Monthly Archives: October 2009

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It’s spooky time!!!!

I was just idly scanning this week’s GU film blog and in honour of Halloween, there’s an amusing thread on the scariest film of all time. Not surprisingly Uncle Jack got the most votes, but I was reminded of a TV series which terrified me as a child. If any of you were born in the late sixties, then you might just empathise with my involuntary shiver if I utter the four fatal words: Quiet. As. A. Nun…..
AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!
It was a cheesy seventies series called Armchair Thriller and was made in the same mould as Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. But there was something about that blank, black face that was (and actually still is) the stuff of nightmares. Did this freak any of you good people out too?

And the question to go: It’s Halloween. Share your childhood TV and film terrors with us. What sent you skittering behind the sofa in fear and trembling? Happy Halloween my friends. Here’s enough fodder fpr a sleepless night here.

Oh and…..
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

(cackle)

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Lunacy

This was in dropbox, and I accidentally copied it here…it’s a story about Billie Holiday. Who put it in the box?
Billie Holiday – I Wished on the Moon

THis is Billie Holiday singing I Wished on the Moon…
I Wished on the Moon
BH – What a Little Moonlight Can Do
Ella Fitzgerald – It’s Only a Paper Moon
John Prine – CLocks and Spoons
Tom Waits – Drunk on the Moon
TW – Nighthawk Postcards From Easy Street.
Carter Family – Meet Me By The Moonlight Alone
Carter Family – No More the Moon Shines On Lorena
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Underwater You and Me
Manu Chao – Luna y Sol
Manu Chao – Dia Luna Dia Pena
B&S – Waiting for the Moon to Rise
Radiohead – Sail to the Moon (Brush the Cobwebs off the Sky)
Talking Heads – Moon Rocks
Black Star – Astronomy
Black Star – Respiration
Mos Def – Sun Moon Stars
Busdriver – Unemployed Black Astronaut
Busta Rhymes – Shoot for the Moon

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"Le voyage dans la lune" – George Méliès

According to Wikepedia;

Georges Méliès (December 8, 1861 – January 21, 1938), full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French film maker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects. He accidentally discovered the stop trick, or substitution, in 1896, and was one of the first film makers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted colour in his films. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the “Cinemagician.”

The narration is by his niece, Madeleine Malthête-Méliès. It’s a wonderful little film, with what must have been state-of-the-art special effects in 1902.

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Au Clair de La Lune…



There’s a French nursery rhyme called Au Clair de La Lune, but I can’t remember the second line, it’s right there on the tip of my tongue, anybody know it?

I realise there are a lot of songs here, feel free to use the ▶▏ button.

There’s A Moon Out Tonight – The Capris
The Killing Moon (Up All Night Mix) – Echo & The Bunnymen
Trip II The Moon (Kaleidoscopiklimax) – Acen

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a soul cake, a soul cake…

Must have had the solos creep in ‘cos the first three wig out a bit… MGMT, stellastarr* and Yo La Tengo:
Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
Moongirl
Moonrock Mambo

a remix of fiest, Gift of Gab then Adem teaches me a word that I never knew:
My Moon, My Man (Arabesque remix)
Moonshine
You And Moon
Luna for my Double whammy:
Moon Palace

the other 30 tracks that I really rate have to be kept for other themes!!

(I tried to guess other peoples tracks and take in the early lists from ‘spill.. but I can’t get into RR at all.. so sorry if they are your shouts – doing the picture my computer was screaming – ‘NO VIRTUAL MEMORY’ @ me)

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The Hobgoblin on the moon

A longer list from me than usual, and as varied as the things that came out of the Hobgoblin’s hat…

Moon Gone Down – the Gourds
The Moon Shines Bright – Shirley and Dolly Collins
Kiko And The Lavender Moon – Los Lobos
Spanish Moon – Little Feat
No More The Moon Shines On Lorena – Kev Russell’s Junker
Lovers’ Moon – Any Trouble
Midnight Moonlight – the Be Good Tanyas
Fever Moon – Diana Jones
Teenage Moon – the Big Bopper
Moonlight Baby – Buddy Holly & the Crickets
Rising For The Moon – Fairport Convention
Half-Mad Moon – Damnations TX
Gringo Honeymoon – Robert Earl Keen
Full Moon – Sandy Denny
Once In A Blue Moon – Norma Waterson
Who Built The Moon? – Shinyribs
La Luna Fue Culpable – Doug Sahm & the Sir Douglas Quintet
Moon Dog – Pentangle
Moonshiner – Allison Moorer

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For the birds


You have itty-bitty dippy birds.We like them too. But then we have griffon-vultures, who also like itty-bitty birds, but only when they’re defunct . . . post-flying . . . no longer aeronautically viable, ex-parrots . . .

Would someone out there explain all this? It says it’s by The Fall:

Das Vulture Ans Das Nutter-Wain

Das Vulture Ans Das Nutter-Wain
La la la la la la

Das Vulture Ans Das Nutter Ein Wain
Vulture Ans Das Nutter-Wain
Vulture
Ans Das Nutter Ein Wain

Jester
Jester
Parson’s prayer
So few and far between

Down and out
Carry on clown
Paint your face
And close your mouth
Vulture
Ein das Nutter
La la la la la la

Vulture

Das Vulture Ans Das Ans
Ein Nutter Wain
Vulture Ans Ein Nutter-Wain
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Carry on clown
Ans Vulture Ans Ein Nutter-Wain

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O say can you see? Oh wait, that’s the other guys

Moonrise on the Ottawa River, late summer about 60 miles northwest of Ottawa

No point using my words to say what these songs say much gooder eh. This week’s topic has made me nostalgic for late autumn – early winter in middle Canada, where I grew up. (You will see on TV during this winter’s Olympics that the city of Vancouver has the same climate as mid-England. Luckily there are mountains nearby for winter sport). In most of Canada, winter is 9 months of icy 16-hour nights. By January it’s not so romantic anymore and a little nightlight from above is much appreciated.

Gordon Lightfoot – Song For A Winter’s Night
Ann Mortifee – The Moonlight
Joni Mitchell – Night Ride Home
k.d. lang – Helpless (Neil Young cover)
Neil Young – Harvest Moon (unplugged)
Ian Tyson – Night Rider’s Lament
Roy Forbes w Connie Kaldor – Saskatoon Moon
Stephen Fearing – Goodnight moon

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It’s Lunacy I tell you, the Moon is driving us crazy!

The Moon has held a strange fascination over our imaginations ever since our hominid ancestors first looked up and gazed upon our closest companion.

The Moon has been seen as the abode of strange beings, the cause of Madness (hence Lunacy), the power that triggers Lycanthropy and many other things too.

Musically, Moon has traditionally been rhymed with June, but that hasn’t stopped musicians using the imagery of the Moon for their own ends.

Genesis – Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

Kristin Hersh – White Trash Moon

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Bert Jansch – Crimson Moon

Thin Lizzy – Dancing in the Moonlight

Television – Marquee Moon

Camel – Lunar Sea

Siouxsie – Sea of Tranquility

The Grateful Dead – Picasso Moon

The Rolling Stones – Moonlight Mile

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Gremlin in Bärlin


Travel is great – think we all agree on that and though Berlin is a place I have been before it is a constantly changing and developing place , buildings , culture , politics , events : the outdoor “Topography of Terror” around where the Chancellry buildings used to be between Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse (today Niederkirchnerstrasse), Wilhelmstrasse and Anhalter Strasse , is now awaiting finishing on a permanent indoor home. U2 are playing in front of the Brandenburger Tor FREE on Nov 5th to commemorate 20th anniversary of Mauerfall. Security was massive while we were there as Angela Merkel had just formed a new government and was being sworn in. Policemen with machine-guns on the streets – now that IS scary. And they don’t mess about either.
Here is a wonderful piece of urban art which is for all to see and you can see how big it is from the pic. Spill points for the following:
1. Who made it?
2. What is it called?
3. Where exactly is it?
4. Which are the nearest U-Bahn
5. Is it in former East or west Berlin?
Massive thanks to all the RR-ers who went to Leeds and gave me a CD – I shall be listening to them now I am back and will put fave tracks on here – X

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Blue Moon (or how trying to find an amusing picture of workman’s bottom on the internet can prove to be difficult & disturbing)


Moonshake
Moon is on Ice
Must be the Moon (Emperor Machine Mix)
Major Malfunction
The Lowest Point of the Moon
Emerging
Silver Moons

Rok it to the Moon
See You On the Moon
Black Moon
By the Light of the Moon
Moon Witch Cartridge
Waiting for the Moon
The Honeymoon Killers
Man on the Moon

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Dipping in and out …


I’d love to claim that I’d taken this picture when I was fortunate enough to see one of these beautiful birds on Tuesday – unfortunately mine came out so blurred and out of focus that even I’m struggling to identify the brown blob at the centre of the screen as a bird. This is a picture of the now-famous Dipper, a bird which I think has a pretty strong claim to be adopted as the official bird of Readers Recommend. If you’ve ever had the honour (and it really is an honour) of watching one in action, you’ll agree that it does exactly what we do – constantly seeking out new pleasures, bobbing up and down to the music that’s surely in its head, twitching its tail in time to the rhythm, and dipping in and out of the water, trying out this and that.

ToffeeGirl and I are off on another walk this afternoon – we’re crossing the Forth into the Kingdom of Fife (aka Blimpyland) but only just. A short stroll around North Queensferry is the order of the day – hopefully more interesting bird sightings to report back.

A question for you all: if not the Dipper, which bird/animal should be adopted as the official RR mascot?

EDIT: Thanks to ejd for starting a moon-themed post above. Can we transfer our moon-based activities up there – much as I appreciate the ‘traffic’, I fear that my poor little dipper’s in danger of being eclipsed!

EDIT #2: Apologies to everyone for my revisionist approach to history. I’ve moved all the non-Dipper/RR familiar comments up to ejd’s post above. Sorry if I’ve lost anything important and sorry if it’s made anyone feel at all discombobulated. Particular apologies to Chris whose comments I moved mid-conversation as it were …

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What’s Everyone Listening To Right Now This Second, RIght NOW!

Okay…..what can you hear the second you read this?

Me, I’m mostly hearing the song “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine”, the second track from the Flaming Lips excellent freak-out of a new double album.
Quite loud too, it seems, as I typed this my mother in law was banging on my front door – me oblivious until Mrs McF came and yelled at me!
You?
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Gong – the new album 2032

Amazingly, the Pot-Head Pixies are back from Planet Gong in their Flying Teapot and they are touring in support of their new album 2032

I am going to see them in Bristol on November 19th.

It is pretty much a classic lineup too, even Steve Hillage is back.

Even more interesting, Hillage’s own band is playing as a support act to Gong themselves.

Anyway, fresh from Radio Gnome is the new opus

City of Fascination

Digital Girl

How to stay alive

Escape Control Delete

Yoni Poem

Dance with the Pixies

Wacky Baccy Banker

The Year 2032

Robo Warriors

Guitar Zero

The Gris Gris Girl

Wave and a particle

Pinkle Ponkie

Portal

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RR Northern Social CD Compilations

Back row (l-r): gordonimmel, gremlinfc, DarceysDad, sonofwebcore, exodus, TracyK
Needing, sorry, nicking the sofa: Mnemonic, tarxien
Kneeling: DaddyPig, AliMunday, the extremely tall tincanman

The more formal team picture from Saturday night’s shindig. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I had a whale of a time, so thank you all. Apologies to our more sensitive readers about gremlin’s hand; I did tell him not to pick his spots, but the camera’s timer went off, so … tough!
Anyway, the other reason for posting this – there was the customary exchange of compilation CD-Rs, and the usual promises to listen and feedback. Given that I was in a nostalgic heavy rock mood when I compiled mine, I’m not actually going to hold anyone to that promise! ☺ All I ask is that everyone attending, or with access to the ‘Box (hint, hint!) listens to Track No.19 on mine, and forgives the fact that it was a live recording from a pub gig, and the source cassette is twenty-three years old.
So, any feedback welcome . . .