Over the last week, I’ve re-listened to all of Leonard Cohen’s albums in chronological order. And, most importantly, I’ve rated them. Recent Songs (1979) Sorry, but this is the one that I really didn’t get. In “Humbled in Love” it contains one of my favourite Leonard Cohen songs, but the rest of the collection really… Continue reading Listening to Leonard
Category: music
2015 in Gigs
As has become traditional round these parts, it’s time for my annual review of the gigs I saw last year. I saw 48 gigs in 2015. That’s up on 2014’s 45, but still short of my all time high of 60 in 2013. I saw Chvrches, Stealing Sheep and Paper Aeroplanes twice. I was supposed… Continue reading 2015 in Gigs
2014 in Gigs
Slightly later than usual, here’s my overview of the gigs I saw in 2014. I saw 45 gigs in 2014. That’s 25% down on 2013’s 60 (which is my current record). Letting it drop below an average of one a week is disappointing. I’ll have to try harder this year. I saw both Martin Carthy… Continue reading 2014 in Gigs
2013 in Gigs
According to Songkick, I saw 60 gigs in 2013. That’s quite an improvement on my previous record of 50 in 2011 and well past 2012’s rather disappointing 36. Songkick have stopped doing their excellent “My Year” feature, so I don’t have quite as many facts and figures at my fingertips. If they don’t do something… Continue reading 2013 in Gigs
Three Tom Robinson Gigs
I’ve been thinking about Tom Robinson recently. There’s an anthology of the old Tom Robinson Band recordings coming out on Monday and on Tuesday I’m going to see him at a show celebrating the thirty-fifth anniversary of Power in the Darkness. But this has all got me thinking about the first three times I saw… Continue reading Three Tom Robinson Gigs
The Beatles
Still catching up on classic albums. Here are my thoughts on The Beatles by The Beatles (that’s the album we all know better as The White Album). Some Historical Context I was six when this came out. I don’t remember it being released, but I have vague memories of singing Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da when I was… Continue reading The Beatles
2012 in Gigs
Here’s an overview of the gigs I saw in 2012. I saw 36 gigs during the year. That’s quite a lot down on 2011, but that’s partly because I broke my leg and didn’t go to gigs for six weeks. I saw some larger gigs than in the previous year. I saw Radiohead, The Killers… Continue reading 2012 in Gigs
Classic Albums 2012
I thought it might be interesting to have an index of the classic albums I reviewed in 2012. So here it is. Album Artist Rating A Night at the Opera Queen [rating=2] Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan [rating=5] The Harder They Come Jimmy Cliff [rating=2] The Specials The Specials [rating=2] LemonJelly.ky LemonJelly [rating=3] Led Zeppelin… Continue reading Classic Albums 2012
Graceland
Still several weeks behind on the classic album front. But I wanted to leave this one until I cam back from my holiday in South Africa – it’s Paul Simon’s Graceland. Some Historical Context I’m not sure I can remember a time when I didn’t know this album. When it was released I was frequenting… Continue reading Graceland
OK Computer
Attempting to get less behind on the classic albums… The next one is Radiohead’s OK Computer. Some Historical Context Like REM, I don’t really remember when I first heard Radiohead. I expect I was aware of things like “High and Dry” and “Creep” when they were released as I’m sure they both had lots of… Continue reading OK Computer