Tuesday 24 May 2011
Monday 16 May 2011
Wtf is this? Council or Police CCTV? or Streetview? DVLA?
Cameras? One on each corner?
Does the answer appear on this page? http://www.speedcam.co.uk/van3.htm
Saturday 14 May 2011
Early rehearsal memories
Then within a stone's throw or three, there was the old house I used to carry my guitar and amp up to, in Park Road Barnet EN5. We used to jam there...sunshine of your love, our own songs etc...we'd do chillums and play hide and seek...I must have been 15/16, it must have been 1980/81...
Very Happy Days...
How huge that house looks now..back then there were lots of spaciosu places...now every single square cm is bought up and patched up and exploited...
the house back then was bare boards, minimal old furnishings...it was a palace..I'd much rather be there then than in a modern sterilised house...where the atmosphere has been stripped away in the pursuit of PRIDE...how silly we are....
Very Happy Days...
How huge that house looks now..back then there were lots of spaciosu places...now every single square cm is bought up and patched up and exploited...
the house back then was bare boards, minimal old furnishings...it was a palace..I'd much rather be there then than in a modern sterilised house...where the atmosphere has been stripped away in the pursuit of PRIDE...how silly we are....
Vinyl - Jean Luc Ponty CIVILIZED EVIL
An instrumental album from violin maestro Jean Luc Ponty.
Nice tuneful journeys. Lose your mind to the music, switch off and float along...nice grooves, keys, violins, witty titles that make me think Ponty is very aware of the negatives that "civilisation" brings....authority, sheepism, control...I guess, to me, it shows the sensibilities of a person who believes in a more natural world where people are more free....
I think LP's can be taken anyway the listener wants to take, ie what the listener takes as meaning is valid in his world.
Sounds great on vinyl..I don't mind the crackles....I just imagine I'm cooking a bit of bacon.
Nice tuneful journeys. Lose your mind to the music, switch off and float along...nice grooves, keys, violins, witty titles that make me think Ponty is very aware of the negatives that "civilisation" brings....authority, sheepism, control...I guess, to me, it shows the sensibilities of a person who believes in a more natural world where people are more free....
I think LP's can be taken anyway the listener wants to take, ie what the listener takes as meaning is valid in his world.
Sounds great on vinyl..I don't mind the crackles....I just imagine I'm cooking a bit of bacon.
Vinyl - Peter Bardens HEART TO HEART
Two words....Stephanie Powers...nuff said.......isn't she lovelyyyyy, isn;t she beautifulllll, ... etc
No, not that Heart to Heart
This is a beautiful record, very Barden-esque.....I think he lost his way a bit with the later albums...this one is a light jazzy affair, with lots of bardens' sentiment that I used to pick up off old Camel records....not so much the proggy stuff...but the slightly melancholy, yet humour laden, wispy, airy, sensitivity....
Raining All Over the World .. is a love song, a song of a relationship split...yet it sounds to me very much like a heart pour over his leaving Camel...it's a very moving song...
I can see many people NOT liking this LP as it is a soft sensitive kind of poppy, keyboard oriented, funky, ballady odd affair...but I love it...I thin this is is his best solo LP in fact....
Mel collins is fantastic as he always is...and Gus Isadore plays guitar and sings some....
It's a nice album, all the players are in fact contributing nicely to this record.....
.....a melancholy beautiful record...with strong songs, lovely vintage keyboard sounds, spacious production and Pete Bardens' character stamped all over it
Another fave LP that sounds great on vinyl...might take some people a few listenings...will appeal to rain lovers
HOW CAN I EXPLAIN TO YOU
WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH
IT'S ALL IN ...... SLOW MOTION
No, not that Heart to Heart
This is a beautiful record, very Barden-esque.....I think he lost his way a bit with the later albums...this one is a light jazzy affair, with lots of bardens' sentiment that I used to pick up off old Camel records....not so much the proggy stuff...but the slightly melancholy, yet humour laden, wispy, airy, sensitivity....
Raining All Over the World .. is a love song, a song of a relationship split...yet it sounds to me very much like a heart pour over his leaving Camel...it's a very moving song...
I can see many people NOT liking this LP as it is a soft sensitive kind of poppy, keyboard oriented, funky, ballady odd affair...but I love it...I thin this is is his best solo LP in fact....
Mel collins is fantastic as he always is...and Gus Isadore plays guitar and sings some....
It's a nice album, all the players are in fact contributing nicely to this record.....
.....a melancholy beautiful record...with strong songs, lovely vintage keyboard sounds, spacious production and Pete Bardens' character stamped all over it
Another fave LP that sounds great on vinyl...might take some people a few listenings...will appeal to rain lovers
HOW CAN I EXPLAIN TO YOU
WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH
IT'S ALL IN ...... SLOW MOTION
Vinyl - Fashion FABRIQUE
This LP is one I used to play on cassette in my old mini circa 1982/3.. car was a honey gold 1972 mini saloon....my first car....
As soon as it hit the record deck today, memories flooded back..driving past cockfosters, Lavender Hill, Enfield...Ang, smoking, British Telecom, late night drives in HERTS, attending Southgate Tech......wow....every nuance of this record I know....like many of my LP's....
Anyway, back to the LP.
FASHION and their LP FABRIQUE .. kind of post punk electronic rock, in a way, Simmonds drums, spacey yet industrial-ist production, drum machine sounding beats, imaginative lyrics on occasions....
but it just does not go far enough...the groove always feels hurried and weird, like the band is not playing together, and if they are not, and they probably weren't then it should still hang better than this...
Really - I felt nauseous listening to this LP...it really is bad...
Sounds bad on any format.....to me it's a very unmusical - pretentious LP...badly played, badly produced gimmicky muzak....that strives to be seen as "art" but falls short because the listener is not lifted anywhere, there's not enough depth to the lyrics or music.....it doesn't inspire growth-thought and it doesn't groove......
I really liked this back in the day...weird how it sounds so different now.....
As soon as it hit the record deck today, memories flooded back..driving past cockfosters, Lavender Hill, Enfield...Ang, smoking, British Telecom, late night drives in HERTS, attending Southgate Tech......wow....every nuance of this record I know....like many of my LP's....
Anyway, back to the LP.
FASHION and their LP FABRIQUE .. kind of post punk electronic rock, in a way, Simmonds drums, spacey yet industrial-ist production, drum machine sounding beats, imaginative lyrics on occasions....
but it just does not go far enough...the groove always feels hurried and weird, like the band is not playing together, and if they are not, and they probably weren't then it should still hang better than this...
Really - I felt nauseous listening to this LP...it really is bad...
Sounds bad on any format.....to me it's a very unmusical - pretentious LP...badly played, badly produced gimmicky muzak....that strives to be seen as "art" but falls short because the listener is not lifted anywhere, there's not enough depth to the lyrics or music.....it doesn't inspire growth-thought and it doesn't groove......
I really liked this back in the day...weird how it sounds so different now.....
Vinyl - Shawn Phillips - COLLABORATION
This LP opens with a flurry of Flamenco type strumming...brash , an awakening call...
then moves further into the first track; Us We Are. The vocals of Shawn Philips always seems to make me think of the wide plains of America and sun sun sun, a long blond haired ( I think of him as a Texan?) with a sinuey vocal sound....that is unique and musical...there is a remarkable and beautiful vocal improvisation on What's Happenin Jim? .. which lifts you into the stratosphere ...
Orchestrations add a gravitas and fullness as well as at times a spacey feeling( Paul Buckmaster and Peter Robinson).
This sets the tone for the whole album...sets the quality bar very high......Shawn Philips has a lot to say, and he's coming from a very sane perspective..a very human, ancient wisdom.
I can recall painting my bedroom, back in Barnet, sky blue...it took me hours..and I played this LP continuously for the whole time......
It's an LP I love and will always have a copy.
Shawn was one of my many mentors...leading my thoughts,
A good artist - for me anyway - leads the listener/observer to new thoughts and inspirations..but reflects the listener back to himself...hopefully bringing out new inspirations and INSIGHTS.
This acoustic oriented album has a feeling of organic collaboration, raw environments with real dirt, sunshine, challenging observation of mankind....love songs, euphoria, pychosis, personal growth etc etc
Shawn Phillips is great! This album is his best imo....I CANNOT DO JUSTICE TO HOW GOOD THIS LP IS.
Sounds great on vinyl......
then moves further into the first track; Us We Are. The vocals of Shawn Philips always seems to make me think of the wide plains of America and sun sun sun, a long blond haired ( I think of him as a Texan?) with a sinuey vocal sound....that is unique and musical...there is a remarkable and beautiful vocal improvisation on What's Happenin Jim? .. which lifts you into the stratosphere ...
Orchestrations add a gravitas and fullness as well as at times a spacey feeling( Paul Buckmaster and Peter Robinson).
This sets the tone for the whole album...sets the quality bar very high......Shawn Philips has a lot to say, and he's coming from a very sane perspective..a very human, ancient wisdom.
I can recall painting my bedroom, back in Barnet, sky blue...it took me hours..and I played this LP continuously for the whole time......
It's an LP I love and will always have a copy.
Shawn was one of my many mentors...leading my thoughts,
A good artist - for me anyway - leads the listener/observer to new thoughts and inspirations..but reflects the listener back to himself...hopefully bringing out new inspirations and INSIGHTS.
This acoustic oriented album has a feeling of organic collaboration, raw environments with real dirt, sunshine, challenging observation of mankind....love songs, euphoria, pychosis, personal growth etc etc
Shawn Phillips is great! This album is his best imo....I CANNOT DO JUSTICE TO HOW GOOD THIS LP IS.
Sounds great on vinyl......
Wednesday 11 May 2011
Barnet Memories and Barnet Museum
I went up to Barnet Museum jester day...and it was a lovely sunny day. The museum had that old smell you remember from childhood, hard to explain, don't know what it is....wood, old metal fused with sunlight...
The museum minder was an almost eccentric looking organ player who was educated, amusing and friendly...we had a nice chat...
The museum has been under threat...it is an important resource and a lovely place to spend a few hours...
Seeing this school attendance register really brought home some memories...they used to do the same markings, an upward stroke for morning and a downward one for afternoons and a O for no attendance in either half of the day... the registered pcitured dates from the 40's and they were still using this system in the 70's/80's.....
An early policeman PEELER ? and his lamp and truncheons.....
And this eery door plate - for viewing?
The museum minder was an almost eccentric looking organ player who was educated, amusing and friendly...we had a nice chat...
The museum has been under threat...it is an important resource and a lovely place to spend a few hours...
Seeing this school attendance register really brought home some memories...they used to do the same markings, an upward stroke for morning and a downward one for afternoons and a O for no attendance in either half of the day... the registered pcitured dates from the 40's and they were still using this system in the 70's/80's.....
An early policeman PEELER ? and his lamp and truncheons.....
And this eery door plate - for viewing?
Saturday 7 May 2011
Friday 6 May 2011
Video - Park 45 top mount and TS-808 bypass
Video is here for now
This video was created as a result of "forumeer" incorrectly discounting one of my amp demo videos for the purpose of evaluating the character of a vintage guitar amplifier and then suggesting everyone does the same.
The bone of contention is: Does having a single guitar pedal in your chain mean (in BYPASS mode) make a demo video obselete in terms of showing the amp's tone?
Nope!
I suggest that a bypassed TS-808 in my chain does not impede the listener in his quest to hear the character of the amp.
So much nonsense out there. I think these things are often a person's feelings getting in the way of reality.
Amp Demo videos are subject to all sorts of distortions of reality, the type of mic you use, the preamp, (all camcorders have them) the room shape, size and loads of things like that...so really we cannot be TOO PICKY!
This video was created as a result of "forumeer" incorrectly discounting one of my amp demo videos for the purpose of evaluating the character of a vintage guitar amplifier and then suggesting everyone does the same.
The bone of contention is: Does having a single guitar pedal in your chain mean (in BYPASS mode) make a demo video obselete in terms of showing the amp's tone?
Nope!
I suggest that a bypassed TS-808 in my chain does not impede the listener in his quest to hear the character of the amp.
So much nonsense out there. I think these things are often a person's feelings getting in the way of reality.
Amp Demo videos are subject to all sorts of distortions of reality, the type of mic you use, the preamp, (all camcorders have them) the room shape, size and loads of things like that...so really we cannot be TOO PICKY!
Vinyl - Al Di Meola - CASINO
The maestro does his thing....beautiful playing, rapid, charming, sweet, insane, full of humour...always entertaining....
An LP that budding guitarists would try to learn the guitar parts of..challenging .....
Kind of not that far away from Colloseum 2 at times. A cheerful LP. Lots of fat les paul type lead guitar tones.
Sounds great on vinyl.
Today's Homemade Bread
The Bread on the left has brown, white and spelt flours, shelled hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds.
The bread on the right has white and brown flours, sunflower seeds, goji berry, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds.
Wednesday 4 May 2011
DVD recommendation - The Lost Betjemans
In 1993 Gerry Dawson discovered in an unmarked film can one of Sir John Betjeman's lost documentaries. He went on to find all of Betjeman's films over the following months and so the issue of this lovely DVD - The Lost Betjemans.
I enjoyed this DVD a lot. It is made up of small poetic documentaries, shot in black and white and dating back to the early 1960's. Each film is a gem, appreciating the finer things in life, the simple good things in life. Weston-super-mare, Bath, Malmesbury, Marlborough, Bristol and Clevedon.
A relaxing and valuable programme of videos, highly recommended. Nostalgic, sentimental but also of cultural value. A good anti-dote to the fast edited, Ego led rubbish doco's we mostly get these days , that seem to be aimed at the least sophisticated level of taste and don't let you linger long enough to get a real taste of what is being shown.
My only criticism is the way the programme makers seem to insert bits of info between the videos, it would have been nicer had they run the old programmes consecutively without any of their own added interruptions, the info of which had been taken care of in the first chapter on the DVD.
Tuesday 3 May 2011
"It took me 70 years to do this!"
I remember a nice little story Joni Mitchell told on a TV show over here years ago, the details are sketchy but it went something like this:
Picasso was on a TV show being interviewed. The interviewer asked him to do a little sketch. Picasso obliged.
the interviewer turned to Picasso and said " Don't you feel guilty that a sketch that took you a few seconds is going to be worth thousands of pounds?"
Picasso said "What do you mean? It took me seventy years to do that drawing!"
Touche......and so very true.....
Picasso was on a TV show being interviewed. The interviewer asked him to do a little sketch. Picasso obliged.
the interviewer turned to Picasso and said " Don't you feel guilty that a sketch that took you a few seconds is going to be worth thousands of pounds?"
Picasso said "What do you mean? It took me seventy years to do that drawing!"
Touche......and so very true.....
Absolutely the BEST pickle I ever tasted.
St John and Dolly Smith's Pickles, Sauces and Chutneys
I first discovered Chris Smith's pickles at a Farmer's Market some years ago in Palmers Green...the market was flourishing back then...we chatted, he loved FREE - he sold me a jar of Brinjal Pickle and my god...that was it....this is the most delicious pickle I have ever tasted....nothing tastes like it, nothing can replace it...check it out.....it doesn't disappoint.
Been a while since I caught up with Chris but I understand he is to be found with his pickles and sauces at Broadway Market
Excellent stuff!!!!
I first discovered Chris Smith's pickles at a Farmer's Market some years ago in Palmers Green...the market was flourishing back then...we chatted, he loved FREE - he sold me a jar of Brinjal Pickle and my god...that was it....this is the most delicious pickle I have ever tasted....nothing tastes like it, nothing can replace it...check it out.....it doesn't disappoint.
Been a while since I caught up with Chris but I understand he is to be found with his pickles and sauces at Broadway Market
Excellent stuff!!!!
Cob Hot Tub
We got our Becky Bee book on how to build a fire driven hot tube out of cob, a bath you sit in ouside your house and look at the stars...
once I get to my countryside destination - this is something I am definitely going to do...
read about it here
once I get to my countryside destination - this is something I am definitely going to do...
read about it here
Monday 2 May 2011
Vinyl Recommendations Earthworks and Pat Metheny
Bill Bruford's Earthworks album.
This LP has a really strong, clear, warm sound to it. Lots of acoustic instruments mix with electronic instruments. Bill Bruford plays acoustic kit as well as synthesized drums. His band play brass, keys, bass etc. Melodic , aggressive, wistful, joyous, adventurous...this album holds much fruit....
It has a jazzy but modern feel to it, very spacious and the imagination leads the music through ever changing atmosphere.
I loved the first two Bill Bruford solo albums and this album is a good addition. The sticker on the LP says 14 9 88 Virgin £6.99
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworks_(band)
Pat Metheney - WORKS
Another lovely vinyl LP> I believe Metheney and his band would record an album very quickly, giving the "live" element life.
There are tunes on this compilation record that become set as favourites for life.
I remember years back listening to this record and an image was evoked where I was in America, in the hot summer, sitting on a coach, head leaning on window looking out, as it wound through natural leafy un-inhabited parts of the US Countryside. I get a strong sense of "journey" from this record. Maybe this symbolises personal change. It's easy for this album to feel like it has become a friend.
This is a very joyous album.
The sticker on the back says DOBELLS £5.95p - and the stickers on the front show that this LP was bought at the local library when they sold off their vinyl years back.
This LP has a really strong, clear, warm sound to it. Lots of acoustic instruments mix with electronic instruments. Bill Bruford plays acoustic kit as well as synthesized drums. His band play brass, keys, bass etc. Melodic , aggressive, wistful, joyous, adventurous...this album holds much fruit....
It has a jazzy but modern feel to it, very spacious and the imagination leads the music through ever changing atmosphere.
I loved the first two Bill Bruford solo albums and this album is a good addition. The sticker on the LP says 14 9 88 Virgin £6.99
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworks_(band)
Pat Metheney - WORKS
Another lovely vinyl LP> I believe Metheney and his band would record an album very quickly, giving the "live" element life.
There are tunes on this compilation record that become set as favourites for life.
I remember years back listening to this record and an image was evoked where I was in America, in the hot summer, sitting on a coach, head leaning on window looking out, as it wound through natural leafy un-inhabited parts of the US Countryside. I get a strong sense of "journey" from this record. Maybe this symbolises personal change. It's easy for this album to feel like it has become a friend.
This is a very joyous album.
The sticker on the back says DOBELLS £5.95p - and the stickers on the front show that this LP was bought at the local library when they sold off their vinyl years back.