The Saints!

 Nice article on the reformed Saints in The Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/11/punk-pioneers-the-saints-im-stranded

Galactic Vinyl Memories #13

 I needed to cheer myself up on Wednesday morning, so - thanks to a pre-arranged visit to Cardiff - I did a bit of retail therapy in HMV.

I really like Michael Kiwanuka's music, although this is the first record of his I've bought. I was surprised by how much of it I've recognised on first play. He did a great set at Glastonbury in the summer, and has a new album out now as well.

This is a Khruangbin album. I love Khruangbin! I came to them via a live set that was shown on BBC Wales a couple of years ago after a performance in Cardiff. They're a Texan three-piece. I've no idea how to describe their music other than "groovy". Their wiki page says they blend soul, dub, rock and psychedelia, which sounds about as good a description as any. All three of them are amazing musicians. Two of them wear wigs. I've got a couple of CDs and one other vinyl record by them, but I think this might be a live album. Khruangbin! It means "aeroplane" in Thai.

Suzanne Vega has put out a quartet of records with re-recordings of her songs arranged thematically. I've got the first and third of the set on vinyl, and this is the second. I've been a fan since hearing "Small Blue Thing" on the radio in 1985, and that song still sends shivers down my spine. She's created a fantastic body of work over forty years.

Galactic Vinyl Memories #12

 A two-for-one this time! No connection to the previous record that I can think of, although they certainly stem from a similar period in my listening.

These two records, both of which I'd suggest are now considered "seminal", were bought from a small independent record shop called Rock City in St Andrews, Scotland in October 1989. "Sensual World" was Kate Bush's first significant new release since "Hounds of Love" four years earlier (quite a long time in them there days), while The Blue Nile's second album, "Hats", came five and half years after their debut. That wasn't just quite a long time, that was an eternity. No one took five years between albums back then, not even Tears for Fears.

The second track off "Hats", entitled The Downtown Lights, was, rather fantastically, namechecked by none other than Taylor Swift on her recent album. Apparently this caused such a rush of interest in the long-defunct Scottish band that they quickly sold out of vinyl copies of "Hats". The album itself is a magnificent record and fully the equal of its predecessor, "A Walk Across the Rooftops". I saw them live around the time of the release of their third album.

Kate Bush's album is one of her best, without question, and contains some wonderful songs. It's a smoother, more sumptuous recording than "Hounds..." and none of its moments match the sheer strangeness and newness of parts of that record ... but it's still an absolute banger.

Why are these two albums shown together, beyond the fact that I bought them at the same time? Because they were both released on the same day, October 16th 1989. Talk about an embarrassment of riches!

Galactic Vinyl Memories #11

 I've been having fun with these vinyl posts, so I thought I'd carry on with them for a bit. There's only the most tenuous of links between this record and the preceding one, though: they're both on the Geffen label! Beyond that, you'd be hard-pressed to find an LP that sounds less like Asia than this one.

I bought this album by The Chameleons on the strength of hearing a single on Radio 1 in the early summer of 1986. It was on one of those "juke-box jury" type programs. I don't think anyone liked it very much. I did! It had a great stop-start energy I'd never heard before. Before buying the LP, though, I got the 12" EP which contained the single, "Tears", and two other tracks on the B-side. It's a great EP and I've still got it. Somewhat oddly, none of the tracks feature on the subsequent album, "Strange Times", which was the third by the band, and the only one on Geffen. There is a version of "Tears" on the LP, but it's a completely different, much slower arrangement. I like them both very much. The record as a whole is melodic, guitar-driven indie-rock, with a bit of a goth-adjacent feel. It's got a very raw, live-sounding production by Dave Allen, who also worked with The Cure and Psychedelic Furs, two references which give a very rough indication of the sort of sound on the record. You could also say they sound a little like Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen, Magazine, Comsat Angels, The Passions, etc - while being entirely their own thing.

The two preceding albums, which came out in 1983 and 1985, are as equally good as the third. They've got a sort of high-tuned, echoing, wall-of-sound guitar texture which has been much imitated. On "Strange Times", there's less echo (to my ears) and the guitars sound grungier. I like them all. Unfortunately, the band were already dissolving as I got into them. They reformed for another album in 2001, which evolved their sound, but then broke apart again due to internal differences. It's a shame as the music is great, but perhaps it took a particular, combustible chemistry to make it happen. Sadly, the drummer John Lever (who is ferocious on all these recordings) passed away in 2017. I caught the band live on two occasions in the Netherlands and now that two of the remaining members are touring again, I would like to see them one more time.

My vinyl copy of "Strange Times" was bought in Newcastle in the autumn of 1986. I seem to recall that there was a choice of pink or blue covers (and possibly matt or non-matt treatments?). I went for the pink one, and it's still (mostly) in its shrink-wrapping. There are some coffee stains on the sleeve. The record is slightly warped but still plays fine and sounds absolutely epic right down to the last wail of feedback on the final track.

Cardiff Half-Marathon update

 The Cardiff Half-Marathon took place on Sunday, with an estimated 29,000 participants. My wife and I stayed overnight so as to make our morning as stress-free as possible, but even so, we were caught out by the crowds around the start area, and it was a bit of a struggle to get to the right position for my allocated start time. All came good in the end, though, and I was able to settle down and enjoy the extremely positive and welcoming atmosphere generated by the other runners and their supporters.

Here's me with Graham, who was running his fourth half-marathon, and also running in aid of Alzheimer's UK. Graham got a big shout-out over the loudspeaker, and I believe it mentioned that he was 70. Well done, Graham, and good luck with future runs.

Two nice ladies, one from the Midlands (in yellow) and the other from the Netherlands, so I got to practise my terrible rusty Dutch on the poor lady. She took it very well. Hope the run was a success, both.

With Lillie Mai, who chatted kindly to my wife while I was off dealing with some left property. Hope you had a great one, Lillie Mai!

Next to me, a couple of friendly runners from my neck of the woods in the Valleys. The one in white said he might be up for parkrun! Come on, you know you want to. Hope the run went well, both.

The Cardiff half-marathon course takes you on a nice tour of the bay and the city:

My wife was stationed at around the 7 mile mark so caught this photo of me as I passed our hotel:

By this point it was clear that the forecast rain was going to hold off so I gladly disposed of my cap for the rest of the run. I was feeling pretty good and managed to keep myself hydrated thanks to the water stations every 3 miles. There were also lots of people handing out sweets and drinks and so on along the route, so it was easy to keep your energy levels up. A big shout-out to all these kind people, including the members of the general public who just turned up with boxes of mars bars, etc.

I crossed the finish line just over 2 and a half hours after I started:

For which I was pretty pleased. I definitely found this run somewhat easier than the three unofficial halfs I did for myself during the year. I think that was a combination of a nice smooth running surface, not too many up and down bits, the ability to keep hydrated, and the great encouraging atmosphere of the other runners and supporters.

Here's me at the Alzheimer's UK stand at the completion of the event:

I felt very pleased and relieved that the whole thing had gone well. As we headed back to our car, the heavens opened, so we were rather fortunate that the rain had held off until then. The cool conditions, with just a light breeze, were pretty ideal for running. It would have been so much harder on a warm, sunny day.

Many of you have supported my run via the Alzheimer's UK fundraising page, for which I'm very grateful. I'll post a final link to the page now as it is still possible to tip some funds into it, should you so wish. Thank you all (and my wife for her amazing support, too).

https://www.justgiving.com/page/alastair-reynolds-1713971449990

Galactic Vinyl Memories #10

 From Yes, with more than a little predictability, we pivot to reasonably unloved 80s supergroup Asia, featuring Yes's Steve Howe on guitar. Here's their second album, Alpha, which I bought in the heat of the moment in 1983.

I'm not going to claim this is any lost classic of 80s MOR, but it's perfectly pleasant and listenable within its own soft-rock microcosm and the Roger Dean cover art is lovely. My copy came from Bridgend and still looks near-mint and plays just fine. I'm fond of it because of the associations I have with that time in my life when I first played the record, rather than any intrinsic quality of the music itself.

We're edging super-close to 1500 pounds on my Justgiving page for Alzheimer's UK, which is brilliant. I'm grateful for the donations to date but want to keep pushing between now and the half-marathon:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/alastair-reynolds-1713971449990

Galactic Vinyl Memories #9

The trouble with Genesis is that they are/were always quite an insular band - other than Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section, you'd be hard-pressed to find any contributing musicians on any of the albums. There are the solo records, of course, and Collins and (especially) Gabriel have collaborated with many other artists. Gabriel's records easily link into post-punk and world music - Paul Weller is on his third album, for instance - but I thought I'd stick with Genesis for now, and make use of the fact that the brilliant drummer Bill Bruford plays on Seconds Out. I don't think he's on much of it - maybe just the live version of Cinema Show - but he was definitely part of the touring line-up before Chester Thompson took the main role of drummer.

From Bill Bruford we could go to King Crimson, but we've done them already (I'm not saying they won't come up again, though) so why not a bit of Yes, by way of their seminal 1972 album Close to the Edge:

Look, I've heard all the arguments. I know this stuff is supposed to be atrocious, self-indulgent crap. And maybe some of Yes's other stuff leaned somewhat in that direction. But this album is just the dog's bollocks. A friend of mine first played me part of it in 1982, then later made me a C90 tape. I bought my own vinyl copy, which I still play nearly every week, in 1983. There are three songs on it: one on side one, two on the other. I have never tired of listening to any single second of any of them. The record still fills me with joy and excitement. I love a lot of stuff by Yes but this is the one I'd grab if the house was on fire and I would set wizards on any man who stood in my way.

I'm wearing my Alzheimer's Uk running top in the photo. If you've not checked out my justgiving page for the Cardiff Half Marathon, here's the link. Sincere thanks to all of you who have contributed.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/alastair-reynolds-1713971449990