This weekend marks the centenary of the birth of composer Benjamin Britten. Radio 3 is celebrating with ‘Britten 100’, a weekend of programmes. I thought I’d celebrate too with some personal memories from my younger years of listening to and performing some of his works… In 1966, the Canadian conductor Arthur Davison, who had made his Read More
Category: Music
‘November spawned a monster’?
This post was combined from two and republished into it’s original place in my blog’s timeline from my lost posts archive. Autobiography by Morrissey First thoughts: Is anyone planning to read Autobiography by Morrissey? I’ve got a copy, and am admitting to feeling daunted by it. The opening lines go like this: My childhood is streets upon Read More
On Conducting …
The Great Conductors by Harold C Schonberg I came across this book of my late mother’s this afternoon and thought I’d share it with you. This copy is rather dilapidated, having been liberated (withdrawn and sold) from Cannon Street Library many years ago. She used to go there during her lunchtimes, and brought countless books Read More
Sci-Fi Sound Effects
BBC Sci-Fi Sound Effects (Vintage Beeb) Having built up a few reviews on Amazon, a couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be invited to be a reviewer for Amazon Vine. I get to pick items from lists they send out of all sorts of things. Usually I stick to books, but just Read More
The power of a descending bassline …
I don’t usually do ‘Song for Sunday’ type posts, but felt inspired today. I was listening to Broadcasting House, the Sunday morning magazine programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, and there was a feature on why Baby by Justin Bieber is a classic pop song. It has all the hallmarks – being written in Read More
“Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way”
A Quiet Life by Beryl Bainbridge Alan sits in a café waiting for his sister Madge, whom he hasn’t seen for fifteen years – there to discuss their late mother’s effects. Both are now in their forties, and they’re still as different as chalk and cheese. Rewind twenty-five years. It’s the 1950s; petrol is still Read More
Vinyl Memories – the 7″ single…
I originally published this post back in 2011. With the resurgence in popularity of records on vinyl, despite having kept just a small box full out of the 100s I sold, I’m acquiring a record deck again! All those pictured below still survive in my ‘If I ever had a juke-box’ pile. Nostalgia of a Read More
Let’s talk about pop music
Pop Charts by Paul Copperwaite This was one of those impulse purchases in the charity shop. It’s the sort of book I’d never buy for myself, although I might have given it to my brother for Christmas as a silly present if I’d spotted it in a shop. For a pound however, it was a bargain Read More
How can I be sure?
I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson Rarely in recent times has a book called out to me as much as this one. You see, in common with the teenagers in this novel who are all fanatical David Cassidy fans, I was too. David was Godlike, with his shell necklaces, feathered hair, and whispery voice. You Read More
Being in a band – a girl’s perspective
Different for Girls: A Girl’s Own True-life Adventures in Pop by Louise Wener While I never followed the band Sleeper, I was aware of them – their singles were fun and tuneful. However their singer, Louise Wener, did stand out from the crowd with her big brown eyes, pouty lips and great haircut – there were few Read More
The Police are but a small episode in this busy life …
Strange Things Happen by Stewart Copeland The emphasis is on fun in this memoir – for Copeland is a hyperactive sort, a workaholic but easily bored, loving a challenge, never playing anything quite the same way twice, liking to be boss, and he’s also much more than a mere drummer. Jumping about in time with Read More
Powerful prose wrought from chemistry and music…
Solo by Rana Dasgupta I read Dasgupta’s first novel Tokyo Cancelled back in 2007 and it was one of the most original debut novels I’ve read in recent years; it has really stayed with me. A modern take on the Canterbury Tales, Tokyo Cancelled is really a linked story cycle in which a group of Read More
Boldly Going …
There are lots of great programmes on the TV at the moment celebrating the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon. I was nine when it happened, and remember watching the landing on the telly and being entranced by the whole event. I will still watch anything about space and I have many books on Read More
You might find this quite interesting …
Brian Eno – he of the bald dome, Roxy Music synth twiddling, U2 producing and of course Music for Airports wrote the Windows start-up theme apparently! Yes – all 3.25 seconds of it – so you can blame him every time you fire up your PC. However he’s such an interesting chap you can’t hold Read More
I was a ’70s teenager!
As I’m currently reading a real chunkster with some way to go, I thought I’d post about music today. I was born in 1960 (I don’t feel that old mind!), so my teenage years spanned the whole of the ’70s. I can’t help but look back on the decade through rose-tinted glasses, and will forever Read More
John Martyn R.I.P.
Just heard that one of the greats of jazz-folk John Martyn has died. He was only 60 and was made an OBE in the New Years Honours just recently. I never got to see him live, and only really discovered his music in 1991 when he released The Apprentice as it featured Dave Gilmour, but Read More
A musical Lego interlude …
Back to books next post, but found this sweet little film on YouTube whilst browsing for the “R Whites Lemonade” advert to show my daughter. There’s loads of these Lego animations, (there’s a great Python/Holy Grail one), but this one was the sweetest we found …
Santa Claus is comin’ to town …
I just got back from my daughter’s school Christmas concert which was lovely. I was amazed though to find out that the perennial favourite Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (preferably the Springsteen version for me), has some introductory verses: I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way, I stopped off Read More
Mummy, what’s your favourite song? …
… asked daughter Juliet, who since her Dad bought some noise cancelling headphones has been glued to the family iPod. Well, where to start? I couldn’t possibly choose just one song, so in time-honoured Desert Island Discs fashion will try to limit it to eight! Here they are, in no particular order: Everybody knows by Read More
A Musical Interlude
Tom Waits – one of music’s best-kept secrets… Republished into its original place in my blog’s timeline from the lost post archive. You may not know his name, but you’ll know his songs – Rod Stewart’s cover of Downtown Train or Springsteen’s Jersey Girl for instance. You may recall a distinctive looking actor in supporting Read More
Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason
Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason Nick Mason has been with Pink Floyd right from the beginning – through all the band’s incarnations and troubles. He makes a genial host in his biography of the band, yet he proves too easygoing and unconfrontational to give us much analysis of the Read More
“Is there anybody out there?”
I finally decided to dip my toes into the blogosphere. But before I write anything else, I must go and listen to Echoes from Meddle. I only found out today that Rick Wright died earlier this week, there was a good obituary in the Telegraph. I’ll be back tomorrow when I hope to get started Read More
