Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Golden Anniversary
The Rolling Stones are set to finally bow out after 50 years in music with a giant farewell tour. Formed way back in 1962 – the band will reach its half-century during the tour, which is set to last into 2012.
Charlie will celebrate his 70th birthday on the tour, and band mates Ronnie, 63, Keith and Mick, both 66, agreed it the right moment to call it a day.
They’re likely to perform in stadiums. The Stones first did a farewell tour of Britain in 1971, then left the country to avoid high taxes. They gave up touring again for eight years from 1982 until 1990. They have sold more than 200 million albums.
I have only seen them once back in 1964 – little did I realise then that they would still be rocking 50 years on!
Troubadour, LA
When we went to the US in 2007 there were two venues I wanted to visit – the Grand Old Opry in Nashville and the Troubadour in Hollywood.
The Grand Ol Opry was a disappointment (all has-beens playing to a sycophantic audience) but we found plenty of other music venues in Nashville to fill the gap.
When we got to LA I took a cab to the Troubadour and we travelled miles (as you do in LA) and when we got there the only programme was heavy metal and indie bands – I was after the acoustic sounds of the 60’s and 70’s – people like Carol King, Carly Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Jackson Browne.
I have just watched on TV Carole King and James Taylor reunited at the Troubadour in concert in 2007 playing their era-defining hits, nearly 40 years after they first performed at the Troubadour in November 1970, a year before their Tapestry and Sweet Baby James’ albums stormed the American charts. King and Taylor were backed by the Section, the same band that propelled those albums into homes around the world.
James Taylor had released his first album on the Beatles’ Apple label, Carole King was struggling to forge a new solo career after being one half of Goffin-King, one of the great Brill Building song-writing partnerships of the early 60s. Their musical friendship blossomed with Taylor’s support for King and his cover of her song You’ve Got a Friend. The Troubadour became the centre of a new singer-songwriter culture that also featured the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and many more.
Why were they not on when I was there for God’s sake but having seen this BBC TV Programme I am glad that the dream is still alive. Before that was a brilliant profile of Neil Young in all his glories.
Quite a gal
Tip hat to a beauty, singer, actress and a politician at the forefront of the civil rights movement
Jean gave me a Mandolin Banjo
The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid between a mandolin and a banjo. It has eight strings organised in pairs and tuned GDAE just like a mandolin, but rather than a soundboard it has a drum head like any other banjo. This instrument came with the original guide on how to play and is dated 1928. It is a little damaged and will need a new vellum sound-back and new strings but there is a guy just around the corner who could do this.
Since we went to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain I wanted one of these small instruments – I have given up with the guitar – many times. I want to master – “I’m only a teenage dirtbag, baby” and will put it up on YouTube when ready – this may take some time!
Classic art as told by rock & roll
Hold Your Horses – recreate well-known historical paintings, from da Vinci’s The Last Supper to Warhol’s Marilyn.
The best music machine I have ever seen or heard
This afternoon I was given a demonstration of the Sonos Zone Player S5 (watch the demonstration video) which is absolutely amazing. Great sound and connects by wifi to all the music on your PC or available to your PC –iTunes, Spotify, Napster and over 250 music stations around the world – crystal clear in any or all rooms in the house and garden.
You can control the whole system from you an ap on your iPhone as well as a SONOS controller that is an iPhone lookalike.
You can have music in each room playing different stuff. You can move device so easily as the only wire is a power cable.
It is available from Steve Mitchell who will be contributing a technology post to this blog soon.
For what it is I think it is cheap but I didn’t say that to Steve and I think Jean will like it too.
Loudon Wainwright III performs
The Krugman Blues, a song he wrote about the Nobel Prize-winning economist. The Krugman Blues is on Wainwright’s new album, “10 Songs for the New Depression”