Dressing up, not me though...

Playlist

Friedrich Gulda - Genius and Rebel

Lou Reed - The Very Best Of Lou Reed

Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu

Various Artists - Brian Eno's Favourite Albums

Taylor Swift - 1989

Kim Walker & Leonard Hokanson - Beethoven, Schumann & Brahms: Pieces for Bassoon and Piano

February gone already...

Lou Reed's supposedly worst LP on the cans..

It's not, the 20 minute closer, "Junior Dad", is one of the best things he ever did...

This evening, the dress rehearsal for the show...

Pictures taken to ensure the lighting is correctly blended with the outfits etc...

There are forty dances in this year's production...

Niece Kitty features in five in the first half and six in the second...

However, in this day and age, you cannot put up pictures on the internet of children performing (even though people will be able to see them performing over the course of almost 5 hours over the next two days)...

Oh well...

Home to find another Gulda CD behind the door...

...a jazz set from 1967...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : More sound work...

Back behind the desk...

Playlist

Herman Van Veen - Fallen oder Springen

Herman Van Veen - Kersvers

Herman Van Veen - Nu En Dan: 30 Jaar Herman Van Veen

Herman Van Veen - Je Zoenen Zijn Zoeter

Herman Van Veen - Anne

Herman Van Veen - Die Anziehungskraft der Erde

Herman Van Veen - Vandaag

The Cure - The Cure

Ibrahim Ferrer - Mi Sueño
Modern Talking - The Very Best Of
Kim Walker & Leonard Hokanson - Beethoven, Schumann & Brahms: Pieces for Bassoon and Piano
The The - 45 RPM - The Singles Of The The
Lou Reed - The Very Best Of Lou Reed
Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground - The Best of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground
Friedrich Gulda - Genius and Rebel

A couple of poles on the way down the hill...

...and why not...

The beast was about its business...

Another couple of poles on the way down the hill...

Soundtracked today by Herman Van Veen in the main...

This evening, the technical rehearsal for this year's dance show involving niece Kitty...

Back behind the desk...

Hopefully none of the children (or their parents) will see this picture, which quite obviously and blatantly infringes on that most sacred of human rights - not to appear on the internet without having firstly given permission to be in the background of a photo...

Ooops...

Getting the lights and sound right, while fine tuning the dancing...

This is my third year and the first night is always the most hard work, for me and drummer Johnny on the lights anyway...

Once we have our settings, very little will change over the course of the next three days - hopefully...

A lift home at 10pm after over 4 hours...

It'll be worth it in the end though...

Highlight of the Day : Back behind the desk...

Get it now before the price rises...

Playlist

Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden

Art Pepper - Jazz Classics

Various Artists - 70s Groove

The Sun Burns Bright - Through Dusk, Came The Light

Rex the Dog - The Kompakt Singles 2004-2018

Chic - Take It Off

Capital Models - 2019-02-24

Mozart - 2 Pianos Concerto, K.365

King Tubby - Father of Dub

Various Artists - DUB: Original Bass Culture

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Ammunition Dub Collection

Various Artists - Trojan Dub Rarities Box Set

Various Artists - Island Presents: Dub - 38 Hard and Heavy Dub Cuts 1976-1990

King Tubby - King Tubby's Special 1973-1976

Various Artists - Trojan Dub Box Set

Various Artists - Dub

Various Artists - Trojan Presents: Dub - 40 Deep and Heavy Hits 1973-1981

Sly & Robbie - Riddim: The Best of Sly & Robbie in Dub 1978-1985

Various Artists - Douglas Dance Academy 2019

Various Artists - The World Of The Small Faces And Beyond

Herman van Veen - Discography on Shuffleplay

Herman van Veen - Liederbuch

Late last night, an order - a 20 year old Talk Talk VHS video from our attic snapped up before prices rise...

A new arrival from Friedrich Gulda entertained - more to come too

And possible music for this week's podcast...

A potential trip to Zurich around my 60th birthday looked at but decided against, given it seems to be the most expensive city in Europe...

We would have hoped to have seen Herman Van Veen there...

Instead now, we may see him later in the year in Germany...

And so, by the end of 2019, I may have seen three continental stars I have admired from a far for almost 40 years - Fehlfarben last October, Udo Lindenberg in the summer, Herman in the Autumn...

We'll see...

Also prepping for work this week on niece Kitty's annual dance show...

On telly, "Shetland" remains not that great - "Holby City" was it's usual Tuesday night highlight self...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Planning a trip...

We do not know the artist, we are glad to know the music...

Playlist

Bryan Ferry - These Foolish Things

Various Artists - Capital Models Covers - The Originals

Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up

Peter, Paul and Mary - Leaving on a Jet Plane [Single]

Neil Young - Freedom

Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon

Status Quo - Gold

Lou Reed - Transformer

Roxy Music - Roxy Music

Johnny Cash - The Real Johnny Cash

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Beatles - Revolver

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Best Years Of Our Lives

The Jam - Snap!

Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes

The Beatles - 1 (2015 Remix)

Elvis Presley - The All Time Greatest Hits

Capital Models - 2019-02-24

Dream Theater - Distance Over Time

Brecker Brothers - Heavy Metal Be-Bop

Various Artists - 75 Original American Rock 'n' Roll Anthems

Various Artists - Verve/Unmixed 3

Friedrich Gulda - Mozart No End & The Paradise Band

Miles Davis - Round About Midnight (Remaster)

Rotary Connection - Black Gold:The Very Best Of

Deadmau5 - 4x4=12

Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden

Good skies this morning...

As I was about to leave the house, I realised Fang the Black Cat had been with us all night!

More goodies before he left with me...

Poor wee the wee man...

Meanwhile, Bob was sending pics of the picturesque start to his day...

A day spent listening to yesterday and then the originals of yesterday...

All the songs split into single files this evening and sent out to the boys...

"University Challenge"...

Not on fire...

Late on, news filtering through that Talk Talk's Mark Hollis had died, aged just 64...

Very sad indeed...

But we should be thankful we still have his music...

And so, that was listened to as the day came to an end...

Lowlight of the Day : Another death...

Things often sound better than they seem...

Playlist

Various Artists - 70s Groove

Various Artists - A History of the Single - The 2010s

Rotary Connection - Black Gold:The Very Best Of

Van Morrison - Blowin' Your Mind

Brahms - Piano Works

Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby (RM)

Elgar - Sacred Choral Music

Hawkwind - Epocheclipse

Various Artists - Glitterbox - Pump The Boogie

Händel - Oboe Concertos #1-3 Suite In G Minor

Haydn - Piano Trios Complete

Haydn - String Quartets (Complete)

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Various Artists - Jackie The Album Vol 2

Art Pepper - Jazz Classics

Herbert Von Karajan - Karajan Orchestral Spectaculars 1949-1960

Emerson Lake & Palmer - King Biscuit Flower Hour: Classics Live

Bryan Ferry - Let's Stick Together

Carman Mainer Martin - Music for Bassoon and Piano

Various Artists - NOW That's What I Call 30 Years

Various Artists - NOW That's What I Call Country

Lou Reed - NYC Man: The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection

Clean Bandit - Rather Be [Single]

Rodrigo - Five Orchestral Pieces

Various Artists - Soul 1962, Vol. 1

Chic - Take It Off

Elvis Presley - The All Time Greatest Hits

Carly Simon - The Best Of Carly Simon

Rex the Dog - The Kompakt Singles 2004-2018

Various Artists - The Man Who Fell To Earth

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite

The Sun Burns Bright - Through Dusk, Came The Light

Villa-Lobos - The Complete String Quartets

Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Menuhin)
Capital Models - 2019-02-24

Sunday - breakfast - in the end, I eschewed the Tomato Ketchup...

Some rehearsing acoustically and getting the equipment together, then, out to Roslin, where five new songs were added to the setlist...

All in all, it went well and was rewarded with a slither of home made Victoria Sponge...

...which accompanied discussions...

Then, to my mum's and a blether with her - still doing fine, thank goodness...

Over to Anne's mum's for the second last family tea at the house I've been visiting since early 1980...

Only six of us today, me, Anne, Jane, Keith, Maureen and Mary - an Indian takeaway and more Victoria Sponge...

Back home and a welcome visitor in the shape of Fang the Black Cat - who enjoyed some goodies before settling down in a quiet place...

After "Endeavour" I went upstairs to start with the editing of today's "tapes" - 2.5 hours, of which an hour was mucking about and chatter...

So it goes in a band...

Sounded much better than I expected...

To bed with the lads in my lugs...

Highlight of the day : Playing with the boys...

Dedication can pay off...

Playlist
Neil Young - Decade
Max Roach - The Max Roach Trio, Featuring The Legendary Hasaan Ibn Ali
Various Artists - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2019
Brecker Brothers - Heavy Metal Be-Bop
Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby (RM)
Tangerine Dream - Sessions IV
Christopher Wilson - Holborne; Robinson: Pavans & Galliards
Agricola - Chansons
Bartók - Solo Piano Works
Bach, J S - Orchestral Suites #1-4
Prokofiev - Scythian Suite & Lieutenant Kijé
Oxford Camerata - Renaissance Masterpieces
John Ogdon - Virtuoso
Various Artists - Glitterbox - Pump The Boogie
Villa-Lobos - The Complete String Quartets
Haydn - String Quartets (Complete)
Ed Sheeran - Plus
David Bowie - Space Oddity
Julie London - Julie Is Her Name, Vol. 2
Bottesini - Works for Double Bass and Piano
The Weeknd - Trilogy
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Romance
Friedrich Gulda - Mozart No End & The Paradise Band
Various Artists - 75 Original American Rock 'n' Roll Anthems
Various Artists - Billboard Top 100 1983
Various Artists - Verve/Unmixed 3
Brahms - Piano Works
Wagner - Der Fliegende Holländer
Julie London - At Home....
Various Artists - The World Of The Small Faces And Beyond
Miles Davis - Round About Midnight
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way

As usual, up early and to "work", readying the podcast for upload...

Done by 8...

So far, all these LPs have been featured in 2019...

On the Twitter, ex-Bad Plusser, Ethan Iverson, turned me on to the Brecker Brothers - an album downloaded and a CD ordered...

On the Youtube, this put things into perspective...



Hmmm...

As Freddie Mercury once sang, "Nothing really matters..."

Also, extolling the virtues of the four Tangerine Dream "Sessions" recently acquired, even if the band does have a bit of Ship of Theseus scenario going on....

Prior to going out, Anne advised of two worthwhile stories - the fact that horseflies land less on a stripey-horse which has been disguised as a zebra....

...and the story of a young boy in World War Two who, with his friends in a Sheffield park saw a US bomber fly over and thought the crew were waving to them - in reality they were trying to get the boys out of the way so that they could carry out an emergency landing on open land...

With the boys failing to understand what was going on, in order to avoid them, the plane crashed into a nearby wood and all ten crew were killed....

The boy has felt guilty about this ever since and daily tends a memorial he set up in the park...

A BBC reporter happened upon the now 80 odd year old man one day in the park and discovered his story...

This week, a fly past of UK and American aircraft took place over the park and thousands of people turned up...

Now, if that doesn't bring a tear to your eye, I don't know what would...

The full story is here...

Around 10, out on a mystery tour to take the EP for a tasty breakfast...

To Linlithgow, and Cafe Bar 1807..

Lovely coffee...

Lovely surroundings...

Tasty breakfasts...

And, next door at Oxfam, all of these for under a fiver...

To make matters "worse", this was behind the door as we arrived back around midday - the first of a few Gulda discs splurged on last week...

Some ripping and listening was undertaken...

As well as investigating online lyric generators - to little avail...

Then, again, playing through some of the songs for tomorrow...

Anne headed to Tynecastle for today's 1-1 draw with St Mirren - in Dumfries, Queens came back from 1-0 down against Alloa, only to lose to a 93rd minute goal...

Looking at my diary for 1974, on this weekend 45 years ago, i bought a few singles...

David Bowie "Rebel Rebel", Wings "Jet", Mott the Hoople "All the Young Dudes", Wings "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and a Yes 33 and 1/3rd single of "And You and I" & "Roundabout"...

I have a vivid memory of being alone in the house that night as my mum and dad were out for a drink with our neighbours at a nearby hotel...

Yes was blasting out over the sound system...

Some unsuccessful research on creating successful playlists...

Anne returned for a quick turnaround and headed out to see the BalletBoyz with Teresa...

I took the opportunity to watch "X-Men : Days of Future Past" which was quite good - my first X-Men watch...

Some sorting out of equipment for tomorrow - including mic-adaptor chat with guitarist Stu...

Then, Mr Iverson has also been banging on on the Twitter about how Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way" isn't quite as good as people say - he prefers "Round Midnight" - so I gave them both a listen - and enjoyed both...

Some more quiet singing and then Anne arrived home...

We watched for the first time, "The Greatest Dancer" - as fifteen year old, Ellie Fergusson, who dances at a school in our area of Edinburgh, won the £50,000 prize and does seem an exceptional talent...

Te same age at which I was buying singles and blasting them out in an empty house...

Her dedication has paid off...

Here she is two and a half years ago, at 12 and a half...



Next week I'll be working on the music for Niece Kitty's annual dance show...

Let's see...

To bed at 11, after a long day...

Highlight of the day : Breakfast with Anne...

Not listening to something for a while can enhance the appreciation...

Playlist

Piazzolla - Tango Ballet

Oxford Camerata - Renaissance Masterpieces

Betts - Misago

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Disquietmusik II

Betts - Tsurugatachi

Christopher Wilson - Holborne; Robinson: Pavans & Galliards

Lenny White - Adventures of Astral Pirates

Asaf Sirkis - Shepherd's Stories
Various - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2019

Listening to new stuff and my own stuff today - the "Disquietmusik" guitarscapes stand up pretty well after not having listened for a while...

To Fopp at lunchtime, via Charlotte Square...

No purchases...

In the evening, whittling down all the music listened to over the last seven days to a long list...

...then, whittling again to the final selection...



...for this week's podcast...

Recorded and ready for tomorrow..

Also, on the Tivo, a "Father Brown" entertained...

Tasty chicken for tea - shame for the chicken though, of course...

Lights out...

Highlight of the day : Finding my own music still to be good...

The nights are fair drawing out...

Playlist

Tangerine Dream - Sessions II

Tangerine Dream - Sessions I

Tangerine Dream - Sessions III

Tangerine Dream - Sessions IV

Piazzolla - Tango Ballet

Various Artists - The Front Line : Best Of

Various Artists - Island Presents: Dub - 38 Hard and Heavy Dub Cuts 1976-1990

Various Artists - Punky Reggae Selecta

Gregory Isaacs - Masterclass

Various Artists - 100 Hits Summer Reggae

The Upsetters - Africa's Blood

The Upsetters - Arkology

Various Artists - Front Line Presents Roots

Gregory Isaacs - Yesterday

Various Artists - The Story Of Blue Beat: The Birth Of Ska

Various Artists - Trojan Presents: Lovers Rock

Various Artists - Front Line Presents Dub - 40 Heavyweight Dub Sounds

The daffs in the back porch were pictured on their last day...

...as I walked out with the sounds of the most recent Tangerine Dream recordings in my ears - these are excellent and the new band continues to bring their reputation back to where it ought to be - banishing the cheese...

Dr Prog and I will see them in a few weeks in that Glasgow...

At lunchtime, down to Stockbridge...

Some purchases made for very little outlay...

Back up...

Home in the dwindling light...

In the early evening, sending setlists to the band, then, a run through of new and brought back in songs...

16 songs in 45 minutes...

It was good to play some new stuff...

A visit from Jane with the music for this year's dance show - four days next week...

And, on Bandcamp, some ambient music from Japan supported...

A message later on from the artist, Betts - he is sending me a couple of CD-Rs, which is very nice of him...

"Death in Paradise" was good this evening - much chat about reggae music - the soundtrack is usually good - one more to go...

Which means its getting lighter in the mornings and evenings...

That's it...

Highlight of the Day : Singing different songs...