4 years!

Wow! 4 years, no updates. One would assume I've done something in the intervening time - and I have; I've done many, many things.
If you've seen me over the years then you know very well what I've done. If you're a casual viewer of this website then I imagine you're not in the slightest bit interested.
So let's leave it at that, eh?

Top 10 tracks of 2013

Each year I reset the play count in iTunes, at the end of the year I have a look to see what the most popular tracks are. Here's my top 10 of 2013

1. pomDeter - Call Me a Hole. Last year Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe was my top track, this year it's this genius mashup based on that song and one from Nine Inch Nails. 102 plays.
2. Ylvis - The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?). I like this one, really. These guys aren't even singers, really, they're tv comedians. Musically great, lyrically stupid.
3. Dave Stewart - Secret. A surprise re-entry. Bought this in 1995 when I was at uni, a great track which I'm amazed isn't more popular. 
4. Kate Rusby - Village Green Preservation Society. Nothing else new here in this list, a perennial favourite. I'm a big fan of the cover version, I think I prefer this to the original.
5. The Lightning Seeds - The Life of Riley. It's a great song, but I don't know why iTunes has been on a nostalgia trip this year. Perhaps it doesn't like any of my new albums? I've never seen the video to this before!
6. Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf. "I smell like I sound". Having watched that video I need to watch Raider of the Lost Ark now.
7. Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance. Another crazy 80's video there. They looked like they had the best time.
8. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al. The whole Gracelands album has had a lot of play this year after I saw the anniversary programme on telly earlier in the year. I love the album, didn't know about the shonky politics at the time. But I'm disappointed that Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock didn't get the credit for, 5 years earlier, introducing us to that African sound.
9. Sachal Studios Orchestra & the Master Musicans of the West - Everybody Hurts (Ya Rab). I love this Asian flavoured cover. 
10. Dexys - Come On Eileen. From the 2012 hootenanny, Dexys & Jools' R&B band do a Ska tinged version of this classic. A bit like Save Ferris' cover. 

Top 10 2012

My personal top 10 songs of 2012, as compiled from play count in iTunes.
Every year I reset my play count & start again.

#1 ♫ Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen — Simply a great pure pop song.

#2 ♫ Together In Electric Dreams by Kish Mauve — From an ep of covers of the amazing original (see #8)

#3 ♫ Absolute by Scritti Politti

#4 ♫ Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) by Scritti Politti — I’ve recently rediscovered Scritti Politti via the wonders of twitter.

#5 ♫ Drop the Pilot by Joan Armatrading — rediscovered 80’s classic

#6 ♫ Village Green Preservation Society by Kate Rusby — Theme to Jam & Jerusalem!

#7 ♫ Week-end à Rome by Étienne Daho — Excellent 80’s French pop. “Original” of Saint Etienne’s He’s On The Phone

#8 ♫ Together In Electric Dreams by Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder — Best song of the 80’s

#9 ♫ Kitty by Racey — Another “original” version - this time the male version of Toni Basil’s Mickey

#10 ♫ All Together Now by The Farm — Brilliant bit of 90’s indie.

Top 100 tracks of 2011

1	Hitten	Those Dancing Days
2	Together In Electric Dreams	Kish Mauve
3	Live It Up	Mental As Anything
4	We Didn't Start the Fire	Billy Joel
5	Only You	The Flying Pickets
6	The Safety Dance	Men Without Hats
7	Don't You Want Me	The Human League
8	Go Outside	Cults
9	Week-end à Rome	Étienne Daho
10	Turn It Up	Grum
11	Ninth Place	Buckwheat Zydeco
12	Fuck You	Cee Lo Green
13	Village Green Preservation Society	Kate Rusby
14	Double Dutch	Malcolm McLaren
15	No More Pressure	MessyJames
16	Walk This Way	Run-D.M.C. feat. Aerosmith
17	True	Spandau Ballet
18	Baby I Don't Care	Transvision Vamp
19	Enya vs Prodigy (Lenlow Edit)	Apeboy
20	Justified & Ancient (Stand by the JAMMs)	The KLF
21	Pure	The Lightning Seeds
22	Enola Gay	Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
23	Japanese Boy	Aneka
24	Walk Like An Egyptian	Bangles
25	Celebrity	Brad Paisley
26	Bould O'Donoghue	Brendan Shine
27	The Reflex	Duran Duran
28	World Shut Your Mouth	Julian Cope
29	Together In Electric Dreams	Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
30	I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)	The Proclaimers
31	For America	Red Box
32	It's Different For Girls	Rhodri Marsden
33	Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)	Scritti Politti
34	Morning Train (Nine to Five)	Sheena Easton
35	Girl Don't Tell Me	Tony Rivers and the Castaways
36	I Need You	Wireless
37	Senses Working Overtime	XTC
38	Take On Me	A-Ha
39	Only You	Alison Moyet
40	(I Just) Died in Your Arms	Cutting Crew
41	Just Can't Get Enough	Depeche Mode
42	New Song	Howard Jones
43	We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off	Jermaine Stewart
44	Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)	Paul Young
45	Since Yesterday	Strawberry Switchblade
46	Ride On Time	Black Box
47	Dog	Dictation
48	Happy Hour	The Housemartins
49	Centerfold	The J. Geils Band
50	I Love Rock 'N Roll	Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
51	Footloose	Kenny Loggins
52	Together in Electric Dreams	Mechanical Black
53	Tom Hark	The Piranhas
54	Ghostgirl Lovesick (Epic Mix)	Polly Scattergood (featuring Vince Clarke)
55	A-Punk	Vampire Weekend
56	Fade To Grey	Visage
57	Roam	The B-52's
58	Love Really Hurts Without You	Billy Ocean
59	Twist & Shout	Deacon Blue
60	Come on Eileen	Dexys Midnight Runners
61	Hoedown	Emerson, Lake & Palmer
62	On Melancholy Hill	Gorillaz
63	Is She Really Going Out With Him?	Joe Jackson
64	Baggy Trousers	Madness
65	Jerusalem	Matisyahu
66	West end girls	Pet Shop Boys
67	Starburst	The Venus Hunters
68	Does Your Mother Know	ABBA
69	I Touch Myself	DiVinyls
70	Can You Feel It	The Jacksons
71	Rush Hour	Jane Wiedlin
72	Love Will Tear Us Apart	Joy Division
73	Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy	Kid Creole & The Coconuts
74	Crazy Crazy Nights	KISS
75	Never Ending Story	Limahl
76	Let's Go All the Way	Sly Fox
77	Break Out	Swing Out Sister
78	You're Gorgeous	Babybird
79	Domino Man	The Beautiful South
80	The Tide Is High	Blondie
81	Young At Heart	Blue Bells
82	Rave On	Buddy Holly
83	Wot	Captain Sensible
84	Kung Fu Fighting	Carl Douglas
85	Harvest For The World	The Christians
86	Rain King	Counting Crows
87	Afternoons And Coffeespoons	Crash Test Dummies
88	The Love Cats	The Cure
89	Don't You Want Me	The Farm
90	Too Shy	Kajagoogoo
91	Kids In America	Kim Wilde
92	A New England	Kirsty MacColl
93	Down Under	Men At Work
94	Time Of No Reply	Nick Drake
95	Moonlight Shadow	Oldfield Mike
96	You Can't Hurry Love	Phil Collins
97	The King Of Rock 'n' Roll	Prefab Sprout
98	Crash	The Primitives
99	Ghostbusters	Ray Parker Jr
100	Say Hello, Wave Goodbye	Soft Cell

Past tense

I took a load of my gran's old clothes & old suitcases & things to charity shop this morning. Had to empty the loft for it to be insulated.
I told lady in shop they were all my grandmother's things - just to tell her they were lady's clothes rather than anything else. Shop lady said of the suitcases,"she must have been quite the traveller" seemingly thinking that I was talking about my grandmother in the past tense as she was dead. I was using past tense as the clothes & things were old.
I suppose it's an honest mistake to make but also I think I tend to talk about people in the past tense inappropriately too. I'm often telling people my father was Scottish; I assume he still is.

Endura strike ycling gloves

These wind proof waterproof winter cycling gloves from Endura are great. They're thin so one has complete control & in the 2° 70 minute ride I've just done my hands are the warmest part of my body. £26 well spent.

Morecambe & Wise Legionnaires Sketch

I caught the end of the Ernie Wise programme in the week, there was a few snippets of M&W sketches at the end, one bit was the two of them washing their hands in a public toilet dressed as French legionnaires with the Kepi on & the neck covering. Ernie washed his hands & turned to use an old roller towel dispenser. Eric turned & pulled a length of towel from Ernie's Kepi. You could see it coming a mile off, but this 10-20 second clip was the funniest thing I've seen all week. It was simple, perfectly performed & funny.

I've been looking for a copy of that clip on YouTube or similar since, can't find it anywhere. Do you know it? Can you point me to it?

Save Gaby's Deli

Dear Mr Cameron,

As a supporter of Ms Portas' recent report regarding safeguarding and revitalising the high street I wonder if you are aware of the Marquess of Salisbury's plans for Charing Cross in Westminster? As part of the development proposal a number of small shops & businesses are being forced to close to make way for a larger venue that appears to have been earmarked as a possible location for a large 'chain' restaurant or similar. Amongst the business that will be affected is Gaby's Deli at 30 Charing Cross road - a place that is known though out the world & is held in high esteem in the hearts, minds & stomachs of people worldwide. Personally my family have been eating there since they opened, indeed my grandmother seems to recall a deli there before Gaby took over. It would be a shame to lose this treasured restaurant within our capital, especially given the emphasis of Ms Portas' report I wonder if you might request a reassessment of these plans by Lord Salisbury?

Yours Sincerely,

Kyle Thompson
[Address supplied]

Together in Electric Dreams.

I've always been a big fan of 80's music, mainly I suppose because I grew up in the 80's & many of my earliest musical memories come from 1979 onwards (the 80's started a year early with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star").

In 1984 Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder released the very best song from that decade, a song that hasn't really been bettered by anything since. Not only does the Oakey & Moroder original sum up the 80's perfectly but also as a song it is superb - I have collected various cover versions over the last few years & every one is a product of its time & every one is superb in its own way.

Now that's clever, writing the perfect pop song.

Test

This work?

New glasses.

I picked up my new glasses today.

I quite like them.

I was drawn by the hinges & good design

I almost look good

I hadn't heard of Persol before, turns out they've been going years. Quite happy.

Posted via email from X Kyle M Thompson

Replacement headphone & the sale of goods act

Got a good deal in Richer Sounds, better headphones as a replacement. I asked for a refund, but they declined. 2 yr guarantee on old pair, had them for 18 months. Now as I understand sale of goods act items are expected to have a 'reasonable' working life & contract of sale is with the retailer. Refund or replacement ate the options, but I felt that as I had 2 pairs break now I wanted a refund, am not sure how much I could have insisted, but as it turns out I got a good deal. If this pair breaks I shall be testing them.

Posted via email from X Kyle M Thompson

Rain

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Rainy days.m4a (156 KB)

I like the sound of the rain. Especially when I'm not out in it.

Posted via email from X Kyle M Thompson