New CDs February 13, 2008

A few new CDs were added to the Hornsby collection over Christmas.

Sol Seppy ‘The Bells of 1 2′: Mrs H-to-be and I saw this band supporting Sparklehorse last year (or was it the year before?) and they upstaged him. I’ve been listening to them on Last FM and have been hooked by a couple of their songs, and thought it would be a good thing to play when friends with more middle-of-the-road tastes come to dinner. It probably is, but I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t say for sure. It hasn’t stood up to much serious solo listening though – it’s a bit too lightweight, and the lyrics are sometimes saccharine-drenched. Some decent pop tunes though, and a singer with a very emotive voice.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy ‘Ask Forgiveness’: My mate Jim gets annoyed with Mr Oldham for messing around too much in between proper studio albums and doing too many cover versions. He’d probably hate this then. It’s an almost solo, acoustic EP. It’s ok I guess, but I’ve tired of it quite quickly. Danzig’s “Am I Demon” and a cover of R Kelly’s “World’s Greatest” are the stand out tracks for me. As always, there is a diverse range of songs on here from many genres. I was interested to see that he’s covered a Bjork song from the film ‘Dancer in the Dark’, but it’s a wee bit dour.

Neil Young ‘Chrome Dreams II’: I had a go at a Guardian critic a little while ago on this blog for his review of this album. He really liked the 18-minute epic ‘Ordinary People’. I think it sucks. It sounds like it was written in his 1980s Reagan-supporting days, and is a tedious, way overlong, stadium rock song. It’s got saxophones and a brass section in it, and not in a good way.  Thankfully, Mr Young redeems himself with many other songs on this album, his best since Greendale.  (I don’t go with the general media view that Living with War and Prairie Wind were good albums).  My particular favourite is his song to his late producer and mentor, David Briggs ‘No Hidden Path’.  Now that has a proper Crazy Horse sound to it, and when you hear it, you know he’s moving closer to the source.

It’s still a couple of weeks until payday, so I’m back onto Last FM and Pandora to get some new tunes.

Excitement in Bexley February 6, 2008

I seem to have strayed away from writing about Bexley, on the whole, but it would be wrong of me to let the “Dezza-gate” affair (as they seem to be calling it around here) pass without comment.  (In case that doesn’t make any sense to you, I’m talking about the recent media scandal caused by my local MP, Derek Conway, paying his sons a rather tidy little salary out of public funds whilst not gathering any evidence of work that they may or may not have done).

Firstly, and on a positive note, my hat goes off to fellow, much more productive Bexley blogger Duncan Borrowman for leading the charge against Mr. Conway.  I wish his campaign every success.

And, well, go on then, hats off to Derek Conway too.  It’s been ages since we’ve had a really decent political sleaze scandal.  The Tories really know how to do it in style.

Cameron attacks ‘phoney’ Brown October 10, 2007

David Cameron has said that Gordon Brown looks like a phoney, and that he is treating people like fools.

He’s got a bit of a nerve hasn’t he?

Amy Winehouse: an apology, of sorts October 9, 2007

The other week, Mrs H-to-be and I spent an evening with friends in Walthamstow, and were pleasantly woken on Sunday morning by the gentle sounds of Desert Island Discs wafting through our bedroom door.

George Michael was the guest, and I was immediately taken with his first musical choice. Possibly, it was a combination of the moment and the music that got me: lying in bed with a fuzzy head, after an evening of fine wine and good friends, snuggled up against the delectable Mrs H-to-be with warm sunlight falling on to my arm, and then this sleepy, sweet little tune coming through the door.

Anyway, I admit it.  I heard an Amy Winehouse song and I liked it.  So there.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t think that she is a media-attention-grabbing bore.

And, as a footnote, for anyone who thinks I’m going soft in my old age: listening to George Michael’s interview didn’t raise my opinion of him at all, and I will still leave the house if anyone ever plays any Wham.