Posts by thecolon

Only when I have a CD of new original PG material in my hands (allowing for maybe a track or two of earlier single releases e.g. "I'm Amazing" etc)...

...and only when I have listened to the CD for the second time (because the first might be a dream)...

...will I start to believe his new album might be nearing release.

Whether I like it or not (and he hasn't disappointed yet) is another matter. "UP", for all its airless overproduced I-don't-know-how-to-properly-end-these-songs-and-so-I-won't vibe, had some absolute gems on it, "Rabbit Proof Fence" is one of my personal favourites, "Scratch My Back" and "New Blood" were uninvolving and that's being generous, "I'm Amazing" and "The Veil" underwhelmed me quite considerably. The live "Love Can Heal" I did like though.

So we'll see. Hopefully.

I used to have a book of misheard song lyrics. Some were fanciful, some a bit weird. Two Genesis related entries were:

Illegal Alien:

Original: "It's no fun being an illegal alien" becomes, bizarrely,

Misheard: "It's no fun living in a neon arena."

(I'm sure it isn't, but I just don't hear that.)

Invisible Touch:

Original: "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah"

Misheard: "She sees the hat-rack, is she gonna touch it?"

(Probably a euphemism for something...)

Two others I've always remembered are:

Bad Moon Rising:

Original: "There's a bad moon on the rise"

Misheard: "There's a bathroom on the right"

Smoke on the Water:

Original: "Smoke on the water, fire in the sky"

Misheard: "Slow motion Walter, fire engine guy"

(So completely not actually that, but in my head it is now!)

So that's 6 consecutive decades (1970s to 2020s) in which Genesis have had a UK top 10 album.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Looking forward to the 01/01/2030 release of the album to accompany the "Fading Lights" Rest Home World Tour to maybe make it 7 in a row...

No doubt not a general enough question for time limitations but here it is anyway for the hell of it:

Steve, hello from New Zealand. A terribly specific question: your solo on "So Long the Day" by Tony Patterson and Brendan Eyre is absolutely magnificent, a yearning, swooping, howling snarl of a guitar solo that transforms a superbly moving song into a masterpiece. How does that solo/a solo like that come about? Do they send you a tape of the song with a note saying "fill in this bit here anyway you like"? Do they supply a description of the vibe/style they think it should be to guide you towards what they want? Do you record something, they listen, critique, back and forth etc. until they have what they want?

My two cents worth.

I'm not a Fish (or Marillion) fan - just haven't listened to either enough, and am honestly not really inspired to delve any deeper.

But out of curiosity, having heard that it was to be his last, and seeing some videos listed in my Youtube feed, I listened to his new Weltschmerz album and after a couple of days of casual listening came to the conclusion....that it is outstanding. Simply outstanding.

"Rose of Damascus" and "Waverley Steps" are superb musical journeys, deeply involving and wonderfully put together, "Garden of Remembrance" is utterly, gorgeously heartbreaking, and "Walking on Eggshells" and "Man With a Stick" are memorably excellent too, with the remainder being at worst, merely very good. It really is a fantastic album, and if this is Fish signing off, then in my (completely uninformed, therefore relatively useless) opinion, then he is doing so in superb fashion.

Max Richter

Henryk Gorecki (but when do I not?)

Genesis (see above)

Johann Johannsson

Frost*

A superb band, I most definitely recommend listening to them. Anything in their catalogue, but my personal favourites would have to be Takk and Valtari. Very cinematic music, if you know what I mean.

Passion is his masterpiece. A 67min slice of perfection. Tender, driving, moving, contemplative, soothing, sinuous - but above all unified, a complete, whole work. My 3rd favourite album of all time. Genius.