With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“What chance have you got against a tie and a crest” November 16, 2011

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 10:42 pm
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I posted recently about how the use of your favourite song to advertise a product you don’t like or feel is wholly inappropriate made me think of something similar. How do you feel when you hear that a celebrity, politician or someone you simply don’t like is a big fan of your favourite artist, song or music? I’m not talking about political parties or candidates appropriating music for their campaigns; just those who give an insight into their personal taste.

Dave 'The Rave' Cameron attempts the Macca signature thumbs up......... and fails!

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I have been a fan of David Bowie for many years. Chris Evans mentioned on his Radio Two show this morning that Jeremy Vine is a big David Bowie fan. I like that because I think Jeremy Vine is an excellent broadcaster. However when I discovered a few years back that Gordon Kennedy, the former leader of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK was a David Bowie fan I felt almost cheated as I really have no respect or liking for Mr Kennedy. But to be fair I still like him far more than I like Nick Clegg!

The Cleggatron after Dave Cam told him he was no longer required to play tambourine in Led Coalition.

Then there are people like Old Etonian David Cameron who has said that he is a fan of the Smiths and of the Jam; particularly “Eton Rifles” How does that kind of thing sit with such a strong right-wing ideology? Paul Weller actually commented on that with “It’s Like, which bit of it didn’t he get? It wasn’t intended as a fucking jolly drinking song for the cadet corps” Liam Fox, former Defence Secretary, is supposedly a fan of the Scissor Sisters. I bet he doesn’t feel like dancing with Andrew Werrity anymore though!

Dangerous Dave in his Hippie days

As well as being a Bowie fan I am also a massive fan of the author Stephen King and a few years ago I was quite excited to read that Mr Bowie likes him too. Bowie was quoted as saying something like “I like Stephen King, he scares the shit out of me!”

Clegg says goodbye to his groupie and wonders where his red mullet is

So to finish who has expressed a liking for your favourite songs and artists and how did you feel about it?

Johnny and Paul at the first meeting of the Anti Cameron League

 

“See the life I’ve had can make a good man bad” November 15, 2011

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 10:53 pm
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How often do you watch or listen to a TV or radio advert and cringe at the fact they’ve chosen some of your favourite music to soundtrack a terrible advert or a horrible product or a combination of both?

The new John Lewis Christmas ads, primarily there to promote a new range of Smiths pillow cases perhaps?

I suppose we shouldn’t get too precious about these kinds of things, after all the writers might need the money. If I’d written a piece of music that someone wanted to use on an advert and they were willing to pay me would I allow it? Of course I would, just as long as it wasn’t used to promote the likes of the BNP, the Daily Mail, Cheese on Toast or the Tory Party.

Morrissey refuses to get catty about the use of Smiths songs in adverts

I was pointed in the direction of the new John Lewis television advert by my good friend Nick Horslen. It is soundtracked by a cover version of the Smiths song “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by Slow Moving Millie. Personally I don’t think it’s a particularly bad cover, perhaps just a bit bland. Some songs just pass me by on adverts I think, but others are particularly annoying. It’s hardly a song, but I generally change channels if the Go Compare advert comes on, I can’t stand that obnoxious faux opera. However, whilst I am not a big opera fan I do love the music that British Airways have used on many of their ad campaigns; “The Flower Duet” from the opera Lakme composed by Leo Delibes.

For the record Morrissey refuse to wear clothes made from animal skins, which clearly means that his wardrobe is quite small!

As for songs that I love that have been used in disappointing ads, I have to say I was gutted (yes I too am very precious sometimes) when Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” was used to advertise pizzas on TV a couple of years back. But equally Levi’s used some classic music in their brilliant series of TV adverts, including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine“. That same series made hits of many songs that hadn’t been around for years. My particular favourites were “Stand By Me” by Ben E King and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” from my favourite band of all time, The Clash. But for every one of those there are plenty of awful selections; for example the new Christmas ad for Marks & Spencer uses a version of “When You Wish Upon A Star” by the 2011 X Factor finalists!

If you're ever invited to go for a walk with Morrissey please read this first

Which of your favourite songs have been used in adverts and what did you feel about it?

 

“So She Ran Into The Bedroom She Was Struck Down, It Was Her Doom” November 14, 2011

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 11:59 pm
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This Jacko death-bed could be yours!

You’re probably all bored with the excessive coverage of Michael Jackson in the press lately, driven by the trial of his personal doctor, Conrad Murray. So I will try not to add to that boredom, I certainly wouldn’t want you to overdose on it, like a massive amount of boreprofol!

Anyway the doc has now been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and within no time at all a company called Julien’s Auctions of Los Angeles have offered Michael Jackson’s death bed along with other items of furniture that are “smeared with his makeup”. Is this just a little weird? How did they get this stuff? Did they steal it? Did they collect it from the local rubbish tip? Or did the Jackson family offer it to them with a view to scraping just a little more flesh off the cash cow that Jacko has become?

I would really love to hear your views on this one. As I said earlier you’re probably bored with Jacko for now and are there any of his videos you haven’t seen? I doubt it. So here are three eclectic covers of classic Jacko songs (and somehow I doubt that you were expecting the last one!

 

Imelda May – York Barbican Friday 11th November 2011 November 13, 2011

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:04 pm
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This was a night I had looked forward to for some time. Catwoman and I had booked the tickets to see Imelda May months ago and the day finally arrived last Friday. This incredibly talented woman was certainly no disappointment, but more of her later. I need to tell you about the superb support act; Big Boy Bloater. I have heard a few of his songs on-line before but they simply hadn’t prepared me for just how good he is in a live setting. The best support act I have seen in years and remember I do have a lot of years! Mr Bloater (I don’t know his real name yet, but I know it isn’t Duncan!) has retro blues style with a splash of contemporary sounds.

Catwoman felt that his music wouldn’t be out-of-place on the True Blood soundtrack next to Jace Everett. He has some great songs. I particularly liked “That Ain’t My Name” and “Big Fat Trap”. He also did a great version of the Platters “My Prayer” in a modern ska style. I met the man himself after the gig and got him to sign the two CDs I bought from the Merchandising stand; one for me and one for Catwoman (aka Catherine). If you’ve not heard him yet you really need to check him out, you will not be disappointed.

After a short break the wait was finally over as the Irish dynamo that is Imelda Mary Higham better known as Imelda May took the stage with her supremely talented band. Every song was a winner; “Love Tattoo“, “Sneaky Freak”, “Psycho”, “Mayhem” and “Johnny Got A Boom Boom” to name just a few. Boom Boom is currently my favourite Imelda May song. Catwoman and I also love “Inside Out” and had that one played after we signed the register at our wedding in September. Who would have thought that a song mentioning wobbly bits would work, but bloody hell it does!

She had the audience eating out of her hands, including us. If she told us to sing along we did, if she told us to clap we did. It’s pretty difficult to ignore an instruction from someone who is not just talented but clearly seems to love what she is doing. The audience participation probably peaked during “Proud And Humble” which she sang largely a capella with help from her audience. To do it all in those killer heels just adds to the admiration! The band was amazing, truly fuelled by rockabilly rocket power. But believe me if you see Imelda and her band as just rockabilly then listen again, you’re wrong. She played a beautiful new song “Gypsy” which I think will be massive. I could also imagine Elvis Presley covering it had he still been around.

The encore was pretty special too; three perfectly executed and well-chosen cover versions. First up was a sparse acoustic cover of “Baby I Love You” (originally by the Ronettes and well covered by the Ramones) accompanied by Al Gare on the ukulele. The whole band returned for their storming version of “Tainted Love” (originally written and recorded by Gloria Jones and made famous by Soft Cell). You can find the studio version on Imelda’s ‘Mayhem’ album. I would love to say that the title of this blog is drawn from that album, but I’m afraid it’s not. The closing number was one that she said she had been singing for years, it was one of Elvis Presley’s biggest hits, “My Baby Left Me“. A great way to close a stonking gig. We left the Barbican with massive smiles as we walked through the rain back to the car. In fact I reckon everyone who was there left in a happy mood!

Would I go and see Imelda again? Absolutely, positively, definitely yes! The same for the Big Boy too!

 

“When they joined together and decided not to fight” November 9, 2011

Filed under: News,Rants — justwilliam1959 @ 10:20 pm
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Apologies up front but this is another rant from me. What is it with FIFA? The latest pathetic activity from them is to ban the England players from having a Poppy on their shirts for the friendly match with Spain on Saturday. Apparently it would be in breach of their rule that players’ equipment (which includes the shirt) should not carry any religious, political, commercial or personal slogans. I’d like to know which one of these the wearing of a Poppy would break. It is a symbol to commemorate and remember those who died not only in the First and Second World wars but all of those who have died in active service in the armed forces.

Not listening, not listening, not listening....

The Poppy is worn in up to 120 countries, although in some of those mostly by expatriates. But other countries have a symbol to commemorate their war dead in a similar way. In France for example it is the Blue Cornflower. England will have Poppies on their training and warm up kit which will then be auctioned for charity, they will also wear black armbands for the match. Additionally FIFA have allowed a minute’s silence before the game. Forgive me but what the fuck has a minute’s silence before a football game got to do with FIFA?

FIFA are in fact a charity. A very rich and most likely (the proof is out there I’m sure!) very corrupt organisation. Sepp Blatter’s promise to make the organisation more transparent after recent scandals seems to have made everything even more opaque. Including awarding business contracts to companies owned or partly owned by his nephew. Personally I think Blatter makes Berlusconi look like an angel. Even forgetting the World Cup hosting bid from England how the hell did they manage to award the 2022 tournament to Qatar? It’s too hot, has an atrocious human rights record and frankly is hardly a hot bed of world football.

Here’s an interesting recent fact about the charity that is FIFA. One of its less well off members, Mauritius, had a cash shortfall of some £42,000 which meant that they were unable to travel to or organise their World Cup qualification games. How did the caring, sharing charity that is FIFA respond to this? They disqualified them from the competition, probably completely within the letter of the regulations. But wouldn’t the charitable thing to do be to bail them out? After all FIFA are sitting on cash assets in the region of £800 million. But I guess they need that for their next all expenses paid junket or their Christmas party. Thinking of Christmas like to recycle my Festive Fir Tree every year and I think next time I’d like to recycle it by shoving it right up Blatters backside!

It's about time he got a red card!

Having just finished writing this post I have now heard that FIFA have offered a compromise solution; England will be allowed to show a Poppy on their black armbands. What’s the difference between a Poppy on the shirt and one on the armband? Not a lot in my opinion and this another example of FIFAs inept style of management. Should you ever have a piss up in a brewery do not let FIFA anywhere near the organising committee!

Anyway let me wind down the rant just a bit and what better way to finish this post than with a song about the famous football match between British and German soldiers one Christmas during the First World War.

 

“My eyes dilate, my lips go green, My hands are greasy”

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 8:41 pm
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For quite a while now I have subscribed to the dictionary.com word of the day e-mail. Some days it doesn’t really do much for me, but on other days it really makes me think. It was from one such e-mail that I learnt about the zarf. I posted about that in my sister blog With Just A Hint Of Learning (Click here to read that post) However todays word of the day has a bit of  a musical link, in a way that is quite amusing. Had this been the word of the day on April 1st I would have assumed it was an April Fools joke.

The word in question is kef. It is a noun, pronounced keyf and it has two definitions;

1 A state of drowsy contentment

2 Also, keef, a substance, especially a smoking preparation of hemp leaves, used to produce this state

Have you sussed the musical link yet? Why it’s Keith Richards off of the Rolling Stones of course. He has been known as Keef to many of his thousands of loyal fans for years. It’s fair to say that his has probably had quite a few smoking preparations made with hemp leaves too.

Clearly the moniker Keef was made for Mr Richards wasn’t it?

So now go and roll yourself a smoking preparation with your own hemp leaves while you enjoy a couple of Keef’s finest riffs below. But don’t forget the Government says that too many smoking preparations are bad for you so don’t forget to keep a spliff upper lip.

 

“Don’t be scared I’ve done this before”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 12:08 am
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Recently one of John Lennon’s teeth was put up for auction. Lennon gave the tooth to Dot Jarlett his housekeeper in the 60s. At auction it raised £19,500 as it was bought, rather appropriately, by a Canadian dentist who goes by the name of Michael Zuk. He has written a book about celebrities teeth and intends to display the molar at his surgery! I wonder if Lennon lost the tooth because he ate most of the Jelly Babies thrown on stage on their US tours in the 60s. The jelly Babies were a result of Ringo answering a question about his favourite sweet in a fan magazine. Alternatively  of course perhaps Lennon bit off more than he could chew with the ‘Beatles are bigger than Jesus’ comment. No doubt there are some Christian Fundamentalists in the US who actually believe that kind of crap and see it as divine retribution.

Karen Fairweather from Omega Auctions, described the tooth as: “rather gruesome, yellowy, browny with a cavity” Lennon gave it to Jarlett on return from the dentist. He is alleged to have asked her to dispose of it or “better still give it to your daughter as a souvenir.” Her daughter was apparently a Beatles fan.

The tooth was a part of Alan McGee’s (Creation Records founder and Oasis manager) collection of memorabilia. He is selling his collection as he is sick of the music industry.

Before I finish with some appropriate tooth related music I would like to thank my good friend Tom Wycks for pointing me to this story. All I did was fill in the gaps. Tom and his Mum also selected the three tooth songs that you are about to listen to. The third choice is Tom’s Mums pick and I must say I think that is probably the first time that Max Bygraves has ever appeared in this blog!

 

“He’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds” November 8, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 11:47 pm
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In response to a formal request from the We The People website where any petition gaining 5,000 or more signatures will be considered, the US Government has stated that they have never had any contact with extra terrestrials. They went so far as to say that “no evidence that any life exists outside our planet”.

But there appears to be no formal denial of the existence of the Men In Black, although to be fair that question wasn’t asked! Personally, given the diversity of life on our little planet, I can’t believe that there is no life elsewhere in the universe. Remember people, ‘The Truth Is out There’ Click here to read about it on the BBC.

This post also gives me an opportunity to air a few David Bowie songs that may or may not relate to extra terrestrial life!

 

“I’d be hung drawn and quartered for a sheep just as well as a lamb”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 11:47 pm
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By the time you read this it is likely that the largest asteroid to pass close to the Earth since 1976 will have already been closer to us than the Moon. Apparently it doesn’t pose a serious threat, but of course if no one ever gets to read my latest drivel then maybe those threat assessments were wrong! Remember this piece of rock is as big as an Aircraft Carrier.

The closest that Asteroid 2005 YU55 will get to us will be 202,000 miles and the next close encounter with an Asteroid, assuming we survive this one, will be in 17 years. Then in Aril 2029 Asteroid Apophis will pass even closer at a miniscule 18,300 miles. Apophis has been seen as a major threat of collision before but has now been downgraded.

Click here to read about it on the BBC and then enjoy a couple of Asteroid related songs (well more rocks than asteroids really!)

 

“Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana” November 6, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 11:47 pm
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Those of you that are regular readers of this blog will know that I really don’t like UK tabloid newspapers and I hold a particular disdain for The Daily Mail and the Mail On Sunday. However I was watching a review of the papers on TV this morning and a wonderful Mail On Sunday story was referred to.

It concerns the senior German NATO official who had a bit of a fling with Russian spy Katia Zatuliveter. The paper has been banned from revealing his name. All they are able to print is that he is a 56-year-old grandfather and a picture of him dressed as a banana.

Zatuliveter is also alleged to have had an affair with a Liberal Democrat MP; Mike Hancock. Is this not a brilliant story? A German NATO official gets it on with a young blonde Russian spy and he wears a Banana costume. Who would have Geest it! Could it be more fruity? read the Mail coverage by clicking here. As usual let me get back to music, here are three banana related songs to honour this hapless German bloke!