mostly listen to 60s r’n’b and jazz theses days), and am all for pretentiousness (if one doesn’t reach higher, how can one reach in the first place?), but I hate the humourless rock list model. Isn’t it obvious that The Rezillos are better than the MC5?
My worst song
In South Africa “Mammy Blue” was recorded by the session group Charisma featuring vocalists Paddy Powell and Stevie Vann: produced by Graeme Beggs, this version spent twelve weeks at #1, making it the second longest running South African #1 hit. [wikipedia]
This song, which has had numerous versions internationally (a sad indictment on humanity), was ubiquitous on the SA airwaves in 1972, when I was a conscript in the SA Defence force. It was played incessantly on portable radios across military barracks all over the country, to the point of near torture. It remains my most abhorred song. And I heard it again today.
Do you have song that leaves a particularly bad taste in the mouth like that?
The seine of the rock t shirt
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I’ was en route to Croatia today. A very busy Stansted and I saw 2 ac/dc t shirts as well as my own Frank Zappa ‘freak out’ number. Is it time up for the rock t shirt as a social signifier? I have a nice gong mandala one for tomorrow. Is it going to be wasted, or will it remsin a dig whistle for the like minded?
On Channel 5 at the moment…
….a Les Dawson spesh.
Snork!
Life In 12 Bars
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Year: 2018 Director: Lili Fini Zanuck
This seems to be the season for guitar greats to release documentaries of their life stories. Following on from the recent Jeff Beck release, it’s now the turn of Eric Clapton to step into the confessional. This film covers the numerous highs and lows of his personal and professional life, and as we all know, the highs were very high (Cream, Derek and The Dominoes) and the lows were very low (drink, drugs, loss of his young son). Clapton is nothing if not resilient though, and he unfailingly gets himself up off the canvas, admittedly sometimes quicker than others, and picks up the pieces of his career. This is a far more personal film than the Beck effort, as Clapton speaks frankly and sometimes movingly about his life, augmented with recollections and anecdotes from friends and family, aspects that were sadly missing from the Beck film. Of course, everything that you’d expect from his musical career is covered too, from his early days on the British blues scene into the Cream and Derek eras and on to his long solo career, illustrated with interviews and performance footage with colleagues and collaborators. These stories though » Continue Reading.
Up v Down and other Pop Dichotomies
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What is the greatest dichotomy in popular music? Some might suggest it’s more cowbell or less cowbell, or should I stay or should I go, or selling out or selling nowt. But I put it to you that the single question that cleaves le pop is, when confronted with an irresistible dancey groove, whether to “get up” or “get down”. In this video for the sublime new single by Swedish beatbots Galantis, we observe a quintessential example of the “get up” reaction (although I suspect any TOTP screening of same would necessitate a sober health and safety warning advising not to imitate the behaviour on view). Where do you stand on the get up/get down dilemma (and do you, in fact, just stand). And what are pop’s other great dichotomies?
Bowie news
New Documentary coming from the Beeb about the first five years in Bowie’s artistic journey.
I love this period in his career, in fact I may have been the only one to choose his first album in the great Afterword vote of a while back.
https://youtu.be/6DSP6TDJ_Rw
https://davidbowienews.com/2018/07/bbc-making-new-film-about-david-bowie-to-be-aired-next-year/
The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
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Author:Michael Cox
A fascinating read given the rather dry title. Published last year when the Premier League had it’s 25th anniversary, this substantial tome describes the evolution the game underwent once the new league was founded. The title suggests a focus tactics, and that’s certainly a significant part of the book, but there’s also detailed discussion of the managers and players who were the catalysts of change. Author Michael Cox runs the website www.zonalmarking.net and has been a regular contributor to The Guardian. He’s been smart enough to see that the human story is what makes this readable, not just tactics and statistics.
As a fan in the 90’s I’d always check the results on a Sunday and catch Match of the Day whenever I could but the emergence of the Premier League, tucked away on BSkyB meant a lot of what is described in the early sections here is less familiar to me until we reach the more recent years. Whilst not strictly chronological the book has 25 chapters each with a different theme, and spans Cantona to Conte finishing with a neat analysis of Leicester’s Premiership success.
Cox is particularly adept at relating how managers such as » Continue Reading.
Meanwhile, on a grassy knoll at Turnberry….
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….everyone is getting ready for the forthcoming visit.
Personally, I hope it all goes really well, with a great outcome for everyone in the free world.
Afterword Fantasy Football League
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The World Cup still has a couple of days to go, but there is no rest for the Footy fan as the Premier League Season kicks off in less than a month. So, it’s time to get Fantasy Footballing again. The Afterword “Classic” League has been renewed (code: 190408-38669) The Afterword Head To Head League has been created (code: 190408 – 77605)
To Salah or Not To Salah – that is the question?
Upcoming releases
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A couple caught Bargepole’s eye…….
ATM – And so to bed …
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My current mattress, a cheap Silentnight which has given sterling service for a decade, is showing signs of sag and will soon be retired. I have a mind to go for memory foam, or memory foam / spring combo this time round, and as I’m in better financial shape than a decade ago don’t mind making an investment in something which will bring comfort for years.
Does anyone have experience of Eve, Kaspar and so on (you know the ones – the mattresses which seem to sponsor every podcast with promises of special offers and discount codes). Perhaps you’re chosen brand of memory foam developed amnesia after 6 months, or the spring in you summer mattress began to fall by the time winter came around.
Front runner at the moment is probably the Hypnos mattress which Premier Inn use (I’m actually typing this sitting on one, ready to check out as soon as the unfamiliar water falling from the sky eases up). As always I’ve found the Peremier Inn beds wonderfully comfortable with just the right degree of give. Any thoughts to share?
Notting Hill Carnival
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19/07/2018
Anyone interested in attending the press launch of this year’s carnival next Thurday evening 7pm -9pm?
Rolling Stones – From the Vault No Security San Jose ’99
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What does it sound like?:
The latest in the From the Vault series is the final show (in San Jose) from the North American leg of the No Security tour in 1999. The Stones had already released a No Security live album in 1998 which was actually taken from recordings from the previous Bridges to Babylon tour. A little confusing. I was lucky enough to attend two shows fron this leg in Boston and Chicago flying to the US especially to be there. At the time I thought that with time running out I should take the opportunity to see them in relatively more intimate arena shows instead of the enormous stadiums that they usually played in Europe. Chances were surely running out!
This was their 3rd successive year on the road which was the longest run since 1973, I think this shows in the competence and professionalism of the performance. The relatively intimate venues led to some interesting setlist choices, Moonlight Mile had been played on the tour, but not tonight, however we get a beautiful sung I got the Blues, a muscular Some Girls and Keith’s best lead vocal You Got the Silver. The recent Bridges to » Continue Reading.
