World Wide Woozle episode #675

Welcome back.

Before I start, all of the songs in this episode have something in common so see if you can spot it. There are no prizes, but I reckon someone out there might just figure it out! Pay attention closely for the not quite regular version of one track! I like to keep you all on your toes if I can.

Back before music was ruled by algorithms, corporate greed, auto-tune, and the cut and paste of digital music software, we huddled together in garages and bedrooms to make demos of our songs. That is unless of course one could afford studio time. The first demo tape I appeared on was made by strategically placing a boombox in the garage during a rehearsal and pressing record. The first 'real' one was recorded in 1991 on the same model Tascam four track that Bruce Springsteen used for Nebraska. Admittedly the band was playing live with everything reduced to four tracks by a mixing desk before hitting the recorder. DJ DJ engineered that demo and it got us a LOT of gigs. I still have the stereo master copy but not the multitracks. 

I do, however, have the multitrack cassette for the 1992 demo of the indie band I was in at the time. Recently I decided it was time to save those recordings, remix them, get them mastered, and onto CD. I have a 4-track recorder so that was the easy part, but how would I get those tracks onto a computer? It was easier than I thought. DJ Guz loaned me a fancy mixing desk that also records to multitrack computer files. All I had to do was connect the four channel outputs from the recorder into the desk, clear all the effects, set the gain, and hit record. Now I have the four songs from the Lovesmudge demo ready to mix. I'm not the expert here, Bing is. He has more than a dozen albums in his discography so we'll get together soon to see what we can come up with. If they turn out to be any good then I'll investigate mastering and CD production. I'll write some liner notes too and hopefully the other three band members will contribute. Watch this space!

What I didn't realise I still had was a couple of cassettes containing demo versions of songs I wrote in about 1994/5. They won't be getting the full treatment but I'll have a go at tidying them up and releasing them via my Soundcloud page. 

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Last of the Teenage Idols - https://youtu.be/HlthQpbl_0E

It would be remiss of me not to mention how excited I am that DJ ZedBoots has moved back to Australia. She's been away having adventures in London, Glasgow, and all over the place since the start of 2020. I think she may have come home to thaw out! The family has grown as well with the addition of a fiance and a cat!

The Temptations - My Girl - https://youtu.be/y3KJ7d2qBoA

If you're around my age, I wonder if you expected middle age to be the way it is? I've almost managed to accept that I need to reframe how my life will look going forwards. I always thought that I was fairly physically robust but it appears not. Working with the GP and the Chiropractor we have addressed some of the issues with my back, but there are some that can't be fixed. I have to work on managing not only my body, but my expectations and that isn't easy at all. What I will say is that if you have any niggles, get them checked out now before you end up with something that you have to live with forever. That includes your brain too, not just your body. 

Cheap Trick - Surrender - https://youtu.be/LqB9lhHqmsE

I'm playing this song because it fits into the theme you're all madly trying to work out, but also because it has been an earworm for the past week or so. I've actually sung and played this twice in public as well. Once it was to about 10 people, and the other time it was to about 1000! You may not like Taylor Swift, and that's just fine, but I do. She writes a lot of her own music, plays and sings live, and trains for gigs by running on the treadmill whilst singing. 

Taylor Swift - Love Story - https://youtu.be/yfWgXcrNQIw

This week I noticed that the classic TV series, The Dukes of Hazzard has appeared on the Amazon streaming service. Watching it now, it doesn't feel quite as exciting as when in 1979, I was allowed to go next door once a week to watch it. At that stage, having just moved to the other side of the planet, we didn't have a television. The A-Team is also now available and if you think back to my visit to the USA in 2024, you may remember that I watched a lot of that in my downtime! Back to The Dukes for a minute. I reckon the theme song was my real introduction to country music. Here's Waylon, who sang the theme and was the show's narrator, singing with Willie Nelson.

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson - Good Hearted Woman - https://youtu.be/swRJeMsk21g

Keep smiling y'all,

The Woozle

"It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not..."

Bon Jovi, Living On A Prayer, 1986

World Wide Woozle episode #674

Hello everyone. Welcome to the blog that shakes, that moves, but can't live without your love.

Tried to save the trees, bought a plastic bag, the bottom fell out, it was a piece of crap

I wasn't an early adopter of anything made by Apple or Google. That is unless you count the Apple IIe and IIc computers that we used at school in the mid 1980s. I was, however, extremely happy with my ten year old MacBook Air until this week. It does everything I need and looks good doing it. That is until the AI bots at Google sent me a friendly email to inform me that their Chrome browser would no longer be getting any security updates on my Mac. How rude. Does anyone just stop looking after their car, house, or child when it turns ten? On top of this I did some research only to find out that the boffins at Apple aren't releasing security patches for my MacBook either. It's just two more products from Bastards Incorporated. I can hear you wondering, "what does it all mean, Basil?" In the short term I have dumped Chrome completely and returned, after about ten years, to the Firefox browser. I will be the first to admit that it has come a long way and is seriously cool. After only a week I am a complete convert. With Apple's allegedly planned obsolescence I'll be doing anything to do with money or passwords on my iPad which is much, much newer. I understand that products have to have some kind of lifespan, but, if Apple insists on making such high quality hardware then maybe they need to support it for longer. A new Mac of any description is a serious financial investment that I'm not prepared to make at the moment. Maybe I can get my head around imagining it as a yearly cost over the next ten years because that doesn't sound nearly as bad.

Petra - Computer Brains - https://youtu.be/HpqCgnq_bAU

Let there be drums

With apologies to DJ DJ, I'm going to write about Jethro Tull now. For once, the algorithms feeding me music got it right when they recommended the new and improved version of a 1984 album that I'd never heard of. Under Wraps was apparently quite unloved when it was released as it represented a significant departure from the band's trademark prog/folk sound. It has programmed drums, synthesisers and Cold War era lyrics (and that flute). The new version has one remastered CD where the drum sounds have been stripped out and updated for a fuller, more modern sound. For those who prefer, there's also a remastered version with the original drums. Then you get a couple of live concerts, some demos, and a full Ian Anderson solo album. I think it's good value and a copy is winging its way (in a Sopwith Camel given the postal time estimates) to me here at HQ World Wide Woozle. The funny thing is I reckon I would've liked this LP if I'd heard it in the mid-80s . To close the loop though, Jethro Tull are not, and never were, hard rock or metal. The Grammys got that very wrong.

Jethro Tull - Lap of Luxury (Bruce Soord 2026 remix) - https://youtu.be/9pY7T4Smhck

All I wanted was a Pepsi

I've just had a week of annual leave. To be completely honest, I needed time away from work. My brain wasn't working particularly well and I needed a minute to let it reset. I did my best not to stay at home for the whole week and managed a lot of walking and a few catch ups. Still, it's very easy to be a hermit which I know is unhealthy. I really thought I'd be OK for a short bike ride today but my right hip said no so I will keep waiting, and wondering if it's ever going to happen. At least, after almost a year,  I've stopped wanting to swear every time someone rides past me when I'm out walking. Accepting my limitations is far from easy. In positive news though, I did get out and help a friend's band setup their sound mix and in-ear monitoring. I knew what to do but learning some new technology on the fly had me working hard for a bit! Maybe I'll pick up a guitar soon. Maybe.

Bobaflex - Hey You - https://youtu.be/rm5eWLXW6l4

That'll do. Thank you, come again.

Keep smiling,

The Woozle

"An’ here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice..."

Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, 1966. (Cat Power 2007 version)

World Wide Woozle playlists are here.