It's a miracle, but may still go to buggery again...

Playlist

And adios July - already!

According to my "Playlist" pictures, which start each entry here, and my "Today's New Music" pictures which close off each entry here, during the month, I added 217 albums to the library and listened to (at least one track from) 622 LPs...

Anyway, to the writing and maintenance of this and to downloading new things for New Music Friday...

Best of the day was of course the Gentle Giant remix of "In a Glass House"...

And Tiger Bear Wolf was a good new discovery...

Also this morning, while sampling new entries into the collection, miracle of miracles - I noticed that, for some unknown reason, the problem with sound from the laptop seems to have completely disappeared re the constant interference whenever I'm online...

I cannot believe it!

After almost 6 months of nightmarish sound issues - just like that...

To illustrate how it affected my listening, in July, via my laptop, I listened to just 195 tracks across 105 LPs - 6 tracks a day on average...

Last July, I listened to over 3 times that amount of music via the laptop - 634 tracks across 198 LPs - an average of 20 tracks a day...

Of course, now that I've written about the miraculous recovery here, I am just waiting on it going to buggery again!

Anyway, breakfast...

Then, Anne off to Zumba...

Some last minute work for today's band session then, loaded the car and drove out to Roslin...

Johnny B was leading the day with his ideas (as noted here yesterday) re our second "Dylan" session...

We opened with a blast through "A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall" - first time since playing it live, back in March...

Then, trying different things on new songs "If Not For You", "Mr Tambourine Man", "All Along the Watchtower" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"...

Of the songs we played last time, we also tried out new ideas on "Desolation Row" and "Highway 61 Revisited" and some honing of "Like a Rolling Stone"...

And, to close, we played through a 9 minute debut take of "Hurricane"...

Very enjoyable...

At 12:30, headed home...

Unpacked the gear, then, Anne took me down the hill for a bus into town to meet up with Gaz, Bernie, Willie and Craig at La Casa, for enjoyable chat, drinks and a tasty 3 course lunch...

Starters were Mussels (which I took)...

...and Meatballs...

Mains were, fish of the day, Sea Bass, in a tomato sauce with frites for 3 of us, the others opting for (unpictured) chicken in a lemon sauce, again with frites...

Desserts were the Spanish version of Creme Brulee and (again unpictured) Tira Misu...

Then, with Bernie saying goodbye, the remaining quartet went to Platform 5 at Haymarket for more drinks...

By 6:45 only me and Gaz remained...

45 minutes later, I was on the bus home, for some "Bones" and some listening...

A good day, all told...

Highlight of the Day: Lunch with chums and new Dylan work...No, wait, it has to be the laptop sound being sorted - even if I have absolutely no idea how it happened!!

Today's New Music:

Back to what passes for normal...

Playlist

After 10 and a half long weeks, today...

...things in the house would finally be back to what passes for normal...

First though, writing this, breakfasting and then updating the book of CDs...

21 years ago today I bought this...

According to my Red Books of CDs I own, I've bought 9,131 CDs since...

434 a year, 36 a month, 1.2 a day (on average)...

Hmmm...

And suggestions into the band WhatsApp group chat from JB re tomorrow's session...

"Desolation Row - Use maj7 chords, make it dreamy sounding, only 3 verses used. As breaks we use the Sun King coda from the Beatles Abbey Road.

Knocking on heavens door - done in a light reggae style.

Highway 61 done in a bluesy style using a Superstition kind of riff all the way. Maybe just do 3 verses. 

All along the watchtower, Hendrix version but with a jazzy lilt.

Like a Rolling Stone - pretty much straight but with  the piano part a little different on the chorus (will explain).

If not for you - done straight and poppy. 

Mr tambourine man - Byrd's version, again maybe lose a verse or two."

Should be interesting...

Anyway, a man arrived, with some underlay and some carpet and some tools...

Printing paper was used to even up a small section of the floorboards and then off he went on his task...

I was"trapped" in the laptop room, listening to 100 great LPs which are now 50 years old (on shuffleplay - see playlist above for the 40 or so I sampled)...

Outside, I spied a man walking a cat on a lead...

Around noon, it was done...

Lovely...

Over lunch we started new to us thing "I, Jack Wright"...

...which was found to be very good - in all 4 of the 6 episodes watched...

Some late afternoon reading in the back room...

Then, to "helping" Anne in the kitchen...

Yowsah!

After that tasty tea, back to "I Jack Wright" and we finished it off...

So, the whole thing in one day...

A day, which I ended back in the back room, enjoying 2 LPs...

Around this time 50 years ago, as pictured here a couple of days ago, I was on a school exchange to a little town in Germany, where I bought this very record - Mick Ronson’s 2nd solo album, “Play Don’t Worry”, a favourite ever since…

“White Light/White Heat” (rescued from the Pin Ups sessions) is the final appearance on record of the “Aladdin Sane”/“Pin Ups” Spiders from Mars line up of Ronson, Bolder, Garson and Dunbar…

Then, the day closed with one of my fave LPs - indeed one of the best LPs of “all time” (yep, even counting everything that’s going to be released between now and when the eventually Sun explodes)…

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day: House back to normal...

Today's New Music:

Unheard of and difficult can be just the ticket...

Playlist

Up and writing this...

...and thinking about my amplifier situation...

...as you do...

Middle of the week...

Breakfast...

...then, with Anne set to be Zumba-ing in the morning and Pickleballing in the afternoon, it was off down the hill for me...

...for a bus to Glasgow...

...because, why not?

Embarked around 9:30...

...for a journey spent listening...

Mike Oldfield, Joe Bonamassa, Neal Morse and Pink Floyd soundtracking...

...and arrived around 10:30...

Upon alighting and starting my walkabout, I realised there was a problem with my left boot...

New, comfortable shoes acquired...

And, sadly, old boots left in a Glasgow street bin...

Then, soundtracked by Roger Waters, Francoise Hardy and Isaac Hayes, I jumped on a 6A to Byres Road...

...arriving around 11:30...

Made my usual trawl around the shops, finding nothing until I got to the Oxfam shop just before noon...

There was new classical input...

I instigated a classical output...

Then, a Subway for lunch and a walk back to the bus around 12:45...

Back to the bus station for the 1:15 home...

The clocks on the buses are always an hour behind, it seems...

The new shoes had performed well...

The return journey featured Cockney Rebel and Focus...

Home, for listening and, later, ripping of today's acquisitions...

An eclectic collection of, mostly, unheard of/difficult classical music...

...which was just the ticket...

Prawn pasta for tea and...

...later on, we finished the 3rd and last currently available season of "Death Inc" and also enjoyed a couple of "Bones"...

Highlight of the Day: Trip to the Weedge...

Today's New Music: