Bank Holiday Blag

Now, I know you'll agree that I'm tremendously old so you'll take my word for it that today saw not only the coldest and wettest late May Bank Holiday ever in the whole history of humanity but the most miserablest bank holiday evah! It's a fact. I even switched the central heating on this afternoon and I resent doing that a mere few days before the start of June. But did I wear socks when I went round to the local shops? Of course I didn't! I'm a Geordie and we can take anything. I went out in bare feet and sandals. So there!

The Sodom and Gomorrah Show

Curse the PSBs but I've decided that 'The Sodom and Gomorrah Show' is the best new song I've heard this week. Hearing it for the first time last night and seeing it performed live means that that's how I'll always think of it, with Neil and the singers and dancers all weighed down with sparkly medals and glam on their fake uniforms. I've got no idea what it's suposed to be about (I'm sure I'll be enlightened shortly) but isn't that a great title for a song? And a killer chorus!

YouTube

I've been pointed to some great clips on YouTube - whoever thought it up deserves a medal (as well as the millions they earned when Google bought it). This weekend I was pointed to two videos, one joyous and one worrying. The Bearlesque troupe prove that chubby lads can, indeed, can-can, and what a pleasure it is to see them lining up for the high-kicks. Would it be churlish to suggest that a smidgen more practice might have improved the performance? Yes it would! I appreciate the artistry of the Bears and can't wait for the DVD...

The worrying video was seeing Peter Tatchell supporting his colleagues in Russia protesting about the treatment of gays and lesbians and banning what democratic public rights they might have, like assembley and marching to protest against injustice. It was quite shocking to see some lout just run up and punch Peter and you can hear the crunch of bones. The odd thing is that the clip then shows Peter being led away by two policemen, not the attacker. That's appalling. Later in the clip Richard Fairbrass is also punched out of the blue while he's just standing there talking. Two Euro MPs were also there and they demanded police protection. I won't post the link to the video since it should be deleted from YouTube but picked up by the main news media.

I won't claim to be a great supporter of Peter Tatchell - or a supporter at all - but the treatment dished out to him is unacceptable in any country that has any claims on civilisation. I suppose we forget where the battle lines are these days, in our comfortable little lives. With all the big issues in the world why does this seem to upset people so much? I just don't understand it.

I am shamed

I watched the film of David Bowie's last concert as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1973 on Saturday night on BBC4 (it was followed by the 'Cracked Actor' documentary). I've never actually seen it all the way through and it was great - other than Mick Ronson's excellent but boring extended guitar solos to give Mr Bowie time to change costumes.

I thought I'd put the CD on today - it's ages since I've heard 'Moonage Daydream' and I had a yearning. Could I find it? O no, course I couldn't! I don't have it! That is shameful. I've got all his early CDs except 'Ziggy' for some reason. I prefer 'Aladdin Sane' to 'Ziggy' but that doesn't mean I don't like 'Ziggy'. I must acquire it quickly.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

I'm reading 'Bury My Heart...' by Dee Brown at the moment. It's a catalogue of disaster for Native Americans in the last half of the 19th Century. It's really quite disheartening that human beings can act so callously towards each other (which makes the treatment of Tatchell and Fairbrass even worse since it's happening now). It's based on witness accounts and documents in the Library of Congress and it's astonishing that people would actually commit the intention to genocide to paper in the cause of 'manifest destiny', which is another term for money.

I'm only half-way through the book at the moment so will save any further critique until I finish but Chris mentioned that it was going to be made into a documentary and was wondering whether Buffy Sainte-Marie's song of the same name would be featured in it at all. If it's not then some television executives ought to suffer.