Gold Soundz *

Got out of work at lunchtime today and headed for the gym to do this, this, this and this (I'm just out of camera range, by the way). Yes, I know only tossers go to gyms, but if I didn't do it my beer gut would be huge and my heart would pack in as there's no way I'm doing all that shit in the great outdoors!

Followed that by heading through town.

As it's pay day, I found that my feet were involuntarily heading towards Oxford Street and music shops. Got as far as Branson's place and had a browse through all the sale stuff. Nothing was really grabbing me by the eardrums and was about to walk back out when, wow, inspiration from Darren's new year resolutions hit me smack on the earlobes. When one has never had Luke Haines material on CD - in fact, not on vinyl either, but only on tape - let's go buy The Auteurs back catalogue and, for that matter, his subsequent reincarnation as Baader Meinhoff, his solo stuff and of Black Box Recorder too (I do own Passionaia). So I now own New Wave, Now I'm A Cowboy and After Murder Park. As I say, I've had all on tape over the years, but now I feel good about contributing to the bank account of one of England's best songwriters of the last 15 years or so. Unfortunately, there was no Baader Meinhoff or solo material available, so, maybe next time.

Talking of Black Box Recorder, I do like this amazingly accurate description of them by the Amazon reviewer: "Vocalist Sarah Nixey sounds like a head girl captured and brainwashed by the malevolent male duo, made to intone their deadpan, amoral lyrics." Read more here.

And this is proof that my comments at Darren's regarding the Haines/Television gig wasn't made up - not that anyone would ever accuse me of talking rubbish, of course!

So, lunch was had and walk on to station for journey home, with the soundtrack to this being the Love CD Forever Changes which I mentioned last week. Now, I've known the odd Love track over the years - one being Alone Again Or, which jim put on an excellent guitar/trumpets compiliation for me many years ago - but little did I know just what quality runs right through Arthur Lee and his companions' material. I was listening in particular to You Set The Scene and was walking along nearly in tears. Putting the words down alone does this beautiful song no justice, but one has to admit that the following, from the middle part of the song, is life-affirming and lovely poetry:

This is the time and life that I am living
And I’ll face each day with a smile
For the time that I’ve been given’s such a little while
And the things that I must do consist of more than style
There are places that I am going

This is the only thing that I am sure of
And that’s all that lives is gonna die
And there’ll always be some people here to wonder why
And for every happy hello, there will be good-bye
There’ll be time for you to put yourself on

Everything I’ve seen needs rearranging
And for anyone who thinks it’s strange
Then you should be the first to want to make this change
And for everyone who thinks that life is just a game
Do you like the part you’re playing

Well, I think it's gorgeous, even if no-one else does.

Listening to the likes of this, and other things going on in my life at the moment, is really putting a spring in my step. I don't think I've felt this positive about my life in a very long time. Even the prospect of putting in a 10-hour shift at work on Sunday (don't ask - special circumstances) isn't getting me down. I even saw the funny side on New Year's Eve when I declared that the past year hadn't been that bad, and that things at work were particularly brilliant. "But, Reidski," a friend almost whispered, "didn't you cost your employers £100,000?" Well, yes I did, but ....

I'm happy!!!!!!!

* Pavement - they were sooo good, even that time when I watched them on the Other Stage at Glastonbury when the mud was heading for my knees! What year was that again? But even better first time I seen them when supporting Sonic Youth at Brixton Academy circa '93 - but not so good were the other support band, Huggy Bear, worst band ever in the history of music ever!