End O' Daze
This morning I watched the stunning LAURENCE OLIVIER fillum version of "RICHARD III", which I hadn't seen since I was at school when the Shakespeare play of that ilk was required reading for ENGLISH O'LEVEL.
There's a new LIVE release from Percy, Alex, Kenny and Tim just arrived in my in-tray, albeit slightly later than I was expecting, but just in time to qualify for the PICK'O'THE YEAR listings. I must confess, I haven't really given it the attention it deserves yet, since all of my listening time of late has been taken up with ancient GRIDLING! But on first listening, it sounds the biz! I'm sure that over the 'holidays' I will strap on the ol' AKG's and REALLY get into it, man!
At this time of the year, I don't listen to RADIO 3 quite as much as usual, as so much of its daytime programming gets cloyingly Christmas-oriented. But I've been playing CATCH-UP with some of the 'good bits' that I've missed, such as the "COMPOSER OF THE WEEK" programmes dedicated to SERGEI PROKOFIEV.
Week from Monday 22nd December 2025 - My music project this week has been to remaster the JOHNSON'S GRIDLING BAND lost classic "I AM YOUR UNCLE", from the heady heydays of 1984. It had long been my intention to add some tasteful touches of 'gypsy filligree' using my 'mock-accordion', but when I finally tried it, the results were CRAP... so I decided to show 'ADMIRABLE RESTRAINT' and leave well alone! All I've done in the end is to enhance the VOCALS (using modern secret space techniques) and add some atmospheric WOODED GLADE sound effects. As with last weeks "A DECENT TORCH", the isolated vocals are worth preserving in their own right!
So what's with this so-called 'CHRISTMAS' lark that everyone's banging on about?
On Thursday (Christmas Day, to you), I took my meds and measured my blood pressure, stretched my breakfast out until past midday, all the while binge-watching the highly-acclaimed mystery drama "SUMMERWATER". It was compelling enough, but not nearly as 'highly' as it was 'acclaimed' and not that much of a 'mystery' either, six episodes later. I then had a cup of coffee and a Snickers bar, while watching the DVD segment of the HENRY COW boxset that I got myself for chrimbo. I probably had a mince pie or two. I dipped in and out of "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN" while dipping in and out of my SOSHUL MEEJERS. I made myself a ham sandwich, with lashings of mayonnaise. I ended the day, as is my wont, with an episode of "MIDSOMER MURDERS" that I've probably seen a dozen times...
On Friday (Boxing Day), I took my meds and measured my blood pressure, logged into my online bank to get my monthly statement, ran a few updates, typed a few lines into this here BLOGGYDIARYWOTSIT, drank coffee and did another "WAKING THE DEAD" two-parter... Happy Holidays, everyone!
You can take it as read that I haven't listened to anything this last few days that isn't by HENRY COW or JOHNSON'S GRIDLING BAND.
Week from Monday 29th December 2025 - Back to "WORK" this week... I've got to pop to the Elf Centre to do a routine BLOOD TEST today, then I've got a chat with a real live GP tomorrow, to review my PRESCRIPTIONS. This coming weekend I will be resuming "SATURDAY CLUB"...
Enda Di Çemba, 'Tis the season to be jelly, every one of my favourite podcasts and newsfeeds are doing a special "SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED IN 2025" edition. I can't be arsed to get all wordyrappinghood about it here, so for the record here's a mere LIST, my musical PICK O'THE YEAR for the last twelvemonth...
There's a new LIVE release from Percy, Alex, Kenny and Tim just arrived in my in-tray, albeit slightly later than I was expecting, but just in time to qualify for the PICK'O'THE YEAR listings. I must confess, I haven't really given it the attention it deserves yet, since all of my listening time of late has been taken up with ancient GRIDLING! But on first listening, it sounds the biz! I'm sure that over the 'holidays' I will strap on the ol' AKG's and REALLY get into it, man!
At this time of the year, I don't listen to RADIO 3 quite as much as usual, as so much of its daytime programming gets cloyingly Christmas-oriented. But I've been playing CATCH-UP with some of the 'good bits' that I've missed, such as the "COMPOSER OF THE WEEK" programmes dedicated to SERGEI PROKOFIEV.
Week from Monday 22nd December 2025 - My music project this week has been to remaster the JOHNSON'S GRIDLING BAND lost classic "I AM YOUR UNCLE", from the heady heydays of 1984. It had long been my intention to add some tasteful touches of 'gypsy filligree' using my 'mock-accordion', but when I finally tried it, the results were CRAP... so I decided to show 'ADMIRABLE RESTRAINT' and leave well alone! All I've done in the end is to enhance the VOCALS (using modern secret space techniques) and add some atmospheric WOODED GLADE sound effects. As with last weeks "A DECENT TORCH", the isolated vocals are worth preserving in their own right!
So what's with this so-called 'CHRISTMAS' lark that everyone's banging on about?
On Thursday (Christmas Day, to you), I took my meds and measured my blood pressure, stretched my breakfast out until past midday, all the while binge-watching the highly-acclaimed mystery drama "SUMMERWATER". It was compelling enough, but not nearly as 'highly' as it was 'acclaimed' and not that much of a 'mystery' either, six episodes later. I then had a cup of coffee and a Snickers bar, while watching the DVD segment of the HENRY COW boxset that I got myself for chrimbo. I probably had a mince pie or two. I dipped in and out of "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN" while dipping in and out of my SOSHUL MEEJERS. I made myself a ham sandwich, with lashings of mayonnaise. I ended the day, as is my wont, with an episode of "MIDSOMER MURDERS" that I've probably seen a dozen times...
On Friday (Boxing Day), I took my meds and measured my blood pressure, logged into my online bank to get my monthly statement, ran a few updates, typed a few lines into this here BLOGGYDIARYWOTSIT, drank coffee and did another "WAKING THE DEAD" two-parter... Happy Holidays, everyone!
You can take it as read that I haven't listened to anything this last few days that isn't by HENRY COW or JOHNSON'S GRIDLING BAND.
Week from Monday 29th December 2025 - Back to "WORK" this week... I've got to pop to the Elf Centre to do a routine BLOOD TEST today, then I've got a chat with a real live GP tomorrow, to review my PRESCRIPTIONS. This coming weekend I will be resuming "SATURDAY CLUB"...
Enda Di Çemba, 'Tis the season to be jelly, every one of my favourite podcasts and newsfeeds are doing a special "SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED IN 2025" edition. I can't be arsed to get all wordyrappinghood about it here, so for the record here's a mere LIST, my musical PICK O'THE YEAR for the last twelvemonth...
NEW RELEASES
1) ASAF SIRKIS : "The Journey Is You"
2) MARK PRITCHARD & THOM YORKE : "Tall Tales"
3) MARKUS REUTER a.o. : "Truce <3"
4) ROBERT PLANT : "Saving Grace"
5) DWIKI DHARMAWAN : "Anagnorisis"
Also: FERGUS McCREADIE "Stream Revisited"/"The Shieling", P.A.K.T. "Live Montreal/Toronto 2025", STICK MEN "Brutal EP", ANCHOR & BURDEN "Sunkenfleet", STEPHAN THELEN "Worlds In Collision", BEAT "Neon Heat Disease: Live", TEAR "Falling Tensor", EVAN ZIPORYN & CONTAqT "Art Decade", TONNEN VON HALL "Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen"
REISSUES, ARCHIVE & BACK-CATALOGUE
1) FRANK ZAPPA : "Cheaper Than Cheep"
2) SOFT WORKS : "Abracadabra: Live In Tokyo"
3) P.A.K.T. : "Live Recordings 2024"
4) RADIOHEAD : "Hail To The Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009)"
5) SUMMERS/FRIPP : "Complete Recordings"
(All releases, whether 'new' or 'reissue', carry a '2025' publishing date to qualify for consideration.)
1) ASAF SIRKIS : "The Journey Is You"
2) MARK PRITCHARD & THOM YORKE : "Tall Tales"
3) MARKUS REUTER a.o. : "Truce <3"
4) ROBERT PLANT : "Saving Grace"
5) DWIKI DHARMAWAN : "Anagnorisis"
Also: FERGUS McCREADIE "Stream Revisited"/"The Shieling", P.A.K.T. "Live Montreal/Toronto 2025", STICK MEN "Brutal EP", ANCHOR & BURDEN "Sunkenfleet", STEPHAN THELEN "Worlds In Collision", BEAT "Neon Heat Disease: Live", TEAR "Falling Tensor", EVAN ZIPORYN & CONTAqT "Art Decade", TONNEN VON HALL "Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen"
REISSUES, ARCHIVE & BACK-CATALOGUE
1) FRANK ZAPPA : "Cheaper Than Cheep"
2) SOFT WORKS : "Abracadabra: Live In Tokyo"
3) P.A.K.T. : "Live Recordings 2024"
4) RADIOHEAD : "Hail To The Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009)"
5) SUMMERS/FRIPP : "Complete Recordings"
(All releases, whether 'new' or 'reissue', carry a '2025' publishing date to qualify for consideration.)
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