Fluteboy

I have spoken before about those delightful things known as soundalikes, and now I am going to revisit them. Aren't you glad!

I decided to dig out that erstwhile copy of Musical Rendezvous presents 16 Chart Hits volume 9 which dates from 1973. Like all soundalike albums it has its good and bad moments, but two tracks seem to stick out for me. First up is a rendition of Showdown, a song which saw The Bearded Genius of Birmingham AKA Jeff Lynne tapping into his inner Marvin Gaye. The cover itself is pleasant enough, with the vocalist stretching himself to reach those high notes, along with a bonus tambourine throughout to help usher things along.

Unknown Artists - Showdown

The second candidate comes to us by way of a British folk band called Strawbs. Better known for their rousing anthem Part Of The Union, They also had a hit with the poetic Shine On Silver Sun. The original version is a little hard to digest, with the lead singer's affected pronunciation, along with a somewhat muddy production - and this is where the soundalike version helps things out, with its simpler production and gentle string section. If only they could have got the lyrics right! I have listened to this version for years, and as a result, I always had the wrong lyrics in my head. Listening to the original had me thinking: "No! Surely not! I prefer the nonsensical version!" For your reference I include the correct verse lyrics:

Unknown Artists - Shine On Silver Sun

Once I sat upon a hill to watch the world go by
My friend the young magician had forbidden me to cry
But I was the comedian with the laughs in short supply

The sunlight filtered softly through the pale and watery sky
To catch the mirrored salmon as it rose to take the fly
The flowers on the riverbank were left alone to die

The church bells sounded midnight as I rose to say goodbye
And a solitary tear fell from the corner of my eye

But tell me true, how does one arrive at a lyric like: "The treadmills on the kite"? I will assume they were whacked off on nutmeg or something....

For further reading, see my post of Friday 24 January 2014, entitled Broaden your minds, and also Record rip-offs from Monday, 9 June 2014.

A few months ago I purchased a second-hand iPhone. After years of being an Android devotee, I became a sheep and spent £22 on a ye olde 3GS. I decided to join the tribe. And I tried. And I failed. I could not do it!

A couple of days ago I elected to go back to using the trusty Samsung S3 Mini. What have I been missing? Well for a start: up-to-date apps, as opposed to legacy ones that still work with iOS 6.1.6. Along with a bit more speed. Let us face it, the iPhone is just not what it's cracked up to be. Having to eternally upgrade just to have apps that work. And when your bank decides to shun your version of iOS with their app update, you are truly buggered! Android just seems to have so much less of that.

In today's news, a woman was sentenced to six months for drink driving. She was driving to a wake in Peterborough, having consumed a good amount of vodka beforehand. Needless to say, she ended up flipping her car over a roundabout. Astoundingly, her child of less than two years escaped unhurt.

Furthermore, this happened on a road we use very frequently. A road where people seem to take such unbelievable risks. The A605 between Warmington and Peterborough is truly wild. Dashcams are a must if you frequent this road, because the behaviour of its drivers is truly astounding. All responsibility seems to go out of the window when people ride this road!

Drink driver launches over roundabout with 19-month-old son in the back

Another local road which sees idiotic driving is the A14 near Kettering. This p*sspot was three and a half times over the limit, and despite managing to achieve a 360 degree spin, still carried on. A court heard that the 43 year old driver was not wearing shoes, while officers saw a smashed pint glass at his feet and a bottle of wine in the passenger seat. He then smashed the windscreen and walked out into the road after being told to stay in his car when he was found by police.

A14 Kettering 19/11/2014