Sos beag
I started musElectric last October with a specific project in mind. I've kept another blog for almost three years now, and put a lot of (virtual) elbow grease into it. Letting Loose with the Leptard isn't devoted to one particular type of thing - sometimes I post about books, movies, music, whatever. I try to keep angsty mid-life crisis content to a minimum.
Music is one thing I've always enjoyed writing about. In my school days, back in theMezozoic Era Seventies, I used to run down to O'Brien's newsagents every Thursday for my copy of the NME. I'd fill copy books with reviews of my favourite records, lyrics and chord changes for my own songs, lists of albums I wanted to buy, stuff like that.
I'll never forget the excitement of counting up my pocket money and realising I had three greasy pound notes and some change, enough for that copy of Revolver I'd been ogling for months. Or bringing back three (allegedly) different copies of Dark Side of the Moon to the same record shop because no matter how many times I changed it, it always seemed to have a skip in the same place. Or finally cracking the chord changes to The Kids Are Alright after months of sore fingers and dropped plectrums. Or eventually getting the chance to play tunes I'd written myself live on stage.
After I left college, I got a job for a local paper and had the chance to develop my own music column. That was nice, but also a pain in the arse after a while, quite frankly. Writing about music was always fun, but in all honesty playing it and hearing it was always a lot better.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a musical family and every day when I'd come home from school I'd head straight for the back toilet, where the reverb was good, with my old Egmond guitar. Even several years spent playing in a band with the most resentful, dishonest, immature and just plain idiotic person I have ever encountered in my life didn't diminish, and hasn't diminished, my enthusiasm for playing. Music has always been a big part of my life, and the conduct of one or two idiots (well, one idiot actually) isn't going to change that.
When I started off my other site, the Leptard blog, just short of three years ago, I decided not to concentrate on one particular subject. Every now and again I'd post about music, naturally enough, but as far as I was concerned my brief was Miscellany, not Music. Late last year, I decided to start this blog, and use it exclusively for music. I had plenty to say after all. Plus I had a particular project in mind, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It hasn't come to fruition yet, it's "on the long finger" so to speak. It'll take a few months' work at least.
More importantly, the last few months have shown me that I can't completely excise music content from my main blog, and it's probably a mistake just to ghettoise all the music posts over here. About sixty people a day read the main blog, and only about 6 a day read this one. (Awww.) Plus, regular visitors to my other site have remarked that it's hard enough keeping up with their usual regular blog reads without having to add another to the list. That's fair enough.
William of Ockham has taught us that it's a bad idea to multiply inessentials, and it looks like that's in danger of happening here. So what I'm presenting here is a Modest Proposal.
musElectric (the site wot you are looking at right now) isn't going to go away, but it's going to be a static site for at least a couple of months, while I do some work on the Mysterious Project I've alluded to. In the meantime, the main content, both music-related and otherwise, is going to be over at my main site, the blog known to men, women and Revolutionary Woodland Animals as Letting Loose with the Leptard. Those of you who've come here, linked to this site, left comments, and sent encouraging emails (as well as welcome constructive criticism) are more than welcome to come join us over at the other site, where there's (hopefully) plenty of fun to be had.
But for the time being at least, musElectric is going into hibernation. Not calling it quits altogether, but rather, in the manner of Ross and Rachel, going On A Break. Until the Secret Project comes to fruition, I'll leave yez with a couple of links, including one of my own tunes.
Some fine tracks by Scottish indie mavens Orange Juice, and links to other Postcard records related stuff @ Indie MP3.
Anyone who's seen 24 Hour Party People, that excellent movie about the Manchester music scene, will probably remember "Tony Wilson"/Steve Coogan repeating several times how he'd like to see a "Durutti Column revival". Rightly so, because the Durutti's music always deserved more recognition. So here's The Durutti Column - plenty of old articles, a discography and even a couple of tabs in the archives, as well as a few tunes provided by chief Columnist Vini Reilly himself.
One of my own: This is a track called Not Much New that I knocked up last summer, when I was living in a bright, airy (but expensive) flat with a view of the Galway Docks. I actually took an older tune I'd written several years ago, sliced it up into loops and made something completely different out of it. Not Much New is available for the next seven days via yousendit, and after that I'll make it (and a few other tunes) available at the Leptard's lair.
See you soon. :-)
Music is one thing I've always enjoyed writing about. In my school days, back in the
I'll never forget the excitement of counting up my pocket money and realising I had three greasy pound notes and some change, enough for that copy of Revolver I'd been ogling for months. Or bringing back three (allegedly) different copies of Dark Side of the Moon to the same record shop because no matter how many times I changed it, it always seemed to have a skip in the same place. Or finally cracking the chord changes to The Kids Are Alright after months of sore fingers and dropped plectrums. Or eventually getting the chance to play tunes I'd written myself live on stage.
After I left college, I got a job for a local paper and had the chance to develop my own music column. That was nice, but also a pain in the arse after a while, quite frankly. Writing about music was always fun, but in all honesty playing it and hearing it was always a lot better.
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a musical family and every day when I'd come home from school I'd head straight for the back toilet, where the reverb was good, with my old Egmond guitar. Even several years spent playing in a band with the most resentful, dishonest, immature and just plain idiotic person I have ever encountered in my life didn't diminish, and hasn't diminished, my enthusiasm for playing. Music has always been a big part of my life, and the conduct of one or two idiots (well, one idiot actually) isn't going to change that.
When I started off my other site, the Leptard blog, just short of three years ago, I decided not to concentrate on one particular subject. Every now and again I'd post about music, naturally enough, but as far as I was concerned my brief was Miscellany, not Music. Late last year, I decided to start this blog, and use it exclusively for music. I had plenty to say after all. Plus I had a particular project in mind, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It hasn't come to fruition yet, it's "on the long finger" so to speak. It'll take a few months' work at least.
More importantly, the last few months have shown me that I can't completely excise music content from my main blog, and it's probably a mistake just to ghettoise all the music posts over here. About sixty people a day read the main blog, and only about 6 a day read this one. (Awww.) Plus, regular visitors to my other site have remarked that it's hard enough keeping up with their usual regular blog reads without having to add another to the list. That's fair enough.
William of Ockham has taught us that it's a bad idea to multiply inessentials, and it looks like that's in danger of happening here. So what I'm presenting here is a Modest Proposal.
musElectric (the site wot you are looking at right now) isn't going to go away, but it's going to be a static site for at least a couple of months, while I do some work on the Mysterious Project I've alluded to. In the meantime, the main content, both music-related and otherwise, is going to be over at my main site, the blog known to men, women and Revolutionary Woodland Animals as Letting Loose with the Leptard. Those of you who've come here, linked to this site, left comments, and sent encouraging emails (as well as welcome constructive criticism) are more than welcome to come join us over at the other site, where there's (hopefully) plenty of fun to be had.
But for the time being at least, musElectric is going into hibernation. Not calling it quits altogether, but rather, in the manner of Ross and Rachel, going On A Break. Until the Secret Project comes to fruition, I'll leave yez with a couple of links, including one of my own tunes.
Some fine tracks by Scottish indie mavens Orange Juice, and links to other Postcard records related stuff @ Indie MP3.
Anyone who's seen 24 Hour Party People, that excellent movie about the Manchester music scene, will probably remember "Tony Wilson"/Steve Coogan repeating several times how he'd like to see a "Durutti Column revival". Rightly so, because the Durutti's music always deserved more recognition. So here's The Durutti Column - plenty of old articles, a discography and even a couple of tabs in the archives, as well as a few tunes provided by chief Columnist Vini Reilly himself.
One of my own: This is a track called Not Much New that I knocked up last summer, when I was living in a bright, airy (but expensive) flat with a view of the Galway Docks. I actually took an older tune I'd written several years ago, sliced it up into loops and made something completely different out of it. Not Much New is available for the next seven days via yousendit, and after that I'll make it (and a few other tunes) available at the Leptard's lair.
See you soon. :-)
