Wow, woah...

Playlist
Hawkwind – Chicago Auditorium 1974
Hawkwind – The Space Ritual
Various – The Best Prog Rock Album In the World...Ever
Various – 1972 Hit Singles
Hawkwind – Epoch Eclipse Anthology
We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
UK - Best of UK

Walked down the road with the Exec Producer...

Bought a new Bus Pass now I am back in harness...

Listened to Hawkwind on my way into town...

Went to the dentist – had a sensitive tooth “varnished”...

Went to work...

Went to the Baked Potato Shop for lunch while listening to prog and singles from a golden age...

Went back to work...

Came home while listening to more Hawkwind...

Took some pics of Meg the Black Cat when she came trotting out to meet me at the back door...



Anne had compiled part of my family tree during a quiet day at work...



Watched “The One Show” while eating dinner, then the last in the latest series of “CSI” which we taped last week...

Listened to We Are Scientists and Of Montreal while Anne watched “Ugly Betty”...

Copied a list of prog rock albums from 1967 to the present day from Wikipedia to see what ones I have...

I have 298 out of 1,361, almost 22% - not bad...

Wrote this...

Created a collage for June – half the year away already...

Wow...

Highlight of the Day : Woah, that’s a difficult one on such an exciting day...probably Hawkwind or CSI...

Jonas, Thomas, Thomas, Douglas, me...

Playlist
UK – Best of UK
Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Moby – Last Night
Schubert – String Quintet
Schubert – Last Three Piano Sonatas
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery
Hawkwind – The Space Ritual
Various – Chilled 1991-2009
Schubert – Complete Trios

Back in the yoke and it wasn’t too bad, even though I felt grim and there was much pain to be felt...

Spirits lifted by a walk along to FOPP at lunchtime though and always good to arrive and see some new bargains – even although I was there on Saturday – they just keep coming...

I’d returned for the two disc set of Schubert’s last three piano sonatas, played by Alfred Brendel and did indeed purchase said disc...

My dear old dad - the sixth anniversary of his passing falls today- would have liked this album...

Not content with buying what I came for however, I also succumbed to discs by Of Montreal and We Are Scientists even though I had not, prior to post purchase, heard a single note played by either band...

The Of Montreal disc has the weirdest cover I’ve seen for a good while...

Here it is, opened out and on display, along with the rest of today’s ill gotten gains...



You will see that, at a measly £3, I could not resist the 2CD+DVD set of Hawkwind’s 1973 classic “The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London” – even though I already have the original CD issue of this...

Finally, I got a bit carried away and snaffled the 3 disc box of Ministry of Sounds “Chilled 1991-2008”...

Enjoyed much of this in the evening while Anne was initially (a) at keep fit with chum Lynn and later on (b) watching Andy Murray playing tennis...

In the last 12 days, I have purchased 47 CDs – I must be stopped...

Highlight of the Day : The feeling I get when FOPP has new bargains on display that I cannot resist...

Petering out to nothing...

Playlist
Various – Top 30 Artists
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland

Slept in ‘til gone nine...

Up and to the PC to create an MP3 disc for the car featuring tracks by my current favourite thirty artists...

Around 11:30 we drove to Livingston to the massive shopping mall there to allow the exec Producer to consider outfits for the upcoming wedding of old school chum Lesley next Saturday...

What credit crunch? It was packed...





Anne failed miserably in this exercise although a lovely bakewell tart and latte was consumed by your correspondent...



More browsing ensued and I partook of two Jimi Hendrix discs at HMV for no particular reason other than I didn’t have them and I enjoy buying CDs – and notwithstanding the fact that two of the CDs purchased in yesterday’s spree remain unopened...

To a stationer’s to purchase some paper for the new printer – the car looked good in the car park...



To Anne’s mum’s for tea – the rest of the family unable to make it...

Home and some Hendrix on the cans along with the final, petering out to nothing episode of “Proof”...

It seemed beyond any of the protagonists to actually just make a copy of a CD with some data stored on it...

Oh well – another four hours I won’t get back...

Highlight of the Day : Shopping...

Back in the game...

Playlist
Dar Williams – Various Tracks
Dream Theater – Train of Thought
Moby – Play/18/Hotel
Jean-Yves Thibaudet – Aria : Opera Without Words
Cecilia Bartoli – Maria
Rachmaninov – Aleko
Gabriela Montero – Baroque
Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Up early – Anne dead to the world...

Thinking about more MP3 CDs for the car – went through my “Red Book of CDs I Own” and listed my top 100 artists – ended up with a list of 253...

Won an auction on e-bay last night for the latest Dar Williams album – coming from the USA so a bit of a wait for that to arrive...

Out and down to the bus and along to the podiatrist before heading into town...

The arm was painful just walking along but I am determined to return to the offices of “The Man” on Monday...

At HMV, a sale – nothing enticed – noted they do indeed still have Michael Jackson’s Greatest Hits at just £4 – still too dear for me...

Along to FOPP – some good new bargains – I had discs by Can, Wire, Pet Shop Boys, We Are Scientist, Montreal, Blondie etc etc in my hand but put them all back save last year’s Moby album, “Last Night”...

Upstairs some classical bargains – I wisely forewent two Helene Grimaud discs (checked back home I have them already) but picked up some interesting stuff...

Jean-Yves Thibaudet (opera arias transcribed for solo piano), Cecilia Bartoli (repertoire of the world’s first female superstar, Maria Malibran from the early 19th Century) and Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero (improvisations based on baroque masters such as Handel, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Scarlatti and Albinoni)...

Also a 3CD set of Rachmaninov’s operas for just a quid and a 2CD set of Schubert’s Trios (having checked the collection, I will return for the double disc of Schubert’s late piano sonatas by Alfred Brendel – thought I had it already)...

Finally back downstairs and partook of the new 3CD set from Dream Theater – rockin’ – preferred to have it today rather than pay a couple of quid less on Amazon and have to wait until midweek...

£82 worth of CDs for £29 – only the Dream Theater was cheaper on Amazon...

Bus home through the rain, stopping off on the way for some tasty rye soda bread for lunch, which was enjoyed back home with the “finally up at midday” Exec Producer....

Snoozed through tennis whilst listening to the new discs – Dream Theater certainly blasted away the cobwebs...

A shared taken away curry nourished while we watched the taped-due-to Andy-Murray-playing –tennis last episode of “Robin Hood” – bit of a tearjerker – don’t know how they expect to continue this next year without Hood – are they planning a “Taggart” scenario?

“Michael McIntyre” and “Law & Order” also entertained then it was lights out time - without having had a chance to sample the Moby or Schubert discs...

Highlight of the Day : New Dream Theater...

Overkill...

Playlist
Various – Hit Singles 1970-1975
Various - Hit Singles 1976-1980
Various – Hit Singles 1981-1986
Various – Hit Singles 1987-1999
Miles Davis - Circle in the Round
Herbie Hancock - Speak Like a Child
Miles Davis - Miles in the Sky
Andrew Hill - Grass Roots
McCoy Tyner - Expansions
Miles Davis - Filles de Kilimanjaro
Miles Davis - Water Babies
Johnny Bennett – The Violet Hush
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast I
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast II
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast III
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast IV
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast V
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast VI
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast VII
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast VIII
The Thing - Now and Forever

Aow!

The Michael Jackson show went into full swing immediately this morning – excruciating interviews with all and sundry – anyone who’d ever spoken to him or even been in the same room...

Mid afternoon, people started to realise it wasn’t all good...

I received my first MJ joke mid morning...

I think comedian Richard Herring summed it up well on his blog last night – it’s not MJ who needs to be ridiculed, it’s the media and the friends and acquaintances who “can’t stop crying” or “can’t take it in” but can somehow give an interview to boost their profile...

By early evening, sanctification beckoned and rumours of foul play circulated – but you'll know all this unless you’re a hermit...

Not quite Princess Di but getting there – at first you do feel a certain sadness but then the unending media coverage bludgeons you into not giving a flying fuck about the person who’s died and you wish it could all just get back to what passes for “normal” as soon as possible...

I don’t expect HMV and FOPP will still be selling his Greatest Hits for £3 tomorrow...

Anyway, back in the real world we drove to Arnold Clark this morning and picked up the new Cloudland Mobile (can’t be the Cloudland Blue Mobile anymore because it’s black)...

Out with the old...



In with the new...



Shopped for lunch and my dinner on the way home...

At four Anne was off over to Fife for a works night out – planning to return on the last train plus taxi from Haymarket – since I can’t drive at present...



Spent time compiling initial MP3 CDs (each contains around seven hours of music) for the car, comprising hits from the US singles charts from 1970 to 1999 – by the time I got into the 90’s, the hits I like were few and far between...

A book recommended by ex-co-Capital Model and USA listener to “Soundingfall”, Mr Nicky Hind, which was duly purchased from e-bay, arrived – “The Mezzanine” by Nicholson Baker...



An offer of a gig in October was accepted – I should be ready by then but will also invite some chums to be Cloudland Blue Quartet for the evening...

Cooked dinner – a sirloin steak with onions and mushrooms in a pepper sauce – tasty...

Listened to the podcasts of CDs purchased so far this year as I spent the evening surfing and avoiding the so-called King of Pop...

Watched the incredible noise making of The Thing on DVD prior to Glastonbury coverage...

So BBC - why the useless performances at the campfire - why the prattling between act idiots - the hopeless rambling of the very sub-John Peel Mark Radcliffe, the utter nonsense from Laura Laverne and the grinning idiot that is Jo Wiley? Just show the music with captions for intros - it's the music we want after all isn't it?

Neil Young was ace - killer cover of "A Day In The Life" and seemingly never ending version of "Rockin' in the Free World"...

The Exec Producer finally returned after midnight, somewhat the worse for wear but having had a very enjoyable evening in the company of her workmates - from whom she has been absent for a few weeks now after being relocated to Edinburgh...

All in all then , apart from the Jackson overkill by the meedja, a good day...

Highlight of the day : New car...

King of debt not pop...

Playlist
Miles Davis - Nefertiti
Bobby Hutcherson - Oblique
Hank Mobley – Hank Mobley Quintet
Asia – Fantasia live in Tokyo
Yes – Lugano Jazz Festival
Spocks Beard – Live 2007
David Syklvian - Live in japan 2004
Carl Palmer – Live in Europe 2004
Greg Lake – Welcome Backstage
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XX
Bruckner – String Quintet in F Major
The Flower Kings – Unfold the Future

Another lovely day spent inside at the PC working from home...

Also took the opportunity to sort out some DVDs which were just lying around – by putting them into DVD boxes and printing off covers via the new printer – listening (as opposed to watching) a few of them as I worked...

Of course the spines now bear my awful handwriting...



Ripped the first eight of the ten requisite tracks for the next podcast...

On Anne’s return home, watched yet another episode of “CSI” – we now have just one episode left on tape, with the last in the series due this week...

Snoozed in the back room listening to a disc of Bruckner’s string quintet, which I seem to remember buying in Linz, Austria a couple of years ago...

Then, the last three episodes ever of “My Name is Earl” – of course when they were making them they had no idea the show was about to be cancelled – so it all ended on a cliffhanger which will never be resolved...

All in all, a bit of a damp squib ending to a show which has been superbly entertaining over the last few years...

“Question Time” followed, then, while Anne slept on the sofa after a hard day’s work, the start of “This Week” was held up slightly by a news flash to advise of the death of Michael Jackson...

I was never a fan really, though I thought some of his music was pretty good – of course we’re now set for the awful hand-wringing, wailing and gnashing of teeth nonsense, fawning journalism and fellow celebrities “unable to stop crying”...

And, of course, I wonder how long it’ll be till the inevitable jokes start doing the rounds...

To say nothing of the analysis of his massive debts...

Tragedy plus time equals comedy...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : My name is Earl...

Pointless, maybe...

Playlist
Herbie Hancock - My Point of View
Kenny Dorham - Una Mas
Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond*
Miles Davis - Seven Steps to Heaven
Miles Davis - Miles in Europe
Hank Mobley - No Room for Squares
Grachan Moncur III – Evolution*
Art Blakey - Free for All
Miles Davis - My Funny Valentine/Four & More
Lee Morgan - Search for New Land
Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
Wayne Shorter - Night Dreamer
Art Blakey - Indestructable
Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
Grachan Moncur III - Some Other Stuff *
Miles Davis - Miles in Tokyo
Wayne Shorter - JuJu
Tony Williams - Life Time
Miles Davis - Miles In Berlin
Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song*
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
Miles Davis - E.S.P
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Sam Rivers – Contours*
Wayne Shorter - Et Cetera
Lee Morgan - The Gigolo
Wayne Shorter - The All Seeing Eye
Miles Davis - Plugged Nickel
Joe Henderson - Mode For Joe
Bobby Hutcherson - Happenings
Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple
Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
Miles Davis - Sorcerer
Miles Davis - Nefertiti
Bobby Hutcherson - Oblique
Miles Davis - Circle in the Round
Herbie Hancock - Speak Like a Child
Miles Davis - Miles in the Sky
Andrew Hill - Grass Roots
McCoy Tyner - Expansions
Miles Davis - Filles de Kilimanjaro
Miles Davis - Water Babies
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XVII
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XVIII
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XIX
(*track from various artists compilation)

A lovely day...



I am still stuck in the house however – but I have Meg the Black Cat for company...



Well now the pointless project I thought of last night as I listened to the best of the Miles Davis Quintet from 1965-1968 last night was to see how many albums I had on which the members of said quintet, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams played in the period from 1963 to 1968 (1963 being the first year in which Mr Davis formulated the plan for the quintet although Mr Shorter did not arrive until ”Miles in Berlin” in 1965)...

Accordingly, I researched the discographies of each man (Miles seems only to have played on his own albums) and came up with a total of 58 albums, 14 of which I have no tracks from in the collection...

Here’s the relevant part...



The 44 albums I do have are noted above in chronological order of recording sessions...

The missing albums are:-
Jackie McLean - Vertigo
Jackie McLean - It's Time
Bobby Hutcherson - Components
Lee Morgan - Cornbread
Tony Williams - Spring
Wayne Shorter - The Soothsayer
Herbie Hancock - Blow-Up
Ron Carter - Out Front
Lee Morgan - Delightfulee
Wayne Shorter - Schizophrenia
Lou Donaldson - Sweet Slumber
Lee Morgan - Standards
Lee Morgan - The Procrastinator
Miles Davis - Directions

So now I have 390 minutes of cracking jazz on the hard drive for a 5CD set of the work of the Miles Davis Quintet 1963-1968...

Pointless...

Entertaining though...

Other than that – watched one episode of “CSI” and compiled and posted up three new podcasts re all the recent CD purchases – they include tracks from 25 of the discs acquired last week in Manchester...

Another 2 CDs and I will have the requisite 10 tracks for the next one...

Enjoy...

Highlight of the Day : Absolutely splendid jazz...

Progtastic, kind of...

Playlist
Jason Lytle – Dear Commuter
Annexus Quam - Beziehungen
McGill Manring Stevens – Addition by Subtraction
Annexus Quam - Osmose
Ash Ra Temple - Ash Ra Temple
Cairo - Cairo
Cross - Secrets
Crucible - Curtains
Discipline – Unfolded Like Staircase
Echolyn – The End is Beautiful
Embryo – Steig Aus
Finneus Gauge – More Once More
Guru Guru - Hinten
Land of Chocolate – Regaining the Feel
McGill Manring Stevens – What We Do
Scott McGill - Ripe
The Underground Railroad – The Origin of Conciousness
Xhol Caravan – Electrip
Various – Top 250 Prog Albums 2005-09
The Mountain Movers – We Have Walked in Hell...
Miles Davis – Best of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68

Another day of nothing much...

Decided to at listen to some of the Krautrock, Prog Rock and Fusion Jazz which German chum Jorg gave me last October when he visited with my Godson, Ansem...

This led me to move to Prog Archives where I researched new bands, listening to streams of those which were available regarding the top 250 prog and prog-related albums for the period 2005-2009...

Bands “discovered” included:-
Amaran's Plight (USA)
Il Bacio Della Medusa (Italy)
Beardfish (Sweden)
Birds and Buildings (USA)
Blotted Science (USA)
Darkwater (Germany)
The Decemberists (USA)
Gazpacho (Norway)
Gojira (France)
The Gourishankar (Russia)
Indukti (Poland)
Mindflow (Brazil)
Oceansize (UK)
Pineapple Thief (UK)
Redemption (USA)
Red Sparowes (USA)
Riverside (Poland)
Russian Circles (USA)
Satellite (Poland)
Simon Says (Sweden)

In the evening, with Anne still not 100%, we watched a couple of “CSI”’s (and taped the latest episode)...

I also cleansed the old music palate with some top Miles Davis from the mid sixties – which planted the seed for another pointless project...

Albums featured were these...



Highlight of the Day : New prog

Rien du tout...

Playlist
The Olympic Symphonium – More in Sorrow than in Anger
Autorotation – Everything is Everything
Edgar Froese – Dalinetopia
The Thing – Now and Forever
James – Fresh as a Daisy (DVD)
Alice Cooper –Vengeance is Mine
Pendragon – Pure
aMute – Infernal Heights For a Drama
The Pat Metheny Group – The Way Up
Nucleus – We’ll Talk About It Later
Trion – Tortoise
Bella – No One Will Know
Dream Theater – Awake
Dream Theater – Falling Into Infinity

Now working from home “full time” before returning to the offices of “the man” next week...

Consequently, a day spent in front of the PC while Meg the Black cat availed herself of the “comfy” printer box, which awaits transportation into the attic...



As do these various musical instruments and other stuff now that the latest LP is done and dusted – I may keep one acoustic downstairs but won’t be able to play for a couple of months yet...



Anne was under the weather tonight but, despite this, and between two episodes of “Corrie" and a couple of taped “CSI”’s (almost up to date) we cooked rare fillet steak to accompany tonight’s salad...

Repeat of “Chewing the Fat” ended a rather pointless day, post the Exec Producer already having retired on grounds of ill-health...

Highlight of the Day : Cooking with the Exec Producer...

Fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n...

Playlist
Various – Last 60 CDs Acquired - Shuffleplay
Kristofer Astrom – Sinkadus
Meditronica – Meditronica
The Thing – Now and Forever
The Olympic Symphonium – More in Sorrow than in Anger
William Fitzsimmons - Goodnight

Fathers’ Day today but, since I have no kids and Meg the Black cat lost all her money in the great crash of 2007, no presents for me...

I’d forgotten it was Fathers’ Day until Anne and I were at Vittorio’s in Leith Walk for a late lunch and I noted all the dads there receiving cards and gifts...

After leaving the house around noon...



...we’d spent three hours at Arnold Clark negotiating on a new Cloudland Blue Mobile which, like the one before last, will be black rather than blue...



...and slightly larger but more economical and environmentally friendly...

The new music from the Manchester trip continued to entertain, along with another 30 or so recent acquisitions...

Had I purchased all the trip’s booty on Amazon, the outlay would have been around £320 (Ave £10.62) rather than the £47.50 (Ave £1.58) I actually shelled out...

Of course, at that price, I wouldn’t have bought any of the items, other than perhaps the Depeche Mode box which was 2p cheaper online...

TV entertained in the evening with the third parts of “Proof” and “Hope Springs” (which is utter rubbish), followed by taped “Law & Order” and “CSI”...

Highlight of the Day : New car...

Drucker...

Playlist
Various – Prognosis 2
Shooting at Unarmed Men – Tryptich
The Pack AD – Tintype
Real Ones – Home With the Girls in the Morning
Tandy Hard – Tandy Hard
Holy Ghost revival – Twilight exit
Kristofer Astrom – Sinkadus
Lukestar – Lake Toba
Steve Abel & the Chrysalids – Flax Happy
Darkblueworld – The Perilous Beauty of Madness
Settly – Settly
Autorotation – Everything is Everything
Johnny Bennett – The Violet Hush
Meditronica – Meditronica
Dean Owens – Whiskey Hearts
The Olympic Symphonium – More in Sorrow than in Anger
Amy LaVere -Anchors and Anvils
William Fitzsimmons – Goodnight
Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter
Depeche Mode – The Singles 1981-1998
Simon & Garfunkel – The Collection
The Thing – Now and Forever
The Mountain Movers – We Have Walked in Hell...
The Blakes – The Blakes
Van Tramp – Van Tramp
Flare Acoustic Arts League – Cut
aMute – Infernal Heights for a Drama
Crosby Loggins – We All Go Home
Bella – No One Will Know
Matt Eaton – Finish Your Chips
Sherwood – A Different Light
Rick Derringer – Singles As and Bs
Edgar Froese - Dalinetopia

Up early and continued ripping the new CDs...

Much interesting material there (and of course some not so interesting material) - while at the PC today, I had all the new purchases playing via shuffleplay...



To Patisserie Florentin for breakfast, with noticeably more pain in the arm than a couple of days ago...

Despite 31 new titles (including a few multi-disc items) entering the collection in the last two days, I couldn’t resist a browse through the Gramophone Emporium and bought two discs, a double set of 70’s US guitarist Rick Derringer and a disc of electronic music by Tangerine Dream’s Edgar Froese...

I am mad...

Usually without transport, being unable to drive for the next month or so, I took advantage of Anne’s driving and we went to PC World in search of a new printer, our last having finally given up the ghost a few days ago...

Decided on a Kodak EPS3, mainly due to the economical price of ink for the beasty...

PC World had it on display but not in stock – so off to nearby Comet and a machine was purchased...

However, it doesn’t come with a USB2 connection lead and they cost a minimum of £15 at Comet (as opposed to £1.55 on the net)...

Back to PC World who had an offer on the leads at £5.99 – only to discover the discount only applies if you buy a printer...

Luckily, back home, after much searching, I found the USB lead I use for my remote keyboard (re-recording purposes) was exactly the type required...



Set it up and all was well in the house again – including with Meg the Black Cat who loves a box...



In the evening “Robin Hood” entertained as did Pet Shop Boys on some Graham Norton Saturday Evening Nonsense pish show...

Ended the day with “Law & Order” but Meg had gone missing...

Turns out, as we were wandering the neighbourhood shaking a box of cat biscuits and calling her name, she was sitting in our neighbour's back garden, just watching us (and no doubt sniggering like Muttley the dog)...

Once back in the house she took a bit of a mad turn...



Highlight of the Day : New printer...

Off the rails...

Playlist
William Fitzsimmons - Goodnight
Johnny Bennett – The Violet Hush
Amy LaVere -Anchors and Anvils
The Mountain Movers – We Have Walked in Hell...
The Blakes – The Blakes
Van Tramp – Van Tramp
Flare Acoustic Arts League – Cut
aMute – Infernal Heights for a Drama
Crosby Loggins – We All Go Home
Bella – No One Will Know
Matt Eaton – Finish Your Chips
Sherwood – A Different Light

Up at 8:30 and more listening, the William Fitzsimmons album is particularly good...

Out at 10 leaving Chris behind with an agreement to meet later at Vinyl Exchange...

I checked out and walked up into town round the back of the Arndale Centre past the Manchester Wheel and into HMV where I bought box sets by Depeche Mode and Simon & Garfunkel...

Emerging at the other side of the centre, I found FOPP and had a quick look round resulting in the purchase of a 3CD+DVD box set by Scandanavian free jazzers, The Thing, along with a DVD of James promo videos - £10 the lot...

At Vinyl Exchange they granted me £3 credit re yesterday’s overcharging and I partook of a further nine CDs, by which time Chris joined me...

We breakfasted late at Debenhams in their restaurant – very reasonable at just £2.99 for a selection of breakfast oriented foodstuffs...

We took a trip on the Big Wheel, enjoying spectacular views of the city...

Walked around the Northern Quarter, taking in a few bookstores, before stopping in at the Night and Day café/music venue in Oldham Street for a well earned drink and rest before wending our weary way to the station...

Sustenance was once again purchased and it was adios Manchester...



Cock up with the train, as our seats were booked in Carriage F but the guard advised there wasn’t a Carriage F and that it would be one of three which would join the train at Preston...

We just managed to get a couple of seats which were booked from Preston to Edinburgh but it wasn’t very relaxing given the crammed nature of the frankly miserable three coaches...

On alighting at Preston (and losing our seats), we were advised no other carriages were to be attached and that, in fact, the back coach was Carriage F!!

Very annoying but we at least finally got to our booked seats and enjoyed a peaceful remainder of our journey, apart from the ubiquitous noisy mobile phone conversations – which I was once again able to block with use of CD walkman and headphones to further dip into purchases, finding them, in the main, to be good...



Anne was at the station to meet us but we’d inadvertently thrown our tickets away with a bag of rubbish and the jobsmith (for want of a worse phrase) on the gate wouldn’t let us out...

We had to go back and persuade the inspector on the empty train to let us back on – we rummaged through the rubbish in the toilet and finally found the tickets...

To the Doric for an end of trip drink before Chris headed back to Fife...



Anne and I took the airport bus to Corstorphine before climbing the hill to Crispycat Towers where last night’s “Big Bandg Theory” and “My Name is Earl” entertained...

Ended the day with some ripping of new CDs to the hard drive...



Looking forward to a return in the late summer...

Highlight of the Day : Hanging out in Manchester...

Cageless..

Playlist
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-2009
Various – Prognosis 2
Shooting at Unarmed Men – Tryptich
The Pack AD – Tintype
Real Ones – Home With the Girls in the Morning
Tandy Hard – Tandy Hard
Holy Ghost revival – Twilight Exit
Kristofer Astrom – Sinkadus
Lukestar – Lake Toba
Steve Abel & the Chrysalids – Flax Happy
Darkblueworld – The Perilous Beauty of Madness
Settly – Settly
Autorotation – Everything is Everything
Meditronica – Meditronica
Dean Owens – Whiskey Hearts
The Olympic Symphonium – More in Sorrow Than in Anger
William Fitzsimmons – Goodnight

Off to Manchester today, despite the still painful arm as, Pet Shop Boys tickets plus accommodation and travel had all been bought and paid for prior to the date of the op being set...

Up early but failed to leave the house at the same time as the Exec Producer, opting instead to investigate some last minute directions re making it from the station in Manchester to the hotel...

Consequently arrived right on the button at the agreed time of 9:30 in Waverley Station to meet up with chum Chris...

We both bought sustenance and reading materials – I purchased a mag on Prog rock (£8 but it did have a “free” CD attached) plus the latest edition of Private Eye, while Chris opted for Nuts and the Daily Star – the profusion of unclad women in each later causing me some embarrassment as I leafed through them on the train...

A three and a half hour journey whizzed by – I spent most of it with the headphones in my lugs to avoid the loud mobile phone conversations of fellow passengers at the other end of our carriage and the coughing, sneezing, snorting and hacking of the two German guys who shared our four seat table...

Chris is a train fan, or rather non-steam train fan and took the opportunity, when we arrived at Manchester, to take a couple of snaps – emulating a strange man at Preston who had done the same...



With one minor unintended detour, we made good time from the station to the Central Travelodge but they wouldn’t let us check in 45 minutes early without charging us £10 for the privilege, so off we went to the nearby Slug and Lettuce and sat in the window seats with our drinks watching the natives go by...

Back to the hotel and we secured neighbouring rooms on the ground floor overlooking the river, before setting out for some shopping...

At Vinyl Exchange, I went a bit mad and ended up buying 18 CDs - including the new solo album from Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle – the rest of my haul comprising promo copies of recent or about to be released albums, each costing either 50p or £1...

Bargain...

After trawling round a few more shops and a quick sandwich from Subway, we returned to the hotel where I used my trusty CD walkman to sample some of the purchases – realising also that I’d been overcharged slightly...

No matter, that could wait for tomorrow – now it was off out for the gig – stopping at Burger King for dinner - a boat was being pushed out but it wasn't ours...

We arrived at the venue around 7:15 and joined a very long but, thankfully, fast moving queue and were soon inside, finding a spot with good vantage points for us both...

Support act Frankmusik impressed Chris but, on balance, left me a bit cold – then it was time for me to stress out as the area filled up with more and more people, increasing the chances that my excellent view might be blocked by a giant (or even an average height person in platform shoes – not uncommon at a PSB gig)...

Luckily, all passed off peacefully and we bopped our way through the 90 minute set comprising some rarely played oldies, some massive hits and tracks from their latest, “Yes”...

The stage show was excellent, making use of large white building bricks, reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” show thirty years ago...

Here're two shots - one from the start and one from the end of the show...



All too soon it was over and we made our way out into the night air...

We stopped off at a pub in the town centre before heading back to the hotel for more drinks in the late opening bar accompanied by tasty pizza and chips...

Drink = drunk = appetite...

We turned in around 1am and I stayed up listening through my purchases again until around 2:30 before finally giving in to sleep – the arm now extremely painful...

A good day though...



Highlight of the Day : Pet Shop Boys live...

Rabbits on the verge...

Playlist
Various – Pictures of You
IQ – Frequency
Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-2009
Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
Charles Mingus – The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
Thelonious Monk – Straight No Chaser
Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch
Dexter Gordon – Go!
The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out
Andrew Hill – Compulsion
The Bad Plus – Suspicious Activity?
The Bad Plus - Prog
Various - Top 100 LPs 2008
Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder
Cecil Taylor – Unit Structures
Geneva - Further

Started the day with cover versions of Cure songs while I burned DVDs of my listing of 500 subjectively good LPs from the last 50 years for sister Pam and for Macclesfield Craig, the latter having provided said Cure compilation...

Enjoyed too the rocking sounds of IQ and Dream Theater before heading out, soundtracked by my top 500, on the long walk to the doctor’s to pick up my prescription for more strong painkillers...

Here I am doggedly walking along the main street in Corstorphine, having made my way down the hill and heading now towards the zoo...



And here are some rabbits in a field near the surgery...




Copped out and took the bus home after a further walk to the chemist to have the prescription filled...

Back home, came across Amazon’s list of the top 100 jazz albums of “all time” and listened to tracks from those which are also in my “top” listings...

Of the 100 in question, I have only 29 – but quite a few of Amazon’s are ruled out by my “no place in jazz for vocals (erm, unless it's The Bad Plus)” rule...

After a particularly exhausting day for Anne at work, I undertook the task of cooking dinner and, though I say so myself, I made a pretty good job of it...

Watched a “Culture Show” special re the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition – very interesting - particularly taken with Damien Hurst’s silver statue of St Bartholomew...

They give a prize for the best piece, a prize as rich as the Turner (£25k) but which receives very little publicity – they went for a video piece, "Turning the Place Over" by Richard Wilson - not the Victor Meldrew actor though...

Here it is from my vantage point lying on the sofa...



Then, the two latest episodes of “Robin Hood”, one on tape and one on the BBC’s I-Player – all adherence to the accepted story of Robin Hood seems to have gone out the window – but it’s making things that bit more interesting...

More music later on as I prepared for tomorrow’s trip to Manchester with Chris-with-a-Ch to see Pet Shop Boys in concert – and, hopefully, do a wee bit of CD shopping, having not ventured out really for nearly two weeks...



Last thing, Meg the Black Cat showed her love for Mr Mozart...

Highlight of the Day : Walking to the docs for some new pills...

Dreaming...

Playlist
Various - Yearly Top 10 Albums 1959-2009
Pet Shop Boys - Yes
Various - Tighten Up
Chris Botti - To Love Again
Chris Botti - Midnight Without You
Jonatha Brooke - Careful What You Wish For
Dream Theater - Images and Words
Dream Theater - Greatest Hit...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs

Very tired again today - fell asleep at lunchtime with Meg the Black Cat lying on my legs...

Not too bad by the time Anne got home...

Made arrangements to collect more painkillers tomorrow from the doctor/chemist...

Another attempt to correct the Crispycat website - to no avail - the front page remains stuck in 2006...

Cooked together to the sounds of the Pet Shop Boys then watched two episodes of "CSI" then "Coast" then retired to surf the net...

Listened to much Dream Theater, UKZ and UK - much of it on Youtube...

Toyed with the idea of recording the live soundtracks to several UK videos to make up a new live disc...



Later, watched the same episode of "Big Bang Theory" we watched last week - it was still very funny...

Yes, this is how I spend my time...

Highlight of the Day : Getting some sleep...

Cured, not quite...

Playlist
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-2009
Various – Favourite Singles of 2008
Geneva - Further

Still not sleeping well....

A lazy morning then out for a bite of lunch down at the local Italian café before driving round to the Royal Infirmary for the post op check up...

A swift meet with the surgeon post X-rays and removal of stitches and the op proclaimed a success....

Painkillers and physio available should I need them...

Surgeon advised a furher two to three weeks absence from the offices of “the man” or a swifter return if I feel “up to it”...

A flying visit to my mum’s on the way home – with tales of the recent 25th anniversary dinner of the branch of the Rotary Club which my dad co-founded in 1983/4 along with neighbour Jimmy Kirkwood...

My mum and Jimmy’s widow, Sheila, were invited along as special guests...

Sheila was a little the worse for wear at the end of the night, while my mum was the designated driver...

An escort was required to ensure Sheila made it back to her house, given my mum's disabilities precluding her from holding Sheila up – once in the car heading from Roslin to Loanhead, the escort advised she couldn’t find her handbag – it was agreed it must still be in the venue...

My mum advised she let the two ladies out at Sheila’s and watched as they made their way up the path before the two of them keeled over and fell into the garden behind a hydrangea bush...

By the time my mum had turned the car round to head back to the venue, returning the escort, Sheila was in her home...

On arriving back at Roslin, the escort found her missing handbag – it was sitting on the roof of my mum’s car...

I feel this is testament to the safe nature of my mum’s driving...

Back home, a parcel behind the door from Macclesfield Craig bore various goodies of a Cure and Geneva nature...



Tasty...

The evening, post Anne’s keep fit, was spent watching taped “CSI” and “Law and Order”, Monday nights no longer hloding anything of any TV import now that “Ashes to Ashes” is finished...

Highlight of the day : Mum’s falling over and handbag story...

Five hundred down...

Playlist
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-2009

A quiet Sunday...

Finished off the ripping of the 500 LP tracks, adding the final eight years...



Then converted them all to MP3s and burned a DVD containing around 67 hours of music...

To Anne’s mum’s for Bobby’s birthday tea – his choice was roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding and all the trimmings and this was followed by Anne’s mum’s home made chocolate cake with strawberries...

The kids weren’t particularly well behaved tonight but there you go – Keith and Maureen were absent due to being on a “walking trip” near Biggar...

Back home, the second part of “Proof” entertained...

Highlight of the Day : Finishing the 500 project...

Stalked...

Playlist
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-2009
Various – Tighten Up Vol 5
The Upetters – Scratch the Upsetter Again
Various – Cream Electric Summer Vol 1
DJ Hell – Teufelswerk
Various – Fabriclive 23 : Death in Vegas
Various – The Very Best of Euphoric Dance
Various – Chilled Out Euphoria
Various – Albums of the Year 1959-69
Various – Albums of the Year 1970-79

A big happy forty-somethingth birthday to Sister Pam today...

This morning, a contretemps between Meg the Black Cat and Candy the Cat From Along The Street...



As you can see candy stalked Meg before pouncing...

As is usually the ase in these cat fights, no actual contact was made and both parties emerged with dignity intact...

Continued on the ripping of one track from each of my top 500 LPs of the last 50 years (ten per year)....

Another 17 years added today...



In the evening a visit from Fife chums Chris and Ferret – Chris used a power hose thing to clean up the slabs in the back garden at Crispycat Towers – Fez was along for the ride...



Remuneration was by way of an excellent lamb curry from the Exec Producer, preceded by her home made pakoras and accompanied by copious amounts of Indian beer and wine, both white and red, from various regions of the world...

Music was provided by Mr CBQ, concentrating on reggae and “banging” tunes followed by some, erm, “chilled” beats, man...

Arm pain continued to distract...

After the boys departed for the train home, the two remaining musketeers dozed on sofas, awaking around 1:15 and off to bed...

Highlight of the Day : Anne’s Indian cookery skills...

Year in, year out...

Playlist
Various – Rock & Pop Jukebox on Shuffleplay
Various – Annual Top 10 Albums 1959-1983

You may have visited my blog entitled “Albums of the Year” on which I have listed (completely subjectively) my favourite 10 releases for each year from 1959 to now...

Dr Prog commented upon it yesterday while visiting, taking offence at the inclusion of so many “bad” Yes albums...

Today, to keep myself occupied, I copied a WAV file of one track from each of my top ten albums for the years 1959 to 1983 inclusive (that’s 250 albums) while the Exec Producer was out and about, taking tea in chum’s gardens and visiting Garden Centres with her sister and the kids...

The collage below shows all 250 albums...



I thought the pain was gone today until, around midday, I experienced a body-crumpling assault from inside the shoulder/upper arm which reminded me to take things easy...

Exercises continue and the sling was off most of the day apart from an early evening visit to Tesco with Anne for ingredients for (a) tonight’s joint effort at a tasty Pancetta Risotto and (b) tomorrow night’s proposed home made curry re a visit from Chris-with a Ch...

“Have I got News For You” and “Law & Order : Criminal Intent” was the extent of my TV viewing today – other than a short interview with Alice Cooper on some morning mind-numbing programme on ITV...

We have tickets for his “Theatre of Death” show in Glasgow in November...

Oh yes...

Highlight of the Day : Listening to some excellent old music...

Sewn up...

Playlist
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
Dave Brubeck – Time Out
Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come
Charles Mingus – Mingus Ah-Um
Grobschnittt – Ballerman
Jon Hassel – Dream Theory in Malaya
Michael Rother – Flammende Herzen
Uriah Heep – Innocent Victim
PIL – Public Image
Magazine – Real Life
Cluster – Sowiesoso
Captain Beefheart – Trout Mask Replica
New Order – Movement
IQ - Frequency
Japan – Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Various – Rock & Pop Jukebox on Shuffleplay

Up early again and keeping things at bay with the pills...

Three little holes are all I have to show for it all...



Already I’m hardly using the sling and have started the exercises...

Spent much of the morning, one-handedly and with some difficulty, ripping CDs of LPs I bought back in the mid-70's to early 80's to the hard drive then deleted some albums from the Rock & Pop jukebox and loaded these "classics" instead...

This afternoon Dr Prog visited and we spent some time compiling a DVD full of MP3 albums for him from my collection...

Whilst doing so, we listened to his latest thing, the new album from progmeisters IQ...

Tasty...

In the evening, the Exec Producer and I drove to a Chinese takeaway on the other side of town and brought home dinner...

“CSI”, “My Name is Earl”, "Big Bang Theory”, “Question Time” and “This Week”, kept my mind off matters...

Michael Portillo hit the nail on the head on “This Week” when Andrew Neil and the shows producers tried to whip up some excitement re the BNP achieving two seats in the European parliament...

In the areas where they succeeded, the North West, thanks to the stupidity of proportional representation and the vagaries of the boundary commission, 8% of the vote gets you in – by comparison, in the North East you can’t win without capturing 20% of the vote...

The Green vote, proportionately, increased by more than the BNP’s – as did UKIP’s – so, while it’s disturbing that 950,000 voted for a fascist party – the media are making a bit of a meal of it and helping to fan the flames...

I think it’s a bit strange that left wing Labour die-hards would rather vote for neo-Nazis than the Tories – a bit strange and a bit sad really...

Highlight of the Day : A visit from the doctor...of Prog...

Zonked...

Playlist
Tangerine Dream – Phaedra
Tangerine Dream – 1970-1983
Tangerine Dream – White Eagle
Tangerine Dream – Hyperborea
Rheostatics – Best of
Various – Sid Smith’s Podcasts from the Yellow Room VII
Various – Sid Smith’s Podcasts from the Yellow Room VIII
Soft Machine – Third
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XV
Various – Cloudland Blue Podcast XVI
Various – 25 Number 1 Albums

Typing with left hand only...

Up at 5 and Tangerine Dream entertained as I read Paul Stump’s critical biography of the band, whilst listening to the single disc collection I compiled for my chums Martin Lennon and Dr Prog over six months ago when we went to see the current line up...

The right side of my face, along with my neck and the front of my right shoulder remained totally numb all day - despite this, I could still feel the pain...

The operation was different from what I’d been expecting – apparently the surgeon went in and checked over the work done in October 2007 and declared it to be fine - then he went further in and did something or other in relation to my collar bone and its interaction with my shoulder...

Six months to a year recovery time apparently but, if successful, I should be pain free for the first time in over twenty years...

I am on painkillers now but trying to keep the arm moving – I have a sling but am trying to use it sparingly...

All in all, not really feeling too great but that should pass...

The exec producer buoyed my spirits with her care...

Listened to a couple of Sid Smith’s podcasts, featuring much interesting new music – and this inspired me to cobble together with a few left handed clicks, my latest two podcasts featuring recently acquired musical acquisitions...

Ended the day listening to music from 25 number one albums...



...it seems, in my collection, I have almost a fifth of all number one albums since 1959...

Highlight of the Day : Relaxing...

Plied, thankfully...

Playlist
Various - No 1 Albums I Bought on Release
Tangerine Dream - 1973-1977
Tangerine Dream - Ultima Thule
King Crimson - Cadence and Cascade

A lovely morning as we arose at 6am...



Off to the infirmary via the Park & Ride to allow Anne to have the car to bring me home later...

Arrived at 7:30 and, after seeing the registrar, the nurse, the anaesthetist, the anaesthetist's assistant and the surgeon, I was first op of the day...

Always nerve-wracking but I maintained my dignity I would hope (despite the less than flattering attire - a paper nappy, a "front only" gown, a hairnet, white knee length anti-clot stockings and disposable slippers)...

The blocking local anaesthetic worked, before the general was applied and, next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery after a couple of hours...

Much morphine was administered re the pain - followed by the inevitable blabbering tube impersonation...

Arrived back at the day surgery ward around midday and drifted in and out of sleep to the sounds of Tangerine Dream and King Crimson...

There was a clock immediately opposite my bed and I was having what I believed to be very long strange dreams which, according to the time-piece, actually lasted a mere two minutes each at most...

At 6:30 I was ready to go home and Anne was waiting on me...



Back home a relaxed evening watching TV, feeling sore and nauseous but buoyed by "CSI" and "The Big Bang Theory"...

To bed around midnight plied with painkillers to help me sleep - face, neck and shoulder all still frozen from the local anaesthetic - so the real deal still to kick in...

Highlight of the Day : Waking up post op...