There is No Vibrations, but Wait

Total confusion now as spring crawls in. I was playing Justin Bennett’s cd ‘Wildlife’ the other morning early bells. You know the cd that begins with the dawn chorus.

As I was listening to it & sipping my java, I could hardly hear the birds chirping on the cd for the real blackbirds outside the window.

Isn’t this just totally mad? I am listening quite often to e.g. Chris Watson’s cds of wildlife sounds up close & then there is the leakage from the real world coming in.

My new mobile phone has 1 gig music mp3 memory. It is an 8 minute walk to work. If I listen to music walking to & from work that is 16 minutes of music I can catch. What if I listen to bird song on the moby as I walk through the park.

Is this a real or artificial soundwalk? Am I going mad?

Open Hearted Wonder & Curiosity

3 steps forward & 1 step back. Years ago messing about in bulletin boards (remember them?), I got to know some like-minded maniacs, who used to swap cassette tapes.

I distinctly, remember an acquaintance from Manchester being so gob-smacked by a copy of Roberto Musci & Giovanni Venosta ‘Messages & Portraits’, that I had sent & he was trawling resources trying to obtain other albums by the duo.

Flash forward to today 7 a.m. & I am now listening to one of their albums recently acquired: a Noise a Sound.

I remember describing their album I had on the bulletin board as a bit like Can’s Ethnoforgery Series, however living with the craziness that is the Sun City Girls recently, I would bracket Musci/Venosta in the same oeuvre as SCG now.

Mind How You Go

As a Librarian, I feel I am letting the side down because of a total lack of literary discussion on this blog. In order to address this issue I feel that a short article on the use of words should be appropriate.

Take for instance the phrase ‘Be Mindful’. I have heard ‘zen koan’ like mantra being used a lot lately.

This flashes me back to the 60s street signs, a childish appreciation & wonder at what science could do for us, the ‘I Spy’ books & a whole gamut of cd releases that relate to that naive period.

I have mentioned my fascination previously on this blog with artists on Mordant Records, Belbury Poly, the Owl Service……..etc….

I don’t know about you, maybe it is an age thing, but I enjoy those old 60s series: Adam Adamant, Avengers & films like ‘The Wicker Man’ & ‘The Quatermass Experiment’. There is just something weird about them. You just cannot put your finger on what it is.

There is something more eerie about aliens or mutants from outer space running riot, while there is a nice game of cricket being played on the village green & it is almost time for a nice cup of tea.

No Country for Old Bigots

Growing up to answer questions like: What school do you go to?, What team do you support?, put this writer off the ‘Glorious Game’ for most of his early & teenage years.

Of course there were other more enjoyable, mind- expanding, rather than mind-contracting, pursuits around at that time.

Religious bigotry & alcohol have held this fine nation back from fulfilling it’s potential for too long.

As a real football fan now, you can see how that background created such a lively atmosphere for that incredible midweek game between the old firm rivals.

How to Build a Pyramid

Hi, I am just back from B & Q & I have just opened the box, now where are those DIY instructions.

The Height of Ashbury

This blog is losing one of its most avid readers for a couple of weeks as the Happy (Hippy) Highlanders are off to San Francisco with flowers in their (what he has left?) hair.

To think they laugh at my collection of tie-dyed t-shirts!

In fact, to be honest, I am a trifle concerned about his apparent philosophical, calm approach to the fact, that he is going through Terminal 5 at Heathrow & thus he has minimal chance of ever seeing his luggage again.

This is particularly important as they have a lot of baggage & kit required for this is a ski trip.

Talking of tie dye, my friend (actually my son’s friend) is getting married soon & when I announced I would be coming along to the church, she warned me off wearing any tie die. She is still traumatised by an earlier wedding, where my sartorial elegance was said to have upstaged the bride.

AGING YOUNG REBEL

As the years pile on all I feel I can aspire to is to be like the superfit, active Germans in the Aldi/Lidl flyers that come through my door.

Recently the ‘Great Outdoors’ has been a feature of their product advertising. Although any self respecting Scot would not be seen dead in their trendy attire, I have to feel envious of how great these older people look. A look around at Scots the same age shows you miserable, beaten down, grumpy, obese, lazy, sofa slouchers & yet here is the alternative.

Mind you they all look like soap star actors or models slightly past their prime. I want to be like that. I want to be fit in my last years.

I am thinking here that the women look like aging Honor Blackman's or Ursula Andresses.

I should have mentioned that other flyers had focused on the aged keeping active. A sound message for everyone.

Life in a Scotch Sitting Room Part 33

I have always loved Jim O ‘Rourke version of ‘Women of the World’, but it is only recently that I discovered it was written by none other than our late, great national treasure: Ivor Cutler.

I have since obtained a copy of this & Jim O’Rourke’s version is fairly true to the original.

This discovery along with the fact that he was deeply involved in the Summerhill School another 60s/70s obsession of this writer pointed me to Wikipedia to learn some more.

Someone once described his work as that of, ‘exaggerated Scottishness’, I love that phrase, but it is perfect for Cutler.

I believe we should stop being British and go back to the old Whiskey Galore’ days when no-one understood us!

In addition, a Google search turned up this little gem that serves as an apt little endpiece to this or perhaps an epitaph:

‘No I Wont’

‘I’ll leave you with this thought

No, I wont. It will not be fair’

7 a.m. Freakout

After a 7 a.m. freakout with Inca Ore & all those de-tuned, distorted, bell sounds - I mean even the album title ‘The Birthday of Bless You’, is so odd.

I drifted into the next whacky album on my mp3 cd: Islaja – Palaa Aurinkoon. Does it get much better than this over that early morning cup of java?

There is so much exciting music coming from Finland as I have mentioned earlier on these pages. However, my disc reader really struggles with these Finnish albums. Too many vowels or too many constenants all in the wrong place.

Anyway the latter cd has certainly set me up for a heavy day of stamping books.

Oops I almost forgot, although it has now been around for a while, that I would recommend: Foot Foot – Snaggle & Buck. If you enjoy those early Roaches lps then this will appeal to you.

Finally, as if I had to prove that I had Catholic taste, I would add The Microphones huge output to this pot pourri.

Hard Landscaping

Deeply entrenched in my memory lies the early appearances of Arthur Brown happy in his crazy world singing ‘Fire’ & Brian Auger & Julie (Driscoll at that time: Tippetts, now) covering ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’. Was I fascinated by the fire element even then?

As I write this I am listening to Auger/Tippetts ‘Encore’, where they cover one of my favourite songs by Jack Bruce ‘Rope Ladder to the Moon’ from his best album ‘Songs for a Tailor’.

On ‘Encore’, Brian Auger is able to find space to show us how exciting his organ playing can be. I have neglected their albums over the years, but I plan to out this right.

Another forgotten band of that period & whose work is difficult to obtain, is the superb Peddlers. I have 3 stretchy cassettes of their albums, but I am on the look out for digital versions.

I still have a lot of interest in the jazz trio format or the jazz rock genre. Chicago Transit Authority, Blood, Sweat & Tears, If, East of Eden, & Colloseum……etc still excite this poor boy.

Just today, I finally got around to playing Delivery’s ‘Fool’s Meeting’ from 1971. However it was well worth the wait as it sounds so fresh today. I did hear selected tracks before, recorded on my old trusty, Grundig 4 track reel-to-reel from John peel’s shows.

A New Way of Walking: Psychogeography

Time for a serious discussion about Pedestrian Culture: I had stopped making music, as I grew increasingly interested in Soundwalks or the natural sounds around me.

I did not realise it at the time, but I was also concerned with the more visual aspects of this discovery at the same time.

‘Begin to reason about it & you at once fall into error’ (Huang Po d850)

On a recent perambulation, I spotted a huge piece of sandstone, lying beside an underpass, that I wanted to shift to my garden to form a centrepiece to for my stone circle.

On a recent perambulation, I spotted a huge piece of sunshine, lying beside an underpass, that I wanted to shift to my garden to form a centrepiece to for my stone circle.

I thought I could get it in the boot of the car, so I took the biggest son with me, but we could not budge it. Reluctantly, I had to abandon the operation.

I ask myself why I feel the need to build this structure? What is driving me to such extreme behaviour? Is it some innate Celtic/Druid thing?

Recent walks have sparked an interest in what is going on around me & what has shaped my landscape. Perhaps how I could shape my own landscape.

For some peculiar reason, the modern equivalent to ‘dowsing’: google, led me to psychogeography & Harry Bell.

Harry Bell’s ‘Glasgows Secret Geometry’ has helped me cope by pointing out that this is quite a widespread phenomenon.

I did not realise at the time why I enjoyed Iain Sinclair’s ‘London Orbital’. This was a pedestrian view of what was happening in & around a big city, if you chose a different mode of transport & selected less popular routes.

Harry Bell would call this ‘a straight road with no path’ something that obsessed him.

‘If you wish to see it before your eyes, have no fixed thoughts either for or against it’ (Seng-t-san d 606).

The quotes mentioned above could be from some trendy coffee table book called Zen & the Art of Walking.

Modern Man

Big up to our Keith for gifting me his almost-up-to-date moby (as he has a new yin). Even although the face has a huge crack (can be replaced by Omer the Turk, for a negotiated price).

This means I wont have to carry my mini Halfords digital camera, my mp3 player & my emergency contact moby, when I go on my rambles. My 1 piece of kit does everything except climb hills, keep me warm & dry & light my pipe.

Oriental Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I must listen to Oriental Sunshine ‘Dedicated to the Bird we Love’ every day.

This crazy, beautiful, hypnotic piece of Norwegian psycedelia was nowhere to be seen in 1970 when it was released. Well maybe around Oslo’s hippie markets or on Colva Beach, Goa.

Even the title is so weird. I have only heard this album recently, but the absurd wait has been well worth while. Find it & play it every day your life will improve!

Buddy Miles R.I.P.

Harry Partch Stole my Lunch Money & Gave it to Moondog

America, perhaps due to it’s size has more than it’s fair share of ‘Outsider’ musicians.

Aside from personal favourites like the two mentioned above in the title, Daniel Johnson & frequent visitors to these pages: the Sun City Girls, there are so many more excellent mavericks to be found in the USA.

Perhaps because we are used to viewing a flat map on a page we forget the world is round & that America is really very close to Asia from the Pacific Ocean side.

Certainly, Lou Harrison, Partsch, Moondog, Terry Riley & Steve Reich have that old gamelan thing going.

Likewise the later Tom Waits & the late, great Charles Gocher’s (SCG) thought-provoking, solo work put us on a friendly far east footing.

Hill-walking without the aid of a GPS or a Laptop

Okay what is it people say, what’s the cliché? : 3^rd time lucky. Well not for this humble writer.

Parked again at Overtoun House, avoiding all the suicidal canines. Another theory came to me: a suicide pact between the dog-owner & the mutt. You can see the Erskine Bridge from the bridge at Overtoun House. The owner jumps from the Erskine Bridge while simultaneously, the dogs leaps from the Overtoun Bridge. I am sure I am right!

Set off to follow the same route as before, on towards Loch Humprey. Déjà vu all over the place as the snow starts falling again right on cue. However this time it does not land & I am not in ‘white out’ conditions.

I was shocked at the sheer amount of wind damage. Whole fences had disappeared & huge trees had come down, blocking the path. This gave me added interest & danger as I had to climb over walls to avoid fallen trees & other obstacles.

The path does not follow route 1 straight up, rather it winds back & forth you feel disorientated as you seem to double back all the time. Odd.

Soon, I was in unknown territory, but the views were superb. I came across so many signposts for ‘The Craggs’ that I felt I had to check it out. I am reminded of when I ‘conned’ my kids into visiting ‘Bam Bam’ in the Saudi desert. As it was mentioned on the maps, I told my children, it was a bit like ‘Disneyland’. In actual fact all it was was a signpost in the middle of the desert for what may or may not have been a town sometime in the past.

Anyway ‘The Craggs’ were like this hundreds of signposts to nothing special.

After an endless forest walk upwards through the snow, I came to a loch, not the one I expected, but this was the Black Linn. I also discovered a couple of others named Greenlands Nos 1 & 2. This was approaching that magic light time of day when the shadows get longer & the lochs looked picture-postcard, gorgeous.

I was now exhausted, I had walked for about three hours, light was getting scarce, time to race back down.

Incredible String Bands

Is there something sad or sinister about listening to a string quartet playing a tribute to the Beatles, rather than grooving to the original band?

Perhaps this is just what happens when you get older?

I am reminded a little of when I first heard the soundtrack to Peter Van Greenaway’s excellent movie ‘The Draughtsman’s Contract’. I have always been a big string quartet fan, especially of Beethoven’s later works.

However, I would give a ‘big up’ to this current series of tributes…..e.g. Bjork, Radiohead, Dylan….etc…it’s ‘way cool’.

Spinning on Air



There is something just so fine about listening to the Akron Family & the Wierd Weeds on headphones, while walking along an endless path through the forest upwards with the snow falling.

Outside the Dream Syndicate

Oh let’s see: 3 books to read in 6 weeks for the public library Reading Group & 1 book for our own College Reading Group in 4 weeks, although truthfully this moveable date drifts to 5 or 6 weeks depending on the thickness or complexity of the title.

However much I might moan about the stress levels this creates & the fact that for a long time now, I have not been able to read a book that I have chosen myself; I am constantly surprised at how astonishing & enjoyable many of these titles can be.

Take for instance the novel I am reading at present: Kate Atkinson’s ‘One Good Turn’, it’s a page turner, full of interest. However, with 1 day to go before the deadline, it has to be.

Outside the Yurt

Interesting chat about the band Habibiyya. Three of the members were in the mighty, ‘Mighty Baby’ (thanks for letting me hear the tape John Leifer) & then they went to North Africa & got some Sufi wisdom.

They came back & formed the band Habibiyya, used a lot of world musical instruments & made a tremendous album that I am listening too now.

It is well groovy.

Alone on the Rooftop of the World

The sun is out, it is not raining, a golden opportunity to get out hill-walking. Limited a little by time, as the CIS cup final is live on tv this afternoon.

This meant only a short walk in the hindu kush or as we call it: the Kilpatrick hills from the Cochno Loch direction. These hills are so close & yet so under rated. They are my friends in so many different kinds of weather.

It was also the first day of the fishing season, so there were many anglers around. I made good time, so I pushed on a little further than I had planned. The rewards were spectacular.

As I climbed past the Jaw Loch, the panoramic view of what I felt to be the whole world opened up in front of me. I have seen a similar view before as the Himalayas opened up to my eyes, there is only a difference in scale. The view & the effect is the same. All the high peaks in front & around me were dusted with snow. It was a clear day, hawks circled overhead, it was astounding.

Outside Katmandu, I have not seen such an awesome sight. Besides Ben Lomond, the Arrochar Alps…..etc….I could also see the 3 minor lochs: Cochno, Jaw & Humphrey. The latter looked so high above me, it was as if the world was round? It felt as if Loch Humphrey was half way up the sky, weird or what?

The silence was only broken by skylarks, gulls, geese & soaring hawks overhead.

I was puzzled by the appearance of lumps of frogspawn in the grass far from water. Had it been fished out by birds & dropped?

I also realised why I was so confused as a child. Mount Everest sounds a bit like Ben Nevis. Why is this? Is the ‘evis’ sound ancient Sanskrit or gaelic. Is there a link. Unfortunately, where I was it was impossible to ‘google it’ so I let it pass.

I was in a total comfort zone with a sense of place & a sense of space, room to breathe, as far away from the ‘media madness’ & the whole corporate control of our lives. Here I was totally free. Alone with God & it felt so real, so good. Further exploration of this feeling is essential, if the weather improves.

Still Psychedelic After all these Years

‘Would you take my mind out for a walk’ as Tiffany Shade would sing on their self-titled album back in the days of vinyl whatever that was?

Major Tom’s a Junkie

Thanks to a recent discovery: Catch up tv, I am now well & truly lost in ‘Life On Mars’.

I am watching this in parallel to the current series: ‘Ashes to Ashes’. Maybe this would explain why I never know what decade I inhabit. Most of the time I live in some ‘idealistic’ weather-beaten 60s in my head. Will I have to name it after some lame Bowie tune.

Not as naff as it sounds as some of his early work is well fab, groovy, doubleplusgood.

This ‘Sweeney’ for the 21^st Century is so so non-pc, I am absolutely loving it (just like the Tiffany Shade album I am listening to as I write this). It is so refreshing to hear a spade called a spade & not a garden implement, shovel-shaped for turning soil.

This sets me off hoping, that catch up tv will find a space for Monty Don’s ‘gardens of the world’ series as I have missed most of them, Sundays being one of my creative cooking nights.

100 Places to See After you Die

I thought perhaps there may be an interest in this topic as you like me, might get fed up with all those demands on your time, while you are alive.

If, like me, you have a busy life, now is the time to plan an even more active death.

From Deep Within the Drone Zone

Around 1969, I certainly felt that I had my finger firmly on the pulse of what was happening around me. I was well-informed, I knew all the need to know bands on ‘the scene’.

It is only lately, that I realised I was only aware of a fraction of what was really happening elsewhere. There were many other (better) materials released on the periphery unknown to me at that time.

This catch-up period would be impossible for me in a pre-download world, but it is now currently blowing the spring blossom off of my cherry tree.

Some recent new friends include:

Freeborne – Peak Impressions

One St. Stephen – S/T