Springtime again!

2 Caitra - Year 1931

Happy Spring, all! Yep, the equinox happened and winter has ended once again. Pixie and I were out in the garden this weekend, cutting the grass and generally tidying up. We also went for a nice Indian meal at the local tandoori restaurant..yum yum! The weather was beautiful all weekend and it was good to be able to have the windows in the house opened. Now it's Monday, though, the wind and clouds have returned.

I've become fairly addicted to reading the posts (and comments) over at spEak You're bRanes, a site that weeds through various threads at the BBC's Have Your Say forum and other sites, and posts the most...erm...'delectable' comments. These comments are then ripped into with humourous barbs. It makes me laugh anyway--as well as feel somewhat pessimistic about human critters in general, like reading FreeRepublic, or 'Creation science' threads or watching Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. I'm not sure how some of the HYS commenters actually managed to switch their computers on and log on to the interwebs--going by what they post. Thanks to David Mitchell's on-line Guardian column for hipping me to the site.

I checked in over at My Podcast to find that all of my episodes have disappeared! Apparently, the My Podcast admins did a server switcheroo (that's a techie term, by the way) and lots n' lots of critter's files were lost...including all of mine. Would've been nice to receive an e-mail stating as much. Aaaarrgh! Ah well, this just means a new beginning for the 'Stroboscope - not that it will be much different, mind. Sorry to anyone who wanted to head over there and listen - I shall try and have a brand-new episode done soon. If anyone down-loaded any of the old ones and wants to send me a disc with them on, I'll appreciate it and post the episodes back at My Podcast as soon as possible. 'Till then, dear friends...

Record Fayre Round-Up #289

Solar Moon Day 12 - Year Of The Blue Electric Storm

It's been quite a while since I was down at the Oxford Town Hall for the monthly Record Fair. Pixie checked our finances and gave me the green-light for the March fair. Woo hoo!

I planned to meet Pixie's bro there and when I arrived at the Town Hall - I found I was a bit early, so I bought my ticket and had a quick look at the tables near the entrance. CD bootlegs and some vinyl were the order of the day at those. Some interesting stuff, but nothing really essential.

Pixie's bro finally showed up and we started making the rounds. I by-passed a lot of the boots at first, because I was hoping to pick up some good LPs. I found some excellent items: Van Der Graaf Generator's Aerosol Grey Machine (at £20!--oof) and Camel's Mirage (at £18--mmm, maybe another time). I was hoping to score Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on LP (to replace my copy that I bought in the 80s, lent to someone and never saw again)--which I figured would be a relatively easy find. I checked all the tables and no luck. Maybe next time. I circled around the floor a few times, trying to make the crucial decisions. I found Ekseption's fifth album, startlingly titled "5". As I don't own any of their records and the LP was going for £8, I nabbed it. While the jacket isn't exactly in great condition, the disc itself is in pretty good shape, just a bit of dust in the grooves. The music seems decent - keyboard-led jazz-prog...if you like Hammonds and tricky time signatures, this'll be your bag. I didn't find "W.Y.W.H.", but I did find the EMI/Fame LP re-issue of Piper At The Gates Of Dawn going for £12. I figured, what the hell, I always wanted it on record too, and forked over the cash.

We were supposed to meet with Rich's wife and the neices for lunch - so I was told that time was running low. Aaaaaargh - I needed to get cracking on some purchases. I had another look at one of the LP tables and found VdGG's Pawn Hearts (at £10, too! No fabled lyric sheet, though - that would've been the find of the day if it had), Gryphon's first album (in good shape - well, a bit of wear & tear on the outer sleeve), Hawkwind's Warrior At The Edge Of Time (the edition with the fold-out Celtic shield inside the sleeve...nice!). The Hawkwind record still hasn't been officially released on CD. The folks at Atomhenge are supposedly in negotiation for the original tapes, but it may be a while. I haven't listened to it yet - I have heard a few of the tunes from a bootleg I've got, a show from Newcastle in December 1973. I also bought Richie Havens' Stonehenge, as a last-minute find. It's been out-of-print on CD for a while now, so it's nice to have a copy of it on LP, to make my own CD from.

I had a little dosh left, so I wandered over to a bootleg CD table. I tried avoiding buying from this seller. The last time I did, the King Crimson disc was an entirely different show from the one shown on the cover art (the artwork was for the "Cosmic Muir" Highland boot - which is allegedly from Portsmouth in December 1972, the show I actually bought was the Oxford concert in November 1972), the Amon Duul II boot was of really poor quality and the Steve Miller Band 2-disc'er had incorrect title info. on the tray liner. I managed to somewhat salvage the Amon Duul II show, though the quality has only slightly improved. I created all new artwork for the Steve Miller and Crimso boots. To be sorta fair, the VdGG 2-disc set and the Mars Volta set I bought from him are decent and the Steve Hackett 2-disc set only needed a bit of tweaking to make it sound a lot better. With that in mind, I had a quick look over his stock. A Steve Hilllage 2-CD show from the Rainbow Theatre, London in 1977 seemed really cool and I honestly couldn't pass it up. D'oh! I then spotted another VdGG set - this one from the Weeley Festival in 1971. Oh dear....I added that in as well. The final strike was a Yes boot, called Swirling Wind, from Maryland in 1972. Nooooooooooooo! Yep, I handed over the cash.

He done got me again - as the Yes show is definitely not from a 1972 tour, but is, as far as my t'internet research tells me, the Wembley show in 1978 (the giveaway is a couple of tracks off the Tormato album, released that year). Maybe the guy's stoned when he's printing the artwork off or something. I think I'll send this one to Singing Bear - if'n he wants it. I've got another copy of this show somewhere. Luckily, the Hillage boot seems pretty good to my ears - good sound quality and setlist and the VdGG seems O.K. as well, for a recording from an outdoor festival in 1971. I may tweak it a bit and then copy another one for the Bear! As for official discs - I did buy the 2-disc Dawn Anthology set - another of those progressive-rock label compilations. It doesn't seem to contain quite as many gems as the Decca ones, or the Harvest Breath Of Fresh Air comp., and as such is probably only for prog-rock completists.

A pretty good haul, I'd say. Now, I've gotta get round to listening to it all :)

Home Alone

5 Rabi al-Awwal - Year 1430

Pixie's been in Amsterdam for the past week on a business trip and she's not back in England until Friday. She's enjoyed some of it, despised other bits. I'll let her post the details, if she wants to. It's been strange, staying in the house with no other critters about. I haven't lived alone for longer than a week since 2001. It's been a good exercise, having to cook meals, do the laundry, etc. When I was single, I mainly ate ready-meals for dinner and fast food for lunch--I know, not an exemplary diet. I wondered why I felt sluggish all the time. I feel much healthier now and hey, I've even heated up some fresh vegetables this week, which I bought myself. That seems like progress to me, in some sense. Now, if I can only learn to cook something from scratch--that'll be an accomplishment.

I watched Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain this week. I was able to choose one of 'my' films from the rental list in Pixie's absence. Originally released in 1973, it never achieved a proper showing, other than at a few film festivals. It was reissued on DVD in 2007, along with his other cult film El Topo--both distrubuted by Allen Klein's ABKCO label. It's mainly about the spiritual journey of a man only identified as "The Fool" or "The Thief". He looks a lot like the West's image of Jesus (or a typical hippie, circa 1973). You can read the plot summary on the Wiki page. Apparently, the film is partly based on Rene Daumal's Mount Analogue novel. The film is very much 'of it's time', especially the psychedelic colours and camera angles in the "Tower" scenes--but the quest it portrays certainly seems timeless to me, that for immortality and rising above the earthbound nature. It's not an easy viewing and if copious nudity, Peckinpah-like violence and little dialogue aren't your bag--you'll probably want to avoid it. There's also a bit where "The Alchemist" (played by Jodorowsky) transforms the Thief's...erm...excrement into gold. I happened to be eating crisps during that moment--luckily I've got a fairly strong stomach. Overall, I enjoyed the film and while maybe some of the symbolism was a bit obvious, "The Holy Mountain" still seems a unique experience and one that still has me thinking about it over a week later. The photography seems very visceral and Jodorwosky captures the dusty towns and windswept fields so well that you can almost smell the dirty streets and feel the tall grasses. They definitely don't make 'em like this anymore.

Esoteric Recordings are on a roll with great re-issues! Following on from their excellent Man and Supersister near-complete back-cat re-releases, they've gone and tackled Fruupp's 4 studio records. Previously only available on expensive Japanese import editions and a 2-disc anthology--these CDs are definitely welcome. Finally, all four separate albums have been given a domestic release. The booklets have detailed notes about the band's history and each album and the Prince Of Heaven's Eyes booklet includes the original story, by Paul Harvey, which the album was based on. The story booklet was only available with the first pressings of the LP when it was released in 1974. Esoteric have also announced that they'll be re-issuing The Deviants' 3 1960s records and lead singer/provocateur Mick Farren's Mona--The Carnivourous Circus (his debut solo album) next month. Those are definitely on the purchase list!

Anyway, I'm off to tidy up the house before Pixie gets home!

Dilemmas #64

Pungenday, Chaos 43 - Year of Our Lady of Discord 3175

I read on the intrawebs that the Amorphous Androgynous are going to be remixing the latest Oasis single, Falling Down. Apparently, Noel Gallagher has given Gaz, Brian and the rest of the A.A. crew 'carte blanche to do whatever the fuck we want' (quote from Gaz). I think the initial idea is to create a 22-minute psychedelic free-for-all...sitars, mellotrons, the lot.

Noel seems to have been very impressed with the 2-disc Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble mix, released toward the end of '08. M.P.B. began life as a 2-hour ISDN broadcast back in 1997, when the boys were still in their full-time guise as The Future Sound Of London. Back then, they were tiring of their persona as doyens of forward-thinking electronica..cutting-edge and looking to obliterate the past through technology. They created M.P.B. as a sort-of hommage to their rummages through LP boxes in market stalls and tiny record shops in London. I think the inital reaction to it was confusion amongst F.S.O.L.'s fan-base. As one reviewer put it, suddenly they were the "Antiquated Sound Of Pink Floyd". I would've have been shocked by it, as in the summer of '97, I was buying the We Have Explosive EP and listening to Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy and Dig Your Own Hole by The Chemical Brothers. As much as I love psychedelia, I wouldn't have grasped what F.S.O.L. were up to. I finally got to hear the original M.P.B. mix in 2004, as a bootleg, and I was blown away by it. For those interested in hearing those original radio mixes, they are available at FSOL's official site, in The Pod Room. The downloads are fairly cheap and you get a (somewhat small) cover art jpeg. I hope they continue creating them--they're up to volume 7 in the series so far. Gaz has indicated that another 2-disc official set will be released at some point...he's still trying to get clearance to use some of the tracks.

Which brings me to my dilemma...I want to hear A.A.'s remix of Oasis' track, but that may mean actually purchasing an Oasis single. I don't know if I'm up for that task. When you really consider it, Oasis haven't made a decent record since 1995. That's quite a long time making middling to mediocre albums. Sure, there were a few catchy tracks off of Don't Believe The Truth--but to my ears, that was only because they stopped ripping off The Beatles so much and ripped off The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground instead. It seems a shame, because Noel Gallagher seems like a pretty cool bloke (plus, he owns a mellotron--that definitely takes him up a few notches in my estimation)--it's too bad he can't raise his game with the band, beyond the plodding, 4/4 rhythms and anthemic choruses they trot out every couple of years. Maybe the A.A. remix will make an Oasis track...well, interesting.

It was the same a few years ago when Stereophonics released the Dakota single. It was damn catchy, but I couldn't help thinking "it's the Stereophonics, but it's a good tune". That sort of dilemma. Speaking of Stereophonics, do you remember in 2007 when the BBC2 decided to 'celebrate' the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's with a re-recording, featuring the most un-psychedelic bands they could gather? Travis, Razorlight & Kaiser Chiefs...urgh! I guess Spiritualized, Acid Mothers Temple and even Amorphous Androgynous were busy that week...shit, they could've even got The Verve in there. Would've been a lot more of a real tribute than having James Morrison show up with his faux-soul warblings. My mate Axl posted about cover versions and he makes a very good point about not whinging over bad cover versions of really good (and classic) songs. But dig this, I was watching a film that was made to coincide with the re-recording of "Pepper". Pretty cringe-worthy in itself...but then they get to the bit with Stereophonics. Now, the tune that they were to cover from the album was Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise). When they arrive at the studio, Kelly Jones actually says to Geoff Emerick (who was the recording engineer for the original "Pepper" and was producing the new sessions), that they "don't know that one". Oh dear....D'ya think maybe you could've coughed up enough bread for a copy of the album and listened to it all the way through at least once? I suspect that they were told which track they would be covering before they agreed to take part...and even if it was sprung on them the day of recording, you'd think they would've done a little bit of homework. I realise there's an opinion that holds the Stereophonics were being 'rock-n-roll' about the situation, but to me, it just seems like boneheaded ignorance.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to buy the Oasis single....

I been Holy Modalled, I been Quetzlcoatl'd

8 Bahman - Year 1387

I wanted to like this book a lot, I really did. I enjoyed Pinchbeck's first book, Breaking Open The Head, aside from the couple of tedious Burning Man chapters. It seemed to be an honest exploration of psychedelic states of being by a confused, if well-meaning, Manhattan literary party-boy.

I was excited when I first heard that "2012" was being published. I thought it would be a fresh perspective on the whole "end-of-the-Mayan-calendar"/"herald-of-a-new-age" scenario that was first brought to my attention by Terence McKenna and his TimeWave Zero theory. It seemed as if Pinchbeck were stepping up to the plate and was going to pick up where McKenna left off, after McKenna's passing in 2000.

I skimmed some reviews of "2012 - The Return Of Quetzlcoatl" (as the first edition was called)...and many were middling. Undaunted, I thought it was just the cynical contingent of the mainstream press. I checked some reviews over at GoodReads and it seemed to be the same. Hmmm.... Now I realise that anything with "prophecy" in the title (as stated in the edition I have) has the fundamentalist materialists and dogmatic rationalists reaching for their revolvers, but I thought there would be a lot more praise for the book. I decided to finally give it a go.

In "2012", Pinchbeck has devoted his energies to studying the prophecy that a new age will emerge in December 2012, which the Mayan calendar shows as the end of the world, or just the end of the current age, depending on your view. He jets off to Oregon to hang out with Jose Arguelles, who's created a new calendar based on the original Mayan dates. He visits England several times, specifically the Glastonbury area, to study the crop circle phenomenon. Mexico becomes a destination, so Dan can view the Mayan architecture. He goes to Burning Man again (urgh!), but this time the festival isn't so groovy, man--and finally he journeys to the Amazon rain forest, to learn about Santo Daime, a local religion which grafts the disparate strains of old tribal customs and Romish Catholicism into a peculiar ritual. The participants swallow cupfuls of ayahuasca, then sing and do a two-step dance for up to 6 hours.

All the while, he's having relationship problems with his 'partner'. She's never given a name, she's just his partner--though she is described as 'beautiful and svelte' (Pinchbeck wants you to know he's no chubby-chaser). The couple have a child together, which seems ill-advised, as he relates that their union was a bit unstable from the outset. These bits were really where Pinchbeck lost me. In an afterword to the paperback edition, he states how he included all this personal detail to 'invoke a deep enough response in readers that if might incite a shift in perspective'. Erm..that didn't happen for me, mate. It just seemed a bit voyeuristic to me, his tendency to let his audience in on his somewhat private soap-opera, involving his 'partner', another woman he meets at a psychedelic retreat in Hawaii, whom he insists on referring to as "first priestess" (she doesn't have a name either, apparently) and his little girl (again, no name). One chapter is devoted to the partner's father, for no other apparent reason than to compare him to Pinchbeck's own father. He also can't seem to stop exploiting his connection to the Beats (his mother dated Jack Kerouac at the height of his fame), as if that somehow lends him some extra credibility.

In spite of the more frustrating aspects of Pinchbeck's narrative, I did enjoy parts of the book. I really liked the crop circle bits, though I've never really given much thought to the phenomenon, putting down most (if not all) of the designs down to hoaxers. I found myself looking up the various formations Pinchbeck discusses to get a better idea of what he is describing. He didn't convince me with his various theories, but I did think that maybe hoaxers weren't responsible for all of the circles. Some of the Arguelles chapters had interesting segments - but then Pinchbeck inserts some caustic New Yawk intellectual screed, completely dismissing Aleister Crowley, but he buys most of Arguelles' Mayan reincarnation schtick. His visit to the Hopi reservation seems a bit of an anti-climax, but the words of the tribal chief almost redeem the plodding structure of the chapter. The book ends with an eco-warrior message about humanity's destruction of the environment and a possible redemption in the next 6 years (well, it's down to 3 now). Pinchbeck doesn't seem concerned that all of his jetting about might've added to all that pollution....'cos it was like, for the book, man.

So, for all that, you get a somewhat middling book about 2012 and what may happen. For me, it seems a bit of a wasted opportunity--too much about the author, not enough about the actual phenomenon. When he's not talking about his own foibles, he's borrowing ideas from McKenna, Arguelles, Robert Anton Wilson, crop circle devotees and a host of others. It seems that maybe Pinchbeck started believing his own press and yeah, that Rolling Stone article didn't really help things. It appears that he wants to join the psychedelic pantheon and have his name amongst the greats (Wilson, Leary, Huxley, McKenna, Kesey, etc.)--but I just don't know if he makes the cut. Going by "2012", I think he's got a ways to go.

Out, Demon, Out!

30 Dey - Year 1387

It's finally time for the T.S.O.G. to step down and hand over the keys to President Obama. Despite all of the mud-slinging and 'Fox-ifying', Barack triumphed over the McCain/Palin ticket. If Bush supporters are wondering why that happened...it seems fairly obvious to me.

~ The 2000 election was decided under quite sketchy circumstances--lots of voting discrepancies and Bush's brother 'Jeb' presiding over the whole thing.

~ He vetoed the proposal for stem-cell research, in August 2001, raising the ire of many, including Nancy Ray-gun, who said it could have been used to help Ronnie's Alzheimer's condition.

~ Bush squandered all of the global goodwill toward the U.S. in the wake of the September 11th attacks with the illegal war on Iraq, started in 2003 and rattling the sabres at North Korea and Iran. Not to mention Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghirab and the "rendition" policies. Torture tactics codified into the 'law'.

~ The economic meltdown happened on his watch. Maybe it wasn't entirely his fault, but it didn't put a lot of hope into Republican economic ideas.

~ His contempt for ecological policies, especially his snubbing of the Tokyo Agreement and denial of possible global warming caused by greenhouse gases. He finally admitted in 2007 that he may have been wrong in his denial--but too little, too late.

~ Osama bin Laden, who was declared "Public Enemy No. 1" after September 11th, still hasn't been caught. Bush announced he would 'find bin Laden and bring him to justice'. Where's the beef, George? Instead, he targeted Saddam Hussein. Admittedly, Hussein's dictatorship was appalling, but it was also secular and not tied in with bin Laden's Islamic fundies. That didn't stop Bush, though. The one time I've ever agreed with Pat Robertson was when Robertson suggested assassination of Hussein instead of an all-out war, to avoid the slaughter of civilians and damage to infrastructure that followed. Of course, the reason Bush gave for the invasion was for "freedom and democracy". Hmmm, last time I checked, Robert Mugabe is still in power and the Darfur crisis continues. Where are the forces for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe and Sudan? I'll admit, though, the last thing the citizens of either country need is the kind of "freedom and democracy" that follows in Bush's wake.

~ The pitiful response by Bush's administration to Hurricane Katrina's destruction of New Orleans. The television news was filled with images of hundreds of people crammed into school gymnasiums and sports arena grounds, many of them African-Americans. Those images weren't forgotten by the public. The city still hasn't been completely rebuilt yet--in the richest nation on the planet.

~ The thinning line between church and state that he wanted to make even thinner, by overt support for 'faith-based' organizations and his 'god-talk' in speeches. His AIDS-initiative in Africa reportedly favoured preaching abstinance over providing condoms and sex education.

The list goes on and on and on. I reckon he'll be remembered as one of the worst, if not the worst, presidents in American history. With that sort of albatross hanging around his neck, it's no wonder John McCain had no chance. Not that McCain seems like a wholly virtuous character to me either. He's shot himself in the foot plenty of times and there's no need to even extrapolate on why Sarah Palin shouldn't be allowed near a nuclear arsenal.

I agree with the optimism surrounding Obama, but I'm not sure how much he'll accomplish in his term--he's got a lot of work cut out for him. I don't like his continuing of the Afghanistan quagmire, committing more troops and resources to a silly conquest. He has intimated that he will close Guantanamo Bay--but will it just be re-located within the continental U.S.? I remember when Clinton ran as a progressive in '92--against King George I's 80s style conservatism and the bonkers Ross Perot campaign. As soon as Billy-Boy made it in, he did a 180-degree turn on most of his pledges. I'm hoping Obama doesn't do the same and it turns into "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" scenario. It'll be an interesting ride. At least Bush's foul stench will be removed from the White House.

Here's the Edgar Broughton Band to perform the exorcism--take it away, lads:

BBC4 Goes Prog-Rock!

12.19.15.17.15 (Mayan Long Count)

My first post of the new Gregorian calendar year. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season. I've got lots of stuff to get to. First, though, my mate Singing Bear hipped me to the scene over on BBC4. Seems there's a week-long celebration of UK progressive rock, which started last Friday night.

The main docu, called Prog Rock Britannia - An Observation In Three Parts (how's that for a title?!), runs about an hour and a half and contains some great footage and interviews. My only (slight) complaints would be that the focus was too much on 'The Big 4' (Yes, Genesis, ELP & King Crimson) and the last section, which purports to cover from 1978 through to 2008, just peters out after the punk explosion. There's a bit of footage of 80s Yes and some mentions of Genesis' transformation into chart-toppers, but that's it. As far as prog's 70s heyday, Henry Cow and the 'RIO' scene don't get a look-in, neither does the medieval-folk prog of Gryphon, nor Third Ear Band's acoustic drone-prog. Perhaps the latter two didn't 'rock' enough for the docu-maker's tastes..but the Cow definitely did a bit of rockin', i.m.h.o. The 80s prog-rock scene of Marillion, IQ, It Bites, Twelfth Night & Pendragon aren't given any air time and the 90s are equally ignored (leaving out Ultramarine's prog-rock techno experiments with Robert Wyatt & Kevin Ayers seems a shame). Wyatt features in some of the most entertaining interviews, though Richard Coughlan, drummer of Caravan, has a great moment lamenting that Caravan's audience were "all chaps". Robert Fripp is once again conspicuous in his absence, but he's never made any secret of his disdain for the term 'progressive rock' and never liked seeing Crimso lumped in with the other prog-rock bands. Despite the 'skimming the surface' nature of "Prog Rock Britannia", it's still worth checking out. You can watch it here, but only for the next three days (unless the BBC release a DVD version, or you've got a DVD recorder).

There was also a one-hour prog special on Time Shift (unfortunately not available to view on the iPlayer). It covers a lot of the same ground as "Prog Rock Britannia", only it has interviews with members of Gentle Giant and Steve Hackett (of Genesis)..along with 'music-journo-talking-head-for-rent' Charles Shaar Murray and 'Whispering' Bob Harris, host of The Old Grey Whistle Test. Decent viewing, but not really essential, especially when Murray trotted out the tired story about Greg Lake's Persian carpet as an example of prog's excess...oh yeah, that and Rick Wakeman's "King Arthur On Ice" show. I'm surprised no-one ever mentions Mike Oldfield's decision to employ 30 nubile young women as a choir on his 1979 tour, but I guess that reeks of sex and so doesn't fit in with the media's image of progressive rock. Stuart Maconie, host of the excellent Freak Zone radio show on BBC6 Music, was also on-hand to half-heartedly defend prog's virtues--as a sort-of counter-balance to Murray's smarmy commentary. The night I tuned in, the 'Time Shift' episode was followed by an 'Old Grey Whistle Test' programme from 1973, showing a film of ELP's European tour of that year.

BBC4 are broadcasting one-off specials during the week as well. They've showed a docu about Genesis' 2007 reunion tour and an interview with Phil Collins (I skipped those), a docu about Pink Floyd called Which One's Pink? (available for the next week on the iPlayer) and a collection of live clips entitled Prog On The BBC. I've watched a bit of "Prog On The BBC" and it looks pretty good--I've seen The Nice playing America (a black and white clip from 1968) and The Moody Blues playing Question (in colour from 1970). Just tonight was a 1974 film of Oldfield's Tubular Bells being played live in the studio. Hopefully that will be made available as well.

There you have it--soak it up while you may. I'm not sure when this will happen again. I hope this doesn't mean prog is becoming fashionable. I doubt it, though I did read that one of the characters on the deplorable Sex & The City was wearing a Yes T-shirt in one of the episodes. For the love of all that is good...

Happy Chrimbo, All

Sadly, this song is still quite relevant..I wish it weren't. Happy Christmas, All. Let's stop all the fights.

Autumn-End Stew

Jour du Nonidi - Decade II - Annee de la Republique 217

Nearly mid-December now and time for an update. We haven't been doing a whole lot lately, aside from the Cornwall holiday last month.

We did go see Frankie Boyle at the New Theatre in Oxford about a week ago. We stopped off at The Mission, the Mexican food place on St. Michael Street, before the show. I ordered two massive chicken burritos--finished the first and and barely made it through half of the second. Pretty tasty and fairly cheap..I'd recommend trying there if you're in town. The support act was Martin 'Bigpig' Mor, hailing from Northern Ireland. Most of his set was of the 'point-out-people-in-the-audience-and-tease-them' variety. He did generate some laughs, but for us in the upper deck, it wore thin from not being able to see the people he was hurling his barbs at. Frankie took the stage and performed a set that was just over an hour. Most of his material came from the stuff he's used on Mock The Week, but there were bits I hadn't heard. He riffed on some 'behind-the-scenes' aspects of M.T.W. as well, like jokes he'd had to leave out of the show. One of the "Scenes We'd Like To See" segments involved "Things To Kill The Mood At A Dinner Party" and Boyle said "If we're all at this dinner party, who's watching Madeleine?" He also joked that the cast are very close and often have group sex before filming an episode--he said he gets there late and it's like a 'fleshy jigsaw puzzle'. Needless to say, Boyle doesn't have much time for being P.C. He riffed on the Shannon Matthews trial, saying "That three weeks was probably the best time of her life...have you seen her mother?!!" There was the oblilgatory "point-out-people-in-the-audience..." portion of the act as well, but Frankie made it a lot more entertaining than Mor had. A guy in the audience said that he's studying music and Boyle asked him if he's going to get a band together. The bloke replied 'Yes' and Frankie came back with "I hope you enjoy working in that call-centre a year from now." A heckler tried his best with 'When are you getting The Proclaimers back together?' and Boyle unleashed a torrent of insults nearly comparable with Bill Hicks' Rush Limbaugh poem. In fact, Boyle admitted at the show that Hicks is a big influence on his comedy. Of course, Boyle doesn't seem to be a slavish Hicks imitator to me--his Scots humour is far too upfront for that. I kinda wish he had tried out some new material, instead of using a lot of the "Mock The Week" stuff--but all in all, I'm glad we caught him on the crest of his popularity. You know how fickle John and Jane Q Public are. He could be playing The Old Fire Station next year.

I've been on a bit of a 'prog-lite' (or radio-friendly prog) kick lately. Listening to some Kansas and Alan Parsons Project records. I know - I don't really know why either. I did see the re-issued A.P.P. discs on Amazon and purchased the first few (Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, I Robot & Pyramid). At the same time, I bought the re-issued self-titled Kansas album and the 2002 re-issue of Point Of Know Return (which I thought I owned already, but when I checked the collection, found I didn't at all). Both bands remind me of the early 80s, when Dust In The Wind was making the regular rounds on the AOR stations (soon to be christened 'classic rock' stations) and the A.P.P. had the biggest hit of it's existence with Eye In The Sky. Thing is, I'm enjoying the music. Trying my best to remove the albums from the influence of my memory and any sort of 'coolness' criteria, I've found that, despite the (sometimes) over-produced sheen and blatant attempts at chart-bothering, there are great moments on the albums. Parsons, of course, was the tape-op on the last few Beatles records and the producer of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon. The A.P.P. albums, bearing his name, would naturally be worked and re-worked to his specs. The band, made up of session musicians, deliver that kind of polite, late 70s rock--but it's a bit weirder than Chicago or Fleetwood Mac. Kansas were fans of Genesis, Gentle Giant and Yes and tried to create an American version of UK progressive rock. They nearly succeed in some of their tunes, though they lack the whimsical, humourous aspect of Genesis' and especially Gentle Giant's music. I'd recommend each group's 70s out-put. Kansas seemed to stray far from their prog roots after their 1979 release Monolith and the A.P.P. had already started with "Eye In The Sky", released in 1982. Both groups finally called it a day in the late 80s...though Kansas have re-formed with different line-ups since. They've released a few records of slightly dubious quality as well.

Speaking of polishing turds...oh we weren't? My mistake. We will now. The big X-Factor finale is tonight..yippee. I haven't watched any of it since the mass auditions at the beginning of the series. I know it's cruel watching deluded no-talents butchering R&B and soul tunes in front of a panel of industry hacks, but I do find some of it very funny. Don't bother telling me who "wins" tonight--I dont really care.

Lastly, I apologise for the lack of a new podcast episode. I meant to have one ready a few weeks ago--but I've been rather busy. I'm aiming to have one finished before X-Mas, but it may have to wait until January.

Lennon: 1 - Catholic Church: 0

Prickle-Prickle, The Aftermath 42, Year of Our Lady of Discord 3174

As a follow-up to my 'White Album' tribute, I thought I would post a recent news story. The always-timely Vatican have seen fit to forgive John Lennon for Lennon's remark, spoken in interview in 1966, that "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus"--28 years after his death! Man, those Romish cult leaders really have their collective finger on the pulse of stuff. Apparently, according to the Church, he "was dealing with sudden fame" and it all went to his head. Well, that was swell of them to drop the matter then. Except, er...he had been internationally famous for roughly two years by then. Still, if that's what all those pointy-hat guys want to believe... Personally, it doesn't really matter if he was forgiven or not--I mean, who really cared in the first place? Apart from 'that old queen in Rome' and some rubes and sheet-wearing bigots in the American South. Anything that annoys them is quite all right with me.

I suppose it'll be another 30 years before Lennon is forgiven for the Two Virgins LP cover photo (I seem to recall that really stuck in the craw of Al Capp) and the lyrics to Imagine, especially the line "And no religion, too". It's O.K., though, Catholics still can't support Amnesty International and the Church is still against sex education in schools. Nice to know some things don't seem to change.

Has anyone checked out Victoria Jackson's website lately? For those not in the know, Jackson used to be part of the Saturday Night Live cast in the late 80s/early 90s, where she gained some notoriety by being type-cast as 'the ditzy blonde' in the sketches she appeared in. She also appeared in a couple of crap films around the same time (Casual Sex? & 'Weird Al' Yankovic's lame UHF)--and then...well, she all but disappeared. This past year, though, she's been making inflammatory statements at her site about the Obama campaign--everything from "he's a Communist" (with a captial 'c') to "he has traits of the Anti-Christ". I'm not making this stuff up--read it here. She also believes the Bible is "fact" and seems to be a fervent 'end-times' X-tian. She claims that FOX News is the 'only channel that resembles journalism' and shares far-right paranoia, with the twin bugaboos of Socialism and Communism destroying America. Now, I can read her bile with enough Buddhist detachment to last me a couple of paragraphs before I start picturing her computer exploding in her smug face. I'm not even the biggest Obama fan--but sheezus...the Anti-christ? I never thought she was that funny anyway--but if I were a fan of hers, I would really have to try hard to ignore her goofy politics and still like her. See, I can do that with Miles Davis--he seemed to be a notorious race-baiter and was a complete bastard to the women in his life--but damn did he make great music. Someone let me know when Victoria Jackson makes a better record than Bitches Brew and I might be willing to overlook her nutjob-ness and dogma addiction.

As an added bonus, here's a clip of Victoria on The O'Reilly Factor. The intellectual power on that broadcast must've been through the roof!

Thanks to Cheek for the Jackson website link.

Blackbirds, Piggies & Mother Nature's Sons - 40 Years Of The White Album

28 Aban - Year 1387

1968 turned out to be a completely different year from the previous one. The "peace, acid & love" vibe of the 1967 counter-culture was drowned in the wake of police crackdowns, continued carnage in Vietnam and 'harder' drugs flooding hippie enclaves. The mood turned uglier with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Students and laborers, despite their mutual suspicions, banded together in France and effectively brought the nation to a standstill for a few weeks. Students in the UK and especially in the U.S. were becoming more radicalized as they watched their peers being sent to an unjust war at the whim of some old men in Washington. The music world responded to these changes in kind.

Bob Dylan weighed in early on with John Wesley Harding, released at the end of December '67. It was his first full-length after his 1966 masterstroke, Blonde On Blonde. The general reaction was bewilderment--as the stripped-down folk and country-ish tunes were almost completely at odds with the expected psychedelic sounds of the time. The Rolling Stones, still getting over their perceived disappointment with their 'acid' LP, Their Satanic Majesties Request, returned with the Jumpin' Jack Flash single in March 1968, a straight-ahead rocker, lean and mean. They would release the Beggars Banquet LP later in the year, which ditched the psychedelic whimsy for blues-and-rock riffing (aside from Factory Girl, a gentler folky track). Even Cream rocked out harder on their double-LP set, Wheels Of Fire, while keeping a few of the trippy touches of it's predecessor, Disraeli Gears. And what was the biggest band in the world up to?

The Fabs were also getting over a disappointment--the poor ratings for their self-produced film, Magical Mystery Tour, shown in black-and-white and then again in colour on the BBC. 1967 had been a momentous and trying year for them. They rode the crest of the hippie wave with their Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP and their All You Need Is Love single, with the television broadcast of the song being one of the first ever worldwide satellite link-ups. In the same few months, though--their manager Brian Epstein died of a drugs overdose and they started to pull in different directions. Paul McCartney appeared to try and step into the gap and lead the band, causing resentment in John Lennon and George Harrison. In August '67, they attended a lecture by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Bangor, Wales--before filming for "Magical Mystery.." started. The Maharishi would have a large impact on the creation of the only double-album they ever recorded, simply titled The Beatles (also known as 'The White Album').

At the start of 1968, they released the jazzy pop single, Lady Madonna--written by McCartney, featuring a sax solo by English jazz legend, Ronnie Scott. The single was backed with The Inner Light, another Harrison Indian-inflected song. It was decided that the band would go to the Maharishi's ashram for training in trancendental meditation. The ashram was located in Rishikesh, India. The Fabs were joined by Donovan and Mike Love, of The Beach Boys...along with actress Mia Farrow and her sister, Prudence. They stayed for a couple of months, well, except Ringo Starr, who left after a couple of weeks. He was quoted as saying the ashram was "like Butlins" and reportedly brought tins of beans with him, in case he didn't like the Indian veggie food. The rest attended meditation sessions, walked around the compound and got the acoustic guitars out for jams with Donovan and Mike. Don apparently showed Lennon and McCartney his finger-picking style and a couple of the tunes that ended up on The White Album show this to be true. The remaining three wrote a lot of songs while in Rishikesh.

After a time, though, rumours started up about the Maharishi's more earthbound desires, particularly for Prudence. She became withdrawn and the others were concerned for her. Lennon wrote a melody for her, called Dear Prudence--which would appear on the completed album. Lennon and McCartney felt they had enough of the ashram and headed back to England while Harrison stayed on for another month. They re-convened to record the Hey Jude single (McCartney's ode to Lennon's son Julian when learning of John's split with his first wife Cynthia), which was backed with Lennon's Revolution, a scathing aside to would-be violent radicals. "Hey Jude" made the chart history books as the longest single to top the charts, clocking in at 7+ minutes, thanks to it's sing-along coda. In late spring 1968, the boys gathered at Harrison's Esher bungalow and recorded some acoustic demos of the various tunes they had written while in India. Soon after that, they returned to Abbey Road Studios to start the proper sessions.

The sessions were frought with tensions and Starr even left the band a couple of times, only to be cajoled back by the others. Yoko Ono, John's new paramour, was also present at the studio, all the time--Lennon insisted upon it. This caused McCartney and Harrison some unease, as they were used to recording with only the four of themselves and the production team. Some of the sessions also had a shambolic nature. George Martin, the Fabs usual producer, was away for the night the band recorded Macca's 'rock-and-roll-cacophony', Helter Skelter. With engineer Geoff Emerick and tape-op Ken Thomas at the board, the session lasted most of a night. McCartney would be screaming into a mic while Harrison ran around the studio with an ashtray, it's contents on fire, held over his head in an ad-hoc impression of Arthur Brown. Lennon would be so exhausted (or stoned) sometimes, that when it came time for his vocals, he would lie on the floor of the studio. The fractious nature of the group was exposed and at times, only two band members would be in the studio. It was almost as if they were acting as a backing group for whomever's song was being worked on. For Lennon (and Yoko's) Stockhausen-influenced tape collage, Revolution No. 9, only Harrison helped out with the many tape loops required for the finished piece. Recording was finally completed in October 1968. They had so many songs that a one-record track list couldn't be agreed-upon, so they decided on a double-album. A plain white sleeve was commissioned, in sharp contrast to "Pepper" and the colourful "Magical Mystery Tour" LP jacket. A poster was included in the initial pressings, along with four large photos of each Fab. A number was also stamped on the lower right hand corner of the front cover, with "The Beatles" embossed a bit above it.

The music itself was the most eclectic that the group ever produced. Forays into faux-30s jazz, proto-hard rock, quasi-folk..even an attempt at honky-tonk (albeit through a Liverpudlian filter), with the Ringo-sung Don't Pass Me By. The individual facets of each band member are far more pronounced. McCartney the tunesmith, with his melodic sensibilities..as in the folky Mother Nature's Son and Blackbird (rumoured to be a 'coded' message of support for the Black Power movement). Harrison the introspective one, with While My Guitar Gently Weeps (featuring his friend Eric Clapton on a nice solo) and Long Long Long. Lennon's acerbic wit on Happiness Is A Warm Gun (a "3-songs-in-one" medley which would inspire the side-long medley on the Abbey Road album and Radiohead's Paranoid Android, nearly 30 years later), The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (a swipe at alpha-male 'Saxon mother's sons' that he perceived to be the source of most wars) and Sexy Sadie (allegedly written about the Maharishi's foibles). Ringo, ever the droll clown, had "Don't Pass.." and the treacly Goodnight, which closes the second record in the set. For all that, though, it still seemed difficult to completely pin them down. Lennon gets sensitive on "Dear Prudence", featuring that Donovan-picking and on Julia, an ode to his late mother. Macca rocks out on Why Don't We Do It In The Road? and "Helter Skelter". Harrison lets his hair down on Savoy Truffle, another track with Clapton and even written about Eric's sugar jones.

There are some "full band" moments scattered throughout, in case anyone thought the group had completely fragmented. Back In The U.S.S.R., which opens Side 1 of the first LP, is a Chuck Berry-esque rocker which also manages to be a Beach Boys hommage/piss-take. Birthday, a light, fun ditty, also sounds like the four mucked in together to complete it. Revolution No. 1, a slowed-down version of Lennon's B-side, has a 'band feel' to it as well...especially with it's false start. The underpinning blues riff sounds off on an acoustic guitar and then stops. Macca says "Take two" and Lennon responds with "O.K." and the riff starts the tune proper. Then there are the oddities. Wild Honey Pie (covered by The Pixies in the late 80s) sounds like an Appalachian hoedown on Saturn. Harrison's Piggies couches cynical, almost insurrectionary lyrics into a sprightly melody, featuring harpsichord as a lead instrument. And then, of course, "Revolution No. 9"--a tape collage by turns unsettling and remarkable. Whatever you think of it, it was certainly a bold move to include it on the album at all. I suspect it bewildered even those fans who'd stuck with the Fabs through all of the changes in 1966 and '67.

The record set, as with every new Beatles album, received a warm response upon it's release in November 1968. Unfortunately, in 1969, it became forever associated with the murder of Sharon Tate and others by Charles Manson's 'family' of hippie runaway delinquents. Manson was convinced that the Beatles were communicating with him through the music, especially "Helter Skelter", "Piggies" and "Revolution No. 9". He thought a race war was imminent and used the murders to try and foment the war. His plan was to hide out in the Mojave desert until the war was over, then make his way back and take over as supreme leader over the African-Americans, whom he figured would win. The band themselves distanced themselves from the tragedy and those songs weren't performed for a long time by any of the members, even during their solo years. When the 'White Album' was released on CD in 1987, American comedian Sam Kinison had a routine about having faulty speaker wire, because he couldn't hear The Beatles talking to him. He would launch into a tirade, shouting "MANSON...IT WAS JUST A FUCKING ALBUM..YOU WERE ON ACID!" U2 covered "Helter Skelter" on their 1987 tour and Bono would announce, before starting, "This is a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles, we're stealing it back". Harrison did perform "Piggies" again on his 1991 tour and McCartney has recently been performing "Helter Skelter"--as in his Glastonbury set a couple of years ago.

The group were back in the studio in January 1969 for the ill-fated "Get Back" sessions. It was clear by that time that they were moving in separate directions, as foreshadowed during the recording of the 'White Album'. They would rally one final time for the recording of "Abbey Road" in the summer of 1969 and then, in August 1969, they quietly split, though the noisy legal battles would commence soon after. A post-split LP, Let It Be, pieced together from the "Get Back" sessions, was released in 1970, along with an official announcement that the band had broken up.

There are still debates about whether the sprawling double-album could've been whittled down to a very stellar single LP. In the 1995 Anthology TV special, George Martin is shown as saying just that...that he wanted to edit it down to a single record. Macca is shown just after, saying "I never agreed with all that, well...it should've been a single album...it's The Beatles, it's the White Album...shut up." To me, it shows the biggest band in the world willing to go out on a limb, even if it means alienating some of their die-hard audience. Maybe it was out of necessity...perhaps they had to record the songs they did for no other reason than to assert themselves as individuals in this thing beyond their control called The Beatles. It's still one of the best double-albums in the history of popular recorded music, well, to me anyway.

Trip to Cornwall / Saying Goodbye to Herbie

We spent last week in Cornwall as it was Herbie's favourite holiday destination and we'd decided to scatter his ashes on his favourite part of Bodmin Moor (Rough Tor - a bleak and desolate place in November).

We set off on Monday morning in torrential rain - it was so bad that on the motorway I couldn't see a thing due to the spray from the lorries. We got there and were in the cottage in 5.5 hours, which isn't bad considering. We stayed in a little cottage in Port Gaverne - 1/4 of a mile down the coast from Port Isaac (as seen in Doc Martin and Saving Grace). Port Gaverne is a tiny little cove filled with holiday cottages and one pub. My family first came to know if in the 70's (I think) when my mothers cousin Gary worked in the pub/hotel. At the time it was owned by an eccentric old Biddie who we think has now died - her apartment was empty and being refurbished. She owned both the hotel/pub and also a set of old fisherman's cottages opposite. We used to take Herbie down there and stay in a cottage called Marigold - right opposite the pub. This time though we stayed in the one called Jasmin as Marigold held too many memories for me.

When we got there we went for a walk in the mud over the headland but soon turned back as it was so wet. We walked up to Port Isaac and strolled round the quaint old streets, looking in some of the shops. There were a few other people about but not many. On the way back we managed to befriend a little cat which we christened Bertie. He followed us for so long I thought he was going to come all the way back with us (he actually turned up one night just outside our cottage !). We went for a drink in the pub that night and both had Doom Bar - a local beer brewed in Rock and named after a sandbank between Rock and Padstow. It's a really good beer but tastes much better from the tap in an authentic Cornish pub, with a roaring fire.

The next day we set off for Rough Tor to scatter Herb's ashes. We got there early and were the only people there - which added to the bleakness. It came back to me why Herb had liked it so much - he wasn't friendly with other dogs and this place was so huge and lonely that the chances of him seeing another dog were slim so he could enjoy his walk without any anxiety. We set off, over the stream at the bottom and then made our way to the left and then up. We got to the top and started looking for a suitable place - finally deciding on the 2nd of the 3 "peaks", mainly due to the fact that it was a very windy day and it was slightly more sheltered. We scattered his ashes, including some dried daffodils we'd picked in April from the little patch over the road (he used to go berserk sniffing them for some reason !) and then carried on with our walk - around the final peak and back down to the car. It was a lovely walk and a very sad moment. I think he's happy there though as it truly was his favourite place.

After we'd eaten our lunch we set off for Polzeath Beach - another of his favourite haunts. The tide was coming in (or going out) so most of the beach was under water but the sea was rough and we had a potter round, fascinated by the waves and movement of the sea. We watched some idiots - I mean Surfers - including one with no wet suit. We left there and had a quick visit to Rock and then back to the cottage before it got dark (I refuse to drive in the dark - especially along those Cornish roads). We went out for dinner that night and ended up in a place called The Crows Nest - it was nice, the food was good. The only other pub in Port Isaac didn't have any vegetarian options but it had a nice Beer brewed by St Austell's called HSD.

The next day we completed our Herb tribute with a trip to Lanhydrock - a National Trust property just outside of Bodmin Moor. It sort of reminds me of a smaller Blenheim Palace, with a hugely impressive house and nice circular walk. We walked Herb's usual route but unfortunately strayed off it into a field for a few minutes. This seemed to anger the field's owner for some reason and she shouted at us to "get out of her field". Pure comedy ! We did, but were still looking for the path in the next field along and she seemed to disaprove of this too, and came up to us still shouting to get out. TPG decided to shout back but I told him to shh and pretend we were lost. When she realised this she reluctantly said she'd show us where the path was - I played dumb (not difficult) and made her take us all the way back to the turning we should have taken. If she'd been politer I wouldn't have done it but screw her !

After Lanhydrock we took a trip to Padstow. I'd never been there before and was very impressed. It's a largish harbour and very touristy, mainly thanks to TV Chef Rick Stein who owns restaurant/cafes/ a Deli/ a hotel/ a fish and chip shop etc etc there. As TV Chef's go I really like Stein - although he cooks a lot of fish dishes I always try to watch him as he's very unassuming and nice. We had a wander round the harbour, took a walk nearly to the beach, bought authentic Cornish Pasties (well, a Cheese & Onion and Chicken and Stuffing) for dinner that night and then visited Stein's Deli. We had a list of stuff for a work colleague and also picked up some Chutney for my parents and some chocolate cookies for ourselves. It wasn't cheap but the quality is good.

The next day - Thursday - we decided to visit The lost gardens of Heligan. It was raining really hard and the drive took 90 minutes ! When we got there the rain didn't show any signs of stopping but we bravely spend 3 hours wandering round, fascinated by it. My favourite bits were the bird hide, the Italian Garden and the Vegetable Garden. After 3 hours we were soaked and freezing so we went to the cafe and had a hot drink - my hands were so cold I wrapped them round the mug and couldn't feel a thing. After we'd warmed up a bit we set off for St Austell - with the main intention of finding the Brewery. We walked round the centre but didn't see it anywhere so left - 0n the way back we saw signs for it though so followed them and found it ! We bought some beer and cider and then set off for the cottage.

That night we ate in the Port Gaverne pub - a Cheddar Ploughmans for me and Fish for TPG. Also more Doom Bar. There were a very annoying couple in that night - the woman was possibly the most irritating person in the world. She obviously wasn't happy with just her Husbands company because she kept leaving her table to go and talk to the Barman and the regulars (who were from London and Manchester !). She tried to drag us into conversation a few times but we didn't get sucked in - instead concentrating on our food and beer. There were a couple of cute dogs in that night - a spaniel called Indie and a black lab called Freddie. We spent most of our time watching him and commenting on how good he was !

Friday we had to leave - unfortunately. We stopped in Tintagel for a bit and walked around the shops and up the the castle. We bought a few cheap souvenirs from a bookshop and then set off for home. The drive home was uneventful - but quicker than the journey there. We got home late yesterday but both wish we were there still. Maybe we'll go back next year with the whole family for Christmas.

Horrortrip From The 'Stroboscope/Off To Cornwall

Hello regular readers and visitors.

A small post to mention the Halloween episode of The Kaleidophonic Stroboscope is now live (well, it's been live for about a week). I know, the holiday is over--but you can still savour the scary sounds, especially on a rainy and cold day like this. Listen to the episode here. The artwork still isn't loading at MyPodcast, so I've posted it here instead.

Pixie and I are heading to Cornwall on holiday this week. We're staying in Port Isaac and we'll be going to visit Herb's old haunts and scatter his ashes on Bodmin Moor, one of his favourite 'walkie' spots. We've rented a cottage near where Pixie's family used to stay on holiday, so it shall be nostalgic for her and a whole new experince for me. This will be my first visit to the west Cornish coast. I'm taking my hiking boots and plenty of warm clothes.

Be back in a week...see you then!

Eno rockin' Question Time!

16 Kartika- Year 1930 (Saka Era)

Anyone else see Brian Eno on Question Time last night? Pixie and I tuned in for a bit, when suddenly ol' Dimbers fielded a question to the Liberal Democrats' "Youth Advisor"....Eno!

I only watched a bit of the programme, but just enough to see Eno dis Jack Straw over the "dodgy dossier" used to instigate the war with Iraq. How cool was that?

Personally, I think Brian should form his own anarcho-libertarian party..or join The Monster Raving Loonies (the only respectable active political party--aside from the Guns And Dope Party). I'd vote for him. Imagine that...Prime Minister Eno.

You can watch the "Question Time" programme on the BBC iPlayer here (for the next week only - then it's gone).

The Mighty Boosh - New Theatre, Oxford - Nov. 3rd, 2008

Day 7, Month 10 - Year 97 (Year Of The Rat)

WARNING: This review contains spoilers - if you're going to see The Boosh, you may not want to read it.

It's been a drought for concert-goings this year. Pixie and I have not been to one show or festival in the past ten months, so we were looking forward to checking out The Mighty Boosh at the New Theatre in Oxford. The tour was announced nearly a year ago and we snapped up 4 tickets the day they went on sale.

The third series of the Boosh's comedy show was broadcast last autumn and the tour was announced a bit later. The third series didn't seem as creative as the second one to me, but over time, watching the episodes on DVD quite a bit, I've warmed to them more. Pixie had the late shift at work--so as soon as we could, we high-tailed it to town. After another excellent meal at the Noodle Bar, we walked over to the New Theatre and joined the queue outside. I spotted Axl walking by the queue and we spoke for a bit - before he noticed that the doors had opened. I had to check out the merch stand (natch) and ended up buying a black tour T-shirt...Pixie opted for the Bob Fossil (played by Rich Fulcher) shirt..which shows Fossil doing his dance to 10CC's Dreadlock Holiday. There's even a small cricket bat on the back with an "X" over it and his quote "...and that's why I don't like cricket".

We made our way to our seats, after stopping off at the bar for a beer. The house speakers pumped out a steady selection of 'classic rock'..Led Zeppelin's Heartbreaker, Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl and the New York Dolls' Personality Crisis played while the crowd filled the auditorium. Finally, the house lights dimmed and Fleetwood Mac's Tusk (a sly reference to the Party episode from the third series) started up. The Boosh were announced, the crowd roared and Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) hit the stage, singing Future Sailors, their ditty from The Power Of The Crimp episode. Noir arrived on a shining miniature galleon, while Moon had a small lifeboat around his waist. They ran up a semi-circular catwalk set up at the back of the stage to sing part of the song--then ran down and finished. Moon and Noir then did some Boosh-type banter for awhile--filled with non-sequitirs and off-hand insults. The funniest bit for me was Howard's inner monologue, broadcast over the speakers, while he was spotlighted. They started a running joke about him asking the prop girl out, but actually he was stalking her. The rest of the first half of the show involved some of the characters from the TV series making guest appearances.

Bob Fossil walked out and announced he was starting up a dance academy, then taught the audience his moves from the "Power Of The Crimp" episode, to Hall & Oates' I Can't Go For That (No Can Do), as in the show. Next up were Naboo (Mike Fielding) and Bollo--and their story was that they had been hanging out in California with gangsta rappers. Naboo walked down the catwalk shouting "What's mah name?!" and Bollo, with Flavor Flav-sized clock around his neck, would respond "Nabooo!" Then Naboo shouted "I love pussyyyy...I love pussyyy!" and Noir and Moon stopped the show. Howard tried to give Naboo a dressing-down, but Naboo would hit Moon on the head with his jeweled cane. Noir reminded Naboo that there were women in the audience and Moon would be hit again. A 'motorised' settee was wheeled out on stage so Naboo could "turn his back" on the audience and the countrified music that accompanies his turning had a hip-hop beat and record scratches added in. The Moon (not Howard) made an appearance after Naboo and Bollo headed off-stage on the settee, singing a song for astronaut Michael Collins--in which Collins was berated for travelling all the way to the moon and not getting out of the lunar module.

The next segment was given to Tony Harrison and, to me, seemed a bit of a wasted opportunity. The character is usually pretty hilarious on the TV show--but live, it seemed like Fielding was having a problem improvising something interesting or funny to say. Harrison started riffing on his wife leaving him, then 'costume malfunctions' caused Noel to talk about having to squeeze inside of a chair to play Harrison...this actually got bigger laughs than the improvised character bits. Fulcher then joined Fielding onstage as a Ukranian stand-up comic who spoke in his native language except when he would say "Ox-ford". It was funny at first, but then, as with most acts like that, it gets a bit stale after a little while. Barratt was brought out on-stage as The Crack Fox and his segment went a little better--but again, problems with the costume drew more laughs than the monologue. I have to admit the costume was clever, with Barratt inside of a large skip. Rubbish bags disguised his body while the Crack Fox's legs dangled over the rim of the skip. The arms were controlled by sticks which extended into the rubbish bags--those are what gave him the most trouble. Last up for the first half was classic Boosh character The Hitcher and Fielding gave it a good go. His performance was a bit less manic than the one on the live DVD, but still very funny. He had a crow attached to a stick that he called 'Philip', which he would hit the stage with and a squwak would emerge. Afterward, the rest of the cast were dressed as Hitcher henchmen and they did a full band version of the Eels song. The screens in back had psychedelic eel films playing and a giant green eel was pushed out on-stage for the Hitcher to bounce around on. The curtain closed after they finished and it was time for the interval.

The second half started with more banter between Moon and Noir. Moon promised that 'the hilarity is over' and that things 'would get dark'. The was another "inner monologue" part, about Moon selling Batman capes for £2 in a market in Leeds, which really made me laugh--my face started to hurt from laughing at this point. Moon announced that he had written a play about the environment and that he had forced the rest of the cast to take part. The curtain opened and sombre music was playing. Howard was "The Prophet" who warned everyone about the destruction of the planet. No-one listened and so the fires and floods came (Vince and Fossil holding coloured cloth and waving them around on-stage). The Prophet hides in the clock tower of Big Ben and escapes the chaos. He descends from the tower to find wreckage and garbage. He searches for any other survivors and finds a small group of mutants who have learned to speak English by watching James Mason DVDs and Herbie Goes Bananas. Moon tries to teach the mutants about recycling and making buildings from feces--but then suddenly Noir had had enough and threatened to show the audience a magazine he had found in Howard's trumpet case. He then showed the cover of "Jazz On My Face" magazine and Moon was the cover star. Noir 'glammed up' the play by arriving on-stage in a mirror-ball spaceship and stepping out wearing a gladiator breastplate and angel wings, calling himself Sunflash. He looked like an extra on the set of Barbarella. Fulcher joined him as his robot friend Boobalay. Fulcher looked like the Tin Man from The Wizard Of Oz, except with a big...erm...member. Moon was dressed as one of the mutants and he had to rub oil on the robot's chest, which caused the member to grow quite large. Noir and Fulcher sang a song about being from Planet Camden. Sunflash talked in a fey voice and with a strange accent, which he called "Chav-ese" (Chinese and chav mixed). He and Boobalay gave the mutants a make-over..and everyone presumably lived happily ever after--except Howard Moon, who was further humiliated when he tried to leave the play and the audience was shown part of the "Jazz On My Face" photo-shoot, with the title Tromboner (I'll let you work that one out yourself). The play was done (intentionally) in a very bad am-dram fashion, lots of ad-libbing and prat falls and stops. It may turn up in a future Boosh series, if they make any more.

The encore consisted of Fulcher's character Eleanor (from the third series) playing a game of bingo where she (he) would take coloured balls from her top and throw them into the audience. After about four or five, she said "6...6...6, all the sixes" (in reference to the Nanageddon episode). The curtain opened and the full Boosh band were there--including Mike Fielding, acting as a Boosh Bez, just dancing around. They were all dressed in their drag Nana outfits from the "Nanageddon" episode. They then played a medley of some of their songs, tearing into the Nanageddon tune first, then I Did A Shit On Your Mum (from the Journey To The Centre Of The Punk episode), Bouncy, Bouncy (from "Party"), followed by I'm Naboo, That's Who and Soup Song. It would've been groovy to hear The Bongo Brothers' We Are Searching For The New Sound (the rocked-out Santana-ish version from the end of the Priest And The Beast ep.), but aside from that small quibble--they delivered a great set.

All told, Pixie and I had a really good time. The show's shambolic nature made the live DVD look like an R.S.C. Hamlet production, but perhaps the Boosh wanted to loosen up a bit on this tour. It was nice to see the boys on-stage in a small theatre, after watching the DVDs for so long. If you're looking for an entertaining night out, I would recommend The Mighty Boosh's show. The tour is going for another month or so--catch it while you can.

Get Your Kicks With Kaleidophonic 6

The 'Stroboscope is back! This one's got a seasonal theme--if you like your folk a bit psychedelic and your fusion jazz with an ambient twist, this one's for you. Take a listen here.

(I'm not sure why the artwork isn't showing up--I think it's a problem at MyPodcast.com, hopefully it will be repaired soon).

The next episode will be posted in the next couple of weeks.

Indian Summertime

Day Hormazd, Month Ava - Year 1378 Y.Z.

October's been busy so far. One of the panels of our back garden fence decided, after months of being pressed by the triffid growing in the neighbour's garden, to become unattached from the rest of the fence. It's now rested at a jaunty angle. We've had the fencing bloke over to check it out and he's replacing two of the panels soon. We've also had a plumber round to fix the hot water tap for the tub and the cold water tap for the bathroom sink. Ah, home repairs...

You may have seen on some other blogs, namely Only Maybe, Fly Agaric's blog and Clinamen, Borsky's blog--that there's now a Maybe Quarterly print edition. It's called simply "Maybe..." and the first issue is culled from past MQ on-line editions, with excellent artwork from the very talented Bobby Campbell. Your humble author had his Robert Anton Wilson haikus published in "Maybe..." and there's contributions from Fly, Borksy, Bogus Magus and other MLA'ers like Zenpunkist and Minja. It's a fantastic read--I breezed through it in about an hour or so. Big thanks go out to Bogus, Bobby and El8ted1 for cobbling it together and making it available..with extra cheers to Bogus for hooking me up with a couple of sample copies (complete with R.A.W. patatows! They've gotta be worth as much as pounds, dollars & yen at the moment). El8ted will send you a box of "Maybe..." copies, as long as you pay the postage fee. I'm going to order some for distribution to friends & anyone who's interested. Let me know if you'd like a copy and I'll get you one as soon as. Hail Eris! Hail Pope Bob! Hopefully, we'll all get cracking on some new stuff for another issue. I've been a bit quiet, as far as the MLA goes, lately. There's some great courses happening at the moment--I'd really like to take the Crowley Tarot one, led by Lon Milo DuQuette, but again...the bread hassles, man. Ah well, I've got his Crowley tarot book and a set of the cards, so it may work out better if I read the book on my own and take the course later.

I've nearly finished the 6th podcast episode! The tough work is all done, I just need to upload it to MyPodcast.com and write the blurb. I'll post a link here once it's ready. Send in some requests...post 'em in the comments here or at MyPodcast.

Our pal Singing Bear sent us some musical goodies a couple of weeks ago. The brand-spankin'-new Lambchop record, OH (ohio). It's the 2-disc special edition and it's nice. Sorta typical sound for them, but still, Kurt Wagner ain't fixin' what ain't broken and I don't mind too much. He also sent a copy Duncan Browne's 1968 psych-folk album, Give Me Take You and Ivor Cutler's A Flat Man. All recommended, especially the Duncan Browne--he sounds like a more sombre Donovan and the arrangements are high quality--those very-British late 60s strings, harpsichord & flute sounds. Cheers, Bear!

I'm waiting on the rest of my stuff to arrive from Conn. My brother dropped it off at the shipper's a few weeks ago. I think it's in the UK now, the shippers will let me know when it'll be dropped off at the house. It'll be nice to have all of my LPs again...and my sitar. That sucker's gonna need a tuning, though. The last time it was properly tuned was probably six or seven years ago. My battered old Strat and acoustic 12-string will be delivered too--it's gonna be time for a jam session! I'll post more about that when the stuff is actually here.

Besides Bear's fine additions to the collection, I treated myself to some other musical goodies. Robert Fripp & Brian Eno's seminal 70s ambient collaborations, No Pussyfooting and Evening Star, have been re-issued through Eno's Opal and Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile labels. They sound great and the digi-pak cases add a nice touch--pick these up before they are housed in plain old jewel cases. I've nearly got all of The Moody Blues SACD editions of the first seven records (well, the second to the eighth--if you count "The Magnificent Moodies" as their first official LP and not Days Of Future Passed). I just bought A Question Of Balance--so now, I've just got the 2-disc "Days...", Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn to go. "A Question.." definitely benefits from the SACD mastering--it sounds much crisper than the '97 re-issue. I'm selling off all of my Moodies Japanese mini-LP editions--hopefully I'll get a bit of dosh from them. I've also started buying the recent Os Mutantes re-issues. I've got the Omplatten re-issues of the first three albums, but a couple of years ago, Universal/Mercury/Polydor/etc/etc decided to re-release the entire Mutantes catalogue, aside from the last two (Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol & Ao Vivo). I've got a mish-mash of different labels for the rest of the albums, so I figure I'll snap up the rest of the 2006 re-issues. They're about £5 each, if you check Amazon's 'new & used' section. There's a bunch more stuff...The Nice's 2-CD editions, Second Hand's Reality (the Sunbeam Records re-release), Ange's Par Les Fils De Mandrin Millesime '77 and two of the Genesis 1970-'75 SACD + DVD re-issues (Foxtrot & Selling England By The Pound)...but I'll stop here.

I'll post when the next Kaleidophonic Stroboscope goes live. See you soon.

..and in the ClustrMap I saw, 10,000 people, maybe more..

26 Absolu - 135 de l'Ere Pataphysique

I've always been curious about how many people actually visited my various blogs over the years, but never got round to installing a site-visit counter or anything like that. I noticed that Only Maybe has a thing called a "ClustrMap", which shows the number of visits, plus where people are visiting from. With Blogger re-tooled, I took the plunge and decided to install a ClustrMap. It's over on the left sidebar - I check it fairly regularly.

I checked it yesterday and noticed that there have been 10,000 visits! Wow! I realise that's not much, compared to some blog's traffic rate (especially the celebrity gossip ones and the political ones)--but hey, I'll take what I can get. 10,000 visits in 6 months (I installed the map last April) ain't too shabby, from my perspective.

Now, site counters and the like are probably just ego-strokers in the end--but it does feel comforting knowing I'm not just whispering into the aether and no-one's receiving. Sure, a percentage of those visits may be spam-bots (I'm sure I'd find that out quick if I disabled the word-scramble device on the comments), but I think a lot were genuine human check-ins. I'd like to thank those who've stopped by, even if it was just a single time. I'd like to think you found something humourous, or thought-provoking...or maybe discovered a band you hadn't heard about before.

Right, be back soon with (hopefully) something a bit more substantial.

RIP Paul Newman

Happy Autumn Equinox, All

22 Artemis - Year 87 p.s.U.

I hope everyone enjoyed their first day of the new autumn. Pixie and I had a lovely walk out in the sunshine, down a bridleway to a local park. The weather was beautiful and it really started the season in style. Happy Mabon!

Listening to: Brian Eno - Discreet Music
Reading: William Faulkner - Go Down, Moses