The KSHE Klassics Show, Jan. 29, 2017

Quotation du jour ~ Albert Einstein: Creativity is intelligence having fun.

Well, i had a very frustrating listening experience this morning, thanks to my Internet connection. I didn't really have one for a while! I awoke at around 4 and tried to listen to the Radio Paradise audio stream, but kept losing it. I tried re-setting the router and the modem, and restarting the computer, all to no avail.

On top of that, i couldn't connect to my VPN, which i need in order to listen to KSHE.

Around 6 a.m., everything started working again -- i'm convinced that my ISP must do server maintenance overnight on Sundays, as i mentiond last week. VPN was up and running and i listened to KOCI until 9 o'clock (my time), switched to KSHE and, oh, wow, Uman began the Klassics show with a Rory Gallagher track.

But still, i had quite a few drop-outs. Never mind, it's still the highlight of my week. Here's Rory.

Rory Gallagher -- Edged In Blue
Charlie Daniels -- Caballo Diablo
Ambrosia -- Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Bob Dylan -- Tangled Up In Blue
Blue Oyster Cult -- I Love The Night
The Tubes -- Don't Touch Me There
Jerry Garcia -- Sugaree
Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road
Roger Daltrey -- Say It Ain't So, Joe
Traffic -- Medicated Goo
Rocky Burnette -- Tired Of Towin' The Line
Dr Hook -- Cover Of The Rolling Stone
Finnigan & Wood -- Highway
Rainbow -- Street Of Dreams
The Who -- Love Reign O'er Me
Joe Satriani -- Always With Me, Always With You
John Kay -- Easy Evil
Climax Blues Band -- Using The Power
The James Gang -- Alexis
Slade -- Gudbuy T'Jane
Little River Band -- It's Not A Wonder
Rod Stewart -- True Blue
Santana -- Winning
Styx -- Father O.S.A.
Automatic Man -- My Pearl
Elton John -- Where To Now St Peter
Brownsville Station -- Lady (Put The Light On Me)
The Grateful Dead -- Casey Jones
Snail -- The Joker
Procol Harum -- Simple Sister
The Allman Brothers Band -- Blue Sky
Journey -- On A Saturday Night
The Hooters -- All You Zombies
Steely Dan -- Black Cow
The Fixx -- Red Skies
Loverboy -- Lucky Ones
Thin Lizzy -- Don't Believe A Word

And my own personal playlist for the week:

The Albion Country Band -- The Battle Of The Field
Chicago -- Chicago III
10 c.c. -- How Dare You!
Manfred Mann's Earthband -- Chance
Jon Anderson -- Olias Of Sunhillow
Small Faces -- Absolutely The Best
Yes -- Union
Marillion -- F.E.A.R.
Jeff Beck -- Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop
Rory Gallagher -- Fresh Evidence
Dan Fogelberg -- Love In Time
Mike Oldfield -- Return To Ommadawn
Jackson Browne -- Running On Empty
Steeleye Span -- Dodgy Bastards
Sparks -- Lil' Beethoven
Tyrannosaurus Rex -- A Beard Of Stars
Richard Thompson -- The Old Kit Bag
Ian Anderson -- Homo Erraticus
Johnny Clegg & Savuka -- Heat, Dust & Dreams
Dan Fogelberg -- Phoenix
Peter Gabriel -- So
The Beatles -- Past Masters, Volume Two
Bonnie Raitt -- Longing In Their Hearts
Phil Pickett w. Richard Thompson & The Fairport Rhythm Section -- The Bones Of All Men
Roger McGuinn -- Cardiff Rose
The Moody Blues -- To Our Children's Children's Children
Jethro Tull -- Stormwatch
Steely Dan -- Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan -- Pretzel Logic
Peter Hammill -- The Future Now
The Allman Brothers Band -- Idlewild South
Linda Thompson -- Fashionably Late

KSHE Klassics Show, January 22nd, 2017

Quotation du jour ~ Christopher Hitchens: One of the beginnings of human emancipation is the ability to laugh at authority. It is an indispensable thing.

I have one major problem with listening to this program online -- and, i hasten to add, this is not a problem with the show itself, but with the outfit that streams the audio, listen.co. They delete the local St Louis ads and insert songs of their own choosing instead, often wildly inappropriate and often entirely detestable. I mean, "Play It Loud" by KISS must be one of the worst songs in the history of Western civilisation, but, lucky me, i get to hear it every week.

Also, as they don't stream their audio to Canada, i have to use a VPN to listen -- it costs me $10 a month and well worth it -- the VPN tells them i'm connecting from the USA. New York City, i think, judging by the ads they also insert, many of which seem to be aimed at affluent Manhattanites. It wasn't always thus. When i was first told about KSHE over four years ago, i didn't need a VPN and i was able to listen to St Louis ads -- which were one of the things that made me interested in the city!

The first song, the Charlie Daniels, was the first song that John Ulett (the host) played, when he started at the station forty years ago.

Charlie Daniels -- Saddle Tramp
Foghat -- Stone Blue
Dwight Twilley -- I'm On Fire
Eagles -- Ol' 55
Lighthouse -- One Fine Morning
Steely Dan -- Kid Charlemagne
Planet P -- Why Me?
Uriah Heep -- The Wizard
Off Broadway -- Stay In Time
Eric Burdon -- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Chris De Burgh -- Don't Pay The Ferryman
Robin Trower -- Caledonia
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils -- Chicken Train
Bachman-Turner Overdrive -- Hey You
Billy Joel -- The Ballad Of Billy The Kid
Kansas -- Portrait (He Knew)
Elton John -- Grey Seal
Queen -- I Want It All
Angel -- The Tower
Genesis -- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Flash & The Pan -- Hey St Peter
Atlanta Rhythm Section -- Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us)
Shoot -- Sepia Sister
Eric Clapton -- She's Waiting
Supertramp -- Sister Moonshine
Bob Seger -- Heavy Music
REO Speedwagon -- Music Man
Yes -- Heart Of The Sunrise
Nazareth -- Holiday
Electric Light Orchestra -- Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Bruce Springsteen -- Kitty's Back
Blue Oyster Cult -- Godzilla
Little Feat -- Oh, Atlanta
April Wine -- Just Between You And Me

And my own personal playlist for the week:

Bob Dylan -- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Richard Thompson -- Dream Attic
Terje Rypdal -- Descendre
Jane Siberry -- Angels Bend Closer
Roxy Music -- The Early Years
The Kinks -- The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
Keane -- Under The Iron Sea
Dan Fogelberg -- Phoenix
T. Rex -- Electric Warrior
Jeff Beck -- Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop
Fish -- Internal Exile
Robert Plant -- The Principle Of Moments
Dan Fogelberg -- The Wild Places
Kate Bush -- The Dreaming
Thin Lizzy -- Black Rose: A Rock Legend
Dick Gaughan -- Redwood Cathedral
Stevie Wonder -- The Definitive Collection
Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg -- Twin Sons Of Different Mothers
Paula Cole -- This Bright Red Feeling
John Tams -- Unity
Big Wreck -- Albatross
Mike Rutherford -- Smallcreep's Day
Mike Oldfield -- Ommadawn
Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris -- Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions
Collective Soul -- Afterwords
Propaganda -- A Secret Wish
Radiohead -- Hail To The Thief
Richard Thompson -- Mock Tudor
Yes -- Going For The One
Jan Akkerman -- Tabernakel

My Year In Radio, 2016

This was the year i gave up on corporate radio. In Canada, most radio stations are owned by either Rogers or Corus. Corporate radio lies. The only Canadian station i listen to any more is Boom (http://www.boom973.com/index.aspx) -- they're independent. Unfortunately, although they play a lot of music i like, they also play a lot of dire disco nonsense from the seventies. I don't listen all that often, even though Maie Pauts, my favourite Estonian deejay,

works there, as does Vanessa Murphy, another favourite.















For the past four years, my favourite radio station has been KSHE -- which is also corporate but the Ennis corporation in Indiana is not exactly a major factor in the game. They were and are acceptable.

But also, life is about change and KSHE has changed. I still listen to them, and the Sunday Klassics program is the highlight of my week. I also try to catch Tommy T's Rock Magazine at 4 a.m. but i'm not always up that early and that's highly variable: sometimes brilliant, sometimes dire. He features a different artist for an hour and he did a two-parter on Aerosmith recently -- a group i happen to hate. I skipped it.

But also, KSHE in general has changed. They seem to play fewer artists -- more songs and different songs, but by fewer performers, and too many of the performers are people i can't stand. I don't want to hear KISS or Ozzy or fucking Boston every single hour.

This year, i discovered Radio Paradise (www.radioparadise.com) and it's a brilliant station -- very eclectic, everything from Yes to Lucinda Williams to Kate Bush to African folk music to jazz. As i only ever listen to the radio in the morning, it's a very smooth way to start my day. But sometimes they're just too obscure. I like to listen to music that i can, in some way, relate to and they often don't play any.

So, the nod for the coveted Radio Station Of The Year goes to KOCI (http://www.kociradio.com/) -- album rock from Newport Beach, California. Classic rock, blues rock, soul, it's a great mix. If i have a problem with them at all, it's that they don't show what they're playing. You hear a song you like but can't identify it, there's no way to find out what it is (except maybe Googling the lyrics, but that doesn't always work). They played something -- a Rory Gallagher rarity -- and i emailed them and asked its provenance, but they didn't reply.

They also "feature" artists. One hour, they'll play three songs (not in succession) by The Beatles, the next hour it'll be three songs by The Moody Blues, etc.

I listen to them now more than to anyone else.

KSHE Klassics, January 15th, 2017

Quotation du jour ~ David Bowie: I don't see any boundaries between any of the art forms. I think they all inter-relate completely.

It was a bit of a dodgy start to the show today. Normally on Sunday mornings, my Internet connection is crap until 8:00 / 8:30 or so, and then it's usually ok. (Sometimes i suspect that my ISP does server maintenance overnight.) This morning, it was solid for about four hours -- right until the program was about to begin, when it died a horrible death. "F*** me blind, why me, bloody hell," i fulminated and i in fact missed the first couple of minutes, but then it came back and was fine for the rest of the day. But i was worried for a while there.

What a sad case i must be when a four-hour radio show is literally the highlight of my week. (Or should that have been "figuratively?")

Oh, and today was host John Ulett's 60th birthday. Happy birthday, John, if you're reading this. (Well, he might be, you never know.) Meeting you and Lern and touring the KSHE studios was one of the best parts of my visit to St Louis in June.

Blend -- The Prize
Sammy Hagar -- The Ice Man
Headstone -- Turn Your Head
The Grateful Dead -- I Need A Miracle
Heartsfield -- Racin' The Sun
Little Feat -- Feets Don't Fail Me Now
Frank Marino -- Strange Dreams
The Animals -- It's My Life
Todd Rundgren -- Real Man
The Bliss Band -- Doctor
Eric Clapton -- I've Got A Rock 'n' Roll Heart
Loggins & Messina -- Angry Eyes
Uriah Heep -- Look At Yourself
Nantucket -- Heartbreaker
Bob Dylan -- All Along The Watchtower
Ronnie Montrose -- Town Without Pity
April Wine -- Oowatanite
The Amboy Dukes -- Journey To The Senter Of The Mind
UFO -- Lights Out In London
Status Quo -- Down Down
Denim -- Throw Away
Cat Stevens -- Bitterblue
J. Geils -- Whammer Jammer
Steely Dan -- The Fez
Gamma -- I'm Alive
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen -- Hot Rod Lincoln
Zebra -- Tell Me What You Want
Chilliwack -- Roll On
Bob Seger -- Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
Steve Winwood -- Arc Of A Diver
Robin Trower -- Little Bit Of Sympathy
Electric Light Orchestra -- Poker
Genesis -- Visions Of Angels
Atlanta Rhythm Section -- I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight
Rare Bird -- Peace Of Mind
Jimmy Barnes -- Working Class Man
Climax Blues Band -- I Am Constant
Deep Purple -- Space Truckin'
Spooky Tooth -- Cotton Growing Man

And my own personal playlist for the week:

John Kirkpatrick -- Going Spare
Brian Auger & The Trinity -- Definitely What!
Genesis -- Duke
Birth Control -- Backdoor Possibilities
James Taylor -- Greatest Hits Volume 2
Dan Fogelberg -- River Of Souls
The Strokes -- Is This It
Talking Heads -- The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads
Joe Walsh -- The Best Of Joe Walsh
Jethro Tull -- Catfish Rising
Colin James -- Blue Highways
Rant Maggie Rant -- Latitude
Fairport Convention -- Old, New, Borrowed, Blue
Genesis -- Trespass
Van der Graaf Generator -- Do Not Disturb
Procol Harum -- Home
Van Morrison -- Moondance
The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver -- Beat Of The Street
Dan Fogelberg -- Souvenirs
The Beatles -- Rubber Soul
Ofra Haza -- Shaday
Rory Gallagher -- Blueprint
Deaf School -- The Anthology
Terje Rypdal -- Waves
The Cure -- Greatest Hits
Jimi Hendrix -- Live At The Fillmore East
David Bowie -- The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Free -- Tons Of Sobs
Rod Stewart -- Every Picture Tells A Story
Wishbone Ash -- On Air
Afro-Celt Sound System -- Volume 2: Release

The Nightmare Before Christmas, 2016

My Nightmare Before Christmas, 2016

Well, 2016 was a nightmare for many of us: terrorist attacks, the disaster in Syria, all of the music superstars we lost, Trump becoming the leader of the free world, etc. Total bummer, right? But this is all about me, so...

Although i didn't realise it at the time, my nightmare began at the end of October, when i ordered some Christmas cards from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. A worthy cause for sure and my new favourite singer, Dan Fogelberg, died from it nine years ago. Dan's widow, Jean, who's an artist (http://www.jeanfogelberg.com/), designs cards for them every year and she's really good: at the website, the cards looked beautiful. The shipping alone cost me about $33 Canadian, but what the heck, you can't put a price on art.

By the first week in December, though, they hadn't arrived and i was starting to worry: mailing deadlines were fast approaching. I went out and bought yet more cards and sent off the overseas ones. Second week in December, still no sign of them and i sent off the cards to the USA, and then, in a fit of controlled panic at the end of the week, sent off the domestic ones. I'm very afraid that many of them won't have arrived on time.

Jean Fogelberg's cards arrived on December 28th. By FedEx. Two months to the day after i ordered them. Two months from California to Ontario. They really are beautiful, though, and, looking at the bright side, i won't have to spend any money on cards next year. (Always thinking ahead, that's me!)

Two weeks before Christmas, as the nightmare continues, my phone died. When i arrived at work that morning, i powered it off (as i always do). When i finished my shift i tried to power it back up and ... nuffing! Nada. Zilch. The warranty expired in October and there was still ten months left on my contract. So i took it in to town to the office of my provider, Mornington Communications and spoke to Tyler there (i love being with an independent -- i may not have 24-hour tech support but there's an office in town and i know the techs by name) (and they know me). We determined that the battery itself wasn't the problem, that is was more likely the motherboard, which may or may not have been repairable. Did i want to spend $60 to discover that it wasn't? Well, no, i didn't, particularly, so off i went to Staples and bought a new phone -- just an inexpensive one, $150. It only has to last me for six months or so, when my contract will become renewable. (Samsung Galaxy phones are the only kind i've ever used.) It works all right, i suppose, although it's not as fast or as multi-featured as my other one. But at least it works.

The next day -- the very next day -- the monitor for my Windows 7 desktop computer died. Arrrgh (i said to myself), why me???? I had an old monitor in the closet so i hooked that one up, but, nothing, and now that i think about it, the reason it was in the closet may well have been that it had died, too. So, back i trudged to Staples and spent $300 on a new wide-screen monitor -- a very nice one, too. Too bad it didn't fucking work!

It hit me that maybe the monitor hadn't been the problem, but the PC -- its graphics card not sending a signal or something? So i hooked up my old Windows XP machine -- which i'd retired when Microsoft dropped support for XP -- to the new monitor and yay! it worked fine. Whew, and least i'd have an Internet connection for Christmas.

Worked fine, did i say? Yes, until Dec. 23rd, when it died too.

Well, this was an untenable situation. I couldn't be offline over Christmas. If i took the Windows 7 machine in to be repaired, it would never be fixed in time, so, the best solution i could think of was to make the snowy trek back to Staples and drop $500 or so on a Windows 10 laptop. (Staples loves me.) (Must explain why i receive so much spam email from them.) This was, in fact, the first time in my life i've ever bought a brand new computer -- previous PCs and laptops have all been pre-owned. My, i was impressed by how inexpensive they are now. (My first Windows 95 PC, with its magnificent 2 G of storage, cost over a thousand bucks. For half of that, i now have a laptop with 1 T of storage!)

I think that my techno-nightmare has subsided now, and i shan't even mention how ill i was on Boxing Day! (It was alcohol and over-eating wot dun that, not technology.)

My Year In Music, 2016

What we have here, is a list of all of the CDs i bought in 2016, in no particular order. There was a time when i would buy 100 CDs a year, but the purchase rate declined rapidly and i think, in 2015, i bought 30 or so. This year, the purchase rate zoomed, primarily thanks to my discovery of the wonderful music of Dan Fogelberg, with which (and with whom, to be honest) i have become obsessed.

The list is presented in kinda sorta chronological order by date of purchase, but not exactly. Just kinda sorta. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were replacements for vinyl albums (as i have, atm, no way to play vinyl).
               
Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway*                   
The Allman Brothers – At Fillmore East*                   
The Motors – Airport                   
Carole King – Tapestry                   
Jane Siberry – Ulysses' Purse                   
Anderson Ponty Band – Better Late Than Never                   
Marillion – Fuck Everyhing And Run                   
Jeff Beck – Loud Hailer                   
Dick Powell – Lullaby Of Broadway                   
Mama's Pride – Guard Your Heart                   
Dan Fogelberg – The Definitive Anthology                   
Mama's Pride – Rebirth                   
Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg – Twin Sons Of Different Mothers                   
Dan Fogelberg – Home Free                   
Dan Fogelberg – Captured Angel                   
Dan Fogelberg – Phoenix                   
Dan Fogelberg – Nether Lands                   
Dan Fogelberg – The Innocent Age                   
Dan Fogelberg – The Wild Places                   
Dan Fogelberg – River Of Souls                   
Dan Fogelberg – Love Songs                   
Dan Fogelberg – High Country Snows                   
Pretenders – Learning To Crawl                   
The Beatles – Live At The Hollywood Bowl                   
Colin James – Blue Highways                   
Paula Cole – This Bright Red Feeling                   
Kate Bush – Before The Dawn                   
Van der Graaf Generator – Do Not Disturb                   
Dan Fogelberg – Live                   
Dan Fogelberg – Souvenirs                   
Dan Fogelberg – Full Circle                   
Dan Fogelberg – Windows And Walls                   
Dan Fogelberg – The First Christmas Morning                   
Hothouse Flowers – Platinum Collection                                       
Talking Heads – The Best Of Talking Heads                   
Runrig – The Story       
Pyewackett – The Man In The Moon Drinks Claret*               
Ashley Hutchings – Rattlebone And Ploughjack*               
Martin Carthy – Crown Of Horn*               
Martin Carthy – Because It's There*           
Fairport Convention – Live In Finland 1971           
Paul Simon –Stranger To Stranger               
Oysterband – This House Will Stand               
Joni Mitchell – Ladies Of The Canyon*           
Rant Maggie Rant – Latitude

And i know you want to know: what were my favourites?

Of the new (to me) albums, i'm going with Dan Fogelberg's "Souvenirs," which is gorgeous. But that's an old (1974) album. Of the new current albums, i think that the Anderson-Ponty album gets the prize, it's quite amazing record of jazz-rock fusion. Of the replacements for old vinyl, it would be Genesis's "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," one of my favourite albums of all time.

                           

My Year In Film, 2016

I haven't actually been to a cinema since 2011, when i saw The Adjustment Bureau in Toronto. Where i live, the Cineplex is way, way out at the other end of town (an hour's walk, at least) and besides, they only seem to screen films that are aimed at idiot teenagers. But i love film. Too bad i rarely have time to watch more than one a week -- and i watch them either on DVD or as files on my computer.

Here's everything i watched in 2016 (titles marked with an asterisk were films i watched for the first time -- the others were all repeats).

The Dark Knight
The Bourne Supremacy
Moonstruck
The Beatles: 1*
Die Hard 3: Die Hard With A Vengeance
Live Free Or Die Hard
The Good Shepherd*
Spectre*
The Martian*
Casino Royale
Quantum Of Solace
Munich
Diamonds Are Forever
The Hateful Eight*
Taken*
A History Of Violence
Outlander
Get Shorty
Spectre
United 93
Maverick
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
Austin Powers in Goldmember*
Ronin
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Coriolanus*
Medicine Man
Independence Day
Grumpy Old Men*
The Last Boy Scout
Live Free Or Die Hard
Lucy*
The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Adjustment Bureau
Source Code
Gettsyburg*
Love, Actually
The Odd Couple
Lincoln*
The Bourne Supremacy
Help!
Mean Streets
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
The Green Zone
Spectre
The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Bourne Identity
Body Of Lies
Gallipoli
Dead Man Down
Léon
Jason Bourne*
Anthropoid*
Jason Bourne
Patriot Games
Die Hard 2: Die Harder

And what (i hear you ask) was my favourite of the new ones? I dunno, probably "Gettysburg," although it was far too long. Best performance by an actor in a film that was new to me, would have to go to Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role in "Lincoln," absolutely brilliant.

Of those i'd seen before, well, i never tire of "The Adjustment Bureau" or "Love, Actually" or "Source Code." "Jason Bourne" i watched twice in three weeks -- i love the Bourne films in general but i found this one very confusing.

A word of caution, though, kids. I downloaded "Anthropoid" as a torrent. It wasn't very good and i deleted it immediately, but i was fined $200 by the company that distributes the film in Canada, who tracked me down through my IP address.

KSHE Klassics, January 8th, 2017

Quotation du jour ~ Yogi Berra: It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.

Unusually for a Sunday morning, although my Internet connection was crap until about thirty minutes before the show began, and i had the devil's own job connecting to my VPN, it all went smoothly after that. Good program, too.

Deep Purple -- Highway Star
Jefferson Starship -- Stranger
Ted Nugent -- Hey Baby
The Moody Blues -- The Story In Your Eyes
Hydra -- Feel Like Running
Dave Mason -- Feelin' Alright
Steely Dan -- Black Friday
Thin Lizzy -- Romeo And The Lonely Girl
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush -- A New Rock And Roll
Crawler -- Sail On
Jon & Vangelis -- The Friends Of Mr Cairo
Traffic -- Rock & Roll Stew
Judas Priest -- The Ripper
John Mellencamp -- Small Paradise
Robin Trower -- Too Rolling Stoned
Supertramp -- Poor Boy
Chris Rea -- Working On It
Queen -- I'm In Love With My Car
Sad Cafe -- Black Rose
Jeff Beck -- Rice Pudding
Bruce Springsteen -- Prove It All Night
Eric Clapton -- Let It Rain
Loggins & Messina -- Back To Georgia
Chilliwack -- Something Better
Joe Walsh -- Meadows
The Clash -- Train In Vain
Lake -- Paradise Way
Poco -- Good Feelin' To Know
Ambrosia -- Holdin' On To Yesterday
Strawbs -- Autumn
Electric Light Orchestra -- Livin' Thing
The Grateful Dead -- Uncle John's Band
Wet Willie -- Baby Fat
Neil Young -- Cinnamon Girl
Stingray -- The Man In My Shoes
Bob Welch -- Ebony Eyes
Charlie Daniels -- Long Haired Country Boy
Little River Band -- Help Is On Its Way
The Who -- Slip Kid
Gulliver -- Ridin' The Wind


And my own personal playlist for the week:

Nic Jones -- Unearthed
Dan Fogelberg -- Windows And Walls
The Beatles -- Love
Dan Fogelberg -- Phoenix
Various Artists -- Sound Of The Star-Club
3 -- To The Power Of Three
Bruce Springsteen -- Magic
Carole King -- Tapestry
Colin James -- Limelight
Kathy Mattea -- Right Out Of Nowhere
Steely Dan -- Katy Lied
Humble Pie -- Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore
Jethro Tull -- Rock Island
Neverending White Lights -- Act I
Mike Oldfield -- Platinum
Soft Machine -- Third
Emerson, Lake & Palmer -- The Return Of The Manticore
Dan Fogelberg -- Full Circle
Marillion -- Somewhere Else
Genesis -- Foxtrot
Peter Gabriel -- Security
The Eagles -- On The Border
Martin Carthy -- Crown Of Horn
The Beatles -- With The Beatles
Frida Lyngstad -- Djupa Andetag

2016: My Year In Books

Anyone who knows me, will tell you that i'm a list freak. I keep track of everything -- with the exception of my finances! (But after writing this blog for ten years i've earned around $8.00 U.S., so money worries are a thing of the past.)

Here's the list of every book i read in 2016. (Before i bought my first PC, i would read at least a book a week. Now, for better or worse, manage at least a book a month. Oh, well...) Books marked with an asterisk were titles i read for the first time, all others i was reading for at least the second time.

James Branch Cabell – Jurgen
Spike Milligan – The Bedside Milligan
Ruth Rendell – Road Rage
Harold Bell Wright – The Shepherd Of The Hills*
Mark Twain – The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer*
Mark Twain – The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn*
Martin Amis – The Moronic Inferno
James Branch Cabell – Quiet, Please
Nick Hornby – Funny Girl*
Henry Beard & Christopher Cerf – Spin-glish: The Definitive Dictionary Of Deliberately Deceptive   Language*
William Hope Hodgson – The Boats Of The Glen Carrig
Colin Dexter – The Wench Is Dead
John Geiger & Alanna Mitchell – Franklin's Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery Of HMS Erebus*
Ian McEwan – The Children Act*
Owen Beattie & John Geiger – Frozen In Time: The Fate Of The Franklin Expedition*
Margaret Atwood – Wilderness Tips
John Wagner & Vince Locke – A History Of Violence*
Patricia Craig (comp.) -- The Penguin Book Of British Comic Stories
Ian Rankin – Standing In Another Man's Grave
Will Gompertz -- What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, And Sometimes Strange Story Of 150 Years Of Modern Art*
J. Frederick Fausz – Founding St Louis: First City Of The New West*
James L. Shaffer & John T. Tigges – The Mississippi River: Father Of Waters*
Eddy L. Harris – Mississippi Solo: A Memoir*
Rod Cragg – The Civil War In 500 Photographs*
Chrissie Hynde – Reckless: My Life As A Pretender*
Peter Such – Riverrun
Tom Sharpe – Ancestral Vices
Tom Sharpe – Riotous Assembly
Tom Sharpe – Indecent Exposure
Mark Twain – Life On The Mississippi*
Tom Sharpe – Porterhouse Blue
Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard – Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever*
Kurt Vonnegut – A Man Without A Country
Tom Sharpe – Wilt
Robert Ludlum – The Bourne Identity*
Tom Sharpe – The Great Pursuit
Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard – Killing Kennedy: The End Of Camelot*
Bruce Springsteen -- Born To Run*

You will note that a lot of the new (to me) books are Americana. That's not a new interest for me, but the recent trip to the Mississippi Valley certainly caused a spike.

And what, i hear you ask, were my favourites of those i read for the first time?

In non-fiction, there's no question: Eddy L. Harris's "Mississippi Solo." He traveled alone, in a canoe, the entire length of the Mississippi River, from its source, Lake Itasca in Minnesota, all the way to the Gulf Of Mexico and it's an amazing tale of strength and endurance in sometimes frightening situations and sometimes sublimely beautiful ones. Runner-up would be Chrissie Hynde's autiobiography, "Reckless."

Fiction is a doddle too: i'd never read Mark Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and i adored it. Congratulations, Mark -- i hope you can make it to the awards ceremony! Second choice: Nick Hornby's "Funny Girl."

Happy New Year, everyone, and happy reading.

KSHE Klassics, January 1st, 2017

Quotation du jour ~ Mark Twain: Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough.
Happy New Year to my faithful reader!

I realise that the show is pre-recorded for broadcast each Sunday. What i don't understand is that, while John Ulett, the host, was there for the Christmas Day edition, he was completely absent from this one. I know that he loves putting the show together -- he told me so when i met him. Too bad, i like to begin my day with a friendly voice. (It may be my imagination, but it seems that there were fewer ads and more music this week, although music wasn't quite as good as usual -- coincidence, surely...)

Chuck Francour -- Under The Boulevard Lights
Jefferson Starship -- Play On Love
Triumvirat -- March To The Eternal City
Shooting Star -- Breakout
Mason Proffit -- Two Hangmen
Supertramp -- Crime Of The Century
Symphonic Slam -- Modane Train
Steve Winwood -- Don't You Know What The Night Can Do
Trapeze -- Black Clouds
Lake -- Key To The Rhyme
The Stabilizers -- One Simple Thing
Bob Dylan -- Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Robin Trower -- Day Of The Eagle
Brownsville Station -- Smokin' In The Boys' Room
Touch -- When The Spirit Moves You
Joe Walsh -- Turn To Stone
The Grateful Dead -- Touch Of Grey
Bruce Springsteen -- The Promised Land
Nazareth -- Razamanaz
Steely Dan -- Time Out Of Mind
Pure Prairie League -- Two-Lane Highway
Honeymoon Suite -- New Girl Now
Arlo Guthrie -- Coming Into Los Angeles
Pavlov's Dog -- Julia
Electric Light Orchestra -- Sweet Talkin' Woman
Iron Butterfly -- Scorching Beauty
J. Geils Band -- First I Look At The Purse
Stu Nunnery -- Isle Of Debris
Rod Stewart -- Hot Legs
Black Oak Arkansas -- Jim Dandy
Elton John -- Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Sherbs -- No Turning Back
Todd Rundgren -- I Saw The Light
Peter Frampton -- Lines On My Face
Lou Gramm -- Midnight Blue
Foghat -- Rock And Roll Outlaw
Martin Briley -- Salt In My Tears
REO Speedwagon -- Only The Strong Survive
Taxxi -- I'm Leaving
Dave Mason -- Headkeeper
Andy Pratt -- Avenging Annie
Franke & The Knockouts -- Running Into The Night
Firefall -- Mexico
Journey -- Topaz
Blackfoot -- Train, Train
Humble Pie -- Thirty Days In The Hole

And my own personal playlist for the week:

Fairport Convention -- Liege And Lief
Jethro Tull -- A Passion Play
The Electric Light Orchestra -- Out Of The Blue
Maddy Prior w. Hannah James & Giles Lewin -- 3 For Joy
Runrig -- The Highland Connection
Bruce Springsteen -- High Hopes
Levellers -- Zeitgeist
Dan Fogelberg -- The Wild Places
Oysterband -- The Shouting End Of Life
Fleetwood Mac -- Rumours
Donald Fagen -- The Nightfly
Al Stewart -- The Year Of The Cat
David Bowie -- Hunky Dory
Jon Anderson -- Change We Must
Rose Among Thorns -- This Time It's Real
Billy Talent -- Dead Silence
Paul Simon -- The Rhythm Of The Saints
Van der Graaf Generator -- Alt
Rockpile -- Seconds Of Pleasure
Poco -- Crazy Loving: The Best Of Poco 1975-1982
Mama's Pride -- Mama's Pride
Home -- The Alchemist
Various Artists -- Flashdance (O.S.T.)
Rory Gallagher -- Defender
Alan Stivell -- Raok Dilestra
Matchbox 20 -- More Than You Think You Are
Billie Holiday -- Priceless Jazz Collection
Warren Zevon -- The Wind
Dan Fogelberg -- Home Free
The Who -- Who's Next
Sly & The Family Stone -- Greatest Hits
Dick Gaughan -- Sail On