As many of you know I have a real issue with the fact us English do not have our own passport nor our own national anthem. The other home nations; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may also have to have a British passport like us in England, but at least they have their own national anthem. What do we use? The bloody British national anthem, “God Save The Queen”. It’s like a damned funeral march and holds no inspiration whatsoever for me.
Regular readers will know that I have posted about this subject before, click here to read it. Anyway another blogger has gone somewhat further than me and has set up a UK government e-petition entitled ‘Make Kate Bush‘s “Oh England My Lionheart” the new English National Anthem’. That song was one of the choices on my original post. So I would like you to go to the petition site and sign it. Click here to do so. Unless of course you like the British national anthem? Surely you don’t do you? Anyway only 100, 000 signatures are needed before the government have to consider it, so what are you waiting for? You know what you need to do; England expects and all that.
If you’d like to check out Steve’s original post on the subject click here. The rest of his blog is pretty damned good too, frankly anyone who is a Kate Bush fan and a comic fan is someone I couldn’t fail to like. Here is Kate with said song. Listen and sign people, you know it makes sense!
I had a rather strange journey into work today. Usually I can drive to work in between 50 and 75 minutes depending on the time of day and
the time of year. However, this morning having left home at 6.40am and with the knowledge that schools are still closed for holiday I thought I might beat the 50 minute barrier. I probably would have done too had it not been for those pesky JCBs. At various stages of the journey I was stuck behind a different JCB on four separate occasions. It still only took me 65 minutes in the end, not bad I suppose.
But three JCBs in one journey, how did that happen? Is there a big JCB rally in Yorkshire? Are JCBs going to provide stage props for Muse
headlining at the Leeds Festival? Perhaps the police will be using JCBs as a secret weapon against any future rioters and looters. But then again maybe the rioters and looters have stolen a bunch of JCBs to help them carry home more swag when then have their next looting spree.
Have any of you been held up by more JCBs than me? Have you had any really bizarre vehicles holding you up on your journey? I would love to
hear from you.
Anyway in keeping with the purpose of this blog I have selected a few, hopefully, related songs for your pleasure;
“The JCB Song” – Nizlopi (He’s not 5 and I’m not Bruce Lee, but he is Luke so this one is for my son and my daughter Lauren, maybe we will meet again some day!)
The world has gone slightly mad don’t you think? Bankers still get paid (I refuse to use the word ‘earn’) billions in bonuses Greece needs another bail-out whilst Somalia has entered a serious famine situation. How about it bankers? You know it makes sense, but actually I doubt that you do given that most of you probably don’t possess a conscience. But let me give you another reason for helping others. You won’t be able to help yourself to a bottle of Australian 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz wine, because a case valued at 1 million Australian dollars has just been destroyed in a forklift accident. It was apparently insured though. But the best quote on the story was “”When they opened up the container they said it was like a murder scene, but it smelled phenomenal” which was made by the wonderfully named winemaker Sparky Marquis. I sure wouldn’t have fancied being the Forklift driver who had to tell him! Click here to read the story on the BBC.
But this is a music blog so let’s take a listen to some wine related songs shall we? Feel free to contribute your own favourite wine songs.
“Little Old Wine Drinker Me” – Dean Martin. Perhaps Dean was playing up to his image as a hard-drinking member of the infamous Rat Pack? A great song nonetheless though. Also famously recorded in the late 60s by actor Robert Mitchum.
“Red, Red Wine” – Neil Diamond. Actually written by Mr Diamond and then recorded as a reggae tune in the late 60s by Tony Tribe. It was Tribe’s arrangement that was taken to the top of the UK charts by UB40.
“Lilac Wine” – Jeff Buckley. One of the first recordings of the song was by Nina Simone and the first big hit version was by Elkie Brooks. But for me the definitive version is from Jeff Buckley.
“Chardonnay” – Cerys Matthews. Written for the Welsh songbird by none other than Roger Cook and Hugh Cornwell.
With the news being full of nothing but the fallout from the News Of The Worldphone tapping shenanigans I felt that I had to say something. Many regular readers know that for me the UK tabloid press is pure, unadulterated scum. I still believe that and now it seems to me I was wrong regarding the News Of The World. How can that be? I hear you say! Well it was pure, unadulterated scum and it managed to sink even lower than that. Phone tapping in this country is illegal, in fact it is a criminal offence. But this bunch of heartless bastards from scum had been doing it for ages. But not just for titillating celebrity gossip. They have supposedly listened in to voice messages on Milly Dowler‘s phone (possibly harming the police investigation), the families of the poor girls murdered in Soham, families of the 7/7 victims and the families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq amongst probably many others. They have made money from lying for years and finally they get caught out and it still doesn’t stop!
These people are not much more than grave robbers, although I suspect that Burke and Hare had more scruples. The newspaper (and I do use this term very loosely) has now been closed down by its owners. But only after advertisers started pulling out and their position became untenable. Those still retaining senior positions in parent company News International; James Murdoch (Rupert’s son) and Rebekah Brooks should resign as surely they must either be culpable or completely incompetent. Then of course is the question of how many senior police officers may have been involved?
If you don't do what we tell you Mr Flashman, just remember that we still have your phone!
The one sliver of good news is that Murdoch senior may not get his hands on the rest of BSkyB. How can one man or company be allowed to control such a large swathe of broadcast media? The Murdoch Empire seems far to well ensconced with politicians in the UK too, across all parties from what I can see. Former editor Andy Coulson was employed as David Cameron’s Communications Director until January this year apparently against advice from many, many people. Cameron’s comments about this earlier this week were fine in that he took responsibility for his decision, but he mentioned giving Coulson a second chance about ten times! Has news International got some dirt on Cameron and others? I think it’s possible although it might just be that the Tories bought support from the scummy end of the UK press to win the last election. But it didn’t work did it? Because we’re lumbered with a coalition government that I hope is entering it’s final shaky days.
Rebekah checks her voicemail, well she's checking someones voicemail anyway!
I would love to hear your views on this topic. But now I’d like to bring it back to music after my little rant here are a few (at least slightly) appropriate songs;
After nearly 6 years I am finally moving to a job with a relatively normal commute. In my new role, which begins on 30th June, I will be enjoying a 50 minute drive at each end of the day as opposed to a two-hour train journey, 90 minutes on a stinking tube train, various flights and hotels (some good and some bad). However I should say that my accommodation since January whilst working in London has been at my Mum’s place and it knocks every business hotel I’ve stayed in right into the shade. Great food, great service and more importantly some real quality time with my Mum. The latter is something which I don’t believe too many of us get at this age (I’m fiftysomething in case you wondered!) I have thanked my mum personally already, however I thought I’d also like to do the same in blog ink. Mum I can’t thank you enough for putting me up and putting up with me all this time. I suppose I could be talking about a lot longer than just the last few months as well couldn’t I? Anyway staying with my Mum is almost certainly the only thing I will miss about not working in London. I sure as hell won’t miss the Tube which quite frankly is a disgusting method of transport; often unreliable and pretty damned smelly as well. Does it really have to be like that? Personally I don’t think so, but sadly it is. Bob Crowe and his cronies don’t help either with their pathetic and all too frequent strikes. Bob you most be one of the few people in the country that would lose an election against Nick Clegg. You’re a complete arse, wise up and get a conscience you moron and go back to your village, they want their idiot back. You’re giving imbeciles a bad name.
OK rant over now it’s time to get back to some job and transport related music (and one for my Mum), because after all this is a music blog!
So in his recent speeches the evil dipshit that is Gaddafi has blamed the uprising in Libya on a number of things. Firstly hallucinatory drugs, the BBC and now Osama Bin Laden. What or who will be next in line for blame? Surely he won’t blame it on the sunshine, or the moonlight? But perhaps he will blame it on the boogie.
Incidentally most western leaders need to accept some responsibility, notably Tony Blair who met and shook hands with Gaddafi, surely in the knowledge that Gaddafi had always had the blood of his people on his hands. Quite a number of music celebs have helped in a small way to prop up and legitimise the Gaddafi family by playing private gigs for them. Stand up Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Timbaland and Mariah Carey. Read about that in a rather amusing essay from Alex Petridis in the Guardian by clicking here.
But to be serious for a moment I believe that he needs to shoulder all of the blame on himself. He also needs to step down, run away or even kill himself. Personally I don’t care wich, but he sure as hell needs to stop murdering his own people. I still find it hard to believe that so many politicians in the west fell for his lies. The western press made us all see him as a figure of fun rather than the scum bag murderer that he really is.
I found a really excellent anti Gaddafi site recently, it’s called Gaddafi Duck, click here to check it out. Hopefully when his time comes he will not get the chance to duck! Another idea occurred to me; maybe we should secretly replace him with a pop star. This could be done in such a subtle way that some people might not even notice, ladies and gentlemen let me present to you Lady GaGaddafi!
She's already got the uniform as well!
I bet that all the bible bashing fundamentalists and believers in the Mayan Prophecy are wetting themselves over all the things that have happened lately. Floods and earthquakes in the southern hemisphere, massive solar flare activity, murder and mayhem in the Middle East and North Africa and dictators falling like dominoes. Have the end times started? Well personally I don’t believe so. In fact I think all that stuff is utter bollocks, but to each their own I suppose.
So after this little rant (well it is a rant of sorts) let’s finish with the Beatles.
This is quite a difficult post for me. Some months ago I tried to help out a good friend by finding them a job where I was working at the time. You understand, I hope, that giving names may cause them embarrassment and get me into trouble. Actually it is the former that bothers me most. Anyway the lily livered people where I was working decided that as they had seen my friend when she previously worked at the same place via a consulting company that they didn’t like her. Lily livered is a bit strong for one individual for whom I have immense respect, he bothered to tell me personally how he felt about my friend and that he didn’t rate them. Fair enough and to each their own, I didn’t agree with him, but at least he had the balls to voice his opinion to me.
However there was at least one other individual (personally I believe it was more than one) who decided to go straight to the top and say that they didn’t like my friend and that I should not be allowed to appoint them. I was informed of this but the names of the complainants were not given as ‘they had given their views in confidence’. Which obviously gave me no right of reply. so I was persuaded against my better judgement not to employ my friend. I then compounded this by not telling them the whole truth as to why there was no longer a job. I did this to spare their feelings.
What happened next was that my friend went back to the same place with another consulting company whereupon one of the sad two-faced losers that had actually expressed their liking for my friend during that previous debacle once again complained to the ‘powers that be’ that my friend should not be employed. I am not one to seek revenge, but I do believe in karma and if an opportunity presents itself for me to crap on this pathetic two-faced lowlife, believe me, I will. he knows who he is and so do I. He must be aware that what goes around comes around, but then perhaps he’s too much of an arsehole to realise.
Enough said, now enjoy two very appropriate songs;
Let me give you a bit of a rant warning before you read this post, just so you know! It would appear that HMV are now in some significant degree of financial trouble. Whilst I have a dislike of faceless corporate record/ music stores, HMV is effectively the last national left in the UK. Even their range has fallen considerably in the last couple of years as well. So along with the ongoing and sad demise of the independent record shop and HMV’s precarious position just where the hell will future generations buy their physical music? Downloading will continue its inexorable rise, both legally and illegally, but for physical purchases what are we left with? We’re left with just a handful of small chains (Fopp etc.) and fewer and fewer independent stores. Although I do believe that Fopp were rescued by HMV who still have a stake in them. That leaves the likes of WH Smith and the Grocers (Tesco, Asda etc.) who all seem to operate an ‘if it’s in the chart we’ll stock it policy’. So that pretty much takes away all key channels apart from the internet and downloads for new bands and artists.
A couple of the major labels (Sony and Universal) are looking to spice up interest in the singles market by releasing singles on the same day that they begin airplay. Read about it by clicking here. This will certainly allow songs to rise up the charts, just like those hazy old days of my youth, rather than enter high and then crash and burn after a couple of weeks. This will clearly help downloads, but will it help sell the physical product? If the only place you can get that product is on-line (Play.com etc) then I don’t think it will.
Sadly I believe that we are truly heading for a time when digital music will outstrip every other form. Sure, vinyl is making a bit of a comeback, but it will never match the digital form with most of todays generation. OK you might think I’m a boring old fart and you are entitled to your opinion. But I am not advocating a wholesale return to vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks and CDs. What I am concerned about is the ongoing demise of the record shop. We cannot let the grocers take a stranglehold on our music, which is just so wrong on many levels. With Woolworths and Borders now dead and HMV potentially heading the same way we must support all the remaining small chains and independent record shops. So next time you are tempted to buy a CD on impulse in the supermarket resist the urge and find your nearest proper record shop. I know that you may pay a little more, but these people offer excellent service and they are a million times more knowledgeable about their ‘product’ than pretty much anyone on the supermarket checkout. But if you are a music aficionado who works on a supermarket checkout then please accept my apologies. So you know what to do, boycott music from large grocers and get it from a proper record shop, trust me it’s a better experience all round!
Firstly this post is NOT in my Advent Calendar series OK? It’s another random selection of music stuff. Firstly and I am saddened to say it in many, many ways a Bowie song is at number one in the UK. It’s the X Factor finalists cover of Bowie’s “Heroes” Thankfully I haven’t been able to hear Wagner on the recording. The singles only other saving grace is that it is raising funds for the ‘Help For Heroes‘ charity which supports those British soldiers that have been injured in the ridiculous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we followed the Americans into. But believe me, it is the UK Government I have a gripe with and especially former Prime Minister Tony Blair, I have every respect for all the British troops that are out there right now. Go and buy the single and throw it away if you have to. In the meantime take a look at the classic original below.
You know I always thought that Santa's Elves were a little more cuddly than this!
Next some very good X Factor related news. Corey Taylor off of Slipknot has recorded a Christmas single and he wants it to beat whatever single the X Factor show produces for the Christmas slot. Let’s get behind this one people, let’s make Corey this years “Killing In The Name Of“. Buy it and keep a muppet off the number one spot. The song is called “X-M@$”. Check it out below and click here to read the NME report about the song.
US politics often baffles me, especially where outgoing officials are allowed to grant pardons for previous misdemeanours by various criminals, jailbirds and wrongly accused. However I was pleasantly surprised to read that the ousted Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, has issued a pardon for Jim Morrison off of the Doors following the singers arrest for allegedly getting his todger out on stage in Miami in 1969. Fair play Charlie and frankly, about bloody time too! It has always bothered me that with all the people and all the police at that concert there was never any evidence to prove that Jim actually did the deed. Read about the pardon by clicking here.
Enjoy “Break On Through” below
Apparently it was the dog's bollocks that Jim exposed, not his own!
Dear readers I have recently encountered a real problem. As many of you know I am not the world’s biggest Robbie Williams fan, in fact I take many opportunities to disparage the Robster. However my problematical dilemma is that I like the new Take That album (Robbie is a member again for now) and I also like the song he recorded with Gary Barlow for his current greatest hits package. I can just about live with all that I suppose. But if I ever tell you that I really love Robbie’s awful dirge “Angels” or that I have become a fan of JLS or Boylife or Westzone (I believe that Boyzone and Westlife are truly interchangeable) then take me to the vet and have me put down humanely!
Take That prepare to become David Haye's next victims!
Whilst talking of Take That, JLS and Westlife they all appeared on this weekend’s light entertainment show (it really, really isn’t a talent show is it?) the X Factor. Take That performed “The Flood” which was a million times better than the dreadful shite that JLS and Westlife performed. The JLS song, “Love You More” is at least raising money for the BBC’s Children In Need appeal, whereas Westlife’s “Safe” is just awful and not for charity. As usual there was a controversial vote, Aidan Grimshaw was booted out, very deservedly so in my opinion, at the expense of Katie Waissel. One has to ask what has she ever done to the people who vote on the show that she regularly receives fewer votes than Wagner (pronounced Vagner except for the old Irish windbag Louis Walsh!) But seriously, how can it be classed as a talent show whilst people like Wagner progress so far?
The real reason Robbie rejoined Take That is that he saw the on stage perks they now recieved! ............ While you're down there indeed!
But by far the biggest controversy about the show this weekend was whether or not Cheryl Cole farted whilst giving her verdict on Cher Lloyd on Saturday’s show. It’s a story carried by many of the UK tabloids, personally I reckon she did, what do you think? Did Cheryl really fart on live TV or is it just another whiff of hype from the X Factor machine. Cast your vote below and remember you will still have to pay me if you try to vote after the poll has closed. 😉
I wonder if that incident will give her new single “Promise This” a little extra wind to take it into the charts? Is it me or do the tights/ stockings she is wearing in the video look like artistic skid marks?
Holy Moly said she was going for a Bram Stoker's Dracula look, personally I think it was a cross between Princess Leia off of Star Wars and Minnie Mouse!
Let me finish with a question for you. How should one describe a Boyband that are no longer boys? I don’t know the answer but I would love to hear your suggestions. I have heard Manband used, but frankly that sounds like something a gentleman of a ‘certain’ age might use in conjunction with Viagra.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 