In an effort to economise, I have switched my Calvins to Bonds; bought a universal remote in lieu of a blu-ray networked pvr upgrade, and hit save to wishlist instead of add to basket more times than I care to count.
Although still quietly obsessed by spinning vinyl and glass platters on wooden plinths, we take the cheaper option and leave our "vintage" Pioneer Rondo 3000 in Clay's capable hands, in the hope that he can work his magic and make the hum go away ... and maybe I'd finally get that replacement Ortofon cartridge with its sexy concordian sci-fi point ... and even the muddiest of recordings will perhaps sing with the clearest of hi-fidelity ... perhaps ...
And listening to Kiva's newly purchased Rega RP3, even Howard Jones was sounding like it made sense ... and hitting those keys and hearing the sounds through Tannoy speakers on a sweet home studio set-up made me feel like I could possibly create music ... perhaps ...
Then we were at Round & Round Records excitedly putting the cart before the horse, not knowing if the old Rondo could be fixed, we were already accumulating reasons to celebrate ... there in that racked filled, meticulously précied store on 513 Sydney road, we flicked through novelty and library charm in the spirit of discovery ... while just up the road, a husband reaches for his phone and hopes to find comfort and answers, desperately hoping his worst fears are not realised ... and the night before, or was it in the really early hours of the morning ... a wife reaches for a phone and hopes to find a reassuring voice ... telling her to just keep walking and that everything will be alright ... perhaps ...
So I return back to my record collection and find one that provided me solace when I was an awkward late teen facing an uncertain and lonely adulthood ... and I want it to provide me solace now ... in the face of this strange strange world where a life holds no currency and time is nobody's bestie ... whether you know it or not.
Fairground Attraction's "The First of A Million Kisses" is mostly famous for its single "Perfect", which threatens to eclipse all the other 11 tracks on this very fine album ... all about love and loss ... perfectly captured by Eddi Reader's enchanting voice with its endearing scottish brogue ... and bouyed by the rest of the band's skiffle roots backing.
Such is the power of these songs that 23 or so years on some of them can still make me cry ... particularly "A Smile in a Whisper" perfectly encapsulating that first time ... with all the possibilities of joy or heartache:
"Orchestra of tiny harps
Its like pepper sprinkled on our hearts
We're threading a needle in boxing gloves
When we try and talk about love
Words are unable to spaek of love
Like a smile in a whisper does"
And also "The wind knows my name" ... which marks the end of a relationship:
"So dry your eyes
No more tears
Hold me once and I'll walk out of here
Who knows one day
We'll meet again
But don't wait for me'cause the wind knows my name"
But I think for now ... I really want to hear a Comedy Waltz ... tonight:
"I want to hear a comedy waltz tonight
A couple of beers and a comedy waltz tonight
Small minded people at the place where I work
There's small minded people all over the world
So I want to hear a comedy waltz tonight
Tell me a joke that brings tears to my eyes
Please tell me a joke so that I can laugh till I cry
I've heard the news and it's always the same
Never any laughs, just trouble again
So tell me a joke that brings tears to my eyes
There's something that I can't quite put my finger on
About a clockwork monkey beating a drum
But anytime I have seen such a thing
There's something inside of me knows what it means
I want to learn how to dance, I want to spin
There's something that I can't quite put my finger on
About a clockwork monkey beating a drum
But anytime I have seen such a thing
There's something inside of me knows what it means
I want to hear a comedy waltz tonight
A couple of beers and a comedy waltz tonight
Yes, I want to hear a comedy waltz tonight"
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