Very sad - saw him Indy last year
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/07/29/oscar-winning-irish-musician-glen-hansard-dies-56/
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Yesterday the Missus entered the room singing
“I’m the firefighter, great big firefighter, hey hey hey”
When I smirked, she said “Don’t you remember that one? It was a hit in the nineties”.
We’ve been singing it together ever since.
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This song/video gave me nightmares when I was around eight years old. I was convinced Keith, feral animal as he was, would show up on Granogwen Road and set fire to the entire mess.
I prefer your wife’s version.
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Go on. What’s her take on “Smack My Bitch Up”?
I told her about that and she wasn’t amused.
Those Prodigy boys would be in trouble if the Missus catches them disrespecting women.
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I’m just wondering what everyone’s thoughts on compilation albums are.
I was listening to the Genesis Platinum Collection this morning, which is a fairly comprehensive 3 CD best of collection which, rather unusually, runs in reverse chronological order. I suspect this is because it was aimed at people who were familiar with their later commercial material or Phil Collins solo work and allowed them to dig back to their earlier prog rock stuff.
For the most part, I prefer chronological compilations, but with the advent of Spotify and the like it is often presented in terms of the most streamed tracks first, which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and hides lesser known tracks.
I like chronological compilations for the most part as they allow one to hear the progression of the artist for better or worse. “The Singles” is a pure form of this as it presents those tracks that the artist felt were the most accessible at the time.
“Greatest Hits” is another methodical way of arranging tracks as this picks up on proven commercial performance, but many compilations front load the albums with the best known tracks and leaves the album to peter out; a bit like the Spotify playlists.
“Best Of” is more interesting as this has been curated and allows for album orientated bands to include deeper dives.
“Very Best Of” tends to be when the record company executives get their grubby fingers on it and cut the material recorded for other labels.
Then there is the “Anthology” which is either previously unreleased material aimed at fans, or the few odd tracks and live outtakes that are a cynical attempt at fooling the unaware into buying substandard products.
I still like the idea of a properly curated introduction to new music. Algorithms are all well and good, but it doesn’t replace someone with a deep knowledge and understanding for what is being presented.
I’ve just been on an odd stream of consciousness. I was talking to my wife about the Odyssey film and she had some vague recollection about a song that was based around the trojan horse metaphor.
I remembered this from the Icicle Works:
The chorus suddenly rang a bell. Does anyone remember this banner? Does it still turn up at matches?
On my way back from Burton upon Trent (Bloodstock was nearby).
Saw Saxon (first time). Cryptopsy, Hidden Intent, Fit For An Autopsy, Biohazard, Seeking Akira (first time), Municipal Waste, Death Angel, Sepultura, Shining (first time), Lamb of God, Vebded (first time), Celestial Sanctuary, Nevermore (first time), Testament, Mushroomhead, Bidy Count, 200 Stab Wounds, and Judas Priest.
Time tp go home and recover. Quality sets and great energy! Had lots of lovely interactions with my fellow Bloodstockers.
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How did Nevermore’s new line-up do?
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Absolutely fantastic!!!
So relevant in the world that we are currently in…
“The End Of The Innocence”
Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin’ by
But “happily ever after” fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That’s still untouched by men
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass waves in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O’ beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass waves in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we’ve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say goodbye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
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My favourite ever Aussie band The Saints are coming to Sydney in January so I’ve been thinking about them recently.
Did a search on Spotify and this came up.
Wtaf!?
The real thing…
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For those of us who have felt sometime like throwing ourselves into a volcano.
And the story of the Japanese girl who actually did ;