Royal Oak

Impressive snowfall there Bev. The snow has reached the NW - looks like I'm going to be pulling the kids home from school on a sledge this afternoon.

Jeanette Winterson - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. I remember watching the TV series about 20 years ago, but never read the book. The mother is portrayed much more sympathetically in the book than on TV (up to now, anyway).

Nice pic Bev, looks somehow artificial. Snow in the NW today, though not yet as bad as it was in January.

Bloody cold. 4 months of this to go.

I told my friend to step on the gas of the Opel Manta and 'follow that car' but she was gone in a flash. Ah well.. Ford Escort Ghia and Opel Manta! When I was at school they were among the most desirable cars for spotty 16 year-olds dreaming of their provisional driving licences!

Wow, someone came out and said it! I quite liked "Could You Be The One" and bought "Warehouse" on the strength of it, but never got it. Same with Jesus and Mary Chain.

FWIW I agree, for exactly the same reason!

The Andre Agassi autobiog "Open". If he wrote this without a ghost, he's an elegant writer.

Call me sappy, but I love Chet Baker's (vocal) rendition.

Many happy returns Daniele.

That's quite a revelatory interview. Ray was a guest on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show a couple of days ago. Given that Wright's interview style is notoriously sycophantic, the whole thing could be pared down to: Wright: "Ray - you're great" Davies: "I know"

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I have a problem with "4'33", which IMO is the quintessence of the Emperor's new clothes, is it not?

Bert Jansch - It Don't Bother Me John Renbourn - Another Monday

Having just googled "Norwegian Wood Manfred", I have answered my own question in the affirmative.

Been listening to Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" tonight, and have discovered that the starting riff to Norwegian Wood ("I once had a girl" etc) is a note-for-note lift from a recurring motif from this. Is this well-known?

A couple of Stephane Grappelli Lps and "Sunday Walk" by Jean-Luc Ponty. Never heard Ponty out of the Zappa band/repertoire.

Highway 61 Revisited. Big feature in this month's Record Collector about this LP. Not sure I'd agree with calling it the most influential/important/whatever album ever, but I like it.

Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions. Would sound a lot better without the scratch!

Listening to singers that can actually sing? Marion Brown - Afternoon of a Georgia Faun [ECM] Fair play, but it sure is his own voice.

Listening, for the first time ever, to "Blonde On Blonde". Fuck me, what have I been doing for 40 years?

On a similar/not-so-similar note, the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has a biography in the offing, 10 copies of which are reported to contain a drop of his blood on a special page. A snip at $75000.

The Sting appreciation thread - post your favourite recordings here.

The Woman Chaser - Charles Willeford. An undemanding, enjoyable read.

Well, I bought it a few weeks ago, after knowing it since the sixties. I wonder if we've caused a surge in sales for this album? Bought mine about 10 years ago! Today received the Randy Weston Mosaic Select.