My personal blogspot about all sorts of things, but mostly Music, Sports, Entertainment, Wanderlust, Graphic Art and Beer. No relation to Joe or Fred Bloggs.
Monday, 31 December 2018
CALIFORNIAN REUNION – 2018 I just love this photo. Mostly because it's of wonderful friends and memories of a holiday last June. But also the harmony and warmth of the image. From Margaret and Gary providing that symmetric central balance, to the conformity of the line yet the individual character of each person shines through. The giant redwood forest backdrop couldn't be better. PHOTO Credit: Donna Bianchi
Friday, 28 December 2018
Some of you may have seen this already... if not, then it'll amaze you - it's mental ! A cast of thousands gathered in Courmayeur, Italy, close to Europe's highest mountain Mount Blanc, under the banner of Rockin' 1000 Summer Camp, to perform a Power Medley of 6 songs: 'Rocks' > Primal Scream - 'Bohemian Like You' > Dandy Warhols - 'No One Knows' > Queens Of The Stone Age - 'Reptilia' > The Strokes - 'Suck My Kiss' > Red Hot Chilli Peppers - 'Woman' > Wolfmother
Just over five minutes of music followed by numerous credits and thanks. We see out the year with The Biggest Rock Band on Earth - extraordinary.
Tuesday, 25 December 2018
An alternative (and occasional) music posting highlighting something out of the ordinary. Perhaps of limited appeal, unconventional, experimental or just far-out ! Call it what you like (or switch it off, if you don't like).
Thought you might like a White Christmas. All aboard this real time Norwegian train ride. With Moby emerging from the tunnel on 'Everloving' - Chill-out, naturally...
Actually a clever link (mid tunnel) makes this 6.36 minutes long - original track is only 3.24 FYI: The Kongsnut tunnel is 60° 34' North by 7° 35' East in Southern Norway, nr Bergen.
Friday, 21 December 2018
Of all my favourite artists, and there are many, one that hasn't to date been a STAR TRACK is R.E.M. Deliberately sounding like the Beach Boys, with a video portraying Christmas scenes and lights, on their song 'At My Most Beautiful' - sub-captioned on YouTube: in pictures.
And while on the subject of pictures.... HISTORIC NOTE >>> 50 years ago today Apollo 8* blasted off from Cape Kennedy into outer space. Three days later the crew witnessed and photographed an Earthrise and we all saw our beautiful planet. So I dedicate todays track to the one and only Planet Earth.
*James Lovell was part of that crew that only orbited the Moon. Five missions later he commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission and missed out on walking on the Moon.
Monday, 17 December 2018
Over the last three years the FRIDAY MUSIC SPOT has clocked up 150 tracks.
It all began on 13th November 2015 with Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain'.
The first 50 songs can be seen via this link. For 51-100 click here: 101-150 are listed below. Click on the blue arrow to replay that track. NB: Not all of the videos are still available, but you can 'google' for an alternative.
Welcome to:
101 ➤Thailand from the Air .…….….……….…....… Unknown Aritist 102➤Becoming Human .……….…...……...……….…… Ryan Taubert
107➤Streets of London .….…..……..….........………… Ralph McTell
108➤Come Back To Me .…….………..….……………… Liam Gallagher
109➤Keep On Dancing ……..….……....….……………….. The Gentrys
110➤Top 10 Riffs .………...................................… from AC/DC
111 ➤Today I Feel …………..………………….………… Oberst & Buckner
112➤Where Is My Mind..................... Telepathic Teddy Bear
113➤Stuck With You....................… Hewy Lewis & The News
114➤Summer of '69'...................................… Bryan Adams
115➤Here I Go Again .....................................… Whitesnake
116➤More Sweetly Play The Dance African Immanuel Essemblies Brass Band
117➤Chasing Shadows.............… Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys
118➤People Get Ready............. .....… Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart
119➤Civilised Man..........................................… Joe Cocker
120➤Highwayman.................................… The Highwaymen
121➤Swallowed By the Cracks..................… David & David 122➤Rain Plans.............................................… Israel Nash 123➤Don't Look Back..........................................… Boston 124➤Breakfast in America............................… Supertramp 125➤Tunnel of Love......................................… Dire Straits 126➤Handle With Care..................… The Traveling Wilburys 127➤Where Do The Children Play.................… Cat Stevens 128➤100 Years......................................… Five For Fighting 129➤Got To Do It........................................… Andrew W.K. 130➤Burn Baby Burn...............................................… Ash 131➤Use Me...............................................… Nick Marzock 132➤Don't Stop Believin'...................................… Journey 133➤All We Do..............................................… Oh Wonder 134➤The Circle is Small.........................… Gordon Lightfoot 135➤Bridge Over Troubled Water............… Aretha Franklin 136➤What Have I Done To Deserve This? Pet Shop Boys w/Dusty Springfield 137➤Sabre Dance....................................… Love Sculpture 138➤Singing The Blues............................… Tommy Steele 139➤Sometime World...............................… Wishbone Ash 140➤Wind of Change......................................… Scorpions 141➤Dreams..................................................… Cat Power 142➤When We Was Fab........................... George Harrison 143➤Let it Rain........................................… Quinn Sullivan 144➤If Heartaches Were Nickels ............… Joe Bonamassa 145➤Solsbury Hill......................................… Peter Gabriel 146➤My Back Pages........................… Bob Dylan & Friends 147➤Rosanna........................................................… Toto 148➤Just a Shadow.....................................… Big Country 149➤Things Will Change..........................… Treetop Flyers 150➤Give It To Me.................................… Michael Jackson
Friday, 14 December 2018
By my reckoning - and I don't suppose any of you are going to argue with me - today marks the 150th Track on THE FRIDAY MUSIC SPOT. Calls for a blockbuster... There's been a lot this past year concerning the Long Player: 70th Anniversary of it's birth, favourite all time LPs etc. Now you may have seen this headline a few month's back:
"THE EAGLES HAVE DETHRONED THE KING OF POP"
The band's greatest hits album, released in 1976, has surpassed Michael Jackson's seminal 1982 album "Thriller" to take the top spot on the RIAA's list of the highest-selling albums of all time in the US.
The key word here is US, because it's only in the States. Worldwide sales of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' are still way out in the lead.
Something by Michael Jackson then, but not actually off 'Thriller', but similar, this is 'Give In To Me' from his 1991 'Dangerous' album, featuring a certain Saul Hudson on guitar - Slash to his mates! Explosive video with plenty of wind effects and sparks flying... very Jacko
Check in this coming Monday for the full run down on the Bill Blogs 150.
Friday, 7 December 2018
"They remind me of so and so...." is a phrase you hear often.
I went to see Israel Nash in concert the other week. Of who it's been written 'sounds like Neil Young with Beach Boys harmonies'. I can hear John Fogerty and Bob Seger similarities in there also. (refresh your memory here). Playing support at the concert were fellow Loose record label artists Treetop Flyers. No, I'd not heard of them either, but closer investigation the following day revealed a London based band that “effortlessly captures the spirit of late-1960s west coast pop-rock: the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young”- as one review put it.
While I could have picked any number of great songs released since their debut album 'The Mountain Moves' in 2013, it eventually came down to a straight contest between two: 'Haunted House' which, when it gets going, reminds me of Dire Straits, and this track 'Things Will Change'. I really like Reid Morrison's voice and their unusual 'official' video, that sounds like 'Ventura Highway' by America, on the road with The Four Tops. One of those sunny but at the same time sad songs.
* Live at WFUV - turns out to be New York’s source for music discovery, a noncommercial, member-supported public media service of Fordham University for more than 70 years.
So now you know !
And this great track: 'Sweet Greens and Blues' > www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JMBNK_Q1ho - which is a bit Toploader 'Dancing in the Moonlight' with Van Morrison sax.
