World Wide Woozle episode #665

Welcome back, please switch all phones to silent and attempt to live in the moment.

And you know that I love you, here and now not forever

Before I get into it, can I please remind all y'all of a playlist that I spend far too much time curating. 365 days with The Woozle has gathered no moss and now adds one song for each day of 2026. Some selections reflect my mood, but most are those that I unexpectedly find myself singing in my head. For those of you who don't use Spotify, I have also created the playlist over here at YouTube.

I paint a picture of the days gone by

My mate Garry, from Walthamstow, passed away a number of years ago. In the olden days before we had streaming music he would pop albums in the post that he thought I needed to hear. Only once did he recommend something I didn't like and that was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. One group I could never thank him enough for introducing me too is Alabama 3. Some of you will know that one of their songs was used in the opening credits for the TV show, The Sopranos. I really like their mad mix of country music, acid house, and lyrics that mean something. Alabama 3 also has a particular drum and bass sound that is instantly recognisable, well to me at least. This is the new release from their rather groovy EP, Algorythm And Blues. 

Alabama 3 - Sex Machine Learning - https://youtu.be/-y55fTpIeEE

And I go back to December all the time

The truth is, this song was in my notebook for inclusion at a later date. It's one that I don't want to listen to if I am at all melancholy or sad. I'm in a good place though, and this is a truly beautiful song. 

Don Walker - The Way You Are Tonight  -  https://youtu.be/XD5F5MVRm94

Drive along these shit town lights

During the week I read some commentary from a friend who has been in and out of treatment for cancer over a number of years. One of the things that struck me was his feeling that some of his friends had become burnt out by his experience. He wasn't angry or even cross, he understood. I don't have cancer, but I think I've been burning people out too. It has been weighing heavily on my mind and I had a chat with my psychologist about it in an attempt to gain some perspective. So, if you're here reading and totally over hearing about what I'm going through then I understand and I'm dialing it back. I have other outlets, and I apologise. Thanks for sticking around in whatever form that has taken. The good news is that, after almost seven months, I feel that there is room in my brain for some positive things, and less of a compulsion to punish and hide myself away. Enough about that, I love youse all.

Kasey Chambers - A Love Like Springsteen - https://youtu.be/37VryZq_-_Q

That's all for this time folks. Thanks for being here.

The Woozle.

"Talk to myself for hours, yeah..."

Nothing But Thieves, Flowers (Miley Cyrus cover), 2023

World Wide Woozle - Albums that matter episode #3

I'm sorry. I started this occasional series 364 days ago and I've only managed to publish two episodes. What can I say except that life got in the way.

For those that came in late, the first two episodes were:

• AC/DC - Blow Up Your Video (109 views at 17 Jan 2026)

• Jason Isbell - Southeastern (78 views at 17 Jan 2026)

Thank you to the hardy souls that braved my blethering and read those episodes. And now, onwards, or is it backwards?

Album # 3: The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God (1988)

Yes, we're back in 1988. Loads of people will have written about how the music we listen to in adolescence is pivotal and this episode continues that theme.

To recap, 1988 was my final year of school. I was already a very big AC/DC and rock music fan and had spent a couple of years being the one man band behind a weekly radio "broadcast" at school. Music news wasn't all that easy to come by in country Victoria. The only radio we got was local commercial stations and sometimes an FM broadcast out of Melbourne. 3RRR, independent radio wasn't something we could receive. One lifeline was the local community FM station, 3GCR aka Gippsland FM. Music magazines were limited to things like 'Smash Hits', the 'Countdown' publication and 'Rolling Stone'. I didn't have ready access to these although I did cop stern glances at newsagencies in Moe and Warragul for reading too many pages without making a purchase.

I'd never heard of The Pogues when, sometime towards the end of the year, I read a short review of their latest album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God. Not long after I was in the record shop looking for a birthday present for my Dad. That year he'd taken me to see Battlefield Band, which was a real eye opener for me. It was a combination of traditional Celtic music and more modern folk. I imagine at the time that I thought The Pogues might be in a similar vein so the cassette was duly purchased. I don't remember much about Dad's initial reaction to it other than him being sceptical of banjos being played slowly! 

I assume you all know what a gateway drug is? For me, If I Should Fall From Grace With God turned out to be the musical equivalent but without the negative consequences. It's an album that I can sing all the words to and that remains often played whether it's on CD or streaming. I really should add an LP record copy to my collection. The combination of traditional and modern instruments, folk, rock and punk influences, and lyrics that tell stories really drew me in. About a year later, when I had a CD player and some disposable income, I purchased a copy of Rum, Sodomy and The Lasha, which is a complete riot.

Before I'd made my own discovery of The Pogues I remember talking to one of my favourite teachers about music and how I felt a bit lost. He reassured me that one day I'd find people like me who enjoyed heavy metal, bagpipes, and folk music. I'm still looking, Ernie, but finding The Pogues and subsequently artists such as Billy Bragg, Dropkick Murphys, and Steve Earle make me feel less alone in the world. 

The Pogues - Turkish Song of the Damned - https://youtu.be/4LzQOlX7Xl8

Thanks for reading this.

The Woozle

World Wide Woozle episode #664

Welcome back, groovers. It's very hot today so slip, slop, slap and stay hydrated.

Ella Jenkins - Wade In The Water - https://youtu.be/hN3qIoG1MmQ

So I'm gonna write my words on the face of today...

Did you make a resolution for 2026 and break it just days later? 2025 was a year of unwanted changes for me so looking forward to 2026 has been interesting. I know some things I would like to do but the limitations on them are a bit out of my control. I've decided that for 2026 I will try to accept what life throws my way and simply do my best. I'm not going to set goals that can't be reached because all that does is make me sad. I want to be better at being grateful for what I have. I really, really, really would like to be able to ride my bike though.

Big Star - Thank You Friends - https://youtu.be/AIILzYKrwMA

Well, my name it is a number...

For a while now I've had a regular listening playlist available on Spotify. I publicise it here and there but really, it's getting very little traction. So for 2026 I thought I'd try something new. Often I wake up with a song in my head or find that one randomly creates an earworm at some point of the day. So, I present for your listening pleasure a new project, 365 days with The Woozle. I plan to add a song a day for the whole year. Will I manage to remain engaged and enthusiastic? Maybe. If you were a devotee of my regular listening playlist and would like it to continue please let me know. I don't need hundreds of people to listen, just one or two is more than enough.

Bobaflex - Hey You (Pink Floyd cover) - https://youtu.be/rm5eWLXW6l4

I've got to get my kicks some way...

The seemingly never ending rehab battle with my back continues. To be honest, for the majority of the Christmas break it was pretty good and I felt extremely optimistic. I got out a bit more and had a couple of short but enjoyable rides. Then, last Sunday things went (relatively) pear shaped again. I was sore and aching in a way I hadn't been for a few weeks. By early Monday morning it was the perfect storm of pain and mental distress. There were a few very low points but here we are almost a week later. Something that is helping quite a bit is a TENS machine. You slap some sticky electrode pads on your back, plug it in and turn it up. I'm quite shocked (great pun hey?) at how much it is helping. So, onward we plod.

Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover) - https://youtu.be/XoJ0bAp4Eo8

Are you a user or being used...?

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay, at least until Skynet takes over the world and Sarah Connor has to save us. I recently had some fun photo editing with AI. I used it to clear up the background of an old photo of my Grandpa which worked out really well. Then I gave myself long hair and a beard. I've been bald since the early 2000s so it was amusing that some people thought it was real. I mean, the beard looks OK I guess but I've shaved almost every day since joining the Army at 17 and that's unlikely to change. 

  

Gary Numan - Metal (live) - https://youtu.be/tJaYR8GeM5o

Scanning the scene in the city tonight...

I found myself watching Billy Joel's Shea Stadium concert. It's a great show and is full of songs that weren't hits as well as the singles we all know well. When Billy introduced his bass player I thought that I recognised his name. Google was my friend and I was correct, Andy Cichon is an Australian musician and I remember him as the singer from a cool hard rock band called Judge Mercy. I've got their album on CD here so I imagine it will soon be time to treat the neighbours to that. 

Judge Mercy - Open It Up - https://youtu.be/tmieJ8WW-pA

That's all folks. See you next time,

The Woozle

"They put me in an institution, said it was the only solution

To give me the professional help to save me from the enemy, myself."

Body Count, Institutionalized (ST cover), 2014.