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Our Manual Friend / January 24 2008
Sonny Starr, drummer with punk band The Dysons, turned up at the studio last night. In his arms was a bundle of technical manuals. ‘Here ya go,’ he said, cheerfully.
‘What are these, Sonny?’ I asked.
‘Reading books.’ Intelligence and literacy are not his defining characteristics.
I was going to ignore them initially, but propelled by some kind [...]
Stereo-untypical / January 19 2008
I had a cancellation in the studio for Saturday so I decided last night to put my feet up and get drunk.
I made myself a hearty meal of pasta and vegetables, placed a bottle of red wine on the table in front of me and turned on the television. I was watching an interesting documentary [...]
Evil Science / January 15 2008
Computers, like cars, are entirely problematic creations.
Yes, I know that without them, the world in general, and my life specifically, would be, in many respects, a far less remarkable place. I would not be writing this blog, for instance, if it were not for my PC; and I would have to maintain very bulky and [...]
Rough Galaxy Mixes / January 12 2008
I have just uploaded a few rough mixes of some of the new songs then Nelson and I have been working on. Go to the Nelson Galaxy myspace site and have a listen.
I hope you like what you hear – you’ll be the first in the world to witness the thrilling power and passion that [...]
King Cnut / January 11 2008
I hate going to get my anti-anxiety pills from the chemist in the village. It always makes me very anxious.
The situation is made worse by the fact that the chemist, Mr. King (in my mind, I always call him Isaiah because he has an unfortunate facial deformity whereby one of his eyes is a centimetre [...]
Dogs in Boxes / January 8 2008
We had some new equipment for the studio delivered this morning and as soon as I had removed it from its large box, Audrey leapt inside. Now I can’t get her to come out – she loves it in there: her new home, safe and sound from the perils of the world.
Every time I pass [...]
A First / January 7 2008
I discovered in the studio and elsewhere around the house this morning several unfinished bottles of wine and a half-full bottle of Courvoisier brandy – part of the detritus of Nelson’s Christmas visit.
I had a sort of out-of-body experience as I floated to the kitchen ceiling and watched myself pour the contents down the sink. [...]
Note / January 6 2008
A handwritten note was pushed through the letterbox early this morning. On it was scrawled: ‘Dear Mrs, Please not to make so much noise. We old. OLD.’
Although it reads as if it were written by a person of oriental origin, I am fairly certain that it is from my next-door-neighbours – not Mary, who is [...]
New York or New Year / January 1 2008
‘But –’
I tried reasoning with him; it was having little effect.
‘But I just thought that this New Years Eve was gonna be amazing. You know: dancing girls and everything.’
‘Look, Nelson,’ I told him, ‘this is just a boring little Derbyshire village. We simply aren’t going to find what we’re looking for here – spiritually, aesthetically [...]
Double Glazing / December 20 2007
Audrey and I put Hamilton on the train to Manchester this morning. He spent more than an hour on the telephone to his agent after breakfast and has managed to borrow a modest flat in the city for a few months. He even has some voice-over work lined up.
He also dug deep and managed to [...]
