Giving Jane the bird

[Guest]

A most wonderful treasure arrived from Amazon today. The sound of the dawn chorus in a British woodland in spring on CD. Messaien considered birds the finest musicians on earth. It certainly makes for spritely stereophonic listening.

It will be a Christmas present for my friend Jane. She has a budgie whose companion passed on to that great aviary in the sky. Jane feels that birdsong will keep the vital remaining budgie company. Hence my gift.

It is a treasure made from the British Library Archives.

Merry Christmas one and all.

[Lateralthinking1]

Hi Martin and Happy Christmas. Now that Birdsong Radio is no longer, that sounds vital. I received something similar one Chrismas though more basic and not from the British Library Archives. This year I've got nothing so far except this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhIMEMDYxZE

[johncorrigan]

Well I had to stick this excellent piece on following that Lat - it's one of those things that I feel a bit embarrassed to like, so it's on a 45 in the shed - but I love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IKk9D3wqXk

...and Martin your pal's bird has surely gone to the great sky in the sky.

Happy Christmas.

[Lateralthinking1]

Yes a good song John. Have a great Christmas Eve one and all.

[Lateralthinking1]

.......12.54am, Christmas Day. MAK's fine programme coming to an end. Enjoyed the Kate Rusby and the Steve Earle, though I prefer the Joan Baez version of his song, but what stood out by a mile was this from Michael Marra. Scroll down, click link and play.

So great words fail - and the introduction on the programme itself was priceless. Thanks for the recommendation this year. A real plus for me and much appreciated.

http://www.footballandmusic.co.uk/hamish/

Finally, to bring this thread back to it's original theme, Jane's budgie and it's lost companion. I really don't need any excuses to play my favourite female soul singer of all time but this gives me a good reason to do so, bird sounds and all. Martin - Really hope this helps to console the remaining one. Lat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auYCXBzep9o

[johncorrigan]

Nice one Lat - never seen her do that. On a similar topic, she's not my favourite female soul singer but I think Randy Crawford made some really great records; this is one of them and is, I believe, very pertinent to Martin's lassie's budgie's passing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqTJ7gVtlo

I'm really looking forward to Michael Marra on next week's show - what a brilliant song that is about big Hamish - he used to come into a pub I worked in when I first moved over to the East of Scotland - him and the Dundee Utd Players - he was indeed larger than life in real life - the fans loved him, even those not of the Utd persuasion as Michael said in the intro - fancy gettin' a song like that written about you. And just for the record, MM is a really top guy.Happy Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SmRDsBn7qc&feature=related

[Lateralthinking1]

Dinner duties done and not a complete disaster. The folks have made their way home along the road reasonably content so that's a minor miracle for six years in a row now. Hope you had a nice meal John and thanks for that clip. Great to hear about the person Michael Marra. Those three tracks are without doubt among the best I've heard by anyone all year and, as you say, more on the radio next month.

Here's a budgie with im-peck-able musical taste and a name to match his favourite artist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiYIqqz9cZw

He even likes a bit of blues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4nt...eature=related :cool2:

[johncorrigan]

There was some folks who felt that Marra's song 'Hermless' would make the perfect National Anthem for the Scots - here it is translated from the original Dundonian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F44WfZoIN4

We had a fine time by the way and then spent Boxing day with old pals in Auld Reekie - bit of a thaw on the way back - my skooshers got working on the car again.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thanks John. Good to have a car wi skooshers in week fufty-tae of the year. I hear that the food's great in Auld Reekie but not up to a bridie. Well, that was what Grace Kelly told me at Tannadicci.

Now then, this excellent Mr Marra fellow. Would I be right in thinking that he made his mark in the seventies but has had a relatively recent resurgence, ie in the last five years? I'd be interested to know more of the story. Did he ever come to the attention of John Peel?

What I like so much is that he has that kitchen sink understanding of ordinary folk, a unique outlook, a musical sensibility, humour and pathos, and a very human delivery. Names fly around in the head by way of association - Ray Davies, James Kelman, Ivor Cutler, Leo Ferre, Randy Newman among them. He is though definitely a one-off, at least to my English ears.

But would it be fairer to see Tayside as the next big place in music, wasted little djs and superstar tradesmen perhaps notwithstanding? I am a little concerned that we may be missing something here - as many great artists in this part of the world as, say, the numbers of leaping salmon that sadly are rarely recorded for posterity in the town of Pitlochry.

[johncorrigan]

I think he's just a guy who gets better with age, Lat. I once had a cig with him outside a party - I didn't smoke anymore but thought the chance was too good to miss. We celebrated our shared loves of B Wilson and Joni, though he was clearly less than cheered when I mentioned the Randy Newman influence ( I thought after in Esprit d'escaliers style that I should have said that Newman was the Yankee Marra) - so I think he's just improving with age, certainly as a performer and long may it continue. My kids are only interested in him because his wife taught them when they were in the local primary and they loved her.

[Martin Reynolds]

Jane's budgie likes the birdsong. Joins in beautifully as soon as it comes on. Poor Jane broke her arm slipping on treacherous ice on Tuesday morning. I visited this morning and she seems in reasonably good spirits.

[Lateralthinking1]

She's not having the best of luck, is she Martin? Clearly though she finds your visits cheering. Not an easy period for the country generally and time I think for a new peoples National Anthem. Maybe Tubthumping by Chumbawamaba.......I get knocked down but I get up again etc.

[Paul Sherratt]

Budgie cds.




( Oh stop Messiaen about PS )

[Lateralthinking1]

Breadfan!

[johncorrigan]

Toucan play at that.