Aug 9: Music Blogs: Some Landscapes

This post via a Blogger Reading List suggestion.

I've visited previously but not for some time: Some Landscapes.

Aug 9: 2012

This was the year when Big Big Train released their album 'English Electric' Part One.

This has a real pastoral feel to it.

This is one of the most 'English' tracks.

It ends with a recitation of some of the wildlife to be found in hedgerows...

Rose hips, haw berries
Hedgerow, dry stone
Dog rose, honeysuckle
Blackbirds, red wing
Song thrush, yellowhammer
Lacewings, ladybirds
Fox earths, rabbit warrens
Badger's sets, partridge nests

Public Service Broadcasting released their EP 'The War Room'.

Some classic tracks are on this EP and 'Spitfire' remains a popular part of their live shows with the roar of the Merlin engines at the start.

2012 was the year that London hosted the Olympics. 

I was down in Devon at the time and was actually watching Leeds play Torquay in a friendly match when the opening ceremony started.

We headed back to Dartmoor where we were staying and put the radio, and remarkably it said 'Mike Oldfield'... and on came a version of this Tubular Bells theme...

He hadn't performed live for years...

When Mike Oldfield stepped out onstage at the Olympic Park in Stratford, London, on Friday 27th July 2012, it marked his first major live concert performance in his home country in over a decade. However, this was no ordinary show. Oldfield’s music had been personally selected by Danny Boyle to play a central part in Isles Of Wonder, his specially-created work for the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Olympic Games.

In front of an estimated global viewing audience of a billion (not to mention the 80,000 in the stadium), Oldfield opened with the immediately familiar theme from his legendary Tubular Bells before he and his band lifted off into the incredible ‘Tubular Bells Swing’ section, which, as many will recall, accompanied the staff and patients of Great Ormond Street Hospital doing some remarkable choreography. Add into that newly-composed material to signal the arrival of the flying Mary Poppins, a spirited rendition of his 1975 UK Top Five single ‘In Dulce Jubilo’ and the beautifully wistful closing coda, and you have eleven-and-a-half minutes of premium Mike Oldfield. It was a extraordinary night to kick-start an extraordinary Olympics, and this is extraordinary music.

Source: Mike Oldfield website

One of my daughter's favourite bands 'Two Door Cinema Club' released their single 'Settle'.

My son later created an awesome stop-motion music video for this song for his 'A' levels.

Finally, I adore this particular Berlin performance from New Order filmed in 2012. Some fantastic tracks and really well shot...

And Two Door Cinema club released 'Settle': a track my son created a video for for his 'A' level Media Studies coursework.

What were your favourite albums from 2012?

Let me know in the comments.

Aug 9: Antarctic playlist from Heidi Sevestre

Via LinkedIn.

The glaciologist Heidi Sevestre has shared some of the tunes that she listened to while on a recent field visit to Antarctica.

In January 2026 she completed the Under Antarctica expedition.

After 80 days and 4,000 km by kite-ski, she and Matthieu Tordeur reached Hercules Inlet, completing Under Antarctica: the first French crossing of Antarctica’s interior by kite-ski, the first kite-ski expedition dedicated to polar science, and a female first on this exact route. For nearly three months, they moved at the rhythm of wind, cold, and ice, scanning the Antarctic ice sheet to better understand this key continent in the face of climate change.

On her website, she has shared what she was listening to while out on the continent.

She says:

Juba from Cigcola from Smelly Feet Records got in touch about a series called The Expansion, asking a simple question: what were you listening to out there?
I sent back an embarrassingly long answer. Three months on a kite, eight to ten and sometimes twelve hours a day, with a landscape that barely changes — you have a lot of time to fill. So I'd treated Antarctica as a blank page and used it to catch up on every book I'd ever meant to read.

Mostly audiobooks, if I'm honest. Music gets repetitive fast when it's the same songs day after day, but a good story could carry me for a week. I started with the heroic age — Endurance, In the Kingdom of Ice, Icebound — until I got quietly fed up with those explorers complaining about the cold while I was there just as frozen.

So I widened out: the Apollo missions, Vikings, Mandela, Michelle Obama, Marcus Aurelius, the suffragettes, Inuit mythology before heading to Greenland, and a stack of books on climate solutions. And Shantaram, which I first read on my very first expedition in the Himalaya fifteen years ago, and which was a completely different book this time.

And what about the music that she listened to?

The music had a different job: to make me feel warm, and to make me want to dance. Muse, Daft Punk, Pink Floyd, Hans Zimmer, Les Misérables, Taylor Swift, Raye, Madonna (Confessions Tour live), ABBA Voyage setlist on heavy rotation. It had to be loud enough to hear under a helmet.

Smelly Feet Records created a podcast weaving the books and music together.

You can listen to it here.

Smelly Feet Records · Selection of Music: A Glaciologist Exploring Antarctica - Dr. Heïdi Sevestre

Aug 8: 2011

2011 was not my best year overall... just three years into my job at the GA, some political manoeuvres ahead of a general election meant the loss of some project income, and the decision was made to make some roles at the GA redundant... including mine. I then had a car crash...

I called on my network and some work came in, and cashed in various saving plans for the future... at times I had just a few hundred pounds in my bank account... and I lasted a few years building up my freelance work, including ERASMUS projects and some work with the Open University... then returned to the classroom in 2013.

I will always be grateful to those who stepped up to help me, and thanked them here.

Musically, there was lots happening.

I headed for Latitude and saw Jonsi play live... Ed Sheeran and Yann Tiersen were also in the lineup.

I saw Yeasayer the same day and was impressed with them.

Adele dominated the charts.

The Decemberists released 'The King is Dead'.

Kate Bush released '50 Words for Snow'

What were your favourite musical memories of this year?

Aug 8: American Utopia.

I went to see this film on Wednesday when it received a special new 4K restoration screening "for one day only" at cinemas around the UK.

This was the film of a 2018 Broadway run of concerts/performances given by David Byrne. It was released in 2020 and directed by Spike Lee.

There were obviously comparisons to be made with the recent "Who is the Sky?" tour, which I saw earlier in the year at the Hammersmith Apollo (and which was excellent...

It was staged more simply with chains as the backdrop, and worked better as a result. There were fewer Talking Heads songs, and alternative choices of music, and different musicians and dancers.

One of the stand out songs was an acapella performance of  'One Fine Day', written with Brian Eno.

Aug 8: Can you map music?

That's the question asked by GIS consultant Madeleine Ratcliffe, who works for ESRI.

On a recent LinkedIn post she described the inspiration for an ESRI StoryMap she has created.

I first heard Smetana's Vltava (or The Moldau) while driving with my mum. We're both flautists, and she knows the piece well. As we listened she explained how it traces the course of the Vltava River through Czechia. It begins where two mountain streams meet, represented by two intertwining flutes. From there, the music carries you downstream past hunters in the forest, a village wedding, moonlit dancing by the water, the dramatic St. John's Rapids, and finally to Vyšehrad Castle in Prague. 

She gave a running commentary as we listened, and it completely changed how I thought about music. I hadn't realised it could tell such a vivid geographical story.

When I joined Esri UK two years ago, I couldn't shake the idea of bringing this piece to life on a map.

Using an ArcGIS StoryMap, I've traced the journey of Vltava along the river itself. As you explore, you can listen to each section of the music, discover the historical and cultural context behind it, and see how the landscape, geography and composition are all woven together.

Thanks to Brendan Conway for the tipoff to Madeleine's work.

Here's the details of how the map was created.

Aug 8: 8.8.88

Today in 1988 I was in Manchester.

I made my way to Maine Road, which was the home of Manchester City at the time before they built the Etihad Stadium. It was a classic 

The occasion was a Pink Floyd concert as part of their 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' tour.

It took place on the 8th of the 8th, 1988 (and the concert started at 8 minutes past 8. 

Here's the setlist that I saw: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pink-floyd/1988/maine-road-manchester-england-3bd76478.html

Here's a recording...

The tour became an excellent live album called 'Delicate Sound of Thunder'.

Aug 7: Changes: the story of Sugar

Earlier this year, I went to see Sugar on their first UK date in well over 30 years... it was loud! It was awesome.

I walked into Topsham Brewery a few days ago and they were playing the Copper Blue album - excellent choice - the beer was good too.

A new documentary has been released telling the story of Sugar. It came out of a bad experience with Virgin Records. It's well worth watching...

Aug 7: William Orbit RIP

William Orbit has sadly passed away. His work has been mentioned on the blog previously.

I've mentioned his work with Madonna and Propaganda.

Here's his remix of U2's 'Electrical Storm'.

Update

The Guardian suggests 12 of his best works here.

Aug 7: 2010

2010 saw a series of albums that were important, including a solo album by Jonsi.

I remember this appearing on Spotify while I was working at the Geographical Association.

The first track hit really well as I listened to it in the office... and it was definitely my sort of thing.

And here's a track I saw him play live - and I still remember the sudden shift in energy part way through as the very impressive drummer kicked.

This was at Latitude in 2011, where we were invited to offer some workshops for young people and got free tickets as a result. We were invited back the following year too, and Tom Morgan Jones was also asked to create a map and we had lots of graphics and inking created for the event by him, including some of the famous Latitude sheep.

Around Us.

Just before Latitude, I had been to Glastonbury and, as with both, there was a presence from the Geography Collective / Mission:Explore.

I've posted separately about visiting Glastonbury that year.

What were your favourite musical memories from 2010.

Aug 6: 'Grendel' and Beowulf

Grendel is a long song performed by Marillion when Fish was lead singer.

When released it was described as their version of Supper's Ready.

There's a section in the song in the same time signature (9:8) and with a similar feel to the Genesis song.

Grendel was a monster living in an area of fen, marshland or bog. He was eventually killed by Beowulf.

There's plenty of landscape description in the lyrics of the song.

This is part of the story of Beowulf - a lengthy Anglo Saxon poem and epic written 700-1000.

I saw this song performed live several times in the early 1980s in their early tours.

Aug 6: Cities and Music #7: Glasgow

Glasgow is one of the cities that is featured in Karl Whitney's 'Hit Factories' book.

In August 2008, Glasgow was named the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music and only the third in the world with the city being home to legendary venues as well as hosting huge music festivals.

There are plenty of bands associated with the city.

Here are some chosen by Glaswegians.

The city also has several venues that are famous.

The city's Sauchiehall Street has a long history as does Barrowlands (with several bands and artists recording live albums there) including Francis Dunnery.

The SECC or 'Armadillo' is a building I've visited several times, and I also enjoyed my visit to the Hydro, to see Peter Gabriel some years back.

Here's an image of mine of the Hydro and the Finnieston Crane.

Perhaps the best known band is Simple Minds. They have been around since the 1970s - next year sees their 50th anniversary.

The band is currently a core duo of original members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitar), augmented by guest musicians. Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass), Brian McGee (drums), Mel Gaynor (drums), and John Giblin (bass).

My favourite album of theirs is 'Sparkle in the Rain'.

And here's Peter Gabriel on the Back to Front tour, which I saw as mentioned, back in 2013 at the Hydro.

Set List here.

Belle and Sebastian recently toured their albums.

What other Glasgow bands have I missed?

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license

Aug 6: 2009

In August of 2009, J. Willgoose Esq performed some solo music he had created at the Selkirk Pub in Tooting, London.

Teaming up with the drummer Wrigglesworth they released an EP 'The War Room' in 2012 and became Public Service Broadcasting.

Bruce Hornsby released the album 'Levitate'. This has some classic tracks including 'Continents Drift' and 'Cyclone' - which have a geographical connection.

And he also conflated two geographical concepts in this track:

I was doing a lot of driving at this time, and this track from Owl City kept coming on the radio. It was one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site Myspace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic Records, now Republic Records, in 2008.

Source: Wikipedia

This went to Number One.

Jan Garbarek released the live album 'Dresden'. I saw him play live this year - and every time that he has come to the UK for many years.

What were your favourite musical moments from 2009?

Aug 5: Frank Ricotti and Alan Plater

The Beiderbecke Trilogy is one of my favourite TV series ever made.

I have it on DVD - this particular edition...

Written by Alan Plater and broadcast between 1984 and 1988.

It starred James Bolam and Barbara Flynn, along with Dudley Sutton, Colin Blakely and many other character actors who were all excellent.

The story was set in Leeds, and the two main characters are teachers at a run-down comprehensive school, where they are not popular with the Headteacher and also come to the attention of the local police force. There were three series, each with their own delights and great performances, and lots of lines which have stuck with me and became catchphrases we would use e.g. "The switch marked switch".

I have a copy of the book by Alan Plater, and it's very readable. I also like the first line of the book, set in a school "It was the best of term, it was the worst of terms..."

Frank Ricotti is one of the jazz musicians who helped put the soundtrack together. Ricotti won a BAFTA award for his work on The Beiderbecke Connection.

Bix Beiderbecke was a real jazz musician. He played the cornet and piano.

Anyone else out there who's seen this series?

Aug 5: 2008

2008 was a big year for me.

After 20 years of teaching in the same school I moved out of teaching and got a job working for the Geographical Association. This meant spending several days a week in Sheffield.

The Killers released 'Human' as a single from their 'Day and Age' album.

I used this as the background music to some presentations for conferences that I suddenly found myself being invited to. This was such an exciting time. After 20 years of going to the same place every day I suddenly found myself travelling all over the country and speaking to large numbers of students and teachers everywhere from Scotland to Cornwall... I've written about it on my GA Presidents blog.

The second release from this album was 'Spaceman' which stands up well nearly 20 years on.

As the year progressed, my mileage built up as I travelled new roads and old roads.

Martin Orford was the keyboard player for IQ for several years. I like his style very much.

His album 'The Old Road' is good, and includes some very interesting guest contributions from John Wetton (who did so much), Nick D'Virgilio (drummer from Big Big Train), John Mitchell (who has played for It Bites and Frost* amongst others) and some vocals from the late David Longdon.

He retired from music after making this album.

We're taking the old road
Back to where the seeds of wisdom were planted
Leaving the race forever
And reject the modern way

And now the grey's devoured the green
All cut to waste by great machines
In barren cities they conceived
With so many people we can't breathe

Seems foolish to look for words
That I just can't seem to say
In England's pleasant land
There's a need for greed I can't understand

Aimee Mann released F*** Smilers...

What were your favourite albums from 2008? 

Let me know in the comments.

Aug 5: We didn't start the fire...

A song by Billy Joel with a set of lyrics containing a great many cultural icons. It's a rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness historical timeline spanning 1949 to 1989, to argue that his generation "didn't start the fire"... 

How many names or events do you recognise?

You're allowed to listen to it twice and write them down.

Britannica have created this page which explains all the 119 references in the song.

Aug 4: Sky Blue

And here's another Sky Blue... a fantastic track by Peter Gabriel with the Blind Boys of Alabama given the Martyn Bennett treatment.... I'll be returning to Martyn later in the year. He was a genius musician and one of my favourite artists...

Aug 4: 2007

Rush released 'Snakes and Arrows'.

I saw the tour in support of this album at the Sheffield Arena.

There are fewer memorable songs on this album than most of the other Rush albums.

Lifeson had met guitarist David Gilmour during Gilmour's tour stop in Toronto who inspired him to write on an acoustic guitar as an indicator of how strong a tune is. 

Gilmour is thanked in the liner notes of Snakes & Arrows.

The track Hope was one result of this conversation.

Several instrumental tracks from this album feature in their live set.

Peart was inspired to write lyrics on various themes including faith, fear, the association of religion and war, hope and despair, and the religious billboards he saw on his motorcycle journey across the United States which he detailed in his fourth book Roadshow: Landscape with Drums – A Concert Tour by Motorcycle (2006), written during the R30 tour (which I also saw). He was also inspired by Robert Frost's epitaph: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world". The album's producer had previously worked with Foo Fighters.

Source: Wikipedia

Mike Oldfield ventured into classical music with his 'Music of the Spheres' album. The live world premiere of Mike Oldfield’s Music of the Spheres took place in the Atrium of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The Basque Orchestra was the formation chosen for the world launch of the British musician's first inroads to symphony music.

Arrangements for orchestra: Karl W. Jenkins
Conductor: Enrique Ugarte
Artists: Mike Oldfield, guitar; Hayley Westenra, soprano; Bilbao Choral Society.

I had visited the Guggenheim several years previously. It's an amazing building...

I was very keen to go along to this event and looked into the possibility of getting there, but it was difficult time wise to guarantee to fit around teaching... 

What were your favourite albums from the year 2007?

Let me know in the comments.