This was the third time I had seen Jan Garbarek live. The first time, at the Bluecoat Arts Centre in Liverpool, was an incredible night when he performed with Eberhard Weber, Rainer Bruninghaus, Bugge Wesseltoft (I think), and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. That was in the 1980s. Then a few years ago I saw the … Read more
OK, it’s a bit of a corny title for this post, but I just couldn’t resist it. I have already done this post once, but the system crashed as I posted it and lost the entry, so I am trying to re-create it from scratch which is a bit of a nightmare for someone with … Read more
Yesterday I bought a couple of new albums from my local Music Zone. This store has radically changed the pricing of CDs in the UK. By selling CDs cheap, they work on the basis that the customer will buy more items. Small margins but big turnover. It works. As a result, over recent months I … Read more
I spent last night listening to a selection of great songs, taking the opportunity to pull at the emotions. Great songs should do that. I listened to: Damien Rice – eskimo Nick Drake – One of these things first Johnny Cash – One Neil Young – Like a Hurricane REM – Night Swimming David Byrne … Read more
OK – I am working at the laptop. Sitting alone here – sometimes feeling a little cut off from the big world out there. So…I have a live feed coming into the computer, playing the latest programme from WFMU station on the net (www.wfmu.org). As I type this the DJ, Ken, is online playing “Freeform … Read more
The rain is lashing down on the conservatory roof near my desk, as I sit listening to the piano music of Bela Bartok played by Zoltan Kocsis. I’m not sure whether it is the music, or the relentless sound of the rain, but I have an overall feeling of listlessness today. Things could certainly be … Read more
Over the last weekend I have been buying music again. God, I’m a cd junkie! I bought: 1. Tom Waits – Real Gone 2. Jan Garbarek – In Praise of Dreams 3. Jimi Hendrix – Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight 4. Various Artists – Cash Covered (cover versions of … Read more
I mentioned in an earlier post that there is an amazing internet archive including thousands of live music shows. I am in the middle of listening to a couple of concerts from this archive today. The first one, a Grateful Dead show from the mid-90s is really good. I’m not familiar with much of their … Read more
Last weekend I put together 100 songs as a soundtrack for a party. It went really well! I’m in the process of transcribing the list and may post it here soon. In the meantime, here’s a list of some of the stuff I have been listening to this week: 1. Porcupine Tree – In absentia. … Read more
The Internet Archive site is a fascinating project with a number of strands. There’s plenty for me to be absorbed by here. The archive has freely accessible material in a number of areas. There are films, live concerts and poetry recitals. There are 10,000 shows stored in the live concert archive. I have to admit … Read more