So I just thought, hey - it’s been quite a while since my last rambling. Not that my brain has been short of things to write about. More that the stresses and strains of the more boring aspects of life have been somewhat overshadowing the fun ones. 

There are a few subjects/artists/tunes/gigs etc that I am storing up to release on you over the next few weeks (or at this rate could be years) but for now here’s something that’s got me giggling like a teenager recently. 

A while ago I started a Spotify playlist called ‘Power Ballad Friday’. Which then had ‘(and 80s cheese rock)’ added to it for reasons I’m sure I don’t need to explain. The purpose for it’s creation was to break down the angst built up in the workplace during the week. It would act as an alarm that would go off at 3pm every friday over the Wyld Stallyons studio speakers - a signal that the weekend was upon us and that we should grab a beer from the fridge and brandish our air-keytars in a unified moment of joy. A rather modest mission. 

However bold the sentiment of the playlist, I only ever expected it to be shared / enjoyed by 1 or 2 friends. But thanks to the power of the interweb and the big bad Spotify/Facebook thingy, seems that people can’t get enough of PB Friday. 

Somehow it’s almost reached 100 random subscribers. I can’t help but feel slightly chuffed every time I get a message saying another person has subscribed. Yes, I’m a bit of a loser sometimes.

Obviously get most of the them on Fridays. 

So in case you’re after some PB goodness on your return from the pub tonight, see this link and fill yer boots and don’t forget the hairspray. 

Power Ballad (& 80s Rock) Friday

PS. If you have any suggestions for tracks that would be good inclusions please say

I know I’ve been a bit quiet on the blogosphere front. Been a busy time. But alas the start of the summer heralds more festivals, gigs and musical goodness. 

One experience worth noting is the Sunday I just had. Any of you in London knew how sweltering hot it was. So while thousands watched Beyonce in the gluey mud-caked Glastonbury I hotfooted it to Hyde Park to hang with some dads and aunties.

My main reason was to see one of my all-time heroines, the amazing Stevie Nicks. Any of you who know me well have been subjected to my constant banging on about Fleetwood Mac - and of course theirs and Stevie’s solo work is a stereo staple in my house. So you can imagine my excitement!

My review is brief. Stevie is as enchanting as I hoped she would be. Her voice is still strong (she’s been unfairly slated by the press for not hitting all the high notes). And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, she played 3 of my very favourite Fleetwood Mac Songs. Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman and Dreams (nb. me and my nerdy ways predicted Rhiannon - not so quietly chuffed about that). The Stevie-esque props I managed to muster at the lastminute were an appropriate set of scarves which were fashioned into headbands. Here is a pic of the crew looking rather fetching. The boys were good sports!

Worth mentioning was how great the band sounded. Even without Lindsay Buckingham her distinctive west coast sound literally gave me goosebumps. Now very excitable after Stevie, who ended her set with a brilliant rendition of Edge of Seventeen we were ready for a bit of Rod. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of Rod Stewart. But had no idea how much fun I would have watching him. I was unsure at first… he started off with some of his slightly dodgy covers - ie Love Train by the O Jays. But quickly rolled into the Rod we know and love. What really made it for me was the fact that he played Every Picture Tells a Story, the title track from the 1971 album which he said he hardly ever plays. Bonus! and not just that, he was joined on stage by none other than Ronnie Wood for Maggie May and Stay With Me. Double bonus!!

We all agreed that being at such an uncool gig was super cool. We belted out Rod’s hits, watched him work it on the stage with an array of sexy female musicians and a guitarist that looked like he was having the time of his life.

An excellent day had by all. Finished off by us rounding some unsuspecting travellers on the tube into singing ‘Do you think I’m sexy’. Not sure if they loved us or hated us - but we certainly raised a few smiles. 

Rod was also joined on stage by Stevie. 

Thanks go out to 2 people: 

1) Cheers Lozza for sorting us out with the tickets

2) Thanks to the Rod Stewart lookalike in the crowd for letting us have our pic taken with him. What a legend! haha

Actually it was from Friday. I never knew that dad-rock hit ‘Rockin all over the world’ made famous by Status Quo was written by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Who’d have thought?

Thanks to my friend Matthew for this little tip. I’m normally up on any 70s AOR but this one seemed to have slipped through the net - Officially called The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (modest!).

Hailing from Scotland, apparently he enjoyed brief success in the seventies, one of his triumphs includes a so-called flamboyant cover of Tom Jones’ ‘Delilah’. Always a fan of a good cover version, I will shortly be checking this out. 

In the meantime, for those of you on Spotify, check this link The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Hammer Song

Or listen on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swQ44pWBAa8

Late night chat last night…

Bottle of wine…

Music…

Conversation comes round to favourite intros.

I was asked… ‘what’s your favourite intro to a song?’.

I always hate answering these kind of things because you simply can’t say one thing is THE best. There is too much greatness out in the world to narrow it down to one. But I do like a good top 5. Just to strike a bit of a balance. So here are my top 5 favourite intros, off the top of my head. This is by no means a seriously considered list. More of a quick Friday coffee debate. 

In no particular order. I was about to say that they are all big rock intros. There are so many obvious ones that I won’t insult your intelligence by mentioning. But then I had to include a bit of MJ. Cue next discussion about the anatomy of a song by genre - Ahem!

1) Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNYySyEDr-8&feature=related

2) Back in Black - AC/DC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h44LIiaZhHE

3) Rebel Rebel - David Bowie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6bI_95G9I&feature=related

4) Don’t Stop Til you Get Enough - Michael Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08_Jsfi1dbE&ob=av2el

5) Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ88oTITMoM

DISCUSS…

It’s a decent debate. Some would say that the iPod generation are lazy listeners. 

I think there is some truth in this - and certainly there is something lacking in digital format (mainly the joy of handling a piece of vinyl in it’s large format, appreciating the artwork and listening from start to finish).

However something has to be said for the shuffle!

It’s my way of rediscovering things and truly enjoying them again. 

Here are a few gems that my iPod threw at me this morning. I enjoyed my walk to work immensely, even if it was slightly treacherous.

Rufus Wainwright – The Art Teacher

Steely Dan – My Old School

Ray Charles – Come Rain Or Come Shine

Ben Folds – Selfless, Cold and Composed

There’s more but if you fancy a tickle of these, get involved!

Happy Christmas

xxx

So Hype Machine have been asking folks to submit theirs. So I had a think and here goes:

1. Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez

2. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

3. Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws

4. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner

5. Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate - Ali and Toumani

6. Ratatat - LP4

7. Real Estate - Reality

8. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

9. Yeasayer - Odd Blood

10. Warpaint - The Fool

I’m going to elaborate on this when I get a spare moment. 

For now - if you haven’t heard of any of these check em out. 

x