Adios 2019...

Playlist

The Bad Plus - It's Hard

65daysofstatic - replicr, 2019

Loscil - Equivalents

Cloudland Blue Quartet - 2019-12-01

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

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

Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift (Deluxe Edition)

Taylor Swift - Fearless (Japanese Edition)

Long Distance Calling - Boundless

The Bad Plus - Never Stop II

Soft Machine - Hidden Details

Bryan Ferry - Olympia

Alice Cooper - Paranormal

Various Artists - The Legacy of Disco

Various Artists - 100 Hits: Boogie Nights

Max Richter - Voyager: Essential Max Richter

Up super early, lurgi related unable to sleepness being the culprit...

With time on my hands, I now put together a playlist of my "Top 50 Singles of the Decade"...

Then, I decided to create a Taylor Swift  complete singles playlist, which involved downloading 7 I didn't already have - of the total of 50 to date ...

At lunchtime, my final purchases of the year...

At the Bernardo's Pop Up shop, these for £2 each (still unplayed as I type this four days later)...

Then to Fopp, ostensibly to spend my Secret Santa token...

I spent considerably more...

A 2CD best of by Max Richter, £17...

This year's Bad Plus, £8...

A collection of rare disco, £9...

...and a book about Hearts for Anne - a fact a day...

In the afternoon, TV watched and ripping carried out...

At which point, I discovered  I'd already bought the Disco set back in March...

Idiot!

Listening comprised five more albums of the decade, coincidentally including the Bad Plus above...

This evening, around 6, the New year celebrations started...

Soundtracked by the disco collection then some of my singles of the decade then Boogie Nights...

Xmas beers were quaffed...

...and Lynn and Ross were round to assist and to enjoy Anne's been cooking all day steak as opposed to mince chilli with all the sides...

Yumtastic!

Lemon tart also enjoyed, followed by unpictured cheese and biscuits but no coffees...

Prosecco, wine and gin the staples, as we headed to the end of 2019...

We drank, nibbled and chatted into the early hours...

...as the debris of the evening piled up in the kitchen...

At 2, your correspondent having fallen asleep (what with having been up since 4:30 and all), an end to proceedings was called just after two...

Lynn and Ross set off home on a reasonably mild night, while I hit the sack, with Max Richter briefly in my ears, before drifting back into the land of nod...

Adios 2019...

Highlight of the Day : Celebrating with chums...

Listening to my albums of the decade...

Playlist

Brian Eno - Drums Between The Bells

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare

Yes - Heaven & Earth

The Physics House Band - Horizons - Rapture

65DaysOfStatic - We Were Exploding Anyway

The Bad Plus - The Rite of Spring

Bidiniband - In The Rock Hall

Brian Eno - Reflection

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress

The Bad Plus - It's Hard

Up early today and to compiling my "top fifty albums of the 2010s"...

Started listening to them...

Today, I got through the first ten - with each, the thought was "this should be higher"...

No doubt the list will be up soon but here's a pic - year order...

Down the hill, noting glimpses of Xmas...

Into town...

At lunchtime, some purchases, as we approach the end of the year...

Writing this on 3 January 2020.  I've still not listened to this one but I know it'll be good (for 50p)...

Chamber jazz from a cello led trio - nice (For £1.50)...

And a NY fusion band who aren't too fusiony but still good (for £1.50)...

Home in the dark...

Accidental picture, which, with some treatment, turned out ok...

This is what it was meant to be...

Starlightnight...

I missed the terminus and went on to the actual terminus, meaning a slightly longer walk to Crispycat Towers but one which took me past Xmas...

The beast was about its business on Crispycat Hill...

The view from the office this evening...

Another good score on "University Challenge"  and some other stuff no doubt watched too...

Plus rehearsing for 17 January...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Listening to my albums of the decade...

Compromise agreements can be good...

Playlist

Various Artists - Milano Jukeboxes 1998-2019

Various Artists - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2019

Uriah Heep - Into The Wild

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events

Morrissey - Low In High School

Kamasi Washington - The Epic

The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet

Ke$ha - Animal

Alice Cooper - Paranormal

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Best of CBQ 1997-2019 (Live Set BTs)

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentytwenty Live Set BTs

Rheostatics - Here Come The Wolves

Capital Models - 2020 Proposed Live Set

The Stooges - Fun House
Vivaldi - Concerti per Oboe, Archi e Cembalo
Various Composers - Twelve Organs of Edinburgh
Ludovico Einaudi - Echoes - The Einaudi Collection
Bach, C P E - Sinfonien
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Live Set Run Through 2019-12-29

A Sunday morning of eggs...

Fried for me, although without anything else but eggs in the pan so, basically, dropped in and heated up...

...while Anne expertly poached...

Took her along to her mum's for them to go and see Hearts actually win a point in a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen...

Meanwhile I was out at my mum's...

A lift up the hillfor Anne and her mum who was stopping by for tea...

..including steak pies I'd bought yesterday morning...

Yum...

Post giving Mary a lift home, it might well have been tonight that we finished off "The Sinner"...

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, after I'd put together a combined set of new and old CBQ stuff and run through that and it sounding good, the band seemed all to agree my covers plan - still with some element of trepidation - and so that looks like the plan now...

A set mixed together from rehearsal tapes and sent out...

So that's a reasonable end to the weekend...

Highlight of the Day :  Moving forward re the gig...

Offering a compromise can be a thing...

Playlist

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2005

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2009

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2018

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 1998

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2001

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2010

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2014

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2011

The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze: The Best Of The Isley Brothers

Fehlfarben - Die Platte Des Himmlischen Friedens

Udo Lindenberg - MTV Unplugged 2 Live vom Atlantik

Van Veen - Piano Music Volume 2

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentytwenty Live Set BTs

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Best of CBQ 1997-2019 (Live Set BTs)

Various Artists - The Big Payback

The Hollies - Butterfly

Foo Fighters - In Your Honor

At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command

The Jam - The Very Best Of The Jam

Chopin - The Complete Etudes

Prefab Sprout - A Life Of Surprises: The Best Of Prefab Sprout

Sandie Shaw - All The Hits : The Ultimate Collection

Bread - The Sound Of Bread: Their 20 Finest Songs

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

N.W.A - The Best Of N.W.A.: The Strength Of Street Knowledge

Us3 - Hand On The Torch

Capital Models - 2019-08-18

Capital Models - 2018-03-04

Capital Models - 2018-12-16

Lothar & The Hand People - This Is It, Machines

Pink Floyd - More

Keef Hartley Band - Halfbreed

The Who - Tommy

Eddie Harris - Silver Cycles

Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Keep On Moving

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II

Family - Family Entertainment

Procol Harum - A Salty Dog

John McLaughlin - Extrapolation

Richie Havens - Richard P. Havens, 1983

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears

Privilège - Privilège

Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority

Golden Earring - On the Double

Scott Walker - Scott 4

Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat

Free - Free

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I

Turina - Complete Music for Violin & Piano

Various Artists - The Jazz Collection

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Complete Original Mahavishnu Orchestra Columbia Albums Collection

Gentle Giant - Memories of Old Days - A Collection of Curios, Bootlegs, Live Tracks, Rehearsals and Demos 1975-1980

George Russell - Ezz-thetics

Jeroen Van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection Vols XXI-XXVIII

Beethoven - Overtures, Vol. 1

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

Various Artists - Country Gold

Various Artists - Christmas Motown

Various Artists - Baby Boomers Greatest Hits of 60s & 70s

Koko Taylor - What It Takes: The Chess Years

Various Artists - Milano Jukebox 2019

Various Artists - The Best Funk Album In The World...Ever!

Sommerfeldt - Fra Norsk Landskap

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Essential Jerry Lee Lewis - The Legendary Sun Recordings

Dimitri from Paris - A Night At The Playboy Mansion

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

Up early and uploading the final podcast of the year, fuelled by coffee...

Only pic of the day...

Out early too to find that the effects of the festive period so far have been slightly but understandably negative..

Anne was unwell in a migraine kind of way...

By the afternoon though, she was back to normal...

I rehearsed solo sets again and then made a compromise offer to the band to play a set of covers - the ones CBQ might play...

Tumbleweeds...

In the afternoon, Queens beat Ayr Utd 2-1 away from home with a last minute save off the line which caused a bit of a stramash thereafter apparently - win ugly, as they say...

Listening for much of the day was Xmas presents and other recently acquired but until now not listened to music...

In the evening "The Sinner" concluded via the Tivo (I think, or that might have been earlier - losing track) and new Norwegian detective show "Wisting" entertained...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Compromising...

Finally pulling the plug...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentynineteen Live V6 (2019-12-22)

Jeroen Van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection Vols XXI-XXVIII

King Crimson - The Elements - 2019 Tour Box

Gentle Giant - Memories of Old Days - A Collection of Curios, Bootlegs, Live Tracks, Rehearsals and Demos 1975-1980

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twentytwenty Live Set BTs

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Best of CBQ 1997-2019 (Live Set BTs)

Various Artists - Milano Jukeboxes 1998-2019

Back out into the dark on a cold Friday morning...

Soundtracked initially by rehearsal recordings..

Then Xmas presents...

The view from the office at lunchtime...

To the BHF but no purchases - I need to check these books against my mum's list - first Jardines seen for a good while...

Anne was out today so solo cooking, involving Quorn mince and pasta...

It's 2 January 2020 as I write this and, once again, it's amazing how quickly you forget what's happened...

However, by checking Twitter and Whatsapp and txts I can kind of pull things back together...

I finally pulled the plug on the prospect of the band playing the CBQ set on the 17th - a combination of time of the year, uncorrelated diaries, illness and Keith not even knowing what we were supposed to be doing despite it being almost a month since I sent him the tracks and songsheets finally came to a head...

So, later on, more rehearsing of solo stuff, both "across the years" and the 2020 LP...

A lift for Anne up the hill late on...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Rehearsing...