And on synthesiser....

Playlist

Various Composers - Edition Zeitgenossischen Music Vol 3

Kansas - Two for the Show

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend, Ascend

Up super early and some work on artworks first thing, soundtracked by contemporary German classical music...

Ideas arising (open in a new tab to view full size)...

Meg the Black Cat was on one of her many perches...

At 9:15, took Anne to an appointment, arranging to meet her at the music library at 1pm...

Back home to more computer work...

Pre Midday, it was down the hill for the bus with Kansas in my lugs - their double live album is very enjoyable...

Unfortunately, the battery in the MP4 player gave up the ghost as I arrived on Princes St...

Met with Anne earlier than planned and handed back the latest borrowings, partaking of nothing in their place...

We found a wee pop up Thai restaurant for a very tasty lunch...

..then a drink at the BBC area before heading round to the museum...

... for today's talk by Brian Eno...

"Music since recording is a new art form, which bears only as much resemblance to traditional, performed music as cinema does to theatre. What are the special characteristics of this new art? How did it evolve? Where might it be going? Brian Eno shares his thoughts."

There's nothing on the web re this as yet but this lecture touches on some similar ideas...

Somehow, we ended up slap bang in the middle of the front row...

The room I...

...II...

...III...

...and on he came...

...and mesmerised us for just over an hour on - what is a composer and what is the role of the listener...

The talk was full of jokes and anecdotes including Eno visiting the GAP to check out what's playing, Frank Zappa's description of jazz ("the sound of unemployment"), a tape recorder (one of 32 he owned at university) which made everything sound as if it was being sung by someone rhythmically hitting their own throat and how he came to be hired to play synthesiser with the New Seekers (the session was never issued)...

We could have listened to him talk all day...

Outside we met and chatted to my old schoolfriend Lesley, her husband David, old record shop acquaintance, Professor Plastic and some of their chums...

On through the fest in full flow town...

Just after taking this pic, I fell over, due to not realising I was stepping off a pavement...

No permanent damage done to me, my camera, my glasses and everything else which landed on the pavement - all of which was completely ignored by all passers by...

Perhaps they thought it was a fairly bad performance piece...

On to the airport bus at Waverley Bridge...

..and home at 5 to find my new little (very little) amp had been delivered...

Some time spent rejigging the table...

Left speaker, phone, amp, DVD writer, link to second screen...

...laptop and second screen...

...jukeboxes (which don't work with Windows 8), router, three hard drives (another not shown), further DVD writer, hub, right speaker, mouse...

Full set up...

Look how tiny the amp is - but it sounds great...

In the evening, out for my mum's birthday - to the Howgate with mum, sister Sheila, nephew Ali and girlfriend Julie...

As ever at The Howgate, a superb meal...

And, tonight, very leisurely...

Afterwards, to Ali and Julie's house for coffee and birthday cake...

...and some serenading from Ali and a little bit from your correspondent - of course, as ever, I could not remember any of my songs - or indeed any of the many covers I've played in the last 18 months with Capital Models...

We left the young couple - already together for nearly 10 years - in their cuddling chair...

..and took my mum home and then returned to Meg the Black Cat...

Off to bed after midnight on a packed day...

Highlight of the Day : After 41 years, seeing Brian Eno just a few feet away from me - much better than a gig...