Wednesday 31 March 2010

Today Is Paloma Faith Day


I have decided to make today Paloma Faith Day. I cannot recall the last time the music of a new artist has left me quite as exhilarated. Thinking about it, probably my schoolboy days in the early seventies, as favourite acts released new singles and I waited for them expectedly. But Paloma is all about now as far as my music taste is concerned. It is too easy for anyone, and especially someone of my ripening years, to totally overlook current work. And far too many people quickly decide it 'all sounds the same'. Paloma is always being compared with her contemporaries. Which is altogether ridiculous. Because she is far far better than any other female performer for a long time. I have posted videos of all her singles to date. Watch them a few times. Listen to the lyrics. Enjoy the melancholy and the passion, mop up the mood. This lady is good.

Paloma Faith was born in Hackney, London in 1985. She co-writes most of her work. She is also an accomplished actress, having appeared on TV and the movie re-make of St. Trinians. If her early career is anything to go by she is going to be a superstar - and I have a feeling this girl is so talented she may even have a few choices to make as to where she concentrates her efforts. If her musical output can be maintained I say keep it coming kid.................it's absolutely brilliant.

Paloma Faith - Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful ?

Paloma Faith - New York

Paloma Faith - Stone Cold Sober

Paloma Faith - Upside Down

Sunday 28 March 2010

The Legend Of Xanadu - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch.

This song went to number one in the UK charts in 1968. I was mesmerised by it. I remember watching it on Top Of The Pops week after week, much to the disgust of my Dad who thought it was awful. My older sister thought her young brother might grow up with a few emotional problems (but then she went on to be a Barry Manilow fan, so what can you say!). I don't think watching Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch at such a tender age has had any lasting negative effects on me - not even any whip fetishes. Looking back it was pure theatre .......................and just a few years later glamrock was to take over the UK music scene so possibly this act were slightly before their time.


Saturday 27 March 2010

For All Female IT Users - New Software Releases

INSTALLING A HUSBAND



Dear Tech Support,



Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewellery applications, which

operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as

Romance 9.5 and

Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as

Football 6.0,

Cricket 5.1 and

Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail,

in fact Husband 1.0 seemed to slow even further.

What can I do?

Signed,



Desperate.





DEAR DESPERATE,



First, keep in mind,



Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while

Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download< /FONT> Tears 6.2 and 

do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.

If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the

applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to< U>

Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 12.1.

Please note that Beer 12.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring program as well as disable spell checker and voice recognition

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will try to seize control of all your operating system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0-program. These are
unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider new software to improve performance. 

We recommend

Cooking 3.0 and* Hot Lingerie 7.7.



Tech Support

Football Dives

What happened to the beautiful game?


Citizen Smith



Originally Broadcast : 12 April 1977 to 4 July 1980


Channel : BBC

Written By : John Sullivan

Produced By : Ray Butt, Dennis Main-Wilson, Peter Whitmore

Starring : Robert Lindsay (Wolfie), Mike Grady (Ken Mills), Cheryl Hall (Shirley Johnson), Hilda Braid (Florence Johnson), Peter Vaughan (Charlie Johnson), Stephen Greif (Harry Fenning)

Episodes : 29

Jake Thackray - I Stayed Off Work Today


I posted a few Jake Thackray videos on the original blog, but they were all lifted from You Tube shortly afterwards. So I try again. I was not aware of this song until a couple of years ago, when I requested a 'greatest hits' CD for Christmas. It's a fine example of the great man's work.





A tribute to Jake Thackray can be found on this blog by going to Jake Thackray - posted 3rd July 2007.

Thursday 25 March 2010

Harry Carpenter


Harry Carpenter passed away earlier this week. He was known as 'the voice of boxing', having covered the sport for the BBC for over 30 years. However, it should not be forgotten that he was also heavily involved in Wimbledon, golf and the university boat race, as well as presenting Grandstand and Sportsnight.

I will remember Harry Carpenter for two reasons. He was around in the days when the BBC seriously covered British sport. And he was around in the days when boxing was watched by a large TV audience. We tuned in especially. For a sport that was, essentially, alien to the daily living habits of the nation. Not to listen or see Harry I hasten to add - his delivery style relied on his abilty to be ordinary, in the backgound, and yet authorititive at the same time. So when he did get excited - you knew the action was worth watching. Harry Carpenter was a great broadcaster - and a damn nice man.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

The Applejacks - Tell Me When

Tell me when you feel a little blue
Tell me then I'll see what I can do
Just say the word and I'll be there
Anywhere, with lots of love to share
So, tell me when your arms are really free
Free enough to kiss and cuddle me
I'll never fall in love again
As long as there's a chance that you tell me when
Your lips are sweet and if we ever get to meet
I know, I know, I'm never gonna let you go
So, tell me when you've got a little time
Tell me when you're ready to be mine
I'll never fall in love again
So, if you want my love, won't you tell me when
Your lips are sweet and if we ever get to meet
I know, I know, I'm never gonna let you go
So, tell me when you've got a little time
Tell me when you're ready to be mine
I'll never fall in love again
So, if you want my love, won't you tell me when
Won't you tell me when
Won't you tell me when
Won't you tell me when

The Animals


I came to the music of The Animals over twenty years after they took the UK pop charts by storm. They were, I must admit, slightly before my time, and my admiration only flourished when my interest for sixties music as a whole took off.

The Animals were formed in Newcastle during 1962 and 1963.

Originally called the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, the original line-up comprised Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (organ and keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass). The band changed their name to The Animals based on the reputation of their behaviour.

First UK hit was in 1964 with Baby Let Me Take You Home reaching No21 in the charts. A succession of hits followed, masterminded by producer Mickie Most (later a judge on New Faces), but internal wrangling led to a split in 1966, with Eric Burdon re-forming the group. Alan Price went on to a long and successful solo career. Chas Chandler moved into music management, significantly Jimi Hendrix and Slade.

UK chart history : 17 hits between 1964 and 1982 (15 of these were between 64-69).

Essential listening : House Of The Rising Sun (their only UK No1, it also topped the US charts), Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, San Franciscan Nights (credited to Eric Burdon & The Animals).

Andy Summers, more famously a member of The Police was originally a member of The Animals.

More information on The Animals can be found on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Animals

Videos appear on You Tube.