Category: Music

Shiny Happy People

by russellclarkenz, posted in Life, Music

WARNING: Not a cat post!

Antione Baril is one of the most incredible multi-instrumentalists I have had the pleasure to experience.

If you don’t know what a multi-instrumentalist is, it’s a person who… plays… multiple… instruments. Keep up double oh seven!

Here is Antoine with his daughter, singing a simple, popular ditty by some idiot band called REM. I don’t imagine you’ve heard of them, but given my aim is to bring new tastes to your palate, here they are*.

It’s delightful, fun and full of love.

Of course, there’s always an ulterior motive. If you want to see what Antoine does properly when he is not doing pop, here it is.

In-cre-di-ble:

Oh YES!

*Not sure how to do sarcasm/irony on WordPress. Sorry.

I Am The Beat

by russellclarkenz, posted in Music

So there’s this song that has been stuck in my head since 1981.

Back in the 1980s I was busy (due to my date of birth) being a teenager. As such I was eagerly and sullenly looking for cultural tropes to which I could adhere. This particular song stuck in my head because it was sufficiently different from the standard pap (not a typo) of the time.

It’s a song that has always stayed with me as a touchstone for excellent 80s pop music, a little bit of fun, a little bit different, and some great talent banging on the pots and clanging the strings. It leaves me with a smile on my face every time I hear it.

I’ve revisited this song many times since the 80s, and it has always made me feel good, uplifted, joyous.

So it occurred to me the other day to go and see if The Look were still together, and I was delighted to find out that they have put out another couple of albums.

So I did what any reasonable human being would do – I investigated the back catalogue and bought it all.

And I tell you, if you want a big slab of excellent, intelligent 80s pop, you have to get Pop Yowlin’ and Tunes and Stories. Both great albums, so full of life, character, smarts and fun.

You can buy their albums on Bandcamp here: https://thelook1.bandcamp.com/

The Absolute Universe

by russellclarkenz, posted in Music

I have been a Transatlantic sceptic for some years. Their first two albums (SMPT:e and Bridge Across Forever) were brilliant. Their post-hiatus albums…not so much.

At least that was my opinion until I listened to them again.

I am now eating humble pie. Sorry, Mr. Morse.

February 5th sees the release of their latest effort, entitled The Absolute Universe. I like the snippets I have heard so I’ll be buying it. Here’s a taster…if you can consider 9-and-a-bit minutes of prog bombast and superb musicianship a taster as opposed to a banquet.