June's In Bloom

20 Jyaistha - Year 1931

The solstice is nearly here again - another summer beckons. As usual, the English weather fluctuates quite a bit. Last week, Pixie and I donned shorts for our Sunday walk, this week I had to break out the hoodie, as the air was cool and the sky overcast. Predictions are for a hot summertime...we'll see.

We finally were able to haul the old CDs and LPs and that to the Kassam boot sale. Inexplicably, a lot of the prog-rock stuff is what sold. The dealer bloke who bought a box of discs off me at the last sale (2 years ago), bought another box for £80. I had brought some of my Japanese mini-LPs to sell off, as I've replaced them with SACD versions. The dealer tried sneaking a few into his £80 box, but I quickly grabbed them back and he went on his way. Another guy spotted our table, got on his mobile and started making a pile of discs - Can, VdGG, Moody Blues, Genesis and on and on. He bought about 70 CDs total, for the guy he was on the phone with. I imagine they're eBay sellers - but I couldn't be bothered to check if any of my discs were on auction later in the week. I also sold a few odds and ends - some band badges that I've had since the 80s (I've still got a bunch left over), a few bootleg cassettes and my Wonderwall DVD (I've got the deluxe edition, so I didn't need the regular one anymore). Pixie sold off a few cookery books that she didn't want as well. The LPs I brought didn't sell that well - I only managed to sell a copy of Pink Floyd's Meddle that I bought in the mid-80s. I found a copy at the Record Fair with the textured cover, so I sold off the 80s re-issue. Admittedly, the rest of the vinyl I was selling was very 'Murican stuff like The Cars, Van Halen & 'Weird Al' Yankovic, so I only half-expected any real interest in it. They've now gone to the local charity shop. All told, though - a pretty tidy profit for a few hours' work. We may be there again, at least once before the summer ends - I think I can get enough CDs together to spark up some interest.

Speaking of eBay...I've been on there hunting down prog and psych LPs quite a bit lately. I'm kicking myself for not buying this stuff 8 years ago, when interest in it was fairly low. It was all about CDs then--but vinyl's making a comeback and the collectors are out in force. Copies of the first couple of Island Records pressings of King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King are going for between £40 and £50. Some of the more rare editions of albums get up into the £100 range! I nearly lucked out with a fairly good copy of Third Ear Band's Alchemy for £5 - but I was pipped at the last minute. D'oh! Ah well, I'm sure there's plenty more copies around. I did get a copy of TEB's second (self-titled) LP, released in 1970, from a record shop in Germany. It's in excellent condition, with only a small punch-hole in the top right corner of the gatefold sleeve. Nice! I've also bought copies of Klaus Schulze's Blackdance and The Grateful Dead's Anthem Of The Sun (still waiting for that to arrive from the States). I'm eyeing a copy of Gryphon's Red Queen To Gryphon Three and the Floyd's Atom Heart Mother (which I used to own, 'till I lent it to someone ages ago and never got it back). So many LPs, so little cash...

Pixie and I had our birthdays this past week - another year lost to the maw of time. Ah well, I had a quiet day. I finally got round to watching my Beatles Help! DVD that I bought last X-Mas and a copy of the Bob Dylan '66 tour film Eat The Document that my mate Singing Bear burned for me last year. The best scene (it seemed to me) was Zimmy being driven around London, with John Lennon beside him in the car. The two (then) titans of rock meet in 1966, possibly one of the best years for the genre...and is it a summit on philosophy and revolution? Nope, Zimmy natters on about mundane topics, zonked out of his head on speed, booze and wracked nerves. Lennon, who may or may not be on an acid trip, tries to provide a comic foil, but sounds increasingly deadpan--even when Dylan wretches near the end of the car journey. The concert footage is great, though, especially the full version of Ballad Of A Thin Man, which is shown toward the end of the film. Riveting stuff.

Our computer problems have been sorted and I've replaced my old Magix Audio Cleaning Lab, with the brand new version. It's installed and ready to rock. I'll (finally) start on a new podcast episode in the next few days. Stay tuned.