The funniest thing I've seen in a while

May 18, 2009 (Julian calendar)

For the last day of May, an hilarious video 'remix' of Sir Alan Sugar on The Apprentice by Cassetteboy. If you haven't heard of Cassetteboy, check out his site. I was laughing so hard at one point, I thought I was going to literally collapse. NSFW, though, and probably not a good idea to listen with little critters about.

Thanks to Speak You're Branes for the link.

May Holiday/Acers High!

12.19.16.6.8 (Mayan Long Count)

Pixie and I had our spring holiday last week and it was decided that we head to the Peak District this year. I could ramble on about the holiday in my usual way, but I think it may be better to quote Pixie's succinct style (taken from a thread at The Bear Pit). My comments are in italics.

"Here's a run down on all the places we visited:

Haddon Hall - interesting (especially the Elizabethan musicians playing authentic replica instruments in the main hall). Expensive though to get in. The band were called Piva, they even dressed in the medieval gear. The chapel had bats nesting in it and you could hear them chattering. Definitely a worthwhile visit.

Bakewell - a charming little place with massive fish in the river. Nice village - the river promenade is a groovy chill-out spot. Cool indie book/music shop called 'Bakewell Books' in the centre of town. Fairly pricey, but some excellent finds there.

Ashford in the Water - pretty little village. Very small, but you can gawp at the expensive country houses and have a walk up above the village on a steep hill path.

Eyam - the "plague" village. Interesting but creepy. It sorta looks like any number of small English villages, 'till you notice the plaques outside some of the cottages letting you know how many members of a particular family died there. There's a very old stone Saxon cross in the church graveyard. We had lunch at a tiny roadside cafe, I can't recall the name of it now--decent sarnies there.

Hathersage - where we stayed. Not much there but a good base for our holiday. We meant to go see Little John's grave, which is supposedly there. I recommend the Little John pub--it's a bit tourist-y, but cozy and the Bosley Cloud beer is quite nice.

Sheffield - by accident when we were looking for a supermarket. We passed through a few funky neighborhoods with lots of mom-n-pop/indie shops, but didn't have time to stop, as we were on a mission for grub. We shopped at the Waitrose by a few massive tower blocks--there's a newer glass-facade one that's being finished at the moment. I will say that Sheffield didn't look as bad as I expected it to.

Blue John Cavern - very interesting but expensive shop (the jewellery in the shop was beautiful but way out of my price range). The cavern tour was pretty amazing. You end up around 300 feet below the surface. Gigantic 'rooms' carved out of the rock by water and the stone walls looking ribbed by the same effect seemed incredible to me. Our guide was coughing throughout most of the journey and joked about having swine flu. He's an older bloke and I was relieved when he completed the tour--really, he's fitter than we are. Well, he is in traversing the cavern, anyway.

Glossop - looking for Hadfield but couldn't spot any League of Gentlemen places. Portions of the show were allegedly filmed in the small town of Hadfield, but we couldn't find a high street (the most likely place for filming), or even anywhere to park. We stopped in Glossop and had a little wander around. I found some great LPs in the Oxfam shop there, including a near-mint copy of Tangerine Dream's 'Rubycon' and a decent copy of Yes' 'Relayer', at good prices. Nice!

Longshaw Estate (national trust) - went for a walk around the grounds and then by a pretty stream. The weather was lovely that day, I think we even got a bit of a sunburn. Longshaw is recommended for a good walk. The day we visited, the crowds were at a minimum and it was quite serene. Very enjoyable.

Buxton - nice little place with a Subway. I liked Buxton, even though it was an overcast day. There's some interesting architecture and a huge green area to walk around. The high street is packed with charity shops, which may contain vinyl goodies. I found a couple of Sky LPs and a Wurzels album too. The find of the day was a copy of Camel's 'Mirage', including the photo insert. Lunch was at Subway - you just can't go wrong with a tasty sammich from there.

Monsal Head - we went for a walk on the old railway. Beautiful views. We attempted a 10-mile circular walk, but couldn't find a landmark (stated in the guidebook we were using) about halfway through and decided to turn back. It was a prescient choice, because we were knackered by the time we were back at the car. Another great place to explore.

Ilam & Dovedale - my favourite place I think. We went for a 4.5 hour walk there. Pretty spectacular scenery, especially on the walk we took. There's one bit where you venture through a small 'valley' between two steep hills...it seems almost prehistoric. Until a plane flies over, that is. There's another part of the walk beside the Dove River that's quite beautiful. We crossed the famous "Stepping Stones" as well. I tried to feed a few pieces of ice cream cone to a lamb, but I don't think he was having it.

Hardwick Hall - another National trust place. Interesting (but it poured with rain and we got soaked going round the Herb garden). This was a 'stop-on-the-way-home' visit. The house has some fascinating artifacts...old carved-wood tables and faded silk tapestries. The grounds are probably well-kept and worth a walkabout - we didn't bother due to the rain."

That's your lot - there are photos, but I haven't down-loaded them off of the camera yet. Maybe I'll show some off in a later post.

Our old Compaq Presario was starting to drag a bit. It is 6 years old and had to be re-booted a couple of times, due to viruses. Pixie and I have been talking about buying a new system for about a year now. We bit the bullet and purchased an Acer M464 a few weeks ago off of a local computer dealer. On the few sites I looked at - it received decent reviews. The bloke stopped by yesterday and installed it, plus copied all of mine and the goodwyf's files off of the Compaq. It was up and running in a couple of hours...and man, it is fast! I tested out the CD/DVD burner and it zapped a disc out in 1 minute (using Magix's Audio Cleaning Lab program) and the copy was good (it was Rotary Connection's self-titled debut, for those who may be interested). I found out the computer bloke likes Tangerine Dream, becuase I was spinning Ricochet and my newly-acquired "Rubycon" LP while he was setting the system up and he told me he used to listen to them back in the 70s. He remarked that he was an apprentice at the BBC's Radio and Television workshop, so I turned him on to The White Noise...he kinda dug it. It's nice to have a computer that doesn't take ages to load up more than one intrawebnet page or finish a virus scan. I have to admit I like having a new toy every so often.

Cyber-meetings with Unremarkable Critters

11 Jumada I-Ula - Year 1430

I'm at my Facebook account some time ago...say around six months or so. I was going through various bands, writers, etc. and 'becoming a fan' of them (basically pressing a button which adds your avatar onto the page created for the writer, musician, etc.). I searched for G.I. Gurdjieff and found a page dedicated to him. I thought "Yeah, all right - I like what I've read of his philosophy, mostly through Robert Anton Wilson and I'm reading Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson at the moment.." (I'm still reading it - but it's a large book and not the easist to get through--'cos of G.I.'s 'patterned language'). So I clicked the 'become a fan' button.

A few days later, I get a friend request from a critter who sent a message saying "Hello Gurdjieff fan". Cool, this guy seems alright...I accepted. He then sent an invitation to a group called "Views From The Fourth Way", for Gurdjieffians involved in The Work (those involved in it tend to capitalise it, because it's considered very important to do so). I joined up, even though I'm not doing "The Work" at the moment. I may start sometime, just as a cursory exploration - but after I've read a few more books. I didn't post anything at the group board for that reason...I didn't think I had anything substantial to add. The group was 'invite-only', unlike a lot of groups on FB. He had to personally invite you - you couldn't just find the group and join up. Hmmmm..

I started to notice other things about this critter--he seemed a bit grumpy. He would exhort his FB 'friends' to not send him any quizzes or cartoons or anything, really. It seemed weird to me, because FB 'is' a 'social network' site, by it's own definition. To my observation, his behaviour seemed sort-of elitist, as if he were above all of that. Still, I thought, that's his right to request his friends not to send him stuff. He didn't post much of anything, except news stories about the financial collapse, global warming, articles with a vague anti-science bias...topics that were important to him, I suppose. I should point out that he's probably in his 50s or 60s, going by his profile photo anyway. Old enough to fit into a curmudgeon's shoes. Again....fair enough, he can do what he wants with his FB account.

Occasionally, I would comment on one of the news stories he would post. He sent me an invite for another group, something about "Fighting the New World Order". I didn't join that one, because I'm not convinced there "is" a New World Order organisation to fight. That seems like the 'one over-arching conspiracy' stuff, which is a hoot to read about...but not something I believe in. He then started sending out messages saying he was going to kick people out of his "Fourth Way" group if they didn't start participating. I told him if he wanted to boot me, in favour of someone else, that I was O.K. with it, as I hadn't participated at all. He told me not "to be silly" - erm..I didn't think it was a silly statement, but a practical, thoughtful one.

Last week, he posted a column from Stanley Fish, though I can't remember if it was this one. It was basically lambasting atheists, especially scientific ones (Dawkins, et al.), though in a gentle manner. I posted (or made the mistake of posting) a comment to the effect of "Sombunall atheists seem as blinkered as fundie religionists to me." He replied "I believe in levels of religion". I had no clue what he meant by that - but I also didn't realise it was a reference to Gurdjieffian philosophy. I then posted a response, thinking he meant sects within major religions, stating that I like Sufis, Hasidic Jews & Quakers, etc. Uh oh....

He immediately sent a message to me, saying "I thought you were a Gurdjieff fan, but you don't seem to know about the levels of religion" Yep--I was in the principal's office. I wrote back stating "I am a Gurdjieff fan, but I'm still learning. I'm reading "Beelzebub's Tales.." and I like what I've read about him, various quotes and things. What are the levels of religion?" I was told that I had to read Ouspensky's (a student of G.I.'s) Psychology Of Man's Possible Evolution now and that life's too short not to start 'The Work'. I said, "O.K. thanks for the tip. I'll read the book. I'll talk with you later." Meaning, "Thanks, I'm done with this conversation now." Nope--he came back with some smug statement about how I 'just might learn something because he's been doing the Work for forty years and he knows'...he knows. Uh huh. So I looked up these 'levels' - and I found things similar to this. Now, as anyone who's checked out any RAW, Timothy Leary or Antero Alli can tell you - that seems very similar to the 8-circuit brain model, or at least, partially similar. I pointed that out to this critter and he said "No. There is nothing like the levels." That's how would type as well - just these near mono-syllabic one-or-two sentence ripostes. I'd wager that Wilson and Leary's model was partially inspired by Gurdjieff, but I strongly suspect he wouldn't be having any of that.

I began to feel a tiny bit insulted, as if he were trying to lord it over me with his superior knowledge of Gurdjieff's philosophy. The thing is, while I appreciate the man's writings and ideas--he's not the be-all-and-end-all to me. To this critter, though, he seems to be everything. So I asked him how he discovered Gurdjieff and how he came to decide that G.I.'s philosophy seemed better than any other system. I told him how I discovered Gurdjieff through RAW and a Kate Bush (sorry for the pop-ups) song, Them Heavy People. He answered with "I am in The Work. When you know what that means, I may answer your questions." What a pompous, over-serious, frickin', rackin'...*Mumbly muttering* That answer made me laugh, it seemed so self-important and cliched, that I responded with "Ha Ha Ha Ha - you crack me up, ____". I think I touched a nerve. He replied with a mini-rant about how he 'takes the Work very seriously and would never laugh at it' and how there's plenty of resources at the Gurdjieff fan page but how I never seemed to have made an effort to look at them. He asked if I even knew what The Work meant and told me that it had not diminished his 'sense of humor' (bearing in mind that I had never seen any evidence of this alleged sense of humor). He then wound down with "Why do I make you laugh? What on Earth do you mean?"

Now, the temptation to send him that 'restaurant scene' from Goodfellas was almost too great, but in the end, I settled for "I am a Discordian Pope. When you find out what that means, I may answer your questions." Then I told him I'd see him around, sent it off and promptly removed him from my friends list. I guess these critters are everywhere, in every sect of esoteric knowledge...Thelemites, UFO-logists, even Discordians. Ultra-serious and keen to demonstrate how much they're in the know and you're not. C'mon, how can you not take the piss out of them? I try to show most critters tolerance and some respect. I don't like being hectored and preached at, though..and asked to prove my allegiance to a philosophy or idea. I guess, to this critter, being a "fan" of G.I. Gurdjieff means devoting most of your time to the study and practice of his ideas. To me, 'fandom' is a lot less rigourous. I really like RAW, but I'm not about to go around and harangue everyone who even has a casual interest in his ideas and ask them why they haven't read all of his books and why they don't watch the "Maybe Logic" DVD every day.

The whole situation reminds me of an old Dennis Miller routine, back when he was still funny and not a Bush family crony and apologist. He said something like "I don't mind doing drugs. It's not the drugs that mess you up, it's usually the people you have to do them with." Then he went on to talk about how he had smoked some powerful weed and is spaced out when some berk asks him "Waitaminute, waitaminute....how do I know the color blue is the same to you as it is to me?" "I don't know", Miller answers, "Go look at the crayon box - what do I look like, fuckin' "Nova"*?" Sometimes, it's not the philosophy that does your head in, but those who espouse it far too seriously.

*Nova is a show on PBS in the States, which I thought had been cancelled, but looks like it's still going strong. It was (or is) a sort-of science/investigative program.

Back From Bournemouth

6 Iyyar - Year 5769

Pixie and I travelled to Bournemouth over the weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary - yep, 5 years, peeps. Seems like a few weeks ago. Time seems funny like that.

We stayed at the Connaught Hotel in the west end of the city. After a bit of trouble actually locating it, we checked in and headed down to the beach for a stroll. Thankfully, the weather was quite sunny and only a tiny bit breezy. The forecast called for rain and strong winds.

Back at the hotel, we went for a swim in the indoor (heated pool), used the steam room and sauna, swam again, then chilled out in the jacuzzi. Ah, now that's the life. Pixie also paid for a massage for me. No, not that kind, ya filthy oiks--just a back, neck & shoulders one. I felt very relaxed afterwards...must get another one sometime. Dinner was at Zizzi, which was appropriate as our first official 'date' was at the Zizzi in Oxford. The food was excellent and the Peronis I drank were too.

We ate breakfast at the hotel (quite a nice spread it was), then checked out. The weather was pretty nasty, with strong winds and rain. Pixie wanted to go to Hengistbury Head and walk around. We had been there last about three years ago and found it to be an enjoyable visit. The weather dampened (literally) the walk this time, though we explored more of the surrounding area, not just the main hill, as we had done before. When we arrived back at the car, we were so drenched that we each needed a change of clothes.

It was then decided we would visit Christchurch, which is near to Hengistbury Head. We had also been there before and had already seen the cathedral and most of the other sights, so this visit was mainly a shopping trip. I tried to find a funky little record or book shop, but couldn't locate one anywhere near the high street. Instead, a checked a few charity shops and found Sky's (the classical/prog band featuring guitarist John Williams) Sky 2 on LP and Macca's 3-LP live set Wings Over America. The sleeve of the Macca set's pretty battered, but the records seem to be in decent shape. The Sky set is near mint, including the sleeve. Not bad for £5.

We grabbed some lunch at a small cafe and then made the journey home. It took a few minutes to unpack and then it was time to settle into the routine again. It's alright, though, we'll be going to the Peak District for a holiday in two weeks' time.

Happy Bicycle Day!

Boomtime, Discord 39 - Year of Our Lady of Discord 3175

I missed posting this on the actual day, but 66 years ago this month, Dr. Albert Hofmann had arguably the most famous bicycle rides in the 20th century. The first, on April 16th 1943, from his laboratory at the Sandoz (now Novartis) company to his home, after accidentally absorbing a tiny bit of LSD-25 into the skin of his hand. He wondered at the curious effects of the drug and decided to experiment with a deliberate dose three days later.

He ingested quite a large dose (not realising that LSD should be measured in micrograms, not milligrams) and experienced a full-blown "trip", which lasted several hours. When the drug first affected Dr. Hofmann, he felt the need to go home and again (this time with a lab assistant) rode his bike. He later stated that he seemed to be barely moving, while his assistant told him they had been cycling at a fast speed. When he arrived home, he felt panicky and had a few frightening hallucinations. Later, he was able to relax more and eventually returned to 'everyday' conciousness. With that, what later came to be known as "The Sixties" was effectively in motion.

Here's a video created by David Normal (heh heh - great surname). It's an animated feature depicted Hofmann's first LSD trips. The music is from Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother Suite:



For an added bit of fun - here's Tomorrow's My White Bicycle, one of the pinnacles of English psychedelia. Rumoured to be inspired by Hofmann's experiments, I think it's actually more about the Dutch Provo movement. Could be either, but still a great song and perfect for 'Bicycle Day':



..and coming back to the mighty Floyd, here's a vid of Bike, Syd Barrett's closer to their first full-length, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. The photos were taken for a Belgian TV show in February 1968. The sound quality's not the best, but you get the idea. It's been said that the coda represents Syd's increasing 'madness', due to the over-use of psychedelics, but no-one can say for sure.



Albert Hofmann's notes about his experiments can be found here. The great cosmic bike ride continues....

R.I.P. J.G. Ballard

1 Ordibehesht - Year 1388

Obituary at the BBC website.

All You Need Is Cash

31 Farvardin - Year 1388

It was announced a couple of weeks ago that The Beatles' original catalogue has been re-mastered again and will be re-issued on September 9th of this year. I'm not sure why they chose that date - though it is a month before John Lennon's birthday, so I suspect that was a factor in it. For most of the albums, this will be the first re-release since the Capitol/EMI CD editions in the late 1980s (there was a special-edition mini-LP version of "The White Album" released to coincide with it's 30-year anniversary in 1998).

There's a little montage at the official website, showing the new packaging and a bit of the deluxe booklets, as well as the description in the 'news' section (that I linked to - you have to scroll down a bit). It appears one can buy them all at once, as a boxed set, or individually (you can pre-order them on Amazon now). The CDs are all in stereo, including the first three or four albums--which were issued only in mono on vinyl. There will be a separate "Beatles In Mono" boxed set as well. The two Past Masters CDs, first released in 1988, have been combined into a 2-disc'er - and the songs with mono mixes will be included in the boxed set, as a bonus.

There have been some complaints about EMI not including the mono mixes on the stereo discs (as there's enough room on a standard length CD). That seems a fair complaint to me. Other fans thought there should be out-takes as bonus tracks. It'd be nice, but the bootleggers have already sorted all those - check the Purple Chick releases. In my estimation, the PC versions are some of the best Fabs boots around now. Sure, EMI are grabbing the dosh from one of their most lucrative acts (along with Pink Floyd and Queen), but I can cut 'em a bit of slack for only re-issuing this stuff once so far - unlike the Floyd back catalogue, which is on it's third re-issue now. Virgin, MCA/Universal and Atlantic do the same, so it's not just one major label's habit.

Will I buy 'em? Yep. What can I say, I'm a sucker for re-issues, especially if it's the good stuff - and this, my friends, is the good stuff. I don't know if I'll go all out and buy the mono boxed set--I could ask for it as an X-Mas gift. If anyone's looking for some of the 80s Beatles CD re-masters, I'll be at the Kassam boot sale next month.

Long Weekend

Jour du Duodi, Mois de Germinal - Annee 217 de la Republique

Hello again - I haven't had much to post lately, so I apologise for the lack of content. My mate Singing Bear sent me a load of musical goodies, which I am currently listening to quite a bit. He sent two of the Esoteric Recordings Man re-issues I don't own--the 3-CD Back Into The Future album and the double-disc Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics. Both sound excellent and "Back Into.." includes an entire live set from the Roundhouse in London in June 1973, spread over two discs. The Harvest Records anthology A Breath Of Fresh Air was included. It's a 3-CD set of tracks spanning the label's heyday from 1969 to 1974. All the big names are there..Deep Purple, Kevin Ayers, Barclay James Harvest and, of course, the Floyd. There's also some obscuro-treats from Shirley & Dolly Collins, Pete Brown (in various combos) and Tea & Symphony. Well worth owning! I also got a copy of the Rhino re-issue of Yes' second full-length, Time And A Word. I used to have it on cassette a long time ago, but Rhino's remaster contains a few great bonus tracks, like the 1970 single Dear Father. The rest of the shipment was a copy of Uriah Heep's 1971 album Salisbury (the deluxe Sanctuary re-issue from 2006) and The Wailing Souls' At Channel One, which has some quality dub cuts. Phew - that's a lotta listening. Cheers, Bear! I'll have some stuff heading your way soon.

I bought a few more discs from Amazon as well--the Mark Hollis solo album, first released in 1998, Peter Hammill's A Black Box (the Virgin/Charisma re-issue from 2006) and The Moody Blues' 1970 Isle Of Wight set (released at the end of last year on Eagle Records). All seem excellent to me, but I'm especially liking the quiet textures of the Hollis record. It's almost a continuation of the softer bits on the last two Talk Talk albums, except the arrangements are very sparse. It turned out to be a fitting swansong, as Hollis has not released anything since. Pixie bought the new Doves CD, Kingdom Of Rust, last week and we've been spinning that lots too. My own verdict is that it's pretty good - some of it stretches back to their electro-incarnation as Sub Sub, the rest seems to be 'classic' Doves--ethereal but stepping up to the rock plate when needed. One of the best I've heard so far this year.

This month marks Pixie's and mine 5th wedding anniversary. Seems like only yesterday.... I want to thank her for agreeing to be my goodwyf and staying with me through the tough times and setbacks, as well as the during the fun and upswings. We'll be heading to Bournemouth on our anniversary day for a small getaway. It promises to be a lovely time.

I've held off on starting a new podcast episode 'till after we get a new PC. Yep, we've decided that the ol' Compaq is a bit knackered now--being 6 years old. I've been in touch with a consultant and he's going to try and put together a custom jobbie for us. The main things I wanted were a bunch more memory, a CD and DVD burner and an updated Photoshop program. Pixie wanted Microsoft Word and Excel. We've also entered the 'wireless' age and upgraded our broadband package to include a wireless modem. The intrawebnet does seem a tiny bit faster now--but I have a feeling we'll see a big change after we've got the new PC. We're looking to buy it in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.

That's my report on this extended holiday weekend--my mind is a bit scrambled from trying to remember what day it is. Hope you're enjoying yourselves...get out and enjoy the weather if it's nice.

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.