Tuesday 11 August 2020

Hurry on Sundown


It's a Neil Diamond kind of night and no mistake: 27 degrees & 69% humidity at 10.30pm is practically unheard of in this neck of the woods. And as I sit here typing this in just my pj bottoms with a USB desk fan plugged into my Mac, I know I won't be able to sleep for hours yet.

***

Hawkwind's Hurry on Sundown came up rather unexpectedly on my playlist this evening - the folky version from their eponymous 1970 album, not the psychedelic 'space rock' version they released as a single.
Nearly 30 years later and the short-lived Kula Shaker rolled both into one and made a pretty decent fist of it. Crispian Mills' eclectic combo seemed to rub a lot of people up the wrong way back then, but this cover version may have converted a few doubters had it not been hidden away on a B side. I'd certainly have given it an 8/10 if they'd done what they did with Deep Purple's Hush and flipped it over. In fact I still would. And chuck another half in for ignoring it at the time.


Kula Shaker - Hurry on Sundown (1998) 8½/10



***

I've spent much of the last week or so reading about what Blogger are doing to 'upgrade' their platform. And it sucks. I mean, it really sucks. This blogger has put into words almost exactly how I feel. Come August 24th what they have in mind is pretty much a Scorched Earth policy. I think me and my blog are drinking in the last chance saloon. Are We There Yet? Yes, it looks like we are.

8 comments:

  1. Yes, really like Kula Shaker's version, great song.
    Re. new version of Blogger - PLEASE don't let it stop you! I didn't like it at first, and hate it when things get changed when it seems to us there's nothing wrong, but it's all becoming familiar now and also I've noticed that improvements still seem to be ongoing (e.g. New Post option flagged top left again where it used to be). Didn't have any probs uploading pic or video on my last post either so maybe they were just early glitches for some people. Icons are irritating but hovering over them brings up their explanations anyway. For me it feels a bit like switching from Windows 7 which I'd been using for years to Windows 10 which I only did relatively recently, a little bit of adjustment but now I can't even remember what Windows 7 was like. If nothing else it helps keep my brain in learning mode too!
    I do hope you'll carry on with it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, C. How could I ignore such an impassioned plea?
      When Blogger imposed this fait accompli on us I immediately ran to the hills. When I gingerly came back down and had a play around with it, it was awful; just awful. Images wouldn't go where I wanted them, Youtube videos couldn't be uploaded thru the normal 'share/copy link' method. It was a nightmare. A post I'd tried to write had to be binned. Then I saw the option to revert to Legacy Blogger. Which is what I did, and where I am. And where I'll be (until who knows when) in true King Canute style trying in vain to hold back the waves.

      Delete
  2. I was about to write a new blog post this week to say a lot of the problems have now been fixed (since I wrote my post quoted above) - but still some remain but they are relatively minor.

    We've gone years without any upgrade - much longer than other platforms - so the bottom line is get your big boy pants out and start making yourself NEW BLOGGER to write a post and once you've learned the new icons and written 2 oe 3 I guarantee you won't feel the same

    PS I gather the revert to Legacy blogger has been moved back - but there's been no change to the banner which I've had up for ages - which has now has no date at all. But I'm now over on New Blogger

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for taking the time out to get back to me, Katherine. You've reassured me (slightly) and as I don't know where I've left my big boy pants - as I said to C, above - I'm currently lying low on the corner of Legacy and Oblivion.

      Delete
  3. I must admit that I instantly reverted to Legacy Blogger whenever it was that the new interface appeared - and promptly forgot all about it. I've been so out of the loop lately that I haven't given it a second thought, so thanks for the heads up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Burying my head in the sand as an option suddenly looks appealing. Also, putting my fingers in my ears going 'La La La' could be my Plan B.

      Delete
  4. I'm hearing about this NEW BLOGGER all the time from you guys and relieved I'm over at Wordpress. We have an impending upgrade about to happen with us too so will also have to don my big girl pants and get on with it. As everyone says, once you've learnt a few of the new bells and whistles it's usually fine, but a bit of an adjustment granted. I just don't want to see all the blogs I follow disappear from the ether - You've got this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you read Katherine's original critique on the new version you can see why (coupled with all the other horror stories I've been reading) it scared the sh*t out of me. However, and as Katherine has confirmed, it looks like a lot of those glitches have been ironed out. Let's hope so. I don't want to walk away from this blog. There's too much of my life wrapped up in it; some might say way too much.

      Delete