Western Morals & Saudi Arabia

Bit of an awkward moment for the US and UK over the apparent killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Arabian Consulate in Turkey.
Britain has demanded answers from the Saudi Arabians while Donald Trump has vowed 'severe punishment' if Saudi authorities were found to have played a role in killing Khashgoggi although both have ruled out imposing sanctions, halting arms sales and both nations will be still be turning up at a conference to be held at Riyadh, dubbed 'Davos in the desert'.
Neither have implied what punishment the Saudi's will face especially as they didn't seem overly concerned by the tens of thousands killed in Yemen by the weapons both nations had sold to Saudi Arabia so the death of one journalist isn't going to overly perturb them.
America's multi-billion arm deals and Britain's desperation for post Brexit deals will always mean blind eye's will be turned towards Saudi Arabia so severe punishment and demanding answers will mean nothing changes and everything will carry on as before which should be a lesson all the other tyrants currently stinking up the World should be quick to learn, the West's morals take a backseat if you spend enough money with us.

New Rose - The Damned

Of the millions of songs which have been recorded, only 30 songs can make it into The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians and at number 18 we have New Rose by The Damned (1976).

With a drummer called Rats Scabies and a bass player called Captain Sensible, you should know that you are going to get from The Damned and this is two and a half minutes of frantic energy, a stuttering three-chord riff, stomping drums and one of the best punk records to come from that era and is generally recognised as the UK's first punk single.
In contrast to some of the genre's barking, Dave Vanian actually sings but don't let this fool you because if your windows panes are not shaking then you are just not playing it at the required volume to do it justice.
Still going today, they probably don't get the acclaim they deserve and if he had bothered to turn up for the auditon, Sid Vicious was pencilled in to be the bands singer but as only Dave Vanian showed up, he got the job which as things turned out, was a good thing.

Summer Breeze - Seals & Croft

Of the millions of songs which have been recorded, only 30 songs can make it into The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians and at number 19 we have Summer Breeze Holiday by Seals & Croft (1972). 

Of all the seasons, Summer isn't my favourite but there are some decent songs regarding the season of wasp stings, sunburn and third degrees burn off your car seats and this is one of my favourites.
The Isley Brothers may be more connected to this song but it isn't a patch on the original Seals & Croft version which i first saw on the Old Grey Whistle test years after the song came out and i think was another commercial, this one for fabric softener. 
A great, simple, feel-good Summer song with a nice melody and good harmonies which romanticizes those long, sultry summer nights, sitting outside drinking something chilled and alcoholic rather than the reality which is sitting outside and spending five minutes slapping ants off your legs before running away from a large bee that seems to mistake your head for a sunflower.

No, No, Yeah Actually

Asked about the Times story on Monday which said as many as 3m people will be worse off once Universal Credit is introduced to replace the current benefits system, the prime minister’s spokesman said that no one would lose out and this morning, Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, told MPs no one would lose benefits when moving on to universal credit and 'not to believe everything in the press' and 'we are making sure no-one sees a reduction in their benefits when we move them on to universal credit'.
Spin forward a couple of hours and the person overseeing the introduction Esther McVey, the work and pensions secretary, announces 'I’ve said we made tough decisions. Some people will be worse off'.
Proof then that the Conservatives are bringing in a system which will make the poorest in society 'worse off' and doing it quite willingly.
The Nasty Party label is still thoroughly well deserved. Roll on the next election when we can rid ourselves of this god-awful lying Government.

Michael Pays A Visit To Florida & Georgia

I didn't catch the names of the CNN reporters stood outside while Hurricane Michael lashed Florida but they should find a little extra in their pay packet this month because they did a sterling job.
It's ironic that Florida and then Georgia got the full wrath of Mother Nature and both states have climate change deniers running things and a 155mph wind tearing through their neighbourhood won't change their minds especially in the case of Florida's Rick Scott who wouldn't want any negative impact on the financial returns from the energy companies he invests in.
Georgia's senators, David Perdue and Johnny Isakson, both congratulated President Trump when he pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord and are currently watching the roofs fly off and trees snap in their back yard thanks to a storm which fed off of the warm ocean waters made warmer because of climate change.
I hope everybody stays safe but you know where the problem lays and it's at the door of the idiots in positions to change course who continue to deny that storms are getting worse, droughts are getting deeper, flooding more severe and droughts more deadly because of what us humans continue to do to the planet.

Will You - Hazel O'Connor

Of the millions of songs which have been recorded, only 30 songs can make it into The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians and at number 20 we have Will You by Hazel O' Connor (1980).

Very much a song of two halves, the first summing up the nerves of meeting someone, the second half an extended haunting saxophone solo outro which i can take or leave but the first half is more than enough to make it one of the greats.
Slow and haunting, it plays out perfectly the time when we have all been there alone with someone you like for the first time, playing it cool but really a bag of nerves, sipping tea and not knowing quite what to do, wondering if they will stay or politely say goodnight and then the man from the Baker Street video song bursting in and wailing away on a brass instrument, or maybe that was just me.
The sax player,  Wesley Magoogan, cruelly later lost fingers in an accident with a circular saw.

Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand

Of the millions of songs which have been recorded, only 30 songs can make it into The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians and at number 21 we have Ca Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand (1977).

I heard this song years ago, loved it and then never heard it again until it turned up in National Lampoons European Vacation and then i spent years hunting it down.
If you like a Belgian shouting at you in French while a frantic guitar wails away for three minutes then you will love it and luckily i'm bang up for it so i love this song.
God knows what the Belgian is hollering, 'I am the King of the divan' is the only words i can make out but it's like a massive sugar rush and caffeine hit all wrapped up in one, brilliantly mad and so, so, so very fast paced song which, as the final guitar chord fades away, leaves you dizzy and wondering what the bloody hell was that!!. 
There is an English language version called Jet Boy, Jet Girl which uses the exact same tune but there really hasn't been enough shouty Belgians in music history and not having a clue what the song is about is sometimes a big plus.

Celebrities To Help Trump Carry On Being Awful

What must come as a crushing blow for America's white supremacists, Taylor Swift has broken her self-imposed and come out as a Trump hating lefty.
In an Instagram post on Sunday night, Swift wrote that she has been reluctant to publicly voice any political opinions but after two years of the Trump Presidency has decided to speak out against the current administration.
In a scare to comedians and journalists everywhere who have a ready made rich source of material, Swift said that part of what made her voice her opinion was the: 'systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color'.
The fear is that Americans will suddenly realise just how much of a bellend they have running the show and force him out and replace him with someone not such a douchebag and return America to normal.  
That just won't do of course, the man's policies are comedy gold so we need to make sure that he finishes the job of making America not so great again so although Taylor Swift may be against him, there are some celebrities who can sprinkle some gold dust over the pussy grabbing liar.
I am therefore calling on celebrity Trump supporters to undo the damage Taylor Swift has caused by doing something to make Trump appear like a proper grown up.
Roseanne Barr, Scott 'Happy Day's Chachi' Baio, Gene Simmons, Clint Eastwood, Mike Tyson, Stephen Baldwin, Gary Busey, Lou 'The Hulk' Ferrigno, Hulk Hogan and Kanye West we are looking towards you to keep Trump in power and keep comedians in gags.

Nothing Can Change This Love - Sam Cooke

Of the millions of songs which have been recorded, only 30 songs can make it into The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians and at number 22 we have Nothing Can Change This Love by Sam Cooke (1963).

I was late to Sam Cooke, coming to my attention courtesy of a Levi Jeans advert in the mid 1980's and although he sang many gospel type songs which i don't much care for, this beautiful ballad is lyrically faultless, the sort of end of the night slow song when you and your partner move around in slow circles while the lights come on and the bar staff go around collecting the empty glasses.
It has Cooke's smooth vocals, subtle strings and a tinkering piano which just come together to create a beautiful song about being in love and the first line of 'If I go a million miles away, i'd write a letter each and everyday' sets the tone perfectly and is a sentiment probably highly endorsed by the Post Office.

12 Years To Save The Planet

The authority on all things Global Warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that the 1.5C rise in global temperatures set in Paris three years ago is fast slipping out of our reach and we are in a headlong rush towards a 2C rise.
What happens if the world warms up by 2C?
Coral Reefs will be wiped out completely, we will lose 18% of insects, 16% of plants and 8% of animals, 420 million more people will be exposed to extreme heatwaves which will increase heat related deaths and diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and Lyme disease.
Desertification will result in 10% of arable land being lost and sea levels will rise by 10cm adding 10 million people to the risks of flooding.
The world has already warmed 1C since pre-industrial times and the call that we need rapid and far-reaching changes has gone unheeded for decades and under the current set of circumstances climate scientists expect the temperature rise to be 1.5C in just 12 years, in 2030.
As this report notes we are quickly running out of time but as we have waited so long to act, there are parts of the system that are already out of our hands as ever stronger hurricanes, heavier rainfall and rising sea levels are already with us to stay.