Liverpool FC; European Champions 2005

Yes, I know most of you won't care, but what a game the 2005 Champions League Final was. Liverpool were losing 3-nil at half time, and when all hope was lost, Stevie Gerrard steps up with a goal to kickstart 30000 fans... from there on we were like an express train; 2 more goal in 6 minutes and we had equalized. Nought to a million miles an hour in seconds.... then followed almost an hour of intense anguish as we held onto the draw. Through extra time and into penalties, with Jerzy Dudek's antics winning the game 3-2 on penalties, with Jerzy saving 2 of Milan's shots.
And yesterday, with the team returning to Liverpool and the welcome they received.. that's why I'm glad my blood is scouse, I'm proud that my parents and grandparents were born within a mile of Anfield football ground. What a team.

"Arcade Fire"

In case anyone is interested, the band Arcade Fire are the most uplifting thing I've heard since Dogs Die In Hot Cars released, Please Describe Yourself. It is a joy to me that new incredible music is still being made and is available even in nasty HMV.

Why didn't anyone tell George Lucas?

It seems Mr George Lucas has had too many 'yes' men in his company. No one had the balls or fanny to tell him his script is the biggest piece of shit ever put to paper. I get the feeling he is a man playing with his Palitoy Star Wars figures and forgetting that Star Wars is great because it fundamentally deals with human emotions.. emotions like loss, love, deceit, fear, ambition. It was all there in Episode III, but the words he put into his plastic actors were without feeling and felt like O level standard prose. And worse still was that he wouldn't shut them up; good scripts say less, because film is obviously a visual medium.. actors acting with their faces and bodies.. but he had them saying everything... shut up George, you freak!

I am so disappointed.

1977, 2005, 20??

I know, it may not mean too much to a lot of you out there, but Star Wars Episode III is released tomorrow to a waiting world. I love it; ever since 1977 this story has been a part of my life. I am a realist, and there is a lot in the saga which is a little poor, but the overall feeling I get out of it, is warm and uplifting.. inspirational even.

It can be argued that George L made a monster and the studios began to neglect the independent moviemaker in favour of the sure-fire, moneymaking blockbuster.. and that is sad if it is true (ie. maybe cinema was heading in that direction anyway, catering for the stockholder and not the people). But whatever happened, George you have blown me away and I can't wait to see Darth revealed tomorrow. And if you want someone to write a good realistic script for you in the future, I am the man.

The end

After nearly 2 and a half years' work, "The Life and Times of Charles A Allen" is completed. For those of you unfamiliar with this project, let me explain. Charles is my late Granddad, in 1990 he recorded details of his life history onto cassette. I have used these recordings and added music to create a musical history of my Granddad's life: it is just short of an hour of music and speech, spread over 36 tracks.
I am so happy with the final product, I could weep. It was obviously a very personal journey for me using text in this manner and trying to make music I hope he would enjoy. Charlie was a musician himself, you see, a drummer and bandleader. He loved dance music (ie. dance music of the 30's and 40's), he adored the saxophone and the big band sound of that era. I have tried to use this in the musical style of this piece. I will be working on the cover artwork over the next few days, and anyone interested in hearing it, can order a CD through the usual channels.
I am also currently working on creating visuals to go with the music and am at present 8 minutes into the project. It will clearly be a much larger project to make an hour long film and I can only hope that my hard drive doesn't explode.

Also on a different note "The Uninhabited Body Parts 1-8" (based on the poems of Rafael Alberti) has also been 'officially' released on Elementary Recordings. The original Parts 6-8 have been available previously, but this is the first time the entire piece has been together in a completed form. I have emailed the Rafael Alberti Foundation in Spain to ask for their consideration in listening to the poet's work set to my music, and am awaiting a reply.

Crackerdog is still awaiting news from The arts Council about funding for their next project "Home" and a meeting is scheduled for the end of May.

"Touching Wood" is still stuck mid-chapter, sorry folks.

Thanks for listening.

Al