Just couldn’t resist getting these for myself.
Picky
Category: Music
Music is a huge part of my life so it’s almost certain that this category will have a lot of stuff in it.
Bro Ar Men at Beyond the Border
I saw this band at Beyond the Border in the summer, and I really enjoyed them a lot. The guy playing the Mbira was a real character and really funny. He was also a great Mbira player amongst other instruments he played.
I wish I’d got their CD now.
More about beyond the border
Here are a few more posts about the Beyond the Border festival if you’re interested.
Beyond the border postponed
The wonderful story telling festival Beyond the Border has been postponed like so many events in 2020.
Not getting to Beyond the Border this year
I am not going to be able to get to Beyond the Border this year
If you have never eaten one of these then you’ve never lived
The last time I went to Beyond the Border I discovered these. That was back in 2014. I’ve waited two years to have the pleasure again, and it was worth the wait. I’d hoped that these would be available again at Beyond the Border, and they were, possibly one of the best foods I’ve ever…
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Yello: The Eye
I’ve only listened to this album a couple of times now, but it is great. I’ve been a fan of Yello since I was at school and I was introduced me to them. But in recent years I haven’t kept up with they work. So getting this album was great.
WOMAD: A Musical Buffet
My last post was about going to WOMAD, and since then I’ve been thinking about why I like festivals so much, especially ones like WOMAD, in fact, especially WOMAD.
A lot of UK festivals are just too big for me. I like smaller festivals like WOMAD where I can wander around easily and go from one stage to another quite quickly. That’s one of the things I love about festivals I can check out lots of different acts during the course of a day and stay for 5 minutes or watch the whole show.
It is like a kind of musical buffet where I sample some things and don’t get on with them, and others I have to eat the lot. If you know what I mean.
In some ways this goes against what I’d said before about listening and consuming music. I guess that this buffet approach to must is further along the consumer path then the dedicated listen. However, in many ways it is different from that argument.
I always enjoy coming away from WOMAD with a few new things to listen to, and this year they were.
I really enjoyed these three for very different reasons. They were the best bits of my buffet!
WOMAD memories 3: The Portico Quartet
The first time I saw The Portico Quartet was at WOMAD a few years ago. They were amazing and made a really big impression. Of course, now they’re no longer the Portico Quartet, and they’re just Portico, which is fine. Their music is quite different now, but I still like it. However, for me I…
WOMAD memories 2: Nouvelle Vague
Another great memory from WOMAD days was of Nouvelle Vague. I went to see them in the Big Red Tent and thought they were amazingly good fun. I subsequently bought quite a lot of their tracks. I say their tracks, of course for the most part they are covers, but what excellent covers they are.…
WOMAD memories 1: Mitsoura
As I was thinking about WOMAD I started remembering some of the high points over the years and I thought I’d share them. One such high point was when WOMAD was back in Reading, before it moved to Charlton Park in Wiltshire. I remember seeing Mitsoura for the very first time there. They were amazing.…
A day at WOMAD
I wasn’t able to spend the whole weekend at WOMAD this year, I was only able to go for the day this year. Which was ok. The weather was pretty awful on the Friday, so the Saturday was a good option in the end. So as always here’s the obligatory photo of the flags. I…
Considering going to WOMAD this year
I think I’ve been going for about 10 years now, so in some ways it would be a shame not to go, but the line up isn’t inspiring me this year, which is a shame. I’m thinking about it, but not convinced as yet. I may just go for the day. I’ve done that a…
I miss Mitsoura
They only released two albums and the last was a long time ago. Dura Dura Dura (their last album) was excellent as was their first album but it’s been years since they did anything. It’s a shame. I wish they’d done more. I’ve checked their site occasionally and there’s never anything new. I suppose it’s…
The Radiophonic Workshop at the Bowers and Wilkins Society of Sound stage at WOMAD
I was really pleased to get to see the Radiophonic Workshop at WOMAD this year. They did a talk and also a performance as well. Both were really enjoyable.
Martyn Ware at the Bowers and Wilkins Society of Sound stage at WOMAD
This was a great talk from Mr Ware from Heaven 17. I really enjoyed it, he had some great insights into the development of synths since the 1970s. Of course it wasn’t for everyone, but I thought it was awesome, especially as synth 20 was an OP-1!
Real World 25
I felt compelled to get this nice little box set at WOMAD this year. I’ve got quite a lot of the tracks already, but it’s really well put together and it came with a load of bits and pieces like postcards and stuff, most of which have actually survived the weekend and trip home. I…
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Homeland
I’ve been a fan of Laurie Anderson for as long as I can remember now so I was so pleased to finally get my physical copy of Homeland
Homeland is a great album. I remember seeing Laurie Anderson perform it at the Barbican a couple of years ago. What an amazing show that was.
One of the things that I really enjoy about her music and especially her lyrics is the way she sees things from a very different perspective to the everyday. It’s more than just a step back and look at things with fresh eyes, it’s more of a step back and to one side and repeat for quite a while. If that makes sense.
Getting a different perspective is so important. I constantly find myself bombarded with news and opinion from every direction, be it the internet, TV, radio, print. Sometimes in the midst of all those competing opinions it is hard to find your own perspective, your own voice. Listening to Laurie Anderson reminds me that it is still there.
Laurie Anderson has to be one of the most original people of all time
A thought about Laurie Anderson after listening to ‘heart of a dog’ again
Seeing Laurie Anderson’s film “Heart of a Dog”
I’ve been wanting to see this film for ages now so when it came up at the Tate Modern I was really pleased. But when I got there the added bonus was she was there too. Which was amazing. She gave a little talk at the beginning and then answered questions at the end. It…
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I am Ashley Elsdon 