New videos of moogieman playing at the Ragged Jack open mic in the Turks Head, Reading are now up on youtube. They include The Documentalist and Economy Of Love. Thanks to Mark Allan Barnes for filming and editing.
Complicated Girls at the Elder Stubbs festival
24 August 2010
A video of me playing Complicated Gilrs at the Elder Stubbs festival, Oxford, is now available on youtube. You can also watch Snow Falls On Mars.
Perfecting the parapluie
17 August 2010
Why have there been virtually no serious developments in umbrella design since Totes Inc. brought out their folding model in 1970?
This isn’t going to be one of those blog entries that claim a fabulous new idea in the field of non-wearable rain protection. The fact is, there’s no shortage of ideas. There are thousands of patents on umbrella-related inventions but practically none have ever made it to the high street.
This wouldn’t be so odd if the standard umbrella was an elegant and simple design that worked perfectly. But despite the obvious drawbacks of the standard brolly – drawbacks that become apparrent once rain is combined with all but the lightest of winds, not to mention durability, portability or ease of deployment – the field seems stubbornly resistant to innovation. Read the rest of this entry »
Killer squirrel on the loose
9 August 2010
A friend of mine is obsessed with killer squirrels. The idea of a marauding squirrel leaping out of the trees to attack unwary passers-by intrigued me so I decided to write a song about it. You can listen to a newly recorded version on myspace.
It turns out, though, she has more reason to be obsessed than I’d initially thought. Back in 2006 the Metro reported on a squirrel in Florida called Bruce (after Die Hard star Bruce Willis) who carried out a ‘week-long reign of terror which saw him take on three women, a toddler and his father, and several police officers,’ surviving a beating and being pepper-sprayed before he was finally apprehended. Read the rest of this entry »
Going short
27 July 2010
Famous aviator Louis Bleriot. My ditty on his moustache signalled a decline in the length of my songs from which I'm yet to recover.
Are my songs getting shorter? Or is it just that time passes more quickly as you get older? No, really, my two latest compositions are both under 1min 30s (although my newest one, Economy of Love, should be extended to around 1min 45s when it’s recorded).
What I’m concerned about is whether there’s been a fundamental and irreversible shift in my songwriting. I’ve long believed in short songs. That’s not to say that all songs should be short but that brevity is an aspiration for me.
In fact one of my mottos is: ‘musically and lyrically, get to the point and get to it quickly’.
Typically, my songs have weighed-in at around 2mins 30s, which should be long enough to tell a story but short to enough to avoid digression. It’s also a radio-friendly length. Read the rest of this entry »
Rocking to the roquet
5 July 2010
An improvised desk-top game of croquet, using hoops made from paperclips and balls made from the wax skin of Babybel cheeses, has ended in an acrimonious dispute over the rules. Read the rest of this entry »
Belgian binding no longer secret
29 June 2010
A live video of Secret Belgian Binding has been uploaded to youtube. It was filmed at the James Street Tavern Open Mic Variety Night. Unfortunately the lighting is rather low so you can’t see very much but the sound is okay, hopefully.
Is the inro about to make a comeback?
18 June 2010
Inro - a small lacquered container hung from the waist, generally used to hold seals or medicines
In short, no. Perhaps if people were more familiar with this 16th century Japanese version of the wallet we may be more optimistic about its resurgence.
But wouldn’t it be nice to see people wearing these handsome lacquer boxes around their necks or, in the traditional fashion, around their waists.
Where to get an inro for your summer wardrobe? Well the best place to start looking is with a collector or at a museum.
Given that these are generally historical items dating from before the 1870s, when the Japanese governement was trying to phase out traditional dress in favour of western attire, you’ll probably have to part with large sums of cash to get one. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t piss on my espadrilles
13 June 2010
I was in the toilet of the Wetherspoons near Faringdon station, standing at one of those long trough-like urinals when it occurred to me there was a significant danger the flimsy cloth uppers of my espadrilles could easily be soaked by someone else’s splash-back. Read the rest of this entry »