Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Ninety one...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Coldclear
Yes - Close To The Edge
Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes
Genesis - Foxtrot
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Trilogy
Uriah Heep - Magician's Birthday
Focus - Focus III
If - If 4
If - Tea Break's Over
Rzewski - Rzewski Plays Rzewski Piano Works 1975-1999
Various Composers - Vivarte 60CD Collection
Matsudaira - Bugaku Dance Suite
Bach, J S - St. John Passion (Herreweghe)
Pesson - Dispositions Furtives
The Fugs - Electromagnetic Steamboat: The Reprise Recordings
Craig Armstrong - Music for the Films of Peter Mullan
The Divine Comedy - Promenade
Various Composers - Darmstadt Aural Documents Box 4 - Pianists
Various Composers - Decca Sound : The Analogue Years 1954-1968
Die Ärzte - Wiir wollen nur deine Seele
Laurie Anderson - Walk the Dog : Live
Kaidi Tatham - An Insight To All Minds
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement (Special Edition)
Rabbitt - A Grunt and a Croak in the Night
L'Uovo di Colombo - L'Uovo di Colombo
Dallapicolla - Modern Times
Concerto Köln - Concerto Köln 10CD Box Set
Roy Brooks - Understanding (Live)
Phish - Hoist
Styx - Crash of the Crown
Pierre Monteux - Pierre Monteux Conducts Elgar & Brahms
Various Composers - The Planets & Enigma Variations
Kronos Quartet - 25 Years
Jean-Michel Jarre - The Concerts in China
Various Composers - Revelation & Fall; Tragedia
Various Composers - Year of Wonder (Vol 3: March)
Iestyn Davies - Arias For Guadagni
Carl - White Heron
Sam Baker - Mercy
Ornette Coleman - Skies Of America
Craig Armstrong - Dirt Music OST
R Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner - Make It Be
Mozart - Complete Works
Klaus Schulze - La vie électronique, Vol. 13
Die Ärzte - Bäst of
Die Ärzte - Im Schatten der Arzte
Lang - The Little Match Girl Passion
Tarwater - Donne-Moi La Main OST
Caccini - La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina
Ibert - Piano Music
Tarentel - Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun
Sanguine Hum - Now We Have Power
Craig Armstrong - Bridget Jones's Baby OST
Craig Armstrong - The One and Only Ivan OST
Frank Zappa - Zappa 88 The Last US Show
Grainger - Complete Piano Music
Tchaikovsky - Complete Ballets
Tcherepnin - Chamber Music
Strauss, R - Der Rosenkavalier
Downes Brade Association - IV Halcyon Hymns
Various Composers - Organ Concertos
Bootsy Collins - The One Giveth
Malaria! - Versus
Various Composers - Year of Wonder (Vol 9: September)
Roedelius - Selbstportrait IX: Wahre Liebe
Roy Wood - Look Thru' the Eyes of Roy Wood & Wizzard - Hits & Rarities, Brilliance & Charm... (1974-1987)
Pink Floyd - Complete BBC Sessions 1967 - 50th Anniversary Edition (Hd Remastered Edition)
Frank Zappa - Under the Covers
Craig Armstrong - Mrs Lowry & Son OST
Heller - Piano Studies Etuden Op 45, 46, 47
Steffen Schleiermacher - Soviet Avant Garde 2
Various Artists - From Brussels With Love
Various Composers - Music From The Era of Pieter Bruegel The Elder Vol 1
St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
Die Ärzte - Live Die Nacht der Dämonen
King Crimson - Meltdown : Live in Mexico City
Peter Serkin - The Ocean That Has No West and No East
David Cassidy - Dreams Are Nuthin' More Than Wishes
Peter Serkin - Webern & Takemitsu
Craig Armstrong - Burnt Orange Heresy OST
Roy Harper - Descendant of Smith
Jethro Tull - A La Mode (Steven Wilson Stereo Remix)
Sex Pistols - Indecent Exposure
Squid - Bright Green Field
Christ Church Cathedral Choir - English Choral Music (1514-1682)
The Church - Shriek OST
Fee Waybill - Fee Waybill Rides Again

Morning Tuesday morning…

In 1930, today was the fifth Sunday in August. My mum turns 91 today. Without her, no new CBQ ambient LP this Friday. Yes, she bears responsibility. Happy Birthday mum…

And, as usual on her birthday, August is away...


Over the last 48 hours, it's become very apparent that you really have to be in the right mood to actively enjoy the output of the best Italian prog bands of the 1970's...

Up early and to work...


...which included prepping mum's card...


...under grey skies...


..and above a tidy garden...


Downstairs, one more fly to be let out...


The soundtrack today was no Italian prog, my upcoming LP, 1972 and the shortest tracks of those which have entered the collection in 2021 so far and which have not yet been listened to...

My system tells me I've not listened to 19,000 tracks from the almost 1,500 items acquired in the first 8 months of 2021 (almost 18 twenty four hour days of music).

I played a goodly chunk of the 400 tracks that last under a minute - had I gotten through them all, that would have taken almost 5 hours...

Perhaps my library is too big?

Nah...

Breakfast...



Eggs on toast...


Around mid-day, a break from WFH and a quick trip out to wih Happy Birthday to an old lady...


...who enjoys fresh cream bramble apple turnovers...


...but who does not like to open her blinds as she thinks people will see in, despite this proof that a massive tree and, notwithstanding that, the built in tnting of normal windows...


...precludes any such situation...


Back home to more WFH...

In the evening, it was Tuesday and so, "Holby City entertained...

That was, most probably, it...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Mum being well on her birthday for the first time since 2018...

Monday, August 30, 2021

No complaining...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet/Tim Webb - Smiling At Grief (Single)
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Then Again, I Haven't Got Much Time (Single)
Cervello - Melos
Alusa Fallax - Intorno alla mia cattiva educazione
Neal Morse Band - Innocence and Danger
Marshall Hain - Free Ride
J.E.T. - Fede speranza e carità
Jumbo - DNA
Animals As Leaders - The Madness Of Many
Martha Wainwright - Love Will Be Reborn
Trifecta - Fragments
Lorde - Solar Power
Orrin Evans - The Magic of Now
Sanguine Hum - A Trace Of Memory
Alex Ward - Gated
Cage - Number Pieces
Neal Morse Band - Innocence and Danger
Toyah - Posh Pop
TesseracT - Portals
Son Lux - Tomorrows III
Fragile - Golden Fragments
The Physics House Band - Metropolis
Various Artists - We Were So Turned On
Various Artists - Last 35 Days Unplayed on Shuffle

Into another week and more WFH...

Soundtracked, mostly, by Italian prog and other new stuff into the collection...

It's funny how working "not FH" is perfectly acceptable, while WFH seems like an encroachment into my time, which I could be spending doing something "more worthwhile" (but far less lucrative)...

Still, there comes a point when you probably have enough money to keep you going for the rest of your possible days...

I think we maybe approaching that point...

Anyway, up late...


Chum Gaz is having a tough, tough time - he was diagnosed with Leukemia and is in hospital for a month undergoing his first bout of chemo...

He seems to be doing not too bad but has shaved his head...

I sent him this to cheer him up, by showing him he still looks better than me...


It  probably did not cheer him up...

Baked potato for tea... 


And we did pretty well on "University Challenge" - we regularly now score over 100 points, usually in the region of 115-125, which can often put us second...

Of course, we don't restrict our 5 point successes to those questions which follow a 10 pointer we have answered correctly...

But...

Who cares...

The second part of "Vigil" also entertained...

That was it...

Mondays eh?

I cannot, however, complain...

Highlight of the Day : Trying to cheer Gaz up re his baldness...

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Italian prog discovery...

Playlist
Various Composers - World Sleep Day
Lee Scratch Perry - Reggae Greats
Sparks - Number One in Heaven (Extended Version)
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Storia Di Un Minuto
Gordon Beck - Sunbird
T Rex - The Slider
Focus - Focus III
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico
Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido
T Rex - The Slider
Sun Ra - Space Is The Place
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Battle Axe
George Benson - White Rabbit
Wallenstein - Blitzkrieg
Jumbo - DNA
Area - Arbeit Macht Frei
Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
De De Lind - Io non so da dove vengo... 

Sunday and up and to it...


But to what?

I don't recall...

I am now 10 days into the future as I write this...

Let's see...

Obviously struggling for my "morning quartet" of pics...






Out for the shopping - I think I went solo today, noting this beauty hanging on in the garden......


Home for a salmon and egg based breakfast...


Then, some work upstairs as Anne and neighbour, Pietro, tacked the big tree...





In the afternoon, out to my mum's with her shopping...


...including new flowers...


She will be 91 on Tuesday....

Back home an unwelcome visitor...


...and a welcome visitor...


And..,

Mmm...

Fishcakes with...

Mmmm...

Beans...


Then, to trying to edit together, from all the different versions we have of Capital Models "doing" Sparks' "Number One Song in Heaven", to create the newly arranged version we are yet to play...



It doid not go well and, in the end, I recorded a voice and acoustic guitar version to send round the team...

Much simpler...

Also today, I downloaded and inordinate amount of Italian Prog...


These are the top 21 albums (only 1 by each group allowed) according to the site, www.italianprog.com.  I only had three of these prior to today - so 18 LPs of new stuff...

This is how I fritter my time away....

On telly, a good new thing "Vigil", which will continue tomorrow...

Weekend over...

Highlight of the Day : Italian prog discovery...

Saturday, August 28, 2021

A Walk on the hill...

Playlist
Elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders
Love Cars - I'm Freinds Wiht All Stars
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Dissolution
Sparks - Number One in Heaven (Extended Version)
Chris Speed & Yeah No - Swell henry
Chris Speed - Lanacal
Ben Monder - Hydra
Capital Models - 22/08/21
Lorde - Solar Power
Son Lux - Tomorrows III
Son Lux - Tomorrows II
Various Artists - Cloudland Blue Eclectic Selection 2021 Vol 35
Various - 7" Singles

Saturday...

Despite last night, up surprisingly early, but no podcast to finish off toady - just the uploading...


The sun was not quite up yet...




Uploading of the new LP continued...


...and the podcast was issued to the world...


Egg based breakfast for me...


Late morning, these arrived - new boxes for what remains of my (and sister Pam's) 7" singles collection...


It will go here and the majority of these cook and travel books will go to charity...


Before all that though, a walk with the EP...

We were waylaid a little in the garden, by a good butterfly...





...and then, up the hill...






..to the top...


...for a seat, a rest and a view...







Our return route took us through the woods...



So good to have this very large "garden" near our home...

A "thing" was spotted and recorded...


Home...


...and box building...


...and filling...


Last night, chum Sarah advised (although only 25) that Dr Hook and Roxy Music was her "jam"...

I bought this in 1972...


...when she was around minus 24... 


Boxes filled...



A break for tea - a tasty curry from the Delta, including a Vegetable Sambar for me, despite the calling forth of the Trumpets of Satan last time I had this...



Later, some 7"ers were given a wee spin...




Jo Jo Gunne...



Kraftwerk...


The Kingsmen...




Martha and the Muffins...


A tasty and, indeed, quite jazzy Monkees B Side...


Mott the Hoople...






PFM...





All form the J-P box...

Also today, the Ten Titans of Prog were declared on the Twitter...





..as you do...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : A Walk on the hill...