Wednesday, May 8, 2019

World Wide Woozle episode #481

This episode took a while to get finished. My apologies.

A fair bit has happened since I last published a post here so I hope you're ready for a long read. Or feel free to skip to the music links; I won't be offended.

Angus has returned home after 18 months living in Vancouver, Canada. Needless to say the dog was very happy to see him. Sooky, our new addition seems to think that he is OK as well. It looks like Angus will be in Australia for the winter at least and after that, who knows. Meanwhile Zoe is doing her final six week practical placement with the Queensland Ambulance Service. After she does that, her and I will fly off to Vanuatu for a couple of weeks on Pentecost followed by her graduation. The London Ambulance Service has changed Zoe's start date to January so she's off to volunteer somewhere in Fiji. At least she'll be warm and she isn't going in cyclone season!

Primal Scream - Movin' On Up (live) - https://youtu.be/Tx-2_JcKkSk

Do you remember my mate Todd who got hit by a car last year whilst on his last bike training session for Ironman? Well, fast forward a year and he became an Ironman on Sunday at Port Macquarie. It was an amazing day and seeing Todd achieve that goal was marvellous. He has to be one of the most determined people I've ever met. 

Rollins Band - Shine (live) - https://youtu.be/r3vv-dwj2wM

Other friends had told me that being a supporter during an Ironman was hard work and they weren't wrong. I was there at about 6:15am to see the 1/2 Ironman competitors start their race and, after hanging out at the course all day cheering Todd on I got back in the car at about 9pm. Nothing compared to the competitors I can assure you but I was pretty whacked and a bit hoarse into the bargain. But my dodgy foot didn't hurt....why, I hear you ask....read on.

In 2011 I was told that I would never run again as a result of an injury near the ball of my left foot. I was devastated. This meant the end of triathlon for me. As a result I became the mad, and perhaps obsessive cyclist that I am now. And I didn't run again. This year, my foot became so sore that even walking around the house was painful so I decided to see if a Podiatrist could help. Well, he can and I got a big shock. After poking and prodding my foot he told me I could go running if I wanted. All I needed were new shoes and an orthotic. This really made my head spin and to be truthful, it still is. I left with instructions to get an ultrasound, new shoes and to report back in a month. I've got a temporary orthotic that I now have to wear in my shoe. And guess what, I stood up for almost 15 hours on Sunday and my foot wasn't at all sore. Good grief! I'm taking this really slowly but if I can walk without pain I'll be ecstatic. I'm really not sure about returning to running but it's nice to perhaps have the option.

Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell (movie version) - https://youtu.be/q68Qwgz1aXQ

Album 29/100 - Lou Reed - Transformer (1972)
I wanted to like this album as Lou's 1989 long player, "New York", is one that I really like. This one, well, I thought it was dreadful. Everyone knows the single, "Walk on the Wild Side" and it's a great track but the rest of the album just put me to sleep. I found the instrumentation dull and the vocals like Bob Dylan but without soul. Maybe you had to be there in 1972 but I found little to like about "Transformer" other than this song...

Lou Reed - Satellite of Love - https://youtu.be/kJoHspUta-E

Album 30/100 - Prince - Purple Rain (1984)
I already knew that I liked this album. The film of the same name is a classic of 80s music and I've watched it many, many times. "Purple Rain" is an album with four well known Top 10 hits and the rest of the record is all high quality. It's a great pop-rock mix of guitars, synths and vocals delivered with passion and style. Prince's guitar skills are often overlooked but you need only listen to the tortured guitar solo at the end of "Let's Go Crazy" to get a glimpse into his rock and roll sensibilities. "Purple Rain" won Grammies and is also one of the top selling soundtrack albums of all time. I'm not a huge Prince fan but this album is an absolute classic.

Prince - Let's Go Crazy - https://youtu.be/XftVhzWeKvY

Long time readers may remember me prompting you all to listen to the Victorian band, Painters & Dockers. Recently I discovered that they'd put their entire discography online. Given that so many of their albums are nigh on impossible to track down this made me pretty happy. I also hadn't realised just how much material they'd put out. This week I've been giving a fair bit of time to their live record, "Overt and Deliberate". Recorded in 1987 in Auckland, New Zealand it really is a warts and all album. And as a result I think it captures the essence of the band; raw, loud and uncompromising. They're pretty funny too. Given that only 500 copies were released of this album, it's a good thing that it's on Spotify for us all. Dock on!

Painters and Dockers - Soul Child (live) - https://youtu.be/Ys7TXrO7P5w

Painters and Dockers - You're Going Home In The Back Of A Divi Van - https://youtu.be/R5Cw043lPCE

That's enough for this time. See you all next time here on the World Wide Woozle...

Rob

"It might not be my place to help,
But don't,
But don't,
But don't,
Be so hard on yourself", Don't Be So Hard On Yourself, Alex Lahey, 2019

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