Life's A One Take Movie

I've been thinking back quite a lot recently, probably something to do with becoming another year older real soon.

Anyway, here is another brilliant single from a bygone age by the 'Boy Wonder' and one which should have had a much higher chart position than number bloody seventy but as Paul Quinn once sang,  Ain't That Always The Way".

My original  10" copy of this ended up in a charity shop, not I should add with my permission. But that was in the past and is probably best left there.

Aztec Camera - The Crying Scene

Update - here it is from the best gig of last year, Youtube is a wonderful thing!

The Boy Wonder Returns

I'm off to see Roddy Frame tonight and I am looking forward to it more than just a little as this will be the first time in over a decade when he has been accompanied by a band. It's kind of hard to remember how good he is when electrified but we have had glimpses over the past couple of years when he was performing with Edwyn Collins, an amazing bit of a guitar wig out during A Girl Like You at the ABC springs to mind.

One thing for sure it will not be dull and let's hope that there will be some new songs showcased as well. i will also hopefully hook up with the Vinyl Villain who shall also be present. The last time the two of us met at a Roddy Frame gig he put the notion of doing this nonsense into my head so who know what might come of tonight?

Here is a track recorded twenty one years ago at the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. I had the good fortune to be there that night and when I exclaimed that's Mick Jones, the girl I was with just said in a rather bored voice "who?"

Aztec Camera - Good Morning Britain (Live Barrowlands)

The Boy Wonder Returns

There was reason to rejoice this week at the news that  Roddy Frame will be making a long awaited return north of the border this October. Not only that but he will be touring with a band , for the first time in over a decade. The starting up of all this nonsense was as a direct result of Mr Frame's last visit to Glasgow. So you know that momentous things come in the wake of a visit from the Boy Wonder.

This would have been reason enough to celebrate this weekend but it was also the 21st birthday of my oldest nephew, jesus, that makes me feel old,  who I think will have a rather sore head this morning.

Last night I really did morph into my father at D's party when I found myself saying " all this shit sounds the same" although my father would have been a bit more eloquent about it. What is it with the use of vocorders and "singers" on helium? I think that if  I ever met this David Guetta character I would resort to extreme violence. Still we did get two Stone Roses and one Strokes tune which I think was intended to placate the oldies. However note to any aspiring DJ's and young folk alike it is not ironic to like Shang A Lang, it is just a pish song by a dodgy 70s boy band, ok?

Oh,  and I also found out that one of my nephew's lecturers is a blogger familiar to a few of us. Small world isn't it!

Anyway here is a song from a bygone age when songs had real lyrics, real instruments and not a vocoder in sight.

Aztec Camera - Spanish Horses

Sun

Three sunny days in a row up here. Could it be that Spring has sprung?

Aztec Camera - Sun

Choice, What Choice?

This week,  depending on which colour of rosette you favour, may be something you have been waiting for since 1997 or may fill you with dread as you can hear that shrill, heartless voice of the so called Iron Lady in your head and have visions of striking miners and city boys with red braces climbing into Porches.

I have never felt more despair at an election in my life than I do now. My allegiance as most will have been able to work out by now is with the Labour Party but I have no enthusiasm for them this time  and when in discussion with others as why we should vote Labour my argument, to me let alone any one else is half hearted as I know soon enough someone will mention Iraq and I will have no come back, no retort as it is unjustifiable whatever way you look at it or whatever excuse you use as the reason for embarking on the folly.

This attitude is so different from the one which I had back in 1987, when I had just turned eighteen. I campaigned with vigour for the party on the doorsteps, leafleting in the streets and having a running disagreement of the merits of the 'Vote Labour' poster in my window with my parents, who have never been ones to espouse their beliefs to the masses, let alone the neighbours.

Even although I knew in my heart that Labour didn't have a hope in hell of gaining power, my cause was right, the Party was just and fair and open to all and above all democratic and accountable to its  membership. All of this made the eventual defeat a little sweeter and easier to take as I knew that our time would come and we would be proven right and a fairer society would prevail ( yes I was once that naive).

Twenty three years later, I know that I will vote Labour, for an MP, who to be fair to him is not a bad constituency MP. But I will place my cross with a heavy heart, as no matter the outcome I think that we will be rolling the clock back to the early 80's and hell mend you if you don't fall into Cameron's "hard working families" ideal.

Is it just that we get more cynical with age and lose all of that vigour and enthusiasm that we once had? I'm not so sure, as back in the late 80s I remember lots of people older than me who were still up for it, still idealistic and enjoying the campaigning. I think that there has been a change in people due to the disappointment that they have endured and also the anger over Iraq, MPs expenses etc.

As I said above I will vote Labour on Thursday as the alternative I think will be too dreadful to contemplate not exactly a ringing endorsement for the party which I once had such high hopes that is.

I'm not sure how it will be possible to re-engage people in Politics. Certainly nothing I have seen over the last three weeks has made me more enthusiastic about the next parliament, especially not Nick Clegg and his I'm different from the other two, it is easy to say popular things when you have absolutely no chance of being able to implement them.

Electoral reform as we have up here in the Scottish Parliament may be the way ahead but first you will have to get the buy in from Labour and the Tories and as they say, turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

Aztec Camera - The Red Flag