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nwdsc · 2 years

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(HOW GOOD IT IS | Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation | Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creationから)

HOW GOOD IT IS by Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation

The Voices of Creation are a community-based choir led by vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and mainstay of the Los Angeles scene Jimetta Rose. Made up of a multigenerational group of mainly non-professional singers backed by some of the city’s finest musicians, their music marries hip strains of gospel with layers of jazz, soul and funk. While aspects of their music might recall Kamasi Washington, The Staple Singers or Sly Stone, Jimetta’s unique vision has resulted in new spiritually-charged forms of music whose whole-hearted embrace of love, joy and peace act as sonic healing balms for the soul. For Jimetta - whose resume includes collaborations with Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Angel Bat Dawid, Shafiq Husayn, MED and Blu - the very act of creation was part of a healing process: “I was very low at the time and I wrote most of the songs going through hardship. But I found comfort in the songs and a way to adjust my mindset to where things got better. So I thought ‘if this music works for me, maybe it will work for other people’ I believe that every person has their own voice and their own note and that we can use our voices to heal ourselves. That’s the intention behind creating the project.” After putting out a call on social media for people interested in joining her choir she was met with a sea of replies. Members were chosen in less-than conventional fashion: “I recruited people based on their interest in healing themselves and others, not necessarily on their musical experience or being seasoned performers” she says. Among those accepted into the ever-evolving collective, which was begun initially as a community choir, were the likes of Sly Stone’s daughter Novena Carmel, better known as a radio DJ for KCRW’s flagship breakfast show. Jimetta’s upbringing in the Pentecostal church, where she was a youth choir director, fed into her otherwise intuitive teachings of her songs and arrangements to the inexperienced members with help from the group’s seasoned organ player/co-musical director Jack Maeby. Produced by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys, Seu Jorge) and his wife Samantha Caldato the results show the incredible sense of togetherness and communal spirit that the group had built up over time in the rehearsal sessions. The six tracks of their debut album, a mixture of originals and rearranged covers, are performed in a wide-eyed mix of styles that reflect Jimetta’s vision for borderless music: “It’s new black classical music,” she explains. “It’s all the hodgepodge of being an African American but also with creativity and vision for the future. It has a taste of what is to come and what we can do. What we have gone through and who we are now.” The group’s propensity for warm and buoyant sonics finds representation on album opener Let The Sunshine In, a sparkling rework of the Sons and Daughters of Lite’s deep jazz classic. Their version finds the group’s dynamic group harmonies offset with Allakoi Peete’s nimble afro-percussive touches and plenty of soul-drenched keys courtesy of pianist Quran Shaheed and organ player Jack Maeby. A similarly uplifting take on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s choral jazz classic Spirits Up Above follows, with Maeby’s groove-laden organ lines inspiring some gorgeous group harmonies as well as prime solo turns from the likes of Kellye Hawkins, Zavier Wise, Tamara Blue, and Khalila Gardner. Another Sons and Daughters of Lite cover follows as Jimetta leads the choir in the groove-drenched ode to self-affirmation Operation Feed Yourself. Written as a series of mantras for everyday living, the Jimetta-penned composition How Good It Is harnesses the full transformative power of music to generate a stirring and joyful ode to positivity - it’s chanted declarations bringing out some of the group’s most deeply-felt and affecting vocal performances over some superlative piano and organ accompaniment with a surprise feature vocal from Novena Carmel. Jimetta’s talent for re-imagining songs in her own light is highlighted in Answer The Call, her vivid re-telling of Funkadelic’s Cosmic Slop: “When I listened to the original song, the Mom in the story was really going through it. I thought of how I could turn this into a song that can encompass the glorification of all mothers and I thought of the Egyptian cosmic goddess Nut. To that mother we’re all the seeds planted in the garden. Answering the call in your life is literally that. Finding out exactly what you’re here for through your heart.” The album finishes with the standout original gospel number Ain’t Life Grand. Over swaying organs and clapped percussion Jimetta’s lyrical mantras serve to emphasise the good feelings that come to those with a grateful heart. Good feeling is an apt descriptor for the mood of the album as a whole. Its shining positivity provides a welcome ray of light in an increasingly dark world. “It’s a shortcut if you will to the better feelings” Jimetta says. “The hope that we need to keep pressing forward. We are saturated and inundated with images of chaos and destruction, death and hatred. There’s so much we can witness. So, I want to make sure that there is a representation sonically of the other parts that are still there to witness so that we can continue to build those things. So that the systems we support actually reflect what we want to experience. So it’s like: “Don’t give up and Let The Sunshine Into You” and then find out what your purpose is and answer the call.” クレジット2022年8月12日リリース DAY DREAMER in partnership with AMOR IN SOUND Produced by Mario Caldato Personnel: Jimetta Rose - Director Jack Maeby - Music Director, Organ Quran Shaheed - Piano Allakoi Peete - Percussion Gaby Hernandez - Soprano Andree Belle- Soprano (Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand only) Cassandra Hawkins - Soprano (Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand only) Roz Kumari- Soprano (Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand only) Novena Carmel - Alto Tamara Blue - Alto Khalila Gardner - Alto Kellye Hawkins - Tenor (+ solo feature on Answer The Call) Zavier Wise - Tenor/ Baritone (not on- Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand) Yohance Wright - Bass (not on- Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand) Fred McNeil- Baritone Samir Moulay- Tenor/Baritone (Let The Sun Shine In + Aint Life Grand only)

#2208 #RB #****

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marklovejoy1-blog · 7 years

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Madden NFL 17

I grew up playing Madden since I was 10 years old. In 1989 the very first Madden came out, and it is not just my favorite game to my favorite sport, it's also birthday time and gift. Madden always comes out the week of my birthday. August and I was born in 1979 so pretty much I played every Madden game on every console it came out on. I just stick to PlayStation now, it's always been my favorite console since it came out. I don't have the PlayStation 4 yet, I still enjoy the PlayStation 3. My favorite team is the New England Patriots, I'm from New England so I'm not a bandwagon fan who only likes teams that won the Super Bowl that year. I actually like every team and follow the entire NFL. And another thing I'm going thing I'm going to put to rest is the Tom Brady notion that I only like the Patriots because of him. During my high school football days, the colors of my team are Blue and Gold so I started watching college football and found Michigan Wolverines because let's be honest, every high school football player dreams of receiving a scholarship to college, so happened that I dreamed of playing football for Michigan. That's where I first saw Tom Brady play football, he wore jersey #10 at Michigan. Back to Madden, I have a few different Connected Franchises going, 2 for New England, 1 being my personal Connected Franchise and the 2nd Patriots is for my father and me, he enjoys watching me play. The other Connected Franchise that I select are teams that don't do good or make the playoffs, the Cleveland Browns and now Los Angeles Rams (my opinion is that they should of stayed in St. Louis) St. Louis Rams had a great thing going, even though the team didn't have a winning record the players held fundraisers and gave back to the community. Ex St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Chris Long and his teammate William Haynes created a fund to end homelessness. They even went undercover as homeless people. The project ended once the Rams left for Los Angeles and the immediate release of Chris Long, whom in many ways was in the prime of his career and community involvement made him one of the favorite players on the team. Chris Long landed a one year deal with the New England Patriots and won Super Bowl LI. I'm taking Cleveland now and I currently own 6 1st Round Picks, 4 2nd Round Picks, 3rd, 4th Round Picks too. I didn't go and trade for the ultimate team either, I pulled a Bill Belichek and made a roster of Role Players. We will build the team through via NFL Draft and Free Agency. With all the Draft Picks I've collected I won't have to rely heavily on the Free Agent Market because I can get the best players available in the Draft. I'm just hoping that the Draft is stocked with talent in different positions and not primarily on numerous guys with the same position. I hope that I get the #1 Overall Pick with one of the 6 picks I have collected. If I get many Top 10 picks, I can trade down in the Draft and collect more Draft Picks or players 25 and under just because they only have a couple years on their tires, it'll be like using the Pick on a player from the Draft whom already is established in the league. I plan to rebuild the Cleveland Browns with players I believe fit my scheme and system. I don't need a QB because I signed free agent QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (86 overall) and trade him with a 4th Round Pick to the New England Patriots for QB Jimmy Garoppolo, essentially I got Garoppolo for a 4th Round Pick, he was drafted in the 2nd Round out of Eastern Illinois, that was a bargain. I wasn't planning on keeping Ryan Fitzpatrick anyway. Jimmy Garoppolo (81 overall) is a great QB to start and build a franchise around. I also have QB Cody Kessler (80 overall) and RGIII (77 overall). The season is about to be kicked off this week and Kessler is out for 2 games with injury so I have to keep RGIII for a backup. Also, the last preseason game torn starting RB Dion Lewis's pectoral and he's been put on the injured reserve. The new starting RB is the Cleveland Browns 3rd Round Pick from the U, Miami Hurricanes Duke Johnson. My original plan was to use the both of them and grow the overall and attributes of Duke Johnson throughout the season. I traded a couple draft picks and switched RB's with the Patriots because they had Dion Lewis, James White on the trading block. I also signed DJ Foster after the Patriots released him. I have a good RB rotation behind a talented QB. I also solidified the defensive line, especially the interior line. I traded for RE Mario Williams from the Miami Dolphins to anchor a pass rush. I also traded for MLB David Harris from the New York Jets to lead the LB corps. I have added SS Donte Whitner from free agency to solidify the back end of the secondary. The CB's need some playing time to increase their attributes and overall performance. I feel like I have a steady team put together, on paper it looks good, on the field it's definitely different.

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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Gaming Hotels, Money & Nebula

Hello, welcome, and G’day, we are so happy to have you join us again for our latest episode. When we say episode we don’t mean Buck having a rant and all that; just thought we should clarify that up front. Now we have a bumper episode this week with lots of stuff for you to enjoy.

First up we have Professor bringing us news about Atari’s plan to open a chain of hotels. They have announced that they will be themed and focus on developing E-sports functionality. But we wonder is it going to be presented with the old style timber/brown laminate like we used to see on the old Atari? Guarantee that it won’t be the first option for the honeymoon market, although, any ladies who think that would be cool let us know that we are wrong once again. Following this Professor has the ESA’s environmentally unfriendly stance against the right to repair and modify your machines/consoles. BOO HISS!!! How lame can these idiots be, I mean, don’t they realise that advancements in technology have come about by people looking under the hood and figuring out ways to do things better?

Next up we have DJ talking about IDW losing money and what they are planning to do about it. Apparently they have announced they are struggling in various markets with the material they are presently distributing. Of course the solution would be to develop new material, breathe new life into the company instead of just pumping out more of the same thing. But, no, they are hoping that their partnership with Netflix will save them. Then DJ brings us news on the critic’s reviews on Birds of Prey for us to laugh at and make fun of. Seriously, does anyone actually take them serious anymore? Buck suggests that if Rotten Tomatoes give a film a bad rating it must be good, and if it is good then stay away. What do you think, does that sound like a good approach to use?

Then Buck has the latest on the Spitzer Space Telescope, which has just retired. After being on mission since 2003 it has provided heaps of data for scientist, with the first images and data being of the Tarantula Nebula. In homage to its origins the last images and data developed by Spitzer were also of the Tarantula Nebula. Which honestly is a hotbed of activity, with the explosion of a supernova that was first discovered in 1987 (interestingly called 1987a) and still sweeping through space creating some awesome images. Also there is a collection of 40 massive stars at least 50 times the size of our sun all in a tiny area together. If this isn’t enough for you Buck also brings us news of the latest evolution of robot tanks. Before anyone gets all Terminator Judgement Day on us, they are not all armed and those that are still need a person involved to fire on a target. But for those who are looking for an alternative to a trailer that hitches to your car, we might have a solution for you.

We hope you enjoy this bumper episode this week. As normal we have the usual shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. Let us know what you think, make requests if you have a topic you are interested in having us dig into. Or just drop us a line and we will give you a special shout out. As always, remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

Atari’s new idea : Gaming Hotels - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-27-atari-to-open-gaming-hotels-in-at-least-eight-us-cities

ESA’s stance on Right To Repair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAVp1WVq-1Q&feature=youtu.be

IDW loses money…a lot of money - https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/01/25/idw-loses-17-1-million-in-2019-projects-profitability-in-2021/

Early reviews of Birds of Prey have arrived…. - https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/01/27/early-audience-reviews-for-margot-robbies-birds-of-prey-arrive/

The Tarantula Nebula - https://phys.org/news/2020-01-tarantula-nebula-web-mystery-spitzer.html

Robot Tank…now with no firepower - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50387954

Games Played

Professor

– Steamworld - http://imageform.se/game/steamworld-dig/

Rating: 3.5/5

Buck

– Thunder Run: War of Clans - https://www.facebook.com/ThunderRunWarOfClans/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

Rating: 3/5

DJ – DNP

Other topics discussed

Niagara Falls' real-life Mario Kart track

- https://dailyhive.com/toronto/niagara-falls-real-life-mario-kart-track-opening-june-2018?fbclid=IwAR32kb9QxDvcX-YzQGY0G9GGRDlYfkpqRU2fH2Kee96JtqNXo_r5YrDl1Jw

Nintendo wins legal battle against one of Tokyo's real-life 'Mario Kart' tours

- https://www.engadget.com/2020/01/29/nintendo-tokyo-mario-kart-legal-win/

Final Fantasy VII cafes

- https://soranews24.com/2020/01/25/final-fantasy-vii-cafes-are-opening-in-tokyo-and-osaka-to-celebrate-legendary-games-remake/

OutRun (arcade game released by Sega in September 1986.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Run

Mario Bros. (platform game published and developed for arcades by Nintendo in 1983.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros.

The Verge PC Build (Reuploaded) by Ext_Nation

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4viTwfFxA

Louis Rossmann - Why I don't use Apple products

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfrYOWlKJ_g

JerryRigEverything (American YouTuber and tech reviewer. He has gained fame and popularity for his technology reviews including smartphones, watches, apps and much more.)

- https://www.youtube.com/user/JerryRigEverything

- https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/JerryRigEverything

Every Console In One Box - The Origin Big O by Unbox Therapy

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQQc6cUSTA

Star Trek (comic book series by IDW Publishing, based on the Star Trekscience fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(IDW_Publishing)

Captain Marvel (2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(film)

Punisher (A fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Punisher made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punisher

Spiderman 3 (2007 American superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_3

Dexter (American television crimedramamystery series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_(TV_series)

Snakes on a Plane (At one point, the film was given the title Pacific Air Flight 121, only to have it changed back to the working title at Samuel Jackson's request.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_on_a_Plane#Production

Black hole (A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole

The Amazing World of Gumball (British-American surreal comedy animated television series created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_World_of_Gumball

Cartoon Network - The Amazing World of Gumball | The Meaning Of Life

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZspV3ser1Q

Tarantula (The spider originally bearing the name "tarantula" was Lycosa tarantula, a species of wolf spider native to Mediterranean Europe. The name derived from that of the southern Italian town of Taranto.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula#Etymology

RoboCop (1987) - It's Only a Glitch (Dick's boardroom demonstration of the Enforcement Droid 209 goes awry when the droid opens fire on Kinney.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TstteJ1eIZg

Law Abidding Citizen (2009) - Weaponized bomb disposal robot kills people

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrK-UojUTNw

Remote controlled weapon station (A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), or remote weapon station (RWS), also known as a remote weapon system, (RWS) is a remotely operated weaponized system often equipped with fire-control system for light and medium-caliber weapons which can be installed on ground combat vehicle or sea- and air-based combat platforms.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_controlled_weapon_station

Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) (a remote weapon station systems used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle.)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CROWS

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

- https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields

Dulce Et Decorum Est (poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I, and published posthumously in 1920)

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_et_Decorum_est

Podcast Nine and Three-Quarters (TNC Podcast)

- https://thatsnotcanon.com/nineandthreequarterspodcast

Shout Outs

- 26 January 2020 – Kobe Bryant died – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kobe_Bryant

On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California, around 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, en route to Camarillo, California. It was carrying former basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, six family friends including baseball coach John Altobelli and his wife and daughter, and the pilot. All on board were killed.

- 26 January 2020 – Australian of the Year 2020 awarded to eye surgeon James Muecke - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-25/australian-of-year-awards-2020-announced-in-canberra/11901006

Dr Muecke was honoured in a ceremony in Canberra. In 2000 he co-founded Vision Myanmar at the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology and later co-founded Sight For All, a social impact organisation aiming to create a world where everyone can see. More recently Dr Muecke's work has specifically focused on preventing the leading cause of blindness in adults — type 2 diabetes. When accepting the award from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Dr Muecke said he viewed type 2 diabetes — something that impacts nearly one in every 10 Australians — as a "looming catastrophe for our health system".

- 28 January 1958 – Lego patents its First Bricks - https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jan28/lego-patents-its-first-bricks/

The Lego Group, with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, patented its design for interlocking plastic bricks. The design was so stable that those bricks can still be used with Lego sets created today. Today, the Lego Group, based in Denmark, is worth more than a billion dollars.

Remembrances

- 26 January 2020 – Louis Nirenberg -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Nirenberg

Canadian-American mathematician, considered one of the most outstanding mathematicians of the 20th century. He made fundamental contributions to linear and nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) and their application to complex analysis and geometry. His contributions include the Gagliardo–Nirenberg interpolation inequality, which is important in the solution of the elliptic partial differential equations that arise in many areas of mathematics, and the formalization of the bounded mean oscillation known as John–Nirenberg space, which is used to study the behaviour of both elastic materials and games of chance known as martingales. He died at the age of 94 in New York.

- 28 January 1918 – Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCrae

Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the famous war memorial poem "In Flanders Fields". McCrae died of pneumonia near the end of the war. "In Flanders Fields" appeared anonymously in Punch on December 8, 1915, but in the index to that year McCrae was named as the author. The verses swiftly became one of the most popular poems of the war, used in countless fund-raising campaigns and frequently translated. He died from pneumonia with "extensive pneumococcus meningitis" at the age of 45 in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

- 28 January 1996 – Jerry Siegel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Golgi

Jerome Siegel who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter and Jerry Ess was an American comic book writer. His most famous creation was Superman, which he created in collaboration with his friend Joe Shuster. Siegel and Shuster had been developing the Superman story and character since 1933, hoping to sell it as a syndicated newspaper comic-strip. But after years of fruitless soliciting to the syndicates, Siegel and Shuster agreed to publish Superman in a comic book. In March 1938, they sold all rights to Superman to the comic-book publisher Detective Comics, Inc., another forerunner of DC, for $130 ($2,361 when adjusted for inflation). Siegel and Shuster later regretted their decision to sell Superman after he became an astonishing success. DC Comics now owned the character and reaped the royalties. Nevertheless, DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster as the principal writer and artist for the Superman comics, and they were well-paid because they were popular with the readers. He died from a heart attack at the age of 81 in Los Angeles,California.

Famous Birthdays

- 28 January 1611 – Johannes Hevelius - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Hevelius

A councillor and mayor of Danzig (Gdańsk), Kingdom of Poland. As an astronomer, he gained a reputation as "the founder of lunar topography", and described ten new constellations, seven of which are still used by astronomers. He discovered four comets, in 1652, 1661, 1672 and 1677. These discoveries led to his thesis that such bodies revolve around the Sun in parabolic paths. He was born in Danzig,Pomeranian Voivodeship.

- 28 January 1912 – Jackson Pollack – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his technique of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a horizontal surface ('drip technique'), enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. It was also called 'action painting', since he used the force of his whole body to paint, often in a frenetic dancing style. This extreme form of abstraction divided the critics: some praised the immediacy and fluency of the creation, while others derided the random effects. He was born in Cody Wyoming.

- 28 January 1966 – Seiji Mizushima - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiji_Mizushima

Japanese anime storyboard artist and director. He has directed such series as Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Un-Go, and Concrete Revolutio. He also directed anime films such as Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa and Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer. He was born in Fuchū, Tokyo.

Events of Interest

- 28 January 1887 - The first digging work on the Eiffel Tower started - https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/history

It took two years, two months, and five days after construction began. The pieces of iron are connected by 2.5 million rivets. They were put in place by between 150 and 300 workers who were employed to build the structure. The structure may be named after Gustave Eiffel, but it was actually his senior engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who designed the building.

- 21 January 1981 - The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph). - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W125_Rekordwagen

The streamlined car was derived from the 1937 open-wheel race car Mercedes-Benz W125 Formel-Rennwagen, of which also a streamlined version was raced at the non-championship Avusrennen in Berlin. The main difference to the Grand Prix race car, which had to adhere to the 750 kg (1,653 lb) limit, was the engine. While the GP car had the 8-cylinder inline M125, which was rather tall, the record car was fitted with a V12 engine that was lower, which reduced drag. It remained the fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road until broken on 5 November 2017 by Koenigsegg in an Agera RS driven by Niklas Lilja, achieving 445.6 km/h (276.9 mph) on a closed highway in Nevada.

- 28 January 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined oneshilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h). - https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Walter-Arnold-Worlds-First-Speeding-Ticket/

The London Daily News detailed the four counts, also known as “informations”, on which Walter Arnold faced charges at Tunbridge Wells court. Arnold’s vehicle was described several times in the newspaper court report as a “horseless carriage”, and the case clearly raised some interesting philosophical as well as legal points for the bench. The first count, which reads oddly now, was for using a “locomotive without a horse,” the next for having fewer than three persons “in charge of the same”, indicating the enduring influence of horse-drawn and steam locomotion when it came to legislating the new vehicles. Next came the actual speeding charge, for driving at more than two miles per hour, and finally, a charge for not having his name and address on the vehicle. The case may have had an influence on the changes to legislation shortly afterwards. The fearsome machines no longer needed a minimum of three people to control them.

Intro

Artist – Goblins from Mars

Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)

Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ

Facebook

- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/

- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamated

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrS

iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094

RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rss

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/

General Enquiries

Email - [email protected]

Rate & Review us on Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/nerds-amalgamated-623195

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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The name on the back matters: NHL is now marketing its stars

Connor McDavid is eager to shrug off personal stats, awards and achievements and put the focus on his team in Edmonton.

Yet there he is on the cover of a video game or in a commercial for a bank.

Auston Matthews is the face of the franchise in Toronto. But he also got razzed by his Maple Leafs teammates for doing a stylish fashion photo shoot for GQ magazine.

“It was a lot of fun,” Matthews said. “Kind of something that definitely got you out of your comfort zone.”

The rink for long decades has been the comfort zone for so many hockey players who put their full energy into the sport and are indoctrinated from a young age that the logo on the front of the jersey matters more than the name on the back.

That team-oriented part of hockey culture remains entrenched, but the NHL is finally beginning to market its stars as the NFL and NBA have done with great success.

As dynamic players like McDavid, Matthews and Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau settled in Canadian markets and star power spread to smaller cities without much hockey tradition, marketing players and not just teams is essential to growing the NHL’s fan base. For a sport that generally sees its TV ratings drawn from fans of the two teams playing — and where the Stanley Cup Final doesn’t pull in nearly as much as the Super Bowl or NBA Finals — it’s a concerted effort to build up personalities and players’ brands to become more popular.

“It is a changing landscape,” said Judd Moldaver, Matthews’ agent and senior vice-president of Wasserman Orr Hockey. “Hockey players are such fantastic athletes and fantastic people that I believe the hybrid of playing for the logo on the front but also being able to optimize your individual situation. I think the two can coexist.”

Matthews, McDavid, Nashville’s P.K. Subban and other stars are sharing more personality than players of previous eras like Mario Lemieux and even Wayne Gretzky. No longer is it seen as selfish for Subban to host a late-night talk show or for Matthews to shoot a cellphone commercial.

“Why not try? Just because the person next to me doesn’t think that they can host their own show doesn’t mean that I can’t,” Subban said. “What people have to understand is we’re at the rink three hours a day. We have a lot of time. We have days off, we have travel days and obviously there’s certain points in the schedule where you can’t do anything but hockey because of the way the schedule’s set up and the travel. But outside of hockey, a lot of times I don’t go home. I have meetings, I have different things that I’m doing. I have all these other interests.”

Showcasing those interests is part of the NHL’s shift. The league this season debuted a “Skates Off” series of vignettes with a player from all 31 teams to show what they are like off the ice, including Jack Eichel being a guest DJ at a Buffalo classic rock radio station, Victor Hedman sharing his love of flying planes and Seth Jones showing his cooking talent.

“It’s nice to see those personalities come out,” said Nick Foligno, a teammate of Jones’ in Columbus. “That’s how you grow the game. You look in other sports and the personalities come out, and that’s what fans are drawn to.”

NHL chief content officer and executive vice-president Steve Mayer knows this. Since joining the league in late 2015 after 20 years at talent and sports giant IMG, he has helped lead the charge to put more focus on star players whose abilities and personalities could play a role in attracting younger fans who are attached to social media in the digital age.

“Other leagues do this, and we really don’t do it as well — we want to get better at it,” Mayer said. “Other leagues it doesn’t really matter sometimes: You just tune in to watch the guy play. And we need to do that even more. … I want to be able to have fans even in (another) town (who) cannot wait to see Connor McDavid come to town because we have marketed him as one of our greatest players. I don’t know whether that happens enough.”

The NHL, Mayer said, has no interest in abandoning the team culture of hockey. But after a 2016 Magna Global study showed the average age of NHL fans rose 16 years over a span of 16 years — essentially stagnant — experts praised the league for trying to create more buzz among millennials and Generation Z.

“They recognize this, and they’re in a cultural shift, a cultural transformation within hockey,” said Stephanie Tryce, assistant of sports marketing at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “Generation Z is about a lifestyle. They’re interested in things like social responsibility and they celebrate more of their identities than in the past, so that’s going to force hockey to continue to make inroads into other markets like the Hispanic/Latino market. It’s a market that you can’t ignore, but it’s also a market that historically hasn’t been in hockey. So you have to grow that.”

Matthews is at the centre of that. His father is from California, his mother is from Mexico and he grew up in a nontraditional American hockey market in Arizona. Moldaver works closely with Matthews’ parents to chart a course for off-ice endeavours, from commercials and endorsement deals to philanthropic efforts, all of which continue to grow for the 21-year-old.

McDavid’s star began at an even earlier age, and the 2017 NHL MVP who has arguably surpassed Sidney Crosby as the greatest player in the world is finding his voice off the ice, too. When NFL Canada asked Rams and Patriots players at the Super Bowl who McDavid was, several thought maybe the prime minister or an actor. Work is ongoing to make him more recognizable outside hockey.

Hockey is such a team sport that individualism has for decades been frowned upon. Adidas senior director Dan Near said it’s a delicate balance to try to sell personalities but not stray too far from the team.

“I think there’s a fine line between doing it to promote yourself a little bit and being cocky, and I think we’ve got a lot of guys that do a great job of treading that line,” Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan said. “You’re starting to see guys be promoted a little more, and it’s nice because then you get to see some individual personalities come out, and in a sport where you’re so often wearing helmets and gear, people don’t get to relate to you face-to-face.”

Teams have been reluctant to some of the league’s efforts sometimes until they see the final product. Mayer recalls showing owners and general managers clips of potential ideas and seeing the hesitancy for propping one player up before they understand the wide-ranging plan to give the NHL more exposure.

Initiatives like “Stanley Cup Confidential” where a player from each of the league’s 16 playoff teams shoots a daily cellphone video is another baby step.

“We are not here to break the culture. We’re just here to show that certain players are dynamic and have personality,” Mayer said. “Players are starting gradually to see, you know what, it’s OK. I’m not disrupting the locker room and it’s OK to show personality and have some fun and smile.”

——

Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

——

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP–Sports

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2vjaMY6 via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

#IFTTT #Financial Post

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anachef · 6 years

Text

Famed Italian Eatery, Babbo, Reopens in the Heart of Mayfair with Hip New Interiors and a Modern Update on Traditional Italian

(RestaurantNews.com) Babbo – meaning “Daddy” in Italian – is inspired by the traditional Italian family characterized by food, family and deep-rooted heritage. This shared passion for football, family and food is what inspired Premier League Chelsea players, David Luiz and Willian Borges, to come together to reopen one of Mayfair’s much loved and famous Italian eateries.

Babbo recently reopened in Spring 2018, at its original Mayfair location on the fashionable Albemarle Street. Previously, it was loved by both locals and London restaurant critics – including the likes of The Evening Standard’s Fay Maschler. Diners can expect to be served the highest quality in Italian cuisine with bread and pasta freshly made in-house to compliment a modernised menu of traditional Italian dishes. The professional and passionate team aim to stay true to the family inspired restaurant’s reputation for outstanding Italian cuisine, while offering impeccable friendly service that keeps diners coming back for more.

The restaurant has been revived with hip new interiors featuring murals by famed independent Spanish graffiti and street artist Victoriano – who has also worked with the likes of Louis Vuitton, DKNY, W Hotel, Google and Converse. The graffiti murals around the restaurant create a vibrant atmosphere and draw inspiration from Italian cinema focusing on the concept of family.

Walking by you cannot miss the restaurant’s exterior with a giant impressive mural of a father fist bumping his son – a universal gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high five. Another highlight is the vintage Fiat 500 from 1972 parked outside the restaurant, which has been beautifully customized by Victoriano and ideal for capturing picture-perfect sharable moments. Once you enter inside there is a colourful and cheeky mural of a little girl spray painting on the wall – an innuendo that suggests the little girl or ‘daughter’ of the family has somehow done all the graffiti around the restaurant as a child would draw on the walls with crayons.

The intimate, light-hearted and familial atmosphere is replicated in the restaurant’s menu of signature Italian dishes with a modern twist. Spearheading the new menu is Italian executive chef Nicola Cariglia. Drawing inspiration from his roots growing up in Southern Italy and experience working at top restaurants- including Corrigan’s Mayfair, Edera Restaurant in Notting Hill, 11 Park Walk Chelsea, and Restaurant Vivendo in Geneva – Cariglia has expertly executed a menu of traditional Italian dishes inspired by family recipes that have been updated using only the best of British and Italian produce.

Babbo’s signature dish, Lasagne al Ragout di Chianina, is born from a 100-year old secret family recipe passed down through generations with love and respect. Other standout pasta dishes include Capelli d’Angelo (angel hair pasta) with your choice of indulgent toppings of either Al Tartufo (truffles) or Al Caviale (caviar), Linguine all’Astice (linguine pasta cooked in lobster sauce), and Veal Ragu Pappardelle (minced veal with pappardelle).

For the health conscious and diners with dietary restrictions, the restaurant offers a separate vegetarian and vegan menu with gluten-free pasta options. Vegetarian options include the freshly handmade Gnocchi con pomodorini freschi (Gnocchi with fresh tomato and scamorza cheese).

Non-pasta dining options include modernized versions of Italian favourites including Branzino al Sale (salt-crusted baked sea bass served and deboned tableside), Vitello alla Milanese (veal coated in breadcrumbs and served with a Melinda tomato salad), and Gamberoni alla Griglia (spicy king prawns served with stracciatella cheese and cured duck).

Standout desserts include homemade Tiramisu and Cheesecake with compressed mango, fresh passionfruit and basil ice cream. Starters range in price from £6 to £20 with Tartare di Ricciola (Australian Hiramasa Kingfish with fennel and caviar) being the most expensive of starters. Mains range in price from £16 to £60 for the beef T-bone steak for two persons. Brunch is served every weekend Saturday to Saturday from 12pm to 5pm.

Babbo offers an extensive wine list of over 100 wines from around the world, and signature cocktails with names inspired from Italian cinema including the ‘Godfather,’ a scotch whiskey and almond liqueur blend. A complimentary lighter version of the same cocktail is also available called the ‘Godmother.’

The restaurant’s prime location makes it ideal for spotting celebrities and people watching. British DJ and actress, Laura Pradelska, and fitness coach and TV presenter, Joe Wicks, have both recently visited for dinner. If you are a football fan you might even spot dining one evening one of the many famous footballers who frequent the restaurant including the likes of Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante, AC Milan’s Tiemoue Bakayoko, and Newcastle’s Kenedy. Other football stars who have visited include Watford’s Richarlison, West Ham’s Joao Mario, Southampton’s Cedric Soares, former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, and Napoli Manager Carlo Ancelotti. Support has even come all the way from Brazil with Neymar and the entire Brazilian National Team visiting the restaurant before competing in the 2018 World Cup.

The intimate restaurant is spread across two floors with the main restaurant and bar located on the ground floor, which seats 64 and 6 persons at the bar. Upstairs there is a private dining room available for private hire, which seats 10-14 persons. Babbo is a home away from home, a place to tell stories and create new memories by bringing people together for a great homemade meal.

Location:39 Albemarle St, Mayfair, London W1S 4JQ Reservations:020 3889 0780 Proprietors:David Luiz and Willian Borges Cuisine:Traditional Italian with a modern twist Seating:64 table seats, 6 bar seats, private room 10-14 seats

Opening Hours:Sunday – Wednesday Thursday Friday – Saturday Brunch Saturday & Sunday12pm-11pm 12pm-12am 12pm-1am 12pm-5pm

Instagram: @babbo_restaurant Twitter: @BabboLondon Facebook: @BabboRestaurantLondon Website: www.babborestaurant.co.uk

For PR & Press Inquiries Please Contact:

JPR Media Group Sophie Thomas [email protected] T: 020 7584 1978 www.jprmediagroup.com

source http://www.restaurantnews.com/famed-italian-eatery-babbo-reopens-in-the-heart-of-mayfair-with-hip-new-interiors-and-a-modern-update-on-traditional-italian-112618/

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

Text

FA Cup first round: Haringey Borough eye AFC Wimbledon giant-killing

FA Cup first round: Haringey Borough v AFC Wimbledon Venue: Coles Park, Tottenham Date: Friday 9 November Kick-off: 19:55 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website and app, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website

They are one of only a few clubs in the top seven tiers of English football to hand out free season tickets, they have a midfielder who has played against Luka Modric, and five years ago they attracted a crowd of just 17 (seventeen) to a league match.

On Friday, Haringey Borough will host a club record crowd of around 2,500 as the non-league team look to spring an FA Cup first-round shock by knocking out AFC Wimbledon, who play four leagues above them, in a match to be shown live on BBC Two.

Located on White Hart Lane, just over a mile from where Tottenham’s booming 62,000-seater stadium is taking shape, Borough’s Coles Park ground has a main stand with 270 seats.

The only team surviving from August’s preliminary round, Haringey have already created club history by reaching this stage for the first time.

Haringey v Wimbledon tie to be shown live on BBC[1]

FA Cup first round draw[2]

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Their run includes a 97th-minute winner at Brentwood Town in the first qualifying round and coming from behind in three of their five games. In doing so, the Isthmian League Premier Division club have earned £57,890 in prize money – a huge amount for a part-time club who cannot afford to pay a wage to all their players.

“We’ve got a few contracted players – the rest are on expenses which covers things like petrol money and buying a pair of boots,” said Tom Loizou, in his 11th season as Haringey manager.

“Even the contracted players are on a bare minimum when it comes to wages.”

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‘One of the fastest growing fanbases in the country’

On 26 February 2013, Haringey entertained Biggleswade United in the ninth-tier Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. There were more players on the pitch than people who paid to watch.

Having spent around £1m on ground improvements, including a new 3G pitch, Borough took the bold decision to give away free season tickets in the summer of 2016 – despite requiring £140,000 a year to keep going.

“We’d spent all this money on a new stadium and had nobody to watch us,” Aki Achillea, a criminal defence solicitor and chairman of Haringey for the past 14 years, said. “I banked on the fact anyone with a free season ticket might buy food and drink.”

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The giveaway has been such a success that it remains in place today. Borough’s average league attendance has jumped from 58 in 2015-16 to 262 this season, and manager Tom Loizou said: “We have one of the fastest growing fanbases in the country.”

With little in the way of gate receipts, however, Haringey have had to be resourceful in terms of raising income.

The club receive a rent for hosting a car boot sale three times a week, while finances are also boosted by hiring out their £500,000 synthetic pitch during the week.

“A few years ago we couldn’t even get a sponsor, people just laughed at us,” 58-year-old Loizou, a former Leyton Orient caretaker manager, added.

“Now we’ve got a van hire company who are in White Hart Lane. Instead of cash, they have given us a mini bus to get the team to away games. We can’t afford a coach to every away match.”

The man who faced Modric

Four years ago Georgios Aresti was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Modric, Mario Mandzukic and Dejan Lovren.

The central midfielder, born in Limassol, made his one and only start for Cyprus in a 2-0 friendly defeat in Croatia in September 2014.

Four months earlier he had come up against then-Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa when he appeared as a substitute against Japan in front of 58,000 in Saitama.

Aged 24, Aresti is a veteran of almost 100 top-flight Cypriot games – including 43 at Ethnikos Achnas where he was on a £40,000-a-year contract – and joined Haringey towards the end of last season before re-signing in July after a trial at Barnet ended without an offer.

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Desperate to earn a living playing professionally in England, the former AEK Athens player hopes his performances for Haringey, where he picks up around £100 a game, will lead to greater things.

In September, 18-year-old Haringey defender Themis Kefalas signed a one-year deal with Championship club Queens Park Rangers,[3] and Aresti hopes to follow a similar path.

“I want to progress my career and I think I can do it,” said Aresti, who scored in the 3-2 win at Brentwood Town in the first qualifying round. “Haringey is a small club in a small league but there are lots of scouts that come to our games.”

Despite only being at Haringey for a short time, Aresti has already established himself as a cult figure with fans.

“He makes goals and sees things other players at this level can’t see,” added Achillea. “Our fans love him and sing ‘George Aresti is a gift from the Gods’ at games.”

Achillea, too, is popular with Borough fans. One banner reads “The People’s Republic of Haringey Borough. Vote Aki Achillea Prime Minister!”

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Injured trying to empty a bin

Haringey’s team also includes Michael O’Donoghue, a 22-year-old defender who has played in League One for Colchester United, midfielder Rakim Richards, who works for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation[4] and Michael Ademiluyi, a former Southend United youth forward who has recently worked in security at The Oval cricket ground.

Meanwhile, Portuguese midfielder Jorge Sambu is hoping to make an impression against Wimbledon after recovering from a work injury.

The 27-year-old refuse collector for Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council missed the start of the season after damaging his knee while trying to empty a bin.

How Haringey got the FA Cup first round Preliminary round: H v Stanway Rovers 1-0 – Chinedu McKenzie First qualifying round: A v Brentwood Town 3-2 – Georgios Aresti, Chinedu McKenzie, Karl Akinwande Second qualifying round: H v Erith Town 2-0 – Joel Nouble (pen), Chinedu McKenzie Third qualifying round: H v AFC Sudbury 2-1 – Chinedu McKenzie (2) Fourth qualifying round: H v Poole Town 2-1 – Jorge Sambu, Joel Nouble

“My knee just gave way and I only started playing again last month,” said Lisbon-born Sambu, who is in his fifth season at Haringey.

“I came to London to live with my mum at the age of 14. At first I used to beg her to go back to Portugal but she said it’s a better life for us here. I love London now.

“I’ve had two promotions with Haringey and I’ve had an offer to sign for a team in a better division this year.

“I chose to stay at Haringey because I don’t think I will find another team like this. We’re a very close-knit group and we look after one another.”

‘We’re the only team in White Hart Lane’

Above the bar in Haringey’s six-year-old clubhouse is a sign that reads ‘White Hart Lane N17’.

It was paid for by Loizou, who says: “There’s only one senior club on White Hart Lane – and it’s not Spurs. Their official address is High Road, Tottenham.”

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Achillea has been a Tottenham season ticket holder for 30 years and travelled to the Netherlands in October to watch them against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

One of his ambitions is to get Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino down to watch Haringey. Another is to see Tottenham Hotspur Ladies, who currently play in Cheshunt, groundshare at Coles Park.

“Spurs Ladies playing on White Hart Lane would be fantastic,” he said.

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Borough have a women’s team of their own. Long-serving Haringey secretary John Bacon often acts as an assistant referee at their home matches in the Eastern Region Women’s Premier Division[5] – at the age of 80.

Haringey’s Brit Award winners

Former Haringey players include Ricky Otto,[6] later a Birmingham City winger, and Leon Rolle – also known as DJ Locksmith.

Rolle, who was Borough captain, Kesi Dryden and Piers Aggett were all registered with Haringey before helping launch Rudimental, the drum and bass band who won British single of the year at the 2014 Brits.[7]

“When I first took over they were in the process of forming a band and playing football for us,” added Loizou.

“They weren’t famous at the time and I didn’t take a lot of notice of them. It’s not my kind of music. If it had been Frank Sinatra playing centre-half it would have been very different!”

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Meanwhile, British singer-songwriter Emeli Sande[8] turned up in 2015 to watch Haringey win promotion from the Essex Senior League and even wrote a message on Facebook[9] after her visit to Coles Park.

Eight years ago, Ben Corbyn, son of Labour leader Jeremy, managed Haringey Borough’s under-18 team.

References

^ Haringey v Wimbledon tie to be shown live on BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ FA Cup first round draw (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ one-year deal with Championship club Queens Park Rangers, (www.qpr.co.uk)

^ Tottenham Hotspur Foundation (www.tottenhamhotspur.com)

^ Eastern Region Women’s Premier Division (fulltime-league.thefa.com)

^ Ricky Otto, (www.bcfc.com)

^ British single of the year at the 2014 Brits. (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Emeli Sande (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ wrote a message on Facebook (www.facebook.com)

BBC Sport – Football

FA Cup first round: Haringey Borough eye AFC Wimbledon giant-killing was originally published on 365 Football

#Borough #first #giantkilling #Haringey #Round #Wimbledon

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theimmediateband-blog · 7 years

Audio

Songblog #002: ’What’s The Matter Kevin Jones?’

Listen here:

https://soundcloud.com/adamwalton/05-whats-the-matter-kevin-1?in=adamwalton/sets/manbuoy-lp

Introduction:

The motivation for these blogs is explained (lengthily!) in a previous post.   Here’s a link: https://theimmediateband.tumblr.com/post/164677483215/songblog-001-no-shortcuts

‘What’s The Matter Kevin Jones?’ is the lead song from my band’s Mold EP (rel. March 2017). It’s our most successful release so far (which is a bit of a euphemistic use of the word ‘successful’), and it’s the song I’m proudest of. The venerable Tom Robinson (6Music) played it a few times, opening his Saturday night show with it (a great privilege… I know how much time I spend mulling over opening songs for my radio show!)  I can’t recommend highly enough Tom’s 6Music radio shows, his Fresh On The Net repository of information and guidance for new music-makers, and - particular to this blog - the democratic way his BBC Introducing Mixtape works. Please consider using it (look for the ‘Inbox’ link in the top right hand corner of the page. As I’m writing this, it’s shut until 4th September 2017.)

My respect for Tom, and my boundless positivity towards his programmes, has very little to do with him playing our music, honestly, truthfully, swear on all of my favourite FX pedals.  This is what Tom said about the song.  “… a great tune, great playing, wild spiky guitar, odd lyrics, a light sprinkling of anarchic menace and the perfect pop radio length.”

He nailed it.

The Writing:

If you could see me now, sat here in my kitchen, typing away narcissistically at my keyboard with a sinkful of washing-up that’s probably more in need of my attention, and a lawn that looks like a botanical experiment in what might happen if grass is allowed to go rogue, you’d notice I’m blushing, squirming uncomfortably in my chair. You see, here I am expounding my philosophies on songwriting when I’ve never paid much attention to other people’s philosophies on songwriting.

When I was much younger, I devoured music biographies and - particularly - autobiographies, in search of a Holy Grail of inspiration, some insight into what made the geniuses, geniuses. I didn’t find anything. Sometimes John helped Paul, or Paul helped John; or Brian moved a sandpit into the studio; or Ray felt a bit sad; or Janis drank like a demonic funnel, and then screamed it all out. The books told me very little, and what little they told me 20 / 30 years ago I have long forgotten.

Maybe all of this fuss, this sharing of ‘wisdom’ on the subject, is hot air, or a smokescreen, depending on how you like your over-excited gases. Maybe my writing like this, or reading those books, was a form of denial. Perhaps the great songwriters don’t have to mull these things over. Perhaps they are just gifted from birth, and no amount of reading or writing or pontificating will bring us any closer to them.

Well, you know, what I have learnt since the band re-formed and I started writing again is that it’s really, really OK to not be a genius. The joy, satisfaction and fun I’ve had out of music since March 2016 have made me a much happier man. Previously, and without really noticing, I had been sad for a long time. Making music makes me happy and is a great way to recycle that sadness into bittersweet tunes; not catharsis so much as therapy to a minor 7th.

I imagine that other people write for a multitude of reasons: desperation; the aforementioned catharsis; a desire for acclaim or recognition; to communicate; to bring something beautiful into the world; to speak, and release, otherwise unspeakable pain; to win someone’s heart, or to get fucked; to impress; to fill the void with something better than reality TV; because they like a nice tune and want to give the world more nice tunes… there is a multitude of reasons, all incredibly valid.

I wrote this song to fill a gap.

We had reformed with a determination to write new songs, and to not rely on songs we wrote two decades’ previously. And that had gone surprisingly well. However, once we started to gig, we realised that the set was all a bit one-paced. I see live sets like I see albums, or DJ sets, or playlists for my radio shows. They all have to have some kind of narrative to them… peaks / troughs / beginnings / ends… all bloody obvious, when you think about it.

We needed something heavy; something that didn’t sound like a Teenage Fanclub c-side.

Once I knew what I thought we needed, my subconscious started to ferment. This was well away from any instruments. Having a shower, somewhere in my brain is thinking that something a little early REM would be good. Autopiloting through the washing up, a little bit of Pixies comes into the equation; partway through a Mario Kart 8 session, I spin off Rainbow Road: yearning Wire, as opposed to spiky Wire (‘Outdoor Miner’-say) has also become part of the amorphous sound scape in my soul.

Yes, that’s right… the amorphous sound scape in my soul.

I don’t know how else to describe it, really… a shopping list of feelings, textures and sounds that I want this next song to be, but this is music and I’d rather be ridiculed for calling it the amorphous sound scape in my soul than think of it in terms of a shopping list.

Still I hadn’t bothered picking up the guitar. By the time I did, little planets were forming out of the swirling gases in the amorphous sound scape in my soul. Those planets were in E minor.

I knew I wanted to write a song about my hometown, Mold. I know how conflicted I feel about Mold. It felt like a dead-end when we were younger. Somewhere stultifying and inward-looking. We had one nightclub that shut down - permanently - after a few acts of unspeakable violence; McDonalds didn’t arrive until the mid 2000’s. Wetherspoons arrived either soon before, or soon after… they’re not exactly important historical facts, just indicators.

When I think about Mold, I think about weekend nights there, having great fun with my friends who came from nice, middle class homes in the surrounding villages, or on the nice estates of Bryn Coch and Parc Hendy. I think about how most of those nights would end running a gauntlet of fear just to get home in one piece. How we’d want to get to the chippy before The Dolphin kicked out because once The Dolphin kicked out, someone would get a kicking, or a glassing, or butted, or end up in the back of a Black Maria, trapped with the very kids they were trying to escape.

I think about my time at the Alun School, and I think about the kids in my form class who smelt of piss and stale fags, and whose uniforms looked shabby, even on the first day of school, back in 1982.

I remember how I couldn’t understand why they wanted to punch me, or my friends; why they’d explode into white hot violence on a whim; why I spent 5 years either hiding from the bastards, or fighting them.

I think about what I’ve heard about what happened to those kids since we left school. About the shitty jobs, the drug / drink-related deaths, the despair and complete lack of hope, and I now - finally - understand why they hated us, back then.

And holding all of these memories in my head, passing them through the amorphous sound scape in my soul, this song eventually took shape.

I had one kid in mind, writing the song. I couldn’t name him (I didn’t know anyone called ‘Kevin Jones’). And the ending is a melodramatic exaggeration, for the sake of the song. The kid I was thinking about didn’t die, or at least hasn’t yet, to the best of my knowledge. A few others did, though. So he came to represent them.

Musically-speaking, there had been a chord sequence lurking around the shadows of my musical id since I was 11 years old. Back then, and this will go some way to explaining why those kids wanted to punch me, I played classical guitar and my hero was John Williams. When John Williams wasn’t playing solo, or duetting with Julian Bream, he was in the uncoolest band the universe has ever seen. Seriously, John and his bandmates made 11 year old me look like Iggy Pop. They had a piece on their album - Sky 2 - called ‘Vivaldi’. I taught myself the intro. And its patterns worked their way into my vocabulary. I subsequently tried to use that sequence of intervals (it’s not really a chord sequence, as such) in the first incarnation of the band, and in a solo piece I wrote. For whatever reason, it surfaced again, now; maybe a subconscious nod to my uncoolness and prime bullyability, and those vague thoughts of REM, Wire and Pixies, shaped it, reasonably effortlessly, into the final song.

I was also hugely inspired by Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’. It’s a song with a non-standard structure, and no repetition.

Finally, I feel it’s important to state that the influences that I mentioned - early REM and Wire, particularly - were only senses of those bands, really. I couldn’t sing you a single, early REM song; and the only Wire album I’m entirely au fait with is Chairs Missing. I’m an unashamed dilettante, in this respect. I don’t know if this makes me a shallow wanker. I think that as writers we’re free to take as much or as little influence as we want, from whoever we want. The more shallowly we steal, the less obvious it is and the more likelihood there is of our bits being predominant. And that - us, as a band, shining through the most - is very important to me.

I could sing you the entire Pixies back catalogue, though.

Very very badly.

The Tools:

Fender FSR Classic Player 60’s Strat Vox AC15C1X amplifier Strymon Riverside Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Lyrics:

I thought we could be anything, If we followed every rule. But Quadrophenia at 12, Was your bible and your school. We all knew… Said we knew…

I found me in the library, You terrorised the underpass. The flying fists of Mold’s Bruce Lee, There was a fag burn on your hands. From your mam… From your mam…

What’s the matter Kevin Jones? Did you ever have a chance? Your dad would fight the chippy kids Pissed up every Friday night

What’s the matter Kevin Jones? Your fingers stank of stolen fags, I used to dream of hurting you But you took that out my hands.

TV is blaring. Is anyone in? Your dog starts howling. Neighbours complaining. Police are called in. The door is smashed in. You stare at the ceiling, Forever at the ceiling…

Influences: (click to hear songs.)

Sky - ‘Vivaldi’ Wire - ‘Outdoor Miner’ Pixies - ‘Gouge Away’ Roy Orbison - ‘In Dreams’ REM - ‘Strange’ (yes, a Wire cover!)

Recording:

We recorded this with the truly excellent Russ Hayes at Orange Sound Studios in Penmaenmawr. As with all of our recordings with Russ, the main guitar line / the drums and the bass were all recorded playing in the big live room at his studio.

We love Russ so much, we’d write a song - barely rehearse it - and then bring it into the studio to record it almost (if you’ll pardon the terrible pun) immediately. Our enthusiasm to work with Russ and our curiosity overwhelmed any common sense.

Our next studio recordings will be of songs we’ve rehearsed and played, many times, so that we know their peaks and troughs, and where we can deviate and embellish the obvious lines.

The guitar solo is played with a bottleneck. Sadly I don’t have time - live - to pick a bottleneck up, and the main guitar line requires all four fingers, so I play a different solo when we’re gigging.

Purchase:

A ltd. edition CD featuring ‘What’s The Matter Kevin Jones?’ is available from our bandcamp page:

https://theimmediate.bandcamp.com/album/mold-e-p

The EP is also available to purchase digitally on bandcamp, iTunes and to stream on Spotify.

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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Dr Stone, Brain Circuits & G2A

Well once again we have an amazing show for your entertainment, DJ brings us news of a new anime series, Buck has news about brain circuits, good and bad decision making, and finally the Professor brings us news about fraud and scams. But first up we wish to just say welcome ad thank you for joining us once again.

Now the new anime series is called Dr Stone, set in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has been turned into… Statues and society is to be rebuilt using science. So the premise is looking interesting, the promo gives some comedic content to look forward to. It looks like it will be worth checking out for a laugh. We wish to advise that no DJ’s were harmed during the recording of this and he was ok, just a bit stranger than normal. Which in itself is quite remarkable really, but we digress. Dr Stone has 24 episodes at this point and aired from 5th July on Crunchyroll. So, check it out and let us know what you think.

Now, have you ever wondered why people continue to make the same silly decision repeatedly? For example, people repeatedly using harmful drugs, voting once again for moronic politicians, and reality television shows still being watched. Seriously who watches that stuff, can they just stop it please so we can get better content that doesn’t make us want to claw our eyes out! Umm, yes, bad decisions, well a recent study has been conducted and shows support for the hypothesis that three particular regions of the brain are involved. That’s right, it is not just the frontal lobe, it bounces between various sections and is actually quite involved. If one section is not working right then the result is an individual with a predilection for bad choices, like the foolish nut job mumble rappers like lil stump, or is that bump, whatever, no one cares really. This is when Buck starts to get technical with some of his explanation and has to pause to calm down.

Professor tells us that game developers would rather we pirate games from something called file sharing, whatever that is. They urge this be done instead of using G2A due to a constant amount of fraudulent activity causing problems for both consumers and developers alike. That’s right folks, game developers are apparently tired of nasty vermin cheats who are ripping off everyone, this is a very interesting topic that has a number of issues involved and hits at the heart of our gaming recreation. So check it out and see what exactly is happening.

As usual we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and special events of interest for the week. We also wish to say that a surprise mechanism is a trap, and so are loot boxes, so please EA, stop treating us as morons. But other than that, please remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated. Also check out the folks at Off with the Fairies and tell them we said hello.

We will return next week at the same Nerd time, on the same Nerd podcast channels, and at the same Nerd place (preferably over a cup of Earl Grey, hot). Catch you next time.

EPISODE NOTES:

Dr Stone anime Series - https://comicbook.com/anime/2019/06/30/dr-stone-anime-tv-promo/

Brain Circuits - https://scitechdaily.com/three-distinct-brain-circuits-lead-us-to-make-bad-and-good-decisions/

G2A piracy - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-07-02-developers-call-for-players-to-pirate-their-games-rather-than-buy-from-g2a

Games currently playing

Buck

– Mafia 3 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/360430/Mafia_III/

Professor

– Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-switch/

DJ – Apex Legends

- https://www.playstation.com/en-au/games/apex-legends-ps4/