#AprilSongs #13 The Saturday Boy

Well it's day 13 of the #AprilSongs sequence. It's funny that 13 is considered unlucky like seeing a single magpie or a lot of other thing. Things like this used to bother me, especially 13 , single magpies and a few other things, then I started thinking how silly it was , and if I'd been brought up to believe these were good things then that is how my mind would see it. After all 13 is a "baker's dozen" where they throw in an extra item in case one is not up to scratch, so it's a definite win for you. If I see a single magpie it's a good thing, no reason , apart from magpies can look impressive in flight with their black and white colouring, so now seeing a single magpie gives me a little lift and if I see more then that's a plus, although I am aware they can be annoying bullies, but I prefer to search for the positives.

So back to the #AprilSongs sequence on Record Store Day and I have gone for Billy Bragg's "The Saturday Boy". I loved Billy Bragg's minimal instrumental style although his voice grated a bit at first, but like Bob Dylan I loved the songs and grew to like the voice. He is not everyone's cup of tea, but is now an intelligent elder statement of music involved in so many musical areas it's very impressive.

Coincidentally I was watching a documentary about Skiffle on BBC4 last night which you can catch on iplayer here for the next month and he was pointing out the similarities between the skiffle movement and the punk movement, both a do-it-yourself reaction to the mainstream and the main Skiffle man was Lonnie Donegan. That was followed by a program on Chas and Dave (here for a month) who also played with Lonnie Donegan as well.

You can always find connections, but some times the connections jump out at you. Have a great Record Store Day and the weather is looking very good. I will take some photos while I am out today and probably nip to Snackwallah for one of their excellent curries.

#TenAlbumsInTenDays #4 - 4,5,6 and Record Store Day 2019

The last three I've posted on here I haven't recorded on the blog, although it is really a Facebook thing, but I do like to remember stuff that I've done. Someone asked me recently what my first #TenAlbumsInTenDays post was and thanks to this blog I could tell them fairly quickly it was "MAn In The Hills" by Burning Spear.

The last three posts have been FFS (the Franz Ferdinand / Sparks collaboration, an odd pairing at first sight but a brilliant album) , the "Dirty Computer" by Janelle Monae, my favourite album of last year, and "Catching A Tiger" by Lissie which I posted today.

It is good to think about albums that you have maybe not played in a while, and the Facebook sequence allows you to hopefully share albums new to friends and friends of friends on Facebook. All these albums are worth your time and thanks to Social Media and streaming platforms you can often listen almost immediately. I remember having to order imported records from Germany or wherever and then wait two weeks for it to be delivered.

Tomorrow is World Record Store Day 2019 when lots of limited edition vinyl and in Newcastle we have lots of Record Shops  that will be stocked up for the day, as well as hosting many live bands on the day.

Here's a list of local record shops I'm aware of in the town centre:

• RPM
• Reflex
• Beatdown
• Beyond Vinyl
• Vinyl Guru
• 586

plus special mention to Oxfam at Jesmond ( I used to work there briefly and the manager Katie knows her stuff , Pop Recs in Sunderland and there are record shops in Durham, Hexham and Gosforth,  and if you are pushed HMV is not bad for a high street shop.

So enjoy your weekend.

You Can Guru, You Can! - Visiting Vinyl Guru?

You know what they say about buses, well it's not usually true of record shops, but the take off of Vinyl sales kicked off possibly by the rise of Record Store Day seems to have sparked that in Newcastle.

I noticed Beyond Vinyl while wandering around the Clayton Street / West Road area where Kazbat's Den  and The Star and Black Swan are located and was well impressed. They have plans similar to the excellent Pop Recs in Sunderland.

On Record Store Day I recommended Beyond Vinyl to Kirsty and Mark as Mark is into Vinyl, and she phoned me to ask where it was as they had just come out of Vinyl Guru. I asked them where that was and they told me and was shocked because I was completely unaware of it. So that's two  new vinyl record shops in Newcastle and if you rope in Empire Records / Long Play Cafe which has been around for twelve months or so that is three new vinyl stores in Newcastle to sit alongside RPM, Reflex and Beatdown, though I still miss Volume and Hitsville USA.

Anyway I finally got to visit Vinyl Guru yesterday and the guy was friendly and knows his stuff. They have a growing selection of new and second hand vinyl, one piece that I am very tempted by but managed to resist. They have a complete section for Bowie stuff and lots of vinyl related artwork and accessories. This means you have two excellent vinyl record shops within two hundred yards of each other.

They are also invoved in a Punk Art Exhibition "Never Mind The Punk 45" with Gallagher and Turner at The Late Shows in Black Swan this weekend so they are not a one trick pony.

The title comes from "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" interlude from Jethro Tull's "Passion Play" the excellent follow up to "Thick As A Brick". I was surprised to find a video for this on Youtube so thought I would include it, it is rather silly but some of the music is excellent.

Newcastle now has a healthy number of excellent Vinyl shops as well as a brilliant music scene and is one of the many reasons I stayed when I came up in the late eighties. Things have changed and a lot of those have been majorly for the better.

More Words

This is my fourth blog post today. I did my first gig review of the year on Spoongig here for the Shambolic KO afternoon , plus two entries in the #TenAlbumsInTenDays that I am doing , which will stretching to twenty days as I have received a second invite, so today I have actually written, for me, a lot of words.

Luckily yesterday I mowed the lawn for the first time this year, so I have probably incurred the ire and wrath of my male neighbours who live within earshot, as it may be pointed out that their lawns need mowing too.

Yesterday was Record Store Day 2018 but I just ended up getting a Sha Na Na LP on vinyl, "Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay" from Beyond Vinyl, but the rest of the shops in Newcastle were queued out the door so I thought I would catch up at those shops next week, though thatks to Mark and Kirsty they put me on to a new Vinyl Shop in Newcastle Vinyl Guru on the West Road. I also dropped by Empire Records the new branding of Long Play Cafe's vinyl sales and discussed among other things the Vertigo Swirl.

So I will leave you with some Sha Na Na from the album I bought yesterday, mainly for it's brilliant cover and the fact it was on the Kama Sutra label.

Sleep well and have a wonderful Monday.
 

#TenAlbumsInTenDays #1 - Man In The Hills - Burning Spear

I'm quite surprised this is the first time I have mentioned Burning Spear on this blog.

My friend Denis Jackman nominated me to post #TenAlbumsInTenDays on Facebook. This is just ten albums that you still play, and to be quite honest good music should stay with you. Since starting walking and and especially since getting my Emopeak headphones I have been listening to a hell of a lot of music as it usually takes me forty minutes to an hour to walk to work which is time to listen to an album.

I'm not sure when I picked up on this, it was definitely early eighties and I think I got it from Rumbelows near Matthew Street in Liverpool when I was working an Littlewood. I may have heard him on John Peel or may have just liked the cover of the album, I was already into reggae from the sixties skinhead ska and then Bob Marley and Lee Perry, but when I put this album on it grabbed me from the first song (which is the title song).

The thing is if you buy the CD  you can get one that has "Dry and Heavy" also included, but I do enjoy playing ska and reggae on vinyl with the bass turned up. One you put a vinyl album on you tend to enjoy it more because the inherent push button laziness in us all makes us listen to the whole side before we turn the thing over or switch it off.

Tomorrow is Record Store Day so I will be out in Newcastle seeing what is available and seeing bands an whatever. Given the good weather it looks like a good weekend.

Have a great one

Read A Book .... You Never Know What You Might Find Out ... Again

It's World Record Store day, my mate Jim wants a copy of The Queen Symphony and I fancy the new The The single, first new music from Matt Johnson in 15 years and it's as good as ever.

I'm still working through "The Age of Bowie" by Tony Morley and today I found out how Marc Bolan (at the time Marc Feld) settled on his surname. Apparently he took the first two letters of one of his heroes' first name and the last three letters of his surname, which shows more than a little ingenuity, that hero was Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan also changed his surname from Zimmerman to Dylan taking the first name of one of his heroes , Welsh stream of consciousness poet Dylan Thomas (I love "Under Milk Wood").

I've included the Dubwood Allstars "Under Dubwood" which I never tire of (but doesnt, which takes Richard Burton's introduction and uses the soundtrack which  is the same as John Holt's "Ali Baba". Can you how my mind wanders?

Anyway, it's a beautiful day, and I have vinyl to buy.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone.