Running to stand still

Let me be the first to say I don't like U2 at all but the song that provides the title for this entry is absolutely fantastic and quite apt.

My burgeoning late life surge into running and generally getting a bit fitter has hit a wall. A wall as big and insurmountable as the Immersion edition of Pink Floyd's Wall album, all 99 discs of it.
I have been carrying a bad soft tissue injury to my left ankle for quite some time now since I went over on it late last year. Nothing seems to be doing the trick with it. Visits to an osteopath have given me some relief but nothing permanent. A visit to a doctor left me with a referral to a physio which is a bit of a cop out I think. It seems nothing but staying off it completely for months will sort it out and even then that's just taking a punt on luck.

The thing is, it's hard to stay off it when you actually require an ankle to walk and stuff. Stupid biomechanics. I fear if I let the jogging go for any appreciable length of time then I will leave it behind me completely. Leave it behind like a babbling fool (cf The Jayhawks Break My Mind). This would not be a desirable situation at all as I fear a slide back into previous states would occur. Also, I am committed to a ten mile race around my home place in mid April which I do not want to back out of as it's for charity and I've already been sponsored by several people.

I can actually do the ten miles, that's not worrying me at all. It will be slow but it will get done. The only thing I can think of now is to stay off the foot, road-wise, and rest it as much as I can and then do the race as fresh as I can in April. So we shall see.

Another thing niggling at me is this blog itself. Now I understand why there are so many orphan blogs out there in the electronic miasma, the digital swamp. It takes dedication to write something every day or even weekly. My life is just not that interesting. Not to me and certainly not to others.

You begin with enthusiasm and good intentions but it can become a chore and something you purposely avoid after a while. I read quite a few sports blogs and music blogs and I completely admire the tenacity and talent of those authors who stick at it and keep pushing out material. Maybe I need a new job, something that would provide thrilling material. I must check the availability of international trouble shooter job openings or industrial espionage vacancies. Surely there's something out there.

I suppose not everything can be thrilling and exciting. I mean, look at The Walking Dead. That has zombies in it and yet it is the most dreary, mind numbing tripe ever committed to tape. They're still at the farm!! Nothing happens, nothing happens...nothing happens..ooh, exciting cliffhanger bit at the end to make you tune in again next week where...nothing happens.

I need a holiday. Take it easy...

Gentle (nothings) on my mind

Hello....been a while. Quite a while actually.

I started this blog with good intentions of posting fairly often and updating it but for the longest time now I've been drawing a blank and neglecting this little place like a puppy discarded after Christmas.


The diet and exercise thing is moving along nicely and I am aiming to complete a 10 mile road race around the island here in April. So, that is my immediate goal. Well, that and trying, once again, to kick smoking. Pain in the ass that one. Keeps dragging me back in.

Looking forward to seeing The Jayhawks again in March in Dublin and then hitting Kilkenny for the Roots festival in May for the weekend. No sign of who is playing when/where but I am hoping to see Willy Vlautin/Dan Eccles play and Richard Buckner too. There's a night with Andy Kershaw that looks quite interesting too. Reading from his autobiography and doing a Q&A.

Currently, I am trying to get into the third book of George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice and Fire series and looking forward very much to the tv premier of the new season of that in April.

Getting very pissed off with Arsenal's performances this season too. I am close to wanting Wenger to just pack up now and not totally tarnish what is a fine legacy. The way things are going now is very like Clough at Forest. We won't be relegated or anything like that but we could be left behind by the big spenders and end up a more glamourous Stoke or Fulham.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Mind is drawing a blank again....oh, do find yourself the new albums by Damien Jurado and Lambchop. Hugely enjoyable records.

Be cool...

It's a hit!

This post holds just a few albums that have really been big favourites of mine this year.

The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow
Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
Richmond Fontaine - The High Country
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Tom Waits - Bad As Me
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
White Denim - D and Last Day Of Summer
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
Wild Beasts - Smother
Josh T. Pearson - Last Of The Country Gentlemen
Gillian Welch - The Harrow and The Harvest
Joe Henry -Reverie
Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO
The Black Keys - El Camino
Opeth - Heritage
Mastodon - The Hunter
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps

The Ultimate Rule ought to be: 'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchin'; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty.

It's the most poptastic time of the year..

Every publication, blog and website seems to be running down their albums of the year so I thought why not?

I should do some movies as well but, shamefully, I don't get to see too many throughout the year. I certainly see enough tv but a lot of film buffs would look down their Kubrickian noses at the small screen fare. Shame that because American television, especially cable television, is in a certain golden period with some fantastic shows over the last few years.

Still, it's music which rules the artistic roost in my house, so lets spark off.

I am not going to rank them or really limit myself to a top ten. I am just gonna throw a bunch of them out there. Albums that I have enjoyed in 2011.

Dave Alvin - Eleven Eleven
Iron and Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Drive By Truckers - Go Go Boots
Antlers - Burst Apart
The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Low - C'mon
Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit
Metronomy - The English Riviera
Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
Wilco -The Whole Love
My Morning Jacket - Circuital
Real Estate - Days
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die
Elbow -Build A Rocket Boys
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light
Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take care
Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
Justice - Audio, Video, Disco
A.A. Bondy - Believers
Akron/Family - ST II
Black Stone Cherry - Between The Devil..
J Mascis - Several Shades Of Why
Richard Buckner - Our Blood
The Mountain Goats All Eternals Deck
The Horrible Crowes - Elsie
Anathema - Falling Deeper
Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
Jason Isbell - Here We Rest
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Wolfroy Goes To Town
dEUS - Keep You Close
Wooden Shjips - West
Lucinda Williams -Blessed
Fountains Of Wayne - Sky Full Of Holes

All these fine missives have gained significant airplay in my house/work/walking areas and I would recommend any of them without hesitation.

Really, all this list goes to show is that I do very little else except listen to music. Still, could be worse. I could be a Stoke fan or spend my day looking at animal porn. Same thing I suppose.

I will put the albums that I have really overdosed on this year in a seperate post. Ones that are really special to me.

A wise man once said, "never discuss philosophy or politics in a disco environment."

Hear the drummer...batter the hell out of that kit.

Throwing Muses in Cyprus Avenue,Cork 09.11.11


25 years after their debut, Throwing Muses are still going strong. On the back of a very well received Anthology album the band have been touring hard and are a super tight unit. Really, in full flow they are a force of nature and rarely have I heard/seen a three piece exhibit such power on stage.

No real surprises in the setlist and quite a short gig I thought running just barely 90 minutes. Drawing heavily on University and the Anthology albums with a wonderful version of White Bikini Sand to finish up. Kristin on stage seems almost possessed, staring eyes and that beautifully elegant neck roll thing she does. As the singer and front of the band your eye is drawn to her almost all the time but to ignore the other two members of the band does them a huge disservice. Bernard and David are a superb backroom engine, nailing the groove to the floor to allow Kristin to spew out those lyrics and those almost Neil Young like guitar runs that she does.

The surprising thing for me last night was the discovery of how groovy the band are. Not in some smelly, tree hugging hippy way but actually grooving. Underneath that electric, almost proto metal, they can seriously get almost funky. They are three accomplished players and obviously being together this long they can lock in and really lay waste to a stage. Bernard is laid back on stage but the man is a master bass player. Kristin, well...she's Kristin Hersh. Dave, for me, is one of the best rock drummers currently operating. The man is a machine and in total control of such fury. It really is something to be able to watch him play live. He leaves it all up there.

Highlights for me included Start,Shimmer, Furious, Hazing, Garoux des larmes, Vicky's Box, Hate My Way, Mania(Dave's drumming!) and a completely wonderful version of Fish which even had my ancient ass swaying.

I love watching Kristin perform. She's totally immersed in the music and is a joy to watch. A fine guitar player and a compelling presence on stage. Even watching interviews with her prior to going to the show impressed me. She's one cool lady and I admit I'm a little infatuated.

To the maybe two people who read this, if you ever get a chance to see them then grab it. You won't regret it.

Just a couple more things. The support was from a guy called Teitur from the Faeroe Islands. He was quitely impressive and gave a hint of being influenced by Paul Simon, to me anyway. The poor chap did look tired though after travelling. Still, one to keep an eye on.

As for the crowd, I got the impression that they were a tad flat and muted at times though they did grow into the performance. The people up front were well into it, myself included, but there were a number of women there who I felt were just there for a few wine spritzers and a chance to chat to their mates. That pisses me off but hey, they paid for their tickets. Seems a waste to me though. Oh and to that twat in the white t-shirt who kept jumping around...I hope your cock rots off. Dickhead.

No real merch to speak of, everything seemed to be sold out long before they got to Ireland which is great for the band but sucked for me. I was hoping to score some vinyl and maybe a copy of Paradoxical Undressing too. (I refuse to call it Rat Girl, horrible title) Still, all in all, a great band and a super show.

Live music is better, bumper stickers will be issued...

Dispatches from Clatskanie..

So Billy Bragg was a bust because of a ticket snafu. Least said about that debacle the better. Onwards and upwards.

Went to see Richmond Fontaine play last night. They are slowly creeping up to be the band I've seen most live. It must be in double figures now.

The band are touring behind the release of their new album,The High Country. The album is possibly the closest musical distillation of singer Willy Vlautin's lauded career as a novelist. A song cycle, a concept album if you will, about a bunch of sad, lonely people in and around a logging community in the Pacific NW of America.

The gig was fun despite the seemingly grim material. The addition of Amy Boone on keys and the voice of "the girl" on the album was very welcome and added a softer, lighter touch to the music. Her pieces on Inventory and Let Me Dream Of The High Country were superb. Chilling, unspeakably sad yet tinged with softness. It was good to see her take the female counterpoint on Post To Wire too later in the show. She also did a fine song of her own which reminded me of the shamefully forgotten Hazeldine.

The band played the whole album front to back as one piece and finished the night with a selection from their wonderfully rich back catalogue. Winner's Casino, Post To Wire, Lonnie, Four Walls and Moving Back Home #2 all made an appearance.

As for the album itself, I think as a personal experience it works wonderfully well. You immerse yourself in the story and it engages you. As a live piece I feel it loses a little something in translation. Possibly because you want this to be "your" world, "your" experience and sharing it with others who might only be there for a drink and to hang out with friends..well it kind of waters the whole thing down a bit. That is just a personal view though and hopefully those who were there that were not aware of the story of the album were won over.

Either way, once again, Richmond Fontaine..literate, rocking, funny, self deprecating and easily the best American band currently working. Spare a thought for The Girl and The Mechanic. It's a hard road..

Richmond Fontaine, the best band you've never heard.

Oi, big nose..

I have a number of gigs coming up over the next month and a bit. I am really looking forward to

getting out and seeing these bands and meeting some friends for a cocktail or three as well.

First up will be Mr. William Bloke a.k.a. Billy Bragg. Oct 25 in Cyprus Avenue, Cork. I am totally

looking forward to this as it's been quite a while since I saw Bragg live. I can't quite recall when I

really got into Bragg, he just always seemed to be there. Was it Whistle Test footage of him that made

him appear as a one man band? Milkman Of Human Kindness? Odd looking chap, large nose and ears. A vocal style that is certainly an acquired taste but with a sharp mind and a winning way with a lyric.

I do remember a Navy colleague giving me a cassette of Talking With The Taxman and urging me to give it

a chance. Initially, the voice and the strident strum put me off a tad but on hearing Levi Stubbs Tears

I was won over, permanently and forever.

However much I love his music, he is one of those artists that I tend to either obsess over or not play

at all for months. Recently, it's been a heavy rotation thing. Primarily, his earlier albums although

I do like a lot of his more mature output as well. One of his most recent albums England, Half English I must say I only admired rather than loved but the guy always get a pass from me. Of his later output I would put Wiliam Bloke up against anything that was released that year (1996) and it remains an album I play quite a lot to this day. I enjoyed parts of his most recent album Mr. Love & Justice as well and I do hope that he has at least one more really, top notch album in him.

Anytime I see him on tv, Question Time or Late Review, I really enjoy his contributions to the debate. He's quite a well spoken, opinionated and learned chap but at the same time he doesn't talk down to people and certainly doesn't kowtow to his supposed intellectual/social betters.

All in all, he just seems like a proper good guy who knows his shit and who would be as happy watching the football and having a pint as he would be kicking against the political pricks on tv. A chap you'd be glad to get to know and always happy to see.

Songs I would like to hear at the gig? Well, we could be here for two full gigs really with all he has to choose from. In a perfect Bragg world, for me, though? I'm glad you asked..

The Milkman Of Human Kindness

A New England

The Saturday Boy

St. Swithin's Day

Levi Stubbs Tears

Idealogy

The Warmest Room

Between The Wars

Tank Park Salute

Moving The Goalposts

Sexuality

Accident Waiting To Happen

Upfield

Brickbat

The Spacerace Is Over

Northern Industrial Town

Then a few pickings from his collaborative albums with Wilco, a few recent ones from England and Justice and I would be a happy camper. Roll on Tuesday..