Could A Copper Comprehend?

 Wasn't sure if I was going to post on the first day of 2021 but the song "Fog on the Tyne" by Lindisfarne has been playing through my head and as I remembered the words I was thing what tripe they actually were from a logical position.

But that's not what it's about , they may have made sense to Alan Hull as he quaffed his next bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale but what he came up with was a genius tone poem , the words sound perfect together , and are great to sing, just don't think about what they are actually saying. I have often used the same argument about Abba and Rush , just listen to the music , fall into the song and enjoy it for what it is.

The song is very simple to play and great to sing along to, a fantastic live staple. Lindisfarne also did some complex and difficult to play songs (say the ghostly "Lady Eleanor") .

Today I wanted to have a walk out, the weather is still grey and boring but I managed to hit my step target trying to track down non existent Buck's Fizz (the drink not the Eurovision Song Contest winners).

So I will share the lyrics for you to peruse and of course you can listen to it above.

Enjoy

Fog on the Tyne

"Sittin' in a sleazy snack-bar suckin'

Sickly sausage rolls

Slippin' down slowly

Slippin' down sideways

Think I'll sign off the dole

'Cause the fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

Could a copper catch a crooked coffin maker

Could a copper comprehend

That a crooked coffin maker is just an undertaker who

Undertakes to be a friend

'Cause the fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

Tell the truth tomorrow

Today will take it's time to

Tell you what tonight will bring,

Presently we'll have a pint or two together

Everybody do their thing

We can swing together

We can have a wee wee

We can have a wet on the wall

If someone slips a whisper

That his simple sister slapped them down

And they slavered on their smalls

'Cause the fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

'Cause the fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

The fog on the Tyne is all mine"

Mix

Today people often try and share Spotify playlist with me. I don't contenance Spotify, it's not my inner Ron Swanson but the fact that it's not a business model that rewards almost all the artists who are on it's available catalogue. I suppose the other thing is that as a teenager if I wanted to share music with friends it required recording records in real time, at first recording via microphone and later when I got a job a music centre which recorded directly from the radio.

I didn't realise that the compact cassette first appeared around 1965 (comprehensive Wiki history here) , I thought it was a Sony invention because of the Walkman which allowed music on the move.

To create a cassette you had to record in real time, the playlist was just the initial plan, even when MiniDisk and CD superseded cassette it was still real time although CD recording speeded up significantly but there is still the production and labelling of the CD to do.

In October 2016 when I was 59 I  started the #ALifeInNumbers  which ran into November that year and I've referenced often since I did it. I haven't burnt a CD for ages and am not sure if I can use iTunes to create playlists (I'm sure you can but it's such bloatware that it is more about trying to make me buy things that actually play music), I may try that soon and then I need to print the CD label (as I still have a printer that can do that!).

I have just remembered that I can use Youtube to create playlists such as this two song ska one here , I used to do mixes on Grooveshark but their model wasn't sustainable, but I am going to investigate Youtube further.

I was going to list some significant records for me to pad out this post but here are a few, and maybe I will create a playlist at some point:

• Abba - The Visitors & Happy - The Carpenters , two of my mums favourites that I still love
• Lights Out - Jerry Byrne & Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford , two that remind me of my missed friend Chris who we lost to lung cancer
• Negativeland - Neu! , I was shocked when my dad asked me if I had this record asthis was way out of his comfort zone
• All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix , if I only could have one record this would be it, Hendrix playing , Dylan's words
• Hound Dog - Elvis Presley - apparently the first record I ever liked (aged 3)
• Jig A Jig - East of Eden - The first single I ever bought
• Come On - Chuck Berry - one of the first songs I played and sang live and I would be condent of doing it now
• Egyptian Reggae - Jonathan Richman - The first instrumental cover I played live

I could go on and on but I'll stop and share "Happy" by The Carpenters (incidentally the title of my favourite Rolling Stones song , and they - the Stones - covered Chuck Berry's - Come On).

Enjoy this very rainy Thursday.

2112

Actually this is post 2113, the last one here was 2112. I only realised as I was getting towards the end of it and it was all about my eye infection. 2112 was an album by Rush and was pretentious as hell but I always equated Rush with Abba, music generally awesome but lyrics were sometimes very iffy. Abba had the excuse of English being a second language but Rush didn't.

It didn't stop Rush producing some great music and when they reigned back their pretentious side everything was excellent, but even the pretentious stuff , the music still more than stands up. The first song I heard by them was "Finding My Way" from "Fly By Night" on the John Peel show and thought it was Led Zeppelin, they were that good. I must have heard their early albums because I didn't actually by them and generally they were patchy in my opinion, but  the live "All The World's A Stage" changed that which is a live tour-de-force and that was the first Rush album that I bought.

I actually sang "Spirit of Radio" with Spoon and always have difficulty singing rubbish lyrics, "Spirit of Radio" has excellent lyrics, but I don't think I have a recording anywhere of that to see how good or bad I was.

So I really have to included "2112" that took up side one of the album it named. Great music and dodgy lyrics for this Friday.

Extremes

Yesterday while I was out and about I noticed how many places you can charge your device now, although I wouldn't be too happy about leaving an iPhone X at a charging station in Eldon Square, although they probably don't have Apple's latest non standard connector so that situation is probably a non starter. The iPhone X is probably the first extreme on this post costing above a thousand pounds. Most buses and trains also have a pluf for charging as well, although I find amausing how many places still have Wifi without internet access or demand you agree to terms and conditions every time you sign in . They already know who you are so whay do you have to keep agreeing? It's like Apple's Terms and Conditioons.

Today I  connected up my OVO Smart Meter to mi Wifi so I can now see how much I'm using at any time. It does save me submitting readings but I am a bit wary of how the data will be used by them, also it's a daily remeinder of how much things are costing.

Anyway yesterday I was listening to "Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine" by the Cosmic Rough Riders which is still a brilliant listen which opens with four absolute standout songs. One of them however is a pure evil control scenario which has an awesome tune but worrying lyrics about control, which follows on from The Police's "Every Breath You Take" and Peter Hammil's "I Will Find You" and you may be able to surmise the scenario from the title "The Gun Isn't Loaded". The protagonist controls the victim because they do not have the full picture, and how many times to we see that in everyday life. The  lyrics make feel uncorfortable but I have to listen because the music is so wonderful.

It's not a bad lyrics scenario like Rush or Abba sometimes hit , Abba having the excuse of being Swedish , and Rush are Canadian , but bothe produce some amazing music sometimes let down by lyrical ineptitude but that's something for another post.

One of the other standouts on "Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine" is "Glastonbury Revisited" probably my favourite song about Glastonbury, and it is lyrically to polar opposite of "The Gun Isn't Loaded", full of hope , love and inclusivity. I've had the CD for close on twenty years and still still sounds as good today as when I first heard it.

I'll include the two songs from the album which are extremes in the lyrical sense, and I will soon be taking myself off to see Jerry Sadowitz for the first time ever, which I suppose is another extreme.

Enjoy your Thursday night.

Afternoon Light

Today we have had dark clouds a smattering of rain and I have the light on because it's dark out side. It's not three o' clock yet. I can see a touch of blue sky in the distance, so no doubt in quarter o fan hour it'll be a bright summers day , and right enough it is, so I can switch my light out.

I've succumbed and had a smart meter fitted so my power supplier, OVO, know what I am using every minute of the day.

My DNLA server has been playing up a bit, but it's now finally working. I'm not sure what the problem is as I think Window 10 is deleting applications at random, so the music was just not moving but maybe it was taking it's time to find the actual file even though it had the file name indexed.

I actually wanted Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother", but I've made do with my favourite ABBA song "The Visitors", and wonderful driving piece of dark paranoia, and you can dance to it (if you can dance and feel so inclined, I can't and don't).

So anyway this is just a very very short post about what you manage to do while having a Smart Meter fitted. I was shocked about how much they had to put in a replace to get it working, although the gas meter was obviously a bit complex.

Anyway I now have "Atom Heart Mother" playing on the sound system, so my Kindle Fire and Soundbar set up is now working which is a good thing. I love the sound of Roger Waters' bass on the introduction to the 23 minute incredible piece influenced by Scot Ron Geesin with full brass band and choir, and rather than share the Floyd version with you I'll share a live cover version by some French musicians that is quite amazing, it's at the Théâtre du Chateletand features Ron Geesin on keyboards.Ron did a film soundratck for a film called "The Body" with Roger Waters.

Enjoy this sunny afternoon my friends... the weekend is almost here.

A Bit of ABBA on the Side

Last night I went to a screening of "Mamma Mia" organised by Angie and part of Andrew and Glen's pre wedding celebrations at The Side Cinema. I'm not a huge fan of musicals (my favourite is South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut) but this was not a screening it was an event.

There was copious drink, and everyone had a great time socialising and creating a wonderful atmosphere, with a pre "Mamma Mia" film of Andrew and Glen falling of bikes and general going round the world. This was a gathering of great joy and fun.

The "Mamma Mia" movie had the subtitles up for all the songs so everyone could join in and were encouraged to. Glen and Andrew led lots of the singing , dancing , drink spilling, high fiving and celebrating and with good reason.

The Side Cinema itself is great for private screening , compact and but also great for socialising as well, and as it's on the Quayside you are close to pubs and restaurants for pre and post film food and drink.  The seating is red velvet and it had been remarked slightly seedy but perfect for a gathering such as this. A damned sight better than the antiseptic Multiplexes that you have these , but it is a perfect setting to have a great time with the right people and right film and last night was absolutely perfect.

Anyway last night I wanted to post a Star Spangled Chestwigs rendition of an ABBA song on Facebook as a thank you to Glen and Andrew but couldn't find any, so I will leave you with the finale from the film, and below is a bit of the Chestwigs doing what they do :)

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Tenuous Connections (Only Dogs and Water Horses)

All The World's A Stage

So Kelpies are water horses and Sheepdogs and I'm posting a seasonal song a day, and this is my most tenuous one so far , "By-Tor and The SNOW Dog" by Rush , the version is the one from the brilliant "All The Worlds A Stage" album. It has some wonderful guitar soundscapes by Alex Lifeson. It's today's tune. It's amazing what sort of connections our minds can make.

In the seventies I was listening to John Peel and a song came on called "Finding My Way". At first I thought it was a new Led Zeppelin offering, but no, it was by a Canadian power Trio called Rush, the singer Geddy Lee sounding like a cross between Zep's Robert Plant and Yes's Jon Anderson , a power falsetto.

I checked out the album "Fly By Night" but felt it was a bit wooden , barring "Finding My Way" , however when the live album "All The World's A Stage" was released that all changed and this was a real loud and impressive band.

I've always likened Rush to Abba , both have produced some of the greatest music ever, but often their lyrics let them down. While Abba have the excuse that they were Swedish writing in English, Rush are Canadian , and , unfortunately found inspiration in Ayn Rand. I think they've outgrown that now and are still touring and producing some wonderful music.

Anyway I hope your Christmas is still causing you lots of happiness and hope you have a brilliant weekend.

Here Comes The Summer

Well , maybe. It's pouring with rain at the moment but we've had a few glorious days this week. We know that it's scientifically proven to be more likely to rain at the weekend because the emission from transport builds up during the week resulting in precipitation at the weekend. May this is a good argument for working from home , less rain at the weekend.

Anyway , today is also the Eurovision Song Contest based in Malmo in Sweden , although 35 years on we're still waiting for another Abba. I did enjoy Lordi 's victory a couple of years back , that was rather good , and this year I heard Hungary's version which sounded good , but apparently Denmark are the favourites , so we'll just wait and see.

I do find it amazing that so many English Eurovision entries are based on a German Oompah Band song structure, Sandie Shaw's "Puppet on a String" for instance. Unfortunately the easter European block voting has sort of made a mockery of the contest , but that's what happens when you try to be democratic in a situation where the populace can only see what the have been told to see . A bit like X-Factor !

The best way to watch Eurovision (this only works if the artists sing in their native language) , is with subtitles turned on and copious amounts of alcohol.

So enjoy tonight.