Thirteen! Thirteen!
Week from Monday 9th March 2026 - It's been a curious season for the LiDL-TREK lads. MADS PEDERSEN hasn't even started his, having sustained several broken bones on the very first day. SKJELLY didn't start the PARIS-NICE due to wrist trouble ("TENOSYNOVITIS" - I had to look THAT up!). THIBAU NYS has also been hospitalised ("Prepatellar Friction Syndrome").
JUAN AYUSO managed to get a yellow jersey (and the white) in the PARIS-NICE, but then crashed out the next day (Nothing broken, but he's retired bruised and battered).
JONNY MILAN hoovered up all the points jerseys in Saudi Arabia and the UAE earlier, but then he's entered in the TIRRENO-ADRIATICO ("The Race Of The Two Seas"), a mostly hilly stage that generally doesn't favour a sprinter AT ALL... with the exception of the final SAN BENEDETTO DE TRONTO stage. Which he DID win. Because he could. For the third year running! So THAT's why he was there...?
It's been an interesting um... RIDE, so far, even though there's a lot going on that I don't get to watch any more. I'm relying on the (previous) day's video highlights from CYCLING FANS LIVE, as part of my morning routine.
It's a NEW SOFT MACHINE DAY! The CD arrived a day earlier than promised, which made me wonder whether it was a superstitious ["Thirteen" on Friday 13th] thing on Burning Shed's part...?
I think I'm right in saying that "THIRTEEN" is the first album for a long time (since they reconvened as "Soft Machine Legacy" in the early noughties) to comprise of entirely fresh numbers (if you don't count the DAEVID ALLEN samples!), rather than a mixture of old and new toons. Mind you, a couple of the 'new' numbers have been in the live set for a while now. All of the chaps have contributed compositions, although THEO TRAVIS gets the lions share and he also occupies the producer's chair. And a lovely job he's done too!
What can I say? It's all fabulous! I'm going to have to 'LEARN' it for a while - absorbing it osmotically for a few days to let it all sink in. I usually have to do this with new music, especially when there's a lot going on.
By the way, they've once again done that thing of having "bonus" tracks on the Bandcamp and elpee versions that AREN'T on the CD... five tracks on the double album, and two on the download, one of which is different from the vinyl! The rotten pests!
But it's been mainly another routine week... Get up, measure blood pressure, take my meds, do some puzzles, make coffee, watch some cartoons... Maybe a documentary about BRIDGET RILEY or get lost in 16th Century dance music. As yer do... Logged into the online bank to check up on things... Now I've got an appointment with the expensive TOOTH FAIRIES on Friday... Received a clean bill of dental health which should keep everyone satisfied for another six months.
Sunday afternoon's movie 'treat' was "AIRPORT", a star-studded piece of far-fetched nonsense if ever I saw it! It's hard to watch without bringing to mind the "AIRPLANE" spoofs that followed. It was terrible, but I'm actually looking forward to next week, when they show the first sequel "AIRPORT'75". It promises to be even terrible-er! That film frequently appears in the 'WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME' lists and has been nominated in several 'GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS' categories.
JUAN AYUSO managed to get a yellow jersey (and the white) in the PARIS-NICE, but then crashed out the next day (Nothing broken, but he's retired bruised and battered).
JONNY MILAN hoovered up all the points jerseys in Saudi Arabia and the UAE earlier, but then he's entered in the TIRRENO-ADRIATICO ("The Race Of The Two Seas"), a mostly hilly stage that generally doesn't favour a sprinter AT ALL... with the exception of the final SAN BENEDETTO DE TRONTO stage. Which he DID win. Because he could. For the third year running! So THAT's why he was there...?
It's been an interesting um... RIDE, so far, even though there's a lot going on that I don't get to watch any more. I'm relying on the (previous) day's video highlights from CYCLING FANS LIVE, as part of my morning routine.
It's a NEW SOFT MACHINE DAY! The CD arrived a day earlier than promised, which made me wonder whether it was a superstitious ["Thirteen" on Friday 13th] thing on Burning Shed's part...?
I think I'm right in saying that "THIRTEEN" is the first album for a long time (since they reconvened as "Soft Machine Legacy" in the early noughties) to comprise of entirely fresh numbers (if you don't count the DAEVID ALLEN samples!), rather than a mixture of old and new toons. Mind you, a couple of the 'new' numbers have been in the live set for a while now. All of the chaps have contributed compositions, although THEO TRAVIS gets the lions share and he also occupies the producer's chair. And a lovely job he's done too!
What can I say? It's all fabulous! I'm going to have to 'LEARN' it for a while - absorbing it osmotically for a few days to let it all sink in. I usually have to do this with new music, especially when there's a lot going on.
By the way, they've once again done that thing of having "bonus" tracks on the Bandcamp and elpee versions that AREN'T on the CD... five tracks on the double album, and two on the download, one of which is different from the vinyl! The rotten pests!
But it's been mainly another routine week... Get up, measure blood pressure, take my meds, do some puzzles, make coffee, watch some cartoons... Maybe a documentary about BRIDGET RILEY or get lost in 16th Century dance music. As yer do... Logged into the online bank to check up on things... Now I've got an appointment with the expensive TOOTH FAIRIES on Friday... Received a clean bill of dental health which should keep everyone satisfied for another six months.
Sunday afternoon's movie 'treat' was "AIRPORT", a star-studded piece of far-fetched nonsense if ever I saw it! It's hard to watch without bringing to mind the "AIRPLANE" spoofs that followed. It was terrible, but I'm actually looking forward to next week, when they show the first sequel "AIRPORT'75". It promises to be even terrible-er! That film frequently appears in the 'WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME' lists and has been nominated in several 'GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS' categories.
Comments
Post a Comment