What song are you listening to?

[Bigfella]

Sounds pretty damned good GG. Both ladies look pretty good too, given the passage of time & rock'n'roll life.

[Bigfella]

it will come as a surprise to nobody that former Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland has been found dead at the age of 48. At this stage it sounds like a heart attack in his sleep, but there can be no doubt years of drug abuse have finally claimed a truly talented man.

STP got swept up in the 'grunge' wave of the early 90s, but they were never really of it. Their first album, Core, was released in 1992. It went to no.1 and sold over 8 million copies in the US. They followed up with another no.1 in 1994 with Purple, which sold over 6 million. Subsequent albums were not as good or successful, and the band's prospects were damaged by Weiland's bouts of drug abuse.

At their peak they were among the best bands of their era. Killer hooks, great lyrics & a charismatic front man.

From Core:

proof that the band were just as good with the amps turned down

...and back to the riffs

From Purple:

a killer hook that sneaks up on you & then POW!

I always loved this one

[S2]

I'm not ready to nominate Weiland to the 3D Club.

But...along the general theme of a life cut short by substance abuse...

[S2]

Miles Davis brewing a bitchin' stew at Tanglewood in August, 1970. Pretty awesome to see this band live. Only thing better might have been seeing him double-billed with Neil Young & Crazy Horse (happened six months earlier at the Fillmore East)-

[Bigfella]

Miles in the 70s was something else. There always seemed to be a restrained fury behind those carefully rationed notes. The way he would sometimes pace the stage like a caged lion simply added to that feeling. His use of time & space was as innovative as any of the 'new thing' guys, yet nowhere near as distancing. Add to that the constantly changing bands (of varying quality) and the killer clothes & you have some a truly fascinating period.

[Bigfella]

I recently purchased a copy of the documentary 'Amy' for myself for Christmas. It was a beautiful and ultimately heartbreaking portrait of a supremely talented person whose demons ran her down far too early. The footage of a young Winehouse as she was starting out & the intimate film and personal recollections from everyone who knew her were a reminder of the wonderful person behind a media image that was defined by her very worst moments. I'm not afraid to say I cried a few times. Highly recommended.

This was Amy Winehouse at 20, talented and beautiful and much more the jazz singer that she was deep down.

Flash forward several years and the change had begun. The first attempt at what would ultimately be a disastrous relationship with her husband Blake Fielder-Civil left her already fragile emotional state in tatters, but produced her best music.

This song is also a tribute to the skill of producer Salaam Remi, who took a slow, sad jazz song and put it to the chords from 'Ain't no Mountain'. Producer Mark Ronson chose to use soul revivalists the Dap Kings to reflect Winehouse's interest in 60s soul (thus the beehive). The result is stunning, the lyrics heartbreaking.

"should just be my own best friend, not fuck myself in the head with stupid men" - Fielder-Civil would later introduce her to heroin & cocaine.

A more jazzy song with a killer horn & drum break half way through

Perhaps her best track. Breakup, sadness, depression and the best soul band in the world. At this point Fielder-Civil had gone back to his girlfriend. Sadly he didn't stay with her.

"We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black"

It wasn't all doom & gloom. This track was recorded for Mark Ronson's album 'Version', a series of covers with artists he worked with. Winehouse chose an unlikely pop song. Together they made it into a soul hit. The guy on stage here is Mark Ronson, but no Amy in this one.

Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011 of alcohol poisoning. She had kicked the hard drugs, but a combination of bulemia and alcohol proved fatal. One American journalist who saw her perform before she shot to superstardom described her as 'an artist, not a star'. The spotlight was as toxic as any drug, and it killed her just as surely. In a world full of mediocrity she was a true star. She would have made so much more remarkable music.

[S2]

Beautifully done, Pete. Lot of pain wrapped up in that little girl.

[Albany Rifles]

You guys are flooring me....

Awesome

[Andrey Egorov]

[S2]

Andrey,

How cool is that? Totally neat. Always fun seeing girls be girls.

[Andrey Egorov]

S2, very true. A delight to watch

[Andrey Egorov]

And normal service is resumed. Check this out

[S2]

Really, really into Fairport Convention these days. I've no excuse for the previous 47 years but...you live and learn. I'm doing so just as fast as I can. All of you should too. Thank the Lord I learned before I died.

A Sailor's Life from UNHALFBRICKING. Those seeking instant gratification need not apply. Nor the trivial or frivolous. Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick, Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble and Simon Nicol are cooking some wicked magic here with this traditional English folk ballad-

[Stitch]

Every once in a while, I go off on a tangent (musically speaking); a year ago it was electronic music (Daft Punk, house music, techno, dub step, etc). This year I've "discovered" black metal, in particular symphonic black metal; probably the best exemplar of this is a well-known group from Norway (which is where true black metal started) called Dimmu Borgir; they are at their best playing live:

The imagery is a little extreme, and it's definitely very theatrical, but I like the music and the raw power of their playing is impressive. Not sure I necessarily agree with the religious views they are espousing, but it is some powerful music:

[Parihaka]

Really, really into Fairport Convention these days. I've no excuse for the previous 47 years but...you live and learn. I'm doing so just as fast as I can. All of you should too. Thank the Lord I learned before I died.

A Sailor's Life from UNHALFBRICKING. Those seeking instant gratification need not apply. Nor the trivial or frivolous. Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick, Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble and Simon Nicol are cooking some wicked magic here with this traditional English folk ballad-

Steve, you never fail to surprise me, just as this track did. You've found me my new long distance motorbike trip music.