Blue dress and heroes...

Playlist
Neal Morse - Sola Scriptura
Neal Morse -?
Neal Morse –One
Depeche Mode – Violator

Listening today comprised mainly the collected works of Neal Morse, following the purchase of his latest yesterday...

He is, of course, a rampant born-again Christian and his lyrics reflect this in no uncertain terms...

So this might strike you as being a bit strange – an atheist enjoying music about Jesus – but the music really is very good indeed and, as I opined here not long ago, some of the best music ever written, was created in the name of religion – so I suppose it’s not all bad...

Also on the playlist was Depeche Mode’s “Violator”, burnt for me by my colleague Caroline - it contains one of her all time favourite tracks, “Blue Dress”...



Very enjoyable...

When she first mentioned the album, I thought I already had it but, on checking, I found I didn’t – so she decided to fill this particular Mode shaped gap in the collection...

Much of the evening was spent in front of the telly – the first of the new series of “Heroes” (on tape), the increasingly desperate “Desperate Housewives” and the very funny “Big Bang Theory”...

An uneventful day...

Highlight of the Day : New “Heroes” – even though it was pretty rubbish really

Evening star II...

Playlist
Various – 5 Minute Pieces - Jazz (Shuffleplay)
Neal Morse – Sola Scriptura

A comment on the blog the other day pointed out that the picture of Brian Eno I used a couple of weeks ago to illustrate the arrival of the latest Fripp & Eno recordings at Crispycat Towers was by the late Peter Schmidt...

I knew this but had not mentioned it – there’s a link there now to an excellent site dedicated to the late artist and his work...

Schmidt was involved in the cover artwork of Brian Eno’s “Taking Tiger Mountain” and “Before and After Science” albums and also painted the picture which graces the front cover of Fripp & Eno’s “Evening Star”, one of my all time favourite paintings...



The guy who maintains the Peter Schmidt site (and who actually owns the painting I used a few weeks ago) is apparently off to Eno’s house this summer to photograph items from Eno’s own collection of Schmidt’s works, which includes this painting, which has apparently hung in Eno’s home for nearly 35 years...

It was painted in autumn 1973 on La Gomera, the smallest of the Canary Islands....

In the "Letters" section on the Schmidt website, at the very bottom of the "Miscellaneous" section, is the last note the artist wrote, describing his hopes in re experiencing the moment it was painted on his forthcoming trip. He died a few days after arriving there....

La Gomera means “small firebrand” – so perhaps the Eno track “Over Fire Island” from “Another Green World” is a reference to this...

Elsewhere today, I visited FOPP but made no purchase – it’s only a matter of time until I go mental and walk out clutching a bag of £3 CDs which I’ll transfer to the jukebox without even listening to...

I am mad...

Back home an order from Amazon arrived – presents for our friends in Germany, Jorg and Yvonne, who celebrate their 45th and 40th birthdays respectively next weekend...

Of course whilst shopping there, I couldn’t resist adding the latest album by ex-Spocks Beard frontman and purveyor of excellent nu-prog, Mr Neal Morse...

I listened to it as I pounded the machines at the gym tonight...

I failed to move up to double the number of sets I’ve been doing because, quite frankly, some of the individuals at the gym were just too smelly for me to bear...

On telly, “CSI “ and last Saturday’s "Dr Who", featuring the Sontaran’s which I resemble but hopefully not for much longer...

Highlight of the Day : Learning more ablout Peter Schmidt

Mail your dad...

Playlist
Various – 5 Minute Pieces (Shuffleplay)

I’ve been logging on to the Queen of the South website and the fans message board each morning to see when tickets will be going on sale for the cup final...

I came across this story printed recently in a Canadian Newspaper – the part where the author sent an e-mail to his dead father brought a wee tear to my eye...

Not much action today...

Spent some time checking which of the 200 odd hit albums of the 70’s I have, weren’t already on the Jukebox – I made a list for future reference...

This one’s on there already of course...



My cold is lingering, but not too badly, while Anne was struck by some kind of lurgi which knocked her for six, forcing a cancellation of her weekly keep fit excursion..

Still no sign of my Sparks CDs....

Highlight of the Day : Queens story

Chording...

Playlist
Various – Hit Albums from 1970 (Shuffleplay)
Various Composers – Dresden Classics
Various – Hit Albums from 1971 (Shuffleplay)
David Bowie – Best of Spiders from Mars 1971-1973 (CD-R)
Zbigniew Preisner/Teresa Salgueiro – Silence, Night and Dreams

Up early again as, once again, despite a late night, I just couldn’t get back to sleep after waking for the first time...

So a couple of hours of internetting and stupid compiling before heading to the gym at 10am....

Next week I’ll be upping the number of “sets” I do...

Back home for breakfast then more time wasted on the computer while Anne watched the Old Firm derby – a second triumph in 11 days for Celtic against their oldest rivals....

Worked out the chords for David Bowie’s “Drive-in Saturday” – for no particular reason – and I’m sure I could’ve Googled them anyway...

Then to Jane and Bobby’s for wee Ollie’s birthday party – top cooking from Jane comprising a steak chilli and a pork and chorizo dish – both taken from Delia Smith’s new “How to Cheat at Cooking” (or some such) book...



More computing before “Match of the Day 2” during which I fell asleep...

A cold is taking hold...

Highlight of the Day : Jane’s cooking

Topographic...

Playlist
Various – 1973 Hit Singles Playlist
Hasse – Salve Regina
Various Composers – Dresden Classics
FionaApple – Extraordinary Machine
Various – Hit Albums from 1970 (Shuffleplay)

Couldn’t sleep so up around 5:15, leaving me pretty tired after last night’s drinking and late turn in...

I compiled a 3CD set of hit singles from around each of Anne’s best friend Lynn’s birthdays, and created a cover – a wee present from me as we were off out tonight to celebrate her birthday, which was yesterday...

Then, after recently creating lists of hit singles I liked from 1972 and 1973, I moved on to 1974 and 1975 and then thought looking at hit albums would be interesting...

So I researched hit albums from 1970-1979 – all of the above research was taken from the great chart archive site http://www.everyhit.com/...

In these days of homogenised crap, it’s amazing to see the music that used to hit the charts – granted there was always rubbish like Nana Maskouri, Peters and Lee and Frank Sinatra (yes I’d rate all three around the same on a worthiness scale) and all those various artists LPs but just look at some of the albums that made it into the top forty in the seventies:-

Soft Machine - Third
Hawkwind - In Search Of Space
Isaac Hayes - Black Moses
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Argent - All Together Now
Focus - Focus 3
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
Lou Reed - Berlin
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans
Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
Roy Harper - Valentine

Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Steve Howe - Beginnings
Chris Squire - Fish Out Of Water
Joni Mitchell - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - Rainbow Rising
Jon Anderson - Olias Of Sunhillow
David Bowie - Low
Rush - Farewell To Kings
Magazine - Secondhand Daylight

OK some of them may not have aged that well and these aren’t exactly the most accessible albums in the world but, once upon a time, they represented the kind of music which was being bought by enough people to make the charts – some of these even made the number one spot...

And now what do we have? Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse and Adele?!!?

Anyway – arranged to meet up with Dr Prog at the Music Library this morning – I’d suggested we might go to Dunfermline Athletic to see Dr Prog’s team against the mighty Queen of the South – but he couldn’t make it – turned out he didn’t make the library either but I turned up anyway....

Headed home with no new music but some nice Polish bread and Danish salami for lunch – expecting my Sparks CDs to have arrived but again, nothing. Although they’re coming from e-bay, the seller is based here in Edinburgh, so it’s very annoying to say the least to be a week on with no discs...

Decided not to go to Dunfermline on my own and so, as Anne left for Tynecastle (Hearts 1 Inverness 0) I watched on the BBC Videoprinter, as Dunfermline thrashed Queens 4-0, with all the goals coming in the second half...

Still that’s them finished fourth in the league, equalling their best position in recent years and gaining one more point than their previous best...

A month till the Cup final – hopefully they’ll arrange a couple of friendlies to keep their fitness up...

In the evening off to All Bar One in George St to meet up with Lynn and Ross, Lynn’s two sisters, Joan and Sheila, Sheila’s partner Tim, Ross’s brother Stuart and his wife, also called Lynn (possibly with an “E” though)...

After a couple of drinks we walked down to Muang Thai for a very enjoyable and tasty meal – I partook of a grated carrot salad to start with which was covered in chilli seeds and nearly blew my head off – mmm...

This was followed by a very hot duck-based dish, accompanied by some yummy noodles and a couple of bottles of Singha Beer, which was required to douse the flames...

I passed on dessert despite the tempting items available...

Then to a bar in Thistle St where I enjoyed talking to Lynn’s sisters about their tastes in music...

Sheila is 54 and remembers the late 60’s music scene well, while Joan is in her early 40’s and was once a blue–haired punk rocker...

An excellent, entertaining night, rounded off by a taxi trip home from Haymarket to Crispycat Towers and into bed around 2 am...

Very tired...

Highlight of the Day : Thai food and 70’s Albums

Herring...

Playlist
Various – 1973 Hit Singles Playlist
Hasse – Salve Regina

Soundtracked by the hits of 1973, it was back to HMV again today and I bought two discs of 18th Century music...

The first is of Johann Adolf Hasse, who was absolutely Top of the Pops in the period between Bach and Mozart and a "pivotal figure" in the development of opera seria and 18th-century music (it says here)...

The second is a collection of music played in Dresden during those days and also features Hasse along with Heinichen, Vivaldi, Fasch, Zelenka, WF Bach and Jacobi while throwing in a couple of pieces by Heinrich Schutzfrom the 17th Century, just for good measure...

This music is just soooooo good - so tuneful and uplifting - not like all that modern nonsense...

In the evening we were off to a comedy show with stand up of this parish, Mr Jim Park but, as we weren’t meeting till 7, Anne and I went for a couple of drinks beforehand with colleagues Kris and Caroline...

Jim had reserved our tickets and arrived at The Stand just as we were collecting and paying for them....

A very tasty chilli (acquired with the aid of Jim's "comedian discount") got a very entertaining evening off to a good start...

The compere, Susan Calman was right on the button and soon had the sold out room in the palms of her hands...

The opening act, Irishman Keith Farnan was very funny indeed – of course the Irish accent always gives a comedian a head start in winning over the crowd...

Jim’s mate and Yorkshireman of the night, Gordon Alexander made good use of a few props, including some flash cards and Lidl’s Valentine’s Day leaflet advertising condoms at 22p each....

Neil MacFarlane I’d seen before and, whilst he had some good lines, perhaps the company he was in this evening put him under too close scrutiny...

Jim, in his capacity as our only chum who is a stand up comedian, was able to give us his insights re each act...

The headliner was the man we'd come to see - Richard Herring, one of our favourites – if we only catch one show in the Edinburgh Fringe it’ll be Mr Herring’s...

The majority of his all too short 20 minute set was from his 2007 show “Fuck Me I’m 40” but I still found it hilarious and, after the show and considerably too much to drink, I strode up to the man, shook his hand and told him so...

Here's his post from today - which doesn't actually mention tonight's show or the fact that a drunken, overweight, bald musician shook his hand after the show and told him it had been "excellent"...

We left Jim at the club and headed home on an Airport Bus followed by a walk in the cold to Crispycat Towers...

For today’s pic, I thought I’d put one up of Jim – in researching this I found some pics of us in our group Capital Models back in 1980. Jim's the exuberant looking drummer bottom left and you can also see a very fresh faced Mr James Jamieson playing bass...



A good night...

To bed with Mr Hasse in my ears...

Highlight of the Day : Richard Herring

Tardis...

Playlist
The Bad Plus - Discography
Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Discography
Happy Apple - Discography
Medeski Martin & Wood - Discography
Ethan Iverson Trio - Discography
Brad Mehldau Trio - Discography
Reid Anderson – Discography
Various – 1973 Hit Singles Playlist

Still resisting the offers at FOPP...

Today, I went instead to HMV...

FOPP is owned by HMV but has different management, their task being to try and maintain the previous differentials – thus there are often baffling price differences between the two for exactly the same products...

Didn’t buy anything - expecting as I was a couple of Sparks CDs to have been delivered once I got home...

To no avail though....

Anne was off out bowling tonight with Chris and Ferret – she’s catching the bug again perhaps?

Certainly her scores are already on the rise...

Thereafter she watched the Rangers Fiorentina game with the boys (a Hibs fan and a Celtic fan no less - while Annie is, of course a fervent Jambo)...

And so I was left to my own devices at Crispycat Towers...

After preparing (and eating) a tasty tea of chorizo, onions, chillies, peppers and cherry tomatoes (with a dash of red wine), I squandered the rest of the evening compiling a list of over 70 good hit singles from 1973...



Whilst researching pics from 1973, I found this site which traces the history of UK Rock Festivals - worth a look...

Upon Anne's return, we watched tonight's “My Name is Earl” – the one where everyone uses their imagination – Darnell’s song for the crabs was superb...

Highlight of the Day : Back to 1973...

On the wrong side of the road...

Playlist
David Reilly – Anthology Vols 1-10 (Shuffleplay)
Various – Hit Singles of 1972
The Bad Plus - Prog

To FOPP at lunchtime – nothing purchased but all the £3 CDs I forewent in Glasgow recently, have now started to turn up here...

Back to the gym tonight, the pain in my arm having subsided enough to resume the weights exercises...

Enjoyable in a strange way but also quite boring...

Back home Anne was slow cooking some lamb and, after the last remnants of the excellent home made soup, it emerged around 9pm and was very tasty indeed, served with mash and broccoli...

On TV, “Coronation St”, “Reaper” (some new, interesting twists introduced), “Desperate Housewives” and another excellent “Big Bang Theory”...

On e-bay Germany I found an album by Neue Deutsche Welle stalwarts Geisterfahrer and it will hopefully arrive shortly along with the three Sparks albums ordered on Sunday...

Lights out with The Bad Plus...

Highlight of the Day : Anne’s cooking

Mother...

Playlist
David Reilly – Anthology Vols 1-10 (Shuffleplay)
James - Hey Ma

A tasty tea tonight of home made soup followed by trout with zingy salad...

Then out to visit my mum, the journey appropriately soundtracked by James’ new album, “Hey Ma”...



My mum was in good spirits and the usual tales were told of people I used to know...

We watched the end of the Liverpool v Chelsea Euro Semi Final – an own goal from the Reds in the fifth minute of injury time meant it ended in a 1-1 draw giving Chelski the upper hand for the second leg...

I would point out that neither of these teams is a “champion” yet they are playing in the so-called “Champions’ League” – the power of money...

Back home “Law & Order : Criminal Intent” rounded off the day...

Highlight of the Day : Good food

Spikey...

Playlist
Sparks - Discography
Girls Aloud – Mixed Up
Michael Rother - Chronicles
Muse - HAARP

To the doctor’s surgery twice this morning – the first for the results of my cholesterol test taken last week and the treadmill ECG I had at the hospital in February – the second to have my ears syringed...

Cholesterol is down but still not as low as it ought to be – another test in July and then the possibility of lifelong medication – the ECG proved I didn’t have a heart attack in January which is good news...

So far I’ve lost over half a stone but I still have another four to go...

In between the two visits, we had breakfast at a little Italian place then I popped into Woolworth’s and bought an exclusive to Woolies Girls Aloud mix CD...

Then Anne went to Tesco to shop and I went to PC World to investigate a possible new printer, coming away instead with a new keyboard and some details re some possible future purposes...

Back home I logged on to find a comment on this blog in the form of a link to guitarist Robert Fripp’s diary. On his 1 April entry, he mentions the inclusion here of a signed copy of “Evening Star” by Fripp & Eno. He notes that although one of the signatures says “Robert Fripp”, it certainly isn't the writing of any Robert Fripp he knows...

He provided his readers with a link to here causing a welcome spike in visitors over the weekend...



So thanks for that Bob...

Don’t know why the other three spikes occurred...

Home made lentil soup for lunch – Anne’s best...

A day off for me today re the doctor this morning so we took the opportunity this afternoon to pop along to the cinema to see “21”, a film based on the true story of a student at MIT who ended up losing two fortunes counting cards in Las Vegas...

Quite enjoyable...

Of course the losses were a Hollywood contrivance - in reality the student made over $1 million...

Back home and Anne made a lovely tea of cod with a copy of Penny’s zingy salad from Saturday night – tasty!

Spent some time today finalising a big order for CDs received at the weekend and I also added some more free downloads to the Crispycat Library...

Forgot to mention that I bought three Sparks albums on e-bay yesterday which are missing from my collection – two more to get plus the new one out next month – and I’ll have all 21...

Highlight of the day : Fripp reading Cloudland Blue...

Europa...

Playlist
Sparks – Discography
Sparks – Twenty (CD-R)

Unsurprisingly after last night’s late finish, we were up late today...

My shoulder was pretty sore so I decided against a quick return to the gym...

Brunch at home then listening to Sparks and compiling a CD of one track from each of their twenty albums to date...



Spent some time working out the chords and lyrics for around a dozen or so songs from the first two volumes of my anthology...

Then we watched Rangers v St Johnstone in the second cup semi-final, the winners of which will meet Queen of the South in the final next month...

Rangers were poor and, indeed, it was 0-0 at full time..

St Johnstone scored three minutes into extra time but Rangers pulled back with a deserved penalty and really ought to have had another before time was up...

And so a penalty shoot out ensued. St Johnstone saved one penalty but Rangers saved two, sending Queens into the UEFA Cup next year – amazing!!

If Rangers play as badly in the final and QoS play as well as they did against Aberdeen in the semi, who knows, the Doonhamers might just win the cup...

To Anne’s mum’s for tea then home for “My Name is Earl” and “CSI : New York” on tape followed by “Match of the Day 2”...

Highlight of the Day : Queens into Europe

Sparky...

Playlist
Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane - Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
Roedelius – Sebstportrait Vol 1 (LP)
Roedelius – Works 1968-2005
Various – Now That’s What I Call a Good Album Jan 2005
Uriah Heep – Wonderworld
Muse – Black Holes and Revelations
David Reilly – Anthology 1977-2007 Vol 3 (1990-1993)
Creek – 1.0.0
Sparks – Number One in Heaven

Up around 9 and off out to the Gym for my first solo session of this new regime – went well as far as I can tell, in that I was knackered after it – which is a good thing I understand...

Breakfasted at home then headed out solo again, taking two large bags of no longer needed clothes to the PDSA Charity Shop on the Royal Mile before parking below Arthur’s Seat and walking down to the town centre and Avalanche where I ended up buying the new Muse CD/DVD box set of their live performances last summer at Wembley Stadium...



Back home at 2pm to allow Anne to head off to Tynecastle where Hearts came from behind to beat my home town team, St Mirren, 3-2...

Meanwhile the mighty Queen of the South followed last week’s triumph over Aberdeen and their midweek defeat of Partick Thistle with another win, 1-0 at home to Dundee – looks like they could be finishing 4th which I’d never have imagined a few weeks into the season when they were regularly placed in the relegation zone...

Played along with my guitar to a few old songs on the third volume of my anthology, due for release at the end of this month...

Tonight’s “Dr Who” – the one with the Ood – was followed by the Muse DVD while we waited a pick up from Count Brodski...

Off round to his flat where Penny had prepared an excellent meal of red mullet with potatoes and an excellent zingy mango, avocado, tiger prawn, spring onion, chilli and coriander salad...

Copious amounts of red wine were consumed by your correspondent while the good count drank non-alcoholic beer all night having had a bit of a session last night apparently...

We stayed up till 3 am listening to Sparks amongst others – the Count and Countess are off to London next month to see one of the 21 concerts this brilliant band is playing there – wish I was going too but their trip clashes with the Cup Final...

And so we were driven back home in the Brodskimobile after a very entertaining evening...

Highlight of the day : A trip to Castle Brodski

Lucky...

Playlist
Alan Morse – Four O’Clock and Hysteria
Depeche Mode - Ultra
Roxy Music – The Thrill of it All
Teresa Salgueiro/Septeto de Joao Cristal – Voce e Eu

Anne was over in Fife tonight for a works leaving do – Singstar Dawn was leaving the fold – in fact left last week but the party was tonight...

So I turned down all offers so as to be available for taxi duty...

Spent the evening pottering around the house and ended up watching the end of the Batman film I started watching a couple of months ago and then disc one of the double DVD of Roxy Music I received at Christmas...

Very enjoyable indeed...

The call finally came and I left for Dunfermline around 11:30...

Whilst driving around Dunfermline trying to find the nitespot where everything was “going down, man” I got caught by the police going the wrong way along a one way street, having already gone through at least three No Entry signs apparently....



Nine penalty points and a £300 fine they advised – rather an expensive lift home for the Executive Producer...

However, I played the tourist card, advising I was over from Edinburgh and hadn’t ever driven around Dunfermline before and I was looking for the club (whose name escaped me) where my wife was partying the night away and that must have been why I hadn't realised I'd been driving the wrong way along several one-way streets...

The gullible police very kindly let me off and sent me on my way with a warning to go and park and walk into the town centre – judging by the carnage which was taking place as the pubs closed up for the night, I suspect they already had their hands more than full with drunken punters...

A lucky escape...

Finally found my way to the venue and met up with the drunken rabble just as they were being ejected into the night...

Took Chris-with-a-Ch home to Dalgety Bay and then Debbie (the wonderful cook) to the far side of Edinburgh....

Back home around 1:15 or so....

Phew...

Highlight of the Day : Being let off with a driving offence...

Old...

Playlist
Neu! - Neu! 75
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Black Mountain - In the Future

Popped along to the football tonight, as it was the last night of long time player Dom, who's off to London in a week or so for a new life...

It was freezing - I didn't play of course, just watched - and we all stood around drinking beer after the game and reminiscing...

I discovered Dom and I share the affliction of sore big toes due to them having been mashed at some point in the past - I reckoned mine was done in for the first time around 15 years ago - before anyone of the young whipper-snappers attending tonight had ever played a game in these fives which have been going now since the early eighties...

When I got home, I realised it was actually 1988 - I know this because I consulted the red book of CDs to see when I first bought Yes' "90125" on CD, as it was that same day of the first great toe-destruction...

Twenty years - what an old bugger I am...

Anne was out with Lynn tonight a-pizza-ing so I headed home and awaited the call whilst listening to Bob Dylan and Black Mountain having partaken of more Neu! during the day...

Old, old , old....



Highlight of the Day : Hanging with the football boys...

The dorf of the dussel...

Playlist
Jazz by...
Bernd Satzinger
Brad Mehldau Trio
Chris Lyons Trio
Christoph Merkl
Esbjorn Svensson Trio
Happy Apple
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Medeski Martin & Wood
Musicmusicmusic
Tye Bad Plus
The Crimson Jazz Trio
Plus...
Michael Rother - Chronicles
Neu! - Neu!
Neu! - Die Zweite Neu!
Neu! - Neu! 75
La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf
La Dusseldorf - Viva

Found out yesterday that Klaus Dinger died last week...

Without him no Kraftwerk (and hence no hip-hop), no Neu!, no Berlin period Bowie etc etc...

Here he is (far right) with his band La Dusseldorf in 1978 after his irrevocable split with Neu! co-director Michael Rother...



So tonight, ensured all his music I have was on the jukebox and listened to the man and his motorik drumming once more...

Elsewhere "The Big Bang Theory" cleansed the eyeballs after watching Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 with a goal in the 93rd minute - poetic justice of course as a certain goal for the 'Tic had earlier been expertly palmed away from the top corner by the Gers' full back - resulting in a red card and a penalty subsequently saved...

Another pointless day...

Highlight of the Day : Remembering La Dusseldorf and Neu!

Torture...

Playlist
Albinoni – Oboe Concertos
Zbigniew Preisner/Teresa Salgueiro – Silence, Night and Dreams
Teresa Salgueiro/Septeto de Joao Cristal – Voce e Eu
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay

HMV and the stupidly named Zavvi (formerly Virgin) at lunchtime – no purchases...

The last of my awaited CDs arrived today – a disc (posted from Argentina) of jazzy samba type music by Teresa Salgueiro, singer of Madredeus, along with a famous Portuguese Septet I’ve never heard of...





Tasty...

Back to the gym tonight – introduced to the gruesome torture that are “abs exercises”...

At home a lovely Thai Chicken Curry from the fair hands of the Executive Producer – I listen to Teresa while Anne watches Gok Wan – which is of course an anagram for go...

Anyhoo – “CSI” is good and “Law & Order Criminal Intent” finishes off an uneventful day...

Highlight of the Day : Surprises on the Jukebox...

Winner...

Playlist
Asia - Phoenix
Wetton/Downes – Icon
Wetton/Downes – Icon II: Rubicon
Zbigniew Preisner/Teresa Salgueiro – Silence, Night and Dreams
Zbigniew Preisner – Requiem For My Friend

Back in the old routine today – soundtracked by John Wetton via Asia and Icon...

FOPP at lunchtime – nothing purchased...

At home, the fifth of the six CDs I was waiting on had arrived – a disc by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner’s which features the singer from my favourite Portuguese group Madredeus...



Slow, beautiful music...

James Jamieson made an unlikely appearance tonight along with five of his neighbours on the Scottish TV quiz show, “Postcode Challenge” – Jamie’s team won...

Hurrah!

The show itself is rubbish though...

Watched a programme on addiction (no mention of CDs) then retired to the PC to listen to Preisner properly, while keeping this drivel up to date...

Highlight of the Day : Jamie on TV!!

Coming down to earth...

Playlist
James - Hey Ma
Asia - Phoenix
Status Quo - Gold
Battles - Mirrored
Black Mountain - In the Future
Bob Marley & The Wailers - 3CD Box Set
Wizzard - Wizzard Brew
Robert Fripp - At The End of Time : Churchscapes
Fripp & Eno - Beyond Even
Pet Shop Boys - Best of Further Listening

Up at 6:30 this morning and everything was still a little unreal – loads of coverage for the Queens after yesterday’s exploits...

Finished off loading the new purchases into the jukebox and set off for the gym for my 9 am appointment with “Dave”...



A programme is taking shape, to which I’ll be adhering for the next 10 weeks and perhaps beyond...

In the main it’s designed to strengthen my arm but there are a couple of cardio-vascular items which I need to add to help in my ongoing battle of the bulge...

On the way home, stopped off at the shop for a couple of rolls and some milk re breakfast...

Spent much of the day listening to the new music and reading about Queen of the South – surreal...

There’s a link on the club’s website to over 1,000 pictures taken on the day – if you’re eagle-eyed, you might just make me and Anne out in the one on the top left of this collage...



At 3:20 we set off for Dalgety Bay to Chris-with-a-ch’s house to watch Man Utd v Arsenal – and arrived just in time for the kick off, following a huge hold up on the Forth Road Bridge...

An entertaining match ended in Arsenal losing once again and, even though they’re third in one of the richest leagues in the world, their season has now been pronounced as being “over”...

It’s a funny old game...

In the meantime, Rangers despatched Partick Thislte 2-0 in the last Quarter Final - next Sunday they meet St Johnstone in the second semi-final at Hampden, the winner to play Queen of the South on 24 May...

If Rangers beat St Johnstone, Queen of the South will play in the Uefa Cup next season whatever happens in the final - if St Johnstone beat Rangers then one of the two First Division clubs will be in Europe...

It’s a funny old game...

We headed back over the bridge around 8 and picked up a curry from Bombay Feast, enjoying a programme on tigers while we ate...

A strange day...

Highlight of the Day : Still savouring yesterday’s triumph...

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

Playlist
Wizzard – Wizzard Brew
Various – Party Bus Disc 3
Status Quo – Gold
Asia – Phoenix
James - Hey Ma
Bob Marley – Sun is Shining
Bob Marley – Lively Up Yorself
Bob Marley – Love Light Shining
Black Mountain – In the Future
Battles - Mirrored

Wow what a day!! (yes really)...

Didn’t sleep well last night – I hadn’t noticed being nervous about today’s Cup Semi-Final to be honest but, subconsciously, it must have been having an effect...

And, before I start, sorry if what follows seems slightly OTT – but there’s never been a day like this before in the history of my favourite team, Queen of the South, which, if you remember, I support because, as a small boy in the late 60’s, I liked their name*...

Up around 7:30 and, after a quick light breakfast of coffee and toast, I decided to leave my long johns off as they might interfere with my lucky pants – chosen expertly from at least six pairs taken from the drawer...

On the drive through to Glasgow we were entertained by one of the party bus discs I compiled for the trip to Loch Lomond last year...

We took our usual route and parked over at Byres Road in the West End around 9:10am...

A quick visit to Fopp where I purchased a 3CD set of early Bob Marley for a frankly stupid £2 – how do they do it?

To the Underground, aka the Clockwork Orange, and return tickets were purchased...

We alighted at Buchanan Galleries and walked over to Wellington St in search of the original Sarti Café, which we duly found and within which we partook of some scrummy nosh for brunch – scrambled eggs and Italian sausage for Anne, Italian sausage and spicy Italian beans for your correspondent – all accompanied by some lovely Italian coffee...

Then a walk down to Central Station, joining the throng of Aberdeen and Queen of the South supporters, making their way to Hampden Park...

Again, return tickets were purchased – it costs less to Hampden and back than from Byres Rd to the town centre and back...

We walked to the ground amongst the ever increasing band of supporters from both teams, past the flag, horn and scarf vendors and were in our seats in plenty of time...

Queens started well and, unbelievably, took the lead mid way through the first half – only for Aberdeen to pull back before half time – still, if you’d asked me if I’d have been happy to see QoS level at half time, I’d have taken that....

The second half contained the most extraordinary 12 minutes of football I’ve ever seen....

Queens miraculously took the lead again just a few minutes into the half – Aberdeen equalised again five minutes later – within another three minutes I could not believe my eyes as Queen of the South went ahead for the third time – only for Aberdeen, three minutes after that to pull back again...

Just one minute on, Queens scored their fourth goal of the afternoon – 4-3 with 30 minutes still to go...

Aberdeen laid siege to the QoS goal, with the occasional breakaway from the Mighty Doonhamers, who certainly rode their luck with around 15 minutes to go, when the Dons hit the bar with a header which rebounded to the same player, who volleyed the ball – in utter slow motion for all wearing blue – onto the post and away...

Our nerves were shattered, as were the Queens players, as we approached the 90 minute mark – then we had to endure 4 minutes of injury time...

Then it was all over – I don’t mind admitting I had tears in my eyes as we danced around to the sound of Status Quo’s “Rockin’ All Over the World”, Queen’s (how apt) “Don’t Stop Me Now” and the track that summed it up, “Heroes” by David Bowie, while the Queens squad bopped up and down in front of their fans – over 10,000 – more than can actually fit into their home ground in Dumfries...

We received texts and phone calls from well wishers (and, as I discovered later, e-mails too)...

The old guy next to Anne had been waiting all his life for a day like this and he wasn’t alone, all around us were old boys dancing and waving their flags – supporters who have lived for 70 years and never seen their club achieve what was achieved by them today....

No fan of Rangers or Celtic could possibly understand what it means to fans of clubs like Queens to get to the Cup Final. Many of them may well scoff at anyone stupid enough to support a team which has very little chance of ever winning anything in their lifetime, while their own chosen favourites take winning silverware season in season out for granted...

But I’d rather have had this day than a million cup finals as an Old Firm fan....

Talk about Cloud Nine - I cannot remember being so high – as we emerged from the stadium, I was a speechless, grinning tube...

Still dazed, we walked to a nearby café for a sit down, a coffee and a chance to digest what had just happened while we let the massive queues for the trains back to town die down...

We walked (on air) to Crosshill station and were back in the centre by 3:30pm...

So what could I do to celebrate – why, buy a couple of CDs of course...

In the main branch of Fopp I wandered around with £3 greatest hits CDs by the likes of The Cars, The The, They Must Be Giants, Judy Collins, John Coltrane but ended up putting them all back and opted instead for the disc playing over the store’s sound system, Black Mountain’s “In the Future”, along with “Mirrored” by Battles which comes strongly recommended by the hip movers and shakers on the scene, man...

Then to HMV where I ended up buying a 2CD collection of Status Quo’s singles from 1968-1998 – including of course “Rockin’ All Over the World”

I met up with Anne again and we walked to our second Sarti restaurant of the day for a celebrationary evening meal – spaghetti with “mama’s” meatballs followed a delicious bean soup for me, while Anne opted for bruschetta followed by giant ravioli..

Tasty...

Then back to the Subway to Hillhead and picked up the car for the drive home – we forgot to hang a Queens flag out the window, but we did come to realise that Status Quo represent the acceptable face of “the blues” and probably provided a template for ZZ Top...

Back home and “Dr Who” awaited on the video – much better than last week’s shaky start – some brief listening time re all the new CDs, including Asia and James which had arrived in the mail after we’d left this morning..

Then “Pushing Daisies” – a promising, “bringing people back to life” US com-dram...

Finally – a couple of beers and the highlights and analysis of today’s game, lauded as one of the best semi-finals in recent history – all taped for posterity of course...

Ended the day ripping today’s purchases to the Jukebox for tomorrow’s early morning visit to the gym...

And what a day it was...

Highlight of the Day : Erm...

*The origins of the name Queen of the South

It was quoted in the Bible in both New Testament Books, Matthew and Luke as a referral to the Old Testament saga of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba (also known as the Queen of the South).

The passage reads: “The Queen of the South shall rise up in judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”

Thus the epithet, 'The only team in the Bible'.

The name was quoted in an election speech in 1857 by local writer and politician, David Dunbar, who, at that time, described the Royal Burgh of Dumfries as the 'Queen of the South'.

The first football side to use the title was Queen of the South Wanderers when founded in 1873 but they folded shortly thereafter and have no connection to the present club.

At a meeting in Dumfries Town Hall in March 1919, Queen of the South United was formed when several local teams amalgamated. By the time they had taken to the field in August of that year to play Nithsdale Wanderers at Palmerston Park the 'United' had mysteriously disappeared.

Queen of the South 4-3 Aberdeen
(BBC Report by Colin Moffat)

Queen of the South reached their first ever Scottish Cup final by winning a seven-goal thriller against Aberdeen.

Steve Tosh slammed home the opener for Queens, while a header from Andrew Considine levelled before half-time.

Paul Burns finished from close range only for Aberdeen's Barry Nicholson to follow suit, while Sean O'Connor fired the Doonhamers back in front.

Considine bagged his second header of the day but John Stewart responded by lashing in the winner on 60
minutes.

The First Division side will meet either the winner of next weekend's semi-final, with St Johnstone waiting to play the winner of the Partick Thistle v Rangers replay.

If Rangers were to progress, the Dumfries team would be assured of a place in next season's Uefa Cup.

And some of Europe's finest may be quaking in their boots after an amazing display from Gordon Chisholm's men at Hampden.

Queen of the South made a bright start and less than three minutes had passed when Soutar battered an attempted clearance against O'Connor, only for the ball to rebound behind for a goal kick.

It was no surprise when the Doonhamers claimed the lead on 22 minutes.

Soutar failed to punch clear Ryan McCann's deep free-kick into the and the ball broke to Andy Aitken, who slipped it back to Tosh.

The former Aberdeen midfielder carefully side-footed his shot from 16 yards high into the top corner.

Queens had the ball in the net again but Burns had strayed two yards offside before gathering Dobbie's pass.

Palmerston goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald was called on for the first time as he gathered a header from Lee Miller.

But the Scotland Under-21 international was soon picking the ball out of the net after Considine levelled matters on 36 minutes.

The Dons defender rose above Jim Thomson to guide a header inside the post after Scott Severin had nodded Nicholson's free-kick back into the six yard box.

Chisholm's team were dealt another blow three minutes from the interval when top-scorer Stephen Dobbie limped off to be replaced by another ex-Aberdeen player, Stewart.

However, match-winner Stewart played a key role in Queens' second goal just four minutes into the second half.

Burns gathered a pass from Stewart at the back post and, with the goal at his mercy, sent an awkward shot against Severin, but the midfielder got another opportunity and managed to slam the loose ball home.

MacDonald made a fingertip save to deny Chris Maguire and Burns squandered a golden chance when he sent a shot over the top from eight yards as the game raged from end to end.

Parity was restored when Nicholson was on had to finish after MacDonald had done well to keep out Miller's header from a Maguire cross.

Fans of the Dons barely had time to celebrate before they were behind again.

Considine misjudged a long upfield punt and O'Connor did well to slip the ball past Diamond before slotting a neat shot beyond Soutar from 18 yards.

This time the supporters from Dumfries had their joy cut short with Considine making up for his blunder with a second goal.

Nicholson's cross from the right was helped on by Miller and the young defender found himself alone at the back post with the easiest of tasks to head home.

A breathtaking sequence of five goals inside 11 minutes was complete when Queens scored an almost identical goal to the one they had just lost, Stewart picking up a header from Thomson and powering a shot past Soutar.

The Dons swarmed forward for the remainder of the game and Zander Diamond was incredibly unlucky to hit the bar with a header then the post with a shot from the rebound.

Queen of the South: MacDonald, McCann (Paton 90), Thomson, Aitken, Harris, Burns, Tosh, MacFarlane, McQuilken, O'Connor, Dobbie (Stewart 42). Subs Not Used: Grindlay, O'Neill, Gilmour.
Booked: McCann.
Goals: Tosh 22, Burns 49, O'Connor 56, Stewart 60.

Aberdeen: Soutar, Maybury (Young 80), Diamond, Considine, McNamara (Mackie 62), Nicholson, Severin, Foster, Aluko, Maguire, Miller. Subs Not Used: Langfield, Duff, Touzani.
Goals: Considine 36, Nicholson 53, Considine 59.
Att: 24,008

Ref: K Clark

Pants a flaming...

Playlist
Various – 100 Best Baroque
Various – 100 Best Mozart
Philip Glass – Notes on a Scandal OST
Wizzard – Wizzard Brew
Telemann – Tafelmusik
Xenakis – Chamber Music

Wow what a day!! (not really)...

To HMV at lunchtime and paid £8 for Wizzard Brew by Wizzard – which I already have – I also have all of the bonus tracks bar two – so £4 per song...



It's on Amazon for a fiver...

Great album though, whatever the price and the extra singles' "A"s and "B"s make it all the more worthwhile...

In the evening two episodes of Corrie, an old “Law & Order” on tape and Ade Edmondson’s “Teenage Kicks” entertained...

Ripped more classical music and added all 1,300 hours of music on my hard drive (15,740 tracks) to the library on my Windows Media Player...

Stayed up till 1:30am embedding my own wee playlist into the blog - take a listen to some of my favourite artists...

Wow what a day!! (not really)...

Highlight of the Day : Wizzard “B” sides on CD at last

Back from the brink...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Ersatzreal
Various - April Hits 1983-2008

To the gym tonight, where I was put through my paces and assessed...

Quite enjoyable really, if somewhat painful...

Cross trainer to warm up, then a selection of large machines with weights, upon which exercises were performed to strengthen my arm...

Back home, Rangers progressed to the semi final of the Uefa Cup and we watched the excellent series finale of "Torchwood", taped last Friday...

Finalised a 2CD compilation of hits over the last 25 years for my colleague Margaret's step-sister's Silver Wedding next week...

Stayed up to watch the highlights of the Bayern Munich game - back from the brink for the Germans against "unknown" Spanish side Getafe...

Scanned in some old pics of me and Mr Brodie posing as Love Parade in 1984 - eat your heart out PSB...



Highlight of the Day : Light at the end of the tunnel perhaps...

Apropos nothing...

Playlist
Various - Jazz Jukebox on Shuffleplay
Robert Fripp - At The End of Time
Stamitz - Symphonies Vol 1

Lunch today with chum Spike at Time For Thai - he was the architect of my footballing loss a few weeks ago after which my team had to take his team out for lunch - today he treated me...

In the evening did nothing except upload some classical CDs to the jukebox and watch TV - "The Big Bang Theory" and "Desperate Housewives" being the highlights...

Picture apropos nothing really...



Offered a gig at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year - swithering...

Highlight of the Day : Lunch with Spike

Beyond even...

Playlist
Steve Reich – Music For 18 Musicians
Fripp & Eno – Beyond Even
Robert Fripp – At The End of Time: Churchscapes

Went to FOPP again today – looked around – bought nothing – I have six CDs winging their way to me at present so no real need for any more (as if that’s ever been an excuse for me not to buy more unnecessary music) – two Madredeus related releases coming from the USA, Asia and James coming from Amazon and two, also from the USA which, upon my arrival home, I discovered had arrived...

New music from Messrs Fripp and Eno...




Pic of Eno by Peter Schmidt - check out www.PeterSchmidtWeb.com

I tried to quickly rip them to the jukebox, before heading to the gym for the start of a ten week stint – only to find that the software from Last FM is slowing down the speed of ripping to a snail’s pace...

So I switched that off (after spending 20 minutes trying to work out what might be wrong), uploaded the two CDs to the trusty box and set off to the gym...

...only to return 15 minutes later having discovered I needed to make an appointment for an assessment since it’s a referral from my physiotherapist – so back on Thursday night I will go...

Last night I found a very positive review of my performance at Secret CDs in March by one of the music reviewers on the local Edinburgh Evening News, my old chum Mr Martin Lennon...

Unfortunately the review wasn’t actually in the Evening News but on his blog which may well have a smaller readership...

Anyway, here it is in all its glory:-

“I hadn't seen Mr Quartet play live for decades.

That's horrible - not only because he's bloody good and I should have made the effort long before now, cos I've clearly missed some great gigs, but also because - how dare so many years go by without permission?

The evening was about getting local bands with CD's up on stage and also selling some of their wares.

Mr Q has a great many wares to sell - probably more than anyone else in Edinburgh and possibly more than most people anywhere with the exception of maybe Bob Dylan.

Prolific is not the word and, bucking statistics, the songs are fucking solid too.

If I were to review him in my not-so-secret identity, he'd be hard pushed to get below 4 stars.

He played most or all of a new album, together with James Jamieson - yet another long lost figure from my past - on guitar. Magic.”

Thanks Marty!!

So, I listened to Fripp & Eno and Mr Fripp as we cooked dinner and watched Liverpool dump Arsenal out of the so-called Champions’ League – correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t recall either of these teams being League Champions last year...

Good game and sad to see the Gunners out – I’ve had a soft spot for them since 1971 when everyone in my class at school was supporting Liverpool against them in the FA Cup Final and I, of course, had to take a contrarian stance...

Then it was tonight’s “CSI” on tape followed by another excellent “Law & Order : Criminal Intent” and off to bed listening again to the sounds of my idols Mr Fripp and Mr Eno...

Highlight of the Day : New Fripp & Eno records

End of the line...

Playlist
Pharoah Sanders – Karma
Chick Corea – Now He Sings Now he Sobs
Yusef Lateef – Autophysiopsychic
Stanley Clarke – Live at the Greek
Various – Blue Note Plays Billie Holiday
Larry Coryell – Fallen Angel
Bobby Hutcherson – Happenings
Thelonious Monk – Box Set
Miles Davis – 1949-1956
Jaco Pastorious – Word of Mouth
Lee Morgan - City Lights
Joe Zawinul – Faces and Places

Did nowt today really...

Went to FOPP – bought nothing...

Back home waited for Anne to return from her keep fit – this season she’s being accompanied by best chum Lynn – for whom I helped out re passport applications for her kids...

Watched Aberdeen, Queen of the South’s opponents on Saturday at Hampden, beat Falkirk 2-1 to secure a place in the top six and no doubt fire them up for the big game..

Also watched the last of “The Passions of Girls Aloud” and of the fabulous “Curb Your Enthusiasm”...



Bought Asia and James’ new albums – they should arrive from Amazon in a few days – also spotted albums by Neal Morse and Dream Theater which I’d like to have...

A day soundtracked by jazz...

Highlight of the Day : Curb Your Enthusiasm

Radio radio...

Playlist
Various – Recent CDs on Shuffleplay
Elgar – Works (5CD Set)
Heinichen – Dresden Concerti
Handel – 10 Concerti Grossi
Reich – Phases (5CD Set)
Various – Hits of 1972 (3xCD-R)
Mendelssohn – String Quartets
Glenn Gould – At The Cinema
Various – Last FM’s Music Like Brian Eno

Up at 6:30 again and spent some time creating new playlists on the jukeboxes...

It was snowing...



By midday though, there was nothing left to be seen...

Noted that, of the 30 or so classical titles (50 discs in all) I’ve acquired over the last year or so, only two were on the jukebox and so today’s project was to rectify this...

Updated my links and came across a site that allows you to do this...



Or this...



To Anne’s mum’s for brother-in-law Keith’s birthday tea...

Back home, uploaded “Ersatzreal” for free listening and download at Last FM and added a radio player to the blog...

“Match of the Day 2” then more mucking about with Last FM...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Busy doing nothing

The not so beautiful game...

Playlist
Various – Recent CDs on Shuffleplay
Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue
Golden Earring – Best of (CD-R)
Pet Shop Boys – Best of Further Listening (CD-R)

Up early, as ever at the weekend, and adding to the Jukebox, those “rock & pop” CDs from the “Last 100 Living Room Shelf” which aren’t on there yet...

Breakfast at home, accompanied by Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue", then we drove over to Fife to Chris-with-a-CH’s to watch Arsenal v Liverpool on his very big TV – he is a fervent fan of the Gunners...


The TV's a lot larger in real life...

After lunch and the first half, I left them awaiting the arrival of chums Competitive Dave and the Fonz and drove to Stirling to see Queen of the South, accompanied on the trip by a Pet Shop Boys compilation which Chris had burned for me this morning...



The game wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen and ended nil-nil, although Queens were the better of the two teams – perhaps they had one eye on next week’s semi-final at Hampden...

Drove back to Chris’s, hearing on the radio that Hearts had also drawn nil-nil, meaning they would finish in the bottom six for the first time in fifteen years – meanwhile, Chris’s favourites, Celtic, were thrashed 1-0 at home by 10-man Motherwell...

The Arsenal game had ended in a draw and Competitive Dave's faves, Airdrie Utd had been pipped as the Second Division champions by Ross County and so, all in all, it was disappointment all round as I arrived back at the flat and met the Fonz for the first time...

A Dennis Pennis DVD entertained, then I gave the guys a lift to the nearby pub and Anne and I headed home...

Half an Indian takeaway each followed by “CSI : New York” and “Law & Order” and it was all over for the day...

Highlight of the Day : Watching Queen of the South in action

Square memories...

Playlist
Electronic – Raise the Pressure
Bob Dylan – Love and Theft
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind
Erasure – Nightbird
Natalie Merchant – Motherland
Natalie Merchant – Ophelia
Natalie Merchant – Tigerlily
Various – Invictus Club Classics
Various – Invictus Club Classics Vol 2
Various Composers - Modern Classics
It Bites – Still Too Young to remember
Francis Dunery – Welcome to the Wild Country
Darren Thornberry – On the Edge
Lindsay Sugden and the Storm - Same
Moby – I Like to Score
Patti Smith – Horses
David Reilly – Anthology 1977-2007 Vol 1 (1977-86)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Souvenir XVI Ersatzreal Live
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
Devo – Hot Potatoes : Best of
Hope of the Stars – The Lost Riots
Sigur Ros – Hvarf Heim
Liza Minelli – Results
Erasure – Union Street
Dionne Warwick – The Very Best of
Leonard Cohen – Death of a Ladies Man
Leonard Cohen – Recent Songs
Leonard Cohen – The Future
Bob Dylan – Dylan
KD Lang – Absolute Torch and Twang
KD Lang – Hymns of the 49th Parallel
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene
The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams

A new playlist today - rock & pop albums from the last 100 CDs living room shelf...

To Linlithgow tonight on the train to meet up with old friends Ken and Rose...

Before heading to Waverley Station, we stopped by the new gardens at St Andrew Square and partook of a couple of Americanos at the coffee pavilion...



Quite apt really, as Ken and I first met in 1982 when we worked at Guardian Royal Exchange which, in those days, was situated at No 13 on the square – of course, it’s a bar now...

I love travelling by train – always reminds me of our days travelling around Europe on what were known as Transalpino tickets....

We met up at the very busy Four Marys for a couple of drinks before heading to Marynka for dinner...

I opened with scallops and crispy bacon and continued with the beef fillet – all very tasty and we sat and shot the breeze till we were the last people in the place, possibly overdoing matters by drinking three bottles of excellent French Rose between us...

One final drink at Platform 3 by the station before catching the train back to Haymarket and a night bus back to Crispycat Towers...

An excellent night in good company...

Highlight of the Day : Out with Ken & Rose

Cruelty to children...

Playlist
Various – Top Jazz Albums of All Time Playlist
Yusef Lateef – Autophysiopsychic
Kenny Burrell – Midnight Blue
Chick Corea – Now He Sings Now He Sobs
Pharoah Sanders – Karma

A pic of CBQ chum Craig Harding’s new born son Ollie enjoying his favourite music arrived today...



Scarred for life no doubt...

Thanks Craig...

To FOPP at lunchtime to investigate which of the jazz albums on my new “wanted” list they had in stock...

Came a way with three new additions, Kenny Burrell’s classic of the jazz guitar, “Midnight Blue”, groundbreaking piano trio album, Chick Corea’s “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” and the furthering-the-work-of-John-Coltrane LP “Karma” by Pharoah Sanders...

In addition, for £2, I picked up a funky disc from 1978 by Yusef Lateef upon which, although there are vocals, the funky music tips the balance in the direction of good...



As Anne was at the cinema tonight, I had Crispycat Towers to myself and concocted a vegetarian mince dish, watched an episode of “Torchwood” on video and enjoyed my four new CDs before heading out late doors to pick up my favourite girl...

Highlight of the Day : More classic jazz

Blunder...

Playlist
The Lindsays – Mozart Dissonance String Quartet in C
The Lindsays –Haydn – String Quartet Op64 No 6
The Lindsays – Mendelssohn String Quartet No 6
Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
Horace Silver – Song For My Father

Entertained by some superb string quartets from the box set “The Art of the Lindsays”...

Went to HMV at lunchtime armed with my list of all time best jazz CDs and purchased two - Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil”....



...which I was convinced I already had when I first looked at the list on the net – and Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” of which I was convinced I would already have every track on the Blue Note 4D Retrospective which is in my collection – turns out I have only a couple of the tracks already...

Two top class recordings, coincidentally both released in 1964...

In the evening I forewent this month’s “Secret CDs” to watch the final episode of “Torchwood” – only to remember at 9pm that its slot has been change to a Friday so decided to watch “Reaper” instead, only to find it was a repeat so, ended up watching an edition of “Grand Designs” – always amazing to see a hole in the ground turn into a wonderful building – this week a superb, modern bungalow with all mod cons – I’d take it for £200k no problem – though I could never have built it...

“Desperate Housewives”, which is rubbish of course, entertained thereafter then tonight’s episode of current best comedy on the box, “The Big Bang Theory” on tape...

Highlight of the Day : String quartets

All that jazz...

Playlist
Various – Top 200 Jazz Albums (Shuffleplay)

Spent much of today listening to jazz...

On Googling “best jazz albums ever” I found this site, a great resource for anyone wanting to get into jazz but who doesn’t know where to start...

On perusing their list of the top 200 jazz albums of all time, where the number one is Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”...

…I found I had almost 60 of them, with around 40 already present on the Jazz Jukebox – and so a new playlist was born...

By comparison, I have only 10 or so of the top 100 contemporary album list...

The evening was spent ripping and uploading All Time Top 200 CDs I have which aren’t already on the jukebox, whilst continuing to listen on shuffleplay, to those I’ve already uploaded...

I also compiled a shopping list of albums from the list, some of which I was surprised to find I don’t already own…

As with all my “projects" though, no doubt this will peter out to nothing…

Whilst doing this, I monitored the Livingston v Queen of the South score. Livi scored after 85 minutes – a controversial goal by all accounts, the aftermath of which saw Queens’ manager sent to the stand for his complaints...

We had thought about going along tonight but the weather was awful – so, instead, I have vowed to travel to Stirling on Saturday to watch the mighty Queens hopefully beat bottom of the table Stirling Albion...

On telly, a taped “CSI : New York” from February and tonight’s excellent as ever episode of “Law & Order : Criminal Intent”...

Highlight of the Day : Brilliant uplifting jazz musicianship...