Top Twenty

Having reached the significant number of 20 since 'The Friday Music Spot' started back in November, I thought it a good time to review and post a Top Twenty. If you had created an iTunes playlist of all tracks this is what it would look like.

If you missed any and want to listen, just click on the appropriate number here: 
1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  | 11 |  12  | 13  | 14  |  15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  

Typeface Synopsis

With Vietnam using the Roman alphabet there was plenty of signs everywhere in numerous and various typefaces. Interesting to notice 'Arnold Bocklyn' used so often. While this photo taken of a sign in the Cafe Giang in Hanoi, goes a bit overboard and is more of a type synopsis than a readable sign.

I count 9 different typefaces plus 3 types of scaling. And there are only 75 words in total. Bit crazy!

Monday: View from the Top

Apart from Tottenham fans and possibly Arsenal and Man City, is there any football followers not wanting Leicester to be Premiership Champions ?  
Five games to go, nine points the target.

As for Chelsea, any sort of European football next season now looks increasingly unlikely, after 1-0 defeat at Swansea.
Plenty of work for the new manager coming in, Antonio Conte, to do.

The idea for 'The Friday Music Spot' was to deliberately recreate the call that went up every Friday afternoon "that the weekend starts here". As the end of the working week fast approached, the iTunes player was cranked up and we got well and truly in the mood with our playlist of favourites.

As this has been a bit of a 'working-week' nostalgically I thought it high time I replayed one of those much loved favourites. No introduction really necessary, it's 'Badge' by Cream. "Thinking' 'bout the times…"

To go back for a second week to the 'Funky Monkey' music hour* might seem indulgent > and it is! 
But if you wondered how good the music was here's another great track - and not your typical ZZ Top guitar get-down and boogie, staple on a beard of your choice, that you might expect. I'd not heard this before: 'Blue Jean Blues'. Take it away - nice and slow now, ZZ

*If you missed, see: http://billblogs2.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-scene-could-not-have-been-more.html

British Pubs

Interesting article from the BBC: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35917816

"The typical real ale drinker is male, aged at least 55 and from the north".

So, 2 out of 3 there.

The scene could not have been more Eastern. A sweet smell of incense in the air drifted over the small lake and the bridge across to the old city was covered in lights. The road in between had a steady flow of bicycles and ladies in nón lá hats passing by and as the gentle rain continued and night fell, all the colourful hanging lanterns reflected in the puddles.
To be sitting watching this, having a so called 'happy hour' drink, whilst listening to very Western music was a strange contrast. The guitar rock music being played in the 'Funky Monkey' bar had simply been getting better with each new song. Gary Moore > Bad Company > Deep Purple > Lynyrd Skynyrd > Santana > ZZ Top, one great track after another. We sat listening for much longer than an hour. 
There was one song played, 'Belladonna' by UFO, I'd never heard before. Off the band's 1976 album 'No Heavy Petting'. Star Track material for certain.

It's Good Friday. But then it's always a good Friday with the Music Spot.

Talking Points… !

As a mate so concisely informed me on Saturday night, it's official Chelsea can no longer win the Premiership this season. And thank you for that, but he's right. Leicester are 25 points ahead of us, with only 24 available. We're Champions no more. It's been a poor season and there's no getting away from it. Yet we are just 10 points of a Champions league place, though our form doesn't suggest we'll nick it.

Not every foul is a yellow card

Despite this becoming something of a normal reaction and a card even expected by all commentators, there were two examples of a second yellow card (and therefore a sending off) being sensible not given. Cissokho of Villa and Smalling of Man Utd, both spared the early bath. There is hope.

Holding at corner kicks

This largely unpunished activity reached new heights this weekend with Scott Dann of Crystal Palace managing to totally remove Robert Huth's shirt. 
Play on said the ref?  Well at least he didn't book Huth for taking his shirt off.

Another tribute to another rock star sadly no longer with us.
One of my original favourites and probably the first band to completely blow-my-mind. Keith Emerson, then of The Nice and later Emerson, Lake & Palmer died last week. The video is from 1968, The Nice on BBC 'How It Is' show.

I can only follow that with Comedy writer, producer and radio DJ Danny Baker's tribute to Emerson, who he described as "the maestro". He tweeted "ELP, Pavilion Piccadilly 1971. Still got the ticket still got the program still got the sound in my ears. RIP Keith."
Ditto…