A Lark Ascending

Still unseasonally warm. The whole of November was overcast and now the North has had awful floods. Should be sunny today but still cloudy here (though a nice blue spread in the North). Tomorrow we're promised a bit of snow in late afternoon! On Tuesday we had one of those changeable days with mighty, ever changing cloud formations and some of the most spectacular rainbows I've seen. The Last Days are clearly upon us.

Birds in flight around the flooded River Ouse, York on 8 December. Photo taken by Jess Clark http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/35039847 A striking picture; not of much use to the thousands who have had the live's turned upside-down by the floods, though.

Bowie hires jazz artists for new album http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34866235 "Recording in New York between January and May this year, Bowie sought out jazz artists to stop him falling back on rock cliches. Led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin, the core group includes virtuoso guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Mark Guiliana - recently named one of the world's top 10 drummers."

Wait until January when the new David Bowie album, extensively featuring Donny McCaslin's band, comes out. Expect lots of 'jazz is back' headlines and widespread sitings of the Guardians of the Tradition ripping their clothes into rags, then retreating to the desert to sit on poles and gaze down haughtily.

Be interested to hear what you particularly enjoyed there. **************************** A good way to hear a wide range of current (and some older) music is Ian Anderson's online radio programme: http://www.frootsmag.com/radio/playlists/15/11/ 75 minute monthly programmes that follow the same format (and many of the same tracks) as the download albums they put out every couple of issues - nice mix of British folk, European and wider world music and some Americana. I'm listening to November at present - have my eye on Nigerian band Tal National as a result! ******************************* On the subject of 'bedfellows', how about this for a festival: Evan Parker at Pontins! Book early! Apart from the Parker, the Shirley Collins and the Kirkpatrick/Trembling Bells revisiting of the utterly wonderful 'No Roses' album immediately caught my eye. A bit too slanted towards the noise-rock for my taste but a brave venture. Typically Stewart Lee.

Nice live review in the Guardian today: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/09/jason-yarde-alexander-hawkins-elaine-mitchener-review-vortex-london (not the trio but...)

I enjoyed that book. Liked the way it linked in the folk and rock music with the classical explorers of English folk song at the start of the 20thC. Nice playlist - again, good to see RVW and co there. He has a strong following in the UK. In fact interest in Americana and what used to be called alt.Country runs parallel with the folk music world here. A lot of the venues that do folk music also serve that area.

By the time all that kicked in I was well into my Carthys, Tabors, Watersons and Kirkpatricks. The punk-folk all sounded like 'let's go out and get hammered' music to me. Which I suppose a fair bit of it was. If I'd been ten years younger I'd have heard it differently. I did like Billy Bragg's songs but wasn't too keen on the voice. Shane McGowan had a huge amount of respect from across the folk world - Christy Moore was a big supporter and recorded a number of his songs. I do have a couple of Pogues records bought much later. But I don't play them much. I'm much happier with the three hour instrumental jam on Fairport's 'A Sailor's Life'!!!! As ever, it's all about context.

I've not heard this record but I know it's picking up a lot of UK attention e.g.: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/09/best-albums-of-2015-no-8-the-epic-by-kamasi-washington Very often when I hear a new folk record by a young group my immediate reaction is 'Oh no, not 'A Begging I Will Go' or 'The Banks of the Sweet Primroses' again. And then I think, 'Hold on, the people who this is aimed have probably never heard those songs before; they'll sound totally new to them.' The same goes for records like this. It's young people making records for young people; somewhere down the line they might want to explore 'The Masters' (yuch!!!) but at the moment they are listening to people of their own age making music that reflects their own time. I'd imagine the self-anointed gatekeepers who can be relied on to turnout and exclaim that it's all been done better before by (insert your own 'Master') will impress themselves mightily but be regarded as boring old farts by the people the music is aimed at. How does 'Ballad of a Thin Man' go again?

Yes, I bought that one back in October. A nice mixture of the unknown (to me) music - mainly interesting and enjoyable, occasionally a bit wet (not surprisingly). Sleeve notes are fascinating - mainly things that only came out in tiny print runs. Yes, there was a brief period in the 80s when 'folk' collided with punk/new wave rock and entered the mainstream for a while - The Waterboys, Billie Bragg etc. But you should see all the 'this year's big things' that vanished without trace! Anderson's a prickly fellow but his instincts are generally good and he's done an amazing job for folk/world/roots (choose your own label) music over the years. He runs (I suspect the trendy word is 'curates') a sequence of concerts at Sidmouth each year which highlight the up and coming or neglected over the established. I've seen amazing concerts in his sessions by the likes of Olivia Chaney, Jason Steele, The Long Hill Ramblers, Young Coppers (latest generations of the Copper Family), Mawkin, Tim Ericksen and others there. Stick in the Wheel were there this year but I was off somewhere else. The Irish group you are referring to is probably Lynched (missed them at Sidmouth too!). I've heard them on the radio and will get round to listening. Again I think the 'punk' thing is just a bit of labelling. They probably sound so because so much Irish/Scottish music since the 80s has disappeared into an Enya-ised mist of overproduced Celtic Twilightery.

I will explore...thanks. I only know her from some of the Van Morrison albums she's been involved in. Though her website gives an indication of her interests: Musical Director credits: Rogues Gallery Sea Shanty shows in the UK in 2008 and Sydney 2010 with Lou Reed, Tim Robbins, Shane Macgowan, The Carthy/Waterson Clan, Todd Rundgren and many others. The Folk Britannia Daughters of Albion series of concerts. The Thompson 2008 family reunion Christmas show, A Not So Silent Night. A Wainwright Family Christmas, Albert Hall 2009. Way To Blue: a tribute to Nick Drake series of concerts with Joe Boyd. An Evening of Political Song for Meltdown 2010, Festival Hall, curated by Richard Thompson. Right up my street!

It was Joe Boyd's stable of performers in the late 60s/early 70s. Back in that time there was always something a bit magical about the line at the bottom of things like the Fairport albums - 'A Witchseason Production'...I hadn't a clue what it meant at the time. Still makes me think of a world of plain record production - post-wall-of-sound psychedelia, pre multi-track recording (with the temptation to use every track available) - and recordings that seemed built from the acoustic up, still imbibed with that wonderful guitar sound of the 60s (Graham, Jansch, Jones etc). Waterson/Jaycock are magical live...lovely, warm personalities. I was so excited by their gig in Sheffield last week that I'm going to this in Scarborough in January: Marry Waterson explained that Norma finds it hard to get around the country these days so they thought they'd get the audience to come to her. Scarborough should be a sight to behold in early January!

The Cole Porter musical. Xmas production at the school I taught in for 37 years. As ever, an utter delight watching ordinary kids acting, singing and dancing their hearts out. Very emotional.

Last part of 'Capital': Really liked the adaptation of this - it's a long bookl but they got the spirit of it over in 3 hours. Perhaps a bit too sympathetic of the stockbroker/hedge fund chap. It also had a satisfying ending...largely happy and redemptive, but then you remember the woman in the van being deported back to Zimbabwe.

Ian Anderson of fRoots has his projects and he's been pushing this lot for a few years. I was initially resistant - ever since the early 80s he's been presenting an interpretation that folk, punk and World Music are natural bedfellows and he tends to go over-the-top about anything that can be squeezed into that area. Initially the 'Artful Dodger' vocals sounded affected but after a few plays I really took to the record. There's a great self-written track about shop lifting which is almost a musical version of 'This is England'. The difficulty they'll have now is developing this approach rather than just repeating it with other folk songs. I'm going to see them on a moor in Derbyshire in a few months so it'll be interesting to experience them in the flesh. I'm surprised this one didn't make the list, another favourite of mine from the end of the year: A Welsh singer and a group of Indian musicians. The music is based around the ghazal tradition but with some Welsh vocals and songs. Could have been sausages and custard but the whole thing is a delight. Would appeal to lovers of things like Shakti - no virtuosi instrumental displays but they same musical world.

Vinyl sales may be rising, but have you seen who’s buying it? "The demographic of the average vinyl buyer is very clear. It’s a middle-aged man, possibly bearded (OK, definitely bearded); kids have probably left home, no longer on speaking terms with wife, spare bedroom has become a shrine to his teenage love: the Floyd (their album The Endless River was the best-selling vinyl LP in 2014). Essentially it’s me." "Record shops might once have been the sole preserve for local teenagers, these days they are essentially creches for middle-aged men; a place where you can drop off your partner while you nip to Zara and Warehouse, safe in the knowledge that two hours later he won’t be sat in a ditch singing rebel songs with a bollard on his head. (On the downside, he may bring home yet another challenging Ornette Coleman LP.)"

London Spy - last episode I loved this series but found the ending rather unsatisfying. All got a bit melodramatic with the burning maze and Rampling's sudden change of heart. Hardest thing of all to pull off - a really convincing ending (a bit like symphonies!). I'd never come across Ben Whishaw before but he seems to be everywhere all of a sudden - Suffragette, Richard II, the new Moby Dick related film. I thought he was superb in London Spy.

Two excellent discs from the tag end of the year worth exploring: Mainly instrumental - both fiddle players with a bit of banjo. A little English and Americana, a lot of French and Swedish. How these two are so immersed in this music at such a young age amazes me. Lal Waterson's daughter. Lives and breathes the 'Witchseason' air of Lal, Nick Drake, Michael Chapman, early John Martyn. If you were bewitched by the first record by The Unthanks this might hit the spot. Both on Spotify (in the UK at least). **************************** Should mention this one too: Very much the folk record to be seen admiring at the moment; lots of bollox about punk-folk being bandied about. Despite all that it is very good. Weakened by being largely songs that have been done to death (though I'd imagine many people will be hearing them for the first time; I've no doubt established folkies moaned about exactly the same when I was getting excited about Liege and Lief) but scores with the marvellous Lahn-dun vocals. Nothing ploughboy here. Recent live review from The Guardian (finding space for them amidst their standard glut of articles on Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift): http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/07/stick-in-the-wheel-review-kings-place-london *************************** And by chance Froots have just announced the results of their annual steeplechase: 1. Stick In The Wheel From Here (From Here) 2. Anna & Elizabeth Anna & Elizabeth (Free Dirt) 3. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba Ba Power (Glitterbeat) 4. Sam Lee & Friends The Fade In Time (Nest Collective) 5. Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Quaranta 40 (Ponderosa) 6. The Rheingans Sisters Already Home (RootBeat) 7.=Emily Portman Coracle (Furrow) Leveret New Anything (RootBeat) 9.=Simpson, Cutting & Kerr Murmurs (Topic) Vieux Farka Touré & Julia Easterlin Touristes (Six Degrees) 11. Mbongwana Star From Kinshasa (World Circuit) 12. False Lights Salvor (Wreckord) 13.=Olivia Chaney The Longest River (Nonesuch) Jackie Oates The Spyglass & The Herringbone (ECC) Songhoy Blues Music In Exile (Transgressive) Spiro Welcome Joy And Welcome Sorrow (Real World) The Unthanks Mount The Air (Rabble Rouser Music) 18.=Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal Musique De Nuit (No Format!) Blick Bassy Akö (No Format) Kandia Kouyaté Renascence (Stern’s) Tom & Ben Paley Paley & Son (Hornbeam) http://www.frootsmag.com/content/critpoll/ Ignore the silly ranking. Lots of wonderful music there. (Bold ones are things I've also really enjoyed; underlined are things I've heard but have yet to really connect with).

Don't I know it! I put one through the washing machine by accident a year or so back. It did not survive. I imagine the really high end systems are bought by the sort of people who are busy buying up London at present - conspicuous display alongside fine wines, sport's cars and the like. Would be interesting to relate the number of recordings owned against system (or, more interesting, the number played!). I have a hunch this will reduce the more expensive the system gets.

These days I listen to an album on Spotify once a day on average. Good for exploring, hearing things you are curious about but don't think you'll want to hear more than once etc.

I just kept filling them up. I live in a middle terraced house so have to be careful with noise - I tend to work off an iPod until about 11.00 a.m when there is little danger of noise leaking through into the neighbouring houses that will be active by then. Great for gardening and walking (yes, I know I should be aurally communing with nature!). Also the most convenient way to take music in the car. As a student I used to visit my parents living in Germany with a small case of clothes and one of those giant LP carriers (My right arm is now longer than the left). As a result the MP3 player is my idea of heaven. A huge chunk of your record collection accessible anywhere, any time. I just have to make sure I bring the right one/s with me. I'm hoping Apple relent and bring back the Classic. I'm OK for a while, but...

Only time I watched this before was very late at night about 30 years ago and it didn't click...think I dozed through much of it. Was alerted to it again a couple of years back when a student teacher I was supervising made brilliant use of the clip in the beer garden when teaching about Nazi Germany. Absolutely loved it last night. Wonderful film.

I'm down to my all-in-one cd/amp/streamer, speakers, a set of noise-cancelling head phones and a cheap Project record deck for accessing old vinyl I still have. Oh, and a CD-Recorder I bought 20 years back. Total comes to just over £2700 (however I do have 11 iPods!!!!). Can't see me going beyond that. However, my spending on recordings knows no limit....

The grimmest thing I've read in a while. Dysfunctional, large Dublin family dealing with the suicide of a member. Told through the eyes of a sister whose life was seriously unhinged by half-remembered horrors in her childhood. Pretty brutal about the way families relate. I nearly gave up after 30 pages but am glad I persevered.

Naxos put most of the big record companies to shame when it comes to the breadth of the music they record.