Return of the giant...

Playlist
Various – Prog Rock 1967-1973
Dvorak – String Quartets
Grieg – Complete Chamber Music
Lennon/McCartney – The Beatles Symphony
Lennon/McCartney – Beatles Go Baroque
Steve Reid Ensemble – Spirit Walk
Hebden/Reid – The Exchange Sessions Vol 1
Seventh Key – The Raging Fire
Gentle Giant – Interview in Concert
Gentle Giant – 11 Albums on Shuffleplay

Up around 8 or so and to the back room where I started re-reading Paul Stump’s book on Prog Rock, “The Music’s All That Matters”, whilst listening back to a couple of the CDs compiled over the last two days...

Breakfast at home, Dvorak’s String Quartet in D Major soundtracking its preparation...

Then, feeling fairly upbeat, retreated again to the back room with Grieg’s String Quartet No 1 and followed this with two attempts at classical-ification of the music of The Beatles...

Then, some tasty jazz from Steve Reid, followed by his experiments with Fridge/FourTet’s Kieren Hebden and, finally, some reasonable heavy metal from Seventh Key - all while Anne was out shopping - I am, of course, still confined to barracks...

Whilst listening, I sorted out some recent purchases into alpha order...



...storage is becoming a problem and full alphabetisation isn’t currently possible...

Helped Anne out slightly in the garden – I am a rubbish gardener unafflicted with hay fever while Anne is a great gardener, totally afflicted with hay fever...

Prepared and enjoyed lunch then watched one of the worst films we’ve ever seen – “Being John Malkovitch” which has been lying around on DVD for over a year – wish we hadn’t bothered...

More buggering about with prog rock followed and, purely by chance (via a mis-click), I discovered that three of the originals, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and Malcolm Mortimer have formed a new seven piece band, Three Friends..

They are out and about performing GG classics around the world – heading soon to the States and Japan – the vids on Youtube are worth a look if you’re a GG fanatic like me...

Of course this sparked off a Gentle Giant frenzy which was interrupted by an aborted trip the New Happy Palace (I stayed in the car) which was shut for holidays and back to Wong’s (I stayed in the car) for some nice Chinese takeaway...

We watched some of “T in the Park” – the same rubbish “too many talking heads” coverage as Glastonbury last week – then, a DVD of “Al Murray Pub Landlord”, who then turned up as headliner on Michael McIntyre’s show...

As Anne snoozed on the sofa I was drawn in to the film “Armageddon” and stayed up till gone 1 watching that, whilst taping “The Culture Show” for an appearance by Kraftwerk, to which Count Brodski had alerted me earlier in the day with a text...

Not a great Saturday really but I’m not complaining...



Highlight of the Day : Discovering Gentle Giant are back, kind of...