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Blogger Takeover CIX

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Welcome to this special False Spring edition of Blogger Takeover. Actual Spring will be with us, in the fullness of time, but in the meantime batten down the hatches, put sandbags out to help minimise the impact of impending floods, and please tell us all – what have you been listening to, watching, reading, or otherwise using to distract yourself from waves hands ALL THIS?

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  1. I have been trying (again) to listen to audiobooks – I like the idea of them, but seem to get distracted, often. I did greatly enjoy one about the making of The Godfather – Leave The Gun, Take the Cannoli, by Mark Seal. A wonderful analysis of how the film came to be made, which does a very good job of presenting and comparing the different opinions and claims. Very well researched and packed with anecdotes – for example the actor who played Carlo Rizzo was a monster who lost a significant amount of weight for the role on a wine and popcorn diet! I also enjoyed Face The Music by Michael Lowenthal, a thoughtful short book about the impact on a young college student of playing Sun Ra’s music with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, under the gnomic instruction of the great man, and the revelations he came to once he committed to the guidance he was given and found his path.

    Main listening of the month has been Alice Coltrane – The Carnegie Hall Concert, which is fabulous, deep, groovy spiritual jazz. I also enjoyed the 50th Anniversary Edition of Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies – might be tempted to go to see him again in October, with PRML SCRM supporting! – and a jazz pianist who I had missed entirely, Austin Peralta. Julian Lage has been getting plenty of airtime, too – his most recent one, Speak To Me, made a good first impression and is standing up well to repeated listens.

    I have not watched much TV but I am becoming more firmly convinced that VAR is ruining football. It sucks enjoyment, and (especially in the Scottish implementation) is reaching far beyond the initial scope and has now introduced an absolute lottery of penalty decisions. There is no explanation of the process, fans are left in the dark, and the refereeing secrecy is appalling. Compare with the occasional (still bad) cockups from rugby union TMO, where everyone can see and hear what is being discussed and agreed.

  2. I’ve been watching Season 10 of Penn & Teller: Fool Us on YouTube. I love watching the magic routines and it’s interesting reading the theories and explanations of online commentators afterwards. When the routine is done well, the explanations don’t detract from the wow factor and some of the acts are just brilliant. Hard to pick a favourite, there were quite a few I really liked.
    It’s cool that P&T allow the magicians to post the videos of their individual performances on their own channels, where they get thousands of views.
    I’m glad Alyson Hannigan is no longer on the show. I found her really irritating. New host Brooke Burke is much better. And I think Penn is one class guy. His unfailing encouragement and positivity is a pleasure to see. (And I read on Wikipedia that his two children are named Zolten and Moxie CrimeFighter. Way to go!)

    AOB
    I’ve gone and bought a house in Sardinia by the sea. Literally right by the sea. I can walk out of my front door, cross the road and go for a swim! I’m really hoping climate change, global warming, rising sea levels and all that kerfuffle can somehow be put on hold for a few years.

  3. March/April, tricky business, always is.
    RSD, Cheltenham, St. Patrick’s Day, 6 Nations… anyway, those comfortably avoided/being avoided, we have…

    Cinema
    Three gems:
    1. ‘Robot Dreams’ – an animated film, set in New York, about a friendship between a dog and a robot. So wonderful, I think we should have more films about friendships between dogs and robots.
    2. ‘Perfect Days’ – a film set in Tokyo about an older man who cleans toilets in the city. Slow, a character study, little plot, rather splendid.
    3. ‘Driving Mum’ – an Icelandic film that is madder than a box of frogs. Wonderful photography, like going to Iceland for the afternoon without any air travel or cold weather. A classic.

    Sport
    Loads and loads of it. One local football team is already on a Saturday-Tuesday-Thursday schedule. Late April and May looks like it’s going to be local sport 24/7, and Cornwall’s sole home rugby match is due to be in June! Great news… the county cricket season starts today. It’s on BBC Radio Five Sports Extra. No BBC, no county cricket on the radio. Thank you, BBC.

    Music
    No record shops, obviously, but I did buy one CD in the chazzer for the price of a third of a pint, and it’s an object lesson in how ‘not’ to do a soul compilation:
    White man (Andy Smith) over a turntable, dodger (goes without saying), soul described as ‘northern’, the word ‘mix’ is on the cover, no dates, no sleeve notes, poorly mastered, not one picture of a black artist, songs merge into each other. Think I might keep it just as a reference point. I’m certainly not returning it to a chazzer, as I hate to think that a 15-year-old may be the purchaser and think that this is what 60s soul sounds like. Off the back of the sorry experience, and to reinforce my faith in quality product, I’m definitely getting three or four CDs from Ace this month.

    Saw a gig!
    In between all the various tribute acts on offer at our local theatre, was Julian Gaskell & the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists doing Captain Beefheart-type/punk versions of old folk ballads going back centuries. Completely crazy, completely bonkers in fact, completely cheap (£3-£11, pay what you can afford), I hope to see them again in the open air in August.

  4. Saw: Two very different showa – both outstanding
    Life of Pi – Bord Gais Theatre, Dublin
    Excellent stage production by the NT. I like the film a lot but never read the book. This focused on the action – the young actress who played Pi was constantly on the move – running, jumping, climbing and fighting. I had an episode of habituation at the end. I know there were at least three puppeteers on stage with Richard Parker, the tiger. The last scene is RP slowly walking accross the stage, jumping up on the hospital bed beside Pi, turning to the audience and roaring – I don’t remember seeing any puppeteers, just the magnificent tiger. A neighbour friend of mine is also called Richard Parker – freaky
    Mick Hanley – Dolan’s Limerick
    I was a fan of Mick Hanly in the eighties when he took over from Christy Moore in Moving Hearts and later released a great country album with his band Rusty Old Halo. He had a world-wide hit on his hands when Hal Ketchum recorded the wonderful song Past The Point Of Rescue. Mary Black had a big hit with that in Ireland and I think the Dixie Chicks recorded a version as well. I lost track of him after that and only recently started seeking him out again. This was a fantastic gig,full of excellent songs and stories. He was born and grew up in Limerick and many of his songs are recollections of his childhood. Most songs were preceded by a short explanation of what inspired them,and some audience members knew the characters and place names he reffered to. He was joined onstage by his fellow Moving Hearts veterans, Eoghan O’Neill and Anto Drennan – both excellent throughout. An attentive audience who respected the performers on stage and their fellow audience members. €25 per ticket – I brought my daughter who said she had a good time and I choose to believe her – and I was home for just after midnight.

    Read: Mostly newspapers funny enought. Saturdays Irish Times and Sundays Times provide a lot of reading.

    Watched: Four eps into 3 Body Problem – it’s beyond silly but engrossing all the same. Loved Anatony of a Fall – great performances all round and didn’t feel near as long as it’s running time. Looking forward to trying Ripley over the weekend. Still enjoying The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel – it’s deceptively clever. Great set pieces and single takes. The cast are brilliant. I had to look up Rachel Brosnahan to see how she’s related to Jack Lemmon. Apparently she is not, but she channels JL in her dialogue, movement and facial expessions to an uncanny degree. The rest of the cast are equally good – I’ll give a special mention to the actress Jane Lynch who plays Sophie Lennon, because I have another neighbour friend called…Sophie Lennon. The universe is trying to tell me something.

    Heard: Not much but I have the new Elbow, Smile and Kacey Musgraves on the shelf at home and I ordered the new Khraungbin earlier today.

    AOB: Our Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadker up and resigned out of the blue during the last month. I feel a bit let down but I hope it’s not anything medical and I’m sure he did what he thought was best. Our new Taoiseach will be Simon Harris who looks and sounds like a first year university student, but he was a good minister during Covid and hopfully he’ll be able to hold things together. We will have a general election sometime in the next twelve months – most likely Oct / Nov this year I reckon – and I don’t like instability – it emboldens the more radical elements of our society, the ones who ‘do their own research’.

  5. Streamed Albums:

    Andrea Keller – Flicker & Polar Bird
    Jasper Høiby – 3Elements: Earthness
    Mary Halvorson – Cloudward
    Paul Dunmall – Bright Light A Joyous Celebration
    Chick Corea, Orchestra Da Camera Della Sardegna – Sardinia
    Horace Silver – Song For My Father
    John Coltrane – Impressions
    Chick Corea – Return To Forever
    Stan Getz, Eddie Saulter – Focus
    Oliver Nelson Orchestra – Afro/American Sketches
    Andrew Hill – Point Of Departure
    Art Ensemble Of Chicago – A Jackson In Your House
    John Surman – Words Unspoken
    Thomas Almqvist – The Journey
    Madeleine & Salomon – Eastern Spring
    Tori Freestone, Alcyona Mick – Make One Little Room An Everywhere
    Meshell Ndegeocello – The Omnichord Real Book
    Peter Brötzmann, Majid Bekkas, Hamid Drake – Catching Ghosts
    Ali Farke Touré – Voyageur
    Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – Open Me, A Higher Consciousness Of Sound And Spirit
    Andrew McCormack – Graviton
    Andrew McCormack – Solo
    David Gordon Trio – Pachyderm
    Tim Whitehead – Colour Beginnings
    Little North – While You Wait
    Empirical – Wonder Is The Beginning
    Chris Potter – Eagle’s Point
    Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow
    Julian Lage – Speak To Me
    Amaro Freitas – Y’Y
    Nat Adderley – Work Song
    Bobby Timmons – This Here Is Bobby Timmons
    Kenny Garrett – African Exchange Student
    Passepartout Duo – Circo Pobre
    Passepartout Duo – Daylighting

    Various other stuff has also been played in between those, as I decided to re-play everything that I’ve acquired so far this year.
    Sort of like a quarterly review. This could take quite a while.
    Highly recommended is “Where Are We” by saxophone maestro Joshua Redman, featuring vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa on most tracks.
    Beautiful versions of Streets Of Philadelphia and By The Time I Get To Phoenix.
    Also “3” by veteran South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and a golden oldie, Shirley Horn with strings – “Here’s To Life” which is just class.
    Not recommended is “Peacemaker” by Vera Sola, which was recommended hereabouts not so long ago. The songs are rather miserable, mostly incomprehensible (to me)and her vocal quirks/mannerisms do them no good, IMO. YMMV.

    I went to a few gigs:

    Time Is Of The Essence Band at The Elephant Inn in North Finchley on March 3rd. The saxophonist, guitarist and drummer from Hejira’s other band, with an organist and (on this occasion) a guest second saxophonist on alto and soprano. Good funky instrumental jazz. Band and audience were having a good time and it was a very pleasurable early evening indeed.
    Tomorrow’s Warriors Frontline at Karamel in Wood Green on March 14th. This is TW’s female band, consisting on this occasion of 2 trumpets, flute, guitar, piano, bass and drums. All in their late teens/early 20s and very accomplished players. Some own compositions (variable quality) and a few jazz standards. This was one of a roughly monthly series of cheap gigs by TW alumni at this venue. The flautist is very good indeed, as were the 2 trumpeters and the pianist. The guitarist seemed a bit lacking in confidence when soloing. The drummer (substitute for their usual one) was a bit unimaginative/inexperienced.
    Jazz Jamaica at The Jazz Café in Camden on March 16th. A great party band playing classic reggae and ska, with a reggaefied Herbie Hancock classic thrown in. Mostly instrumental with vocalists Cherise Adams-Burnett and (didn’t catch her name) on a few. Great atmosphere, lots of dancers down the front. Support was TW Frontline (again!). This time including a saxophonist and with their own drummer. Better than the Karamel gig, both tighter playing and better sound. The audience, who would probably not have been committed jazz fans, were appreciative. The girls were obviously excited to be playing at The Jazz Café and were mostly down the front dancing for Jazz Jamaica’s set.
    Tim Whitehead plus band at The Elephant on March 17th. Tenor sax plus alto & soprano, pianist, bassist and drummer. Funky instrumental post-bop with a good Stevie Wonder cover chucked in to good effect. Yet again it was obvious the band were sparking nicely and the audience were enjoying it. The (string) bassist, Adam King, had a particularly good night. A very melodic gifted player and pretty obviously the youngest in a band of semi-veterans. One to look out for.
    Stanley Dee at The Horns in Watford on March 28th. My favourite 10-piece Steely Dan cover band, back at their spiritual home after it reopened under new management.
    Opening with “Black Cow”, they mostly played the more complex later material, showing off the horns and harmony vocals, in their first set, leaving most of the crowd-pleasing guitar-heavy material for the second set, finishing proceedings with the triple-whammy of Kid Charlemagne, Boddhisattva and Reeling In The Years. Guitarist John and drummer Don had a particularly good night. Saxophonists Derek and Paul were on form. Steve (trumpet, flugelhorn, acoustic rhythm guitar, featured vocals) appeared to be having occasional problems with his trumpet, although he was fine on his flugelhorn. Lead vocalist Cavan and “Babylon Sisters” Katie and Jen (harmonies and featured vocals) were good.
    Romarna Campbell + TW Frontline at Foyles bookshop in Charing Cross Road on 29th March. The third time I saw Tomorrow’s Warriors Frontline in just over a fortnight! This time there were 9 of them, having added another flautist. Romarna Campbell is a drummer and vocalist from the same teaching program as the Frontline girls. Now a solo artist. Not much was added to proceedings (IMO) when she was on her kit (she did not sing, only play). In fact on the few occasions when both drummers were playing, it only seemed to muddy the sound. Two flautists, both named Kiera. That could be confusing. Both very, very good. The newer, younger one looks like she’s still at school. At the end I hurried away to where I’d parked my car (near Brent Cross tube station) and drove to The Elephant to catch my funk/soul band pals Dex & Gill and their band playing in the main bar. Fatback Band, Stevie Wonder, Chic, Sly & The Family Stone, Lonnie Liston Smith etc. plus a nice instrumental version of War’s “The World Is A Ghetto”. A new-to-me drummer (good) on this occasion, directed at times by the bassist. Guitarist Russell is a lot more adventurous lately, since their sax-player dropped out. Ditto keyboardist Martin. Singers Dexter and Gill were in good voice as usual. Particularly Gill on Rag & Bone Man’s “Only Human”.

    TV watching:

    All available episodes of “Slow Horses” on Apple TV plus “Death In Paradise” and “Beyond Paradise”, re-watches of some old “Silent Witness” episodes, re-watch of “Traces” series one in preparation for series two that’s just started.
    Junk Action TV, in other words. My favourite kind.

    Reading:
    After noting the plot changes in the Slow Horses adaptation, I decided to re-read the entire series. Currently about 1/3 through the seventh one, which is “Slow Horses”.
    I really ought to have re-read the novellas, “The Drop”, “The List” and “The Catch” too. Ideally where they each fit into the overall narrative. “Standing By The Wall” goes best after the last one “Bad Actors”.

    Any Other Business:

    Nothing of note. My health is reasonable, considering my codger status. Eating quite a few veggie stir-frys lately. Don’t know if it counts as healthy eating or not.
    Trying to return to my old working-life practice of only drinking alcohol Friday night to Sunday evening unless I’m out at gigs where the bar is in the same room as the music. Temptation in the form of the odd midweek G&T is hard to resist.

  6. Three weeks of the month was spent on a blow out holiday to Cambodia and cycling through Vietnam. When I was half my current age, my life’s priority was travelling far and wide, inquisitive about the world. That inquisitiveness never disappeared, but my ambitions were reined in by various competing demands. So this trip specially reawakened my senses.

    But it does mean I’ve not got a lot to report. Surprisingly little got read, and I doubt either Philip Pullman or Northanger Abbey are going to provoke discussion here. (Northanger Abbey – What a bunch of airheads! That’s my synopsis, anyway.) What did I see? Well I went full-on tourist, seeing an acrobatic circus in Siem Reap and the Water Puppets in Hanoi. Thirty years ago, I might have cringed at shows explicitly aimed at foreigners, but I cast that cynicism aside and, frankly, I was fully entertained. The Water Puppets also gave me an opportunity to scratch my folk itch, with a band of nine musicians playing indigenous instruments. These included a Dan Bau which, from a distance, prompted me and my mate to whisper ‘They’ve got a theremin!’

  8. Heard:
    As mentioned elsewhere, have inherited several boxes of unwanted CDs. I’m getting the boxes in reverse order, so I only have T to Z, and compilations so far.
    So this month has been spent reviewing, selecting, and arguing with Mrs D whether there is sufficient shelf space (of course there is, there always is).
    This months listening has mostly been Neil Young (he has released a lot of albums). Rust Never Sleeps is a definite high point, things drop off in the 80s but am enjoying Freedom.
    (and I’ve still got 20 years of material to go).
    New Stuff? John Squire & Liam Gallagher – it is a very good album. Not as maybe some were expecting a mash-up of the best of Oasis & The Stone Roses, more a case of using their shared experience to create where there at now. Although, I still could live without Liam singing the colours of the rainbow.
    Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia? is every bit as good as the debut with vocalist James Smith sounding even more Mark E Smith-like in places.
    Teach Yself WAH! – A Best of Pete Wylie & The Mighty WAH! – he has some bloody good songs in his arsenal. Feel a bit of a div now for only really knowing The Story Of The Blues and Come Back

    Read:
    The Ox: The Last of the Great Rock Stars: The Authorised Biography of The Who’s John Entwistle.
    Headline story: he lived a full rock star life and needed Who tours to support his spending (and booze and drug habit)

    Seen:
    The Gentleman (Netflix) – takes the Guy Richie film as it’s plot point (ie a drug farm under a stately home) but weaves a stand-alone tale about the new Lord of The Manor wanting to be more involved with the Crime Gang running it. An enjoyable series (I refuse to call it a season!)
    Trigger Point (ITV) – better than the first series I thought (and even better when I realised it was not Tipping Point (a game show based on those 2p machines in seaside arcades) I should be watching).
    Need to start on This Town – I have heard very good things

    AOB:
    Still fighting the scam Car Insurances landing in my name, but a quick chat with Citizens Advice has given some hope of a way forward.
    Bought a new belt (that was one of the few exciting things that happened this month)

  10. Started the month with my birthday, where does all the time go etc. Didn’t do anything special as Mrs. T had a significant one in January and we had four lovely but freezing days in Paris.

    Went to see Hejira at The Stables, much more than a Joni tribute as discussed here.

    Watched too much telly, in mitigation some whilst doing guitar practice – I recorded a batch of old “Public Eye” – Frank Marker, PI – good stories and fascinating to see early 70s Britain – apart from anything else everyone is thin. Also “The Durrells” – attractive and feel good fluff. Watched a thing called Julia Gray which promised much but collapsed like a bad soufflé at the end. Watched the last two seasons of Unforgotten which is superb telly.

    As reported elsewhere we’ve been hitting the NT Live subscription – most recently “This House”, which is set in the whips’ office during the ’74 unstable Wilson government. Excellent.

    Popped down to Baldock Folk Club to see two young musicians play old time country and Carter Family tunes with great skill. Lovely to see. I bought the CD – recorded live to mono with one mic. Delightful.

    In other news, played a festival (in March!) which was a bit nippy but great vibes, with the blues band where I play bass for a change. Great response and fun had by all.

    • Forgot to report, been reading Barry Miles’s history of the counter culture which is excellent but very long so in the middle had a bit of down time with “Executive Orders” by Tom Clancy which is a page turner but spookily prescient as it turned out. Tosh, but good tosh. Just knocked off “The order of the day” by Eric Vuillard about the Anschluss in a day, and I’m motoring through “An officer and a spy” by Robert Harris which is about the Dreyfus affair. I’m obviously in a European politics mood.

      • That Barry Miles book is excellent. Also worth reading on the same subject are two books by Jonathan Green – ‘All Dressed Up’ and ‘Days In The Life’. There was a bit of a kerfuffle where he was sued for libel by George Harrison and Caroline Coon of Release, but the offending passages were removed.

  11. I retired at the end of the first week in March, nominally for the 2nd time, having left my earlier substantive 30 year plus job 7 years ago. This time for keepers though. 3 plus weeks in and it still seems a bit like a holiday, as I try to find a routine. No regrets, mind.
    Telly seems to predominate my exposure to the arts these days (yeah, right), and not daytime, I should add. Retired maybe, not desperate. Poor Things was superb, necessitating a trawl back through the Yorgos Lanthimos catalogue. Tried that 3 Body Problem and couldn’t engage. Likewise the 2nd series of The Dry; didn’t seem to have the spunk of the first series. Watched, instead, The Bear, series 2, late to the game and found it exhilarating and exhausting. This Town has started promisingly.
    Finished Us, the David Nichols book, prompted by the TV adaptation of One Day. I found it tiresome, in truth, it showing really that Nichols plays one trick, if very well. Some of his trademark clever phrasing is also somewhat formulaic. Now am reading the Nick Drake bio by Richard Morton Jack. I can see why it has drawn such praise, but, shh, it is a bit dry and dull, so earnest is the depth of research and reportage. Plus it feels a little voyeuristic, as it meticulously recounts his descent.
    Went to see Martin Carthy at Brum’s Kitchen Garden Cafe. It was in 1974 or 5 I saw him last. Yes, he is older and frailer, with all that entails, but still gave a masterclass in holding the room in his palm. Wonderful. Then, a fortnight later it was Show of Hands, as part of their farewell tour, part 2, just the two them, playing deeper cuts to reflect their 40 year history, playing the smaller venues they started off in. Lichfield Guildhall is ideal for this sort of show, and it was good to see Steve Knightley and Phil Beer bow out, at the top of their game.
    Listening has, as ever, been varied, courtesy the stream of reviews ramping up, as part my retirement plan. Writing has become almost more a hobby than ever, and realising I can get to gigs and festivals on that basis alone seems sufficient reward. Of those that might gain traction here, let me commend UK country rockers, The Hanging Stars, who released album number 5 mid March, On A Golden Shore. Cosmic country psychedelia? Yes, please.

  12. March was a busy month in every sense, and the first month of 2024 where I bought new music – so many albums, in fact, that I’ve yet to fully listen (the tigger way) to all of them…and more to come soon.
    So let’s start with the music:

    Heard:

    The Past Is Still Alive by Hurray For The Riff Raff is wonderful and just what I needed as a pick-me-up after this long winter. Her brand of folk rock is a soft, warm blanket for the broken parts of your soul, and I haven’t been able to get “Buffalo” out of my head for weeks. I predict that it will still be in my top five or even top three come poll time.

    El Perro del Mar is more depressing on Big Anonymous, an album steeped in grief. But the beauty is there, and if you listen in the right mood, it feels more healing than dark. Still, not really a daily listen! Some of it sounds a bit like a less abrasive Fever Ray.

    MGMT – Loss of Life is a mixed bag, but a few truly highlight tracks elevates it from being bland and makes me come back to give it more chances. Not crazy about their sound, but the songwriting skill is there (especially on “Nothing to Declare”, “I Wish I Was Joking” and “Loss of Life”).

    Another brilliant album from Aziza Brahim: Mawja, hypnotic and vibrant sub-Saharan rhythms and enchanting, latin-tinged melodies and vocals, guaranteed to make me feel happy and calm. The bluesy “Metal, Madera” is my favourite track alongside “Bubisher”.

    Another album destined for the top of this year’s poll is Adrianne Lenker‘s new solo album Bright Future, which is just gorgeous. Songs like “Sadness as a Gift”, “Evol”, “Already Lost” and “Ruined” (to name but a few) will cut you open like a sharp knife and stitch the wound up again by the end of the song…she’s a genius. The recordings are warm and intimate and sparse without being barren.

    I love the voice of Aoife O’Donovan, and that’s the best part of her rather great new album All My Friends – I often find that her songs are too similar in sound, tempo and melody structure, so while standing out in a mixed playlist they are a bit too same-y to enjoy one after another on an album, but this one is growing with each listen, although still suffering a bit from that same-ness (but not a huge problem as her melodies are mostly gorgeous). Not a fan of the Dylan cover at the end, however.

    Julia Holter has a new album out as well, called Something In The Room She Moves, and it’s very good. Not really music to have on in the background, this is music that demands to be listened to without distractions. Gorgeous music and playful lyrics, beautiful and interesting sounds, calming but stimulating. Another one for the future poll, perhaps. I could see AW proggers enjoying (at least parts of) this, if they give it a chance, or am I delusional? Listen to the title track and let me know if I’m right! And of course fans of modern jazz and experimental music – but there are some more poppy tracks too. She has a voice that is clear like a bell, but warm, even when it’s no more than a whisper.

    I keep buying albums by Rosali and most often end up just slightly disappointed, and this year’s album Bite Down – with quite possibly one of the worst cover images EVER – is no exception. It starts promising, but quickly becomes bland and a bit dull. The melodies lack a spark and the band plods along. Nothing is very exciting, I’m afraid, not even the livelier tracks. It’s just OK. Needs catchier choruses!

    The Taj Mahal Sextet – Swingin’ Live at The Church in Tulsa is exactly what it says on the tin – a live gig that seems to be very recent, but it doesn’t say a date on the album cover, so that’s just a guess. With a few exceptions these are Taj Mahal songs, well known (at least to his fans, of which I am one) and getting mostly cracking good live renditions. I could have wished for the instrumental tracks – as fine as they are – to be left off, but that’s just my preference (although I do feel that they slightly slows down the party). Love the bluesy live version of “Queen Bee” (not a huge fan of the album that it’s off, and that recorded version). “Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes” gets a country-tinged version with shared vocals by his guitarist, which is an unexpectedly lovely treat.
    I also wish the album could have been twice as long, but hey: I’m certainly not going to complain about getting another great Taj Mahal album, so soon after last year’s take on the old standards on Savoy! And this album is great for my kitchen stereo; perfect music to lighten the spirits and get dancing while cooking and washing up.

    I have a soft spot for The Dandy Warhols, so occasionally I’ll give a new album a try, so now with Rockmaker, but I have a problem with the production – the vocals are buried in mud so much so that it sounds like a mistake. Is it really supposed to sound like that? Bad production choice if yes. It’s difficult to get a feel for the tracks, not least the lyrics. The sound improves a bit towards the middle of the album, and once you can hear the singing the tracks comes alive! But most tracks have the vocals way too quiet in the mix, and the band sounds as if trapped in a tin of biscuits. Too bad, because the songs sounds like they would have been great if given some air and volume.

    Les Big Byrd started their career with a bang, that they never – IMO – managed to live up to in subsequent albums. This year’s Diamonds, Rhinestones and Hard Rain isn’t bad at all, although I’m probably not the perfect audience for the 10 and 12 minute repetitive stoner tracks (I enjoy them a lot, but it takes more of an effort than if you’re in an “enhanced” state, I’m guessing – never having tried such stimulants bar second hand smoke in close quarters; only making me tired…) I enjoy the atmospheric and hypnotic grooves well enough, completely sober. But if you want them to sound like on their debut, you’ll be disappointed – this is another kind of groove completely. The title track, at a snappy 3:33, comes closest, I suppose.

    Another short album of long tracks comes from Swedish jazzers Fire! on the album Testament. It’s a bit hit and miss for me, this time. A couple of the tracks makes me feel physically attacked by aggressive skronk. I prefer the more quiet repetitions, or the funkier percussions of track one.

    Read:

    Well, my P C Jersild project continues, joyfully! Eight novels this month, all among his best -and one play that I didn’t enjoy much (so that’s at least one thing he’s not a master of…) Some of them have been translated into English and I’d recommend them to you but I don’t have the energy to look up the titles in translation and this post will be TL(DR) anyway, so if you’re curious, look up his English wiki page where you’ll find them. However, the very best one, that I just finished re-readinga few days ago, is unfortunately not translated… 🙁

    I also snuck in a new book, the diary by a Swedish artist/author/director, and a bunch of neglected music magazines that I’d left stacked for a later date due to a lack of time, but now the time had come. Unfortunately they informed me of new albums that I hadn’t known about, so next month will also be expensive…

    Seen:

    Some of you may remember a Swedish film called Together that was a hit in 2000. Set in a commune in 1975 it was a wonderful mix of comedy and drama, and feel-bad and feel-good – the ending scene is one of the most joyful and satisfactory film endings I can think of.
    This past Christmas the sequel, Tillsammans ’99 (“Together ’99”) was released, and I recently watched it on DVD. Unfortunately, this one was rather depressing…it’s 1999 and only two members are left in the commune, but for the birthday of one of them his house mate invites all of the old gang to a surprise party. There are funny parts here as well, but the depressing stuff takes over. It’s just sad to see how their less attractive personality traits, that in younger days could be seen as charming or at least passionate, now in mid-life have set into rigid faults, mental health issues, or compulsions. It also misses the perspective of the kids that was a huge part of the original film, and the contrast of “square” neighbours. The ending is probably meant to be positive but I found it to be very unsatisfactory and depressing.
    A few of the original actors are missing – one died tragically, one is replaced due to the studio refusing to hire him (drug issues), and only the one kid actor that kept acting as an adult made it into the sequel. We also get a new addition which was the only funny part of it; a man showing up who remembers all about them, but none of them remembers who he is. Anyway, it wasn’t awful, but it felt for me like a blot on the memory of the original. I want to remember them as they were in that final scene, not the frustrated, unhappy people we get to know here!

    Apart from that, only comfort watching of “cosy” shows like The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, and LAOTY/PAOTY, and people renovating old houses or reacting to old movies on YouTube…which is what I watch when I’m too tired to watch anything else.

    AOB:

    Easter was disappointing as the annual family feast was cancelled due to everybody being unable to meet up. But on the plus side, I didn’t have to bake for eight hours prior to it either.

    Another project joins my queue of “things to do when I find the time” – when cleaning out the basement at work, we found a bag full of photo albums harking back to the 50s and forward, which I took home to – eventually – scan to my computer. It’s photos from the store and they are priceless evidence of the creativity they used in different promotional drives and brand competitions, sewing costumes for the entire staff etc. I’ve used parts of this photographic treasure for some jubilee collages that I put together at least a couple of decades ago, but in digital form it will be easier to use in different projects, among other reasons.
    Looking forward to it, but don’t expect to get it done anytime soon…

    In other news: we had snow three times this week, and cold temperatures. But from today forward it’ll be around +15C. Very April forward weather.

        • I need to thank you for alerting me to this, @Locust: I love this music. Admittedly, I’ve only had time to listen to it once – but I’ll be back for more. It’s not proggie at all, though – it’s like a jazzy, minimalist classical music with words (as you hinted at above). If this is new, what else would you recommend from her previous releases?

        • @duco01: This album reminded me of the wonderful gig I saw him do at Göta Källare (RIP) quite a few years ago now, when I felt very greatful to get to see him live before he shut up shop…that doesn’t seem to be happening soon, thankfully!
          But I’m very glad I got to see him once in my life, and I only knew about the gig because you told me it was coming, on this very site. So thanks, again!

          I’ve now officially quit going to gigs, unless they are free (Stockholms Kulturfestival etc), because the ticket vendors all demand that you have a mobile phone for them to sell you a ticket…
          That’s OK, I’ve barely gone to gigs in later years anyway – I always end up feeling uncomfortable and a bit disappointed – so they just sped up my decision to quit, which I had already contemplated. 🙂
          Still think the demand is BS, but not to the point of becoming angry about it!

  14. Heard:
    Listening to Waxahatchee – Tigers blood which I really like, also The Outliers by Jenny Sturgeon and Boo Hewerdine.
    The new Alejandro Escovedo Shadow dancing is an excellent reinterpretation of songs from his past. It has the gnarly Alejandro and the ballady Alejandro and is superb.
    Also listening to Roseanne Cash The Wheel anniversary edition and a lot of reggae/dub.

    Seen:
    Albert Lee at the Robin Bilston. His age belies his continued dexterity.
    Also saw UB40 who played a free concert at Birmingham CIftvfc following their last home game.
    Played all the hits and maybe were a bit cheesy but the mass singing of ‘’shit on the Villa’ was very funny as the band conducted the crowd in their revelry.
    On the screen we saw One Life – Anthony Hopkins was very compelling.
    Also the Bob Marley biopic which could have been a little longer and a little more in depth.
    On tv we enjoyed 1883 and Kin. The Tourist also very good but. a little bit too Indiana Jones.

    Read:
    Baxter Dury Chaise Longue which I enjoyed but was more about his old man than himself.
    Waited a long time to read a crime writer that was up there with Elmore Leonard but thanks to @pencilsqueezer I came across S.A. Cosby – his Blacktop Wasteland is superb and I enjoyed it that much that all of his others are on order.

    AOB
    Had 17 days in Kerala – great food, lovely people and scenery in parts that was like heaven on earth.
    Much different to Northern India.

    On Friday I retire after 36 years with my company and nearly 50 in the industry.
    Mixture of excitement and trepidation of the unknown but it is time.

  15. My first contribution to the Blogger Takeover threads, so here goes:

    Listening
    Am really enjoying the new Vampire Weekend album, Only God Was Above Us. It’s clever, dextrous pop with a lyrical edge and sounds like no-one else.
    Phosphorescent’s new album, Revelatory, is quite downbeat and melancholy but has some lovely songs.
    I also liked the new one by Catching Flies, Tides, on my first listen last night. Lovely, chilled electronica in the mood of Bonobo. Well worth a try if you like that kind of thing.
    I am also learning to love HeyPanda by The High Llamas after some initial difficulty getting on with the autotuned vocals on some tracks. A grower that has had me revisiting the back catalogue.
    I agree with comments above about the new Adrienne Lenker – she is a bona fide genius in my view.

    Viewing
    I am blitzing through Kin on the iPlayer and really enjoying it. Some of the accents have been tricky though.
    Am also quite enjoying The Dropout on BBC – the story of disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes. Ok but could be a couple of episodes shorter.
    Finally got round to watching Poor Things, the movie Emma Stone won an Oscar for. Absolutely fantastic – innovative and bonkers.

    Live Music
    Have been to gigs by Gaz Coombes (solo and mostly acoustic, very accomplished with a much better voice than anticipated), The Smile (brilliant – what now for Radiohead?) and Bill Ryder-Jones (very good, if a little melancholy for a Saturday night).

    Reading
    Loved The Bee Sting by Paul Murray – a family saga set in small town Ireland. He is one of the bes5 novelists around and this is as good as he has done. If you liked Skippy Dies you’ll love this.
    Have just finished Russell Jones’s Four Chancellors And A Funeral, about the last four years of Tory rule. Funny and angry in equal measure and superbly researched.
    The highlight of the month though has been Nathan Hill’s Wellness – a brilliant novel by, in my view, America’s finest author. His other novel, The Nix, is amongst the best I have ever read.

    In other business I am due for an operation on Wednesday on my bowel and stomach, so looking forward to a week in hospital and two months recuperation with some trepidation.

    Good luck to Steve T with your retirement. I can understand how unsettling that must be.

    • Good luck with the surgery. I’m going in for my fourth or fifth (I’ve lost count) Colonoscopy in a couple of weeks. The trepidition is generally worse than the event.

              • I had Propofol once while my internals were being explored. This is what killed Michael Jackson, the anaesthetist said cheerfully as he sent me under (Aussie medics, eh?). Boy was it good. Pink fluffy clouds or what?

                • My first ‘up periscope’ was a decade or more ago and they didn’t give me quite enough sedative. I woke up with a strange sensation inside. I could see what looked like pink broccoli on the massive TV screen.

                  “Oh, hello! You see those yellow and white spots? They’re ulcers. You shouldn’t have those.”

                  This was the funniest thing I’d ever heard, and giggled uncontrollably… until the top-up dose kicked in.

                  • I’ve had two ‘down periscopes,’ hopefully not with the same piece of kit they use for the other end. The first was with a sedative, possibly Rohypnol, because I lost four hours of memory after it. Apparently I was very funny and sweet.

                    The second was without sedative because I wanted to get out of there and watch the footie that evening. I came home with a revealing insight into the content of my stomach, and a profound respect for porn stars.

                  • I had a sigismoid colonoscopy a couple of years ago. I had utilised the inevitable wait for practising songs for performance at folk clubs etc and the three nurses had overheard me. This conversation was deployed as a distraction during the ‘invasion’, so I found myself singing a couple of verses of Blaydon Races with a camera up my backside. The four of us ended up in tucks of laughter, which continued as I was wheeled back out, to the concern of the next ‘victim’.

                • I think I had that as part of my waking anaesthesia when I had eye surgery.

                  It was trippy.

                  “Hey man, you said there’d be music”
                  Sure Simon – what would like?
                  “I think it’s more important that you’re happy with it”

                  Sadly, I do not remember what his choice was.

  16. Listening to a lot of stuff on the Adventurous Music label in prep for doing a mix, it’s kinda doing my head in as I should be REALLY stoned to appreciate it more as it’s very erm, adventurous.
    Took a long car journey with 4 teenage lads to The Cairngorms and despite my best efforts at choosing suitable background music the only thing they all agreed on was a best of Steely Dan CD, maybe there is hope for the youth of today.

    View post on imgur.com

    Watching 3 Body Problem and am up to the last episode tonight, the football has been stopping me with cracking on with it but it’s no spoiler to say episode 5 was a blinder. Also watching new/final series of Curb and saw Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? in a log cabin with the lads, we all agreed it’s brilliant, but they were not so keen on The Hitcher.

    Been reading (more dipping in and out) The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope, and it’s really good, well written, funny and incredibly useful, or it will be next time I go to The Orkneys

    View post on imgur.com

    Only bug bear today, am annoyed that according to it’s new trailer the Joker 2 movie should be released today!

    • Totally agree about 3 Body Problem – excellent and that Ep 5 was stunning. My (grown up) children tell me that Shogun should be my next watch as it’s great so I’ll give that a go when I get through the last two eps of 3BP

      • Ah, I got 4 episodes into Shogun and just started to lose the will to carry on, it’s good and all but fancies itself too much for my concentration and so I gave up (pathetic earthling that I am) mind you I also gave up on The Walking Dead – The Ones Who Live as that it just got too silly and drawn out.

        • Me too. Was really enjoying it, then lost the will too. 3 Body Problem was great, though – if a tad depressing…But I enjoyed the occasional outbreaks of silliness from, eg the League of Gentlemen pair.

  17. I watched Micheal Keaton’s directorial debut Knox Goes Away last night. I liked it very much. Keaton plays a hitman. “Yawn!”, you think, “hitman films are boring”. Normally I’d agree, but the fact that he’s a hitman is largely (though not completely) irrelevant. The real focus of the film is that he has dementia. And there’s a twist. “Yawn” again! “Twists are always predictable and a bit silly.” Well, actually this is one of the cleverest twists I’ve seen in a long time. Not an “OMG, I did not see that coming!” kind of twist, but an “ooh, how clever” twist. At least I thought it was clever. And the directing is great and Keaton is great and even hammy ol’ Al Pacino doesn’t spoil the film. Recommended.

  18. Late addition –
    Straight to AOB:
    Quick update on my dad and me, from last month:
    My dad had his surgery (apparently robotic-assisted laparotomy) and has recovered remarkably quickly – surgery on Friday, home by Tuesday pm – given his age, I am astonished. They taught him how to inject himself with anticoag, he’s happily doing that – out and about, astonishing. I suppose he’ll have a meeting soon to discuss mop-up chemotherapy, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
    My surgery was postponed. Starved, turned up at some ungodly hour, clerked in, saw the surgeon, long wait – sent home again – “busy weekend via ED, no beds”. Hey-ho! Rescheduled for about 10 days time.

    Watched: comfort blanket viewing
    Read: started Mme Bovary – gave up, read some Sherlock Holmes instead.
    Listening: Paavo Järvi’s Beethoven cycle, Hilary Hahn playing Ysaÿe’s six unaccompanied violin sonatas – both highly recommended!

  19. Late (last) to the party as usual. There’s not been a lot of new music to inspire me this month, but I’m quite partial to the new Phosphorescent album, Revelator, which continues a run of decent releases from Matthew Houck and his band. If you like trippy, West Coast-ish Americana-ish vibes, this new one may be worth a punt. The new Waxahatchee album, Tigers Blood, was also out this month. It’s very much in the vein of the last one, Saint Cloud, but I’m much keener on Out in the Storm which was released a few years back, and which I’ve recently discovered. It’s a much meatier affair with yer actual fuzzy guitars and everything. Sample track below for the yet to be converted.

    I’ve read a lot of fiction lately, and dabbled in a couple of short Graham Swift novels this month. His most recent one Here We Are is a bit pretentious and ho-hum, but I quite enjoyed Mothering Sunday. I read Waterland many years ago, and have a couple more lined up, but I suspect Graham Swift is a bit of a Marmite writer. He’s great when he hits the mark, but hard work when he doesn’t.

    I also read about 200 pages of Jon Savage’s England’s Dreaming this month. To say he’s thorough would be an understatement, but despite its iconic status I found the book sucks the life out of the story of punk by too much over analysis and intellectualising. Sadly, I found my enthusiasm waning, and gave up.

    • I’d completely forgotten about the existence of Graham Swift! He doesn’t seem to get talked about anywhere near as much as other English language male authors like Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Kazuo Ishiguro. I’ve only read Waterland and Last Orders. I liked both, especially Waterland. Perhaps I should try some of his others.

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