Waterloo Sunset GT

By -
For a couple of weeks now one of the Stufital regulars has been asking Paraglider to sing Waterloo Sunset. The excuse of not knowing all the lyrics had worn thin (there aren't very many after all) and last night, after one too many beers, it (the excuse) had finally run its course and the moment had arrived. Unfortunately, said regular made the request indirectly, through Rusty (the band) who proceeded to locate the song on his PC - a high speed drum-filled version that bore little resemblance to the Ray Davies original. Paraglider raced manfully through the first manic verse, wishing he was anywhere else, then decided to take control of the situation. By the simple device of stopping singing, he caused Rusty to stop the crazy backing track. In the ensuing silence, he started the song again, on solo guitar and at a sensible speed, and found the experience quite comfortable and relaxed. Almost like it used to be, before the MIDI invasion, before enhanced Karaoke acts replaced bands. Folk say you can't turn the clock back. But you can. It's easy.

Comments

  1. i*maginate15 September 2008 at 21:52

    Technology and hard liquor usually does the trick. This must be a really old song - maybe from the 19th Century! The title sounds like one a retired Paul McArtney might do!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Para Glider17 September 2008 at 18:14

    Waterloo Sunset - not McCartney but the Kinks (Ray Davis). 20th century though, not 19th! I'd guess about 1969.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i*maginate18 September 2008 at 20:44

    :-) Would love to listen to the Kinks some time. Heard of them but not my time - I believe music from the past lends a lot to the future (but I don't like the Beatles).

    ReplyDelete
  4. Para Glider19 September 2008 at 05:43

    Lots of variety in the Beatles. They did come up with some very good stuff, but not all of it. The Kinks were rooted in London and far less US-influenced (because they never went there)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Dangerous Species

By -
 Beware of the Financial Advisor. It hangs around in ex-pat haunts such as Doha's Champion's Bar, listens in to conversations for hints of affluence, and ingratiates itself with unsuspecting individuals who might be looking to invest some hard-earned money. It is likely to use a pseudonym, like Decent Bloke, Helpful Guy or John Hunt. But what it is really trying to do is scam you with some  dubious investment scheme   Having received its commission, it won't want to know you any more.
Read more

How to weigh a car using a tape measure and a tyre pressure gauge

By -
There are two pretty good ways to weigh a car: Drive it to the nearest public weighbridge and wait your turn. Look up the manual under General Specifications, ‘kerb weight’ But let's suppose the nearest public weighbridge is fifty miles away and you've lost the manual (and temporarily forgotten how to use public libraries and the Internet) and the burning urge to weigh your car just won't go away- what can you do about it? The good news is, you need hardly any equipment. All you need, for a reasonably accurate result is: a hand-held tyre pressure gauge which can be analogue or digital a retractable steel measuring tape a calculator, pencil and paper, or a good head for mental arithmetic The method Park the car on some clean, level concrete Observe that the car is held up by its four tyres (!) Measure the width of the tread of one tyre: e.g. 6 inches Measure the length of tread in contact with the ground: e.g. 7 inches Work out the area of tread touching the ground: e.g. 6 x...
Read more