Can't believe I have neglected my blog for so long so here's the explanation - I am in the 6th week of an 8 week build on my house. It's all going really well but I am living in chaos and the house is not conducive to sitting about and listening to music.

I m listening to radio 365 on the internet whilst I work and my short car journeys are backgrounded with my fave ipod tracks, so nothing new to report.

I will be back shortly . . . . .

What a time of it there has been in the topofthestairs music house. My vintage Pansonic Hi Fi sperates of which I only had the tuner and amplifier left after 35 years of faithful service, finally called it a day. The tuner was OK except that the bulb had gone in the meter window but the amp was finito.

Kinda sad as most things these days are not built to last 35 days let alone years. Bought a black, Denon amp with a built in DAB tuner and it looks great as all my other accumulated seperates are also black. All works OK but am somewhat unimpressed with the lack of digital stations there still are available. The web is definately the best place to go for radio stations.

Which brings me neatly to the next disaster, my 6 months computer problems ended yesterday with a hard disk failure. Again there was a time when hard disks were built to last for ever but now a PC expires or gets poorly after 3 to 4 years. Backed up my data so am OK there but am waiting for a guy to put in a new hard drive which will crank me for another 3 or so years or until I get a MAC which is on the cards. Only thing then is that I have to reload all my software.

Of course my real stress area is my 1,500 Itune tracks which are safely stored on my external drive. I know I can import them onto my new hard drive BUT I think I will then have to wade through them to assign them to their folders. Nightmare and a real 'life is too short' thing to have to do. Digital music is OK but as great as it is for storage and the lack of physical space it takes up - but is it really safe, especially after you have chucked the CD's you plucked one or two tracks from?

The ears have been music deprived I'm afraid with all this going on so no music miscellany to report, forgive me but this was a 'get it off my chest' blog and as I am the blog keeper, I think I am allowed.

Hazelwood was one of the most undervalued songwriters of the 60's. Forever remembered for Those Boots Were Made For Walking, this throw-away pop song does not do justice to his brilliant songwriting credits or talent. And the voice, it reached depths only equaled by Lee Marvin [though that's all they shared in common] and had such an astounding world-weariness about it that, like Sinatra, you believed absolutely everything he sang about.

He died earlier this month but kept working pretty much until the end on a new album, check out some of the tracks here:

http://www.myspace.com/leehazlewood

For some of those who know nothing beyond the 'Boots'; song, listen to this sublime song and I hope you find it as hair tingling as I do and that it may encourage a exploration of his luscious back catalogue. Here is Some Velvet Morning:-

Worked hard today so did my 'own thing' tonight and transferred about 30 tracks from CD's I no longer want. 2 were Golden Tracks, Bill Hayley's Rock Around The Clock and Shake, Rattle & Roll.

Sometimes we hear the great songs, the ones which changed everything for ever, so often that they simply get embedded into our minds and after a while we stop taking notice. This is what happens with me on these 2 tracks so tonight, away from any distractions I actually really listened and they are so full of energy, where is that energy now in today's music I ask? And what a brilliant song title - Shake, Rattle & Roll!

I didn't get through the whole pile but there is always tomorrow ....

Have been multi-tasking today. Working away at my computer earning my crust plus recording a great piece of vinyl onto my hard drive at the same time.

Working at hospital radio, we continually throw out vinyl or CD's as we condense the library due to lack of storage. A few years ago this LP was chucked and I grabbed it thinking I could do something with it and finally today I have. It's on the Disneyland Records label, in the Storyteller series: Songs & Dialogue from the Original Soundtrack of The Jungle Book, featuring Phil Harris, Louis Prima & George Sanders. And it's in mint condition.

I have recorded it as an mp3 file and will put the 2 sides together so that we can broadcast it to the children's ward over Christmas etc. One thing that in this day and age which never changes, is young kids love of the Disney stories.

Rather than chuck the vinyl out a second time, I am going to see if I can sell it somewhere, ebay or whatever and raise much needed funds for the station. If anyone knows of a good website who specialises in vinyl please let me know.

Today’s playlist was quite exceptional. Good in parts, not of my own choosing and at time down right excruciating. I had an appointment in London, very central London. After a mediocre train journey down I emerged at Tottenham Court Road. With 30 minutes to spare I trolled into Virgin Megastore which is like every major music store visit anywhere else in the world. Loud, shrill [you’d think they would have a top-notch sound system] music, rarely is it anything that I like and would buy, large floor to ceiling metal racks each shouting if it’s NEW or CHART. Never anything that’s DIFFERENT or CHALLENGING. Not having my ‘wish list’ with me – how stupid is that – I buy the recent Streisand in Concert for my partner and high tail it to my appointment.

A Starbucks later and I am playing with a MacPro Power Book in the Regent Street Apple store wondering what everyone else is doing so intently on the other samples laptops and computers. Slyly reaching over to see what my neighbours are doing I find they are checking their emails by webmail. And of course I promptly do the same. Here I buy a car charger for my ipod so that I can listen to my playlists non stop through my luverly, luverly ‘ipod ready’ JVC car radio.

My tube walks offer the best music of the day. Firstly a busker in the sweltering link from Central to the Bakerloo line. He’s about 45ish, hippyish and is running through some Eagle hits. Pretty ordinary really and not help that he yawns between each song. No surprise that his money cloth is Spartan. Second busker was a very young and really good, no singing, just a whiz on electric guitar. I gave him some loose change, something I rarely do.

The whole busking thing is weird isn’t it? Freezing or sweltering as only the tube ways can make you feel. You stand for hours with either a loud voice or a voxbox, plying your wares to grumpy looking commuters or spaced out holiday makers. Hardly anyone takes any notice whilst you’re giving your all. And how much do they go home with, is it worth it? I guess if you can get through a few months of busking you can get through anything.

Onto the train home and this is where the soundwaves really hit the ears. 3 Japanese tourists plonk themselves around me and talk animatedly, non-stop and over each other and very fast. How on earth they knew what each other was talking about is beyond me. The guy opposite me working on a laptop then takes several calls, a baby starts screaming 2 seats away and a second business man takes endless calls from his mobile which has ring tone of an old phone and it’s LOUD.

The 2 Japanese leave at the next stop and 2 more get on and sit in the opposite seats and again start yakking, this time the guy has a voice which the front carriage could hear. I never quite believe that people who speak really loudly do not realise they are speaking really loud, can’t they hear themselves?

There was a highlight to the day though – as we were standing waiting to get off the train, someone’s mobile had a voice tone which went off whenever they received a text. It was a male voice with a slightly obnoxious tone which started calmly by saying ‘message’. The voice continued to say ‘message’ but was louder and angrier each time until it was practically hysterical. A few of us started tittering but others were clearly not amused.

I am now home sitting in the garden typing this block with the comforting sound of a wood pigeon cooing on out chimney, a slight russle of the trees and one of our cats collars jingling it’s little bell. Extremes eh?