Wednesday 28 January 2015

Celtic Connections

Personally I think this is a great theme. There have been so many outstanding acts over the years.

66 comments:

  1. Archie MacPherson28 January 2015 at 13:40

    Frank McGarvey, Alan McInally and Frank McAvennie to name but 3.

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    1. Just don't mention Mo Johnston (;-)

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    2. Are they the Rum Punch Brothers?

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    3. You're thinking of Ron Bacardi and The Dipsomaniacs

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    4. "Don't push me!" - Rambo.

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  2. what were your Celtic Connections highlights, Norrie, out of the 597 gigs you went to?

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  3. Quiet like on the other side is it no?
    Thought this would have been a biggie.

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    1. Martyn Bennett's popular 😋

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    2. I forced myself to watch bits of that on the telly. Just for educational purposes. It was still an ear-ache.

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    3. Quiet a lot of it is pish to be honest. Best highlight for me of CC over the years was seeing Dougie Vipond getting a knock back at the door of Festival Club in the Central Hotel.

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  4. Personally I have nothing to contribute...I await the best concert you went to at The Edinburgh Festival / Fringe ;o) Jx

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    1. k d lang, decemberists, josh ritter, Justin currie, villagers....

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  5. THURSDAY


    Long Distance Love
    - Little Feat


    This is Carol's favourite. Her sons were the first to call me Scotch Git.


    Well, it was that or Sweaty Sock... >8-D

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    1. Why did Sweaty Sock want to call you Scotch Git?



      We should be telt

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    2. Is some Scotch Git taking my name in vain?


      We should be telt!

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  6. Hey Git! Who's Irene Brownlee then?

    Thanks for the shout Billy. I suggest you get that Bryan Weazeley behind the FB bike shed and give him a right seeing to.

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    1. Think he might be related to BB. Either that or Ron Weasley (;-)

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    2. Adam,

      No' got a Scooby. One of them thar athletic athletes y'all admire?

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  7. ....look away if you don't like shocking admissions.....i've never been to a CC gig...not one....so i'm well placed to express an opinion....for a long time now i've been quite disillusioned with that kind of music and associate it with a narrowing of outlook in all its aspects...its restricting....an opinion borne out no doubt after spending a quarter of a century on the island peripherals of our small nation.....and watched with interest the careers of quite a few musicians who now grace the festival, having watched them grow from before their births....and emerged from that island....celtic music hasn't progressed or offered anything new since the golden era of silly wizzard and ossian...nothing will ever better planxty and for me reached its pinnacle three decades ago when liam o'flynn played the brendan voyage suite...it was interesting listening in the car to GIO tonight... the wish list of artistes for future CC's....dylan...neil young....in your dreams.....we can always make do with the director's own capercaillie and dougie maclean?...yes dream on....so i did and made venture into the booking site to see what arthur johnstone had to offer....arguably one of the great radical folk vocalists and as the front man of 'the laggan' produced the quite brilliant ' i am the common man' lp but that was then, now supporting arthur was david hayman an others....my fears that CC had become a political platform merely confirmed so i clicked back on to my twitter account @roketronnie [43 followers]....CC is moribund in a sea of denial and moving backwards certainly not forward....its for the middle aged middle class and lacking originality...celtic music is conservative in nature..its attempt to break out of that straightjacket comes up with the chilli pipers......dire....give me ellie goulding anyday....

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    1. agree with a lot of that. Back later!

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    2. well not the Ellie Goulding part for sure, but having scoured the programme over and over in search of something I really, really wanted to go to, and not come up with anything other than the two I saw, I think you're right about lack of anything new in Scottish celtic music. Mànran for instance seem to be a clone of Runrig from their early days - Runrig have moved on from that themselves - yeah, I know (assuming a correct guess as to who wrote the above ) you don't think that's an improvement, but I do and what's quite bizarre is that American band The War on Drugs, whose album featured in many end-of-year best-ofs sound not unlike Runrig on some of their tracks - e.g. Red Eyes.

      There are plenty of good Scottish indie bands making original and IMO fantastic music e.g. - yes, you can all laugh except maybe Billy - There Will Be Fireworks, Twilight Sad, Admiral Fallow, Owl John, Phantom Band -- but the celtic connection is indeed going nowhere - I see kids being educated in Gaelic and fed nothing but traditional Gaelic music or Runrig and Mànran and no question ever, ever as to the possibility of their not liking these - it does the language no favours at all. Let's all sit down and kid on we're bashing some tweed while singing a waulking song - that should being them in in droves.

      However, Celtic Connections is hugely successful and there's a buzz about it that draws you in. All credit for bringing life to Glasgow in January - I just wish there were more that I'd actually like to see.

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    3. Never mind Gaie. All roads lead to Hampden Park this Sunday I hear.
      And to be perfectly honest what better place to be at this moment in time.

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    4. Great use of the subjunctive in the last paragraph, Gaie.

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    5. If only it were still taught.

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  8. You're Hyperactive on the other side today Billy boy!
    I see the McCaff is back.I dont mind his lists nowadays but they are always so awful! Maybe its on purpose.
    Dont think the Liquid Entertainer will get her Max Bygraves wish though.

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  9. MONDAY


    White Album. What else?

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    1. There's not much on it. Did they not have this theme a few days ago?

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    2. ..i'm slinging something in from stand-up one of the few albums that doesn't disappoint song after song.....for years i resisted that beach boy one...pet sounds...then i saw it for a fiver....good job i kept the receipt....

      cheers frae the dale

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    3. Pet Sounds is the most over rated album ever in my very humble opinion

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    4. Surely that honour belongs to The Velvet Underground.

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    6. Anyway you can get Pet Sounds (mono and stereo, which Brian Wilson couldn't understand, being deaf in one ear) for £3.99.

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    7. I never did get the fuss about Pet Sounds either

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    8. I love Pet Sounds...so there! Jx

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  10. Slow day in the office for Billy AND Glen today I see.

    As its an album theme we can of course expect to hear the lesser played album tracks and not the singles released.

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  11. Good to see you getting a bit aggressive over there Billy!
    Just make sure Mac's got yer back.

    Nobody giving George Melly a shout tonight I see. Shame.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNcz-MgTy3c

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdrywyZBKVs

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    1. They have now!

      Aggression now under control. I meant to escape from the office for a swim but that never happened.

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    2. Oh I have Adam no fear.

      The day the music died & they've got costumes.

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    3. A lot of my comments have been tidied again!

      My attempt to get something that wasn't a single from Dexy"s thwarted by Geno again...

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    4. Cyber men got mine! See how long it takes for the response to be "deleted."

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  12. You'll have been able to catch up with paperwork today then Billy.
    No "How about" s so well done.

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    1. Next thing is to reply "Not in the least bit interested" when they feel the need to tell us they are off to see Paddington.

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    2. Good tune SG!

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  13. Someone should enlighten Penny O Hara on FB what Pull Up to The Bumper is really all about.

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  14. What a graaaayyyyyttttt theme, it's realllly popular on the blog

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  15. Hey Billy, I thought 200+ posts in a week and being first on the page every day would have been your big thing this week? :)

    Glen, I have been suitably impressed by your restraint today....

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    1. I've caught up now. sometimes I hate myself.

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    2. You'd better watch that Justin doesn't grass you up to the boss.

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  16. .
    So, what is YOUR spiritual age?



    I don't understand the question...

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    1. By law they have to be at least three years old.

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    2. I prefer 18 year olds, but they're expensive



      As long as it's a malt

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    3. No breathalyzer at sea - ask the captain of the Waverley.

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