Last day of the year (again)...

Playlist
Various –Jukebox Shuffleplay

Ah - last day of the year...

Slept till 6 up at 7 and tidied the computer room then updated the links on the blog then looked for cover art and track lists for Craig’s CDs and found them all then rejigged the CDs on shelf in the living room to add recent acquisitions (my last 100 CDs are on the shelf, taking me back to around October)...

At 11, just after Anne woke and got up, I went back to bed for a much needed snooze..

We were supposed to be going to Anne’s mum’s for a family lunch at 1, but at 10 to 1, I woke to find Anne ready to leave without me leaving the ill, sleepy man behind...

Next thing I knew the phone was ringing at around 3:30...

Got up, phoned my mum back and wished her a happy new year (she’d called and left a message)...

This is what the world outside looked like...



Had a couple of slices of toast and watched the end of “Star Trek IV” then a film called “Explorers” – which was, frankly, rubbish...

Anne returned before the end, bearing some chicken salad and a couple of iced buns from her mum who, it must be said, makes the best sponge cakes in the world...

Anne started to cook the curry for later on as I continued to watch the film...

Then we enjoyed the football highlights from yesterday...

Then a quick log-in to the ether world before returning to the living room for “Coronation Street”..

Very windy weather and already Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow and Stirling had called off their events...

I remember being in Amsterdam three years ago when we discovered on New Year’s Day that Edinburgh’s Hogmanay had been cancelled..

Two years ago we were in Barcelona...

Last year we were in Leith at Anne’s brother’s place...

This year, it’s a quiet night in with lovely home-made pakoras and curry and a few beers and maybe we can steel ourselves to drink some champagne...

Watched a very entertaining Billy Connolly DVD, “Dead Ringers” (must’ve been a repeat since they had a sketch re Saddam Hussein’s trial), “Only an Excuse” (hit and miss as usual) and “Still Game” (great stuff) before midnight..

We’d forgotten that there’d be fireworks on Corstorphine Hill (Edinburgh does some kind of “seven hills” type thing these days re its displays) and so we hadn’t realised we’d be treated to an excellent display right outside our house ...

At first I was thinking “jeez, the neighbours have really shelled out on the fireworks this year”...

We waited in vain for any sign of the Pet Shop Boys Edinburgh performance being shown on BBC – till they mentioned the concert and street party had been called off due to the weather...

Twice in four attempts – a reputation beckons...

Went to bed at 1:15 after seeing “Bottom”’s Ade Edmondson singing the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK” with Jools Holland’s big band...

We eschewed the champagne, recalling July 13 and the great getting absolutely smashed out of our faces on champagne and feeling decidedly dead on July 14...

My albums of the year?

Well, of the 312 CDs added to my collection this year, I've set out below, my top 150, split into self-explanatory categories - all are, of course, recommended listening....

150 Albums I Liked in 2006

New Albums (23)
Alice Peacock - Who I Am
David Gilmour - On An Island
Francoise Hardy - Parentheses
Frost* - Milliontown
Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
Jakko M Jakszyk - The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (2CD)
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Kino - Picture
Mathilde Santing - Under Your Charms
Mogwai - Mr Beast
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
OK Go - Oh No
Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental (2CD)
Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah!
Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard
The Church - Uninvited Like the Clouds
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (2CD)
The Killers - Sam's Town
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Tool - 10,000 Days
Violet Archers - The End of Part One
Wetton/Downes - Icon II Rubicon

Recent Albums (28)
Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
David Sylvian - The Good Son v The Only Daughter
Dream Theater - Octavarium
Eels - Blinking Lights and other Revelations (2CD)
Eels - Shootenanny
Eels - Souljacker
Gang of Four - Return the Gift (2CD)
Girls Aloud - Chemistry
Halloween Alaska - Halloween Alaska
Halloween Alaska - Too Tall To Hide
Laura Pausini - Escucha
Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor
Marillion - Marbles (2CD)
Morrissey - You Are The Quarry
Neal Morse - ?
Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow
Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie
Phil Manzanera - 50 Minutes Later
Richard Shindell - Sparrow's Point
Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow
Sarah McLachlan - The Bloom Remixes
Shadow Gallery - Room V (2CD)
Sigur Ros - Takk
Susumo Yokota - Grinning Cat
The Church - Forget Yourself
Tom McRae - All Maps Welcome
Wetton/Downes - Icon

Re-Issues (28)
Anthony More - Flying Doesn't Help
Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music
David Byron - Baby Faced Killer
Francoise Hardy - Ma Jeunesse Fou de Camp
Gentle Giant - Free Hand
Gentle Giant - The Power and the Glory
Grand Funk - Phoenix
Grand Funk Railroad - Red Album
Jethro Tull - War Child
Ken Hensley - Eager to Please
Led Zeppelin - I
Led Zeppelin - II
Led Zeppelin - IV
Michael Hoenig - Departure from the Northern Wasteland
Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
Mott the Hoople - Mott
Mott the Hoople - The Hoople
Neu! - Neu! 4
Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram
Paul McCartney - McCartney
Paul McCartney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway
Steve Hillage - Motivation Radio
Television - Marquee Moon
The Eagles - Hotel California
The Move - Message From The Country
This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears
Ursa Major - Ursa Major
Yello - Flag

Live Albums (8)
Alice Cooper - Live at Montreux 2005 (CD+DVD)
Dido - Live at the Brixton Academy (CD+DVD)
Dream Theater - The Score (3CD)
Grand Funk Railroad - Live Tour 1971
ProjeKct One - Jazz Café Suite
Rheostatics - Barrymore's Ottawa 1996 (2CD)
Robert Fripp - Soundscapes for Orchestra
Yellow Matter Custard - One Night in NYC (2CD+DVD)

Single Artist Collections/Anthologies (13)
Asia - The Very Best of Asia : Heat of the Moment
Barclay James Harvest - The Harvest Years (2CD)
Blancmange - Best of Blancmange
Fountains of Wayne - Out of State Plates (2CD)
Francoise Hardy - Messages Personnels (3CD)
Grand Funk Railroad - 30 Years of Funk 1969-99 (3CD)
Laurie Anderson - Talk Normal (2CD)
Lou Reed - NYC Man (2CD)
Mathilde Santing - Ballads
Peter Gabriel – Hit/Miss (2CD)
Suzanne Vega - Retrospective (2CD)
The Beatles - 1
The Beatles - Love

Various Artist Compilations (7)
Various - Nuggets
Various - Shine On
Various - Super 70's Rock (3CD)
Various - The Best Prog Rock Album in the World...Ever (3CD)
Various - The Greatest Hits of 1972
Various - Time Machine : A Vertigo Retrospective (2CD)
Various - Trojan Dub Rarities (3CD)

Jazz New (5)
Brad Mehldau Trio - House on Hill
Crimson Jazz Trio - King Crimson Songbook Vol 1
John McLaughlin - Industrial Zen
Metheny/Mehldau – Metheny/Mehldau
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity

Jazz Recent (9)
Allan Holdsworth - Road Games
Brad Mehldau Trio - Anything Goes
McLaughlin/De Lucia/Di Meola - Guitar Trio
Reid Anderson - Abolish Bad Architecture
Reid Anderson - Dirty Show Tunes
Reid Anderson - The Vastness Of Space
The Bad Plus - Give
The Bad Plus - Motel
The Bad Plus - These Are The Vistas

Jazz Re-Issue (15)
Andrew Hill - Dance With Death
Andrew Hill - Smoke Stack
Art Blakey - Like Someone in Love
Billy Cobham - Total Eclipse
Jacques Loussier - Play Bach No 1
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things
Lee Morgan - The Gigolo
Lee Morgan - Tom Cat
Return to Forever - Hymn of the 7th Galaxy
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Weather Report - Black Market
Weather Report - I Sing the Body Electric
Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller
Weather Report - Sweetnighter
Weather Report - Weather Report

Jazz Live (1)
Brad Mehldau Trio - Progression : The Art of the Trio Vol 5 (2CD)

Classical (13)
Albinoni - Complete Oboe Concertos (3CD)
Handel - Complete Chamber Music (4CD)
Haydn - Complete String Quartets (21CD)
Heinichen - Concerti Grandi
Lindsay String Quartet - Art of the Lindsays (5CD)
Mozart - Complete Works (170CD)
Mozart - One Hundred Best Mozart (6CD)
Philip Glass - The Hours OST
St Georges - Violin Concertos Vol 1
Various Composers - The Glory of the Baroque (2CD)
Vivaldi - Complete Cello Concertos (4CD)
Vivaldi - Concert for the Prince of Poland
Vivaldi - Four Seasons Etc (6CD)

I hope some of your favourite music is included in the list....

Finally, here are my top ten singles and albums of 2006...

SINGLES
1 Sparks - Perfume
2 Girls Aloud - Something Kinda Ooooh
3 Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
4 Pet Shop Boys - Minimal
5 Gnarls Barclay - Crazy
6 The Killers - When You Were Young
7 Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla
8 Pet Shop Boys - I'm With Stupid
9 Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
10 Nine Horses - Wonderful World

ALBUMS
1 Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
2 The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel
3 Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard
4 The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity
5 Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental
6 Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
7 Wetton/Downes - Icon II Rubicon
8 Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
9 Mathilde Santing - Under Your Charms
10 David Gilmour - On An Island

So - a doubly whammy, as they say, for the mighty SPARKS who also win my award for Gig of the Year, followed very closely indeed by Paul Buchanan (twice), The Bad Plus, Dar Williams, Asia and Wetton/Downes (both of whom are also in Asia of course..)

While I'm at it, I can advise my Top Five Restaurants visited this year were:-

Café St Honore, Edinburgh
Howie's, Queensferry St, Edinburgh
La P’tite Folie, Tudor House, Edinburgh
No 3, Edinburgh
West End Balti & Dosa House, Glasgow

I only went to the cinema twice this year - I saw "Superman Returns" and "Starter For Ten" - need to do more cinema next year perhaps...

I read no books - which is pathetic really - though I'm still to finish that Nick Hornby one I was reading on the plane home from Italy, "A Long Way Down"...

That's it..

And so, farewell 2006, you were "no bad" I suppose....



Highlight of the Day : Probably “Still Game”

Zonked out...

Playlist
Various – Albums of the Year Jukebox Shuffleplay
Sarah McLachlan- The Bloom Remixes

I must’ve fallen asleep almost immediately at 10 last night and slept for 4 hours till 2 am when I woke. Listened to the jukebox till around 4:15 then got up and went downstairs with Meg the Black Cat – but today the cat flap stayed shut...

Read this month’s The Wire and their round up of the year, whilst listening to my own albums of the year...

At 6, I went back upstairs with a bunch of CDs to be ripped and transferred to the jukebox, thirty seven in all...

It took around six hours to rip them – I think I should probably be able to do it faster than that...

I was feeling a lot better today after the four hours uninterrupted sleep but had a bit of a coughing fit relapse when we drove round to Tesco to get some beers in and the ingredients for Anne’s Hogmanay curry...

The days are all melding into each other now – we’ve not really done anything over the festive period due to the ongoing under the weather scenario – and so I’d kind of forgotten it’s a Saturday – until Anne started listening to the football on the radio...

A 0-0 draw for Hearts away at Kilmarnock, while Queen of the South return to the bottom of their league after losing 1-0 away in Dingwall to Ross County...

In the evening we watch (I seem to be watching far too much telly these days – I feel a New Year resolution coming on) “Pride and Prejudice” whilst taping “The Hours” for future consumption – the soundtrack of which is one of my top five classical CDs acquired by me in 2006...



Then an extra long Match of the Day due to the rare situation of all ten matches being played on the same day...

To bed around 12:30 am in hope of much needed sleep...

I am zonked out....

Highlight of the Day : 4 hours’ sleep

Time travel and a natural born killer...

Playlist
Various – Albums of the year jukebox playlist
Children’s Introduction to A World of Good Music
Various 7” Singles

Pretty much no sleep at all last night and so I was up around 4 and downstairs with Meg the Black Cat...

I opened the cat-flap for her...

A big mistake...

As I sat at the dining room table with my headphones on, compiling my best of 2006 list, I saw her out of the corner of my eye running quickly through the living room towards me...

She dropped a little bird next to my feet...

It was still alive but quite badly injured and, I suspected, not long for this world...

I tried to stop Meg from going back out the flap but was too late – I opened the door and she was just sitting on the mat but when I tried to get her to come back in, she ran away...

I went back to the bird and wrapped it in paper towels and took it out the back door – I couldn’t bring myself to break its neck – I still remember trying to do that once a long time ago in a similar situation with a bird which had been run over and the struggle the bird put up to stay alive is burned into my memory...

I decided to let the bird die in peace, and so placed it in the wheelie bin and came back indoors...

I was totally wracked with guilt about just putting it in the bin, but I didn’t want to leave it in the open where it could be finished off by another cat...

If only I hadn’t opened the flap...

At around 6:30. I went out to check and there was no movement so I guess the bird must have died...

Next thing Pam’s up and is all bright and breezy – I didn’t tell her till later on about the bird so she might have wondered about my mood...

An hour later we were on our way to the airport and, after a quick nip into Tesco for more pills, I was back home just after 8....

We stayed in all day – Anne watched “Love Actually” on DVD then I completed the “Back to the Future” trilogy – I’m afraid there are just so many nit-picks re time travel that it’d take too long to list them – an enjoyable trilogy nonetheless...

By evening we were both coughing incessantly – only stopping to eat a lovely Chinese takeaway to cheer us up...

Watched “Coronation St” and “Grumpy Old New Year” (we should’ve been in it) before retiring at a preposterously early 10pm...

In between these I played some more old singles on the new turntable including a couple of David Bowie tracks which I don't think have ever been released on CD...

Firstly, a Chuck Berry cover, "Round and Round", the "B" Side of "Drive In Saturday" and then a storming version of "Panic in Detroit" which should have been included on "David Live" just like its "A" Side, "Knock on Wood"...

I also found a really old LP in the cupboard called "Children’s Introduction to A World of Good Music", narrated by one David Teig...

It's the record which my dad used, when I was around four or five years old, to introduce me to all the different instruments of the orchestra and to classical music in general...

Each instrument plays a solo version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", before the entire orchestra belts out a brilliantly overblown take on Mozart's nursery rhyme...

The disc also features pieces from Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" and "Nutcracker Suite" and Grieg's "Peer Gynt" along with two lesser known pieces, Victor Herbert's "March of the Toys" and "On the Trail" from Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite"...

I gave it a spin and it took me right back in time, crackles, pops and all...

Lowlight of the Day : Meg the Black Cat doing what cats will generally do, given the chance

Spinning..

Playlist
The Beatles – Love
Sparks – Hello Young Lovers
Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental
Various – Albums of the year jukebox playlist
Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies (LP)
Fripp & Eno – (No Pussyfooting) (LP)
Various – The Milano Jukebox 2006
Robert Fripp – God Save the Queen/ Under Heavy Manners (LP)
Models –Local and/or General (LP)
Yes – 9012Live – the solos (LP)
Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth (LP)
Various 7” Singles....
Various – The Sunday Times Music Collection

Hurrah – slept right through till 5:45 tonight without getting up – although it seemed I spent the entire night dreaming about Girls Aloud...

Updated the red book of CDs I’ve bought since 1985 – 312 in 2006 so far (this is the first year since 1984 that I’ve not received at least one CD as a Christmas gift) and, ably assisted by the presence of Meg the Black Cat, I compiled my list of top fives for 2006 whilst listening to The Beatles’ “Love”...

And so here they are (Best in each category in bold type)...

New Albums
Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel
Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard

Recent Albums
Wetton/Downes - Icon
Marillion - Marbles
Neal Morse - ?
Eels - Blinking Lights and other Revelations
Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow

Re-Issues
Television - Marquee Moon
Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
Gentle Giant - Free Hand
Gentle Giant - The Power and the Glory
This Mortal Coil - It'll End in Tears

Live Albums
Robert Fripp - Orchestral Soundscapes
ProjeKct One - Jazz Café Suite
Alice Cooper - Live at Montreux 2005
Dream Theater – Score
Rheostatics - Barrymore’s Ottowa 23/05/96

Jazz
Andrew Hill - Dance With Death
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity
Reid Anderson - The Vastness of Space
Brad Mehldau Trio - House on Hill
John McLaughlin - Industrial Zen

Classical
Lindsay String Quartet - Art of the Lindsays
Albinoni - Complete Oboe Concertos
Haydn - Complete String Quartets
Vivaldi - Complete Cello Concertos
Mozart - Complete Works

Collections/Anthologies
Lou Reed - NYC Man
Fountains of Wayne - Out of State Plates
Peter Gabriel – Hit/Miss
Grand Funk Railroad - 30 Years of Funk 1969-99
The Beatles – Love

Various Artist Compilations
Various - Time Machine : A Vertigo Retrospective
Various – Nuggets
Various - Trojan Dub Rarities
Various - Super 70's Rock
Various - The Best Prog Rock Album in the World...Ever

Tomorrow I’ll compile my list of the best 150 albums I’ve acquired this year...

Around 7:45, to the PC to update the blog – adding pics to Tuesday’s entry – Blogger’s quirks re pic posting are becoming annoying...

Put together playlist w/ above albums – those that are on the Jukebox anyway...

Watched an episode of “Torchwood” from a couple of weeks back. An especially good episode and, although I had reservations about this show at first, these have now all but disappeared and I am a confirmed fan...

Finally tidied away the Xmas presents and I set up the turntable and spun a few discs for the first time in a few years...



They sounded good – just like CDs except for the crackles...



Despite getting some sleep last night, I continued to be plagued by the Lurgi and, if anything, Anne was worse – however she had an optician’s appointment so we drove into town and I dropped her off, took the car to be washed and returned to pick her up at the Real Foods store where she’d purchased a few spices for the big home-made curry she’s making for us on New Year’s Eve (we will be staying in)...

Back home and we were both feeling grim but my mood was lifted when Anne gave me a FOPP token as a late Xmas present seeing as how no-one had bought me any CDs this year - she is lovely....

I watched “Back to the Future pt II” then played a few more records and Anne prepared for the confirmed visit tonight of sister Pam and mum...

I must say we were not great company – often having coughing fits in unison – but Anne’s culinary delights (a very tasty home made lasagne followed by vanilla ice cream and kiwi fruits) made up for that...

After a few games of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” mum made her way back home leaving Pam for me to take to the airport tomorrow morning...

We watched football highlights including Hearts’ win over Hibs on Boxing Day and then all turned in for the night...

A day of coughing and spinning...

Highlight of the Day : Anne’s home made lasagne

No sleep till 2007?

Playlist
King Crimson – Peerless (Best of CD-R)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – The Acoustic Ersatzreal
Tangerine Dream – 1974-1977 (Best of CD-R)
Dido – Brixton Academy (DVD)
Yes – 35th Anniversary Tour (DVD)
Various – Barock Festival
Girls Aloud – The Sound of the Underground
The Killers – Sam’s Town
Marillion – The Jingle Book
The Beatles - Love

Fourth disastrous night in a row, sleepwise – again virtually no sleep and I ended up watching music DVDs at 5 in the morning as Anne tried her best to grab some much needed shut-eye – she’s contracted the disease now too – in fact, if truth be told, I think she had it first - she was ill around a month ago and has not yet properly recovered...

Phoned Pam to advise the proposed visit and sleepover on Thursday might have to be called off but we’ll speak again tomorrow to confirm...

Watched this year’s Xmas “Dr Who” – excellent – much better than last year’s and Catherine Tate was surprisingly good – and the trailer for the 2007 series was mouthwatering...

To Tesco to get more medication and for provisions including ingredients for the proposed home made lasagne for tomorrow night’s jeopardised visit by Pam and Mum...

Watched “Back to the Future” – great film – pt 2 tomorrow and pt 3 on Friday....



Other than that, we were both pretty wasted – Anne watched telly while I surfed the net, downloading Marillion’s 2006 Xmas album – a couple of specially recorded spoof tracks (including the vultures’ song from The Jungle Book) and their only live appearance of 2006 (in Krakow)...

Also made a start on compiling my best of 2006 list....

After tea, we watched “Coronation St” on video, “Torchwood” in real time and tonight’s “CSI : Miami” on video...

Went to bed around 11:30, confident that I must surely get some sleep tonight...

Highlight of the Day : Dr Who

Racing snowmen and reindeers...

Playlist
Pet Shop Boys – A Life in Pop (DVD)
Girls Aloud – Girls on Film (DVD)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – The Acoustic Ersatzreal
Pet Shop Boys - Discography Vol 2 (CD-R)

Another night with practically no sleep...

I found myself watching DVDs at 4:30 in the morning after spending the night unable to get off to sleep...

The Pet Shop Boys was very revealing and rekindled my love for their music - their song "Being Boring" is one of very few which can reduce me to tears it's just so good and, with the event of AIDS, their cover of Village People's "Go West" takes on a whole new meaning...

And of course, I'm in a bit of a Girls Aloud frenzy - in fact when I'm trying to sleep, one of the problems is their tunes going round and round in my head....

Anne managed to get some sleep though and when she rose we had breakfast then we watched the hour long Christmas Day “Coronation St” from last night...

By then I was completely knackered and went to bed to try and finally get some sleep...

I had been meaning to go round to Anne’s sister Jane’s while Anne went to the Hearts v Hibs derby at Tynecastle with her mum – the whole family was to met at Janes’s for the Boxing Day meal...

I finally got a couple of hours’ sleep then woke and tracked the score on the BBC’s website – a 3-2 win for Hearts...

Anne came back home for me at 5 and we drove round to Jane and Bobby’s. As ever the meal was fantastic – deep fried king prawns in batter and marinated chicken kebabs as appetisers, followed by a choice of sirloin beef or stuffed salmon with asparagus, accompanied by sautéed onions and mushrooms and potatoes roasted in goose fat...

This was followed by marshmallows or pineapple dipped in a chocolate fountain or rich white chocolate cheesecake and then cheese and biscuits and coffee...




There were of course crackers, each of which held a mechanical snowman, santa or reindeer and we had a tournament to see who’s was the fastest...



Anne’s snowman was the champion....



After the meal we had our annual family secret santa (beer glasses for me – a curry cookbook for Anne) then we played a musical intros quiz which our nephew Craig had prepared from the tracks on his I Pod, followed by Who Wants to be A Millionaire from a DVD...

By 10:30 we were knackered and it was time for our nephew Ollie to go to bed – so we took Anne’s mum and Craig home as Keith and Maureen got a taxi in the other direction...

From the way I was feeling when we got home, I knew there’d be very little sleep again tonight and it looks like Anne’s also now coming down with this very annoying infection...

A good but very tiring day – I think I’ve only had around eight hours’ sleep, if that, all told since the night of the 23rd...

Highlight of the Day : Jane’s cooking

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine and the flu...

Playlist
Various – The Milano Jukeboxes 2003, 2004, 2005
Various – The Best Xmas EP In the World...Ever (CD-R)
Various – The Milano Jukebox 2006
Girls Aloud – Various Videos
Pet Shop Boys – Various Videos
Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music – 21 Songs
Vivaldi – Oboe Concertos
Various – Jukebox Xmas Playlist

Oh dear, oh dear...

Woke at 2:39 – unwell re the flu...

Grabbed a CD to try and get myself back to sleep – but to no avail...

Got up at 3:55 which, even for me on a Christmas Day, is a wee bit early...

Went downstairs with Meg the Black Cat and listened to the last three “best tunes of the year” compilations I’d made up for Anne, whilst trying to doze on the settee – again to no avail...

Absolutely knackered, returned to bed at 7:36, hoping against hope for some respite from the voices in my head and stupid unfocussed thoughts which were whirling around in there, keeping me awake – when really it was the incessant coughing and sniffing and throat clearing which was doing the damage...

So Merry Christmas!!



Up again around 10 after possibly 90 minutes’ sleep...

Normally I’d be on at Anne to get downstairs and open the presents asap, but today I took my time to shave (both face and head) shower and dress, all to the accompaniment of “The Best Xmas EP In the World...Ever”...

It comprises:-
Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody”
John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”
Gary Glitter’s “Another Rock’n’Roll Christmas” (funny how that one doesn’t show up on the shop bought compilations anymore)
Greg Lake’s “I Believe in Father Christmas” and
Wizzard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”

...before making it down to the living room – hell, I even made coffee and croissants (well heated up the latter anyway) and we had our breakfast before opening the presents...

No CDs for me this year (let’s face it, I buy far too many anyway) but three excellent DVDs, two by Girls Aloud and one from Pet Shop Boys and, of course the recently arrived USB turntable which will require to be set up over the next few days...

In the afternoon, to the accompaniment of Mr Vivaldi’s Oboe Concertos, we drove to Anne’s sister’s to pick up her mum and take her to her son’s house for dinner...

Ollie and Kitty were on good form and I look forward to spending some time with them tomorrow...



We had a quick drink at Keith and Maureen’s whilst perusing the various CDs, DVD’s Playstation games etc which Maureen’s two girls had received...

Then out to Loanhead where my sister, Pam, was in charge of matters. Mum was in fine fettle (she’s always buoyed when Pam’s up from her home in Hemel Hempstead) – they are like two peas in a pod...

As the ladies chatted, and Pam ensured everything was running to the timetable, I plugged the jukebox into my dad’s hi-fi and compiled a Xmas-day-background-music-hits-through-the-ages playlist...

Other sister Sheila and our two nephews, Andy and Alastair arrived, more presents were exchanged and dinner was served – Pam did brilliantly, since there was just the right amount for all – none of the old huge turkey going to waste scenario – and her veg were just right – though Alistair and I were completely against parsnips of course cos they are minging...

The main course was bookended by my mum’s home-made prawn cocktail (though I don’t think she actually caught the prawns herself) and a choice of trifle or lemon cheesecake – and the evening’s fayre was rounded off with cheese and biscuits and coffee and After Eights...



Later on, the boys’ dad, Andrew Snr arrived – he had had to work today – and, later still, Ali’s lovely girlfriend, Julie came by too..

Ali’s recently become a plumber’s apprentice and is getting right into it – playfully arguing the toss with Pam re how long it should take to fit a kitchen (Pam’s husband Richard was a fitter to trade so she knows a thing or to about it)...

Around 9, my coughing was becoming very annoying indeed and we were forced to say our farewells and head home to Meg the Black Cat...

I was tempted to stay out of bed though by both “The Vicar of Dibley”, which I’d never watched before but which I found to be quite good – and “Little Britain” which, as ever, had its moments...

Decided to sleep in the back room on the sofa bed tonight to give Anne some peace...

Another year over...

Highlight of the Day : Presents and families

It’s a Wonderful Life...

Playlist
Various – The Milano Jukebox 2006
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Anthology 1977-2004 (Unreleased 2CD)

Up reasonably early and drove to Tesco for some very last minute presents for Anne and also in search of some medication re the worsening flu like symptoms..

Failing miserably on the presents and medication front, but buying some provisions (cos hey, the shops are going to be closed for around 12 hours soon), I headed to the local Spar and got the confectionery in question (Tesco having been sold out) and some cash for my nephews (Nephews always just want money - even when it's not Xmas) then in to Boots at the West End – but it was only 8:50 by this point and the shop wasn’t opening till 10:30...

So I drove to another branch near the Cathedral of Sainsbury and it was open. ...

I bought an extra large pack of Contac 400, lying to the assistant re her query as to whether I was on any other medication...

Back home and I made breakfast of croissants and coffee and then we settled down for a day in front of the goggle box...

We watched:-

2 x “The Worst Christmas of my Life”
3 x “Coronation St”
Girls Aloud live from Wembley Arena
The film “Bad Santa”
All the extras on the “Bad Santa” DVD

Then, a break to put all the presents at the tree and for Anne to make some of her “Best Pakoras in the World...Ever” which were joined by several other “nibbles” – no more proper meals till Xmas Dinner tomorrow at my mum’s..

Then, we continued with:-

Scotsport – including Hearts’ win v Dundee Utd
“It’s a Wonderful Life” – much wiping of eyes from me – no doubt due to my, ahem, cold symptoms...
All the extras on the “It’s a Wonderful Life” DVD
And, finally, “Grumpy Old Xmas” – which, despite not being having been flagged up as such, was a repeat from 2003 – still enjoyable though...

Then off to bed for what should have been a restless night’s sleep (for I am as excited as a young child every Xmas eve at bedtime), but which should, at least, have actually involved some sleep...

Highlight of the Day : The Best Pakoras in the World...Ever

Under the weather...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Anthology 1977-2004 (2CD Unreleased)
Wetton/Downes - Icon
Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor
Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
David Gilmour - On An Island
Girls Aloud - Chemistry
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy (CD-S)
Mathilde Santing - Under Your Charms
Pet Shop Boys – Fundamental
The Blue Nile - High
Alice Peacock - Who I Am
Cloudland Blue Quartet - The Acoustic Ersatzreal
Peter Gabriel - Hit/Miss
Laura Pausini - Escucha
Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow
Sarah Harmer – Sarah Harmer (CD-R)
Wetton/Downes – Icon II Rubicon
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah!
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard


Photo by Stuart Cobley

This is how I feel today...

I'm not hungover, I just have my usual festive period cold - dammit!

So spent all day indoors...

Reading stuff on the net till around 1:30 when Anne came homefrom a wee trip uptown...

After lunch?

More internet nonsense - including finishing of my analysis of the year...

Hurrah! Both Hearts and Queens won today - both 1-0, both away from home, the JTs at Dundee Utd and QoS at Livingston....

In the evening an Indian while we watched "Strictly Come Dancing", "Robin Hood", "TOTP 2 Xmas Special" and "Match of the Day"....

Compiled the annual "Milano Jukebox" - the best tracks of the year which Anne has expressed an interest in or, in some cases, even liked!

Highlight of the Day : Queens win away at last!

Adding to the national debt...

Playlist
Janacek - Piano Sonatas
Various - Jukebox Shuffleplay

OK officially time to wind down now for the season and so my last Xmas Lunch...

Anne and I meet up with Rose and Ken at 1pm..

First to Browns for some drinks - jeez-oh almost £20 for just four drinks? Hey it's Xmas - chillout fatboy....

Then to La p'tite folie for a gorgeous meal including three (count 'em) bottles of wine (my having already partaken of two glorious pints of Erdinger Weissbier)...

For the first time ever I have steamed mussels (today in a light ham, garlic and parmesan marinade - if that's the term)...

For my main, a lovely rib eye steak - rare - with a few vegetables - delightful...

And, for pudding, a small slice of baked alaska - perfection...

Then to George St for more drinks (Can I just note here that I wanted to go home at this point?) and we end up in the Living Room where my credit card seems to take on a life of its own....

I was my usual (when pished) irritating self and the place seemed full of people I knew and so I was wandering around bumping into acquantances and calling them all "big man" etc...

Special mention to the table in the corner though, at which sat Lorna, Kathryn, Joanne, Perii, Ewen and another girl I didn't know, and at which we were occasionally joined by Mr Siegel...

Young chum Kris also turned up later on and, once Rose and Ken had left for their train home, Anne's chums Chris (big PSB, D Mode and Erasure fan) and Julie arrived. I guess Chris has a thing for Anne as he kept telling me how lucky I am - but I know that already...

Eventually, I got to the point where Anne had to get me home - I have no idea what time it was but would guess probably only around 9 or so...

As we were stotting down the road from the bus terminus, I noticed my voice had gone....

I remember eating some beans on toast and then being woken up by Anne saying it was time for bed....

Next thing I knew it was 2 am and I couldn't stop coughing and so had to get up - evidently I have yet another big cold - my nose was blocked , my throat hurt like hell etc etc...

I ended up sleeping (or trying to) on the settee in the living room (our living room - not the large over-charging pub back in George St)...

...and here I am now, up with the Larks at 6:20 updating the blog....

On balance, probably a good day...

Highlight of the Day : Getting home in one piece.....

Shortest day...

Playlist
Purcell – Dido & Aeneas
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Deeperdown
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain (Best of CD-R)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Best of 1990-1995
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Best of 1996-2006
Lindsay Quartet – Haydn/Beethoven String Quartets

First thing this morning, I gave “Deeperdown” a spin – just to remind myself of how good my music is...

Ah yes, hit after hit...

Yet another Xmas lunch today with friends Margaret, Claire, Sarra, Alan and Anne (but not my Anne)...

I can heartily recommend the Orchid Lodge in Castle Street – very tasty indeed – and the old vino was flowing...

Still one last present to buy for Anne – probably Saturday or, as traditionally, Xmas Eve perhaps...

In the evening, Anne is off out with bestest friend Lynn for a few cocktails etc and I am on taxi duty, with The Blue Nile accompanying me on my journeys, and having rearranged the seat to help my shoulders and remove the pain from my forearm when driving...

Back home, as I wait for the call to go and collect them, I continue with my survey of my entries for 2006 and reach the end of June...

I can advise that my favourite concerts of the first half of 2006, in chronological order, were:-
Sparks
Wetton/Downes
Dar Williams
The Bad Plus
Paul Buchanan

Whilst working through the months, I give some more of my music a spin. Yes indeed I am good...

Then the latest free download from DGM Live, a live track (“Lament”) by King Crimson from October 1973, featuring John Wetton on vocals and bass. Good to see from Mr Fripp’s recent diary entry that he and Johnny are still on very good terms after all these years – they recently met for tea and cakes and discussed the Asia reunion, which of course I witnessed three weeks ago this very night and which, no doubt will feature in my top gigs of 2006...

I note also that The Bad Plus have kindly linked from their blog to mine re my response to their music questionnaire – they were amused by my juxtaposition of the melody from “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (written of course by Mr Mozart) with the harmonic elements of Mr Beethoven’s late string quartets...

As I waited for Anne’s call, I watched an entertaining little piece of fluff, “Serendipity”…

Picked Anne and Lynn up around 12:30 a little the worse for ware and delivered both home to their Christmassy beds…

Highlight of the Day : Reminding myself how good my music is…

No sign of Aeneas...

Playlist
BT – This Binary Universe
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
Dido – Live at Brixton (DVD)
Jackie McLean – Capuchin Swing

Cold and Christmassy again today as I finished off (almost) my shopping for Anne’s presents by buying something for me, me, me...

And lo – it was the DVD and CD set of “Dido Live at the Brixton Academy” which I watched while Anne washed her hair...

I like Dido (who shares a birthday with the baby Jesus) very much – I believe her to be one of the best female songwriters around and indeed in a way, I aspire to her simplistic tunes and everyday lyrics...

Indeed, two of her songs are two of my all time favourite songs, “Here With Me” and “White Flag” – I’m afraid they don’t come much better than that...

Tonight, it’s the last in “Oz and James’s Great Wine Adventure” and they feature champagne....

I’m still off that particular tipple after the champagne frenzy back in August which left me rather incapacitated for a good while...

Despite this, I have four bottles of champagne or champagne like wines waiting to be consumed – a Veuve Clicquot, an Oudinot (which seems to be named after a French Duke), a Lindauer from New Zealand and a Henkel Trocken from Germany..

No doubt the majority will be consumed over the festive period...

“Torchwood” tonight and yet another surprisingly good episode...

Then to the PC to get things up to date whilst enjoying Jackie McLean’s “Capuchin Swing” which was recorded in 1960, after Monday’s “Jackie’s Bag” (1959) but released before it (1960 v 1961)...

Ah the vagaries of Blue Note Records....

I love it....

Highlight of the Day : Dido live in my living room...

Shake, rattle and roll...

Playlist
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain (Best of CD-R)
Mozart – Complete Works (La Finta Giardiniera)
King Crimson - The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson

To physio this morning to discover that the operation did indeed go well but that the doctor I saw last week at the infirmary was talking nonsense about the normality of the pains in my lower arm..

Turns out I have particularly weak muscles in my back – the ones which control my shoulder blades – so much so that, if lying on my front and trying to raise my arms backwards just a few inches, both my entire arms shake like a great big shaky thing...

So, I now have exercises for those muscles to try and strengthen them...

I’m back for more in early January...

At lunchtime I meet up with old friends Helen and Gillian for lunch and they tell me many a funny tale of Gillian’s wedding in Sorrento back in September – including lock-ins in the only Irish Pub in the town which is owned by an obviously Italian couple who insist on saying things like “Begorrah” and “Bejabers” and on trying to talk with an Irish accent...

Meanwhile, IT Guru Martin has kindly transferred the studio programmes from one DVD to five CDs...

Back home though, whilst enjoying another Mozart Opera, I can’t seem to get the programmes to run properly and, after a brief consultation with Webmeister Craig, I resolve to put everything on hold until after his trip to the States for New Year and, instead, I will have a leisurely Xmas with Anne rather than spending every waking moment buggering about with music programmes on the PC...

On the upside (if it is indeed a downside not to bugger about with music programmes over Xmas) another card was popped through the door today and so I drove again to the courier depot tonight and, this time, collected the USB Turntable. However, I didn't open the box as it's a Xmas present to me from Anne - hopefully everything that should be in the box, is in the box....

Later on, we watch “CSI : Miami” and then “The Worst Christmas of My Life” – a follow on from “The Worst Week of My Life”. Absolutely hilarious – and the good thing is, there are another two episodes to enjoy later this week...

Tonight's bedtime listening is "The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson"...

Highlight of the Day : “The Worst Christmas of my Life”

Bad sandwich day...

Playlist
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
Jackie McLean – Jackie’s Bag

The day starts well as I leave the house into a typically cold and crisp, frosty December morning – I have the jukebox on shuffleplay and the first track of the day is from Jackie McLean’s 1959 album, “Jackie’s Bag”....

From there though, it’s downhill almost all the way...

I start to feel kind of flu-ey around mid afternoon and by the time I make it back to the house I am feeling like death warmed up...

On the upside a card has been put through the door to say that an attempted delivery of two parcels has been made..

I’m waiting on the controller keyboard which will be at the heart of the new Crispycat Studio for 2007 and a USB Turntable to allow me to play my old records into the PC and burn to CD for posterity...

On top of that, webmeister Craig has e-mailed to say he has all the new software for the studio waiting for me out at Castle Sutherland...

So, at 7, I head first to the courier depot to pick up the packages – but there’s only one even though the card definitely said two – maybe just a mistake – I have the keyboard but it seems there’s a good chance the turntable has gone awol...

So then I drive out to Penicuik and, either I’m having a heart attack or a very severe case of heartburn...

I’m useless by the time I arrive at Craig’s but put a brave face on it. I have visions of me keeling over and he and his lovely wife, Amy, having to deal with my corpse cluttering up their flat...

As usual, it’s nothing and a couple of hours later, as I leave with a DVD full of studio type stuff, I’m feeling not too bad again...

But, back home, the PC won’t recognise the DVD so I can’t load any of the software...

I give up and watch “Have I Got News For You” featuring the irrepressible Boris Johnson which cheers me up no end and provides the other side of a sandwich day with a particularly poor filling...

To bed with Mr McLean on the headphones....

Tasty...

Highlight of the Day : The feeling I got as I stepped out into a cold crisp clear frosty December morning with Jackie McLean on the jukebox...

Don't feel like dancing...

Playlist
BT – This Binary Universe
Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah!
Sasha – Involver
Anthony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
Mozart – Complete Works ((Mitredate, Re Di Ponto)
Ice Cube – Death Certificate
Faithless – Forever Faithless
La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf
Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music - 21 Singles

A quiet day today – up again around 7:30 and watched two episodes of “Robin Hood” on tape, then drove again to Patisserie Florentine, repeating yesterday’s croissant shop...

After breakfast, I spent most of the day backing up and then deleting from the hard drive, over 1,000 tracks used I the recordings I’ve done over the last eighteen months or so....

I listened to the remainder of the discs from Craig's shoebox and can advise that Faithless and Ice Cube are following Lupe Fiasco to a similar fate...

Anne seems to like track one on the Scissor Sisters album though, judging by the number of times I heard it being played downstairs at full volume...

Broke for lunch (the remains of yesterday’s bread) and, whilst listening to a Mozart opera, wrapped up all Anne’s presents – though I still have a few things to get...

Downloaded another great blast from the past, the eponymous debut from LA Dusseldorf...

I spent some time mastering a CD of 21 singles by Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music in reverse chronological order which for some reason, the PC wouldn’t write to a CD...

Abandoned this (I saved it for later that is) and we headed to Anne’s mum’s for the family tea. I played football again in the hall (no mishaps this week) with nephew Ollie and niece Kitty. Kitty was chatting away to me, something she’s not done much before – she’s only two but she’s a lovely wee girl and Ollie’s bright as a button too...

Back home, I managed at last to get the Ferry disc done and finished off the day with “Match of the Day 2”....

Highlight of the Day : Getting all Christmassy...

Shopping...

Playlist
Paul McCartney – The Space Between Us
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (Live)
Spock’s Beard - Spock’s Beard
Various - The Orb:Back to Mine
The Beatles – Love
Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah!
Sarah McLachlan – Bloom Remixes
Various - Jukebox Shuffleplay
The Killers – Sam’s Town
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Hey Hollywood Nimrod
Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor

Up at 7:20 despite last night’s late finish and I immediately watched two programmes recorded for me by Anne..

Firstly, a documentary/concert from Paul McCartney’s last tour – amazing to see the looks of sheer joy on so many of the faces in the audience at hearing these famous songs played live by the man who wrote them...

Then, Pink Floyd playing the whole of “The Dark Side of the Moon” live from London in 1994. Obviously flawed due to the absence of Roger Waters (and the presence of an extra drummer) but a spectacular sight nonetheless...

Drove to Patisserie Florentin and picked up some croissants for breakfast and some tasty bread for lunch...

Started a summary of 2006 by reading through the blog and noting what I’ve been up to this year by way of concerts, visits etc for my end of year stats – I’ve now been keeping this daily diary for over 22 months non-stop...

Meanwhile Anne put up the small artificial tree and Xmas lights....

After lunch, I took Anne to her mum’s as they were off to see Hearts v Aberdeen (they lost 1-0) while I went into town to do my Christmas shopping...

I spent not too long really, maybe around two and a half hours, trudging the streets going from this place to that, collecting various items which I think/hope Anne will like/enjoy...

Drove home and fired up the PC and checked the footie by going thru the BBC videprinter thingy which records all the goals etc as they happen, in chronological order from 3pm till 4:45pm...

It was via this that I learned the Hearts score and, for the third time recently, that Queen of the South had been leading only to lose a late goal and drop two more valuable points. They remain bottom of their league...

I watched “Strictly Come Dancing” with Anne for the first time. It’s actually quite enjoyable and the non-dancers show an incredible amount of talent in learning two dances from scratch in a week...

After this, I drove to pick up our habitual Saturday night Indian takeaway...

Then we watched a bit of the dreadful X Factor – just how dreadful? Well they had Westlife and Take That dueting with the two finalists...

The girl won. Rightly so, she is a great singer but with a tad too much of the old Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston vocal histrionics about her for my liking...

A couple of good laughs to be had from “The Culture Show” and its last show of the year, including the results of the “Greatest UK Living Icon” – a kind of X Factor for the middle classes if you like...

The three finalists were Paul McCartney, David Attenborough and, erm, Morrissey. Don’t get me wrong, I like and admire Morrissey – I have all his albums, save his latest, and quite a few by the Smiths – but he is not an Icon surely....

I felt certain that Macca would win but he came third and Sir David took the honours...

I berated him initially as a “voice-over” artist but, in light of a short montage of his films, I realised he was indeed a worthy winner – though I still feel McCartney is a greater Icon...

Wrote up the blog for the last three days whilst listening to some of the albums taken from Craig’s shoe box on Thursday night...

Of those I sampled today, only Lupe Fiasco goes in the bin – it’s self aggrandising rubbish quite frankly...

Finished off a tiring but enjoyable day with “Match of the Day” of course....

Highlight of the Day : Xmas Shopping for Anne

No prizes for coming second...

Playlist
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
Spock’s Beard - Spock’s Beard
John Coltrane – Giant Steps

Bought the new Spock’s Beard album from Amazon the other day and it arrived today. On first listen I was a little disappointed but, on second listen, it started to grow on me – it needs time and plays...

Tonight, as I did last year, I attended a big Xmas Party at Murrayfield Stadium but, this year, I wasn’t on crutches...

And I didn’t drink anywhere near as much as last year...

It was a James Bond theme night and I had advised I’d be attending dressed as Jane Seymour playing “Solitaire” in the 1973 Bond epic, “Live and Let Die”...

Many comented I had the breasts for it...

In the event, I went along without a disguise but, get this, I still came second in the fancy dress awards for our three tables...

No prize though...

Much dancing was undertaken by yours truly (in a your-dad-at-your-wedding stylee) and a good time was had by all...

I was home and tucked up in bed by a very reasonable 1:30 am...

Highlight of the Day : 2nd Prize in the fancy Dress Parade...

DTM Musician Questionnaire

If you head over to "Do the Math", the blog of jazz heroes The Bad Plus, you'll see that numerous musicians have completed the "Do The Math Musicians' Questionnaire" and now they've asked others around the world to do the same...

So here is my two cents worth...

DTM Musician Questionnaire: David Reilly

GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OR TWO OF AN ESPECIALLY GOOD OR INTERESTING:

1. Movie score. “Enemy of the State”; “The English Patient”
2. TV theme. “Law and Order:Criminal Intent”
3. Melody. “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
4. Harmonic language. Beethoven Late String Quartets
5. Rhythmic feel. “Black Juju” by Alice Cooper
6. Hip-hop track. none
7. Classical piece. Erik Satie “Gymnopedie No 1”; Edward Elgar “Nimrod”
8. Smash hit. “White Flag” by Dido
9. Jazz album. “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane
10. Non-American folkloric group. Madredeus (Portugal)
11. Book on music. “The Glenn Gould Reader”

BONUS QUESTIONS:

A) Name a surprising album (or albums) you loved when you were developing as a musician: something that really informs your sound but that we would never guess in a million years: "Rainbow Rising" by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

B) Name a practitioner (or a few) who play your instrument that you think is underrated: Brian Eno

C) Name a rock or pop album that you wish had been a smash commercial hit (but wasn’t, not really): “Can We Still Feel” by Jason Falkner

D) Name a favorite drummer, and an album to hear why you love that drummer: Bill Bruford : “Fragile” by Yes

Of course, if you come back and ask me tomorrow, my answers may well br very different...

Pie, potatoes, pickles’n’peas...

Playlist
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
Timo Maas - Pictures
Various – Ministry of Sound Clubbers’ Guide to Ibiza 2006

Tonight, to the home of my webmeister and Creek backbone, Mr Craig Sutherland, to view his new music creating set up and to decide whether I wish to implement the same thing at Crispycat...

But before I got there, a few events – I couldn’t remember my PIN to obtain funds from the bank – at least it seemed that way. When I tried my card at a different machine using the same number it was accepted – weird...

Then the road I was trying to take to my destination was closed and I had to follow a detour and I missed my turning and had to reverse along a very dark main road to get back to it...

A quick visit to sister Sheila’s to discuss and organise the purchase of our Xmas present for our mum and then off to pick up fellow Creeker, Stu Cobley, photographer of the parish...

Again, I am missing turnings and doing three-point turns all over the place...

Eventually we arrive at Craig’s, around an hour or so later than planned....

We spent some considerable time watching as Craig demonstrated his controller keyboard and the various different pieces of software it controls in order to create pieces...

The effect of Stu’s mum’s home cooking was creating a bit of an atmosphere in the room – he advised he’d had pie, potatoes, pickles and peas – which set him off on a bout of giggling merriment from which there was almost no return...

In the past, the way in which Creek’s music has been created is for Craig to produce a bed of rhythm, bass and, sometimes, basic chordal sweeps, over which Stu, Alan Brodie and I improvise to our hearts’ content...

We are planning to start work on some new music early in 2007 (our last album was released at the end of 2004) and Craig wants to move to a more conventional, structured method of music creation while Stu and I still favour the improvisation of old...

We’ll see what happens when we re-convene but if I get the same set up as Craig then both of us will be capable of creating basic Creek tracks. The ideal would be for all four of us to have the same system...

Around 11, talk turns to downloading – Craig downloads tons of stuff and, it turns out, he usually burns albums to disc purely for the car and, after a couple of weeks, he chucks these discs into an old shoe box – he invites Stu and me to help ourselves...

Stuart shows great restraint, taking just Brian Eno’s last album and a couple of others. For my own part, I partook of the following:-

The Killers –Sam’s Town
Scissor Sisters – Ta Dah!
Sarah McLachlan – Bloom Remixes
Various – Ministry of Sound Clubbers’ Guide to Ibiza 2006
Various - The Orb : Back to Mine
Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor (Craig is a huge fan of rap and hip hop music)
Timo Maas – Pictures
Anthony and the Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
Faithless – Forever Faithless
Sasha – Involver
BT – This Binary Universe (If you click on the link, you can se BT holding a keyboard similar to the one we will be using)
Ice Cube – Death Certificate

Finally, Craig shows Stu the latter’s upcoming Photography Website which should go live “soon”...

I took Stu home after agreeing to meet up again in January, then sped back to Crispycat and Anne and Meg the Black Cat while listening to some excellent Timo Maas and finished off the night with "This week" and some banging club music to send me off into the land of nod....

Highlight of the Day : A visit to Castle Sutherland

Answers on a postcard please...

Playlist
Billy Cobham - Rudiments:The Billy Cobham Anthology
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Hey Hollywood Nimrod
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay

Off to the hospital this morning to see how things are going with the arm and, also, to enquire about the continuing pain in the leg, over a year on....

And so here are the answers:-

Yes, it is normal still to have so much pain in my arm after six weeks...

Yes, it is normal for the majority of this pain to be in my arm (upper and lower) rather than the target of the operation, my shoulder...

Yes, it is normal for there still to be so much pain over a year on from sustaining the break in my ankle – this is due to the fact that all the ligaments and soft tissue around the bone are still healing...

So that’s good to know...

I am being sent for physio on the arm commencing next week and will return to the hospital for another check up in late March – by which time it will be a year since I had my shoulder x-rayed and it was finally confirmed there was a problem...

In the evening, I left Anne at home for the first of three nights as I was wined and dined by a large corporation, in the company of three very agreeable chums, Kris, Gary (the man who would not sing karaoke) and the lovely Lorna who, in June 2005, hosted one of the most enjoyable barbecues I’ve had the pleasure of attending...

The food (an entire Indian Restaurant had been hired for the occasion) was good, the beer was flowing and Gary gave me a lift home – can’t say fairer than that...

Highlight of the Day : Free nosh....

The creator has a masterplan...

Playlist
Various - Jukebox Shuffleplay

Absolutely wicked (in the real sense of the word) weather this morning and for most of the day. Horrible driving rain, blown on by a stormy wind....

Creek colleague Stu Cobley was going to come round to Crispycat Towers tonight to pass on the pics he took of CBQ last Thursday..

However, I am off out to the wilds of Penicuik on Thursday to see third of the four Creekers, and webmeister extraordinaire, Craig Sutherland to discuss a new music set up for Crispycat Studios, which will take CBQ in a new exciting direction...

Since Stu also inhabits this Midlothian town, we all decided to meet at Castle Sutherland instead...

I have also invited Count Brodski but, at such late notice, his attendance is sadly unlikely...

We will discuss plans for Creek in 2007...

In the evening watched an episode of "Desperate Housewives" from way back in May (we have around 8 or so to watch), followed by a "live" "CSI : Miami"...

Then to the studio, where I worked on a new sound collage piece - my first music work since September....

Highlight of the Day : Getting creative again...

Washed out...

Playlist
Emerson String Quartet - Bach's Art of the Fugue
Uriah Heep - Travellers in Time - Anthology (CD2)
Various - Jukebox Shuffleplay
Rheostatics - Barrymore's Ottowa 23/5/96
Grandaddy - The Broken Down Comforter Collection
Craig Armstrong - Kiss of the Dragon OST
Wetton Downes - Icon II Rubicon
Mozart - Complete Works (Piano Pieces Vol 2)

Shattered today and so didn't emerge from the pit till past midday, which is unlike me...

Moped about, spending much time on the couch just listening to the jukebox on shuffleplay which went some way to cheering me up....

Late afternoon/early evening watched two old taped episodes of "CSI : Miami" followed by tonight's "Coronation St" double bill....

An excellent evening meal included the tastiest sausages I've ever tasted, made from Aberdeen Angus beef - but hopefully not the nice wee calf on the picture you get if you click on the link there...

Despite being under the weather stayed up late - as I knew I'd get little sleep anyway - watching football comedy show "Offside" followed by half of the SPL Football Highlights on STV...

Highlight of the Day : Aberdeen Angus Beef sausages...

Away into oblivion...

Playlist
Grandaddy – Just Like the Fambly Cat
Keith Jarrett – Koln Concert
Matching Mole – Matching Mole
Be Bop Deluxe – Modern Music
Robert Fripp – DGM Downloads
King Crimson - DGM Downloads
Rheostatics – Various Live Downloads
Rheostatics – Barrymore’s Ottowa 23/05/96

Up at an ungodly 5am but I just can’t sleep – the cold symptoms have added to the general discomfort of my sore arm(s) and, even now, more than a year on, the left ankle (several times this past week I’ve had to pull myself up whilst walking due to sharp pains in the leg)...

On Wednesday, I am due to see the surgeon re any progress on my arm and I’ll take the opportunity to ask about the leg – of course they have told me in the past that it’ll take at least two years for it to be “back to normal” – and six months for the arm....

Anyway, enough of these pathetic woes, I go downstairs and watch the end of last night’s film and then “Red Planet” which I taped a few weeks ago – although I am pretty sure I’d seen it before...

At 8 I loaded the new Grandaddy album into the CD Walkman and went back to bed...

Finally rose again around 12:30 having wasted half the day...

As Anne listened to the radio, I updated my pictures blog (I can’t seem to post any on here at present, so do take a visit over there for some tasty visuals, including one from Thursday photo session)...

Listened to some great King Crimson and Robert Fripp tracks downloaded for free as “hot tickles” from DGM Live, as I updated the blog for the last couple of days and also downloaded a few more Rheostatics concerts...

The free DGM tracks now include one by the latest in the series of King Crimson ProjeKcts, P6 – just Adrian Belew on V-Drums and Robert Fripp on soundscapes and guitar – I love this music....

Anyway, Xmas...

I’m way behind re presents this year – I have only three so far for Anne and none for anyone else – whereas last year, as I couldn’t get out the house I was going mental on the internet on the present buying front...

Not that I buy many anyway, just for Anne, my mum, my nephews (usually cash) and my grand-nephew – Anne buys for her side and I buy for mine...

We no longer exchange presents with sister Pam and her husband (by mutual agreement) because we just always sent cash to each other...

On Anne’s side, we have a method initially introduced to save her mum money – everyone buys just one present for one other extended family member chosen at random by way of a Xmas Dip from a box with everyone’s names in it....

It used to be £75 but people got fed up with me producing a list of things from FOPP which added up to exactly £75 and giving them no say in the matter, so now it’s just £10 each and we’re all going out for a meal after Xmas...

After “Coronation St”, a particularly “non-event” episode tonight, I spent some time compiling and burning one Rheostatics concert in particular, recorded in Ottowa ten years ago...

I missed “Match of the Day 2” but stayed up (as I knew I wouldn't be getting much sleep anyway by how I was feeling) to watch the South Bank Show on Steve Reich - a fascinating insight into how he stumbled across his "style" and how he became famous (by having his piece "Four Organs" roundly booed at the Carnegie Hall)...

And so another weekend is away into oblivion....

Highlight of the Day : Rheos live...

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

Playlist
Freddie Hubbard – Sky Dive
Freddie Hubbard – Red Clay
McLaughlin / De Lucia / Di Meola – The Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio – Rocks the West
CGT – CGT+2
Bill Bruford – The Earthworks Underground Orchestra
Herman Van Veen – Zwei Reisende
Grandaddy – Just Like the Fambly Cat

Up too early at 6 am and went downstairs with Meg the Black Cat where I leafed through the next two weeks’ copies of Radio Times, highlighting all the programmes I want to watch, including the repeats on More 4 of “Howard Goodall’s How Music Works”...

While doing so, listening to a couple of Freddie Hubbard’s early 70’s albums on the CTI label, followed by my recent purchase by McLaughlin/De Lucia/Di Meola and then, for guitar trio comparison, a few tracks from The California Guitar Trio – I must come down on the side of the former....

Out at nine, having called to cancel Anne’s optician appointment due to her ongoing flu like scenario, and along to Helen the podiatrist for a check up on the toe she so masterfully returned to full non-sore condition a couple of weeks back...

I was in and out in 15 minutes with another appointment booked for late January...

Then uptown for some Christmas shopping. In the event all I bought were DVDs of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and a Billy Connolly concert ("Two Night Stand") from a couple of years back and the final CD from one of my favourite recent bands, Grandaddy – “Just Like the Fambly Cat”...

In the afternoon, due to Anne’s illness I accompanied her mum to Tyncastle for the Hearts v Motherwell game which turned out to be Hearts’ first win since early October as they romped home 4-1. A reasonably good game – though the patent non-understanding of many of the rules of the game of those sitting about us became more and more irksome as the game progressed...

Back home and into the welcoming warmth of Crispycat Towers, I downloaded Keith Jarrett’s “Koln Concert” from 1975, and watched “Robin Hood” and, for my sins, quite a bit of “Strictly Come Dancing” then the first half of the film “The Sum of All Fears”, the end of which I’ll watch tomorrow...

A take out Indian was scoffed...

The night ended with me starting to show the same cold symptoms as Anne as we watched “Match of the Day”...

Oh dear....

Didn't seem to be anything on the box yesterday about the anniversary of John Lennon's shooting...

Highlight of the Day : Grandaddy’s Fambly Cat...

Vacuous...

Playlist
Genesis – And Then There Were Three

One album only today – one which always takes me back to my first visit to Knebworth in June 1978– where I saw Genesis play a superb set...

My second and last visit to “the big field” was later the same year to see The Tubes headline over Frank Zappa and Peter Gabriel...

I’ve never attended a festival since and they really hold zero allure for me now, no matter who’s playing...

Anyway, for me, “And Then There Were Three” was the last Genesis album which even came close to the true spirit of what had been the band...

All afternoon and evening was spent with the people who finance my life of opulence. Initially for a meal at the excellent No 3 restaurant with acceptable friends and colleagues, we then moved on to the drinking hole of choice of the self described “beautiful people” of Edinburgh, Tiger Lily...

I’m sorry to say that, had a bomb gone off on the premises and everyone had been killed, it would not have made much difference to humanity. Certainly, very little actual brain capacity would have disappeared from the planet....

Seldom (ok not since the last time I was in Tiger Lily) have I come across such a bunch of self absorbed children-of-people-who-actually-did-something-to-make-their-money....

A case in point was a so-called software millionnaire whose company is expected to float for a billion pounds before the end of the decade - turns out it was his dad who actually designed the software while the son does what many in his position do – he’s in charge of sales and marketing for his dad’s company – I doubt if he could hold down a job at ASDA to be honest – which is no slight on ASDA’s workers btw...

I advised a 23 year old, ahem, “property developer” whose last CD purchased was “James Brown’s Greatest Hits” to get up a bit earlier than the usual mid-afternoon tomorrow and get herself to HMV to purchase a copy of Bartok’s String Quartets...

By 8:30 I’d been drinking for around eight hours but still had the presence of mind to think “what am I doing here with these people?” before heading home, not in my Porsche but on the Airport bus...

Rounded off the evening with some telly - including Girls Aloud on Jonathon Ross, sadly, not singing, just talking – and glad to be home amongst the “normal” people again...

Highlight of the Day : Knowing I am better than the Tiger Lily crowd...

Not fruit cat...

Playlist
Various – Super 70’s Rock
McLaughlin/De Lucia/Di Meola – The Guitar Trio
Return to Forever – Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Matching Mole – Matching Mole

A visit to FOPP today elicited nothing...other than some much needed exercise...

Tonight I was off to Stuart Cobley’s college photo studio for a “session” but I needed to call him and didn’t have his mobile number to hand....

So I called webmeister and fellow Creek stalwart, Craig Sutherland to obtain it...

During our conversation, Craig explained his new music making set up and I resolved to duplicate it – he has very kindly offered me the software – all I need to do is purchase a small midi-keyboard...

So Xmas now slides imperceptibly from turntable to keyboard...

At the studio, Stuart got me to put certain pieces of (my own) clothing on and take them off again – and positioned me with the Cloudland Blue guitar....

He’d also asked me to take some LPs along as props and so I took:-

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
Yes – Close to the Edge
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (Stu had me impersonate the big pink face – pretty easy for me to do!)
Francoise Hardy – The Best of
Neu! – Neu! 75
Brian Eno- Before and After Science
David Bowie – Heroes

He made me lie on the ground in amongst them...

His lovely young blonde colleague Laura suggested I should disrobe completely and “cavort” with my guitar – but I had to draw the line at that...

I was home just before eight, just as Anne left for a visit to the cinema, with Michelle from yesterday’s Xmas lunch and her sister – they were off to see “Holiday” starring Jack Black...

I downloaded Matching Mole’s eponymous debut from this site (which has some excellent albums on offer) and had a bit of a jazzy night in with Meg the Black Cat, drinking Strawberry and Banana Smoothies - just me, not Meg that is, re the smoothie consumption - Meg doesn't like fruit - she is a cat...

Highlight of the Day : Being a model..

PS I have some photos I took during tonight's session but Blogger doesn't seem to want me to post any pictures ever again....

Sorry...

PPS Seven years later, here they are...

Stuffing...

Playlist
Various – Super 70’s Rock
Bartok – String Quartets

First real Xmas lunch of the season today with chums Tracey, Claire, Martin, Kris, Michelle, Anne, Alan, Debbie, Janette, Lorna, Margaret and Wendy...

We were in the basement of No 80 Queen Street and I enjoyed some excellent chicken liver pate followed by rib eye steak and rounded off with a meringue tower and a latte – all interspersed with goodly amounts of red wine...

In the evening, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too hungry and a small lamb chop with a tiny potato sufficed before Anne and I drove to Loanhead to visit my mum...

On the way, we stopped by the local Scout Hall to hand in our Edinburgh Xmas Cards. The scouts deliver for 18p each with all the funds raised going to charity....

Mum was in fine fettle and excited about her recent acquisition of a new washing machine, due to arrive when sister Pam visits for Xmas...

Back home, we watched tonight’s recorded “Coronation St” and “Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure” – both highly entertaining......

To bed reasonably early - terrible trouble getting to sleep though – probably all those dead animals inside me....

Highlight of the Day : Xmas fayre

Strange thoughts...

Playlist
John McLaughlin - Industrial Zen
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Lost Trident Sessions
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Apocalypse
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Visions Of The Emerald Beyond
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Worlds
Mozart - Complete Works

A day of raucous guitaring and jazz fusion at its best...

I'm thinking about buying a turntable for all my old records - I have a cupboard full of 7", 12" and albums from way back. A lot of my previous vast collection ended up as stock in my record shop but I kept quite a few...

Strange to think I only bought records from 1972 till 1986 or so and I've been buying CDs since 1985 - twice as long. Time whizzes past as you get older though and, in my mind, my record collecting era lasted a lot longer than my CD buying days have...

Popped round to in-laws Jane and Bobby's early evening to help Bob out on a couple of things on his computer. Strange to think there's someone who knows less than I do about them and to whom I am able to show my "tricks"...

Back home for some excellent pasta from Anne plus some nice rye bread and, later, a couple of chunks of the massive Cadbury's Dairy Milk I brought home for her yesterday to try and cheer her up re not being well...

Telly tonight was that strange chef again with the German name - this week trying to cook the perfect pizza - including roasting some tomatoes in an oven for FOUR HOURS - hardly fast food...

A wee bit of Chelsea v Sofia - the commentators' patronising tone is unbearable....

Then another tall tale from "CSI :Miami" and I finish off the day with this week's "Torchwood" (it's getting better as the weeks go on) followed by more Mozart...

Nice...

Highlight of the Day : Jazz fusion

PS I must apologise for the lack of pics recently but Blogger is playing up again on this front

Uneventful...

Playlist
John Wetton - Battle Lines
John Wetton - Arkangel
John Wetton - Sinister
John Wetton - Rock of Faith
Wetton Downes - Icon
John McLaughlin - Zen Industrial

A quiet day today - listening to a lot of John Wetton...

My expected CD finally arrived - from Russia almost a month after paying - I won't be doing that again. A cracking jazz-fusion album by Mahavishnu maestro John McLaughlin...

Inspired, I return to e-bay in between two episodes of "Coronation St" and buy another McLaughlin CD - this time with fellow guitarists Paco De Lucia and Al di Meola - from the Uk so should be here shortly...

Other than that, I call my mum to advise we will visit on Wednesday but she's not in so I leave a message...

Jim Park, ex drummer and now comedian was playing at The Stand tonight and I had wanted to go along but alas Anne is under the weather and my presence is needed at home..

"Have I Got News For You" is quite funny and followed by "Newsnight" then bed..

That was it...

Highlight of the Day : New John McLaughlin CD...

Adult in charge...

Playlist
Barclay James Harvest – The Harvest Years
David Sylvian – The Good Son vs The Only Daughter
Françoise Hardy – Parentheses
Sarah Harmer – Sarah Harmer (CD-R)
Mozart – Complete Works (Symphonies)

For the first time in a few weeks we head to Patisserie Florentine for breakfast – Mmm lovely latte and a crispy bacon roll for me, with apple juice, while Anne opts for a plain white coffee accompanied by a croissant...

Then shopping for a new coat for Anne – though she ends up getting a different one from the one she was looking for – which one of the other girls on Friday night had been wearing...

Then to the car wash, one of those ones where they wash the car without ever actually touching it. Just as we leave it starts to pour – and the weather had been lovely earlier on too...

On to Tesco for the “big shopping” which, this week, includes 12, count ‘em, 12 bottles of wine – half the bill is for wine – and that’s with 25% off too....

And I don’t even drink that much wine – I like the labels though...

Back home and, for lunch, while Anne listens on the radio to Falkirk thrashing Rangers 1-0, I indulge in a couple of small slices of buttered rye bread - tasty

Later on, we make our way to Anne’s mum’s for tea. It’s now very windy and rainy indeed – real December weather – which I’ve not experienced for two years since, this time last year I was confined to quarters – or was I – a quick check of the blog as at last December confirms I made the same trip this day last year – so I’m talking nonsense...

A game of football in the hall with nephew Ollie and niece Kitty illicits some laughs from the kids as one of my shots flies over Ollies head into Anne’s mum’s bedroom and smashes into all the family pictures she has on her dressing table...

One (ironically of Keith and Sharon who separated 15 years ago) hits the floor and the glass smashes – oh how we laughed – until I told everyone it was Kitty who’d done it and she burst into tears – then I said it was Ollie and he did the same...

Ah, what fun I have with children..

In no time we were back in the hallway playing again – “no high ones Uncle David” Ollie says – a shout from the other room when the ball makes a big noise brings the retort from yours truly “It’s ok, there’s an adult in charge”....

At home "Match of the Day 2" and some Mozart to end the day...

Highlight of the Day : Hall football...

Behind the curtain...

Playlist
Mozart – Complete Works (Preludes & Fugues/Oboe & Bassoon Works)
Wetton Downes – Icon II Rubicon
Grand Funk – Phoenix
Various – Music from US Teen Programmes
Various – The Wire Tapper 16
Ursa Major - Ursa Major
Barclay James Harvest – The Harvest Years
Be Bop Deluxe – Modern Music
David Sylvian – The Good Son vs The Only Daughter
Françoise Hardy – Parentheses
John Coltrane – My Favourite Things
Models – Local and/or General
The Frost – Rock’n’Roll Music
The Frost – Frost Music

After not retiring last night till gone 2:30, I slept in till 9:40 (Anne slept till well after 11)...

I considered driving into town to get us day tickets for tonight’s Handel opera but decided against...

I start the day with Mozart – the boxed set of 170 CDs I bought this week is turning out to be tremendous stuff...

Found a great wee site written by someone sort of like me....

On his recommendation, I’m actively considering some space saving measures by trying something like these – but what a huge job it would be...

Surfed the net till Anne got up then tidied up the back room where around three weeks worth of debris was just lying around...

Today I downloaded some more albums. A great find was the only album by Ursa Major, one of Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper guitarist 73-78)’s bands...

Rockin’....

Also finally got round to listening to the latest free CD from The Wire. As usual it’s a hit and miss affair. I just don’t know how anyone can find some of that stuff to be of any value at all. But then that’s the great thing about music (see below)....

Other downloads today are Be Bop Deluxe’s album “Modern Music” and the latest from Françoise Hardy which isn’t released till Monday according to Amazon...

Be Bop Deluxe’s is one I’ve seen around for nearly 30 years but never heard, other than the singles – it’s a superb album – and Françoise is back at her best on her new CD which is a collection of duets – more laid back than her last album “Tant les Belles Choses” which is also worth seeking out – it was my album of the month back in April 2005 although it was released in 2004...

As Anne wauched "Strictly Come Dancing" I burned some recent sownloads to disc - with David Sylvian, not content with uploading it in mono, my source had also put the first two tracks up at the wrong pitch - so I had to sort that out before burning...

Then, while Anne checked out her Hearts websites (a disappointing 2-2 draw away to my hometown team, St Mirren today while QoS achieved a good away draw 1-1 at Partick Thistle) I went to get our lottery tickets (two numbers so no win and I wasted £1 by inadvertently buying two identical tickets for tonight’s draw rather than one each for tonight and Wednesday) and our Indian takeaway (much better than our now abandoned-for-gloopiness takeaway – from the restaurant at the bottom of the road – around £5 more expensive but worth it)...

Then I watched “Robin Hood”, taped while I was away...

Then a quite excellent programme, third in a series of four, the first two of which I completely missed – “Howard Goodall’s How Music Works”...

Tonight’s episode, entitle “Harmony”, demonstrated to me just how it is that there are two ways of listening to music – you either hear it and react to what you hear or you listen to it and understand the composer’s intent in order to “get it” – because, often with more complex or atonal music such as much of jazz or 20th Century classical music, it can be very unpleasant on the ears and it’s about much more than “what you hear” – you need to understand what’s going on to appreciate it...

With “untrained” “pop/rock” music composers, I think it’s more often than not a matter of putting things together which “sound good” or “sound right” and they really don’t know what they’re doing, while a musicologist can explain why the piece in question is so attractive or what rule or other the composer has accidentally stumbled upon while merely playing their instruments...

Of course, that sounds patronising in the extreme and I fully concede there are many music scholars who make it into the “pop/rock” world and know exactly what they’re doing.....

Although I am probably more in the “sounds good/right” category rather than the “classical/jazz (and some pop) composer-who-has-studied-and-knows-and-understands-what’s-really-going-on” category, I do understand how things work...

But it was so good to have it all set out so succinctly in this programme – like a look behind the curtain or a Penn & Teller explanation of a magic trick....

I had around an hour back at the PC between this and “Match of the Day” and was listening to John Coltrane’s “My Favourite Things”, as featured in the programme, when a comment on yesterday’s entry led me to seek out some early 80’s Australian music on YouTube...

I was pointed by the correspondent to the band Hunters and Collectors which, in turn, led me to Models (sometimes called The Models) and two great tracks, “Two Cabs to the Toucan” and “Local and/or General”...

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anything off Limewire – I may have to bite the bullet and return to e-bay – where I’ve not bought anything for nearly a month – the last thing being a purchase from a dodgy Russian which has yet to arrive...

I was too tired to watch the whole of “Match of the Day” and went to bed around 11:30 listening to Dick Wagner’s “Ursa Major” but couldn’t sleep due to a coughing fit. Not wanting to waken Anne I went through to the back room....

In the old days I could’ve spent the night in the spare bed but, in the big re-decoration of this summer, I threw it away in favour of a bed-settee which is a bit difficult to construct in silence, so I ended up sleeping on the floor while listening to two more Wagner discs, The Frost’s “Rock’n’Roll Music” and “Frost Music”..

Woke up around three feeling very uncomfortable and made my way back to bed...

Until the very end of today, I managed without any painkillers...

Highlight of the Day : How Music Works...