Ben Keith

Neil Young's long time musical collaborator Ben Keith died last week. Here's "Out on the Weekend" complete with Ben Keith's steel guitar.

It ain't me, Babe

Some more Bob for you, doubting his ability to be someone's rock, like we all do.

Iain Anderson - Radio Scotland

I can be seriously disgruntled with the BBC. I am especially annoyed when they feel the need to do things like send thousands of well-paid employees on freebies to Glastonbury whilst unwaged citizens like myself are compelled to pay their exorbitant licence fee under the threat of criminal prosecution. Similarly, it seemed that they sent their entire newsroom payroll to Washington for the US Presidential inauguration, for no discernible reason.

However, they do manage to get a lot right, and Radio Scotland, except for its moronic over-devotion to football at weekends, is a good example.

Iain Anderson's late night music programme is always a joy, and I commend it to you. And - in the 21st century, you can hear it at any time, anywhere in the world, through the miracle of the electric interweb thingy!

I knew the Bride when...

A bit of Rockabilly fun in honour of last night!

A sojourn in Auld Reekie

A good evening in Edinburgh. We attended the wedding reception, meeting up with a few people we hadn't seen for a while, including many of son Alastair's school and University peers. We had an excellent meal, and then were well entertained, firstly by the groom's father and uncle with a light-hearted set. (Example - Uncle Eric fiddles with PA controls "Does that sound better - or can you still hear us?"). That was followed by an excellent set provided by Andrew and Matthew of the Hazey Janes, who blew us all away with some great musicianship - including a great cover of the groom's (Jamie) own composition "Got You" - you can find the "Boss Star" original here

We returned to our lodgings in Morningside, and after a good night's sleep, bacon rolls and a blether, returned to the Kingdom of Fife this morning.

Edinburgh's in some state - the tram works have turned Princes Street into a linear building site. The locals are uniformly irate about the whole business. I wonder what feelings will be like in the longer term - cities like Dublin, Nottingham and Manchester were ambivalent at best about their tram lines at the outset - but they all seem to be a great success now.

Jim Reid of Dundee

This fine singer recently passed away. He left behind some great work, including his setting of "The Wild Geese", or "Norland Wind" as some know it. You'll find a recording of this here, along with the words, including a translation from the original Angus dialect. Enjoy.

Juxtaposition 1

KT Tunstall

Here's KT on "Later" with one of her own songs, a very cool-looking guitar (a Gretsch G6199 'Billy-Bo' Jupiter Thunderbird - what a mouthful!) and a striking pair of specs.

More Music Fae Fife

And here is Fae Fife, with the rest of the Rezillos:

Kraftwerk - Tour De France

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Downbound Train - Bruce Springsteen

Some classic Dylan (Bob, not Thomas!)

Two for the price of one

Great musician and total silliness!

Some inspiration for you

The fantastic Richard Thompson with a song that's great even by his high standards. How does one man get so much out of one guitar?

Shameless Plug

Some family friends have got themselves a gig at Dundee Rep Theatre:

If you've never heard the Hazeys, think of Big Star or Teenage Fanclub for an idea of their sound - guitars and harmonies. It's got to be a good night out for £8!