Clear Heart Full Eyes - addendum

Just found this on You Tube, Craig Finn and guitar playing one of the unreleased songs - the extraordinary 'Dennis and Billy'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfJBHf426Po&feature=player_embedded

Clear Heart Full Eyes

Went to see Craig Finn, erstwhile leader of The Hold Steady, playing live with his own band Some Guns, promoting his recently released solo album. Good venue on Brighton seafront - the Coalition club, holds 500 for gigs but Finn only attracted 100+ punters, mostly male and middle-aged fans of THS - like me. Dragged Mrs P along although it's not her thing. Finn played the whole album + some even newer tunes, all of which were rather good except one 'Dude from St Paul' which sounded like a song idea in development, work in progress.
The band were excellent, Finn was his usual committed self, despite the lack of atmosphere, and the strength of the songs came through, there's no half measures with Finn, it's all or nothing. He did a solo acoustic in the middle of the set when he played mostly new songs, it's strange seeing him with just an acoustic guitar, but it worked really well.
I still think the subtlety of the songs, both musically and lyrically, is somewhat lost when played live. They are introspective, narrative songs that deserve close listening. With THS live you don't mind losing some lyrics because of the power and energy of the performance, that doesn't really apply to Finn solo. Still, a really good night out.

Things That Really Annoy Me - Part 2

I live quite close to where the Olympic cycle road race will pass through in July (nine times in fact - Boxhill). In reality what this means is that the route is full of would-be Olympic cyclists (i.e. amateurs) who want to sample the route for themselves.
Good for them I suppose, but trying to drive down these narrow country lanes is becoming a PITA because of these wannabe Mark Cavendish's. If you manage to scrape past one then another one pops up a few yards later. Like most cyclists they don't give a stuff about the rules of the road and have no sense of what's going on behind them. But it was whilst I was stuck behind one of them that I realised what really gets to me.
IT'S THE LYCRA!
Now, Cavendish and Hoy can get away with it and Victoria Pendleton certainly can, but the thing about lycra is that it sticks very closely to the contours of your body. So being middle-aged and overweight, which  99% of these Olympic wannabees are, makes wearing lycra a really shit look. A big bulging arse that flops over the side of the blade that they call a saddle is not a welcome sight. A brightly coloured nylon-look jersey isn't going to make anyone ride any faster - when it's stretched across a rotund fat belly. And figure-hugging shorts that leave nothing to the imagination aren't going to win any admiring female glances.
Even the riding technique these guys employ is rather strange, with knees poking out. Yuck. Hopefully its popularity will quickly fade away after the Olympics is over and we can all drive on our roads in peace.

Things That Really Annoy Me - Part 1...

...inconsiderate people (usually blokes, but not always) who get on the Tube still wearing their rucksacks on their backs. They have no spacial awareness at all, they swing around hitting people, taking up twice as much room - of which there is very little in the rush hour - as they need to. FFS,  just take them off and hold them down by your legs where there is more room. And I've also noticed it's usually blokes in suits. What happened to briefcases? As I say, very inconsiderate.

Sonic Tricks

A new Paul Weller album is usually a cause for celebration, but I am very pleased that I listened to his new one - 'Sonik Kicks' - on Spotify before wasting spending any money on it. It's complete and utter tosh, a one man charter for taking yourself - and your 'art' - a little too seriously.
I should have guessed by the over-the-top PR that has accompanied the launch, the usual "Weller has returned to form" "possibly his best album in years" etc etc. The Times magazine cover shot, the critics fawning over the Modfather. All indications that the album won't stand up on it's own two feet.
Self-indulgent in the extreme, the cod-reggae, dub-lite of 'Study In Blue' feels like a practice jam desperately searching for a tune, and the 20-second instrumental 'Twilight' is frankly embarrassing, sounding like someone who has come back from the pub extremely drunk, and deciding to muck around with a synthesiser. There is no point to it - why include it? In fact I just listened to it again (it is only 20 seconds long) just to make sure I'm not being over harsh, and yes it really is that bad.
Throughout the album his usually strong voice sounds forced and frankly out of tune on a number of tracks. His wife, son and (young) daughter all contribute vocals, can you get more self-indulgent?
I've followed Weller all the way - I saw The Jam in Portsmouth in 1978, the Style Council in Southampton a few years later, and Weller solo a couple of times more recently. I really wanted to like the new album.
But utter tosh is utter tosh, whoever produces it. I'm actually shocked at how such a talented person can produce such nonsense.
Avoid at all costs.

Life is as fragile as duckweed in a storm

Old Chinese proverb.

Just got back from being in China on business, and after several trips there over the last few months I feel I am starting to understand the Chinese way. 

Before I started going there I was told of the importance that the Chinese place on relationships and connections. It's usually described as 'guanxi'. But it's more than about relationships - in fact we probabaly don't have a Western word to describe what it is. It's more about a feeling between people, and I think I'm just starting to understand it. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanxi

Friday fun time

I've always been a fan of the killer hook. When coupled with a majestic melody, you can't go wrong. Here's a prime example, the wonderful Magnetic Fields, whose new album 'Love At The Bottom Of The Sea' has much to commend it, with Stephin Merritt (who is The Magentic Fields) playing around with a much more electronic bias.
But this track is from a few years ago and sticks to rock 'n' roll basics. It's up there with my all time favourites. Download or just play it here:
http://www.box.com/s/leyu8ucbrctekjtpmayd

They Don't Understand

One of the few good things about being stuck on an aircraft for seven and a half hours is that it forces you to do something that passes the time. I had had enough of the book I am reading at the moment (an excellent Graham Hurley book, but not for several hours), I had recently seen (and paid for at the cinema) the only film I fancied (the very excellent 'The Descendants'). So I switched to my default in these situations - and grabbed my i-Pod.
On the plane I usually ignore my playlists and just flick around in the artists list. For some reason I stopped at something I hadn't listened to for years - literally. But I was immediately transported back to my youth, it's amazing how powerful music is for doing that.
'Tell Us The Truth' was the first album by Sham 69, released in January 1978, when I was all of 15 years of age. I still remember my brother buying it and bringing it back home, after which I commandeered it and spent hours in my bedroom (shared with my brother) being blown away by the sheer power and raw emotion. What was unusual was that side one was a live recording (bum notes included), side two was recorded in the studio. Few songs exceeded two minutes. It was before lead singer Jimmy Pursey and the rest of the band hit the commercial highs and appeared on Top of the Pops. Before they started behaving like 'real' pop stars and lost the plot. The songs had messages for the youth, they were played and sung like they meant them. I identified with the lyrics and the energy - as you do at that age.
And for 30 minutes on that Boeing 777 last night I was back in 1978, and loving it. Do 15 year-olds get that buzz from music these days?

Fancy another day off?

I can't quite get my head around what makes someone like Len McCluskey tick. The General Secretary of the UNITE union - possibly the largest in the UK with millions of members - seems to think it is a good idea to threaten industrial action by his members during the London Olympics. Just to add an additional headache for the organisers. Nice one Len. But he can't have really thought it through can he? It's hardly likely to endear him to most of his members is it? The fact that he has gone public with it says more about him than anything else, it shows what power can do. If he really believes in what he says then he has pretty poor judgement, if not then he;s just a self-publicist. He must have known it would make headlines, so take your pick. Blimey, even Bob Crow has done a deal to keep his members working during the Games!
And I've just remembered I am actually a member of Unite, I get no value from them, I became a member as an 'insurance' against my company being nasty to me, although on the one occasion ina  previous job when that happened, the union were absolutely useless. Ho hum.