To Where I Am Now

Tuesday December 31st 2024

So that was that and as I was alone, I was reminded of my parents who were always tucked up in bed before midnight in their later years, with little thought to going through the celebrations again into their seventies, as if it was a reminder that they were one step closer to the end of the line. I wasn’t asleep, or dying, but I was watching a really terrible film, The Creator, I thought Disney plus might have something better to offer but they succeeded with more corny dialogue and a plot that was so wafer thin that it might have been Monty Python’s mint. I saw the clock change and held my breath, nothing happened. I did consider going down to the bridge to see the fireworks but it’s cold here tonight and I didn’t really need the chill of a million strangers quaffing.

Today is the last day of the free blog, seshes are going up and I’m doing everything I can to please everyone without compromise whilst relentlessly pursuing artistic achievement, the practicality of living and feeding the voracious In Deep Music Archive. If we could just get the world to realise that music isn’t free, even though it is. Having said that it seems like it’s free or cheap for those who are less cashed up, so that’s good, they get to experience more amazing music, should they bother to explore, but maybe the incentive isn’t there in a world of too much choice. Nowadays those who have the money for the tactile experience, don’t need to spend it and clutter up the place as it’s all on their phone, which as far as the soul is concerned seems to have them keeping their heads down as they walk off the spiritual cliff as the musicians wait for the boss of Spotify to place art before commerce.

I was out earlier than usual today, I wanted to get the last of the records I had behind the counter at the record store (except the Bowie box) to have the last purchase on the last day and start semi-fresh for January. The main one I wanted to get was the Storm Corrosion reissue (2024) on garish, double yellow vinyl. It’s a collaboration between Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree and Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth. It’s one of those records that will be expensive in the future, so the choice is buy it now when funds are low or buy it later when you will pay three times as much and put yourself in the same situation or worse, no point in postponing the trauma. Also, The Archive already has the original single album on black vinyl, released on my birthsday in 2012, but of course this new release is double, has an extra live track and as it’s yellow - it’s like trying to avoid a custard tart when you’re on a diet. I suppose another option is the free phone version, but that’s certainly not as tasty.

The sun was shining today and warm when it hit you, but darting between the buildings left you in cold shadows, escaping into sunny patches like a busy optimistic mole, and falling back into the grey shiver of the surrounding concrete edifices almost immediately. I saw Jorge and Rui at the record store, Carlos in the music store, lovely people, kind words. But then I was back at The Archive for an early sesh with Rene in Vermont. Rene loves the 12 string and closes her eyes when it rings.

I’m trying to catch up on all the messages and emails (there’s time) but I decided to call my old mate Spant in Liverpool. He’d tried to call me on Sunday but something went awry. I got hold of him and we did what we usually do, chewed the cud of music until the next time.

I watched Millie Bobby Brown in the light hearted fantasy, Damsel (2024) over dinner, and ventured out into the street to take out some peelings - I didn’t want to start 2025 with yesterday’s discarded, rotting gourds. I noticed 4 forgotten beer bottles scattered on ledges, which I scooped up and took with me to the bins, imagining them as weapons in the hands of the confused and carless boisterous revellers on an out of control New Year’s eve. This civic service is the kind of thing you would never do until you are over fifty. On the subject of rubbish, get this:

Tim Robey of The Telegraph awarded (Damsel) one star out of five, writing "If a straight-to-landfill quality is synonymous with the worst of Netflix, Damsel sums this up by having the tackiness of a plastic wedding cake."

Music today hasn’t been Storm Corrosion or Steven Wilson’s last solo record - The Harmony Codex (2023 ) that I also listened to tonight, but it was related. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this one for a while and I finally did - it’s the Steven Wilson remix of that classic XTC album Skylarking (1986/2024). That’s two XTC albums in a week. I also decided to link to the original review of the album that I wrote years ago, to see how it stood up. It also made a nice lengthy post for the last day of the year for readers on New Year’s Day.

Thank you again for your support for this blog, the In Deep Music Archive and all my music projects, may they all continue until the final New Year and please try and make this year your best.

Music Of The Daze