Is it 4th April 2012 already?

Being A Brief Collection Of Ruminations On Such Things That Do Generate The Release Of Endorphins

So Randy Newman at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall a wee while ago was exquisitely dandy. Man, "I Miss You" and "Losing You" could tear your heart out (not literally, but still....). My highlight, however, was right at the beginning of "Jolly Coppers On Parade". Earlier in the day I had handed a note in at the stage door to say welcome to Glasgow, Randy;  Wha's like us?;  etc., and to request that the maestro might play this song and dedicate it to Tracyanne from Camera Obscura cos she is learning it on piano. Well dang me if a few songs into the second half didn't he tickle out the opening JCOP notes and mutter, "This is for Tracyanne who's learning it - all 6 chords of it".

So it's not often a Norwegian band covers one of my songs. The Dahlmanns have recorded "Dumb Me Down". You can hear my old pal Michael Shelley giving it a spin on wfmu, New Jersey here.

Here is a Spotify Playlist of 5 x Italian Opera Songs that I have welcomed onto my radar in recent times.

Got my ticket for Philip Glass in Glasgow next month. Never seen him before. Say, what do you get if you cross said maestro of minimalism (or, and I paraphrase, 'music with repetitive structures' as he'd prefer it) with Sesame Street? The answer is  this...

What else have I been enjoying? Um, Mark Gatiss interviewed by Mark Lawson...Desert Island Discs...The Moth podcasts...Oh! and I watched the first three Leone-Morricone-Eastwood spaghetti westerns recently. That was a blast. So here's a lovely wee clip to sign off with.

The Rumours Are True

First off, I can confirm that the rumours about me and Katy Perry are true.

Apart from Katy's wow-factor-full-on-hi-camp-ultra-entertaining-hydraulic-pink-cloud-glittery-primary-colored-teenage-multi-media-poptastic extravaganza at the SEC in Glasgow a couple of days ago (and, after the show, standing proudly by while she told Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura "I love your voice" and that her husband introduced her to CO's music) other stuff I have recently been enjoying includes:

And:

I love the atmosphere of these films. I am working through the Rathbone-as-Holmes collection, saving The Hound Of The Baskervilles till last. Basil's stirring, more-optimistic-than-prescient speeches at the end always tickle me, eg:

Sherlock Holmes: There’s a new spirit abroad in the land. The old days of grab and greed are on their way out. We’re beginning to think of what we owe the other fellow, not just what we’re compelled to give him. The time is coming, Watson, when we cannot fill our bellies in comfort while the other fellow goes hungry, or sleep in warm beds while others shiver in the cold. And we shan’t be able to kneel and thank God for blessings before our shining altars while men anywhere are kneeling in either physical or spiritual subjection.

Dr. John H. Watson: You may be right, Holmes… I hope you are.

Sherlock Holmes: And, God willing, we’ll live to see that day, Watson.

(got this here)

What else, you say? Well, I was treated to The Barber Of Seville at Theatre Royal and dug it very much. That's the third Scottish Opera staging I've seen there and they have all looked brilliant (Rigoletto was a corker). 

Other stuff I have recently enjoyed include Mark Gatiss on Desert Island Discs; David Sedaris "Memory Laps" in a recent New Yorker; the repeat of the Psychoville Halloween special; Randy Newman's inheritance tracks on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live (from 47mins 30secs approx); Machi Massala takeaway from Mother India's Cafe; family birthday fun; please, Father, that is all I can remember - I'm not sure how long it's been since my last confession....

Later, 'gator x

PS: Randy Newman is back in Glasgow in Feb 2012. Hooray!!!!