the pukes teach you how to play ukulele - plus the pink fairies

The Pukes are a society of punky, anti-establishment ukulele players in London, so if you want to get involved, get a ukulele and start learning the chords above.

As The Pink Fairies sang at Glastonbury 1971 - 'Just do it you muthas (Do it, Do it, Do it etc)'



Me?
I'm off for a cup of cocoa and a lie down.  I'm too old for this sort of malarky, but l applaud the idea and attitude, having lived through the punk wars myself.

toodle pip

nickolay lamm's barbies

Ever wondered what Barbie Dolls would look like if they were modelled on real womens figures?
No?
Me neither actually, but when l saw these representations by Nicholay Lamm, l thought the differences were pretty interesting (but hardly unexpected).

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andre the giant (again)

I've written about Andre The Giant before, but here's a photograph of his hand holding a normal beer can
Very scary (or impressive - maybe both)
.

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tony matelli artwork

Rather like Ron Mueck, Tony Matelli is producing hyper life like artworks that are both realistic and spooky. I don't know if it should be considered an homage to Mueck, or just a rip off of his work, but Matelli's figures are certainly impressive. However, Mueck's work leaves more of a disturbing image seared into your retinas.  Once seen, never forgotten.
Then again, l've been to a couple of Mueck's exhibitions (and have a poster of his in my living room), so maybe if l saw Matelli's stuff close up, they might weave the same kind of disturbing fascination for me.
I think if l had the talent of either of them, l would just create some women for myself, and never leave the house. Oh, and maybe a George Best or two.
Some of Mueck's work in progress can be found here.

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the spiral cage - al davison

I was recommended this book before last Christmas, but have only just got around to reading it.(out in the hammock with hot sunshine and a beer - bliss).
It's an autobiography by Al Davison in the form of a graphic novel (originally in comic form). He's from Newcastle, was born with Spina Bifida, and the book tells of his struggles in life, his childhood and schooldays, adult life and relationships, plus his interest in martial arts and Buddhism (which he puts to good use).
Michael, the person who recommended it to me, is a fan of comics, and knows Davison personally, so correctly guessed it would be something that would interest me, and he was proved to be correct.
An excellent read, all the more gripping because it is true (plus it bought back memories of going into Timeslip, the Newcastle comic shop, to flog a comic l was involved with).

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jisum at jt's

Here's two videos of Jisum at JT's (in Catterick) last night, taken by Joe and Mark.
It was crowded and hot - excellent!.

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todd snider - money, compliments and publicity

Todd Snider came up on the shuffle settings today, and it reminded me of how much l love him, as l haven't played anything of his for a while.
He deserves to be a lot more popular.

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denis ryan - the irishman abroad

I never get tired of listening to this man.
It's Denis Ryan, talking a lot of sense (with top notch swearing), about the Irish financial crisis.
From the 'An Irishman abroad' channel, where there are more interviews with Ryan to be found.

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ac/dc and the hollow men

Watching the video for AC/DC's 'Let There Be Rock', it started to bug me that Bon Scott's cheeky eye glances upwards or to the side reminded me of something else.
Then it hit me - the video for The Hollow Men's 'White Train'.
I don't think Dave Ashmoore (the singer) is trying to channel the spirit of Bon Scott by any stretch of the imagination, it was just one of the many things in life that bug me.
Now l can relax and enjoy some Sunshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (before l try and dig out my old Hollow Men t-shirt)

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t.rex at the georgian theatre (again)

I went along to The Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond tonight to see T.Rex.
Obviously it was the current version without Marc Bolan (or Mickey Finn nowadays), but still containing Paul Fenton on drums.
This was the second time l have been to see them at the Georgian, and it was pretty much like the first time. It's enjoyable, with rockier versions of the songs (including drum, organ and guitar solos - AAAHHHHH!!!!!), but l preferred it last time, as l liked Rob Benson (the previous singer) better.
That's not to say l didn't think much of Jay Spargo, the new frontman, as he did a pretty impressive facsimile of Marc'c vocals, but Benson was more of a hippie, and that appealed to my childhood leanings, especially when Benson performed the acoustic songs.
On a side note, l was surprised to be stopped on the way out by a girl who was celebrating her 40th and had recognised me from this blog, which she had stumbled across while googling for T.Rex (as you do).
I thought she was going to tell me some unpleasant news at first, as the conversation started with "I hate to tell you this, but....", which usually doesn't end well, but the news turned out to be complimentary.
Phew! Another close call.
Next stop - Jisum at J.T's tomorrow. No sleep till bedtime.

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reading festival 1977

Pah! Don't talk to me about festivals nowadays, with their yurts, celebs, posh food places, plus fences that would put the Berlin Wall to shame.
This was my first festival, Reading in 1977, when it stayed rainy and muddy,  weekend tickets were £7.50, and l hitch hiked there and back from Catterick, North Yorkshire (and got picked up going there by The Finn brothers from Richmond).
That, brothers and sisters, is what you call a festival experience (plus Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were on).
Once you have survived something like that, it's all relative afterwards.



Aerosmith in 1977 (Houston).  At the time, lots of drugs were being taken, and Steve Tyler wants the crowd to sing to 'Train Kept a Rollin', when the actual song is 'Toys in the Attic'.



The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - there's not been anyone like them since.


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broken dreams - tom bower

Another book l have eventually managed to finish.
I started this ages ago, but then dropped it in the bath, and have been waiting for it to dry out so l could finish the remaining  pages.  They were soggy and then wrinkled (a bit like me) but at least had some use, as they were just about still readable.
Tom Bower has certainly done some investigating (as is his wont), but 'Broken Dreams' is dispiriting reading if you are a fan of old school football and its characters, as so many of them have been dodgy wheeler dealers, and after lining their own pockets with a fast buck at the first opportunity.
The usual suspects are present and correct.  Don Revie, Brian Clough and Harry Redknapp prominent among them, but for me, Ken Bates was the one l have the greatest disliking for, and that is some doing with Revie on the list.
I'm pretty cynical at the best of times, and think most people would be corrupted with the slightest temptation, but it's still depressing and annoying when people are caught out and my cynicism is confirmed.

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suzi quatro - unzipped

As l grew up listening to the Glam sounds of the early 1970's, l picked up Suzi Quatro's 'Unzipped' from a charity shop when out and about the other day, to see if there were any great revelations about that time, and trashy gossip about the stars of the day.
Unfortunately, no there weren't (apart from a small piece on Gary Glitter), but there were some interesting stories about her early days travelling around with her sisters (and others), playing in their all girl band 'The Pleasure Seekers' and growing up to the sound of the early Doo Wop and Rock and Roll records.
Suzi was forthright about her strained relationships, both with her family and partners, but there was a bit too much hippie/new age/spiritual mumbo jumbo for my liking, and l would have preferred a straight forward account of her life, rather than it being split between 'Little Susie from Detroit' and 'Suzi Quatro'.
It was an enjoyable enough way to pass the time, but not as scandalous as l had hoped for.
Saying that, she has certainly put the hours (and years) in, and her 'Rocking with Suzi' radio show has been pretty good and informative whenever l have caught some of it, and well worth listening to.

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experiments in the revival of organisms

Want to see dead animals bought back to life?  Amputated dogs leads responding to external stimuli??
Look no further, it's all here, in a Soviet film from 1940.



Spooky stuff.

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more vivian maier photographs

More photographs by Vivian Maier.  And these aren't even my favourits.

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the press photographer of the year award

Some of the photographs from the press photographer of the year award.  The shadow horse is my favourite, and l need to get a camera with a fast shutter speed.

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geoff and michelle win the lottery

This is Geoff and Michelle Hughes, who used to run the Colburn Lodge a few years ago, which was one of my local pubs.  They then moved to Middlesbrough and ran The Coronation pub in Acklam, which, as luck would have it, was also one of my haunts, as Robbo and Kerry lived around the corner from it, so l would go there and then stay over.
I found out last week that they had won nearly $78,000 on the lottery by getting 5 numbers (plus the bonus ball).  Now they are pretty nice people, but l am still bitter, twisted, and jealous as anything.
I would be off to America and Japan in no time if l won (and probably dead pretty soon afterwards).

toosdle pip.

john lennon on the voice

What a great pisstake - John Lennon auditioning for The Voice.

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the rolling stones at glastonbury festival and the strypes

No doubt there will be much discussion around the country today about The Rolling Stones' appearance at Glastonbury Festival yesterday, so here's my view.
They delivered what was expected of them. A collection of their mostly well known songs with a lot of prancing about (resulting in some poor singing), with some shoddy playing and posing thrown in for good measure. Mick Jagger tries to please everyone with his cockernee geezer accent and desperation to show how he can still move about at his ripe old age of nearly 70, and Keef is more concerned with looking cool and iconic, rather than bashing out some memorable tunes.  It was good to see Mick Taylor up with them, sharing some of the plaudits and glory, and Keith Richards looking as though he is going to end up emulating Taylor in the lifestyle choices nowadays, rather than the other way round (healthy eating wise).
Some songs sounded decent, some (2,000 Light Years From home), were atrocious.
Nowadays, half of the attraction of seeing The Stones is the fact that they are an institution.  Wizened old legends, creakily stepping down from their personal Mount Olympus' to entertain the common folk, who may never get the chance to see them again. Supposedly their rehearsals for the tour came in at a million of your English pounds and pence, but they still play like a sloppy, pissed up bar band playing the songs for the first time.
On the other hand, this could also be commended, as they don't try to be ultra professional, and are more bothered about the audience going away happy after an entertaining spectacle rather than pleasing the TV viewers at home, and that is certainly how it came across yesterday. They were much better than they could have been, it's normally a great day out, and rather like some football matches, the build up and anticipation (plus the all day drinking with mates or partners) is most of the fun.  The match/concert at the end is something that will hopefully prove to be worthwhile and pleasurable, but a good day out can still be had if it is not.
If you really want to recapture the early bluesy Stones, go and see some young bands who still have it all to prove, not some old gits looking after their retirement funds.

I've got high hopes for The Strypes.  At the moment, they can't get near what the Stones were like in their heyday, but they have a long, long time ahead of them to have a decent pop at it. If they end up half as good, that would still be an achievement worth aspiring to.



The Stones - remember them this way.  Gimme Shelter on Pop Goes The Sixties



The young pretenders - The Strypes with Blue Collar Jane on The Late Late Show.


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calexico at glastonbury festival

Watching some of the Glastonbury Festival highlights yesterday, l was disappointed to see how few people were there to see Calexico.  There may well have been something else on at the same time that took would be fans away, but it must still be frustrating for them playing to so few at such a large festival, after all the work they have put in over the years.
My own view is that they would be a bigger band if they stuck to more of their up tempo tunes, therefore creating a raucous live atmosphere.  On the other hand, part of the reason l like them because of the sometimes haunting mood that they put across.  They seem to be sticking to playing whatever takes their fancy, and if that leads to success or failure, so be it.
Doing things the right way.  I have a lot of admiration for that attitude, but sadly, l can't see them continuing for a lot longer.
As a side note, some of the  the artwork they use on their posters and t-shirts is brilliant, check it out below (although the middle one is an actual Calexico (the place) poster.  Would still look good on a t-shirt though.

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david vann - dirt

Despite never hearing about the book or author before, I read David Vann's 'Dirt' after it was recommended to me as something l'd like, and l wasn't disappointed.  It features Galen, a spoilt, new age worshiping would be guru and spiritual master (who isn't), who refuses to eat, and takes great pleasure in winding up his mother, who won't pay for him to further his education.  He goes out walking at night to be at one with nature, has some painful/pleasurable sex with a relative, and then goes completely off the rails as things start to spiral out of control.  
Marvelous stuff.

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robin thicke - blurred lines

Although l'm not too keen on all the bitches and hoe's songs that are so popular with the USA R'n'B fraternity, l love Robin Thicke's (featuring T.I and Pharrell) 'Blurred Lines' as it's just sooooooo damn catchy.
Now if only l could dance or had a smidgen of rhythm in my sad old body, l'd be up bustin' some moves (so it's a good job l can't).

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