Dead Ball

Sorry to hear of the death of Alan Ball yesterday.

Yes, I know that he was :

• ginger
• short
• English
• a World Cup winner
• so squeaky voiced that he sounded like he breathed helium
• not a particularly successful manager

Not a list of qualities that would endear him to your average Scottish football fan, however, it cannot be denied that he was a fair player in his time.

Most disturbing for me was the report on the BBC website which stated:

"Ball, who collapsed outside his home after tackling a bonfire,..."

Not the most sensible behaviour for a 61 year old, you get more than friction burns doing that kind of thing...

Why We Needed Punk #1

Problem Page

Friendship

Dutch Prog Rock Madness

Many years ago, in the years b.c. (before Clash), say around 1974/75, a good friend of mine bought an album by the Dutch prog rock band Alquin. This was back in the time when the more obscure the album you had the cooler you were.

The album was called The Mountain Queen and as I recall I only ever listened to it once, just after Iain had brought it home.

I remember that I wasn't too impressed with the music, and wasn't too keen on the vocals, but to this day clearly recall joking about a lyric that I found bizarre.

The line went :
"I thought I saw a coloured leaf,
floating upwards to the tree,
but no,
................it was a butterfly".

Yesterday I managed to get hold of a download of this album and I have listened to it all the way through, twice.

I actually found the music to have stood up quite well. It is very much of its time, lots of keyboards, saxophone, clattering drums, strange time signatures, and a couple of tracks running about the 20 minute mark - however the guitar playing on it is very good and the overall sound is quite enjoyable.

There is one slight problem.

I haven't heard the line about the butterfly...

I am going to have to listen to the whole thing all the way through again in case I missed it, but I am now starting to think that it may just have been a line on the album sleeve.

I have had this lyric in my head for over 30 years and now it seems to have vanished, or maybe it never existed in the first place and I am just a bit of a maddie...

Are there any passing Dutch Prog Rock experts reading this that could help put me out of my misery???

Alsjeblieft!

Let There Be Drums

Cute and utterly charming...

Link : Drum Machine

Cover Story

Patti Smith has released her new album, Twelve, which is a collection of cover versions. Some choices fairly obvious, Hendrix, Dylan, Stones, others less so, Tears For Fears, Paul Simon.

This new collection from Patti has been getting mixed reviews though the majority of people seem to like it. I have listened to it a couple of times myself and it is starting to grow on me. I think in the main it is the tracks that I know less well that sit most comfortably in their new guise.

The track listing is:

1. Are You Experienced
2. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
3. Helpless
4. Gimme Shelter
5. Within You Without You
6. White Rabbit
7. Changing Of The Guards
8. Boy In The Bubble
9. Soul Kitchen
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. Midnight Rider
12. Pastime Paradise

The Silence Is A Rhythm Too blog has links to mp3s of Patti's versions of Are You Experienced and White Rabbit.

Link : Silence Is A Rhythym Too

Here is a clip of Patti back in the early days performing a cover version that she really put her own stamp on, Gloria.

Just Plain Weird

Nothing further to say on this one...

The more you click the stranger it gets.

Link : Superbad

Local Colour

Found a great blog that features all the "Weel Kent Fowk" of Aberdeen.

A cast of characters familiar to anyone who has spent any time in the city, including The Kilt, The Gilcomston Tramp, The Braveheart Guy, Squeak (gone but never to be forgotten), and The Markies Street Preachers.

Another worthy of note is Big Aggie. The mp3 of Aggie's voicemail messages is comedy gold, if not for the easily offended amongst you.

One of the other human landmarks is the one and only Peter Dow, political activist, Scottish National Standard Bearer, and not at all a complete fruit loop. Peter has been a bit quiet of late but often used to be seen around town with his placards, or towing a giant billboard, railing about this, that, or the next thing. Peter is looking for love and uses a page on his website to try and attract the right woman - given his list of instructions and demands I find it really hard to understand why likely candidates have not been beating his door down...

Link : Aberdeen Tramps And Ither Weel Kent Fowk

Link : Peter Dow is single and looking for a woman

Blinking Magic

If I were to ask you about hazard lights on a car you might explain to me that it was simply a relay that caused all indicator lights to flash on and off repeatedly in unison signalling a warning about a hazardous condition to other road users.

You would of course be correct. However, it would also be apparent that you were not fully aware of the true magical powers of these blinking orange lights.

An ever increasing number of drivers are waking up to the amazing capabilities of the hazard lights on their vehicles...

Need to answer a phone call when you haven't got a hands free set? Simply pull into the side of the road, switch on your hazard lights, and enjoy a long, leisurely chat with that friend that you haven't spoken to for at least twenty minutes. It does not matter that you are obstructing the carriageway and causing delay to fellow road users - you have your hazard lights on and that makes it alright!

Driving along the Aberdeen seafront in this unseasonably warm weather and fancy an ice cream from one of the boulevard cafes? No problem. Stop at the side of the road and dispatch your passenger to wait in the, thirty person deep, queue for half an hour. No need to find a proper parking space - the magic of the hazard lights renders this totally unnecessary.

Wake up to the secret power of your hazard lights! Get blinking! *

* Please be aware that behaviour like that described above may result in me mouthing copious obscenities at you as I pass...

Now Luka Here

Coming back from the football game today, which the boys narrowly lost, this tune came on the magic tune box.

Released as a single almost 20 years ago now, Luka by Suzanne Vega is a fantastically moving song about an abused boy who lives upstairs in her apartment block. She explained in interviews that she based the song on a boy called Luka who "just seemed set apart from these other children that I would see playing", however she had no reason to believe that the boy was abused in real life.

I have loved this song from the time it was released, something about the combination of the voice and the guitar breaks brings me close to tears every time I hear it (yes, I know I am a big softy...).

I went to see Suzanne Vega in concert in Glasgow when she toured to promote the Solitude Standing album that this track features on. I remember that she seemed to be a bit introverted and uptight when she initially came on stage but as the concert progressed she seemed to warm to the audience and it turned into a very good gig.

The video for the song is interesting, mixing stark black and white footage with some unexpected, impressionistic interludes.

Enjoy, but don't forget the Luka's out there...

Seven Heaven

As a football fan I have to say that Manchester United's 7-1 drubbing of AS Roma, in last night's Champions League quarter final second leg, was one of the best performances I have ever seen.

The interplay between the United players was a joy to watch, the quick passing movements allowed attacks to be built up at a frightening pace. Roma seemed to have no idea how to combat the pace and flair of Ronaldo, Giggs and Rooney and were struggling to cope with the physical presence of Alan Smith.

Three goals in the first 20 minutes had United on easy street but still they refused to ease off.

This was football as it should be played: pace, skill and vision going forward; persistence, guile and creativity in the centre of the park; and awareness, determination and steel at the back.

Scottish viewers must have been proud of the performance of Darren Fletcher, too often a bit player for United, last night he was magnificent, closing players down quickly and not allowing Roma time to develop any play from midfield.

The key to United at the moment is Christiano Ronaldo. I will hold my hand up and say that when he first arrived in the Premiership I thought he was a one trick pony, lots and lots of stepovers and fancy moves but absolutely no end product. Now it is a different story, he gets his head up, brings others into the game, and tracks back when required; he still has more tricks than a magicians convention but now he knows how to find the back of the net. He is now quite simply a superb player. Ronaldo's display brought out yet another Colemanballs moment out of the commentators last night when it was said that "Ronaldo can now be compared to George Best. The incomparable George Best".

If I could get my nine year olds to play like this I would be a happy man.

Relatively Speaking

Came across this fantastic webpage that seems to have been developed by Nikon to interactively show the relative size of everything from interplanetary space down to sub-atomic particles.

Extremely well realised and worthy of a stop on your travels through the Interwebthingy.

Link : Universcale

Finger Buffet

Got this through email today....

This one is for everyone who :

a) has kids
b) had kids
c) was a kid
d) knows a kid
e) is going to have kids.

I was packing for my business trip and my three year old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point she said, "Daddy, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers.

Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers," pretending to eat them.

Went back to packing, looked up again and my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face.

I said, "What's wrong, honey?"

She replied, "What happened to my bogey ?

Jogging Into The Afterlife

Accra, in Ghana, is the home of the Ga coffin carpenters. In traditional Ga culture you are buried in a coffin that reflects how you earned your living and how you lived your life.

This has led to the coffin carpenters using their skills to produce a diverse range of coffins and wooden cabinets ranging from training shoes, cars, beer bottles, and fish.

These are now available on the web, via eShopAfrica a fairtrade website. If you fancy getting buried in one of these beauties you had better be aware that they are hand made to order and can take up to 3 months to make.

Link : eShopAfrica

I Hate To Say I Told You So...

Came across this little nugget whilst trawling through YouTube...