So that was January...
Week from Monday 5th January 2026 - A few days ago, my bus hop into town encountered a great deal of near-stationary and logjammed traffic. An entire section of the MOTORWAY has been closed off, which meant that all of the local transportation, in both directions, has been diverted through FAREHAM itself. I therefore planned my Saturday journey 'UP THE HOZZY' with this in mind, allowing plenty of time for hold-ups. But I OVERCOMPENSATED and got to the check-in desk an hour early! 'PATIENT WAITING', even before I got 'seen to'! No worries, of course, because I had my TRUSTY TABLET with me and was able to listen to the whole of the BBC comedy serial "THE ISLAND" in one sitting.
My project continues of dragging a few choice GRIDLING BAND ditties into the 21st Century, cleaning them up and posting them on THAT YOUTUBE THEY HAVE NOW. The third item is "ALDMONKSTON ROCK". Once again, I've isolated Snilt's voice, using clever modern secret space methods, and spiffed it up for added audibility. The keyboard part I've subjected to a considerable amount of LUSHification, processing it through several layers of digital reverb, so that it no longer sounds like the cheapo Casio that was my sole instrument in 1984. I resisted the temptation to stick a little jig at the end of it, like Spinal Tap's "STONEHENGE".
I'm also finally getting the hang of editing the SUBTITLE 'transcripts' on YouTube so that they make more sense(?)... None other than the 'WEASEL HIMSELF has appeared out of the woodwork and made an appearance on the YouTube comments section!
Next up is "COMMERCIAL SONG". I've fattened up the weedy keyboards a bit, cut out some bits, pasted in some others, and enhanced the vocals. I've just got to make sure that the subtitles are synchronised properly, which usually means coming back several hours later and seeing what the GOOGLEBOTS have made of it.
I checked back later and they're still a mess! It would seem that these things work reasonably well with SPOKEN narratives, but they can't cope with my 'singing'! It was all there, but not necessarily in the right order! Ah well! it's a tedious job, but someone's got to do it... I ended up typing in the text and (approximate) timings myself.
On Friday, I went up the HOZZY for yet another BLOOD TEST, as early as my BUS PASS would allow. I timed it perfectly for once and I was in and out in record time... indeed the entire 'outing', BUS TRIPS and all, took less than a couple of hours!
Week from Monday 12th January 2026
Week from Monday 19th January 2026 - Whoops! there went another week! I had another telephone chat with the HAEMO/ONCO honcho. Nothing new to report, regarding the condition my condition is in, but the results of the blood tests showed a slight rise in my "CRP" levels. That's mainly because I currently have a dose of the WINTER SNIFFLES and she questioned that even before I mentioned it! "C-REACTIVE PROTEINS" (for it is they) are what the viruses feed off of, so keeping them down is part of the treatment. But there's no immediate cause for concern. To put it another way, 'I DON'T GIVE A CRP'...
I paid a visit to the printers in GOZZY to run off a whole batch of covers for recent MUSIC PROJECTS. It was only when I got back home that I realised that I'd printed them all off at a slightly reduced scale, so they were all smaller than CD-sized. Not that it matters TOO much, they still sit in the plastic sleeves just the same...
I hopped on a bus to Southampton to deliver some DONATIONS to Oxfam. As well as a handful of now-redundant HENRY COW swapsies, I 'purged' a few so-called "PROG" items that I no longer care for, and sent them to a more deserving home.
Natchly, while I was there, I ended up acquiring a few 'new' ones as well (it would be rude not to!). Perusing the "RECENT DONATIONS" shelf, I came across a trio of items from the ever-dependable ECM concern (LOUIS SCLAVIS, CHRIS POTTER, IRO HAARLA), an early TONY WILLIAMS Blue Note, the long sought-after YO-YO MA recording of BACH's complete CELLO SUITES ("long sought-after" in the sense that it's an 'upgrade' from an ailing cassette) and the expanded edition of the first NEW ORDER album »MOVEMENT«
Week from Monday 26th January 2026 - When I'm not immersed in all them new acquisitions, not to mention the HENRY COW box and numerous SOFT MACHINE b***legs, I've been digging into the back-catalogue of the funky Brazilian jazzers GRUPO UM, a great booncha lads who came together as members of HERMETO PASCOAL's band, way back when. They've got a 'new' archive release coming out this week via the Bandcamps. I might end up compiling a "BEST OF..." CD, as there are inevitably DRUM SOLOS which will need skipping over! 'Cos it's jazz. Jazz is like that.
I've remastered our 'punk' parody "RIOT AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY", which we (i.e. RABBITHOLE and I) recorded in the mid-eighties under the nom-de-loon ANTI-NODDY, as part of the GOMAD mock-festival "album". It has to be said that many of the contemporary lyrical references may not mean much to a modern audience, so it hasn't dated terribly well. But it's one more fun item from the archives that deserves a good YouTubing...
The PRO-CYCLING season is back with us once again. I've been watching the daily highlights via CYCLING FANS DOT COM... First the TOUR DOWN UNDER (which involved some chaotic stuff involving kangaroos) and currently, the ALULA TOUR in the Land Of Umpteen Thousand Princes, where JONNY MILAN is winning all the sprints! Yay!
ON THESE DAYS IN HISTORY: On the 29th January 1982, we enjoyed AFTER THE FIRE at Southampton University... On the 30th January 2003, I experienced the mighty MAGMA at the Queen Elizabeth Hall... On the 31st January 1984, we bopped mightily to HERBIE HANCOCK and his Rockit Band at the Hammersmith Odeon...
I'm seeing out the month with yet another 'SATURDAY CLUB' session of enbloodening, up at the general obstacle. It is exactly two years to the day since my original MYELOMA diagnosis. Touching wood...
My project continues of dragging a few choice GRIDLING BAND ditties into the 21st Century, cleaning them up and posting them on THAT YOUTUBE THEY HAVE NOW. The third item is "ALDMONKSTON ROCK". Once again, I've isolated Snilt's voice, using clever modern secret space methods, and spiffed it up for added audibility. The keyboard part I've subjected to a considerable amount of LUSHification, processing it through several layers of digital reverb, so that it no longer sounds like the cheapo Casio that was my sole instrument in 1984. I resisted the temptation to stick a little jig at the end of it, like Spinal Tap's "STONEHENGE".
I'm also finally getting the hang of editing the SUBTITLE 'transcripts' on YouTube so that they make more sense(?)... None other than the 'WEASEL HIMSELF has appeared out of the woodwork and made an appearance on the YouTube comments section!
Next up is "COMMERCIAL SONG". I've fattened up the weedy keyboards a bit, cut out some bits, pasted in some others, and enhanced the vocals. I've just got to make sure that the subtitles are synchronised properly, which usually means coming back several hours later and seeing what the GOOGLEBOTS have made of it.
I checked back later and they're still a mess! It would seem that these things work reasonably well with SPOKEN narratives, but they can't cope with my 'singing'! It was all there, but not necessarily in the right order! Ah well! it's a tedious job, but someone's got to do it... I ended up typing in the text and (approximate) timings myself.
On Friday, I went up the HOZZY for yet another BLOOD TEST, as early as my BUS PASS would allow. I timed it perfectly for once and I was in and out in record time... indeed the entire 'outing', BUS TRIPS and all, took less than a couple of hours!
Week from Monday 19th January 2026 - Whoops! there went another week! I had another telephone chat with the HAEMO/ONCO honcho. Nothing new to report, regarding the condition my condition is in, but the results of the blood tests showed a slight rise in my "CRP" levels. That's mainly because I currently have a dose of the WINTER SNIFFLES and she questioned that even before I mentioned it! "C-REACTIVE PROTEINS" (for it is they) are what the viruses feed off of, so keeping them down is part of the treatment. But there's no immediate cause for concern. To put it another way, 'I DON'T GIVE A CRP'...
I paid a visit to the printers in GOZZY to run off a whole batch of covers for recent MUSIC PROJECTS. It was only when I got back home that I realised that I'd printed them all off at a slightly reduced scale, so they were all smaller than CD-sized. Not that it matters TOO much, they still sit in the plastic sleeves just the same...
I hopped on a bus to Southampton to deliver some DONATIONS to Oxfam. As well as a handful of now-redundant HENRY COW swapsies, I 'purged' a few so-called "PROG" items that I no longer care for, and sent them to a more deserving home.
Natchly, while I was there, I ended up acquiring a few 'new' ones as well (it would be rude not to!). Perusing the "RECENT DONATIONS" shelf, I came across a trio of items from the ever-dependable ECM concern (LOUIS SCLAVIS, CHRIS POTTER, IRO HAARLA), an early TONY WILLIAMS Blue Note, the long sought-after YO-YO MA recording of BACH's complete CELLO SUITES ("long sought-after" in the sense that it's an 'upgrade' from an ailing cassette) and the expanded edition of the first NEW ORDER album »MOVEMENT«
Week from Monday 26th January 2026 - When I'm not immersed in all them new acquisitions, not to mention the HENRY COW box and numerous SOFT MACHINE b***legs, I've been digging into the back-catalogue of the funky Brazilian jazzers GRUPO UM, a great booncha lads who came together as members of HERMETO PASCOAL's band, way back when. They've got a 'new' archive release coming out this week via the Bandcamps. I might end up compiling a "BEST OF..." CD, as there are inevitably DRUM SOLOS which will need skipping over! 'Cos it's jazz. Jazz is like that.
I've remastered our 'punk' parody "RIOT AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY", which we (i.e. RABBITHOLE and I) recorded in the mid-eighties under the nom-de-loon ANTI-NODDY, as part of the GOMAD mock-festival "album". It has to be said that many of the contemporary lyrical references may not mean much to a modern audience, so it hasn't dated terribly well. But it's one more fun item from the archives that deserves a good YouTubing...
The PRO-CYCLING season is back with us once again. I've been watching the daily highlights via CYCLING FANS DOT COM... First the TOUR DOWN UNDER (which involved some chaotic stuff involving kangaroos) and currently, the ALULA TOUR in the Land Of Umpteen Thousand Princes, where JONNY MILAN is winning all the sprints! Yay!
ON THESE DAYS IN HISTORY: On the 29th January 1982, we enjoyed AFTER THE FIRE at Southampton University... On the 30th January 2003, I experienced the mighty MAGMA at the Queen Elizabeth Hall... On the 31st January 1984, we bopped mightily to HERBIE HANCOCK and his Rockit Band at the Hammersmith Odeon...
I'm seeing out the month with yet another 'SATURDAY CLUB' session of enbloodening, up at the general obstacle. It is exactly two years to the day since my original MYELOMA diagnosis. Touching wood...
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