BillF

Very much the experience of my 26-year-old daughter. Loves the Cloud - not surprised as she uses phone, tablet and laptop, plus desktop at work. As the one who bails out her overdrafts, I'm pleased she's moved from constantly buying downloads from iTunes to using Spotify at £9.99 a month.

The Iron Lady The Ironing Lady Emeric Pressburger

See Now Reading, post #4281

Maggie May Blossom Dearie Timothy Leary

Well deserved! She isn't a giant, but then we don't live in an age of giants.

Ringo Starr The Star Crossed Lovers Lady Mac

Hairy McLary Dawn Airey The Tooth Fairy

The story of Al Haig by an ex-wife. I had expected a fully organised biography and was surprised and disappointed to find 500 pages of undigested source materials culled from a vast array of sources; e.g. hundreds of verbatim recollections of Haig from people who knew him, arranged into chapters by decade and in alphabetical order of contributor's name. The book also needed serious attention of a copy editor. There are numerous spelling errors, particularly of people's names ("Harold Maybern") and many meaningless "sentences": " Al didn't impart like Lou Levy I thought when I found most of the jazz compers chords and feed and play along and sit down and give the piano Al could do that." Here, failure to divide into two sentences turns jazz history on its head: "Al Haig was one of the rare white musicians who influenced black musicians twenty years before Frankie Trumbauer influenced Benny Carter and Lester Young." That said, I was fascinated by the book's revelations about a pianist whose work I love and and an era in jazz that's my favorite. And, of course, I have no misgivings whatever about the excellent contribution of Mr Allen Lowe on pp. 430-31.

WAGs

Soprano Summit Sir Edmund Hillary Bill Clinton

Daisy Wheel Marcus Printup David Letterman

James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards Li'l Queenie and the Percolators Li'l Abner & the Shmoos

The Donkey Who Was Serenaded The Golden Ass Kylie Minogue

Saw the film that was made from this. It wasn't bad, but I imagine the novel is superior. I've only just found out that there was a film. I've put it on my rental list with Lovefilm. As the beauty of the book lies largely in its verbal felicities, I won't be able to draw direct comparisons between novel and film. I'll watch the film for its own sake. I'm putting the novel on my to-read list. Good reading!

Saw the film that was made from this. It wasn't bad, but I imagine the novel is superior. I've only just found out that there was a film. I've put it on my rental list with Lovefilm. As the beauty of the book lies largely in its verbal felicities, I won't be able to draw direct comparisons between novel and film. I'll watch the film for its own sake.

George Carman Cab Calloway Takis

The Bachelors The Master The Doctor

Mike and Bernie Winters Ann Summers The Four Seasons

I've heard Gilad's album and it's very good.

Midgets Joe Newman Frank Wess

Gladys Knight and the Pips Pops Foster Papsrus

I note that the ranting on this issue as well as that of European copyright seems to be coming from the wealthiest musicians. Risk of losing a million or two? What sickens me is that the jazz musicians of consummate artistry whom I turn out to see are paid £100 - £300 per gig, while I read that a lesser light in the pop/rock world can expect £75,000. Dunno why it should sicken you, Bill. That IS part of the natural order of things. This ain't the thirties and they're not Cab Calloway. MG It's regrettable that this is the natural order of things.

Nice! The Terriers Fred Karno's Army The Barmy Army