Friday 18 July 2008

James Yorkston - Woozy With Cider




This blog is a year old and I inadvertently mark its first birthday by posting a Youtube clip of the Muppets..

To redress the balance here is something as magical and perfect as music can ever be. James Yorkston's 'Woozy With Cider', remixed by Jon Hopkins (who is Jon Hopkins ??).

For me, the words of song did not matter as much as the sound and vibe of a song. But as I get more discerning (I do not get cynical about music) and with my head stuffed full of music for most of my life the sentiment and thus meaning of songs have come to mean more and more. And for me James Yorkston just about nails it. He writes of a life similar to how mine possibly was once or could have been. He find romance and the grit of life in the details and waste of our daily landscapes. He pulls you in. Well, he pulls me in.

Although this track is not entirely representative of his oeuvre it is very great. The original, and more electronic, version is so good you need to buy it and is posted here in the You Tube video.

He has a new album coming out. It's called 'When The Haar Rolls In' and is out in September; which I think is the perfect time to listen to a new James Yorkston album..

Anyway, James Yorkston's 'Woozy With Cider' (as remixed by Jon Hopkins) is here -

http://rapidshare.com/files/130628356/05_Woozy_With_Cider__Jon_Hopkins_Remix_.mp3.html

T

Thursday 17 July 2008

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Coed Y Brenin on mountain bikes

Yep. Keef, Joe, Scott and I went to Coed Y Brenin in North Wales last weekend to ride our mountain bikes. We left on Friday night and returned on Monday. We therefore had two full days of riding.

It was farcical, thrilling and hard work. The conditions were muddy, humid and occasionally very very rainy.

Saturday - We rode the Tarw trail at Coed -
3 broken chains (Scott / Joe)
1 busted rear mech hanger (Scott)
Appx 7 crashes (Scott and Joe)
Rocky rocks, big steps, me at the back on the way down, and at the front on the way up..



Then we did the Temtwr -
Less rocky - the swoopy bit at the start was great.
A massive climb.
Then, as we were slowly getting used to the rocks, a faster descent for me and only a couple of crashes on the 'Beginning Of The End'.>


Sunday - We rode the Red Run at Llandegla

It was great. I think we all preferred Llandegla. Not so rocky for us Essex men. Fast flowing, hairy and with a few big climbs.
The others did the Black Run diversion; I didn't. By all accounts it was hard and great.
We then did the Blue run and went 100mph on the berms at the end.


I award myself 'King of The Mountains' (sorry Joe, but I was always first up). 'King of the Downhill...' goes to Keef. 'Stunt Man' goes to Scott and Joe gets the 'General Classification'.

A great weekend. A weekend I shall remember.

Back to Danbury this Sunday.

T