Blacker than black...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Erstazreal : New Short Version!
George Benson – The George Benson Collection (Gimme the night - la la)
Various – Super 70s Reggae
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – Good Deeds and Dirty Rags
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – Hammer and Tongs

Slept late till 9:15 – felt totally washed out – I blame the drugs...

While the pain is much lessened, there’s seems to be nothing that can stop the periodic paralysing pins and needles in my arm and hand...

After yesterday’s realisation that the new album is simply too long, and knowing that “Blue Eyes Across the Room” would now be the lead off track, I set about giving the song a slight remix – the way the acoustic guitar entered has always niggled with me but didn’t seem to matter as much when it was track seven...

With that done, I sat down with Anne in her guise as Executive Producer and went through every song, keeping or rejecting each – I already had a short list and had decided on ten songs of the twenty to keep – Anne had a couple of “must have” scenarios going on for songs I’d rejected while she rejected a couple I’d kept....

And so a new, smaller, fitter, leaner squad of songs was selected...

I mailed webmeister Craig to advise of the situation and the release postponement till next week...

Then a break and out to the tile place to choose some floor tiles for the bathroom at Crispycat Towers...

Having found what we wanted and noted the details, we were home in time for Anne to watch the St Mirren v Hearts game, while I put together the new short master of my new CD and redesigned the cover – taking out all the unrequired lyrics etc etc...

After the match, which Hearts won 3-1 but were less convincing than the scoreline might suggest, I played the disc full pelt in the living room and it sounded good...

In the evening, an hour long Corrie was accompanied by a lovely Chinese meal collected from the New Happy Palace which makes the best King Po chicken in the world (probably)...

Then the latest from Michael Palin and Match of the Day 2, with this week’s double episode of Heroes in bookending mode...

It's getting good...

Listening to Goodbye Mr Mackenzie tonight, I wondered at the fickle world of pop and why they weren’t more successful – doesn’t matter really though as I like them anyway...



My favourite is "Now we Are Married"...

Tomorrow, autumn with a vengeance...

Highlight of the Day : Finally finishing the new album – ready to go..

Gimme the night - la la la...

Playlist
Creek – Fluorescent Blue
Creek – 1.0.0 (Disc 3 of 4)
Uriah Heep – Sonic Origami
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Erstazreal
Glenn Gould – At the Cinema
George Benson – The George Benson Collection
Simple Minds – Neon Lights
Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – The Day of Storms
Les Rita Mitsouko – En Concert avec l’Orchestre l’amoureux
David Ackles – American Gothic
Gary Jules – Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets
Various – Super 70s Reggae

Up unfeasibly early today – 4:35...

So, on the brink of releasing the new Cloudland Blue Quartet album, “Ersatzreal”, I pulled together all the information etc to pass on to webmesiter Craig to update the Crispycat site. Also sent him everything re the Creek anthology “1.0.0”...

Updated the parts of the Crispycat site I can do myself...

The intention was to release the discs into the void on Monday - however, having received no word from Craig, I’ve postponed this till 8 October....

Spurred on by an e-mail from their fansite, I listened to Uriah Heep’s last studio album (which is now almost 10 years old) whilst doing the dishes pre breakfast – they’ve recorded a new disc but record company problems have postponed release till next year...

The postie brought a disc purchased from e-bay on 7 August – ok it was coming from Switzerland but almost 2 months delivery time’s a bit steep – that’s one seller I won’t be purchasing from again...

The content of the jiffy bag, a Glenn Gould disc, rocks ...

Post breakfast, mum arrived around 11 for our trip to Paisley to see her old friend Pat – they were young mothers together in the late 50’s/early 60’s...

On the way through, we listened to the CBQ album – and on listening to it in tha company of others, I realised it’s just too long...

I will consult with my executive producer tomorrow re this - just as well the relaese is postponed...

A lovely lunch at Pat’s and we set off into Glasgow...

As is my pathetic way, I visited merely three shops...

HMV, Virgin and FOPP....

Nothing at HMV – in Virgin I found last year’s Secret Machines release for a fiver...

On to FOPP where I went a bit mad (but still only spent around £20) buying 7 albums (including one 2CD and one 3CD set), a DVD (Pink Floyd at Pompeii – Director’s Cut) and a book, The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks..


Here's the picture used on its cover - it's Io orbiting Jupiter on 1 January 2001...




The smooth sound of George Benson (I couldn’t get “Give Me the Night” out of my head) soundtracked our drive over to Byre’s Rd and Ashton Lane where we enjoyed a refreshing drink at the Brel Bar...





....before returning to Pat’s around 6:30 for a cup of tea, a wee sandwich and a chat with the two ladies before heading back to Edinburgh accompanied by the sounds of Mr Gould....

After not falling asleep on the motorway, I bade farewell to mum and spent waht was left of the day listening to my purchases on the headphones while Anne watched Match of the Day (including Portsmouth's 7-4 win over Reading)...

I’d forgotten just how great Goodbye Mr Mackenzie were – brought back memories of when the band I was in at the time (Call Me Clive – don’t ask!) supported them on their Scottish Tour just as they made their limited impression on the charts back in 1988/9...

The prescribed super strength painkillers I’m now taking along with my stupidly early start to the day soon saw to it that I was snoring on the settee before midnight...

Highlight of the Day : A trip to Glasgow

Drink thinking...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ersatzreal
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Flitterkram : The Music of Fripp & Eno

Today Meg the Black Cat found a new place to sleep...

She spent several hours in my sock drawer...



Tonight some lovely pasta from Anne soaked up the beers I’d drunk with IT guru Martin and his lovely wife Michelle...

I drank enough to get to the point where I thought “I should do this every Friday” – quite obviously though, it was the drink thinking...

Spurred on by a recent entry in Mr Fripp’s diary, I listened back to my (now ten year old) attempts to replicate his guitar sound. He is better (funnily enough)...

Last in the series of The IT Crowd tonight – I want it back...

My Name is Earl also entertained...

Highlight of the Day : Anne’s pasta

Scraping into a quartet perhaps...

Playlist
Lou Reed – Berlin
Uriah Heep – Wonderworld
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Alice Cooper – Welcome to My Nightmare
T Rex – Singles A’s and B’s
Gary Glitter – Touch Me
Yes – The Yes Album
Grand Funk – Shinin’ On
Argent – In Deep
Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground & Nico

Alice Cooper – School’s Out
David Bowie – Hunky Dory
Nazareth – The Singles Collection
Wizzard – Harvest Showdown
Uriah Heep – Salisbury
Various – 100 Best Baroque

To HMV’s sale today, strangely determined to part with cash for something or other –and so I left with a 6CD set of Baroque music for £10…

A call mid afternoon from James Jamieson…

On a Thursday that can mean only one thing – he’s inviting me along to Out of the Bedroom…

With my own playing days now over until next year due to the shoulder problems (despite my new album’s imminent release) I agree to go along as our old chum Scott Renton is the headliner…

I watch an entertaining episode of “Holby” before leaving and arrive just as Scott’s band take to the stage…

A good entertaining and varied set from him with additional back up comprising harmonies, bass and djembe – great stuff…

Jamie and I decide to leave immediately after his set and, outside on the pavement, he advises he has Konrad Studios up and running again and intends to record his new album in October…

He’s also looking at putting together a new trio with two other guys he has lined up on bass and percussion – with a possible place for me on keyboards, which would be nice for a change…

We chat briefly to a young American couple who sang one superb song tonight and who’ve just moved here from the US – hope to see and hear more of them in times to come…

Home to watch Question Time and then Mock the Week, Saxondale and That Mitchell & Web Look…

Highlight of the Day : Seeing James Jamieson again

All by myself...

Playlist
ELO – I
David Bowie – Pin Ups
Free – Fire & Water
Hawkwind – Hall of the Mountain Grill
Mick Ronson – Play Don’t Worry
Jeff Beck – Best of
Focus – III
Deodato – Prelude
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – The Best Years of Our Lives
Genesis – Foxtrot

Sparks – Propoganda
Gary Glitter – Glitter
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy
David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World

Tonight I was to be out with Dr Prog and, possibly, Count Brodski to view young Chris Lyons with his trio playing at the Jazz Bar…

Dr Prog called off due to work related issues, whilst Brodski cited failing health for his non-appearance…

And so I found myself sitting on my own in the Jazz Bar nursing a large bottle of Tyskie beer and scowling at the rude fellow audients who dared to chat over the music…

Mr Lyons was playing with two pick up guys on drums and double bass and was bringing his classically trained chops to bear on a number of standards to excellent effect...

Of course I’d rather have seen his actual trio, playing his own compositions but you can’t have everything for £3…

Home by midnight – jazzed up…

Highlight of the Day : Visit to the Jazz Bar

Difficult to thrash...

Playlist
Wizzard – Singles 1971-1976
Alice Cooper – Killer
Deep Purple – Singles A’s and B’s
Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom
Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans

Golden Earring – Switch
Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
ELP – Brain Salad Surgery
Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
Fripp & Eno – (No Pussyfooting)
Alice Cooper – Love It To Death
Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards
Jon Anderson – Olias of Sunhillow
David Essex – The Best of
ELP – Tarkus

Out tonight with Anne to Tynecastle for the CIS Cup tie between Hearts and Dunfermline. The Pars were relegated last year but are expected to bounce back up. However, they currently lie four places below the mighty Queen of the South…

While Hearts were obviously the better side, they struggled to make anything of their pressure. Just 1-0 up, via a penalty, with 10 minutes to go, they lost a goal from a corner as the Pars forced extra time...

But Hearts went through the Dunfermline defence like a dose of salts almost immediately following the restart, scoring three goals in quick succession…

I enjoyed the match but, by the end, my arm was causing me extreme gyp and we were both freezing, though Anne was, of course, very pleased with the result after Saturday’s fiasco…

Highlight of the Day : Hearts 4 Dunfermline 1 (sorry Dr Prog)

Closer...

Playlist
Queen – Queen
Deep Purple – Anthology
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

Slade – Greatest Hits
Supertramp – Crime of the Century
Elton John – Greatest Hits
Lindisfarne – Best of
Argent – All Together Now
Sparks – Kimono My House
Roxy Music – Siren
Be Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim
Jethro Tull – Aqualung
Mick Ronson – Slaughter on 10th Avenue
Led Zeppelin – II

Did nothing today other than watching two Coronation Streets and University Challenge. And I missed half of UC because the BBC showed it at a different time from normal…

I think that’s about it…

No, wait, I phoned the infirmary and was told my operation will be some time between now and the end on October…

Depressed myself by looking back at what happened with my last op…

Highlight of the Day : Closer to knowing my shoulder fate

To the rescue again...

Playlist
Various – Last 40 CDs Acquired

Up early and sent the first half of the new album as MP3s to Webmeister Craig...

He’d sent the foundation of the first new Creek track for over two years...

It is tasty...

Out to Patisserie Florentine for breakfast then back home, where Anne painted the kitchen in around 90 minutes flat – she is great!!

What was I doing? Why mucking about compiling two new CDs for the car comprising one track each from the last 40 CDs I’ve bought...

I am not allowed to paint inside the house...

While Anne watched the Hibs v Celtic game - still seething at Hearts loss to Inverness yesterday 2-1 after being 1-0 up, the opponent’s second goal coming in injury time and scored by an over-forty year old substitute - I drove out to Loanhead to visit my mum...

She was in fine form and we enjoyed coffee and a wee bit of coconut cake while I tried to explain (successfully I hope) just how her Sky Box will work once the channels she was previously paying around £25 per month for (but never watched) are turned off early next month – saving her enough money to perhaps employ a cleaner for a couple of hours a week I hope – much needed due to her lack of mobility...

Back home and picked Anne up for the fortnightly visit to her mum’s – she was seething still but now due to Hibs beating Celtic 3-2 (with two goals apparently being gifted by the Celtic goalie)...

Home made curries for tea and fun with the kids...

Gave brother-in-law Keith and partner Maureen a lift home to Leith before heading home for Michael Palin, some blogging and Match of the Day 2...

Our enjoyment of the Man Utd v Chelsea highlights was interrupted by Meg the Black Cat triumphantly presenting a rather large stunned mouse to us...

Much moving of furniture and judicious usage of the trusty pint glass allowed the poor wee beastie to resume its rightful place in the garden...

An hour later and Meg remained convinced it was still under one of the settees...

And so, for a pic of the day, here’s a wee Meg the Black Cat imposter we bumped into in Kelvinside yesterday (it is alive, just rolling around trying to get us to play)...



Discovered a message on the voicemail today from the hospital - I will phone 1st thing tomorrow - hopefully they have a date for the right-shoulder operation - can't wait, even though I know how painful it'll be and how long it'll take to fully recover from it...

Highlight of the Day : Saving another mouse from our predatory cat...

The beautiful game...

Playlist
Various – Early 70’s Faves (Jukebox Playlist)

Up early and down for the bus then into St Andrew’s Square where we had a quick breakfast at Chocolate Soup before catching the 9:15 bus to Glasgow...



Around an hour and twenty minutes later we arrived at Buchanan St station, outside of which stands this statue...



Caught the subway over to Byres Road and made a quick visit to both Lost in Music and the newly re-opened FOPP...

Enticing but no purchases...

We walked from Byres Road up past the Botanic Gardens and through a new part (for us) of Glasgow towards Maryhill...



Our destination was Firhill, for today we were to enjoy the hospitality of Partick Thistle FC as they took on the might of Queen of the South...

After a champagne reception, I was delighted to find that five of the other guests at our table were QoS fans, in fact it turned out my immediate neighbour was former club chairman Norman Blount while the other QoS attendees were his brother and son, the hospitality manager from Queens and an ex-player who bore an uncanny resemblance to Elton John...

After a lovely four course lunch we made our way out into the sun (and wind) to watch the first half...



Queens ought to have gone in at half time at least two up but could not convert their chances while Partick scored with one of theirs...

A small, tasty pie and a welcome cup of coffee indoors and then back for the second half which once again Queens dominated yet lost a late goal after squandering more chances...

Final score 2-0 for Thistle...

Post match drinks followed along with some lively discussion re Queens and football in general – it was good to hear straight from the horse’s mouth as it were re how things work in this weird illogical world that is the so-called “beautiful” game...

At 7:30 a bus back to Edinburgh and we alighted down the hill from Crispycat Towers just under an hour later...

Back home an Elton John special was followed by Match of the Day, on which some of the players featured, earn more in half a season than the total turnover of a Scottish 1st Division club...

A good day...

Highlight of the Day : Spending the day with the Queens...

Not ran-danning...

Playlist
Tracks from...
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (2CD)
Robert Fripp - Love Cannot Bear
The Blue Nile - High
Fripp & Eno - The Equatorial Stars
Madredeus - Um Amor Infinito
The Church - After Everything Now This
Dar Williams - The Beauty Of The Rain
Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Del Amitri - Can You Do Me Good
Die Fehlfarben - Knietief im Dispo
The Czars - The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People
Radiohead - Kid A
Fiona Apple - When The Pawn...
Earthworks - A Part and Yet Apart
Yes - The Ladder
Marillion - Radiation
Robert Fripp - That Which Passes
The Cure - Wild Mood Swings
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
John Wetton - Battle Lines
Bryan Ferry – Mamouna
David Bowie - Black Tie White Noise
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Black Moon
Yes - Union
The Church - Gold Afternoon Fix
Trevor Rabin - Can't Look Away
Pet Shop Boys - Introspective
Rush - Hold Your Fire

For the second day in a row, a vist to both HMV and Virgin’s sales – and no purchases...

Anne off out again – a leaving do for colleague Debbie who cooked us a wonderful meal back in the summer...

And so in on my own again...

Managed to reinstate contact with the webmeister and so the release of the album is now firmly on the agenda – it’ll be weird to finally let it go...

Took the opportunity tonight to watch “Donnie Darko”...



A strange but nonetheless very enjoyable film...

Much as with my experience last week with 2001 : A Space Odyssey, not quite sure that I understood everything that was going on....

And now I await the midnight call from Anne to go and collect her from some den of iniquity or other...

Highlight of the Day : Donnie Darko

The trusty jukebox...

Playlist
Various - The Wiretapper 18
Tracks from (as far as I can remember)
Mathilde Santing - Under Your Charms
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
Spock's Beard - Spock's Beard
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (2CD)
Coldplay - X&Y
Dar Williams - My Better Self
Robert Fripp - Love Cannot Bear
Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - The Quality of Mercy
The Blue Nile - High
Fripp & Eno - The Equatorial Stars
Madredeus - Um Amor Infinito
Rheostatics - 2067
David Bowie - Reality
The Church - After Everything Now This
King Crimson - The Power to Believe
Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks
Dar Williams - The Beauty Of The Rain
Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Del Amitri - Can You Do Me Good
Die Fehlfarben - Knietief im Dispo
Sparks - Lil Beethoven
Spock's Beard - Snow
The Czars - The Ugly People vs The Beautiful People
Four Tet - Pause
Coldplay - Parachutes
Allan Holdsworth - Sixteen Men Of Tain
King Crimson - The ContruKction Of Light
Radiohead - Kid A
Spock's Beard - V
Dar Williams - The Green World
Fiona Apple - When The Pawn...
David Bowie - Hours
Earthworks - A Part and Yet Apart
Moby - Play
Yes - The Ladder
Marillion - Radiation
David Bowie - Earthling
King Crimson - Thrakattak
The Blue Nile - Peace at Last
Steve Harley - Poetic Justice
Robert Fripp - That Which Passes
The Cure - Wild Mood Swings
King Crimson - Thrak
Robert Fripp - A Blessing Of Tears
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
John Wetton - Battle Lines
Bryan Ferry – Mamouna
David Bowie - Black Tie White Noise
Pet Shop Boys - Very/Relentless
Rush - Counterparts
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Black Moon
Brian Eno - Nerve Net
The Church - Priest = Aura
Yes - Union
Kraftwerk - The Mix
The Church - Gold Afternoon Fix
Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour
Alice Cooper - Trash
Trevor Rabin - Can't Look Away
Pet Shop Boys - Introspective
Rush - Hold Your Fire

Finding it harder and harder to type now – pins and needles and pain continuously in my right arm...

A quick drink tonight with young chum Kris-with-a-K for his birthday – I managed to sneak back into Tigerlily despite having been banned for life back in June...

I was disappointed to note there was no large picture of my face anywhere on the premises...

Back home and a night spent mostly on the settee in front of the telly – but only after first creating a new playlist on the jukebox to listen to – my top ten albums from every year from 1986 to 2006....



Of the 210 titles, 51 are not currently on the jukebox but I enjoyed this new selection...

Watched the Aberdeen game with my headphones on – unlucky not to win and will now probably lose in Ukraine...

A good win for Spurs - I hope sister Pam was using her season ticket as they’ve not been winning much lately...

A call from Dr Prog sets up a jazz gig visit for next week to see Chris Lyons – should be good...

Finally, the return of Question Time and This Week....

Can’t believe Gordon Brown appears to be getting away scot-free with ballsing up the economy over the last ten years...

Oh well...

Highlight of the Day : A new playlist (yes my life really is that exciting)...

A quiet night in...

Playlist
Various - Smokin' Blue
Various - The Wiretapper 18
Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
Lucy Kaplansky - Over the Hills
Rush - Snakes and Arrows
Fehlfarben - Handbuch fur die Welt
The Bad Plus - Prog
Laura Pausini - Io Canto
No Man - Together We're Stranger
Chris Lyons - The Ill Tempered Klavier
MusicMusicMusic - Macbeth
Jonatha Brooke - Careful What You Wish For
Alan Morse - Four O'Clock and Hysteria

A visit to FOPP at lunchtime allowed e to purchase the fourth of the recent Blue Note 2CD compilations the first three of which i bought a couple of weeks back...

Back home, this month's The Wire carried a free CD of the usual mainly tuneless pish...

Anne was out tonight with her friend Michelle to see “Atonement”...

I could’ve done a million things but I didn’t – I squandered my time watching TV (nothing worth noting) before finally settling down to watch my recent DVD purchase of “Pan’s Labyrinth”...



...just as Anne walked back through the door...

She wanted to know the Rangers score – I had no idea but I didn't get to see the film...

Highlight of the Day : A quiet night in

Cookin'n'downloadin'...

Playlist
Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
2Raumwohnung - 36 Grad
Laura Pausini - Io Canto
King Crimson – Recent Hot Tickles from DGM Live
Rheostatics – Last Ever Show 30/3/07
Dream Theater – The Dark Side of the Moon (Live)

Main activity of the day? Helping Anne cook the evening meal – whilst quaffing some excellent Piesporter Michelsberg...



Particularly enjoyable as all I’d consumed other than this today were two bananas and a glass of fruit juice...

Watched the first half of Shaktar Donetsk v Glasgow Celtic, the former 2-0 up after just 8 minutes – I correctly surmised from the lack of Anne bounding out of the living room during the second half that no further scoring took place...

It appears my webmeister has vanished without trace...

Great post here from my faves, The Bad Plus re some of their critics’ misunderstanding of their cover versions...

New solo piano downloads taken from Destination Out...

Finally found and downloaded Dream Theater’s live rendition of the Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” – pointless really, yet strangely engaging...



Highlight of the Day : Good food and new downloads...

Help needed...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Ersatzreal
Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
Rush - Snakes and Arrows
Fehlfarben - Handbuch fur die Welt
2Raumwohnung - 36 Grad
The Bad Plus - Prog
Laura Pausini - Io Canto
Jonatha Brooke - Careful What You Wish For
Alan Morse - Four O'Clock and Hysteria

Almost ready to release the new album into the world. Just waiting for word from webmeister re site update scenario. Once I have that, it should be all systems go – apart of course from actually playing anywhere live due to the ongoing arm pain induced inability to play guitar...

Today I turned down yet another gig and have a further invite in the inbox to be rebuffed...

If you want to hear new CBQ music over the next few months, I suggest you buy the album when it comes out...

Even though Anne’s credited as “Executive Producer” and so really ought to have a handle on matters, when playing it the other day and referring to it as “the new album” Anne proffered “but that’s an old song”...

I suppose this reflects the fact she’s been hearing some of these around the house for nearly two years...

The entire studio is on the blink at present – I await aid from Guardian Angel Craig – here he is the last time he helped out, back in January...



Helping me is not easy on his nerves...

V tasty lunch today at Oloroso with Margaret and, tonight, two episodes of Corrie straddled University Challenge - as is the way these Monday evenings as we head into Autumn...

I retreated to the PC to update this and to listen to some music released in 2007 – I’ve updated my Albums of the Month and Albums of the Year (so far)...

Highlight of the Day : Recent music...

Religion is rubbish...

Playlist
Various – Now That’s What I Call Music Vol 9 (5/73-3/74) (2CD-R)
Ewelina Flinta – Przeznaczeniej
Doris – Did You Give The World Some Love Today Baby?
After Crying – Elso Evtized
Jellyfish - Bellybutton
Hawkwind – Stasis The UA Years 1971-1975
Various Composers – 100 Airs d’Opera de Legende
King Crimson – Thrakattak

Up – breakfast at home – out to Homebase – purchased two hooks for the kitchen re hanging towels, aprons, oven gloves etc – pouring with rain – shopping from Sainsbury – home – soup for lunch – watched “Before Sunset” : lovely wee film – put up hooks (squint as you might guess) – did some reading on economics (The Undercover Economist) – updated Friday and Saturday – took plenty of painkillers re the arm – surfed e-bay half-heartedly – transferred a Depeche Mode concert from DVD to mini-disc for chum Chris with a Ch with a view to burning to CD for him – watched enjoyable new Michael Palin series – enjoyable apart from stupid sacrifice of a sheep by an Albanian hoping that this would get him a job in the EU – religion is rubbish...



Highlight of the Day : Michael Palin in the former Yugoslavia

Is that the fridge...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ersatzreal
PFM – Live in Modena 1972
Various – The Real Birth of Fusion
Geisterfahrer – Schatten Voraus
Various – Some of my remaining 7” singles...
Roy Wood – Singles 1971-1976 (CD-R)
Various – Now That’s What I Call Music Vol 8 (1/72-4/73)

What did I do today?

I stayed in all day waiting for the new fridge to arrive – we’d been advised it’d be here at some point between 8am and 6pm...

Up at 7 and listened to Ersatzreal on good headphones in the living room with no distractions – it sounds good and it’ll be out soon...

No sign of the fridge at 8am...

Had breakfast, then decided to tidy up the back room...

Tried various permutations, all of which left stuff lying on the floor...

Booked our bus to Glasgow next week for Partick Thistle v Queen of the South – we are partaking of “hospitality” and hence not driving through...

Anne went off at 11:30 for the Hearts v Rangers game at Tynecastle. She was less than confident – I predicted a 2-1 win for Hearts to try and lift her spirits – at least it made her laugh...

I took a break from tidying and watched the game on Setanta...

Hearts were all over Rangers – 1-0 within 15 minutes, 2-0 at half time. A successful (and stonewall) penalty for the Gers just after half time would normally have signalled a collapse of the boys in maroon...

Hearts stayed on top though and were awarded and scored a penalty of their own – 3-1...

Then, 4-1 – the first time Hearts had scored 4 against the Hun in the league since 1936 apparently...

Despite Rangers pulling one back, Hearts ran out worthy winners and, hopefully, they’ll be able to show this type of form again...

No sign of the fridge by 3pm...

The room was sorted shortly thereafter (no pic yet) and I toyed with the idea of introducing my collection of 7” singles from the cupboard - I took them all through and played a few – Residents, John Foxx, Jo Jo Gunne, King Crimson, Wizzard – but eventually decided against and put them away again...

The Wizzard B Sides got me into Roy Wood mode however, and I surfed the net re this for a time...

No sign of the fridge at 5pm...

Queens had been beating Clyde 1-0 through an early penalty but lost a goal just after half time – however, this 1-1 draw takes them to third in the table – albeit Hamilton (6 wins out of 6) and Dundee are both well ahead of them...

At 5:33, a phone call to say the fridge would be here in the next 10 minutes...

It was unpacked and in place by six...

To celebrate Hearts’ win, an Indian was ordered and collected by your correspondent...

We watched the highlights of today’s SPL matches on Setanta...

Nothing else on telly tonight other than a re-run of “The Vicar of Dibley” and “Match of the Day”, half way through which, I retired to bed...

Highlight of the Day : Hearts 4 Rangers 2 and the eventual arrival of the fridge..

One wedding and a funeral...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Ersatzreal
Kraftwerk – Minimum Maximum
McDonald & Giles – McDonald & Giles
King Crimson – In The Wake of Poseidon

What I did today:-

Finalised the cover for Erstazreal – I had to reformat and rearrange the lyrics – then printed a first copy of the final cover and burned and printed the first disc – out soon...





Went to the funeral of the mother of a friend. The deceased died two days after her 89th birthday. A good innings I say and so a celebration rather than a service of regret....

Went out to lunch with Anne at La pe’tite folie – one of our favourite restaurants. The food was excellent, although I regret not sticking to my guns and ordering mussels as my starter rather than the mouthful of mushroom, pastry and poached egg which I received...

Back home, fell asleep due to wine intake...

In the evening, met up with friends Margaret and Glen and went to the wedding of old friend Helen, who used to catsit for Crispy – and met up with other old friends, Gillian, Sarah, Eleanor etc etc...

Here's the happy couple - this probably not how they will be depicted in the official photos...



Various drunken promises were made of the “we must see each other soon” nature – hopefully these will be fulfilled....

Success, celebration and happiness – a no bad day...

Highlight of the Day : First copy of Ersatzreal coming off the presses

Aging...

Playlist
Various – Downloads from Destination Out
Various – Downloads from Pitchfork
Alice Cooper – 40 Years of Alice Cooper Disc 1 1965-72 (CD-R)
King Crimson – 21st Century Guide Vol 2 Disc 4
ProjeKct One – Jazz Café Suite
ProjeKcts 1,2,3,4,6 – "Hot Tickles" from DGM Live

Up early and read over the reports of Scotland’s great win last night – all of which seemed to suggest a much better performance than I saw last night...

Can’t deny the massive achievement though...

Downloading new stuff from Destination Out and Pitchfork...

Uptown around 10:30 and a quick scoot round HMV and Dixons/Currys/whatever with no purchases made...

Then met up with Kris with a K, Gary, Lorna and Margaret for lunch...



Still no sign of the paint we’ve ordered for the kitchen...

Once it’s done and the new fridge is in, all my lovely magnets will be put away...



Back home by 2:30...

Continued downloading from Pitchfork – today I have taken 350 minutes worth of the latest hip sounds from the site’s free MP3 section...

Listened to some great early Alice Cooper then got caught up in the brilliant work of King Crimson, reading through the booklets of the various box sets I have and Sid Smith’s excellent book on the band...

The weather turned wintry all of a sudden tonight – perhaps summer has finally gone?

Reluctantly turned down a couple of offers today to play live which would’ve been nice given the upcoming releases but I know my arm will not now allow any further guitaring until a couple of months after my op, which is apparently mooted for early November...

Constant pain now and pins and needles too...

Damn this getting old business...

Highlight of the Day : Crimso & the Coop

Unbelievable...

Playlist
Stamitz – Symphonies Vol 2
Sonny Rollins – Plus Four
Stephen Merrit/Magnetic Fields - Cobley Compilation (CD-R)
Hawkwind – Warrior on the Edge of Time
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ersatzreal
J S Bach – Violin Concertos
Secret Machines – September 000
Various – The Best Prog Rock Album in the World...Ever
Plus tracks from
Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids
John Scofield – Works for Me
Various – Rough Trade Shops 25 Years (Young Marble Giants & Robert Wyatt)
Various - 70’s Super Rock (Edgar Winter Group)
Robert Wyatt – Schleep
Various – Sounds of the 60s (1967) (Scott McKenzie, Mamas & Papas, Kinks, Small Faces)
Cozy Powell – Dance With the Devil (7”)
Various – Harvest Showdown (Wizzard)
ELP – Trilogy
David Bowie – Heathen 2 (CD-R)
David Bowie – The Shadow Man (Bootleg)
Elton John – Legendary Covers (his tracks for Top of the Pops LPs)
Gordon Lightfoot – Songbook
Skids – Dunfermline
Carole king – Pearls
Erasure – Other People’s Songs
Alice Cooper – 40 Years 1965-2004 (CD-R)
Kilers – Sam’s Town
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Best of
Fountains of Wayne – Out of State Plates
Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

Up at 8 and I made breakfast before Anne set off into town to have her hair “done” – and very nice it is too...

Watched the second half of “2001: A Space Odyssey” – I still don’t really understand part III – any suggestions?

Integrated around 100 CDs, which have been relegated from the living room shelf to the back bedroom by new purchases, into the overall CD collection....

Whilst doing so, I listened to some jazz, then a CD which arrived in the post from Creekster/Photographer Stuart Cobley of Stephen Merrit/Magnetic Fields and then some Hawkwind...

On Anne’s return, we lunched and then watched the first of the two recently purchased Julie Delpy films, “Before Sunrise”. I loved it – Anne thought it was a bit over-done on the old “just two people talking to each other all night” front. I loved it....

Spent no time at all on the computer today (I’m writing this tomorrow) and, as Anne surfed her Hearts websites, I listened to some music in the back room...

Ordered and collected an Indian takeaway – very tasty Vegetable Pathia for me...

Drove to the Murrayfield bar to meet up with Mr Brodie to watch tonight’s France v Scotland game...

It was almost an exact rerun of the game last October which Anne and I watched in a pub with Dr Prog - Scotland soaking up all the pressure France could muster and then scoring with their one opportunity – except tonight’s goal was an exceptional 30 yard strike from James McFadden (following on from his excellent goal on Saturday v Lithania)...



Unbelievably, Scotland once again defeated France 1-0 – who’d have thought it, six points out of six versus the World Cup runners up and Scotland are now back at the top of the table...

In their last 47 (forty-seven!!) games, France have only been defeated three times - by Italy on penalties in the 2006 World Cup Final and twice by Scotland...

Tasty...

Back home to watch the highlights....

A good day...

Highlight of the Day : Let's see now, France 0 Scotland 1? Yes that'll do nicely...

Just visiting...

Playlist
Various – Hits from Mostly 1971-1974 (Downtown to Down Down)
Various – Number One Singles I Bought when They Came Out
David Reilly – Anthology Vol 2
Weather Report – Live and Unreleased
Various – Relaxin’ Blue
Weather Report – Weather Report (1971)

Up early to update the blog but got sucked in to burning a disc of old singles I must’ve downloaded at some point from Limewire or somewhere – of course being the anally retentive fool that I am, I had to first determine the date each was a hit in order to have the compilation run chronologically...

I turned to my trusty “The Top Twenty Book – The Official British Record Charts 1955-1982” but had to also consult http://www.everyhit.com/ for some info...

I love looking through the chart book at the early seventies – whisks me right back in time....

Off to Comet today to buy a new fridge. We managed to find our ideal - a big fridge with small freezer compartment as we don’t freeze much...



Then we drove over to Leith for lunch at The Shore...



...before dropping off more of our unwanted stuff at the Lothian Cat Rescue shop and heading back home...

The mobile library was parked at the end of our street but, disappointingly, our old friend and Mobile Library Curator, George Coleman was not on board...

I continued with the work on the covers for the anthology CDs and for “Ersatzreal”, adding all the lyrics to the latter and writing up and adding notes to vol two of the former – only another eight to go...

In the evening Anne was out on the ran-dan with Lynn, no doubt planning their trip to Manchester next month – how will Meg the Black cat and her fat dad cope?

Meanwhile I watched the first half of “2001: A Space Odyssey”...

Sad to hear of the death today of Joe Zawinul, co-founder of Weather Report and one of the most influential musicians in the jazz-fusion movement of the late sixties/early seventies, which began with Zawinul’s work with Miles Davis...



Highlight of the Day : Holidaying at home

Not driving...

Playlist
David Bowie – Live in Tokyo 1973
The Doors – Other Voices
The Doors – Full Circle
Be Bop Deluxe – Air Age Anthology

To Tesco early doors for milk and cat food...

After breakfast, drove out to Loanhead (Anne driving due to my arm pain) to (a) assemble a cabinet for my mum’s bathroom (same as the one we have in ours) and (b) determine whether a Freeview Box would work for her (we fetched our previous box from the attic)....



As sister Pam did some shopping, there was much cursing, swearing, building and rebuilding (due to basic errors) of the cabinet - which was finished just as Pam returned with lunch provisions...



We determined that my mum can’t use Freeview but she can cancel the Sky channels she doesn’t use and save herself £21 per month – so she did that instead...

We discovered she still has a bag of candles in her kitchen from the time of the 70's power cuts – (February 1972)....



After a tasty lunch, Anne and I returned to Edinburgh...



...shopping at Tesco (second visit in a day) before going to the cinema (six attendees) for the film “Run Fatboy Run” – which was an enjoyable wee film but, really, nothing great – in the final analysis probably failing to live up to its potential...

Back home, coffee in the back garden as the sun went down on another gorgeous late summer’s day...

Two episodes of Corrie plus, of course, “University Challenge” – once again your correspondent declared himself to be “on fire”, answering six of the first eight questions correctly – it went downhill from there though...

Then a programme about a woman who did not clean herself for six weeks...

The outcome – she realised she only really needed toothpaste and soap to say clean and healthy and had been wasting a ton of cash on pointless cosmetics for years...

Ended the day with the latest episode of “Heroes” – still hanging in there...

Highlight of the Day : Out and about with Anne

Tasty...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ersatzreal
Various – 21st Century Disco
Various – The Lovers’ Guide to Reggae
Various – The Very Best Euphoric Chillout Mixes Breakdown
The Orb – Cydonia
Cockney Rebel – Dusseldorf 30/11/74
George Benson Quartet – Live 1973

A chocolate croissant each for breakfast...

Not feeling too great today re the arm pains...

Watched most of last night’s broadcast of David Gilmour at the Royal Albert Hall which included David Bowie singing Pink Floyd’s first single, “Arnold Layne”...

Around one, we departed for the bus stop to head down Leith way for Anne’s mum’s birthday (75 tomorrow) lunch...

The Compass Bar and Grill is not far from brother in law Keith’s flat so we were there for a meal (Me, Anne, Anne’s Mum, Keith, Maureen, Jane, Bobby, Oliver & Kitty)...

The food was excellent – Keith, Ollie and I all opted for the beer battered haddock and chips while Anne and her mum both went for the Seabass fillet, Jane fishcakes, Bobby Mussels, Maureen Duck and Kitty had a small plate of chips, most of which she didn’t eat – but that’s kids in restaurants for you...

I also reacquainted myself with the Fruli Strawberry Beer I’d had last time Anne and I popped in here for a drink...



The cheesecake was quite probably the best I’ve ever tasted – it was almost like pure mascarponi on a thin biscuit base with whole blueberries and raspberries laced through the ceamy topping...

Mmm, mmm....

After the meal we made our way back to Keith and Maureen’s for the present presentation – we gave Anne’s mum a Digital Radio to replace the ancient ghetto blaster she uses at present....

More wine and port were consumed before Jane, Bobby, Ollie, Kitty and Anne’s mum headed home and Anne and I made our way to the bus stop..

Back home I felt very tired indeed and, as Anne stayed up to watch “Bend it Like Beckham”, I retired at 9pm – possibly an early to bed record for me...

Highlight of the Day : Mmmm, cheesecake...

Impossible kittens...

Playlist

Nine Horses – Money For All EP 

Dave Holland Quintet – Not For Nothing 

Four Tet - Remixes 

Kenny Dorham – Round About Midnight at the Café Bohemia 

Mingo Lewis – Flight Never Ending 

Monteverdi – Selva Morale e Spirituale 

Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet 

Tangerine Dream – Live at Sheffield City Hall 29/10/74 Rameau - Les Indes Gallantes 

David Reilly – Anthology 1977-2007 

Jean-Michel Jarre – Live at the Great Pyramids 31/12/99 

David Bowie – The Forgotten Songs of David Robert Jones 

Various – The Clubbers’ Guide to Trance 1999 Various – Ibiza Chillout Session 

Various – Visions of Ibiza 

Owada - Nothing 

Up early as ever and copied the three box sets borrowed from the library three weeks ago – once again I have not listened to them... 

 Breakfasted at home following a quick trip to the local shop for bread and chocolate croissants... 

 Drove uptown – listening to Rameau – returned the CDs to the library – parked the car – walked to the Assembly Rooms for the Record Fair where I met with Alan Brodie (who once again spent a fortune on old records including a Commodores album, a Kraftwerk picture disc and David Bowie’s "Stage" on yellow vinyl)...

 

For my own sins I ended up buying 16 CDs for just £1 each... 

 “What did you buy Mr Quartet?” I hear you cry... 

Well, from one wee man I bought:- A pirate copy of the two Doors albums recorded post Jim Morrison’s death (“Other Voices” and “Full Circle”)... 

A two disc set of Jean-Michel Jarre’s concert at the Great Pyramids on 31st December 1999 ... 

A two disc set of Italian proggers PFM’s concert in Modena in December 1972... 

An audience recording of David Bowie’s concert in Japan on 20 April 1973... 

A disc of David Bowie demos and rarities from the period 1966-1970... 

A disc of Blondie remixes... A live recording of the George Benson Quartet, also from April 1973... 

A bootleg of Cockney Rebel’s Dusseldorf concert on 30 November 1974... 

And from another wee man, I bought:- The Orb – Cydonia... Owada – Nothing – a very weird album featuring a Turner Prize winner (Martin Creed)... 

Various – Ministry of Sound’s Clubbers’ Guide to Trance from 1999 (2CD)... 

Various – Ministry of Sound’s Ibiza Chillout Session from 2001 (2CD)... 

Various – Another 2001 Ibiza Chillout Session (Visions of Ibiza compiled by Chicane) (2CD)... 

Various – The Very Best Euphoric Chillout Mixes Breakdown (2CD)*... 

Various – The Lovers’ Guide to Reggae (3CD)... 

Various – Ministry of Sound’s 21st Century Disco from 2002 (2CD)... 

*(I discovered on returning home that I already have this album - on pulling it out of the collection and looking at the cover, I had exactly the same feeling I used to get when I was a boy and bought a packet of bubblegum with footballer or Batman cards, only to find one of the three cards in the pack was one I already had) 

Dr Prog turned up around midday and bought a couple of items too...

 

Brodski had to go but we parted with an agreement for our little trio of prog rock fans to meet up in the week to view his Peter Gabriel DVD of a concert in Germany in September 1978 – filmed a week after he and I saw the man at Knebworth with Frank Zappa and The Tubes – what a concert that was – but not before I had been duped by my cohorts into believing the DVD featured Mr Gabriel doing a Fripp’ed up version of a song from Genesis’ 1st album... 

 Here is the face of a gullible fool...

 

Dr Prog and I had a nice lunch at a nearby Italian place before I walked down to The Cask & Barrell in Broughton Street to meet up with Anne and a couple of the footballers, Nigel and Mick, to watch Scotland v Lithuania. I’d also e-mailed Jim Park to let him know where we’d be... 

However, when I arrived to meet with Anne, the place was packed to the gunnels and there was no sign of Mick, Nigel or Jim... 

We decided to go home and listen to the game on the radio... 

During our long walk across town back to the car, we came across this wee cat sleeping on a doorstep...

 

Just before halftime, we got a call from Jim thanking us for inviting him somewhere and then not being there when he turned up... 

After much grovelling on your correspondent’s part, we managed to secure an invite round to Jim’s place to view the second half on his Sky receiving TV... 

We met Jim’s lovely wee cat Ted and enjoyed a glorious win for Scotland (3-1) despite the cheating of Hearts’ Mikolinious for a penalty... 

Although I know full well from his blog that Jim is currently abstaining from Cigarettes and Alcohol, I took some beers round. Short term memory loss is becoming a problem... 

After admiring Jim’s garden, on which he assured us he’d been working hard all afternoon (I couldn’t see where though), we drove home to prepare for our visit to impossible Songs tonight... 

I burned a copy of the 1CD Anthology, “A Selection” to give to John & Ali (the Impossibles in question) as they have little knowledge of my music pre-2003 and I (no doubt rather vainly) thought this might be of interest... 

We were on a mission to meet their new kittens, Smudge the Kind of Black Kitten and Clint the Gingery Kitten and were delighted to find on arrival that the house was full of other guests, Ali’s son Paul and John’s twins Joshua and Olivia – later we were joined by John’s daughter Erin and her fiancé (husband by next week), Guy... 

Here are the kittens with (top left clockwise) Olivia, John, Anne and Paul...

 

Ali’s cooking was superb – marvellous, creamy haddock accompanied by fine new potatoes, couscous and salad and followed by sweet plum crumble, made with plums from the Impossible Garden... 

We talked into the night covering such topics as the McCann’s and their search for their missing daughter (Paul is studying psychology and suggests they are innocent as they have no history of being elaborate liars), the state of the economy, UK, US and World, interest rates, inflation, house prices, the stupidity of banks etc etc, how the world really works and finding out I have the brain of a 79 year old (and he wants it back).... 

Of course much of the evening was spent discussing the disappearance of John and Ali’s handsome wee cat, Syrus who we all hope will turn up safe and sound as soon as possible...

 

Rather worryingly, there seems to be a number of missing felines in the area, coupled with an over-zealous catgut-strung-banjo-playing, cat-fur-boot-wearing local gamekeeper... 

At 2 we headed off into the night... 

Another busy an enjoyable day... 

Highlight of the Day : An evening of Impossibility

Road trip...

Playlist
David Reilly –Anthology 1977-2007 Volumes 1-10
Rush – 18 Track Anthology (CD-R)
Various – Now That’s What I Call a Good Album : October 2005
Rush – Snakes and Arrows
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ersatzreal
Andrew Hill – Dance With Death
Philip Glass – Symphonies 2 & 3

A road trip today as we toured around the Kingdom of Fife in the Cloudland Blue Seat Ibiza 1.6 TDI...

First stop was the little town of Ely...

..where we enjoyed some of this...

Then on around the coast on a scorcher of a day to the town of Anstruther...

We walked around enjoying the sea air and the harbour views....

...then we had some of these from what was “The Best Fish & Chip Shop in Scotland 2006/07” apparently...

Then, on to St Andrews where, again we just ambled around taking in the town, including a garden centre where we bought a rose around 10 years ago which is now around 6 feet tall, a wedding with many kilted young men and a record shop where I almost bought a Philip Glass CD which I discovered on returning home, I already have...

Several times on the drive home, I found myself falling asleep and was glad to get back to Crispycat Towers...

Did some work on the anthology in the evening, writing up sleeve notes and also designed the cover for “Ersatzreal” – both out soon I hope....

My right arm is now getting too sore to type or play guitar or drive and I’ve dropped out of the football again due to the constant pain – hope the date for the op comes soon...

Later on an Indian to end the week followed by the brilliant “IT Crowd”...

Stayed up till 1:30 finishing off notes for volume 1 of the anthology...

Highlight of the Day : Road Trip

Leisure time...

Playlist
Various – Relaxin’ Blue
Various – Evenin’ Blue
Mozart – Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail

Up early, we breakfasted at home then walked down to the main street as we were off into town...

We caught an Airport Bus and were soon at Waverley Bridge...

Walked round the corner to the two galleries there – the City Art Centre...



...and the Fruitmarket Gallery...



Our first goal was the retrospective of Scottish abstract art, “Beyond Appearances”...

I loved this – here are few of my favourite pieces on display...



And here’s Anne looking at my favourite...



And here’s a not particularly positive review – not of the art but of the idea behind the exhibition...

Then over to the Fruitmarket for a show by Alex Hartley – again I recommend it...

Before walking round, we stopped at the café for some lovely coffee and cake...




I liked this work too and here’s an idea of what was on show – as you can see Anne wasn’t much impressed...



And here’s a review by the same guy who wrote the one above...

I’d intended visiting the Warhol exhibition while Anne did some shopping but I was all gallery’d out and was under the lure of FOPP...

We split and agreed to meet again in around 90 minutes..

I had CDs in my hand by artists such as Television, Buzzcocks, Bruce Springsteen, Death in Vegas and Turin Breaks as well as compilations of New Wave and Electro/Hip Hop....

In the end though, I broke my vow not to buy any CDs in September, with three Blue Note 2CD compilations, “Relaxin’ Blue”, “Evenin’ Blue” and “Feelin’ Blue”...

I also bought some DVDs – “Donnie Darko”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Amadeus” and two July Delpy films much mentioned in the reviews of “Two Days in Paris”, “Before Sunset” and “Before Sunrise”....

Lunch was a sandwich in Princes St Gardens with the seagulls and the tourists...



Then a 40 minute (!!) bus journey home to the garden for some coffee and some jazz, where I perused the book of pictures of houses I bought at the Art centre along with my book of Blue Note covers, while Anne studied a map of America re a trip next year...



Meg was just Meg and flowers were just themselves...

At 4:30 we drove to the airport to pick up sister Pam who’s up for a few days. Out to Loanhead to see my mum and we enjoyed a Chinese takeaway. A lovely late summer evening...



35 years ago, I used these trees as goalposts...

Up to Penicuilk to sister Sheila’s where we saw grand-nephew Kerr and Sheila’s two boys Andrew and Alastair (with long-term girlfriend, Julie) and tired-after-a-long-walk dogs, Ben and Smudge...



Back home before midnight – a busy day...

Highlight of the Day : Artworks