Boxed set

That old Dad rock nostalgia thing is a real problem. I complain about 'old rock' and in theory I'm against the whole 'boxed set' thing - but who finally bought the Beatles re-masters? Yup, bloody me, that's right. My excuses - you'll know them I guess - and it wasn't expensive (see, I wasn't going to spell out my excuses and now here I am with an excuse)

Problem is that as ever 99% is shit (as the man said) - somebody help me to todays 1% before I go mad.

If you don't at this rate i'll be checking out Genesis...(OK, OK, don't worry, I'm not that far gone yet)

Five Years - That's all we got

Blimey! I just realised I've been writing a blog for nearly 5 years. None of the publishing companies that have offered me 6-figure sums to publish it on paper mentioned that to me.

Five years left to cry in.

I may have made a bit of that up...

Nostalgia - for a world yet to come

I bought a monthly music mag this week – Uncut as it happens. There’s usually a lot of ‘classic’ Dad rock in most of the monthies (it seems to me as an 'irregular' reader) and I’m as up for articles on Neil Young and John Lennon as anyone else – and yup, I’ll go for the stuff on Talking Heads and Dylan and the rest (not so bothered about Eric Clapton though...) too. However, what surprised me was looking at the adverts for gigs in the back. Who are all the thrusting young whipper snappers on tour this Autumn? Well...here’s a sample...

Wilko Johnson, Barclay James Harvest, John Cooper Clarke, Mudhoney, the Human League, Eric Clapton, Paul Weller, Van Morrison, the Waterboys, Nils Lofgren, Tom Paxton, Edwyn Collins, Lloyd Cole, The Wedding Present, the Selector, the Psychedelic Furs, Ian Hunter, the Bluetones, the Stranglers, Skunk Anansie, Marc Almond, Cast, Echo & the Bunnymen, Squeeze, Madness, James, The Pogues, The Charlatans, Primal Scream and Suede.

It’s not that all of these are rubbish – some are great. But can it really be that rock music (and ‘proper’ pop music come to that) is now almost exclusively played by and for the over 40s? Is it really dead on it's arse? Is there really no point in being in a badn trying to do something slightly new?

Maybe I'm just reading the wrong magazines but if one thing rock and roll isn't about it's nostalgia.

I'm depressed now...

Sandwich Bored

I note from my lunch this week that the Co-op was awarded the “Sandwich convenience retailer of the year” award from the British Sandwich Association. A quick question, what is a sandwich convenience? Is it bread that soaks up piss?

Anyway, there’s a ‘sandwich designer of the year’ award too - and a “Cheese Cellar Leerdammer Lightlife Cheese Sandwich Designer of the Year” Very much like getting a Nobel prize I imagine...

So there you go...and you thought you were wasting your life on the dole...Actually, I wonder what would happen if you told the dole off ice you were a sandwich designer?

I just had a look and downloaded an entry form for the sandwich awards – these are the categories:
- English Provender Ploughmans Plum Chutney Sandwich
- The Cheese Cellar Leerdammer Lightlife Sandwich
- Moy Park Corned Beef Sandwich
- Bernard Matthews Turkey Sandwich

Please note – I am not making this up...Perhaps these are winners and not categories? Could one invent a new version of these?

Mind you, the marketing industry is totally barking and out of control as you'll have noticed so who knows...

Baader news

Who’d have thought the Baader Meinhof group (no, they’re not a band...) would be in the news again? Seems that a member of said group Verena Becker is being tried for murder after new DNA evidence emerged connecting her with the killing of 3 people in 1977 (it says 'ere...)

This in interesting to me as the Whole Sky Monitor song ‘Drone (Revolution)' from the new album makes a couple of references to members of the group (specifically Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin). Erm, that’s it really. Best to read up on them if you have some time. It all looks a bit mad and un-heroic from here – despite Joe Strummer wearing the t-shirt...