After a couple of years of being unable to access my site, I stumbled back in a few hours ago more by accident than design, so here goes.
One of the great joys of a vanity presses is the ability to inflict one’s musical taste on readers in addition to jeering at the preferences of others (and here the list is endless.)
Lots of rain in the last few months, so much time has been spent on YouTube revisiting my musical past.
Surely one of my great past moments was catching jazz pianist Cecil Taylor in a hall with tremendous acoustics.
This is Jitney from his Silent Tongues LP recorded in Montreux in 1974. A very demanding listen due to the discordant, percussive qualities of his playing.
Still worked for me even after some 30 years and his other offerings on YouTube are worth a visit.
To this day, I regret selling a three LP box set of Keith Jarrett’s Bremen/Lausanne 1973 solo concerts. Best $10 ever spent and far better than his later solo offerings such as Live at La Scala
Finally, in this serious vein, some rollicking piano by Randy Weston, a pianist who to my mind has never received his due.
The Dear Reader may recall my past infatuation with Malian music, the Wassoulou African origins of early 20th American acoustic blues.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassoulou brief history and geography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassoulou women’s advice music
You can listen to this precise genre by tuning into internet Radio Wassoulou, even though it comes in the form of a tape loop.
A couple of my faves.
Oumou Sangare
Lets be honest. The dancers are hot.
Mamou Sidibe
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Party time is over children, so we need an appropriate intro for our next item focussing on that smirking shit Vladimir Putin
The KGB Made a Man out of Me by The Barracudas, surely one of the best retro garage bands ever to tread the boards.
The West has many things to thank the New Russia and Prince Vlad for – the strength of the property market/tax havens in London, hi-tech assassinations, Donald Trump, etc.
Not even close. It’s the Western publishing industry which owes him a particular vote of thanks.
The Guardian’s list of ten top books on Putin’s Russia https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/20/top-10-books-on-vladimir-putins-russia. Trust Luke Harding to wade in with his potboiler.
The Washington Post in a similar vein https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-books-that-best-explain-putin-and-his-russia/2017/07/14/8f48d87c-6809-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html
Particularly enjoyed Putin’s Kleptocracy by Karen Dawisha. The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Meyers 2016 is well worth the effort, as is Putin: His Downfall and Russia’s Coming Crash by Richard Lourie which value adds, even if the Crash part is totally unconvincing.
Man Spread Moscow Style
TO BE CONCLUDED
Tags: good reads, Malian women singers, Putin
kingtubby1.wordpress.com 
March 22, 2018 at 2:59 am |
Hello King Tubby!
Lovely to see you up and about again…
Cheers from Gordon
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March 22, 2018 at 3:02 am |
Thnx Bossman. Still more to scribble.
April 9, 2018 at 4:07 pm |
Hey KT – glad to see you’re back posting after such a long break. What’s been holding you?
April 9, 2018 at 9:37 pm |
Thnx Foarp. Totally locked out of the site for a couple of years until I found a very sideways entry back into the dashboard.
Sent you my best regards regarding your new bundle of joy, but it seemed to disappear into the ether.
To be honest, spending all my spare time reading and have lost the inclination to scribble, even though I’m no longer doing my vollie jobs. Sort of miss attending a good bush fire.
Posts are also too ambitious and I never seem to finish them.
Nonetheless, I’ve often lurk over your and JR’s site.
May 3, 2018 at 1:52 pm |
I’m glad to hear you haven’t stopped lurking on my self-important shizznit. I’ll re-check my spam guard to make sure your post isn’t there – CDE’s been spamming me again so I’ve had it up.