I've replaced my ailing car, and the new one (a nippy little Peugeot 107, if you're interested) is 'Raven black'. Strangely, I have yet to persuade Mrs Captain (who is going to be the main driver) that we should get diagonal stripes painted on the roof to make it look like our current third kit. She can be such a spoilsport sometimes.
Number nine, number nine, number nine ... Oddly, I cried when John Lennon was killed. I laughed when I heard Elvis had died.
Was that the difference that four years maturity made, or just a comment on your musical taste? The day Lennon was shot everyone at school was waiting for me and another kid - both big Beatles fans - to arrive to see how we'd react. I think everyone was disappointed that I wasn't in tears. To be honest, at 12 I didn't really know how to process it. I was more of a McCartney fan than Lennon at the time anyway. Seeing that as my reason for not being more emotionally involved with the news makes me feel a bit shallow to be honest. Danny Baker has a story about being in a punk club the night Elvis died. When everyone cheered, he berated the crowd and explained to them that what punk was then, in the 70s is what Elvis was back in the 50s, how they should forget the fat, bloated, Vegas has-been and remember the original punk. It's the kind of story that you wouldn't believe from a lot of people but from Danny Baker it has a ring of truth.
I've always loved (selectively) Elvis. I'm a fan of his, but a bigger fan of Scotty Moore's guitar playing.
Frankly, I hated Elvis. He was the patron saint of my step mum and father, both of whom were making my life a living hell at the time. Elvis took on the proxy embodiment of my childhood misery, so I laughed when he died. In contrast, Lennon's song writing aways spoke to me; it was as funny and honest as McCartney's (IMO) was vapid and manipulative, so it broke my heart when I heard over a car radio that he'd been shot and killed. I was 18 and in the Army. Five minutes after I heard the news I was standing at attention, in formation, with tears pouring down my cheeks, and I wasn't the only one.
Ardent fan, Gerry Pimm, provides quite an amusing definition of 'ambition' in this blog - http://www.2ndyellow.com/2012/ambition-football-fulham/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ambition-football-fulham I've posted it here rather than the obvious thread for the equally obvious reasons. PS I never liked Elvis. My big sister used to play his EPs all the time, driving me nuts. Now that I'm older I quite like him, even the mushy Gospel tracks.
My favourite Elvis quote is from Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys (who is a bit of a fan): "I prefer Elvis' later stuff. I know that's an unfashionable view, but why? Nobody ever sneers if you say you prefer Beethoven's later stuff."
I could never wrap my head around why you Brits had so many great bands. Beatles, Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin. It's all very very subjective, but I can't think of any American band that would crack that list - Nirvana and Pearl Jam included. Beatles used to put out 3 albums a year and I'd dare anyone to find one bad song in the lot. And Bob Dylan's not a band.
It's a taste thing ... I'm not into Springstein, though I hear his concerts are the stuff of legend. I'd say the best big bands in the world, today, are American (Green Day, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam), but when it's all said and done, it's hard to imagine they'll have the breadth and quality of the big five brit groups. U2 will, but they're Irish.
Bob Dylan's not a band, but The Band are (and they played with Bob Dylan!). They're up there with the best, in my opinion. They were also a huge influence on Brits such as Eric Clapton, who broke up Blind Faith after hearing Music From Big Pink, as he realised that he was heading in completely the wrong musical direction. Richard Thompson has cited them as a major influence on what Fairport did in connecting rock music with the traditional music of the land (Britain for Fairport, America for the Band). The Beach Boys were never my cup of tea, but they were hugely influential and groundbreaking in their day. They may have traded on past glories for some time, but that doesn't stop the Stones getting plaudits.
Never really listened to Springsteen to be honest, never really interested me. The only song I've heard (I think) is Born In The USA, so needless to say his music never 'spoke' to me. Conversely though, I have been getting into Creedence Clearwater Revival recently, in a big way!
The Band was great - Canadian, too. I've got a double-cd of theirs and I enjoy it. CCR were original and good. They definite captured the sound of the era. The Doors had four good songs, but the rest is rubbish. REM was a great band, but they've fizzled over time.
REM are one of those bands who've pumped out memorable songs one after the other, everybody likes at least one! I can play Losing My Religion on mandolin too In other news, I've got the rest of the week off, and coincidentally, so have 3 of my mates! Pub o'clock tonight!
Interesting conversation on music over the last few posts. My observations Springsteen - a living legend - I have always loved his music since seeing a film of Rosalita back in the 70's. Finally got to see him this year at the Isle of Wight Festival where he gave the best concert I have ever seen - 3 hours, 25 songs, not a duff one and yet he didn't play at least 2 of my all time favourites. It is obvious that, despite being in his 60's, he still loves what he does. The Doors - again an all time favourite - saw them at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 - yes the one with Hendrix. Not a stellar performance as Morrision was definately going downhill by then, but still memorable. The Band/ Bob Dylan - seen both of them, but not playing together. Dylan was OK - he just has so many good songs - but The Band were amazing - such a rich mixture of music with great songs. Always intresting, my double CD of the Last Waltz is a favourite The Beach Boys - at the risk of sounding like a cracked record, I saw them at a mini all day festival with Sha -Na - Na, Ritchie Havens, Melanie and Joe Cocker. They came on after a 2 hour delay due to rain and rebuilding the sound system and blew us all away - just goodtime music which we all knew - Elton John popped on to guest on Key Boards for a couple of numbers. I often think this UK vs USA arguement never really holds water. We have had some good bands over here - Beatles, Stones, Who, Faces, Humble Pie even Queen - but the States was were the music all began - Robert Johnston sold his soul to the devil to write songs like Love in Vain 50 years before the Stones recorded it - and it was Elvis who started this conversation. I have always loved American music for its variety - from the bands above through artists like Ry Cooder, Neil Young through to Green Day. On reflection, we are so lucky that such a rich variety of music is available so readily today. My father grew up a jazz fan in the 40's and had to rely on scraps and odd records to hear the music he loved. So - just my thoughts to add to the debate - put 2 people together and talk about music, it is rare to get complete agreement!!
