No, I'm not giving up smoking (since I never started). Nor down to my last twenty quid (which would be worrying?).
It's that time again. The post of my last twenty mp3's played on MediaMonkey. For what it's worth (well, fills up another post?)
Here it is (if you can't read it, then click the picture to see more detail):
Another strange mix... the OneTwo stuff and the 808 State electronica are fairly obvious choices for me. But those few A-ha tracks surprised me. I burnt a Best Of collection of A-ha when I was last at Sister Polko's house (bad man. home taping is killing music after all?) and when I've listened to them I've been most impressed. I'd go so far as to say that Coldplay must have listened to this CD just before they went into the studio... go on, try them back to back. Strange enough they are very similar with A-ha just slightly ahead of Coldplay given that they have the authentic 80s sound after all.
And this list marks a welcome return for Joan Armatrading on my playlist - I own every album (those big black plastic disc like things.. you remember..?) that the woman from Birmingham has ever released. One of the country's finest songwriters - when you're in the mood for it - but I think it's such a shame that she represents all that is bad with Birmingham. How many bands/singers do you know from there that have stayed? or support it in some way? UB40 are probably the only ones?? rest my case m'lord..
..which brings us neatly to The Twang. This track was played as I was just emailing a friend with a few examples of this bands material (and they may well go out and buy the CD? who says home taping is killing music now?). If you don't know about them - find something and play it. Then buy some. Or ask a friend like me to send you more! Anyway, they are a Birmingham band - not exactly famous or big in the hits list, but brilliant all the same. Check out their info here.
The other things on the list (and this is the house PC not my own work PC or my notebook) reflect a desire to play something different and shock people as to the breadth of my musical appreciation. Has it worked? You tell me.
Oh, it's also nice to see - in a six degrees of separation kind of way - that I'm never more than 20 steps away from a Braintax track too! If you haven't heard of him, then you haven't been born yet - as Jazzie B once said Get A Life... which may well be my next track played..
Benefit #1
So, today I have woken up to snow all around and the sight of my neghbours trying to get to work on a snowbound, 1-in-3 hill with bends! This makes me very happy that Polko and Mrs Polko decided to sloooow the f*ck down a few years ago, get sensible and restructure the way we lived (moving from town to country and working from home). Once they've all slivered their way down and off to their various concrete towers of babel to chatter incessantly into telephones about things that don't really matter to them we will have a whole hillside and dozens of acres to go out and have a massive snowball fight in. Cool.
Benefit #2
The slowdown has reduced our new work flow (though not ceased it altogether happily). So, the phones are not ringing so often and emails arriving at a slightly reduced pace. Giving me the time to get on my PS3 and Call of Duty: World At War having bought it and played it intensively for a week then finding myself swapping back to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare online - hits the mark with me more than stomping around Russia or Japan as part of the WWII effort!
Benefit #3
Related to the time I currently have - there are now signs that NASN television may well be starting to feature some of the better NHL team games on their channel, having attempted to buy in cheaper games by lesser teams than the Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers and Islanders, Toronto Mapleleafs etc. So, I have more quality ice hockey to watch... and soon they promise they will even put Hockey Night in Canada back on each week. yay-hey!
Benefit #4
This came in the BBC News home page load-up this morning: Sales growth slows down at Tesco!
What a wonderful piece of news! Apparently like for like (which means they strip out the effects of opening new stores and extending existing ones in the last year) quarterly sales have grown by only 2% against 4.8% in the same period last year. Tesco are relatively exposed to swings in demand as they sell not only staple foodstuffs but also a large range of 'other items', luxury and spur of the moment purchases such as electronics, DVDs and clothing.
Factor in the effects that Woolworths keeping hold of their vast stocks of DVDs/CDs and other media to sell off at whatever price they can get for them this year (Woolworths are the largest distributors of said products to the supermarket chains and their administrators know that this stock is going to help them maximise cash in their winding up process) and things might just test the management Board at Tesco and the like a little more than they have been doing for the past five/six years or more. My guess is that some Directors of larger companies may well be asking themselves if slowing their life a little is in order in the coming few months. My advice would be: take the bonuses and golden pay-off's and get the hell out, learn to grow your own food, keep your own animals, reduce your consumption a little and regain some basic skills of being human. Anyone with a manual can operate a Blackberry, not everyone can grow them or make a Blackberry Trifle.
Which final thought reminds me of one of my favourite lines in a Braintax rap, when talking about a future world where energy lines break down and people are forced back into a simpler and more skilled way of living..
..holed up in the woods with my trusty rifle,
the rains rusted it up,
so now I'm living on snow and berry trifle.
Which then moves my mind onto Survivors - on TV tonight at 9p.m. Yay-hey times ten!
Now that Mini-Polko has been dropped at school for the week Polko is having a week without Mrs Polko.. Jetted off to the Canary Islands for a well earned week of sun with Sister Polko she has (well if it keeps 'em happy)..
Not quite alone, and not quite while the cat's away though.. Cat Polko is at home with me too..
Polko is however, also not really working hard this week. A Three Day Week again for me. The way it should be. So, I'm catching up on a whole heap of things I like to do. Playstation 3 online gaming (NHL'09 has just been released.. yay-hey!), mp3 sifting and sorting and re-tagging (the Nerd in Polko strikes again!), fixing up the bathroom, manning the phones, taking long breakfasts in the village coffee shop, finishing three books that are half read, mailing out 300 flyers and, last but not least, cooking up some experimental recipes for Sister Polko and Mrs Polko to try on their return. Life at Polkosville goes on much the same in the correct relaxed fashion.
Now, while we're on the subject.. I'd like to provide a quick list of some mp3's that I've been playing around with / including some bands that I've under-rated for too long..
1. Simple Minds. Just playing through New Gold Dream (one of my favourite 80s albums) but then I also selected some of their greatest hits stuff... and now I realise I really really like Waterfront as a power track. I know it might not be trendy to like this band, but damn they're good. And my first band to see live too - when they weren't famous.. so that counts for something?
2. Braintax. Pure UK consciousness. Those that know Polko know of his admiration for the lyrics this particular lad from Leeds has been pumping since 1991. Pity he's now had enough of fighting the greyness around us and slotted off to Australia to live forever and ever. Amen. I'll be following (not necessarily to the land of Wallabees however!) in 8 more September's after this very one. Nice.
3. Blancmange. Neil Arthur. Pure idiocy and pure brilliance all rolled into one songwriter. I mean, their first release was called Irene and Mavis ??? Check out What's Your Problem if you get a chance for a slice of Blancmange. Only 2 downsides to this band - they're from London (someone has to have the misfortune) and they signed to London Records (the gits who took over Factory Record's catalogue) :-)
And I will also leave you with one of life's imponderables (which in itself is a great word for any Monday?).. why do I always cut one slice of sweet potato thicker than the rest and have to leave it in the pan one minute more?
hmmm.....
