Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes etc...


Diamond Dogs album cover atwork (1974)

I haven't written a post in quite some time. I'm not quite sure why, perhaps because I haven't had a review to write for a while. Of course I could have written reviews for some of the recent books I've read like The Magus or The Sacred and Profane Love Machine, but these are older novels; although still relevant, not as relevant perhaps as something more current - at least from a review standpoint. It has been snowing considerably today so I thought I would take some time to re-enter the world of blogging; now maybe with a fresh approach, a more relaxed tone.

I have to mention the recent death of David Bowie. Instead of attempting to write another eulogy of the man (there have been scads of them on-line and elsewhere) I will just include an embedded video and let his incredible talent speak for itself. I've been a fan of Bowie since around 1973 or 4, when I bought his second apocalyptic concept album, Diamond Dogs and fell in love with the spooky echo of Mike Garson's piano playing. I stopped following his work after the release of Never Let Me Down in 1987, but I never stopped listening to his earlier work. The last time I saw him perform live was during the Sound and Vision Tour of 1990 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey; a very solid show in which he performed his greatest hits and in so doing retired them from his repertoire forever - at least that was the intent. The show featured Adrian Belew on guitar, Erdal Kizilcay on bass, Michael Hodges on drums and Rick Fox on keyboards. The highlights of this show for me were Panic in Detroit, Stay, and Rock and Roll Suicide. 

Currently, I'm finally reading the fifth and last volume of Edward St Aubyn's Patrick Melrose novels, At Last. These novels, if you are not familiar with them, are emotionally intense. They tell the story of a simple solicitor, one Patrick Melrose, survivor of childhood abuse, heroin addiction and alcoholism. St Aubyn is such a wonderful writer. I wish he was was more widely read. On the audio front, I've been slowly listening to The Cartel by Don Winslow. This is a highly touted thriller about the world of  Mexican drug lords and their pursuers. It is very graphic in nature and quite entertaining if you like this type of stuff; the narrator, Ray Porter, is very talented. That's all I've got for now. And in keeping with my new approach to this blog, I will attempt to post much more often with a focus more on personal experience. Check out the Bowie video below (Panic in Detroit from 1976).


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