Much has been written (and is still being written as we speak) about the year just gone; for once it won't just be historians who will end up poring over the events of 2021 - last year was a game-changer for so many of us. I only have to read my fellow bloggers' posts from the last 12 months to realise that for some they know, they actually know, their old lives will never come back. And it's true. You can't step in the same river twice.
And I'm no different. Like a lot of people, 2021 changed me. But I still go to bed each night and list three good things that have happened to me that day (I still like to chase rainbows); tho' some days are easier than others. As usual I sought solace in books: Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being and a bunch of Chekhov short stories have helped: like someone holding your hand on a long walk. And music; always music. Tunes - tons and tons of tunes - many of which have been played and talked about here in the last few months. A lot of you will know that I resurrected my vinyl sessions earlier this year* - two really successful nights in October and November followed by a break in December and we're back raring to go later this month. We'll be listening to - and talking about - Elvis Costello's debut from 1977 - 'My Aim Is True'. The orange vinyl below is a three track sampler we'll be playing as part of the Elvis night. It's an American 12" import and as well as Costello's 'Radio, Radio' it's also got Mink DeVille's 'Soul Twist' and Nick Lowe's 'Cruel to be Kind' on there. The yellow vinyl on the left was a Crimbo present: Curse of Lono's 'People in Cars'.
* Like something out of a Magnus Mills** novel, my old Sunday Vinyl became Monday Vinyl. And from January this year we will become, wait for it, Thursday Vinyl; I know, I think I've out-Mills'd Mills!
** I gave a copy of The Forensic Records Society to my good friend, Vladka, and scribbled in it: "It may not be Chekhov, but I think you'll like it." Turns out she does...
Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows (1998)
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It's customary at this point to offer up a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by last year; even if you don't leave a comment I'm so glad you took the time. I started this blog way back in 2010 (who remembers 'Even Monkeys Fall out of Trees'?) when the world was a completely different place. Twelve years later and, despite everything, I'm still here. I may not be as prolific these days (who is?) but I do still get that thrill when faced with a blank page and just half an idea about what my next 500 words will be about. And, as we all know, the future is unwritten...
Happy New Year!
John x