Down by the Jetty

I took a walk by the river earlier; it was a lovely afternoon (it still is at the time of writing this). On my travels I met a couple of (disillusioned) Canadians who had spotted my maple leaf pin on my lapel (the one you see above - taken a couple of weeks ago when the weather wasn't quite so clement). They asked if I had citizenship, I said no - but I always side with the bullied, not the bully: Canada, Ukraine, Mexico, Panama, Greenland et al (I've never owned so many pins). All three of us bemoaned Trump and couldn't believe how in the space of less than 100 days he's fucked up the world. They looked tired - I said they'll never be the 51st state. "Over my dead body" one of them said as we parted ways. "Solidarity!" I shouted back. Trump is a cunt, that's for sure, but I can't dwell on matters 5,000+ miles away right now. I have stuff going on much nearer to home that needs my undivided attention (see below).

Anyway, as Alyson often reminds herself whenever she gets bogged down in the weeds "This is a music blog, so where's the music?" Are We There Yet started life as a music blog but often strays from the straight and narrow, but today, and in true Alyson style, I'll remind anyone who's not aware that Doctor Feelgood released their seminal debut album, Down by the Jetty, fifty years ago - January 1975 to be precise. It changed the world; in a good way, unlike Trump. This is Roxette...

Doctor Feelgood - Roxette (1975)

 

As some of you may know I went into hospital last Friday for a procedure connected with my recent surgery. For various reasons it didn't happen but has been rescheduled for this Wednesday (I'm being admitted tomorrow). I'll see you back here in a few days, hopefully.

Alyson Mac

The Freewheelin' Alyson Mac

No Blogger Convention would be complete without Alyson Mac. While myself and others idly batted the idea of meeting up back and forth a few years back, it was only when Alyson took hold of it (in true Ents. Officer fashion) that a workable plan emerged and, quite simply, she made it happen. It was Alyson who got boots on the ground. And as a result, I know, all #BC25 delegates are eternally grateful. So without further ado let's have a look under Alyson's hood. Ooh, matron!

* What was the first 45 you bought with your own money? I'm guessing you also hotfooted it straight to the newsagents & bought the issue of Disco 45 songbook magazine with the lyrics in it? 

I can't actually remember as by the time I had enough pocket money to buy my own records that most wonderful of gadgets, the Cassette Recorder, had come about and teens everywhere rejoiced as suddenly we could own the whole Top 20 if we so wished. My first C60 would have contained such gems as The Jean Genie, Crazy Horses and Gudbuy T'Jane.

 * You've made no secret of the fact that much of your obsession with music in the 70s came from Eurovision. For you, what was the Eurovision Song Contest's golden period? 

I feel I should set the record straight. I first fell in love with Eurovision watching Sandi Shaw win with Puppet On A String and always watched it after that with my parents, the years with Cliff, Lulu et al, where we invariably won or came second. Once we started to head through the 70s even I realised it was all a bit naff, and as I had started to have a bit of a social life, I was never in on a Saturday night to watch it. I still kept an eye on who had won - Brotherhood of Man in 1976 and Bucks Fizz in 1981 - but other than that I was a bystander. What changed was that in the early 2000s we started to watch it with our daughter and I relived those years with my own parents. From 2003 onwards we have hosted a little Eurovision party with our good friends and in 2015 went to Vienna to watch the show live with them. What do two couples dress up as at this massive juggernaut of a show - why Bucks Fizz of course! We thought loads of people dressed up, but it turned out they didn't, so we caused quite a stir and one of the best weekends of my life. 

* I suppose this is almost a supplementary question - Bucks Fizz or the Bay City Rollers? 

As I explained above, it's not going to be Bucks Fizz but most definitely The Rollers. They were skinny, pasty and wore terrible outfits, but hey, they were Scottish, sang some great Bill Martin/Phil Coulter pop songs and performed flawlessly in concert. They have kind of been airbrushed out of pop folklore but if you were a 14-year-old girl in 1974, there was a good chance you would have been in love with a Roller. My crush was Les. 

* When I started blogging there seemed to be a lot more women writers. It wasn't as 'blokey' as it is now. How do you see the current blogging landscape? 

Compared to most of the rest of you I started blogging quite late (2016) so there have never been many women bloggers around that do what we do. I was so chuffed to discover C from Sun Dried Sparrows early on, otherwise I might not have been brave enough to join the comments boxes and build up virtual friendships with all you "blokes". There are still plenty of women bloggers around, but they possibly concentrate on different subject matters - or have moved to podcasting! 

* I have it on good authority that you coined the term Yacht Rock. True or false? 

Most definitely FALSE, but I do like it a lot. It took me some time to admit to liking such fodder (the West Coast soft rock of 1975 - 1984 produced by people such as Christopher Cross) but you all know me and my tastes by now so I'm out of the closet. 

* Everyone connected with #BC25 sees you as the woman who gets things done. Are you a natural leader? Were you a prefect at school? (That's not a sleight by the way, some of my best friends were prefects!) 

I was a prefect at school actually but I wouldn't say I was a natural leader. I was usually the assistant to the leader in the workplace, the one who got things done. I would never push myself into the role but if I'm asked to help with organisation I'm right there with my spreadsheet.

* Italian or Chinese? 

Italian. I can't remember the last time I had a Chinese actually. The monosodium glutamate doesn't do well with me. Maybe if we had a good local restaurant it might be different, but we don't.

* Favorite tipple? What do you reach for as the sun passes over the yard arm?

To be honest I don't tend to tipple much at all nowadays and wherever the sun is I would probably plump for a cup of Earl Grey. However, when the occasion arises - as in a Bloggers Summit -  it would either be a long cool lager, a glass of Merlot or a G&T; not too many though - lightweight! Back in the day however... 

(The 'dot dot dot' may, or may not, be code for 'dancing on tables'. I'm saying nothing! - JM)

* Do your close friends know Alyson? Are they aware that you lead a double life?

A lot of my good friends know I have a blog but also know I like to keep it private, open to people in Greenland and Guam, but not to them. Makes it easier to write about the personal stuff you might not normally share widely. I very briefly started off writing using my own name but soon changed it to Alyson. Writing about the "tracks of my years" I do occasionally have to write about ex-boyfriends and the like so wanted to anonymise it all somewhat. 

* I ask everyone this - You've just acquired a time machine. Where and when are you going?  

One of the series I have enjoyed researching and writing most is A Special Place In Time, and the special place I would like to travel back to is Laurel Canyon, California in the late 60s. I could set up home in one of those cute cabins in the hills while watching Jim Morrison, Joni Mitchell, CS&N, Jackson Browne, Cass Elliot and others wander past and hang out in my garden. Heaven. 

* Tell us something about yourself you've never told another living soul. 

Serously? You must know by now John that I tell everyone everything. I'm an open book. 

 ★

Thank you for sharing, Alyson. Looking forward to hooking up in Bristol. 

Alyson's hugely entertaining blog can be found here.

Cast away our fears

Our good friend Alyson loves American West Coast grooves - Yacht Rock, if you will. She's put me on to so many great sounds from that (often overlooked) genre over the last few years that had hitherto passed me by; not least Seals & Crofts' We May Never Pass This Way Again. A song, I'm sure Alyson won't mind me telling you, she finds extremely moving (as do I). Alyson's not doing so great at the moment; but it will pass. She'll come back all fired up, stronger than ever. I know she will. Her mojo will rise again. This is for you, Alyson. 

Young Gun Silver Fox - Mojo Rising (from 2018's Record Store Day) 

X

On this day in MMX a blog was born. 
My blog. Everyone seemed to be writing one at the time, so I thought why not me?
Back in 2010 my collection of randomly scribbled notes - then called 'Even Monkeys Fall Out Of Trees' - was set against a backdrop to a world where Prime Ministers were honourable, beer was ten bob a pint and nobody bothered locking their front doors.

Or that's how it appeared at the time.


Fast forward to MMXX and contrast the above to a world where all the familiar and reassuring signposts - pointing to hope, optimism and sunlit uplands - have been taken down and replaced with, well, precisely nothing. Nobody knows where we're going (certainly not the cunt presently occupying 10 Downing Street), or how; though Hell and handcart spring to mind. Who knew just a decade earlier that we'd be incrementally sleep walking into a dystopian nightmare? A nightmare we seem destined never to wake up from.

In other news, I'm thinking of getting a new kitten.

**********************

A huge thank you to all the waifs and strays who have swung by in the last 10 years - I couldn't, as they say, have done any of this without your continued support and friendship (whether from the sidelines or in 'real life'*).

* That said, there are still two people who I really do need to see in the flesh this year - they know who they are.