General chit chat

So, what shall I waffle about today?

Well, what about the terrible news that "They" are thinking about closing down 6music?

For those who don't know, and shame on you if you don't because I've blathered on about it on here enough times, 6music is a digital BBC radio station, available on iPlayer... http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/playlive/bbc_6music/ ..., either live or in listen-again format, and also DAB.

6music does not tailor its content for the mainstream, as do Radio 1 and Radio 2. That is its strength AND its weakness. The diversity of music on the station is huge, but be warned: tuning in "on spec" is like looking at the night sky through a toilet roll - you just don't experience the wonder of it all unless you give it a chance. You might be unimpressed by Orion's belt (especially if you haven't seen it before) but Orion itself is stunning, and beyond that the greater glory of the Milky Way is unparalleled.

I say - DROP THE TOILET ROLL!

Stop press - they just played all 23 minutes of "Echoes" by Pink Floyd. Who else would dare? Prog-tastic, pop pickers.

Anyway, I still hope they will change their minds. I've filled in the consultation... http://bit.ly/srconsultation ... and signed the petitions... http://www.petition.fm/petitions/6musicasiannet/1000/ .. and now I'm just hoping. The last eight years would have been (musically speaking) much poorer for me at work, if I didn't have the endlessly changing music scene as a backdrop to the daily grind. Yes folks, it's official, work is dull without music.

In other news, I went for a ride in 36 degrees yesterday. It was.... hot. I used the CamelBak so I was well hydrated, but boy does the sun slow you down. I will definitely be better when I get my e-replacement powder some time this week (thank you eBay). I rode up to friend Terry's house and played squash with him, then rode home. Needed a rest after that, I can tell you.

While we're on slowing down, Bangkok is definitely not built for cyclists. If cities can have opposites, Bangkok and Copenhagen are examples, and not just on the Celsius scale. There, the cyclist is king, lording it over pedestrians, buses and even, shock horror, the automobile. Here the cyclist is the runt of the road. I regularly have to pick the bike up and hump it over barriers, climb steps to overpasses, jump ditches etc etc. just to get where I'm going. And the diesel-belching buses, oy. I will persist though. Still a lot of fun.

Been listening to Turin Brakes for a couple of years now, and only lately realised how much I like this song:

Turin Brakes - Average Man

It's rare for me to like somthing with a slide guitar in it. Mind you, this one would benefit from it being removed. Stick a kazoo in there, anything but that awful caterwauling. Luckily it's only prominent in the intro. Must try to see them live. That might be possible this year, since a new album is now out and surely there will be a tour. Stop press - according to Wiki they are British, from Ballham, no less. I thought they were Canadian or summink. Ah well.

While we're on music, I've always heard people going on about how great Miles Davis is, and recently my drum teacher advised me to buy the "Kind of Blue" album, which I did and liked it a lot. I won't post any tracks here because that would make me a jazz fan, which I'm not. That said, it is a very good album, and I listened to it the other day on my way to "Niu's on Silom" for drinks with Bart. Niu's is a very cool and stylish Jazz/Blues bar and restaurant here, and for anyone visiting Bangkok I'd put it high on my list of places to go. Great musicians right there doing their thing within touching distance. I loved it. Actually I'd been there before with Lynny last time she was here. Poor love was still jet-lagged and she fell asleep. Mind you it's a very relaxing place.

Nothing more to say now, just checked the phone and I've taken no photos recently of interest, so sorry for the lack of visual input. It's all getting a bit wordy init. Does anyone care? Suggestions for content type please (More crosswords? More top tips? Naked photos of me?), on the back of a 1000 Baht note to the usual address. Yes yes, I've used that gag before, well spotted.

Be good.