Trollheart

So here we are, at the beginning of a new month, and it’s full speed ahead for me as I launch into Star Trek month, of which more soon. First though, let me say response to both my announcements last week has been poor at best. In terms of my advertising for an assistant, I had one application, and that person withdrew it when I outlined the amount of work that was going to be entailed. Lightweights! Did I not specify “hard, back-breaking labour” in the ad? Anyway, seems like nobody’s interested so, as a boss of mine used to say, I’ll sail this ship alone and continue to bring you these updates, though whether or not I’ll get to do the Year in Review is another matter. As for the Journeys? Well, slightly more response there. Like, three members have voted. Honestly, guys, if you won’t even vote for yourselves how do you expect others to vote for you?

If this situation doesn’t change I will just cancel the whole idea. After all, why go to all that trouble if nobody is interested? Kiff! I’m asking you a question! Seriously, if nobody wants to get involved then just consider the Journeys dead, and leave it at that. So it’s up to you guys. Either get those votes in (thanks to those who have already voted, you know who you are) or accept there will be no awards this year. Or possibly any other year.

And on that somewhat sour note, let’s get into the update:

The honour of starting us off this week goes to Aux-in, who is giving us an insight into how he got into this electronic music of his. It’s all in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...continuum.html, where you’ll also find music from Nero, John O’Callaghan, Lily Wolf and Calverton, to mention but a few.

Batty is back after something of an extended absence, and he’s looking into Boris in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...lks-about.html and of course you can also http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-oblivion.html with moments of Batman awesomeness and also why he thinks Dexter is Batman...

while down at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...seur-cave.html Briks is getting his Sabaton, er, on.

There’s a lot happening at http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nnerspace.html where innerspaceboy has had his first commercial article published (yay!) and is also talking about PSB (no, not the TV channel!), Airside and Lemon Jelly, as well as They Might Be Giants. Busy week!

Jade_City has started a journal this week, entitled http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ournal-yh.html (not sure what the “yh” is, but there you go…) in which he’s telling us about some of his rare grooves

and James is back, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ove-stuff.html. After a seven-month absence, he’s talking about The Wrens, The Smiths, Bowie and more.

Not to be outdone by innerspaceboy, Ki is hard at it as usual and in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...nal-music.html you’ll find music from Alesana, Blackfield, Devin, Anathema and Moon Sailor, more videogame music, music from TV and films and he’s about to launch into Post Rock Month! Wow! Can see a battle royale going on here!

Machine has a new journal, with the self-deprecating and surely undeserved title http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-its-dumb.html, but do read it cos it’s not. He’s kicking off with his top five albums of 2015, some lyrics he wrote and more.

Mondo has some more “Impressions on home” in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...istortion.html

And that brings us all the way up to yours truly. While there is of course little happening in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...d-journal.html, just the one Waits album review, it’s http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...-emporium.html where it’s all happening, and will be, this month, as we kick off Star Trek Month with a review of the first ever Star Trek episode to be written, and get to know Mister Worf. Lots more planned of course, but in the meantime I’ve also managed to catch up on some http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ver-heard.html as I listen to Peter Tosh, AC/DC, Pulp, Arcade Fire and Pavement.

There’s more http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...i-reviews.html with music from The Arc Light Sessions, Gerry Rafferty, Meat Loaf, Don Airey, Natalie Prass, more from Ant’s list with Teramaze and I begin a discographic review of The Eagles, with their debut self-titled. Not happy with all that work, I’ve also opened my tenth journal. Yeah, i said tenth! http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...gy-legend.html does what it says on the tin, and we start off this week relating the tales of Thor, Achilles and the Trojan War, among others.

We’re up to number 15 in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...y-history.html as Unknown Soldier renews his relationship with Venom, who are still At war with Satan, then Manowar are striding in at 14 with Hail to England

while Urban has resurrected his old journal, http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sed-ideas.html, where he’s remembering Live Aid and also talking about weird bands, such as David Devant and his Spirit Wife. Um, yeah...

and Wpnfire is discovering free avant-garde jazz in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...s-journal.html with the Peter Brockmann Octet (no I will not copy/paste jsut to get the umlaut!) --- Frownland describes it as “sonic warfare”. Keep it away from me!

Closing us out this week is Zero with more http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ollection.html, featuring Eddie Vedder and The Canannes.

And so to

I want to award this to Urban, for his brilliant reminiscences on Live Aid, but as he gets huffy if I post anything outside his journal, I’ll just give you the intro here:
Sorry, that’s all ya get! If you want to read this excellent article (actually it’s more than one) --- and believe me, you do --- get down to http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...sed-ideas.html, and remember what it was like to be young, before you got all snarky and up yourself about your music. Well, I did anyway. Sort of. But this isn’t about me. Off ya go, you won’t regret it.


Shout out to James, who returns after almost half a year to try again http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ove-stuff.html. Welcome mate. Hope we see you around these here parts more in future!

I almost didn’t award

to anyone this week, because there’s really only one journal that’s had an ongoing conversation, but you know, **** it: I can be as self-centred as the next guy, and after all, I deserve it!

For the animated conversation going on in http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ver-heard.html
it’s me, and I win the award. Keep your hands off it! It’s mine, you hear? My precious. Hsssss!

Um, sorry about that. Got a little carried away. Anyhoo, on to

Now this is a hard one. I have one one side Ki, with his amazing volume of work this week, and one the other innerspaceboy, who has really ploughed himself into his journal. So who wins? You know what, I can’t decide so

Yeah, I’ll leave it up to you guys. Post here and let me know who you think should win the award, based on how much work they’ve done this week, how much you know them, how much they’ll pay you or who’ll sleep with you, I don’t care. Just vote.
And if nobody votes, I’ll make a decision next week. Oh, the tension!

Let’s all calm down now with a good read, huh?

Back we go to Briks, and we’re up to December, as Briks looked for help in recommendations as to what to listen to for gothic rock, tried out Danzig and then opened January with a review of Elliot Smith’s self-titled. In a staggeringly serendipitous turn of events, he listened to The Wrens (whom, you may remember, also feature this week in James’s journal, which itself has not been updated for months! Spooky, or what?) --- and here it is.
He then began “Powerstars Rip-off Month” (itself a variant of “Trollheart Rip-off Month”) as he started reviewing classic albums he had never heard --- now does that not sound the tiniest bit familiar? --- with first on the menu Jimmy Eat World (see what I did there?) and Clarity, then Maiden’s classic The number of the Beast (oh, Briks!) while also fitting in recs from Taxman (remember him?), including Green Day and Big Star.

More classic albums before the month ended, with Sabbath’s Vol 4 and The Kinks’ Arthur (or the fall and decline of the British Empire), Bright Eyes' I’m wide awake, it’s morning and the Stones’ Let it bleed. Not content with ripping off one of my formats, he then tackled “Bitesize”, robbing my icons as he reviewed American by Mineral. That took January to a close and he seems to have skipped February, so next week we’ll start on March, which, I must warn those with a nervous disposition or any musical taste at all, was to be … Justin Bieber Week!

Yeah, exactly…

So that ties everything up for this week. Don’t forget to get those votes in for the Ki v innerspaceboy smackdown! I said, don’t forget … hey! Wake up!

Fine, fine! I’ll continue carrying this cross on my own, bunch of ingrates! But please get your votes in for the Journeys, if you want them to happen. If not, then **** yaz all.
Until we meet again, same time, same place,
Toodles!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018