Sad Songs Say So Much

The current Mrs Hughes said to me the other night, put some music on, something romantic. So I went to my vast library of CDs and my hand alighted on the Best Of Bread, just the answer I thought. Sadly not, that choice was about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. Bread as a group and David Gates who was their lead singer and songwriter in their 70s golden period had some great songs, ok they weren't big rockers or very leading edge but they had in their catalogue some the the most romantic and saddest songs ever. Take the song Diary for example, has there ever been a better song written about unrequited love and loss? To start - 'I found her diary underneath a tree, and started reading about me, The words she's written took me by surpise you'd never read them in her eyes, They said that she had found the love she waited for, Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it.' and then 'I found her diary underneath a tree.and started reading about me, The words began stick and tears to flow,Her meaning now was clear to see, The love she'd waited for was someone else not me, Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it. '
You really need to hear it beacuase the tune is a killer too.
there have been some great sad songs written, though not many lately. Here are some of my favourites

1. Diary - Bread
2. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
3. Lost Without Your Love - Bread
4. Without You - Nilsson
5. The Way We Were - Gladys Knight and the Pips
6. If You Leave Me Now - Chicago

There are probably loads more, but I can't think of any at the moment. Strangely all of the above are from the 70s. We always liked a good wallow in sadness then, as if there wasn't enough sad stuff going on in real life!

The Ghosts Of Christmas Past

Apologies for the late Xmas post, but I did one some days ago but I must have accidentally deleted it!
Here are my seven ages of Christmas;

1)Being a kid, there is nothing like the anticipation and the actual thrill of Christmas morning, is there? New pressys, good home cooking and then we would always walk round to my Aunty's for a big family get together, Beatles music playing and one year on Boxing Day all watching the Magical Mystery Tour (1967 for you completists). It was always my latest night of the year to stay up.
2) Early teens, difficult age but pretty much the same as above but I did work one Christmas Eve until 3 in the morning washing up in the Bedford Hotel. a nice little earner.
3) Teens - And I had discovered alcohol, so pretty much drinking from Xmas eve morning through to New Year's day. Can't remember much else about (must be the alcohol).
4) Early 20s much the same as 3), except now we had the famous (or infamous) New Years Eve's parties courtesy of DC Smart whose birthday fell upon that day. It was round the pubs of Brighton and then back to the Smarts, always in fancy dress - themes were Stockings and Suspenders (worn by both sexes, but strangely popular with both), Hawaiian night, Roman, Heroes and the Arts.
5) Mid to late 20s, now beginning to become more adult (sadly, I'm still not all the way there) so no clubbing but pubs and then a traditional Xmas eve curry, although the fancy dress parties did carry on for a few years in this 'age'.
6) Aah, the kids. Almost full circle now, except it was now my kids with the high expectations and presents to open. I spent most of Xmas day, which started far too early for my liking, putting things things together and putting batteries in things (no, not those things). Not much socialising though due to lack of babysitters.
7) And here we are, up to date. Kids now don't get up at 5:00am as they have been out on the razz until some ungodly hour. We can do what we like but we're usually too old to bother although New Year's Eve is still fun, especially when you are with people that you spent much of ages 3, 4, and 5 with. Bad hangover on 1st Jan though, but doubt that I was alone in that given the amount drunk.

Happy new year to all of my readers, yes both of you.

Every once in a while I will get recommended a cd to listen to that will really knock me off my feet. A few years ago I was pointed in the direction of 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia by the Dandy Warhols, and from the first time I heard it I knew it was going to be a cd that I would would love forever (forever being a relative term - I mean until I die, sadly not forever).
Recently I had the same experience but bizarrely with a cd that was over 35 years old, although then it would have been a good old 12inch lp. I can't say that I've ever been a fan of Joni Mitchell - during the early 70s my musical tastes were were straddling between the Beatles and Glam Rock trying very carefully not to tread on any progressive rock or the very 'in' singer-songwriters. But for the first time some months ago I heard Blue by Joni Mitchell for the first time and it was excellent. I have read many pop and rock stars saying that she was a big influence but I didn't realise it until I heard this cd. So on the 70s musical theme here are my top ten 70s albums.

1) Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
2) Led Zeppelin 4
3) Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
4) Slade Alive - Slade
5) John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
6) What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye
7) Never Mind The Bollocks - The Sex Pistols
8) Blue - Joni Mitchell
9) Quadrophenia - The Who
10) Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder

I know I'm going to get some comments on this, but I've only picked each artist once, some of these has more than one great album ion the 70s - them's the rules!
11)

The economy in the 1970s - whose fault?

This posting cannot go by without some mention of the pathetic shower that is the England football team, and their futile attempts to overcome some neo-third world countries in an effort to reach Euro 2008. There, I think I've made myself clear on that. However, what I did find interesting is that they reckon the economy will lose £2 billion pounds this year because England failed to qualify. This is the cost of all those pints of beer, replica shirts, new widescreen LCD and plasma tvs etc etc. Quite staggering isn't it? Which got me thinking (always a dangerous think to be happening) - when I was in my teens/early 20s we actually failed to qualify for any European Championships of World cups tournaments between 1970 and 1980. Yes, 10 years without the 3 lions in a major football tournament, staggering, but it actually happened (and there we about 3 foreign players in the football league at the time, so let's put that one to bed). Now, add the cost of not qualifying for 4 tournaments at £2 billion every other year for a decade and that's a staggering £8 billion lost to the economy in less than 10 years. So don't ever believe the history books when they tell you that the economic problems of the 70s were caused by oil prices after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, or the greedy miners, or the powerful unions, or punk, or the long hot summer of 1976, or glam rock, or Maggie Thatcher, or flares, it was caused by England's failure to be at the big football parties! Which is why we need Jose Mourinho as the next England football manager otherwise we could be doomed once again to galloping inflation, soaring oil prices, mass unemployment, and yes, possibly even flares and teardrop collar shirts. Pray for Mourinho, I can't wear platform shoes again, not with these feet.

It's a Tie

So, whoever decided that a piece of coloured cloth knotted around your neck was smart? I guess this dated back to the 18th century (fashion historians help me out here!) when cravats probably first came into existence, that's what I remember from pictures in history books, anyway! It seems that this fashion has been around a long time as we are still wearing them so they are pretty well ingrained in the culture now. But I think it's still unfair that men are expected to 'be smart' wearing a suit and tie and yet women can still express themselves pretty much any way they please and it's still regarded as smart. Still, I think this is getting better as most companies sensibly allow casual dress when they are doing nothing more than sitting in an office all day and rightly so. But correct is that if they are going out to meet people they should be smart as anything less may give the wrong impression of the company they represent. I've just re-read what I've written so far and my rant about expectations of men's clothing have turned into a rather conciliatory piece about the correctness of wearing a tie - that's the trouble as you get old, your mind wanders quickly and you lose the point. Still, could be worse, could be raining.

How to pass the time when you are off sick

Had the unfortunate experience of being off sick from work last week. Nothing serious, and I was a bitdiappointed as it's the first time that I've missed work through sickness for 3 years - not bad for a 50 year old! No doubt it'll get worse as I get 0lder and start getting things like gout and 'a bit of a chest'. Anyway, while sitting round at home not really feeling like doing much I watched some films that I have had sitting on my DVD recorder for some months and have never got round to watching.
The first one was Amelie, a French film from 2001 with subtitles. I don't particularly like subtitled films (I suppose it's hard to concentrate on words and pictures at my age) but this was really quite good, very quirky with some great performances.
Second one was Once Upon A Time In America a film from 1984. This is a a sprawling epic directed by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro, and it covers about 60 years in the lived of some Jewish kids from New York who become gangsters. Very long, but well worth staying with to the end.
Last up wasn't one from the DVD recorder but a purchase from Tesco's. This was Sleepers from 1996 and has a stellar cast of Robert De Niro (again), Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman and Minne Driver. Once again it's about some poor Italian kids from New York (bit of a thread here?) who get mixed up with gangsters and end up in reform school but I won't say any more as it will ruin the story for anyone who wants to see it.
And why not? as Barry Norman used to say when his film review show was worth staying up for.
And finally, farewell to Myles Rudge. Who, I can hear say? The man who wrote that Junior Choice staple Right Said Fred as well as Hole In The Ground, both for Bernard Cribbins died last month aged 81. 'So Fred said let's have another cup of tea and then we went home'. Magic!

Wet Winter Sundays

Anyone remember the famous Hancock sketch about Sundays and how boring they are? If you think back 30+ years they were pretty dull, nothing open, everyone having roast dinner 'because we always have done and that's the way it's going to be'. It's so much better now - shops are open if that's your thing, pubs, bars and restaurants are open much longer instead of the archaic licensing laws that held sway in this country for 90 odd years, live football on the tv if you want it. So if they are that much better I hear you say then why are you in writing your blog? Well, the truth is that when it's wet, windy and raining out then indoors is the best place to be anyway. Maybe that's why the typical British Sunday was always dull, because apart from about 5 times a year the weather is so crap there is nothing better to do than sit around indoors! So there, I'm off to drink a few glasses of wine and watch some tv in front of a blazing fire, pipe and slippers on etc etc. Yes, sometimes being 50 does have a lot going for it....