Tragedy plus time equals comedy...

Playlist
Feldman - Music for Cello
Pedersen - A Sound Year
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts
Various - Acquisitions January 2014
Skadedyr - Kongecrabbe
Scelsi - String Quartets
Steve Hunter - Swept Away
Yes - Fly From Here
Yes - Live at Montreux 2003
Sparks - The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman

And it's au revoir to January...

Music purchases down 50% on this month last year...

...which bodes well...

In addition to these there has been much downloading, which doesn't figure in the red books of CDs I own...

This morning, an incident on the bus which involved a lady of a certain age letting go of her liquid outpourings and your correspondent not noticing when acquiring her relinquished seat...

A rush of new trousers and cleaning agents Executively Produced to the centre of town ensured the day continued unaffected by said incident but, of course, your correspondent was mentally scarred...

Tragedy plus time equals comedy though and, by mid-morning, this was providing much entertainment to all to whom the story was imparted...

Back home this evening to a superb home made lamb curry from Anne, utilising spices and chillies purchased last Saturday at Borough Market...

The latest double offering of "The Bridge", also from last Saturday and recorded in our absence, was very much enjoyed, as was some spinning of some recently acquired recordings on an external hard drive...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Telling the story of how I accidentally found myself sitting in a puddle of still warm pish...

Performance and flowers arranged...

Playlist
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 3
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts
Scelsi - Natura Renovatur
Lady Gaga - Artpop
Splashgirl - Field Day Rituals
Alice Cooper - Old School
Alice Cooper - The Life and Times of Alice Cooper

The flowers I bought Anne for her birthday yesterday were looking good...

...better...

...best...

A Capital Models gig has been arranged - we will play in the Stable Room at the White Horse on the Royal Mile on Saturday 26 April - rehearsals start in around 10 days...

Other than that, some telly and some music listening...

Same old, same old...

Highlight of the Day : Performance arranged...

It's good to be home...

Playlist
Sombre Reptiles - Music For Birthdays and Anniversaries 1984-1993
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 2
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 3
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 4
Tangerine Dream - Poland

The Exec Producer's birthday and downstairs at 5 to find Meg the Black Cat already singing "Happy Birthday"...

...while Anne slept on...

Out to get some presents and back with plenty of time till Anne awoke..

Presents and cards were well liked...

At lunchtime, "Heimat 3" on 6 DVDs obtained at Fopp for eighteen of your English pounds - it's forty nine on Amazon...

Over St Andrew Square - don't know what this is about...

...to visit Edinburgh's branch of Tiger and purchase an item with CD packaging possibilities...

Home in the gloom...

...and new furniture had arrived...

If there's a box and a cat...

...the cat will go into the box...

Old furniture relegated...

New furniture looking good...

A good birthday for Anne as she attended Hearts v St Mirren at Tynecastle and, for the second time in a row, Hearts won, coming from behind to emerge 2-1 victors...

Meanwhile Queens had two men sent off at Morton, after going a goal up, and managed to hang on till four minutes to go before conceding for a draw - a win would've taken them to fourth in the table...

While watching the scores, I compiled and recorded this week's weekly playlist...

That was it...

Highlight of the Day : Presents for Anne and new furniture...

Weekly Playlist No 4

Welcome to the Cloudland Blue Weekly Playlist No 4...

A selection of tracks which impressed Mr CBQ in week 4 of 2014... 

Expect to hear stuff you've never heard before, along with ultra-familiar stuff, far out jazz, tuneless contemporary classical music, long tracks, short tracks - anything and everything really...

Cloudland Blue Weekly Playlist 2014 No 4 by Cloudland Blue Quartet on Mixcloud

Doug Tielli - Keresley - Being Mist

JS Bach - Cello Suite #3 - Bourree 1 & 2

Mozart - Piano Concerto No 12 - Allegro

Biffy Clyro - Opposites - Different People

Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 4 - A Utilitarian View of the Monitor's Fight

Cloudland Blue Quartet - SS SQ XIX - 3rd Movement (Edit)

Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans - The Revealing Science of God

Gunnar Moller Pederen - A Sound Year - April (Edit)

Scelsi - Preludes for Piano - Serie I (Opening)

Mogwai - Les Revenants - Relative Hysteria

Maxwell Davies - Naxos Quartet No 9 - Alla Marcia

The Thing - Bag It! - Mystery Song

Hidden Orchestra - Denovali Swingfest London 2014 - Overture

Loudon Wainwright III - Album II - Motel Blues

Transatlantic - P20 Elephant Talk - Black as the Sky

Feldman - Music for Cello - Two Pieces Slow

Tim Friese-Greene - 10 Sketches for Piano Trio - Untitled #1

Rodrigo Leao - A Mae - Historias

John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts - Pale Green Ghosts

Skadedyr - Kongkrabbe - Intro Linselus

Piano Circus feat. Bill Bruford - Skin and Wire - Pale Corridor

Philippe Petit & Friends - Cordophony - Onieromancy : A Dream with a View

RM Hubbert - Breaks and Bone - Son of Princess, Brother of Rambo

Christian Kjellvander - The Pitcher - The Marriner

Splashgirl - Field Day Rituals - Long Story

Trying to listen, probably failing...

Playlist
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 2

Today, commencing trying to listen to all the recent acquisitions in order of acquiring...

Not something I like doing but I probably owe it to the artists and, I suppose, to my bank balance, to at least listen to what I'm buying...

If there's a cat and if there's a basket...

At 8 this evening, to the laptop to start catching up...

One hour expended prior to "Death in Paradise", "House of Fools", "Big Bang Theory" and bed...

Highlight of the Day : Big bang...

Retrieving the pie...

Playlist
Klaus Schulze - La Vie Electronique Vol 3
The Thing - Bag It!
Various - Denovali Swingfest London 2014
The Ghosts - The End
Bell Gardens - Full Sundown Assembly
Loudon Wainwright III - Album II
Doug Tielli - Keresley
Various - P20 Elephant talk
Feldman - Music for Cello
Tim Friese-Greene - 10 Sketches for Piano Trio
Rodrigo Leao - A Mae
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts
Roxy Music - Country Life
Skadedyr - Kongkrabbe
Piano Circus feat. Bill Bruford - Skin and Wire
Philippe Petit & Friends - Cordophony
Splashgirl - Field Day Rituals
RM Hubbert - Breaks and Bone
Christian Kjellvander - The Pitcher

Last morning in London and goodbye to the hotel around 10...

..and the nearby hostelry which provided yesterday's nightcap...

A walk down towards Russell Square...

...and on, past Spanish speaking protestors...

...and the British Museum...

...and St Giles in the Fields...

...along Denmark Street - where many of my musical heroes have no doubt bought guitars...

...through to Soho...

...and Berwick St, No 32 was once the home to old chum Mark's video production company GLO, from where seminal short films for the likes of The Cure and Soft Cell emanated thirty years ago...

Back to the Record Exchange and Reckless Records and a goodly number of discs (see playlist) secured for very little outlay - certainly in comparison with what we've laid out for coffee over the last four days...

Today's venue, Flat White...

Up onto Oxford Street and the gradual walk back to Kings Cross ensued...

We liked this Danish purveyor of stuff on Tottenham Court Road...

More squares enjoyed as we passed through...

...and up to our destination...

Kings Cross...

St Pancras...

On to the train...

..and heading home...

My read was Dave Bidini's "Around the World in 57 and a Half Gigs", which name checks our old record shop as the place where he discovered Loudon Wainwright III and The Move...

As darkness fell, sleep overcame the Exec Producer - we were running around an hour late due to a suspected suicide near Hatfield...

Home around seven, after an airport bus and walk up the hill...

Then, to Alan and Penny's to retrieve The Pie, who was soon settled back in as if she'd never been away....

...although she does seem to love it at Castle Brodski...

To ripping and listening...

..while Anne caught up with things that she likes...

Trips over...

Till the next time...

Highlight of the Day : Retrieving The Pie...

No sign of the pile of bricks...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twenty Four Paintings
Maxwell Davies - Naxos Quartets
Manitoba - Up in Flames
Sparks - The Seduction of Ingmar Bergmann
Mozart - Piano Concerto No 21
The Velvet Underground - 1969

Another good breakfast and another early morning tube ride...

...this time, to the East End...

...to Brick Lane Market...

We walked the entire length in the rain, before taking a break for coffee...

..and then heading back...

Rough Trade East opened at 11...

Overall, pricey but another good music browsing experience...

An exclusive 3CD version of John Grant's "Pale Green Ghosts", Rough Trade's 2013 record of the year, was picked up for a tenner...

More investigating the various ex-industrial buildings which have been taken over by stalls...

Tasty Lithuanian and Ethiopian street food for lunch...

...before making our way back towards the tube...

We popped in next door to the Whitechapel Gallery, which had this from Documenta (13) exhibitor, Kader Attia...

Some unfathomable "wallpaper"...

...and some unfathomable film...

Back to Russell Square...

...and round to the British Museum, to dodge the incessant rain...

Packed of course, with both people and things to see...

We concentrated on the European rooms and Britain in the time of the Romans and before...

Here, Anne with the accidental head of Hadrian...

Meg made an appearance too...

...as did a couple of unknown Romans - who, of course, had no idea when sitting for their sculptors, that their heads would end up being gawped at by tourists 2,000 years later....

The Lewis Chessmen were popular...

Finally, out and down through Soho Square, with its statue of St Paul...

...and Leicester Square, with its statue of Shakespeare...

...and Trafalger Square, with its statue of, erm, a giant blue chicken...

Into the National Gallery, a quick coffee, then a look around...

This, the result of an overzealous guard, objecting to my capturing the light in the room, whilst in no way adding to it...

One of Anne's faves...

...and one of mine...

I do like the old stuff in the Sainsbury Wing...

Out around six, into the darkness...

...and back to the Tube and to Brick Lane, where every Indian restaurant seemed to have a guy outside trying to entice us in with offers of free drinks and discounts from our food bill...

In the end, we chose this one - and they were true to their word - free drinks and 25% off the food bill...

...and the food was superb...

Back along the lane, past the mosque...

...to the Tube...

...and back to Bloomsbury...

...for a night cap...

...after another busy day...

Home, to bed...

Lights out...

Highlight of the day : Brick Lane, twice...