I know, I know...

...I blog too often. Don't worry I'll get bored with this soon enough.

Anyway. Things I have liked in recent times:

Danny Boyle's Olympics Opening Ceremony;

Usain Bolt's schtick;

Writing a Xmas song;

Getting a wee bit better on the piano;

Philip Glass live in Glasgow (he performed this);

Philip Glass's Dracula with Kronos Quartet live in Glasgow;

Antoine Duhamel;

Pixar-Disney's Brave (not just because Julie Fowlis sings in it - but it helped);

Julie Fowlis on the BBC Review Show;

Instagram;

@Glinner on Twitter;

TFC gigs in Norway (there's talk of recording a new album - I'm keeping my eyes crossed);

Scottish Opera's Tosca;

Getting some of my music in the Baby Cow show "Starlings";

A sneak preview of a work-in-progress song from the forthcoming Heidi Talbot album produced by John McCusker - get ready, there is a song on there that reminds me of hearing Laura Cantrell for the very first time;

Woody Allen documentary;

Screening of the Wrecking Crew and Q&A with Denny Tedesco;

News that Bob Dylan is releasing a new album;

Beach Boys Do It Again (ahem, the original version);

Oh I heard a joke: It's not safe to walk the streets of Venice. Ta dah! Och, please yerself;

Is this Tom Waits' best song? I forget all about it and then every once in a while it sneaks up and pounces on me;

And finally, we can't be pals if you don't like this (those wee snare drum re-entries - jeez Louise!):

Later, 'gator.

x

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.

Is is 22nd Feb 2012 already?

Hello. Happy New Year. What have you been up to?

A-huh...yes...really?...Oh...Absolutely....Well, good for you!

Me? Oh, this and that.

Here are some things I have recently liked:

"A Monster Mess" animated cartoon (warning - suitable for family viewing):

 http://vimeo.com/32786030

Also:

And:

Also (I am nuts for this!):

I read this powerful book....I recorded a panpipes version of a Phil Collins song for a top secret project....I discovered how to make chicken kiev (something like this)...I saw great shows at Celtic Connections especially from Julie Fowlis and also from Emir Kusturica's No Smoking Orchestra...I subscribed to Tape Op (at last)...I was given some copies of Filmish by Edward Ross and dug them...caught some excellent offerings at the Glasgow Short Film Festival...made it through about 40 minutes of the new Muppets movie before my three year-old son expressed his desire to go home citing the reason "I am too old for this...".

Well, that'll do for now.

Rumours of my demise are premature. Hello.

Things I have fairly recently enjoyed? Hmm...well....

This:

And this:

And that:

Other stuff: "A Christmas Carol" (late to the party; first time I'd read it)... BBC 4's David Hockney special... "I Took The Moon For A Walk" (children's book)...clips of Victoria Wood's "Acorn Antiques"..."The Joy Of Country" on BBC 4...making instrumental music for films... hearing a cover of one of my (unreleased) songs by The Dahlmanns...

Recent groovy and/or fun iphone apps:
Loopy
BBC iplayer
Nav Free
TED
Dragon Dictation
ShopSavvy
LaDiDa

Resolutions for 2012? Do more creative suff as time allows. Send some handwritten letters. Finish my album of songs. Learn some new recipes. Invent a new, eco-friendly source of energy to which the global oil-based economy can easily adapt. Practice piano.

Speaking of the piano, I like this:

Right. That's it. Move along - nothing to see here.

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!!!!

And ANOTHER thing

I KNOW! Right? Yeah so anyway....

I forgot to stick this in my last post. The music is from my second instrumental album "Maculate Conceptions Volume 2". The footage is from Japan. You do the geography.

What - you want more? Well head over here.

x

Bob, Woody, Film Music, Sneckers, Spangles and Positive Thinking

Well. Bob Dylan's 2 x Glasgow shows were splendid. Especially the second night, Sunday 11th Oct. I've got three words for you. Blind Willie McTell. Can I get an amen? THANkyou!

Now. Any other business?

I had almost forgotten the relatively rare pleasure of seeing a new, great Woody Allen film in the cinema. The first one I ever saw as it came out was his "Oedipus Wrecks" in "New York Stories" ('Marge Simpson' was a good comic onscreen compadre). The latest was "Midnight In Paris". In the early stages I thought I was going to appreciate the idea more than the execution, but it won me round fair and square. To elaborate might spoil it. Whatever. For what it is worth, it gets my seal of approval.

One more thing.

I made my first bespoke soundtrack for Team WriteCameraAction!'s 48 Hour Film Project entry "A Shot In The Dark". We got awards for Best Costumes and Cinematography. I didn't want to win the Best Music Score award anyway so Sneckers! (I bet the last time you said 'sneckers' you were munching a spangle. O to be young again sporting non-ironic flares. I digest. I mean digress.). Here's the trailer:

I hope to get more soundtrack opportunities. Watch this space.

OK. Check the gate. Take it away, fellas: