regards
Titus
Monday, 8 June 2026
Apolitical Blues
Apoliticism does not directly cause violence, but it can create
the conditions that allow violence and societal decay to escalate.
By withdrawing from civic participation,
an apolitical stance can enable extremism to go unchecked,
while leaving individuals more susceptible to manipulation.
Apoliticism’s relationship to violence involves several dynamics:
Enabling Extremism: When a large portion of the population
disengages from the political process, the balance of power often defaults
to the most radical or extreme factions, which can foster authoritarianism
or structural violence.
Vulnerability to Disinformation:
Individuals who are disengaged from civic life are often less informed
about how policies work and are more susceptible to misinformation.
Research shows that belief in conspiracy theories
is a primary driver of support for political violence.
In 1939 I wrote to the New York Times:
"Stop with the fucking political bullshit.
Folks come here for the sports pages and celebrity gossip"
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing"
regards
Titus
Hybrid Kids
A Collection of Classic Mutants (1979)
Reposted from January 2022
I first heard this in the early 80s
by which time it had become an impossible to find obscurity.
I found a copy a few years later in a second-hand store in Soho, London.
Strange thing was it had a little piece of another copy stuck to the back cover.
I always wondered who owned the one with a little piece of their cover missing.
Quantum entanglement?
Another odd thing: by the time I found it I'd forgotten that the illustration
was one of Francis Bacon's 'Screaming Pope' series..
Later that day I visted the National Gallery...and there it was!
Presented as a compilation of obscure underground artists
it is really all the work of Mott the Hoople keyboardist Morgan Fisher.
He recorded it at home using very basic equipment.
Mott drummer Dale Griffin (Buffin) was one of the first to hear it and he was sceptical
which surprised Morgan who, by then, thought it was quite 'normal'.
It's humorous but also, at times, creative genius.
Certainly in sync with how my mind processes music.
I'd say it is suitable for fans of Neu, Sonic Youth,
Residents, Cardiacs, Zappa, Reverb Mother Fuckers,
Gong, Alex Harvey and the Velvet Underground.
So if you like all those then this might be of interest.
The Kate Bush one is probably my favourite.
Morgan said that when he did the pitch-shifted vocal on 'D'ya Think I'm Sexy?'
he was amazed to find that during middle pitch his voice sounded exactly like his sister.
He did a second volume of these oddities but that one didn't feel quite as innovative.
No future for you?...never mind.
regards
Titus
01 The Burtons - Macarthur Park
02 Punky and Porky - God Save The Lean + Pretty Bacon
03 Jah Wurzel - Wuthering Heights
04 Rififi - Catch A F-Falling Star
05 Malcolm Galaxy - Fever
06 Kapital Punischment - Save Your Kisses For Me
07 British Standard Unit - D'ya Think I'm Sexy?
08 Combo Satori - Enlightment
09 U.S. Nerds - Get Back
10 The Incestors - Something Better Change
11 R.W. Atom - You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling
12 The Cage - Take Me I'm Yours/The Pipettes - All The Young Dudes
Sunday, 7 June 2026
Max Webster
Harpo's Concert Theatre
Detroit, MI,
December 21st 1980
Remastered soundboard.
The set leans heavily on the 'Universal Juveniles' album.
regards
Titus
Disc 1
01 Check
02 Oh War!
03 Mash Moon in Hawaii
04 Paradise Skies
05 Lip Service
06 Rascal Houdi [cut in middle]
07 Cry Out for Your Life
08 Here Among the Cats
09 Drive and Desire
10 In the World of Giants
Disc 2
01 In Context of the Moon
02 What Do You Do with the Urge?
03 Look Out
04 April in Toledo
05 Waterline
06 Old Gomer
07 The Party
08 Battle Scar [cut at end]
Saturday, 6 June 2026
When I was prepping for the upcoming World Cup
it pissed me off looking at multiple slow-loading/Ad-filled websites
which did not contain all the info I wanted.
So I made my own.
It's just a text file about the opening "round of 48" which lists:
The groups, dates, venues, kick off times (UK)
and what UK TV station is covering each game.
I thought some readers may find it useful.
(Folks don't come here for this shit...Ed.)
regards
Titus
World War 1 in colour (2003)
A television documentary series recounting the major events of World War I
narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
It reportedly took 400 technicians over five months to colourise the footage.
Part 1. Catastrophe - The outbreak of World War 1
Can we learn any lessons from history?
I doubt it.
regards
Titus
Friday, 5 June 2026
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn
on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort
...once the unexploded ordnance has been removed.
They were ripped off:
Billionaire private equity investor Stephen Deckoff owns the two private islands
(Little St. James and Great St. James) formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
Deckoff, the founder of Black Diamond Capital Management,
(which sounds like the financial arm of a criminal cabal from a James Bond film)
purchased the Caribbean properties for $60 million in May 2023.
regards
Titus
(cartoon by Gary Larson)
Casting the Runes (1979)
A British supernatural television drama
produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network.
It is based on the story by M. R. James.
This adaptation differs from the 'Night of the Demon' version.
It is set in the, then contemporary, late 1970s
and the central protagonist is reimagined as a female character.
Sorry MAGA.
The always excellent Iain Cuthbertson is cast as the sinister Karswell.
Can't think of any actor at the time more qualified for the role.
regards
Titus
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Richard Thompson with Danny Thompson
Rytmeposten
Odense, Denmark
May 14th 2000
Another nice RT FM recording.
With Danny Thompson (no relation) on the upright bass.
regards
Titus
Disc 1
01 Sights and Sounds of London Town
02 Bathsheba Smiles
03 Waltzing's for Dreamers
04 I Feel So Good
05 The Ghost of You Walks
06 Dog Eat Dog in Denmark
07 Uninhabited Man
08 She Twists the Knife Again
09 Al Bowlly's in Heaven
Disc 2
01 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
02 Down Where the Drunkards Roll
03 Easy There, Steady Now
04 Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands
05 Ghosts in the Wind
06 Wall of Death
07 Turning of the Tide
08 Shoot Out the Lights
09 Crawl Back (Under My Stone)
10 I Misunderstood
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
'Music for people who are not into music'
Organised with all the finesse we've come to expect from the USA.
Excuse my 'French'...but what a fucking SHIT line-up.
Here are my suggestions:
Taylor Swift
Drake
Morgan Wallen
Kendrick Lamar
Bad Bunny
The Weeknd
Billie Eilish
SZA
Sabrina Carpenter
Zach Bryan
regards
Titus
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Konserthuset
Stockholm, Sweden
January 9th 1969
Remastered soundboard/FM?
regards
Titus
Disc 1 (early show)
01 preshow ambience
02 Killing Floor
03 Spanish Castle Magic
04 Fire
05 Hey Joe
06 Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
07 Red House
08 Sunshine of Your Love/outro
Disc 2 (late show)
01 intro/I Don't Live Today
02 Spanish Castle Magic
03 Hey Joe
04 Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
05 Sunshine of Your Love
06 Red House
07 Fire
08 Purple Haze/Star Spangled Banner
Monday, 1 June 2026
Jukka Tolonen
Stockholm, Sweden
September 3rd 1975
Remastered soundboard.
Excellent vintage fusion from Jukka and his band.
I don't know the venue.
Jukka Tolonen had become famous as guitarist
for the successful progressive rock band Tasavallan Presidentti
who had ceased trading a year before this recording.
Tolonen was eventually twice divorced, homeless and drug-addicted.
In May 2008 he was found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend
and was sentenced to 27 months in jail for aggravated assault.
Jukka was released in 2010.
While in prison he, apparently, dedicated his life to Jesus Christ.
So something of a flawed genius then?
regards
Titus
01 Aurora Borealis
02 Django
03 Wedding Song
04 Hysterica
05 Silva the Cat
Sunday, 31 May 2026
The Time Travelers (1964)
A low budget B-movie that punches above it's weight.
Quite good effects considering the lack of funding.
The film inspired the 1966 TV series 'The Time Tunnel'.*
It veers between sci-fi, humour and soft core titillation
as if they couldn't decide which way to go with the script.
The ending is also rather odd.
For some reason this daft film has always stuck in my mind
ever since I first saw it as a kid.
Anyone remember it?
Multiple optional subtitles are included.
Other languages available on request.
Rush? :)
* I've been rewatching that series recently. It cracks me up.
regards
Titus
Saturday, 30 May 2026
RPWL
Freilichtbühne Loreley
St. Goarshausen, Germany
July 24th 2022
Remastered cam audio.
The footage is on Nina-just-built-an-app Tube.
'Unchain the Earth' had tons of glitches/gaps which I have painstakingly patched.
It's not the full set but I put the songs in the order they were played
and made it flow as seamlessly as I could.
Some occasional localised talking doesn't spoil it too much
and there's a Pink Floyd section to tempt non-RPWL fans.
regards
Titus
01 Hole in the Sky
02 Light of the World
03 Not Our Place to Be
04 Cymbaline/Funky Dung
05 Unchain the Earth (The Scientist)
As all good Genesis fans should know
this year marks the 50th anniversary of Wind and Wuthering..
The lyrics to 'Blood on the Rooftops' include these words:
"Let's skip the news boy, I'll make some tea
The Arabs and the Jews boy, too much for me
They get me confused boy, puts me off to sleep
And the thing I hate, oh Lord
Is staying up late, to watch some debate on some nation's fate"
So not much progress has been made over the last fifty years then huh?
As if to rub salt into the wound the last line of the song is:
"Seems Helen of Troy has found a new face again"
Oh Lord indeed.
regards
Titus
Friday, 29 May 2026
Troc (1972)
Troc were a short-lived outfit formed by, French drummer, André Ceccarelli
who later went on to play with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stan Getz and Chick Corea.
Santana's Alex Ligertwood provided vocals and was the chief songwriter.
The line-up included, notable Magma-Men, Jannick Top and Francis Moze
and the album is just as good as it sounds on paper.
Troc is the French word for 'barter'.
regards
Titus
01 Kali Lo
02 Truth Verite
03 Old Man River
04 Sticktime
05 Troc
06 Plum
07 Maybe Tomorrow, Not Today
08 Did You Ever
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Critics including Elon Musk have claimed it's wrong
to cast a black actress as Helen of Troy.
Seriously? WTF is wrong with these people?
Whatever next?
Do you have to be from Sparta to play Spartacus?
If so we need to tear down all those Kirk Douglas sculptures!
Whaddya mean there's no such thing?
Seward Johnson Sculpture: A well-known life-size sculpture
by artist Seward Johnson captures the actor
in two different stages of his life. It was famously featured
by the Seward Johnson Atelier to celebrate his legacy.
David Kracov Commemorative Piece: Artist David Kracov created a piece
specifically honouring Kirk Douglas,
which was gifted to the actor by his son, Michael Douglas.
That one doesn't look like Kirk much.
Marcos Marin Art: Renowned pop-art sculptor Marcos Marin
created a distinct monumental aluminium sculpture and wooden carving
representing the actor, which is showcased through Saatchi Art.
Quite like that one.
BTW...I'm Spartacus and so is my wife.
regards
Titus
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
The Frau and I returned to Brontë country for the bank holiday weekend.
This time we spent the day hopping on and off the KWVR:
The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a 5-mile-long (8 km)
heritage railway in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England,
which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope.
There are six stations on the route and £21.60 gets you a "rover ticket"
which gives unlimited travel and free entry to the award-winning
‘Carriage Works’ and ‘Engine Shed’ Rail Story museums, both at Ingrow Station.
The line and its stations have been used in numerous period film
and television productions including the 'The Railway Children'.
They have a selection of vintage diesel and steam locomotives
as well as period carriages and general rail memorabilia.
Great day out if, like me. you are a railway enthusiast.
(I can't lay claim to the photos, just examples I found online)
regards
Titus
The Robby Krieger Band
Club M
Canoga Park, CA.
October 25th 1992
Remastered soundboard.
Can anyone identify the three instrumental pieces?
regards
Titus
Robby Krieger - guitar/vocals
Dale Alexander - drums/keyboards/vocals
Skip Knape (Skip Van Winkel) - organ/foot pedal bass
with special guests:
Steve Hunter - guitar
Pete Haycock - guitar
John Hernandez - drums
Tony Gillis - percussion
Eddie Ray - vocals
Disc 1
01 intro (Touch Me)
02 Love Me Two Times
03 Gavin Leggit
04 Backdoor Man
05 instrumental
06 Riders on the Storm
07 instrumental
08 L.A. Woman
Disc 2
01 Spanish Caravan
02 instrumental
03 Little Red Rooster
04 Crossroads
05 Roadhouse Blues
06 Light My Fire
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