tonygoodson

The Song remains the Same?

Another one of those engaging song lists by a famous music person. In this case David Crosby (Crosby Stills Nash and Young), Playlist: David Crosby.

One of the chosen songs is by Graham Nash (Hollies and from Salford/Manchester), Cold Rain

Wait a second, don't I know you?
Haven't I seen you somewhere before?
You seem to be like someone I knew
Yes, he lived here but he left
When he thought that there was more

The tone of the song is uncannily like Oasis’s Masterplan.  So is there a link between the songs?  Manchester/Graham Nash/Salford/Lowry/Noel Gallagher.  Is there some kind of Manchester Lowry sound that I’ve never come across?

Park and Ride, no chance

And today’s whinge is Melbourne transport, yet again.  I took the day off for my daughter’s birthday.  She wanted to go into the city on the train.  “Do you want to walk to the station or drive?”  “Drive.”  So we drove to the station, because the 7 year old didn’t want to walk.  Fair enough, on some days it’s too far.

Car park full.  So here’s the twist, every street in Bentleigh, as far as I can tell is on 2 hour parking.  Driving to the station might be a bit non-green, but at least we’re taking the train to the city.  But how do you park and ride if the station car-park is full, and all the streets are empty, but on 2 hour parking.  It’s bloody crazy.  It’s not at though every suburb is within 1km of a train, tram, or bus, so how do you get to public transport with kids, if the station car-park is full, and you can’t park on the streets, (which are empty)?

There’s a 2 hour parking restriction out on our street.  Why?  We don’t need the street parking, because we have a drive, but why is the parking of cars being restricted, but at the same time public transport in Melbourne isn’t big enough and can’t cope?

Taxi Queues

Standing at Melbourne airport tonight, waiting for a taxi, set me wondering, like I’m sure many of you do, why they don’t redesign the road to let more taxis queue.

Given that Melbourne Airport doesn’t (can’t?) have trains or trams so there is limited public transport, you’d think they’d come up with a better bloody system for waiting for a taxi.  1 rank with 10 bays, and taxis queued up for 2 hours.  It’s all so serial, instead of parallel. Why not have three or four bays of 10 taxis each, that can all fill at the same time?  Maybe have each rank labelled for areas of Melbourne to go to, or a taxi sharing option.

It must be the same people who design new buildings with limited toilets for women, who are the same idiots that design airports with a rank for 10 taxis, a single road in, a single road out, 2 hours worth of taxis waiting, and 50 to 100 people queuing.  Does anywhere in the world have a better taxi rank system than Melbourne Airport?

Definitive Cover Versions of songs

Wanna burn a few hours?  Then read this What are your definitive cover versions? by Alan McGee (founder of Creation Records (Oasis etc)), and then in a separate Tab on your browser, check out some of the recommended songs from the 300+ comments, on YouTube.  Hours of fun and nostalgia.

My favourite one from the comments, bizarrely is Candi Staton singing Stand By Your Man, with an amazing bass hook.

The thing about cover versions is you may know the original song, so it gives you a chance to compare with the original and hear how the song is constructed (or deconstructed!).

So what are my favourite covers?  Mmmm, need to think.  Off the top of my head….

La Vie en Rose – Grace Jones

Perfect Day – Various (with Lou Reed)

Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy

My Way – Sid  Vicious

Stand by Me – John Lennon

Hi Ho Silver Lining - Slade

My lack of Productivity

Jeez, it's only taken me 2 months to record a Productivity Show, and then 3 months to publish it, and Daryl Cook did most of the work!!  So much for my productivity.

It's weird, because there's nothing I'd more like to do with my $15m than sitting making podcasts all day and fiddling with sound.  And yet when it comes to doing the things in life I (you?) really enjoy, I don't allow myself the pleasures in life, because I haven't done all the shitty things I don't want to do, so I punish myself.

And this is an attempt to get back to my blogging, which has fallen off over the last 7 years.  I'm doing it for my own writing pleasure, a sort of morning pages, which helps gather my thoughts and improve my creativity, or at least get in action doing something.  Oh, and a full time job, and kids.  That's my time and peace and quiet gone then.  Oh and I thought sitting in a hotel room at night, with all the travelling I'm doing would lead to some amazing productivity breakthrough, with all this time I'm not watching TV in the hotel room, or eating the mini-bar clean with salty snacks.

Daryl has suggested changing my routine.  He's right.  The TV is on in the hotel room, watching an amazing Andrew Denton show with Charlie Teo and Tim Rogers, but at least I'm blogging!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

My kids bought me a kite for Father's Day last week. The kite crashed and burned today, so it set me thinking about buying a proper stunt kite, but they're expensive.  I was also thinking about the kites I had as a kid, and went hunting for the Rotor Plan Kite, I think my auntie in Australia bought me, when she was visiting the UK.

I loved it.  Rotating wings which took it into the air.  Very different from your usual kite. I thought I'd be able to find it, and pictures of the kite, on the internet, but there's only one reference I can find, which exactly describes the kite I had, which you can see the drawing on the left, Rotor Plane Kite.  There are some updated versions of the kite, so maybe I'll go buy.  Ahhhh, childhood memories.  It's set me thinking about what my Top 10 childhoodtoys were.  In fact, I just realised, I've already written about it 5 years ago.  Toys.

• Scalectrix
• Subbuteo
• Secret Sam (always wanted a Johnny Seven) (Holy shit the power of the Internet I’ve put a link in to Secret Sam!)
• Mattel Hot Wheels
• Corgi Cars and later Track
• Yellow Jensen Interceptor Corgi Car
• James Bond Car
• Bat Mobile
• Mouse Trap
• Airfix Models
• Monopoly, Cluedo, Popping Hoppits, Pick Up Sticks
• Chess
• A Doll! A Black Doll! Teddy. Leo the Lion. Sooty. Mickey
• Roller Skates
• Small Tricycle, Big Tricycle, Small Bike, Big Bike, Raleigh
   Europa Racer (Just Like Sporting Superstars)
• Man City Football Kit (oh shit I’m a Man Utd fan)
• Bow and Arrows with Target (the real thing)
• Dart Board and Darts
• Sport Equipment too numerous to discuss here and now
• Casey Football (Lace Up)
• Leather Football Non-Lace Up
• Kites, especially my yellow and red rotating wing plane
• Blow Football
• Pea Shooter, Cap Gun, Spud Gun, Rocket Caps
• Catapult Planes, Wind-Up Balsa Planes, Helicopter Band launched thing!
• Bilofix (Wooden Version of Mecanno)
• Plasticine and Play- Doh