Today my internet connection was automatically upgraded to a 2Mb ADSL line. The funny thing that there’s no discernible difference between 1Mb and 2Mb. Funny that…
Category: Diary
I am a lucky boy. Using my neferious powers and contacts, I have mananged to secure an advance copy of the new Van der Graaf Generator album “Present”. For those of you who don’t know, VDGG are a seminal prog-rock band (probably the ONLY one that is still respected and not tagged with the “dinosaur rock” label) that inspired the likes of John “Rotten” Lydon and Mark E Smith of the Fall.
Anyway, this is the band’s first new material since 1978 and it is really, really good. The only problem is that it sounds like the guys haven’t aged at all – it is classic VDGG material. It is a two-CD affair, the first CD being a load of “proper” song with the second being over an hour of improvisations. The first disc is sweet, the second is so-so. I never really liked this side of VDGG (Darren remembers “The Long Hello” album) so I can take it or leave it. But it has me all juiced up for the reunion gig in May. My tickets are safely secreted somewhere in Chez Lock – they are quite valuable fetching handsome prices on eBay.
Meanwhile, I purchased one of my favourite music mags and it features a nice little interview with King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew. In it, he reveals a little about the future of the band and it looks promising – just got to wait for the future to happen. 😉
Did one of those online IQ tests today. It said:
“Darren, your IQ score is 122
You are equipped with a verbal arsenal that enables you to understand complex issues and communicate on a particularly high level. These talents make you a Word Warrior. Whether or not you recognise it, your vocabulary is your strongest suit — use it whenever you can. Since your command of words is so great, you are also a terrific communicator — able to articulate big ideas to just about anyone. Your wordsmithing prowess will also help in artistic and creative pursuits. The power of words translates to fresh ideas off paper too. Since you have so many words at your disposal, you are in a unique position to describe things in an original way, as well as see the future in your mind’s eye. In short, your strengths allow you to be a visionary — able to extrapolate and come up with a multitude of fresh ideas.”
Stupid IQ test…they always have too many maths questions, so I always compensate my score with the visual puzzles and word games.
As usual, I have some spare time on my hands and so I am filling this time by putting unwanted clutter on eBay and burning/printing more copies of “Sows’ Ears”.
Then I heard that singer/guitarist Edwyn Collins had been taken ill with a brain haemorrhage. Despite not owning any of records (the shame), I’ve always had a soft spot for Edwyn whenever he’s put out a song or appeared on a music programme – I think a lot of that was do to with “Rip It Up” being a big hit when I was a kid. He is an underrated guitarist and a good egg…let’s hope he pulls through OK.
Gone are the roofers, replaced by double glazing installers. Yes, the council house next door is getting new windows too. Good for them, I hope they enjoy them…now Chez Lock is the shabbiest dwelling in the street because we lack the obligatory UPVC double glazing. Double glazing…yuck. I have this irrational fear about double glazing that if there’s ever a housefire, I wouldn’t be able to smash my way out or scramble through the window (have you noticed that modern windows only open about three inches). We like flinging the old, steel frame windows open wide on those hot, summer nights while the neighbours stew in their own juices with their poncy double glazing… 🙂
Bang, crash, wallop…so I try to drown out the noise with my own noise. It is quite distracting to have music on louder than normal AND have the random banging happening too…must finish sentence…can’t type at normal rate…concentration wandering…
DRILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Sold out of “Sows’ Ears” again. Got to make some more up and ship them to the US of A. Man, those 4-CD sets are popular. Poor sods, having to listen to 4 hours plus of my guitar wailing…
Now for something politically incorrect…
Yesterday was my 34th birthday – so happy birthday to me, eh? Got a load of great stuff from The Missus, including a heap of music books she bought from work and CDs – I already got a Fender 12-string as a present in January (we shared the cost) so it was a good birthday bundle. Only got the three birthday cards this year. This is good – the number is going down and I’ll be happy when I get none. 🙂
Went out for a shop. Had a good time moaning about how expensive CDs are in the shops and how I can get everything cheaper online. Blah, blah, blah! Then I managed to purchase three XTC CDs for £4.99 – so keep yer big trap shut Darren.
While wandering around we got caught in a blizzard. That was fun.
Contemplating over my frothy coffee, I figured out that my year actually started on my birthday and that all our internal clocks are set from birth. Most of us consider 1 January as the beginning of the year, the time to make resolutions and start again – but we’ve been getting it wrong. We should be using our birthdays to do this. Our birthday eve should be used to mourn the passing of the year and our birthdays for looking forward to the coming year and being optimistic. Of course, I am probably talking a load of pseudo-psychobabble. 🙂
Got a lot of music to listen to (including birthday presents and stuff won on eBay):
Caravan – For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night
Genesis – The Platinum Collection (the remixes of the older stuff are fantastic)
XTC – Black Seas
XTC – English Settlement
XTC – Skylarking
Daryl Hall – Sacred Songs (Jap papersleeve edition)
Kevin Ayers – Wasn’t Lonely Till I Thought of You
Hatfield & The North – The Rotter’s Club
Various Artists – The Charisma Box (excellent compilation boxset)
Pic of the day:
So where did you get your organs?
Woof! Bark! Crash! More rumblings from the roof next door. They seem to be arriving earlier and earlier but getting less work done. Not that I am obsessing about the roof work next door or anything! 🙂
Purchased a rather nifty external hard drive to back up my entire music catalogue and so yesterday I spent time copying files from one drive to another. It’s all rather clever and now it means I have a backup of all my record collection (in MP3 format) that I can connect to any PC with a USB cable. Technology like this still amazes me. When I think back to 1997 and just how difficult it was to store music on PC and then MP3 came along. Wowser. Changed everything.
Then there are these drives that seem to be getting bigger and bigger. I remember when we thought a 10 Mb drive was the end of the earth or when it would take us forever to fill a 3.5″ floppy disc. Now storage is king and you are judged by the size of your hard drive (oooer, missus). My PC now has three hard drives. One for the operating system and main apps, one for all the various bits and bobs I download/work on and a third drive solely for all my music recordings – and this one is a S-ATA drive and is superfast, making it ideal for music recording. When I sit and think about this, I balk. Three drives? Overkill, surely? But it this age of MP3, DivX and digital media in general, you just have to have them…
I try to hide it, but I am still a bit of a gadget whore. Even though I don’t have the money to indulge myself that much, whenever I see something clever I still get excited. The problem is that there is sooo much technology out there it can spin your head. But I must recomend “The Gadget Show” on Channel 5 on Fridays at 19.30. It’s a great show that doesn’t talk down to you and you always come away learning something (even a gadget whore like me).
Nowadays, I am more likely to get excited about a motherboard. You should have seen the look on the face of my Missus when I showed her pictures of my new motherboard. She thought I was mad to get excited about a printed circuit board. There’s nothing quite like being up to your elbows in computer bits and assembling a PC. I can totally empathise with those folks who take their cars apart to fix them. It is a nice feeling.
Blah, blah, blah…gibber, gibber. Now off to buy a newspaper with Alex the Wonderdog in tow.