Sunday, March 31, 2013

Pudding not over-egged...

Playlist
J S Bach - St John Passion
J S Bach - St Matthew Passion
Kat McKenzie - Demos

March away...


Easter Day and commenced with a listen to J S Bach’s St John Passion – which should, of course, have been listened to on Friday but hey ho…

To the kitchen...


One egg between us…



Another episode of “Spiral” then to the hospital to see mum – getting better all the time…

Chatting away to the minister like she was back at home...

To Anne’s mum’s for tea – a good time making mischief with niece Kitty…

Back home and the first episode of “The Village” was dreadful, depressing clichéd tosh…

Highlight of the Day : Chimpanzee’s tea party with my niece…

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The art of recovery...

Playlist
Karl Bartos - Off the Record
Vivaldi - Stabat Mater
J S Bach - Kunst der Fuge (String Quartet Version)
Kat McKenzie - Demos

Up late, after 10 in fact…

Sorting out the debris in the kitchen...


... while testing out the new CBQ Bandcamp site…


I must say, I was suffering rather after last night’s overindulgence on the old vino rosso…

Got to work on the initial demos for the Kat McKenzie project, getting rather caught up on one song in particular…

In the evening, with Anne under the weather, a solo trip to the hospital – managed to organise sleeping tablets for mum re her thus far inability to get a decent night’s shut eye during her stay at the infirmary…


An Indian ordered whilst leaving the hospital car park...


...and collected on the way home where the first in the latest “Dr Who” was very much enjoyed as were a couple of episodes of “Spiral” and an interesting documentary re J S Bach…

A day spent mostly recovering and musicking…

Highlight of the Day :  Learning someone else’s song…

Friday, March 29, 2013

All I want for Christmas...

Playlist
Various - Denovali Swingfest Sampler
Various - 3CDs of Latest Acquisitions for the Brodskis' Visit
David Bowie - Wir kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
Various - Electric Blue
Ten Years After - Ssssh
Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green
Yello - Stella
Beethoven - 9 Symphonies

Up early and working…


Anne had been making buns...


All a bit too much for Meg the Black Cat – back to sleep for her…


Out to mum’s and moving the furniture out the living room, noting further graffiti, this time from September 1972…


Job done and ready for the redecoration...





To the hospital under interesting skies…






Mum doing well…


…but won’t be out for a while as intravenous antibiotics still very much required…

Home and more music work…

At 7:30, to Castle Brodski to pick up our guests for the evening…

Gifts were exchanged between the Count and your correspondent – burns of music by Karl Bartos, Acqua Fragile and Kraftwerk for me and stupidly double bought Mussorgsky, Borodin and Nielsen in return…

Much drinking and carousing till 3am…

Including an excellent meal from the fair hand of the Exec Producer…



Meg the Black Cat did her best to get in on the action…


…and her cheekiness was much admired by Alan and Penny…


Count Brodski particularly enjoyed a goodly number of the iced buns on offer…


Sadly a piece of particularly crispy chicken did for my front tooth – a fourth repair now required…

By the end of the evening, Meg the Black Cat was encouraging us to get out the old photo albums to show Penny how the Count looked in his younger days…


A very enjoyable night

Highlight of the Day : A visit from the Brodskis…

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Rihming and stripping, steady on...

Playlist
Various Composers - Classical Acquisitions 2012/13
Britten - String Quartets
Copland - Appalachian Spring/Billy the kid/Rodeo/Fanfare for the Common man
Varese - Arcana/Integrales/Deserts
Kronos Quartet - Hendrix
Nileson - String Quartets
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Rihm - Piano
Vares/Chavez/Revueltas/Messiaen/Harrison - The View from the Edge

Some snow still here but mostly gone...


All twelve CBQ soundscapes albums now up on Bandcamp and attracting listens and downloads...

Moving on to the 2001 retrospective "Aftersilence" then the song albums - some remastering to be carried out on some of those though to sonically tweak...

Songs received from Ms MacKenzie via Soundcloud - more work in store...

Not forgetting work to be done with Peri Urban...

And Capital Models' three projects...

And writing with Jim Park re a proposed comedy number...

Some of these necessarily on the burner at the back...

Home in the cold sun...






...to find Meg the Black Cat in the washing basket guarding two more deliveries...


..which were enjoyed during the drives to and from visiting my mum...

Fluid removed from the lung today but not very much...

The doc advises the infection seems no better, despite her better demeanor...

Here she is, worrying about what her offspring are doing to her living room...


We are stripping the wallpaper in prep for a re-decoration, hopefully to be completed for her return...

Here, some of my graffitti from 1975...


Progress being made...


...Mainly by sister Sheila...


Home around ten and watched something or other which now escapes me...

More work on the music and some ripping and listening before hitting the sack well beyond midnight...

Highlight of the Day : The piano music of Herr Rihm...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The sound of music hitting the mat...

Playlist
Various - Acquisitions 2012/13 on Shuffleplay
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Helps - Shall We Dance
Sir Thomas Beecham - English Music
Pierre Henry - Mess pour le Temps Present

More snow this morning...





...already thawing as I entered into the day...



At lunchtime, a walk down to Stockbridge...


...where I checked on any progress re Capital Models gig opportunities - suffice to say, I will return in two weeks...

Nothing purchased in any of the various shops visited, due to my having forgotten my glasses and therefore being unable to see what was on offer...

Idiot...

Not to worry though as, upon my return home, Chris-with-a-Ch had very kindly provided the new Depeche Mode album, while five discs had arrived from my latest spree on Amazon's marketplace - under my new rule of Used CDs priced at 1p plus postage of £1.26...

What's not to like about that, as discs by Britten, Copland, Varese and the Kronos Quartet joined the fray - along with a treat - just under a tenner for Pierre Henry's classic "Messe pour le Temps Present" - an album I bought 2nd hand in Paris in 1982 and, regretfully, subsequently sold in our record shop around 10 years later...


No time for immediate listens though as it was out and over to the Infirmary for us to see my mum...

Seems a lot better but still very weak and breathless - an ultrasound today and some lung draining procedure tomorrow...

Targetting being better for nephew Andy's wedding in May...

Onwards and upwards...

Home for some TV ("Law & Order : Criminal Intent"and "The Mimic") and some ripping and listening...
 
And finally, the mighty Queen of the South secured the Second Division title tonight with a 6-0 win away at Brechin (the only team who could have caught them before tonight)...
 
First team in the UK to win its league - and, in Scotland, somewhat surprising that they have beaten both Celtic in the SPL and The Rangers in the fourth tier to their respective, expected titles...
 
Mon the Queens... 

Highlight of the Day : Queen of the South promoted (and it's only March)...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sideman...

Playlist
Various Composers - 100 Best 20th Century
Various Composers - 100 Best Baroque
Barraque - Piano Sonatas
Helps - Shall We Dance
Sir Thomas Beecham - English Music

Snow again this morning - Meg the Black cat non-plussed...



Out into it...


At lunchtime, to Fopp -  a box of Beacham (five disc of Delius plus a various composers sixth) for £5 plus a second disc by new to me American composer Robert Helps...


Tasty...

Off home, now sunny...



...to find none of the plethora of discs ordered extremely cheaply from Amazon had arrived...

Off out again with my geetar to Kat McKenzie's for a first rehearsal of some of her songs for an upcoming recording session...


A nice young lady from New Zealand...

Back home around 9:30, some Tivo'd telly, "Bluestone 42", then bed...

Highlight of the Day : Musicking...