I found this hilarious story on TimesOnline. It’s from a new book by Jon Holmes called “Status Quo and the Kangaroo and Other Rock Apocryphals“.

It’s described as “a collection of myths, legends, and apocryphal tales of pop and rock that have come straight from the mouths of those that were there, those that shouldn’t have been there and those that were there but left early and only heard about it afterwards.”

It can be pre-ordered here. I think I will.

Oasis are big. I don’t mean now, when they’re still big but past their best. I mean back when Wonderwall had just become an anthem to a disaffected youth, a youth who fervently believed that all the roads he had to walk were winding and that all the lights that would lead him there were blinding.

Perhaps to celebrate, Noel and Liam had gone to see Spinal Tap live. This is Spinal Tap was one of Liam’s favourite films ever and his little northern moptop face was beaming at the prospect of seeing them onstage, in the flesh. And of course the gig was a belter.

Two hours of pure unadulterated Tap. And then it was time for the encore. For which the Spinal Tap boys came on as A Mighty Wind. The Wind began to play a short set of their errant folk music. Liam let them get half a song in before he leaned over to his brother and said: “Who are these c****?”

Noel looked at him. “It’s them.” “What?” said Liam. “Them who?”

“Them,” hissed Noel. “Them who?” insisted Liam.

“F****** hell, Liam,” Noel insisted back. “It’s them. Spinal Tap.”

“Them’s not Spinal Tap. These are some folk c****,” eloquised Liam.

“No, Liam, it’s them. It’s Harry Shearer and the others. They’re actors. The actors who play Spinal Tap.”

There is a moment of silence from Liam. Even Noel must have realised what was coming next. “Actors?”

And with that Liam, disgusted, walked out. It is for this reason that no one has yet told him the truth about Father Christmas.

Watching this put me in a really good mood today. Hope it does the same for you.

It’s confession time for schiing. I hereby declare that I love:

• The slap bass of Mark King in Level 42
• The trademark sawtooth synth sweep of Vangelis
• The French horn emulations of David Foster
• Jeff Porcaro’s one bar drum groove at 3:28 on “English Eyes”, 1981
• The tutti horn solo on Tower of Power’s “You Can’t Fall Up (You Just Fall Down)”, 1991
• Tom Scott’s smooth tune “Desire” (Desire, 1982)
• Mark Fisher’s DX7 guitar solo on Matt Bianco’s “Summer Song”, 1986
• Yellowjackets’ modulating synth epos”Nimbus”, 1983
• Al Jarreau touching the face of God in “Mornin’”, 1983
• Any acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes intro created between 1978 and 1983
• “Ballerina Girl”
• Peter Cetera’s guest vocals on Paul Anka’s “Hold Me ‘Til The Morning Comes”, 1983
• Elton John’s “trumpet” solo on “Nikita”
• Mr. Mister’s synth bass line on “Broken Wings”
• The muted guitar sounds of Cock Robin
• “Axel F”
• Jan Hammer’s “keytar” solos
• Shakatak
• Linn drums
• The E.V.I.

I recently discovered Continuum’s 33 1/3 series, a series of books going in-depth on “interesting” albums in pop and rock history, such as “Highway 61 Revisited” by Dylan, “Harvest” by Young, “OK Computer” by Radiohead and “Aja” by Steely Dan, you know, the classics.

I haven’t actually read any of the books yet, except for an excerpt from the “Aja”-book. But it looks really good - they’re discussing everything from Dan’s use of the sixth to their lyric obsession with drinks (Pina Colada, Scotch whisky, retsina, Coke and rum - to name a few). The books appear to be about 150 pages each - and they’re probably right up my alley. I mean, 150 pages about one rock album, to me that’s a really promising premise. From the back cover:

Interweaving behind-the-scenes revelations with trenchant musical and lyrical analysis…

Aah, seemingly brilliant. I hope I’m not disappointed when I read this. I’m going for the “Aja” book first, I think. If it’s any good there’s still about 50 more to go…

In the U.S., SoundExchange is a performance rights organization licencing, collecting and distributing royalties on behalf of the copyright owner of sound recordings for “noninteractive digital transmissions on cable, satellite and webcast services” - such as Internet radio. SoundExchange is a spin-off of the infamous RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America.)

If this sounds like a recipe for for disaster, you’re right on. Take a look at this quote from their website:

The recent U.S. Copyright Office ruling regarding webcasting designated SoundExchange to collect and distribute to all nonmembers as well as its members. The Librarian of Congress issued his decision with rates and terms to govern the compulsory license for webcasters (Internet-only radio) and simulcastors (retransmissions).

That’s right. They’re actually collecting money to distribute to their nonmembers! That seems awfully nice of them - but there may be a catch (well, wouldn’t you know it!)

Take a look at this interesting article over at Daily Kos: State of the Nation.

I transferred my old vinyl version of New Order’s “Substance 1987″ to mp3 today.

I had almost forgotten how much I like that album. It’s a collection of songs dating from 1981 to 1987, documenting their shift from a mainly guitar-based sound in 1981 towards a much more synth-driven soundscape by the end of the 1980s.

What originally attracted my attention to New Order, was the original version of “True Faith”, still a near-perfect pop tune in my ears. But as I listened more closely to the album, I became more and more fascinated with the first two sides (remember, it’s a double vinyl album) and especially the first two tracks, “Ceremony” and “Everything’s Gone Green”. I love playing those tracks out loud on my stereo. They still sound so crisp, 25 years after, and the crackles n’ pops from my vinyl version simply enhance the listening experience.

I used to play this and Pet Shop Boys’ “Actually” all the time in 1987-88, and I remember Neil Tennant said in an interview something to the effect that he would’ve killed to come up with the opening line in “True Faith”:

I feel so extraordinary
something’s got a hold on me
I get this feeling I’m in motion
a sudden sense of liberty

It’s a brilliant lyric, but Tennant’s certainly had his share of brilliant lyrics, too, so he’s got nothing to complain about.

I remember playing “Substance” to a friend in 1987 (we were 16.) He looked at me, skeptically, and shook his head. “I don’t understand this kind of music, it’s just… weird. It’s kind of disco, right? Here, let me play you something I’ve got [pulling out the latest Chris De Burgh record], now here’s some real music - he’s got brilliant melodies, great arrangements and he tells stories… nothing like the crap you listen to.”

I guess Chris De Burgh does all the things that my friend claimed he did, but he just didn’t get it, did he? Imagine a 16 year old kid today playing Chris De Burgh to show you what good music is, though. Ha ha.

But I must give my friend some credit for having established a few very good and valid criteria for seeking out good music at an early age.

I hate writing SMS messages on those tiny mobile displays. But now I think I’ve found the perfect solution. I just got a brand new mobile phone, and for the first time in my life when it comes to telephones, I actually read the manual.

You see, I had a secret wish that the software would enable me to send SMS directly from my laptop using my pc keyboard but alas, I was in no such luck. I didn’t give it up, though, and after a couple of intense hours on Google, I finally came across an open source program that communicates perfectly with my mobile phone.

It’s called floAt’s Mobile Agent (FMA). Currently FMA supports officially Sony Ericsson phones only, but they promise that other manufacturers and brands will be addressed in next major version. I can manage all data on my phone with this piece of software, including the address book, managing incoming and outgoing calls, sending and receiving SMS messages, and so far it’s been seamless. It connects either via Bluetooth, serial or irDA ports (not sure what that implies, really, but my Sony Ericsson 750i connects perfectly through a standard USB cable.)

You can do pretty much everything from your computer, and for me it’s ideal. Due to my SMS allergy, people rarely expect me to return their messages instantly, and now I can just gather up all my messages and reply whenever my laptop’s within range (which is pretty much all the time.) A great find.