Saturday, December 31, 2011

Adios 2011, may we never see your likes again...

Playlist
Various – Top 100 Albums 2011
King Crimson – The Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson
Various – Milano Jukeboxes 1998-2010
John Renbourn – Another Monday
John Renbourn – Sir John A Lot
Graham Bond – Solid Bond
The Killers – Hot Fuss

Last day of the year and, frankly, it's not been a good one...

Almost every well wisher who has mailed or texted or visited today and over the last few days has said, "surely 2012 can't be as bad for you as 2011"...

This is a sentiment that I cannot but agree with...

But it has to be onwards and upwards now...

Up super-early - still not sleeping correctly...

With my now having seven of the 40th Anniversary King Crimson remasters, I decided to recreate the classic 1975 compilation "The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson" - which I bought as a Christmas present to myself back in 1978...



This is how I waste my time...

Initially, I was going to try and recreate all the edits involved but then I decided to include all full tracks and also to add a third disc featuring 1969-1974 tunes chosen by Robert Fripp to appear on subsequent compilations...

Done, listened to - excellent...

Fine tuned the Top 100 after more listening yesterday...

A good sign that around half the CDs I acquired made it to the long-list stage - but my final selections are perhaps a little predictable given my long-standing musical tastes...

A few mentions though of people kind of "discovered" in 2011 but who didn't quite make the final cut...

Alonso Arreola Project
Charts & Maps
The Douglas Firs
Dutch Uncles
Empty Yard Experiment
Lady Antebellum
Memories of Machines
Morrow's Memory
No Sound
Pagan's Mind
Quaoar
Sky Architect
Symphony X
Von Hertzen Brothers
White Denim
Everything Everything
Ke$ha
Broken Records
Amy Millan
Broken Social Scene
Glen Hansard
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Laura Nyro
The Yardbirds

...and composers too...

Metcalfe
Viotti
Ives
De LaLande
Kraus

Spent some time transferring Annie's 21 Milano Jukebox CDs I've compiled for her since 1998 to MP3 files on the hard drive - painstakingly typing in all the artists and titles...

This to burn to a couple of discs to help soundtrack this evening's eating, drinking and carousing with chums Lynn and Ross...

Watched "Sherlock Holmes" in the afternoon with Annie - top film and kudos to the much maligned Guy Ritchie for his direction - of course Downey and Law make a great double act...

Very entertaining...

In the evening, we saw out 2011 with the aforementioned Lynn and Ross - with two very tasty curries from the Exec Producer and lashings of lager from around the world, red wine and, for our guests, whisky too...

Games were played, laughs were had, Meg the Black Cat stayed up well beyond her bedtime and 2012 was ushered in...



The year was 4 hours old by the time we called it a night...

Bidding our guests farewell, it was off to bed, somewhat the worse for wear...

On into 2012 we go - hopefully it will be better than the disaster movie of the same name...

Highlight of the day :  Putting 2011 behind us...

Top 100 of 2011...

Top 100 of 2011 (100 of 257 Long-Listed)

Rock & Pop (50 of 178 Long-Listed)

New Albums (10 of 40)



Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
Brian Eno - Drums Between the Bells (2CD)
Peter Gabriel - New Blood
Jakszyk Fripp & Collins - A Scarcity of Miracles
Levin Torn White - Levin Torn White
Neal Morse - Testimony Two (2CD)
Uriah Heep - Into the Wild
Yes - Fly From Here

Recent Albums (10 of 24)



Adrian Belew – e
Dio – Magica
Everything Everything – Man Alive
Brandon Flowers – Flamingo
GPS – Window to the Soul
Halloween, Alaska – Champagne Downtown
Jorn – Dio
Ke$ha – Animal
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Jordan Rudess – The Road Home

Re-Issued Albums (10 of 55)



Graham Bond – Solid Bond
John Cale – Slow Dazzle
Brian Eno – On Land
Brian Eno – More Music For Films
King Crimson - Islands (CD & DVD)
King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black (CD & DVD)
Neu! – Neu! 75
Klaus Schulze – Cyborg (2CD)
Van der Graaf Generator – H to He Who Am the Only One
Van der Graaf Generator – Pawn Hearts

Compilations (10 of 23)



The Alice Cooper Group – Old School 1964-1974 (4CD, 2DVD, LP, 7")
DAF – Das Beste von DAF
Bob Dylan – Biograph (3CD)
Family – In Their Own Time (2CD)
King Crimson – The Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson (3CD-R)
Mott the Hoople & Ian Hunter – The Journey (3CD)
Laura Pausini – The Platinum Collection (3CD)
Pink Floyd – Echoes (2CD)
Herman Van Veen – 100 (5CD)
Dar Williams – Many Great Companions (2CD)

Live Albums (5 of 21)



Fripp & Eno – Paris 1975 (3CD-R)
Robert Fripp – New York 2010 (2CD-R)
Gentle Giant – GG at the GG (CD & DVD)
Michael Rother – New York 2010 (CD-R)
Yes – In the Present : Live From Lyon (2CD & DVD)

Various Artists Collections (5 of 16)



Various - The Blues Scene
Various - High Voltage 2011 (2CD-R)
Various - Natural Progression (20CD-R)
Various - The Wall Rebuilt (2CD)
Various - Wondrous Stories (4CD)

Jazz (25 of 41)

Studio (10 of 17)



Brand X – Unorthodox Behaviour
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out
Jack Bruce – Things We Like
John Coltrane – The Believer
Kenny Dorham – Blue Spring
Happy Apple – Part of the Solution Problem
Jackie McLean – It’s Time
Wes Montgomery – Boss Guitar
Lee Morgan – The Procrastinator
Sonny Rollins – Sonny Boy

Compilations (5 of 7)



Miles Davis – The Real Miles Davis (3CD)
Andrew Hill – Mosaic Select (3CD)
The Jazz Crusaders – The Best Of
Grachan Moncur III – Mosaic Select (3CD)
Return to Forever - Return to the 7th Galaxy (2CD)

Live Albums (5 of 9)



Miles Davis – Monterey Jazz Festival 1963
Eric Dolphy – The Illinois Concert (2CD)
Allan Holdsworth – Blues for Tony (2CD)
The Jazz Crusaders – Lighthouse 68
Matthew Shipp – Art of the Improviser (2CD)

Various Artists Collections (5 of 8)



Various - 1959 : Jazz’s Greatest Year (3CD)
Various – 50 Best of Blue Note (5CD)
Various - Miles Not Miles (CD-R)
Various – The Lost Grooves 67-70
Various - Straight No Chaser (2CD)

Classical (25 of 38)

Single Composer (15 of 26)



JS Bach – English Suites (2CD)
JS Bach – Orchestral Suits arr. For Guitar Quartet
Benda – Symphonies 7-12
Druckman – String Quartets 2 & 3
Enescu – String Quartets 1 & 2
Fasch – Concertos
Fernstrom – String Quartets 3, 6 & 8
Ginastera – Complete String Quartets
Ginastera – Complete Piano Music Vol 1
Hofmann – 5 Symphonies
Kraus – Symphonies Vol 1
Schnittke – Piano Quintet – String Trio
Schubert – String Quartets 12-15 (2CD)
Schumann – Complete Piano Works (13CD)
Zimmermann – String Quartets 1-3

Single Artist (5 of 6)



Glenn Gould – Slaughterhouse 5 OST
Jacqueline du Pre – The Very Best of (3CD)
Katia & Marielle LaBeque – Piano Fantasy (5CD)
Alban Berg Quartett - 20th Century Masterpieces (3CD)
Prince of Wales Consort – Cello Music in London at the time of Frederick Prince of Wales

Various Composer Collections (5 of 6)



Various Composers - 19th Century Masterpieces (17CD)
Various Composers – 20th Century Masterpieces (16CD)
Various Composers – Music in Sansouci
Various Composers – Wien 1900 The Death of Tonality
Various Composers – Lustige Feld Musik

Friday, December 30, 2011

Emergency glass purchase required...

Playlist
Various – Top 100 Albums 2011

Listening to music this morning on the bus, I wondered who was performing a particular track and, reaching for my reading specs, I realised I'd left them at home...

Accordingly, a fifth pair of glasses entered the collection - £1.99 from Poundies...

Pre-label removal...



Uptown, HMV was visited and a 2CD set of Berio's "Sequenza" was swithered over but, in the end, not purchased...

Late December in Princes St Gardens...



Back home, the afternoon was mainly spent listening to CDS acquired this year and compiling my end of year list of best albums...

This year, I have acquired 529 CDs (of which 99 are "burns")...

Possibly too many...

My specs looked not bad without the labels...



The beast was about its business at Crispycat Towers...



The evening was spent lounging around, watching TV and listening to one track each from my finally selected 100...



Meg the Black cat enjoyed my lap...



Anne the Exec Producer enjoyed her laptop...



Highlight of the Day : Completing a list and lounging around...

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Walk like Poirot...

Playlist
Various - Last 9 Months on Shuffleplay
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Starlightnight
Fernstrom - String Quartets
Vivaldi - Four Seasons
Various - Top 100 of 2011

To the physio first thing...



Strapping removed, muscles doing better - these being held onto though, just in case...



To FOPP at lunchtime and a big new Classical display - I partook of five titles - two of string quartets by people I've never heard of, 3CD sets of Vivaldi and Josef Strauss Jnr and a 2CD set of Wagner...

An online shop was discovered with tasty German fayre - Udo Lindenberg and Kraan are winging their way from Switzerland, along with a bargain purchase of the debut album by Grand Funk Railroad...

What was I thinking??

Back home in the dark...



Tasty pasta from Annie and a two hour "Poirot" followed by "Big Bang Theory" before listening to more of my top CDs from the last year...

Some Ke$ha, Alice Cooper and Udo Lindenberg was watched on Youtube...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Strapping removed even though I have to walk like Poirot...

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Another pointless exercise...

Playlist
Gentle Giant - The Missing Piece
Gentle Giant - Giant For a Day
Gentle Giant - Civilian
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Gentle Giant - In A Glass House
Various - Top 100 CDs Acquired in 2011

Gentle Giant soundtracked today, following the viewing of their DVD yesterday...

A walk to HMV at lunchtime - despite a big sale, nothing enticed...

In the evening, complied my list of albums of the year...



...and created a new folder which will hold one track from each album...

Another pointless exercise...

Later on, a pilot for what could be great new comedy show from Armstrong & Miller, written by Simon Nye, "Felix & Murdo"...

Highlight of the Day : Felix and Murdo...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Between the giant and the king...

Playlist
Gentle Giant - GG at the GG
Lee Morgan - The Procrastinator
Various - 50 : The Best of Blue Note
Peter Gabriel - New Blood
King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon
King Crimson - Islands
King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson - Discipline
Brian Eno - Panic of Looking
Brian Eno - Drums Between the Bells (Instrumental Version)
Yes - In the Present : Live from Lyon
Various - Oh Canada! Vol 15
King Crimson - Cadence and Cascade

Up early once again - no wonder I am so knackered in the evenings but I can't help this inability to return to sleep once I awake...

Really, really enjoyed the Gentle Giant DVD of their BBC Sight and Sound In Concert from January 1978...

What a brilliant band they were...

Once Anne arose, it was time for the annual "Dr Who" Xmas special...

One of the best I can recall - I think this must be the sixth of these since the programme was resurrected...

"Madagascar 2" also entertained as did the Xmas "Outnumbered"...

Anne enjoyed "Downton Abbey" and "Great Expectations" and The Little Shop of Stuff" (I think - a Dickens spoof)...

So, much of the day spent in front of the box...

Made a first stab at compiling a list of my favourite CDs of the year - failed...

Ended the day with some splendid sounds of, and reading about, the Mighty Crim...



So, a day of nothing much, sandwiched between Gentle Giant and King Crimson...

A typical Xmas holiday day in fact...

Highlight of the Day : A Gentle Giant experience relived...

Monday, December 26, 2011

The preposterous end of the world...

Playlist
King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon
King Crimson - Islands
King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson - Discipline
Various - The Xmas EP
Various - 50 : The Best of Blue Note
Various - The Milano Jukebox
Yes - In the Present : Live From Lyon

Up reasonably early and listening to the Xmas acquisitions and viewing the extras on DVD...

Updated this for the last few days...

Generally did nothing worthwhile...

The tulips brought last week by Chris-with-a-ch are coming into their own...



The non-worthwhile actions continued around lunchtime as we settled down to watch the preposterous end of the world film, "2012"...

Suffice to say, Anne fell asleep...

My mum arrived with around 20 minutes to go...

She enjoyed seeing herself on the blog via the I-Pod Touch...



An enjoyable chat was had, followed by a lovely salmon based tea, with desert comprising apple crumble and custard...

Something which escapes me was watched on the Tivo, ah yes an old episode of "Poirot" - I do like "Poirot", as do Anne and my mum...

This was followed by an hour long "Coronation St" for the ladies while I listened to Yes on the cans...

Mum headed out into the windy rainy night and called once home to advise she was safe and sound...

The end of "2012" was predictable...

Tivo viewing continued...

I cannot remember what we watched...

I'm sure it doesn't matter...

Highlight of the Day : The special effects in 2012 - not the storyline though...

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Xmas...

Playlist
Various - Milano Jukebox 2011
Peter Gabriel – New Blood
Various – The Xmas EP
Brian Eno – Drums Between The Bells (Instrumental Disc)
ELP – 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert
Yes – In the Present : Live in Lyon 2009
Various Composers - Cello Music for Oliver
Webster Young – For Lady
Various – Miles Not Miles
City & Colour – Little Hell
Various – Electric 80s
Brian Eno – Before and After Science
King Crimson – In the Wake of Poseidon
King Crimson – Islands
King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson – Discipline

Up unfeasibly early...

I am finding that once I’m awake, I cannot sleep...

However, today’s inability to return to the Land of Nod may also have had something to do with the fact that it was Xmas Day...

To the back room and listening to a purchase made yesterday but not yet sampled, Peter Gabriel’s album of songs rerecorded with orchestra, “New Blood”...

Around 8:45, my leg felt sufficiently not-too-bad to warrant a drive, along empty roads...



....over to my old mum’s, soundtracked, of course, by the Xmas EP...

At first mum was a bit upset but I managed to cheer her up...

And she loved the framed photo of her and Pam together with a wallet containing many more shots which my mum has probably never seen as they normally reside on the hard drive...

...and she liked this pic of Pam which she used to have on her desk at work...



...and her expensive pendant...



...and her new hot water bottle from her neighbours...



She was off to a friends’ and then, later, to nephew Andy’s for Xmas dinner with sister Sheila and her family...

I left and drove home, along empty roads...



...and was back home for 10 for the annual present opening ceremony at Crispycat Towers...

A very Merry Progmas for me I must advise, with DVDs by ELP, Gentle Giant and Yes and CDS by King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Yes and Eno...

...and slippers...

...and Anne got some stuff she likes...



Quick watching and listening took place and then the walk to the bus for the trip to Jane and Bobby’s...



On Boxing Day last year we made the same walk, that day through the snow, but with sister Pam...



Her passing casts a shadow - but we must accept that fact and we must do our best to get on with things...

From three till nine, there was drinking, laughing, playing, eating and carousing at Jane and Bobby’s...

There were scallops on a bed of chorizo and black pudding with pea puree...



...there was stuffed salmon and there was turkey with potatoes and veg...



...there was throwing hoops onto people’s reindeer antlers...







...there was a very tasty chocolate log...



...there was fun for small children...



...there were cheese and biscuits for the adults - except me - I'm not a fan of cheese and biscuits....



...there were more games...





...and there was the trying on of mum’s new boots...



A bus home after a very enjoyable day, whereupon “AbFab” was deemed not that good and “Michael McIntyre’s Xmas Roadshow” was not bad but the guest spots were too short...

Some King Crimson was listened to and then accompanied your tired correspondent to the sack....

Highlight of the Day : Loads of Prog based presents from Annie and superb cooking from sister-in-law Jane....

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Thwartation good in hindsight...

Playlist
Various – Last 9 Months on Shuffleplay
Various – Best of Blue Note 50
Various – Milano Jukebox 2011
Various - The Xmas EP

My plan this morning, was to finish off the presents for my side of the family and have my mum over for lunch while Anne watched Hearts (beat Motherwell 2-0)...

But these were thwarted by the breakdown of the photo printing machine at Tesco...

In hindsight this was a good thing...

While it meant cancelling my mum, it also meant heading into town to get the required photos printed there...

But this also allowed me to obtain a few more presents for Annie...

And so, whilst still limping around on one crutch, a good few hours was spent scouring the shops for suitable “stuff” (post having ensured presents for Sheila and Mum were sorted – brother-in-law Andrew’s having already been secured at FOPP yesterday)...

Home on the bus...



Some wrapping and some further present manufacturing on the PC and then, time for “It’s A Wonderful Life” – tears were accompanied by tasty nibbles, a couple of glasses of white wine and Carol Singers at the door...

More present wrapping followed by the last of the current series of “Merlin” and a documentary on Les Dawson – which I abandoned after around 40 minutes to finish off the wrapping...

Presents for Mum and Sheila (amongst other things)...



Put together a new version of the Xmas EP, now adding the Pet Shop Boys song from 2009 to classics by Wizzard, Slade, Greg Lake, Gary Glitter and John Lennon (I will not have Shane McGowan in the house)....

Final act of the day was compiling and burning Anne’s annual “Milano Jukebox” CD – to bed just before midnight, excited like a child...

Highlight of the Day : It was Xmas Eve...