Kingston Wall

Lepakko

Helsinki, Finland

December 5th 1994

Reposted from November 2020

I am a big fan of this Finnish trio. You can read more about them here

They were fronted by the exceptionally talented Petri Walli

who was the principal song writer/singer & guitarist.

Jukka Jylli and Sami Kuoppamäki (bass and drums respectively)

are no slouches either.

They made three albums between 1992 and 1994 and I strongly recommend them all.

The venue has an interesting history which you can read about here

They split up shortly after this and Petri visited India.

On his return to Finland, the following June, Petri went up to the balcony

of the tower of Töölö church in Helsinki and jumped to his death.

There is talk of a broken relationship and of his shame at having been taken in

by Finnish self-styled mystic Ior Bock on who's bullshit Petri had based the 3rd album.

You can read about Bock here

The lyrics from 'With My Mind,' which is the opening track on their debut album.

make me speculate that Petri had long standing issues:

Some kind of tribulation

Strangles my mind

It makes me wonder

Do I have much more time

Manic depressions

Or just having too much time

With my mind

A sad story but the music remains.

I think of Petri as Finland's Jimi Hendrix.

Hendrix,Led Zep,Hawkwind,Gong and Donna Summer.

It's all here.

regards

Titus

Disc 1

01 intro/Skies Are Open

02 Welcome to the Mirrorland

03 Mushrooms II. On My Own

04 I'm the King, I'm the Sun

05 Two of a Kind/band introductions

06 With My Mind

07 Take You to Sweet Harmony/When Something Old Dies

Disc 2

01 Take You to Sweet Harmony (conclusion)

02 And I Hear You Call

03 Mushrooms V. Circumstances/drum solo

04 Nepal/bass solo/We Cannot Move

05 Palékastro/I Feel Love/Fire

06 Istwan/Could It Be So?

link

The End of the War (in colour)

Reposted from April 2025

I could write a lot about this.

There are so many 'wow' moments.

From the 'cool' stuff on the ME 262 to the really uncool stuff.

Scary and amazing.

file under: insightful

More footage from WWII coming soon.

The War in the Pacific to be specific.

regards

Titus

link

Steely Dan

Wang Theater

Boston, MA

July 22nd 2009

Reposted from November 2023

A lovingly remastered soundboard recording.

With full renditions of AJA and The Royal Scam.

One of my most satisfying productions.

Best version on the net or your money back. :)

regards

Titus

Disc 1

01 Teenie Blues

02 Black Cow

03 Aja

04 Deacon Blues

05 Peg

06 Home at Last

07 I Got the News

08 Josie

09 Kid Charlemagne

10 The Caves Of Altamira

11 Don't Take Me Alive

12 Sign In Stranger

13 The Fez

Disc 2   

01 Green Earrings

02 Haitian Divorce

03 Everything You Did

04 The Royal Scam

05 Hey Nineteen

06 Love is Like an Itchin in My Heart

07 Black Friday

08 The Boston Rag

09 Dirty Water

10 My Old School

11 Last Tango In Paris

bonus:

12 Pretzel Logic

(Australia October 2011)

with Steve Winwood

link

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)

Based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James.

First aired by BBC1 on December 23rd 1974.

It has some significant alterations to the plot but it's quite enjoyable.

The short intro is in the wrong screen ratio but corrects once the film begins.

That's how they actually showed it on the rebroadcast.

regards

Titus

link

The USS Abraham Lincoln has spent over 250 consecutive days at sea

and more than 200 straight days without a port call.

The longest deployment for a U.S. aircraft carrier in the modern era

is held by the USS Gerald R. Ford, which completed a 326 day deployment

(nearly 11 months) ending on May 16th 2026.

At least they're well fed:

Those carrots look OK :)

The "item" at the bottom left reminds me of that old film

where Charlie Chapin eats his own shoe.

On his famous voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus took 36 days

to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands.

Measured from mainland Spain, the total journey took 69 days.

A sailor's life was easier back then.

regards

Titus

regards

Titus

Before the 2016 presidential election Trump faced 34 criminal charges.

He was accused of falsifying business records in the first degree'

The trial began on April 15th 2024.

Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts on May 30th 2024.

He thinks he is smart and the tax-paying US citizens are stupid.

I can see why he might think that way.

The U.S. national debt is about to reach the $40 trillion milestone

and it's likely to hit $50 trillion soon.

Elon Musk is on track to become the world's first trillionaire by 2027.

regards

Titus

The Steve Hillage Band

The Melkweg (The Max)

Amsterdam The Netherlands

November 5th 2006

Footage from the 2006 Gong Family Unconvention.

This was the first Steve Hillage Band gig since 1979.

I remember in the late 70s how Steve would open with Salmon Song

and the audience would turn into an ocean of flailing hair.

Here it turns into a sea of swaying pebbles.

Still good but I miss the Strat :(

regards

Titus

Hello Dawn

It's All Too Much

Aftaglid

Solar Musick Suite

The Salmon Song

These Uncharted Lands

Bonus: interview with Steve and Miquette

link

Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Dominion Theatre

London UK

January 20th 1981

Reposted from November 2020

An enjoyable romp through some classics from the amazing Mr. Dury and his partners.

This was a hell of a band with Wilko Johnson on guitar at this point.

regards

Titus

01 Upminster Kid

02 Clever Trevor

03 Sink My Boats

04 I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra

05 Superman's Big Sister

06 Yes & No (Paula)

07 Uncoolohol

08 Delusions of Grandeur

09 Dance of the Crackpots

10 What a Waste!

11 Hey, Hey, Take Me Away

12 Manic Depression (Jimi)

13 Mr. Peanut

14 Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick

link

Earth experiences two to five solar eclipses every year.

A total eclipse only happens somewhere on the planet

roughly once every 18 months and any single specific spot on the globe

will only see a total eclipse about once every 400 years.

A solar eclipse has never caused a widespread loss of electricity

or a major power outage.

While eclipses temporarily reduce solar panel power output,

grid operators routinely forecast these predictable celestial events

and successfully balance power networks using backup generation,

such as gas or hydroelectric power.

The price of electricity for Wednesday evening rose

to more than £211.40 per megawatt-hour at 7pm, its highest level since June 30th.

Notice how the price increased when there was lots of sunshine

but also increases when there is slightly less?

When will conditions align to trigger a price reduction?

I won't hold my breath.

I suspect this is just a money-making scam. (I think he's on to something...Ed.)

"Don’t use electricity during the solar eclipse" Octopus Energy warns :)

I can't see how a brief drop in sunlight could have any significant effect.

If so we'll be in major trouble by the Winter Solstice.

The BBC are taking a different approach:

"How to watch today's solar eclipse live online from anywhere in the world"

Running a washing machine typically costs between 13p and 30p in electricity

per cycle in the UK. This equals about £43 to £55 a year

for an average household doing around four loads a week.

Your internet uses roughly 150 to 250 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity

per person per year when factoring in data centres,

transmission networks, and local Wi-Fi routers.

At typical UK electricity rates of about 24p to 30p per kWh,

this costs each user roughly £36 to £75 annually in electricity.

I asked AI two questions:

"should i use a washing machine during the eclipse?"

You should avoid using your washing machine today (Wednesday, 12th August 2026)

between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm BST.

"should I use the internet during the eclipse?"

Yes, you can safely use the internet during a solar eclipse

because the phenomenon does not emit any harmful radiation or physical energy

that disrupts Wi-Fi, fibre optic cables, or broadband routing.

The Trump administration has spotted that solar panels don't work at night:

In mid-2026, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum

faced public scrutiny for sharing charts pointing out

that solar power "failed after sunset" or produces zero electricity at night.

(Nothing gets past these eagle-eyed operators)

In conclusion: the eclipse is irrelevant but has become a commercial event

exploited for profit based on a web of BS and self interest.

Best time to buy eclipse-viewing glasses?

   tomorrow.

regards

Titus

I will briefly blot out the sun tomorrow evening.

Don't look directly at the eclipse.

regards

Titus

AC/DC

Rock Goes to College

University of Essex

Colchester, England

October 28th 1978

Remastered digital rebroadcast.

The rebroadcast didn't play the end of 'Let There Be Rock'

I patched that in from an alternative source.

The first half of 'Live Wire' was never broadcast as far as I'm aware

so I used an alternative recording to restore the full song.

regards

Titus

01 Live Wire

02 Problem Child

03 Sin City

04 Bad Boy Boogie

05 Whole Lotta Rosie

06 Rocker

07 Let There Be Rock

link

I

n Time (2011)

A dystopian future where time itself has become the currency.

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer, songwriter,

actor, record producer, and dancer.

Despite my instinctive dislike of him he's reasonably ok in this film.

It's not a masterpiece by any means but I like some of the ideas.

Optional multi-subs are included.

regards

Titus

link

Jane

Audimax

University of Hamburg

Germany

April 14th 1978

Remastered audience recording.

Medium quality.

Not complete but a decent 73 minutes long.

They played two sets and this appears to be culled from both

and not necessarily in the correct running order.

It was the debut live performance of 'Auroville'.

regards

Titus

01 Between Heaven and Hell

02 Daytime

03 Auroville

04 Lady

05 Windows

link

The African Queen (1951)

Two people from completely contrasting backgrounds

are thrown together by circumstance

and against all the odds they eventually fall in love.

This premise is quite surprising when one first encounters it as a kid.

Once you have become wiser and more cynical

you can see it coming from the opening scene.

It's part of growing up, a rite of passage if you will.

Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn absolutely nail it here.

Unlike the special effects team who made very little effort for the dramatic finale.

I 'served my time' as an engineering apprentice at British Leyland.

The place was vast beyond belief.

They never bought anything, they just made it.

I was seconded to No.8 shop in Farrington aged 17.

Day one...first brew time...

There had a brew area with a huge hot water boiler.

Made 'in house', it was an enormous dome of copper

with huge rivets straining to hold the flexing cauldron within.

On the side was written...African Queen.

I nearly scaulded myself laughing.

regards

Titus

link

Big Big Train

Town Hall

Birmingham UK

October 30th 2019

Reposted from September 2020

This band have a devoted following of retired, prosecco drinking,

college lecturers. teachers and social workers who are known as 'the passengers'.

They buy all the gig tickets then resell them (at face value to be fair) on their FB group.

So every gig is 'sold out' in minutes.

I persuaded the Frau Luxor to join their FB group and they furnished us

with 3rd row seats for a "sold out" show in London a few years back.

The line-up includes Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard),

Dave Gregory (XTC) and Rikard Sjöblom (Beardfish)

regards

Titus

Disc 1

01 intro (Novum Organum)

02 Alive

03 Hedgerow

04 Theodora in Green and Gold

05 Winkie

06 The Florentine

07 Brave Captain

Disc 2

01 Voyager

02 Homesong

03 band introductions/Wassail

04 Drums and Brass/East Coast Racer

link

Progglådan Box D: Melodisk Rock

CD 404

Första Förband/Kabaréorkestern

Första Förband (first-aid dressing)

The Wiehe brothers have already featured in the series.

Here is Thomas playing with this, difficult to research, band.

A mixture of rock n roll, pop and some folky tunes.

When the first song came on I was skeptical

but it really grew on me as their eclectic nature unfolded.

I ended up loving it!

Kabaréorkestern (The Cabaret Orchestra)

Featuring Mikael Wiehe (slightly more famous brother of Thomas)

Another belter: inventive song-writing with great horn arrangements.

regards

Titus

link

Moon (2009)

Moon is a science fiction film directed by Duncan Jones (in his directorial debut)

This copy is in wide screen cinema ratio which looks thus:

'video-crop-16:10' in VLC looks about right if you prefer a fuller screen.

The film won numerous film critic and festival awards.

It was nominated in the BAFTA Award for Best British Film category

and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2010.

Optional multi-subs are included.

Is there a major difference between Portuguese and Portuguese (Brazil)?

I'm curious.

regards

Titus

link

World War II in Colour (2008)

Episode 13 - Victory in the Pacific

This is the final episode in the series.

The US wipes out Japan's air force through a strategy of island-hopping.

As the Americans face the decision of what to do with mainland Japan,

President Truman decides to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons.

Japan had no choice but to surrender, and the Cold War begins.

regards

Titus

link

The Thing from Another World (1951)

Classic Sci-Fi'

A United States Air Force crew and a team of scientists

find themselves in conflict with an aggressive E.T. carrot played by James Arness.

An artistic manipulation of my favourite scene:

(A big one framed would look pretty cool)

Optional multi-subs are included.

You'll need to be a speed reader though because it's a very wordy script

and even the English subs struggle to keep up.

The German one looks like a nightmare :)

Mach die Karotte fertig! (Not a line from the film...Ed.)

regards

Titus

link

The United Jazz & Rock Ensemble

Live im Schützenhaus/Live in Berlin

A jazz fusion gem featuring an illustrious line-up.

Barbara Thompson — Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)

Ian Carr — Trumpet

Ack van Rooyen — Flugelhorn, Trumpet

Albert Mangelsdorff — Trombone

Charlie Mariano — Nagaswarm, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)

Volker Kriegel — Guitar

Wolfgang Dauner — Clarinet, Piano, Synthesizer

Eberhard Weber — Bass

Jon Hiseman — Drums

regards

Titus 

CD 1 - Live im Schützenhaus (1977):

01 Circus Gambet

02 Hey Day

03 Steps of M.C. Escher

04 South Indian Line

05 Hypnotic Pignose

06 The Love That Cannot Speak It's Name

07 BeBop-Rock

CD 2 - Live in Berlin (1981):

01 Ausgeschlafen

02 Red Room

03 Storyboard

04 Out Of The Long Dark

05 Freibad Süd

06 Des'sch Too Much

07 Simply this

08 Tranz Tanz

09 South Indian Line

link

Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance (1976)

A short adaptation  of the M.R. James story 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter'.

Produced by Yorkshire Television with Geoffrey Russel in the title role.

Worth having if you're a fan of the author

but it lacks the sense of terror conveyed in James' original text.

regards

Titus

link

Phineas Foam

Soundboard 1992

This is a new version of the original post from November 2022

Ah...the memories come flooding back...the groupies, the drugs,

the bowls of Smarties with all the red ones taken out.

I'm playing bass. I do OK but there's an awful bum note in Untitled.

(I was full of Smarties at the time you have to bear in mind)

We often opened with Human Zoo

because it has an energy draining 2/4 drum beat

and drummers were glad to get it over with :)

Dave C. does a great job here on the kit.

From a different musical background to ours.

His idea of a top album was a 1950s B-movie soundtrack.

These had about 172 tracks and he would fevourishly

play 'highlights' to me in his Mum & Dad's front room.

He sometimes struggled with Moonsong but nails it here.

We first encountered Dave in a band called Gnarl (cool name)

It was him on the drums and two bass players.

Now that sounds ace even if you never heard it...right?

I think we were opening for Half Man/Half Biscuit (if anyone remembers them?)

My personal view of gigging? It's shit.

When you're on stage it's great. Everything else is shit.

I've asked before, but I'd love to hear any stuff you may have.

That rough recording of the punk band you were in?

Those unrealeased anguished songs from your youth?

regards

Titus

01 Human Zoo

02 Dry Up

03 Dance of Love

o4 How's Your Baby Now?

05 Like the Moon/Moonsong

06 Untitled

link

World War II in Colour (2008)

Episode 12 - Victory in Europe

From three sides, the British, Canadians, Americans, and Soviets

are starting to shred through what is left of the Third Reich.

As the Nazi forces see their final days, Hitler commits suicide,

and the Allies begin dividing up Europe.

regards

Titus

link

Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan

Episode 37

Musical instruments is Bob's topic today.

A subject very dear to my heart.

I once bought a clarinet but could never figure out how to play it properly

so I advertised it for sale in the local newspaper (doesn't that sound archaic?)

A middle aged/middle class dude turned up with his young son and bought it for the boy.

I'd paid £95 (second hand) and sold it to him for £100.

Made a slight profit LOL.

It was a really good one made by Boosey & Hawkes.

Vintage B&H clarinets can set you back up to £2K these days.

Wonder if the kid ever learned to play the darn thing?

I expect Dad forced him to learn boring classical music.

Maybe, years later half way through his college music degree course,

he dropped out and joined a jazz-fusion band?

I hope so.

regards

Titus

link