Anteaters...

Playlist
Various – Tapes from the Attic

A beautiful day today and, once again, Charlotte Square is being prepped for the annual Book Festival...

I usually take a look round at some point but it holds little of any real interest for me...

This was the scene early morning...





And you cab see how much work has been done by tea-time as I walked past again, this time on the way home...





Seagulls were hogging the road as I walked up from the bus – I suspect they were snacking on ants...

By the time I got the camera out though, I had accidentally scared most of them away...



After being "on fire" during "University Challenge", spent most of the night working on editing and mastering tracks for the new anthology project – other than a brief visit to the Living Room to watch the second episode of Irish “Taggart”–like nonsense, “Proof”...

That’s about it...

Highlight of the Day : Old music rediscovered…

Lovely warm plums...

Playlist
Various – Tapes from the Attic

Up at 6:30 and to the PC for a couple more hours work on an anthology type thang which has been taking a reasonable amount of my time lately but which must be finished this week…

Three hours in, and old chum Jim Park arrived for some more recording for his Fringe Show, “The Silence of the Trams”…



Today we were working on the opening announcement and the between act links – in all we probably produced just under three minute of material, starting post breakfast at around 10:30 and finishing close to 2pm…

As a reward for the work done on Thursday and today (plus any further tweaks that may be required once the material has been set before the public), Jim very kindly took Anne and I into town to David Bann, the vegetarian restaurant owned by said David, an erstwhile five-a-side football colleague of Jim and I…

After parking, we strolled up to St Mary’s Street – where I used to live and where Anne and my’s first record shop was...

We passed two guys doing body-popping in the street to the quietest ever boombox – so quiet, you couldn’t hear the music until you were right beside them – as a consequence they looked like idiots...



Unlike the street dancing, the food at David Bann was superb, Brioche with spinach, shallot and poached egg for Jim and I to start, with a marinated vegetable and goats’ cheese salad for Anne, followed by a very tasty mushroom, broad bean and cashew curry for all three of us…

Desserts comprised warm plum and pineapple with coconut creamed rice for me...



...steamed rhubarb pudding for Jim and Scottish strawberry pannacotta for Anne...



...all nicely complimented by a bottle of 2008 Viognier, Trivento Tribu from Argentina …

It was a very pleasant surprise indeed to be joined later on by Jim’s sister Ann and by Ann’s, the Exec Producer’s and my old college classmate Karel and her partner David, through from Glasgow and staying with Ann for the week, with Ann herself back for a short stay from her home in Paris…

Much jollity and hilarity was enjoyed around the table before we emerged into the bright sunshine to take some commemorative snaps…

l-r Anne, Karel, CBQ, Ann, Jim, David

Jim then drove us home and, despite the beautiful weather outside, I went back to the first project of the day and, by 8:30 had finally completed the edits and reworkings on the content of this special six CD set…

All that remains is to create the actual discs and packaging – no pressure…

Prior to a couple of old day-rounding-off episodes of “Have I Got News For You” on Dave, I joined Anne in the living room for the documentary “Man on Wire”, regarding an amazing feat which only one man has ever, and can now ever accomplish – walking a high wire strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York…

Unbelievable…

Everything I do is rubbish compared to that…

Oh well – onwards and upwards…

Highlight of the Day : Old friends…

QVQ...

Playlist
Alice Peacock – Love Remains
Various - 150 Tracks by 50 Artists (MP3 CD)
Various – Motown Chartbusters Vol 7
Charles Mingus – Blues and Roots

Breakfast at home, to the delightful sounds of Alice Peacock, before setting off for Glasgow around 10:30 am, soundtracked by my 150 track MP3 CD of three tracks each by my top fifty artists...

Parked at Mount Florida an hour or so later...



...and took the train into Central Station...





In Fopp, CDs were purchased – Charlie Mingus and a Tamla Motwon compilation – several others were put back – there was a similar King Crimson display to that in Edinburgh...



I have them all now...

Round the corner to missing and, again, CDs were carried around only, in the end, to be left in situ – three by The Decemberists and the Pretty Things’ classic, “SF Sorrow”...

My sole purchase was a Kraftwerk related disc, a present for an upcoming birthday...

Met up with Anne for lunch at Chopsticks Noodle Bar – very tasty indeed and economical too...

Then back to the station and to Hampden for today’s CIS Cup tie between Queen’s Ppark and Queen of the South...

Within 12 minutes QoS were 3-0 up and, really, it was all over...



It took until late in the game however for QoS to add a fourth, shortly after which Queen’s Park got a well deserved consolation goal – 4-1 for the Doonhamers...

Back to the car and home to the sounds of Motor City, stopping off at Tesco for a quick shop re this evening’s dinner...

Re-watched Queens’ win over Aberdeen in April last year – what a difference to today, when only around 1,800 people were at the National Stadium – still, we can say we’ve seen our team score 10 goals at Hampden in the last 16 months...

Last night’s TV entertained – “Mock the Week”, “Reaper” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” before it was off to bed with Charlie Mingus on the cans...

Highlight of the Day : Queens win at Hampden again...

A car pulls out of Marianna...

Playlist
Soft Cell – Non Stop Erotic Cabaret
Soft Cell – Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing
Soft Cell – The Art of Falling Apart
Disco Complex – Attic Tapes
Bryan Adams - 11
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
Isaac Hayes - The Man

Selecting Soft Cell on the jukebox this morning, spurred on by the most entertaining remix album last night, I’d forgotten just how good they were in their heyday...

Lunch today with excellent colleague Margaret and chums Nick and Kenny from a rather large Dutch corporation...

Home through the rain, still soundtracked by Messrs Almond and Ball...

Exec Producer was over in Fife on a “works night out”...

Spent the evening trawling through all the tapes I could find in the attic of the group Disco Complex which existed from 1982 to 1983 and featured me, the Exec Producer, Count Brodski, George Coleman, Kenny MacLeod (who went on to form Sugar Bullet)and Mr Keith Apter...



The first four named started out as an electronic “covers” band in the Spring of 1982 playing tunes by the likes of Petula Clark, David Bowie, David Essex, Gary Glitter, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, Magazine and the Beatles and the Ronettes then, during the Summer of that year we started writing our own material...

Towards the end of the year we added Kenny and Keith to expand the sound palette...

I am still in contact with them all, save Kenny, who’s not been seen for a good number of years – as I type, he’s singing a version of a song “All I Ask” – I’d completely forgotten he replaced me as lead vocalist on that one after he joined the band...

Unfortunately, some of the live percussion (that not being played by Keith Apter) which is accompanying the drum machine, is not quite on the mark and, possibly, too close to the microphone – it was all recorded live in my bedroom out at my mum’s house in Loanhead...

Hah – now here’s me trying to sing Kenny’s song “Righteous” – making not too bad a job of it but when Kenny comes in on the chorus it’s obvious how much better his voice is than mine...

Eventually we drifted apart and Brodski continued to work with Kenny on the initial stages of Sugar Bullet but, unlike Kenny, he never made it as far as being signed to Virgin from 1990-1992 – he continued on projects with me from1984-1986 in Love Parade and The Dancers of San Martino...

The period 1986 to 1991 however is known to me and the Exec Producer as “Brodski – The Wilderness Years” as the (then) ginger headed one disappeared off the radar for five years only to be bumped into again in the Summer of 1991 (n.b. these dates may well be completely wrong)...

Now I’ve found a much worn tape of our last song ideas from February/March 1983 – by which time we were down to just me, Kenny and Brodski - I don’t remember any of these tunes (bar one which turned up in 1987 on one of my albums and one which sounds like a Love Parade song from the year after) - not much is salvageable – and I suspect no-one will ever hear this but me – why would they want to anyway?

Bloody hell – there’s some stuff on side two and the first thing is a song which I thought Brodski and I wrote between us in 1984 – it’s clearly an idea we worked on with Kenny and later brought to fruition ourselves...

Just one tape left after this – the final Disco Complex album “Collonades”, a cobbled together effort released before the afore mentioned demos petered out and signalled the end of the band...
Just received an e-mail from Moira of Lex & Moira fame advising Mars will be as large in the night sky as the moon during August...



Sorry but it's a hoax - Moira's an awful one for hoaxes...

Now awaiting the phone call to collect my better half...

Update - Mission Accomplished and Bryan Adams and The Mars Volta added to the day's playlist...

Off to bed with Isaac Hayes in my head...

Highlight of the Day : Hearing Kenny singing one of my songs again...

Targeting beyond 2032...

Playlist
Various – Cagliari Playlist on Shuffleplay
Soft Cell – Heat : The Remixes
The Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath

Aaargh...

More from Fopp...

A 2CD remix album by Soft Cell...

The Mars Volta’s “The Bedlam in Goliath” from a couple of years back...

Bryan Adams’ “11” (with the Exec Producer in mind)...



The EP has been researching my family tree recently and is now back as far as seven generations into the past on my dad’s side...

Today we discovered that the day I was born was smack bang on the 144th anniversary of the birth of my great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Reilly on 4th May 1815...

The lads in question from his father to me are:-

Name (DoB-DoD) Longevity
John Reilly (????-????) (Not yet known)
Thomas Reilly (1815-pre1911) Died Younger than 96
Jonas Reilly (1855-1911) Died at 56
Thomas Reilly (1878-Post 1914) Died older than 36
Thomas Reilly (1899-1967) Died at 68
Douglas Reilly (1930-2003) Died at 73
Me (1959-????)

Interesting to see if I get beyond 73 then – that’ll be 2032...

This particular male line will die with me since I have no kids...

But at least I get to live like a teenager for my whole life (a teenager who isn't a parent that is)....

And also from the EP this evening, via the kitchen, a very tasty indeed Red Thai Chicken Curry...

Mmm, mmm...

Then, up into the attic and digging out more old tapes...

There are boxes full of them up there...

Around 8, a knock at the door signalled the arrival of one of my oldest chums (yes he’s over 50 – boom, boom) Mr Jim Park and one of his three co-stars of this year’s Fringe show “The Silence of the Trams”, Mr Gordon Alexander...

They’re doing 24 shows at The Stand starting 3 August...

We spent around three hours working on a three and a half minute intro piece for the run...

It all went swimmingly and, if the show itself is as funny as the monologue recorded tonight, it’ll be very funny indeed...

Of course, in all the excitement, I forgot to take a photo – so, instead, here’s one of the sky first thing this morning...



Off to bed in the company of Soft cell and The Mars Volta....

Highlight of the Day : Making film soundtracks...

The children of heaven...

Playlist
King Crimson - Heavy ConstruKction
Dar Williams - Promised Land
Love Parade - Six Pieces
Reilly/Brodie/Gajewski - Demos May 1993
Haystacks Balboa - Haystacks Balboa
Velvett Fogg - Velvett Fogg

Now I've probably already mentioned FOPP is part of HMV...

Today I popped into HMV at lunchtime and all the Crimson stuff I saw yesterday at FOPP for £5-£7 is £10-£14...

A single highlights disc of the 3CD box set I bought yesterday for £2 by Gershwin was £16...

Weird...

Tonight from the Exec Producer, a most excellent pork and chilli sausage and onion casserole with the best gravy in the world...ever! plus mash and broccoli...

Tasty!

In the attic I found some long lost tapes of me and Count Brodski back in the day - so of course I spent some time transferring them to digital...

Whilst doing so, during a surf, I found an MP3 download of a vinyl rip of this LP...



Haystacks Balboa for it is they - I bought this in Woolies on Lothian Road in 1973 for 50p - today it's going for over £75 on e-bay...

It's not the greatest LP I've ever heard but it's good to have it back in the collection...

Highlight of the Day : Anne's new gravy recipe...

In the court...

Playlist
Various - Albums from the Mojo Collection
Robert Fripp - Exposure
King Crimson - Level Five
Gershwin - Porgy & Bess
R Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos
Travis & Fripp - Thread
King Crimson - Live in London 1996

If you're an avid collector of music like me, you'll probably have had that dream where you go into a record shop and you find loads of albums by your favourite artist that you've never seen before...

OK well it wasn't quite like that today but, look what I found on entering the Kingdom of Fopp...



Must be a wee bit shaky because I was so excited - a whole display featuring around 40 King Crimson and related titles...

It was a case of "got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got..." etc until around half way down where the wee voice in my head said "not got, not got..."

And so it was that four CDs (two of them 2CD sets) made their way into the collection - of course I already had "Exposure" but not the recent 2CD version - and the copy of "Level Five" I already had was one burnt from downloads with a home made cover...



As you'll see, there were more bargains to be had upstairs - a Gershwin 3CD set and a R Strauss 2CD set for just £2 each...

Aargh!

Elsewhere, a mail from old chum and comedian Jim Park - we will soon record his intro for this year's Fringe Show "The Silence of the Trams" - the intro for last year's "No Comedy for Old Men" was recorded a year ago tonight...

Back home to some lovely chilli from the Exec Producer followed by first in a new 4 parter of "Proof", then listeninmg to the new arrivals...

Noted today also that the footie career is almost definitely over...

Running, very slowly I might add, for around 20 yards for a bus scuppered my right knee...

Possible era ending scenario...

Great difficulty in getting off to sleep re the arm too...

What a wreck...

Highlight of the Day : Fopp's Crimso display...

Cut ka...

Playlist
Various – Albums Listed in the Mojo Collection 1946-2003
Mahavishnu Project – Phase 2
Schnittke – Complete String Quartets

Mondays eh?

Rubbish mostly...

Little time today to listen to my latest playlist based on the albums I have which are featured in the “Mojo Collection”, a recommended reference book of subjectively “good” LPs from 1946 to 2003, totally unrated other than being included of course; and listed, rather tastily, in a purely chronological fashion...

So, yes, rubbish mostly...

Mind you, I was on fire for tonight’s “University Challenge”...

Stumbled across a Mahavishnu Orchestra related release in my German Chum’s MP3 player (of which he kindly gave me a copy last year when he visited) whilst trawling through the external hard drives...

Reading a review on Amazon led me to the string quartets of Arnold Schoenberg...

Whilst obtaining the set for a listen, I noticed they nestled next to Alfred Schnittke’s Complete Quartets...

And so a rubbish day turned to delight with the hard going/difficult sound of Mr S’s strings in my lugs and a nice cup of tea and a hob-nob (eaten pre pic-take)...



Lovely...

Ended the day with the film "Rock Star", loosely based on the Judas Priest scenario where a major rock group plucks the singer of a tribute band from obscurity to be their replacement singer - a bit like the current situation at Yes headquarters - although I doubt the boys from Yes partake of such wanton hedonism as was depicted in the film...

Not bad - not great though - rubbish mostly...

Highlight of the Day : Music by chance...

Caveats aplenty...

Playlist
Various – Albums of 1973
Love Parade – Half the Civilised World
The Dancers of San Martino – 1915
The Dancers of San Martino – Adagio
Sombre Reptiles – Kernelkrux
Boom! – Faithful/Rockall
Sombre Reptiles – Starcrossfix
Creek – Full Discography
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Callingstill
Various – A Different Kettle of Fish
Crazy Wisdom – The Reptile Tapes
Boom! – Pop Culture
Crazy Wisdom – We Live the Foreigner’s Life
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Livedovehawk
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Doveloveshawk
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Songs of the Sombre Reptiles Vol 5
CBQ & Creek – Live at the Café Royal 2004
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Soundingfall

Worked during free time today (from 6:40) on a new wee project featuring one of my chums...

Much enjoyable music and many enjoyable memories brought back...

Drove out to my mum’s and, from there, on to Nephew Andy’s new home with fiancé Tori – his son Kerr was also there, as was Andy's mum, sister Sheila (not pictured)...

Caveats re the pics...

1. This is not the best ever pic of Tori (sorry Tori)...
2. They have just moved in and the decor is to the taste of the previous occupant...

Young love...



Father and son...



For regular reader, sister Pam, here's the latest of our Mum with her wee friend, Sheila's smelly but nice wee dog, Ben (other dog, Smudge, not pictured)...



A lovely meal featuring bang bang chicken and home made chocolate cake was enjoyed by all...

I made the mistake of forgetting about my painful post-op shoulder and, foolishly, attempted to lift the wee lad onto a chair, almost dropping him and causing myself some excruciating pain...

Owya!

My latest LP soundtracked part of the afternoon and was deemed by my mum to be “quite good background music”...

Great...

Andy was impressed though, so that’s the main thing and we will work soon, I hope, on some remixes and, perhaps, some new material and, possibly, some live appearances...

Back home to The Pie (much better than any dog!)...



...and the new wee project continued into the night and was listened to whilst, rather more quickly than usual, typing up the last four days...

Highlight of the Day : An old chum’s musical prowess...

Stretching out...

Playlist
Puccini – Heroines
Various – 10 CD Celebratory Set
Deus – Vantage Point
Various – Albums from 1973

Up around nine, not feeling my best...

Went to work on the currently being compiled and mastered 10 CD celebratory set...

Decided against driving down to Dumfries for Queens’ first competitive game of the season, the Alba Cup versus Livingston...

Queens won 1-0 though – yaroo!

Next week, we return to Hampden to see them play Queens Park in the CIS Cup...

Watched too much TV – “Law & Order Criminal Intent”, “Mock the Week”, “Total Wipeout”, “Live at the Apollo with Michael McIntyre and Rich Hall” and taped a film “Deep Impact” for my own future viewing, Anne not being a Sci Fi fan...

Also watched a film we taped over two years ago, “About Schmidt” with Jack Nicholson – gentle, moving, enjoyable...

Did not venture forth other than to purchase a lottery ticket (no numbers) and an Indian takeaway treat...

Ended the day feeling fat...

One of the reasons I love cats is because they spend their day doing things like this...



Highlight of the Day : Queens winning...

Ran and, indeed, dan...

Playlist
Various – Albums from 1973

So, what happened today...

Well I went to FOPP yet again and, this time, bought “Big Star Story” by Big Star...

Didn’t get a chance to listen to it though, as I was out on the ran dan for the first time in a while and got rather the worse for wear with chums Gaz, Kris with a K, Keith and Scott...



We were joined later on by Anne and Chris with a Ch and further drinking ensued...

Your correspondent was advised the next day by the Exec Producer of many things said and many things done which seemed to have been wiped from his mind...

In addition, a perfectly good umbrella was mislaid...

Worse for wear...

Oh dear...

Highlight of the Day : Ran and, indeed, dan...

Demon's eye...

Playlist
Various – Albums from 1972
Deus – Vantage Point
Gong - Camembert Electrique
Faust - Faust IV
Trace - Trace
Impossible Songs - Intermittent Stimuli
Secret Machines - Secret Machines
Lambchop - OH (Ohio)
Lee Morgan - Lee Morgan Volume 2 : Sextet
Art Pepper - Four Classic Albums
Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack
The Stills - Without Feathers
Sandro Ivo Bartoli - Fugitives
Alice Peacock - Love Remains
Elgar – Enigma Variations
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Deus - Vantage Point
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Dvorak - Symphonic Poems & Overtures

So, what happened today...

Well I went to FOPP yet again and, this time, bought CDs by excellent Belgian outfit Deus (my first by them) and from blues rock type duo the Black Keys...

Also picked up a 3CD set by Dvorak for good measure...

Anne was out up town with Lynn and I took the opportunity to update the Cloudland Podcasts site – it’s in the links, can’t be bothered linking here as no-one seems that interested in hearing the music I buy...

Drove into town with some difficulty re the shoulder and picked the girls up to bring them home...

Other than Meg the Black Cat behaving like a demon...



...that was about it...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : New bands...

Long distance cookaround...

Playlist

Various Composers – Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World

Gentle Giant – Acquiring the Taste

Jethro Tull – Aqualung

Isaac Hayes – Black Moses

Joni Mitchell - Blue

Grand Funk Railroad – E Pluribus Funk

Electric Light Orchestra – ELO I

Deep Purple – Fireball

Lindisfarne – Fog on the Tyne

Yes – Fragile

David Bowie – Hunky Dory

John Lennon – Imagine

Hawkwind – In Search of Space

King Crimson – Islands

Alice Cooper – Killer

Led Zeppelin – IV

Uriah Heep – Look at Yourself

Alice Cooper – Love it to Death

McDonald & Giles - McDonald & Giles

The Move – Message from the country

Genesis – Nursery Cryme

Paul McCartney - Ram

Uriah Heep – Salisbury

Isaac Hayes – Shaft

Roy Harper – Stormcock

Grand Funk Railroad – Survival

Emerson Lake & Palmer – Tarkus

David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World

Faust – Faust IV

Laura Pausini – Primavera in Anticipo

Hardline – Double Eclipse

King Crimson – The Acceptable Face of King Crimson

The National – Alligator

The National – Sad Songs for Dirty lovers

Symphony X – Twilight in Olympus

Stratovarius – Diamonds

Vanden Plas – The God Thing

Seventh Key – The Raging Fire

Yes – The Word is Live

Tangerine Dream – Alpha Centauri

Pink Floyd – Meddle

Yes – The Yes Album

Not much happened uptown today other than it poured with rain and I listened to music from 1971...

Back home, the Exec Producer was on top form in the kitchen – and I was helping out – sort of – while Meg the Black Cat wasn’t...

On the menu was the chicken jalfrezie recipe from Sunday morning’s “Something for the Weekend”...

The garnish was finely chopped hot red chillis and coriander...

A bottle of Chianti accompanied...

And the results were extremely tasty...

Spent the rest of the evening mucking about with music and adding covers to CD burns I received a good few months ago now from Prog-Metal Willie...

Off to bed with seemingly ever increasing pain in the recently operated on shoulder...

We’ll see...

Lights out...

Highlight of the day : Yes, Anne’s skills...

Nobody's fault but mine...

Playlist
Alice Peacock – Love Remains
Dar Williams – Promised Land
Santana – Abraxas
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother
Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
Deep Purple – In Rock
Gentle Giant – Gentle Giant
Hawkwind – Hawkwind
King Crimson – In the Wake of Poseidon
Led Zeppelin – III
The Beatles – Let It Be
Paul McCartney – McCartney
The Upsetters – Scratch The Upsetters Again
The Move - Shazam
Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman
Yes – Time and a Word
David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World
Uriah Heep – Very ‘Eavy Very ‘Umble
Al Stewart – Zero She Flies
Dream Theater - Images and Words Live in Tokyo Plus (DVD)
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Various Composers - The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World...Ever!

Another nothing day really – soundtracked mostly by the sounds of 1970 – will I continue with this?

Thought this morning summer had returned....



By lunchtime rain was pouring yet again...

Didn’t stop me going to FOPP though...

Three DVDs today by Dream Theater plus a Led Zep album I once owned on vinyl (and IMHO, far and away their best LP) and a very inexpensive (would you believe £2?) 4CD set of classical music to which I will no doubt never listen...



Carried around but put back, were a DVD of Elvis Costello’s promo vids and one featuring John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk – and I noted a brand new album by Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter...

I foolishly put my umbrella inside the FOPP bag at one stage, almost ruining three of the four covers...

Idiot...

By the time I got home the rain had settled over Crispycat Towers...



...and, mid evening, as I enjoyed the shredding metal sounds of Dream Theater, lightning flashed and thunder (rhymingly) crashed around our ears...

Meanwhile, Meg the Black Cat slept blithely under the dining room table (no pic, sorry)....

Late on Frankie Boyle on the new Charlie Brooker vehicle entertained...

Highlight of the Day : Rocking DTs....

Forty years on...

Playlist
Brian Eno - Apollo
Brian Eno - On Land
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Soundingfall
David Bowie – Space Oddity
Joni Mitchell – Clouds
Pink Floyd – More
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
The Beatles -Abbey Road
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground
Yes- Yes
Free – Free
Grand Funk – Grand Funk
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul
Led Zeppelin – II
Pink Floyd – Ummagumma
Alice Peacock – Love Remains



One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind...

Forty years ago today the first men walked on the moon – July 1969 – and just three and a half years later the astronauts of Apollo 17 finished the first stage of our exploration of the satellite...

Only twelve men have walked on the moon...

So far...

We’ve come a long way since but I think things need to be kick started again and I’m sure, eventually, they will be – but I’ll probably be dead before a man walks on Mars...

In honour of the anniversary, my music today comprised (in the main) albums released in 1969...

Back in humdrum CBQ-land, Alice Peacock’s new album arrived from e-bay and is very good (as I expected)...

More of a surprise was watching the first in a new series of “The Street” by Jimmy McGovern and it having a happy ending...

The acting was excellent, especially ex-Brookside favourite, Anna Friel...

Finished off the day watching a few minutes of footage from each of the Apollo missions to the moon and remembering the old days...

You can find the films here (for the time being no doubt)...

Highlight of the Day : Thinking about the moon....

Fly me to the moon...

Playlist
Various – Tracks for Celebratory 10CD Set
Culture – Two Sevens Clash
Brian Eno – Apollo
Art Pepper – The Return of Art Pepper
Impossible Songs – Intermittent Stimuli

Owya – up not quite as early as planned and so we missed the 10:40 showing of the new Duncan Jones movie, “Moon”...

Saw Jim Kerr on the TV though, talking about last night’s gig...

Out to the Cameo for the 1:30 screening and this was a brilliant film – totally recommended if you’re into thought provoking, rather than shoot ‘em up CGI’d Sci-Fi – think “2001”, “Silent Running”, “Dark Star”...



Here’s the trailer...



An absolute pleasure – music by Pop Will Eat Itself’s Clint Mansell was good too and a nice touch by the management to have Eno’s “Apollo” as the pre-film soundtrack as we sat waiting for the show to begin...

Forgot to mention – I was driving for the first time in six weeks – and we stopped off at Sainsbury on the way home and picked up some nice burgers and relish for late lunch/early dinner – cooking them together back at home to the groovy sounds of Art Pepper...



...and ate them as we watched Tom Watson throw away the open...



Meg the Black cat was not impressed...



Whilst doing the dishes afterwards, managed to break the handle off my unfeasibly large “fish” cup which has featured in a few pics over the years here – so it’s all over for that particular piece of crockery – also managed to slash my left thumb open – any excuse to get Anne to finish the dishes...

Fraday's "Law & Order : Criminal Intent" made it all better...

Listened to Impossible Songs new album and was making notes to send to them when I accidentally deleted the document – very annoying – the LP is good though...

Finished the day writing this up whilst listening to Eno again and then watching the very funny Dara O'Briain on BBC2 - an edited version of the show we saw a couple of years back at the Playhouse...

Highlight of the Day : Moon

Alive and kicking...

Playlist
Various – Tracks for Celebratory 10CD Set
Ornette Coleman – Beauty is a Rare Thing
Sandro Ivo Bartoli – Fugitives
The Fireman – Electric Arguments
Brian Eno – Apollo
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Soundingfall
Simple Minds – Various

Up reasonably early and, having previously noted that some of the tracks for the proposed celebratory 10 CD set were not up to scratch, I went about replacing no fewer than 38 of them...

Then, at 10:30, out with Anne to the outskirts of town from where I caught a bus to the centre (soundtracked by the far out sounds of Mr Ornette Coleman) – noting what a mess they’ve made of Princes Street...

Bummed around for 40 minutes or so, having arranged to meet with Dr Prog at the library...

In doing so, I discovered at Ripping records that Dar Williams is in town on 21 November – so I of course immediately secured tickets...

This is my schedule in mid November:-

19 Yes - Edinburgh
21 Dar Williams - Edinburgh
22 Gong/Steve Hillage - Edinburgh
25 Alice Cooper – Glasgow

Pretty good for someone who doesn’t enjoy live music – or rather fellow live music audients and their cretinous behaviour..

The Exec Producer will accompany me to Dar and Alice, the other two are solo outings...

So, met Dr Prog and we both borrowed from the library – I partook of Paul McCartney’s last, Eno’s moon expedition soundtracks, and classics by Culture and Robert Wyatt...

Fine wraps followed by coffee and wee bit of cake each sustained, before we took a stroll down to Avalanche on the Royal Mile where the Doc splashed out on a few classical discs but missed a piano recital from Sandro Ivo Bartoli of pieces by Casella, Grainger and Pabst, which your correspondent nabbed for £1.99...

I left the doc outside the Fruitmarket Gallery looking for a suitable pub for a quiet drink and some cricket watching - that's him waiting to cross at the lights...



Made my way back home and prepared for this evening’s entertainment whilst listening to some of the new acquisitions...

Off out at five and back into town to Pancho Villa’s on the Royal Mile for some excellent Mexican cuisine in the company of three colleagues and their partners before walking up towards the castle and meeting up with a fourth (“The Man”) and his partner...

We at the offices of “The Man” do work for Simple Minds and so, tonight, we were on the guest list (this was the Exec Producer and my’s fourth SM concert in recent years)...

After a couple of drinks (allowing us to miss support act The Silencers) we got soaked during the five minute walk to the venue and by the then misdirection of various stewards as we tried to gain entry to the VIP area...

Thankfully this was a covered box - the gig itself was excellent - shortened of course re the 10:30 curfew – but I have to say they do put on a rather good show...



Probably over 100 at the aftershow so not too exclusive...

We walked up the esplanade into the castle itself past various flaming torches...



...and enjoyed spectacular views of the city...



Of the band, only singer Jim Kerr was a no-show – but he’s on telly from London first thing tomorrow so I suppose he had an excuse...

Surprisingly though, no music and a paying bar – I even saw the promoter forking out for a glass of Red Wine...

Still, didn’t pay for the gig and, unlike those who did, we didn’t get thoroughly soaked during the first half of the gig, so these are not complaints, merely comments - just letting you know the celeb world isn't always what it’s all cracked up to be...

Around 1am we walked back down the Royal Mile to the car of our transport buddies and were tucked up in bed by 1:40...

A good day...

Highlight of the Day : The Minds were good but I think it was being up the back of the bus watching the Saturday morning go by whilst listening to Ornette Coleman to be honest...

Feeesh...

Playlist
Lee Morgan - Volume 2: Sextet
Art Pepper – The Return of Art Pepper
Art Pepper – Modern Art
Art Pepper – Meets the Rhythm Section
Art Pepper – The Art Pepper Quartet
Jimmy Smith - Back to the Chicken Shack
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream
The Stills - Without Feathers
Alice Peacock - Real Day
Alice Peacock - Alice Peacock
Alice Peacock - Who I Am

A rainy day...



No record shops at lunchtime...

In the evening, we cooked...



We tried out a coconut fish curry recipe...

Here are both the coconut and the fish...



The results were deemed a qualified success...



The dark bits are "curry leaves"...

As we're used to spicier items it did seem a little tame perhaps...

Tame but tasty nonetheless...

Later on, I listened to music and also took a look through some of the movie clips I've taken over the last couple of years...

This included a few performances by your correspondent - they did not bode well for my upcoming gig in October...

Ah confidence is a fickle companion...

Late on "The Wedding Crashers" entertained though the EP had to head off early due to the possible onset of the Lurgi...

After a bout of reading on the moon landing 40 years ago (which I remember watching at my Grandmother's house in Glasgow), some surfing on e-bay secured the new album from one of my favourite ladies, Alice Peacock...

Look forward to its arrival - and her songs took me to sleep...

Highlight of the Day : Cooking with the Exec Producer...