The only act mentioned in the list that I’ve bought something by lately is T. Rex but there have been lots of others. This isolation is causing me to buy even more CDs/vinyl than before and that’s saying something. Too much time in front of the computer, too much freed up disposable income, and a bit of fancying myself as a Medici – that’s one of the rationalizations – leads to more music.
Hey, it’s a much better disease to have than covid-19. Anyone else similarly afflicted?
The only things that I’ve purchased these days is the box set of the Pretty Things’ last concert, the latest album by the Cleaners from Venus a/k/a Martin Newell, the Point DVD & a new book about the Kinks. For me, it’s mostly listening/watching to the stuff I already had. Just before this thing struck, I managed to get the first 5 seasons of SNL, which I’m watching along w/SCTV. Watching the SNL episodes, I’m struck on how the musical guests were all over the map, including jazz acts like Keith Jarrett, who was constantly squirming while playing the piano. Bowie’s appearance in 1980 was still pretty wild & the Stones still stunk.
I bought the box set of the complete Primitives a few weeks ago, Mrs H won’t have music playing in the house so I haven’t listened to it yet.
Tomorrow our daughter has to move out of her university lodgings, so I’m driving down to London to collect her and bring her home, so I might listen to it in the car, depending on what mood I’m in.
There are already five of us, three adults and a school age teenager, plus our eldest’s teenage girlfriend who came to stay just before her uni closed down here at the moment. Our daughter is at drama school, and pretty full on, obviously it’ll be nice to have her home, but we’ve got no damn room and we’re going to have to bribe her little brother to live in a tent in the garden for the foreseeable future. So I haven’t really got music on my mind at the moment. Hope you don’t mind me just getting that of my chest,
About the only music I am making a point of listening to at the moment is a classic rock and roll show on our local radio station on Saturday evening, although I usually catch up later, and Sounds of the Seventies on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully I’ll be back in time to take myself if somewhere quiet and groove on to lots of glam and stuff.
Happiness Stan, how is the Sounds of the Seventies compared to the Sounds of the Sixties? I actually listen to the latter @ my legal job on my computer. I started listening to it when Brian Matthew was the DJ & have continued to listen to it w/Tony Blackburn, who is rather different than the late Mr. Matthew. He uses the same jingles that were on The Who Sell Out.
DJ, hi! Johnnie Walker has always been quite a different animal to Tony Blackburn, he never went for jingles jokes and chat which is the latter’s style. Both worked together at the same time on Radio Caroline in the sixties before the BBC poached them for radio one. When I started listening to music at about nine or ten, TB did the breakfast show, all happy get up and have s lovely day type stuff. I used to take my little radio to school and listen to JW at lunch time. Where TB was like your big brother (or so I’d imagine, being the oldest and not having a brother), JW was a taciturn uncle, educating you quietly by just getting on with playing the records. TBs show hasn’t really changed from what he did fifty years ago, JW has mellowed. I always had a sense that TB would go along with the station’s play lists and they would tolerate his silliness, while JW would tone down the prickliness in return for more say over the choice of records he was playing. Both are totally professional, and even though TB got slightly sucked into the investigations after Savile died, no dirt was found, and neither has anybody ever appeared to try to pin anything on Walker.
The Seventies show has great interviews, in normal times at least, he’s currently doing it from their summer house in the garden with his wife copresenting, which is rather lovely actually.
I’ve not listened to sounds of the sixties fur a while, I used to catch it when I was driving about on a Saturday afternoon, but don’t tend to do that now, and even though I love sixties pop, I’ve heard it often enough that it lives in the library in my head and I can listen to it without having to hear it. Brian Matthew was very old school, a bit like dad trying to be cool, which he probably was, but didn’t really do it for me, mainly, I suspect, because I wasn’t listening to him at the age of nine, which seems to be an age where a lot of us find out what we love and it always feels like home.
A couple of weeks before lockdown, Blackburn came and did his sixties show at the theatre where I volunteer as an usher, it was very entertaining. He and the band he had playing his favourite songs were on for three hours and then he was in the lobby for over an hour afterwards meeting and greeting, he certainly puts the work in, and what you see and hear is what you get.
Thanks for your answer, Happiness Stan, I appreciate it. So does Tony Blackburn actually sing @ these Sixties shows? I know that he had a bit of a singing “career”. Also on the Sounds of the Seventies, is the playlist what was on the charts in the UK, or do they expand it a bit w/album track So?
Beautiful! The Lewisohn interview regarding the Hamburg double LP was great. He never fails to come up with something of interest. Can’t wait to listen to this new interview. Again, greatly appreciated!
Hi DJ, he doesn’t sing, he’s on stage all the time but about two thirds of it is the band playing, medleys mostly, the rest is him talking, mainly scripted obviously but far more audience interaction, talking to hecklers, etc. than most of these shows.
These sixties nights are a bit cabaret, but are entertaining enough as a free night out. Last year I met Mike Pender of the Searchers and was ridiculously star struck. I had a couple of budget greatest hits albums of theirs from the sixties when I was in my teens and I pretty much used them to teach myself guitar. He signed both of them for me and I gibbered a bit. He was supposed to be playing again some time around now, I can’t see theatres being allowed to open again any time soon, though.
Sounds of the Seventies isn’t chart based, just two hours of records from the seventies.
Listened to it on the way to London and back this afternoon, when I arrived chez my daughter he played a Zep song, so I immediately thought of my friends at the Hall. Daughter said I looked like a student, sitting at the car blasting out music, which I took as a compliment but might not have been intended as such.
I recently bought CVB’s guitarist Greg Lisher’s latest solo album, “Songs From the Imperial Garden.” Not sure if the title is an oblique reference to Elvis Costello, or maybe it is a shout-out to his favorite Chinese restaurant. Nice collection of 16 interestingly-titled instrumentals, with sometimes-Camper, sometimes Monk of Doom and general all around good musician David Immergluck on production and additional guitars. While Greg plays songs of a variety of styles (a la CVB), I’m not loving an Irish Rambleresque number, complete with penny whistle. That’s straying too far down a path I can’t go down.
Today I am listening to Carole King albums that are not Tapestry (or Really Rosie). I started with the album, “Music,” because it’s of the same era. Pretty good. Then I listened to one called “Welcome Home,” which Rolling Stone called “the worst album of 1978.” I don’t see how that’s possible, it couldn’t actually be that bad. It is a little corny, and there’s a glut of histrionic saxophone and big production touches that don’t have that Sunday morning gemutlich vibe, but it seems overall to maintain a level of quality one would expect from a talent like King. But then, there is this one disco song…
Another one for the Beatle crowd is a site I’ve had open in my browser forever – I’m waiting for this book to be published: https://jemroberts.com/2019/09/20/fab-fools-1/
A book about the Beatles and their comedy. It looks like pre-ordering is limited to folks in the UK.
CG, that Beatles book looks rather fun, although I admit I found the writing style a little erratic on the blog post. I’m pleased, and entirely unsurprised that the sainted Neil was on board and helpful, and that Eric Idle isn’t, he was an arrogant prick when I met him and probably is still.
If you wanted to pre order one and get it sent to me, I could send it on when it’s available, I’m sure Mr Mod would be able to put us in touch off the forum. There are a couple of things I’d like to buy which are only available from the states, so opening up lines of mutual shipping would work very well for me if you (or anyone) would be kind enough to help me out.
I’m becoming a real sucker for these productions. It’s like the old Coke commercial, “I’d like to teach the world to sing…,” coming to life. Just hope no one gets the idea to do one of these things for a stinking Journey song!
The only act mentioned in the list that I’ve bought something by lately is T. Rex but there have been lots of others. This isolation is causing me to buy even more CDs/vinyl than before and that’s saying something. Too much time in front of the computer, too much freed up disposable income, and a bit of fancying myself as a Medici – that’s one of the rationalizations – leads to more music.
Hey, it’s a much better disease to have than covid-19. Anyone else similarly afflicted?
The only things that I’ve purchased these days is the box set of the Pretty Things’ last concert, the latest album by the Cleaners from Venus a/k/a Martin Newell, the Point DVD & a new book about the Kinks. For me, it’s mostly listening/watching to the stuff I already had. Just before this thing struck, I managed to get the first 5 seasons of SNL, which I’m watching along w/SCTV. Watching the SNL episodes, I’m struck on how the musical guests were all over the map, including jazz acts like Keith Jarrett, who was constantly squirming while playing the piano. Bowie’s appearance in 1980 was still pretty wild & the Stones still stunk.
I bought the box set of the complete Primitives a few weeks ago, Mrs H won’t have music playing in the house so I haven’t listened to it yet.
Tomorrow our daughter has to move out of her university lodgings, so I’m driving down to London to collect her and bring her home, so I might listen to it in the car, depending on what mood I’m in.
There are already five of us, three adults and a school age teenager, plus our eldest’s teenage girlfriend who came to stay just before her uni closed down here at the moment. Our daughter is at drama school, and pretty full on, obviously it’ll be nice to have her home, but we’ve got no damn room and we’re going to have to bribe her little brother to live in a tent in the garden for the foreseeable future. So I haven’t really got music on my mind at the moment. Hope you don’t mind me just getting that of my chest,
About the only music I am making a point of listening to at the moment is a classic rock and roll show on our local radio station on Saturday evening, although I usually catch up later, and Sounds of the Seventies on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully I’ll be back in time to take myself if somewhere quiet and groove on to lots of glam and stuff.
Happiness Stan, how is the Sounds of the Seventies compared to the Sounds of the Sixties? I actually listen to the latter @ my legal job on my computer. I started listening to it when Brian Matthew was the DJ & have continued to listen to it w/Tony Blackburn, who is rather different than the late Mr. Matthew. He uses the same jingles that were on The Who Sell Out.
That new Cleaners From Venus is one of the things I got as well. Team Newell!
DJ, hi! Johnnie Walker has always been quite a different animal to Tony Blackburn, he never went for jingles jokes and chat which is the latter’s style. Both worked together at the same time on Radio Caroline in the sixties before the BBC poached them for radio one. When I started listening to music at about nine or ten, TB did the breakfast show, all happy get up and have s lovely day type stuff. I used to take my little radio to school and listen to JW at lunch time. Where TB was like your big brother (or so I’d imagine, being the oldest and not having a brother), JW was a taciturn uncle, educating you quietly by just getting on with playing the records. TBs show hasn’t really changed from what he did fifty years ago, JW has mellowed. I always had a sense that TB would go along with the station’s play lists and they would tolerate his silliness, while JW would tone down the prickliness in return for more say over the choice of records he was playing. Both are totally professional, and even though TB got slightly sucked into the investigations after Savile died, no dirt was found, and neither has anybody ever appeared to try to pin anything on Walker.
The Seventies show has great interviews, in normal times at least, he’s currently doing it from their summer house in the garden with his wife copresenting, which is rather lovely actually.
I’ve not listened to sounds of the sixties fur a while, I used to catch it when I was driving about on a Saturday afternoon, but don’t tend to do that now, and even though I love sixties pop, I’ve heard it often enough that it lives in the library in my head and I can listen to it without having to hear it. Brian Matthew was very old school, a bit like dad trying to be cool, which he probably was, but didn’t really do it for me, mainly, I suspect, because I wasn’t listening to him at the age of nine, which seems to be an age where a lot of us find out what we love and it always feels like home.
A couple of weeks before lockdown, Blackburn came and did his sixties show at the theatre where I volunteer as an usher, it was very entertaining. He and the band he had playing his favourite songs were on for three hours and then he was in the lobby for over an hour afterwards meeting and greeting, he certainly puts the work in, and what you see and hear is what you get.
Thanks for your answer, Happiness Stan, I appreciate it. So does Tony Blackburn actually sing @ these Sixties shows? I know that he had a bit of a singing “career”. Also on the Sounds of the Seventies, is the playlist what was on the charts in the UK, or do they expand it a bit w/album track So?
It was requested that any new interviews with Mark Lewisohn be posted, following through:
https://youtu.be/_P_dKmxKU50
Enjoy!
Beautiful! The Lewisohn interview regarding the Hamburg double LP was great. He never fails to come up with something of interest. Can’t wait to listen to this new interview. Again, greatly appreciated!
Hi DJ, he doesn’t sing, he’s on stage all the time but about two thirds of it is the band playing, medleys mostly, the rest is him talking, mainly scripted obviously but far more audience interaction, talking to hecklers, etc. than most of these shows.
These sixties nights are a bit cabaret, but are entertaining enough as a free night out. Last year I met Mike Pender of the Searchers and was ridiculously star struck. I had a couple of budget greatest hits albums of theirs from the sixties when I was in my teens and I pretty much used them to teach myself guitar. He signed both of them for me and I gibbered a bit. He was supposed to be playing again some time around now, I can’t see theatres being allowed to open again any time soon, though.
Sounds of the Seventies isn’t chart based, just two hours of records from the seventies.
Listened to it on the way to London and back this afternoon, when I arrived chez my daughter he played a Zep song, so I immediately thought of my friends at the Hall. Daughter said I looked like a student, sitting at the car blasting out music, which I took as a compliment but might not have been intended as such.
I recently bought CVB’s guitarist Greg Lisher’s latest solo album, “Songs From the Imperial Garden.” Not sure if the title is an oblique reference to Elvis Costello, or maybe it is a shout-out to his favorite Chinese restaurant. Nice collection of 16 interestingly-titled instrumentals, with sometimes-Camper, sometimes Monk of Doom and general all around good musician David Immergluck on production and additional guitars. While Greg plays songs of a variety of styles (a la CVB), I’m not loving an Irish Rambleresque number, complete with penny whistle. That’s straying too far down a path I can’t go down.
Today I am listening to Carole King albums that are not Tapestry (or Really Rosie). I started with the album, “Music,” because it’s of the same era. Pretty good. Then I listened to one called “Welcome Home,” which Rolling Stone called “the worst album of 1978.” I don’t see how that’s possible, it couldn’t actually be that bad. It is a little corny, and there’s a glut of histrionic saxophone and big production touches that don’t have that Sunday morning gemutlich vibe, but it seems overall to maintain a level of quality one would expect from a talent like King. But then, there is this one disco song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtOTMuNbudU
Another one for the Beatle crowd is a site I’ve had open in my browser forever – I’m waiting for this book to be published:
https://jemroberts.com/2019/09/20/fab-fools-1/
A book about the Beatles and their comedy. It looks like pre-ordering is limited to folks in the UK.
CG, that Beatles book looks rather fun, although I admit I found the writing style a little erratic on the blog post. I’m pleased, and entirely unsurprised that the sainted Neil was on board and helpful, and that Eric Idle isn’t, he was an arrogant prick when I met him and probably is still.
If you wanted to pre order one and get it sent to me, I could send it on when it’s available, I’m sure Mr Mod would be able to put us in touch off the forum. There are a couple of things I’d like to buy which are only available from the states, so opening up lines of mutual shipping would work very well for me if you (or anyone) would be kind enough to help me out.
I’m becoming a real sucker for these productions. It’s like the old Coke commercial, “I’d like to teach the world to sing…,” coming to life. Just hope no one gets the idea to do one of these things for a stinking Journey song!
http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/the-grateful-deads-ripple-played-by-musicians-around-the-world.html