Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Budget: A Considered View
I feel I ought to post on Gordon Brown's fascinating budget. But I am suddenly distracted by the thought that the two greatest (non-classical) live tracks ever recorded are Emmylous Harris's The Maker on Spyboy and Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1966. Unless, of course, you know better. I'm pretty sure Gordon doesn't.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
The live TV performance of The Beatles' All You Need Is Love. Predominantly for the genius ad-libbing of "She loves you YEEEEEEAH, YEEEEEEAH, YEEEEEEAH" over the outro. Magnificent. And, until I just checked on YouTube, a contribution I had always attributed to Macca.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't be cruel to Gordon, Bryan. I'd be surprised if at least one of these unforgettable performances isn't playlisted on his ministerial iPod.
Hello Bryan,
ReplyDeleteWe are to witness the birth of a new Uber-Klass under Brown.
He creats it by portraying so called gas guzzeling 4x4 which will now attract penal levels of RFT Vs eco friendly and cheap ( for the time being ) mickey mouse cars.
What this means, since there are 4 wheel drive cars of all types sports, saloons, Real utility in all price ranges, is that powerful well equiped cars will be the province of the Uber-Klass whilst the rest drive dim and dismals and grow to hate the Uber-Klass who won't give a stuff.
Oh live riffs - Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner - Woodstock but thats more Tony than Gordon
No. I will resit Gayness at this point.
Those that can afford
I know there's some debate over whether it's technically 'live' - but surely the Flying Burrito Bros' Hickory Wind/Cash on the Barrelhead, complete with breaking glass...
ReplyDeleteNige (of course)
On th esubject of Gordon B, I had my first half-proper look at the man last night for a few minutes giving his tv presentation and I have to say, I found it deeply strange. That thing he does with his mouth where in pauses it gapes open seemed deeply zombie-like- a grave-like chasm to the underworld. The whole human-being seemed to fail to fit together in any convincing manner...anyway, my first real impressions of the man and I found it deeply weird and downright disturbing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as live tracks, not much rushes to mind. I Wanna Take You Higher by Sly & the Family Stone at Woodstock was outstanding.
The Hendrix and Dylan tracks mentioned also.
Though I think I've got it- give this a look for the sake of all that's holy from Dead Can Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDsMbe-0Vcg
He's rolling a ping pong ball around in there, Andrew
ReplyDeleteTaking his cue from Brando's Godfather?
ReplyDeleteAh, well - this could run and run, but for starters how about anything by Neil Young and/or Crosby, Stills and Nash, and/or Crazy Horse; anything by Little Feat; anything by Thelonious Monk; and last, but not least, anything by Led Zep. Sorry for not being more specific, but life's too short …
ReplyDeleteYours,
Dr Hugo Z Hackenbush
Dr Hackenbush, welcome back. Little Feat! Whatever, if anything, happened to them?
ReplyDeleteU2- Rattle Me Bum
ReplyDeleteSisterBoy- Take Me From Behind
ReplyDeleteThe Men's Club, Islington, New Years Eve 2004. Raised the roof.
Thank you Mr A, tis good to be back. When I said anything by Little Feat, I did, of course, mean prior to the untimely demise of Lowell George.
ReplyDeleteDr H
PS It seems they are still going - in name only though, one suspects.
Chas N Dave- Get Your Finger Out down the local two nights ago.
ReplyDeleteBehemothic Overlord- 666 Bitchslap at the Freemasonic Lodge, Oldham 2003.
ReplyDeleteThere is something to be said about the budget, but it's nothing to do with Brown's little wheezes. It's the genre that matters. Unlike other countries we've always made a spectacle of our budget: the Chancellor's walk in the park, the teasing hints, the dangling in the face of the public of the worn red box like a Christmas gift ("Guess what daddy has got in here for you”?) Now that the government no longer sets interest rates or controls nationalised industries, and the global market pre-determines so much of our economic policies, one might have thought that New Labour would have modernised the ritual, preferably by doing away with it. Yet nothing changes. With its little trumperies and trickeries, as money is transferred from one pocket to another and cherries are tossed to the public to keep them sweet, the budget ceremonial continues to be what it has always been: a way of keeping the masses, economically, in a state of arrested adolescence. Wallace
ReplyDeleteBrian, you right-wing dinosaur, Brown is a genius. People on the left already know this- for they are more grounded and rational.
ReplyDeleteOnce Brown is in it will herald a new enlightenment, where class, discrimination and religion are slowly eroded. Africa and international affairs will be adressed more thoroughly and effectively than at any other time-and finally we can greet the road to a more peaceful and united world.
As for rock music, i don't like it-there's something too Amoral and right wing about it.
We need music that will unite people.
Coldplay-Yellow
Behemothic Overlord a class act all right, though I prefer some of their early stuff like Chancellor of the Baphomet.
ReplyDeleteI am humbled - Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Prescott, Edwina Currie AND EVEN Polly Toynbee. I am blessed beyond measure.
ReplyDeleteI'm only here for the free booze.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see my contributions are so much appreciated… (Harumph)
ReplyDeleteDr Hugo Z Hackenbush
Wait till you see 'All-American Irish Nuclear Bomb Superstar Migdget' from next year's Corporate Rock Multimedia Tour. It came about from a jam at Number 10 with Tony B and Billy C.
ReplyDeleteDo not despair Dr H - Bryan is a busy man, he has a world to run. I think you and I should join together in nominating track 1 of The Koln Concert by K Jarrett - that'll give him something to think about (not that he needs that, poor fellow). Me I'd be inclined to nominate Van Morrison doing Cyprus Avenue on the 1st Belfast live double album...
ReplyDeleteN
I'd like to second Get Your Finger Out by Chas N Dave. Quite wonderful. Though I also hold Behemoth's 666 Bitchslap in very high esteem, particularly the cosmic middle-eight(real fans omit the Overlord bit).
ReplyDeleteI quite liked those Rick Astley live performances on TOTP back in the day. Also partial to some of the late 90s gabba stuff, and the faster jungle or drum n bass as it's sometimes called. Some afficionados claim they're two different genres but I think that's being ludicrously picky.
ReplyDelete