I tried having my entire CD collection on a single private page of this blog. But it didn’t work. Will this alphabet approach work? The idea is to have a handy ref’, to prevent me duplicating purchases!
So, yesterday (Saturday) I got three of the four roof panels up. Today I did the fourth and final board. Although I don’t think it rained last night, it was foggy and wet this morning. All the boards already on the roof were affected; softened (and therefore more flexible), with areas where some individual strands were buckled from soaking up water. Not good!
Today, Sunday, I not only got the final panel in place, but also bought some very cheap plastic sheeting, from Boyes, as a temporary moisture barrier. I hope it’ll keep the boards safe over tonight. Then tomorrow I can collect some better thicker stuff from Screwfix in Peterborough – which I bought at the March Screwfix (but too late to collect from their Peterborough branch, where they had stock) – and attach it properly.
Striking a pose with my ‘Samurai’ saw!
Then there’ll be a layer of roofing felt. And then on top of that, the corrugated metal roofing which was the sheds original roof. 18mm OSB3, plastic sheet, felt, and a metal roof. That ought to do the job!
Whilst up on the new roof I had to continually brush off fallen leaves and twigs. So I took the opportunity to remove some dead wood and trim back the bits of tree branches that threatened to ‘ave somebody’s bloomin’ eye out’.
Earlier today I finally got around to starting the roof on shed #4. We bought the OSB3 boards some few weeks back. But since then there simply hasn’t been either the time, manpower, or appropriate weather conditions (too wet, and/or dark!), to ‘get it up’ (chortle!).
Perhaps unsurprisingly the shed itself has proven to be a little out of square. Meaning that the roofing panels don’t line up as precisely as one would’ve liked. But, hey-ho, ‘tis wadi ‘tis!
Looking towards the rear of the shed.
I’d gotten three panels in place when Chris, our fairly new neighbour – they moved in about a year ago – offered to help. I said ‘nah, I’m alright, ta’, as the real work had been moving the boards, and Teresa had already helped me do that, earlier in the day. I got some excellent Roughneck branded board carriers, which really helped when it came to moving the boards.
Chris then suggested a trip to’t local Wetherspoons pub. And I jumped at the opportunity. Poss’ my first social ‘drink with a mate’ scenario in three or more years! And that, as much as the roofing work, is what prompts this post. Here I am, back home, pissed. Bit of a hangover. Teresa a little miffed at my going out like (and for as long as) I did, etc. I certainly had too much to drink. Three pints and a double rum’n’coke.
Looking towards the front.
I do worry, on this head, as my dad, and his dad afore him, are/were alky-horlicks. And I don’t want to be one… no sir-ee, nor me neither! But, time and again, I drink too much. Fool that I am! It’s fun at the time. But what I really dislike is the aftermath.
Bloated, gassy, with a headache. All things I’m prone too anyway. And ‘Al Cahole’, famous Chicago prohibition-breaker, just exacerbates these conditions. Oh, and it also makes me more likely to do other dumb-ass shit like smoking. Or just gabbing a little too freely.
Garden looking pretty.
Anyhoo… back to’t shed. Teresa took some pics, whilst I toddled off to’t pub. The garden is looking rather autumnal. Which is geet luverly! I got three of four panels up today. The fourth got a bit butchered, annoyingly, thanks to my cheap/shite Titan router not working as effectively or reliably as it oughta.
So tomorrow, Sunday, I need to sort out the last panel – trim off the buggered edges – and get that up and fixed in place. Once all the panels are in situ, and screwed down, I’ll need to put further weather-proofing stuff on. I have an amount of roofing felt already. But not, I reckon, sufficient for the job. We shall see, I suppose.
Right, off to’t khazi for a beery wazz…
POSTSCRIPT
Working on the final roof board.
This last pic, above, is a bit out of sequence. But it at least captures the work in progress. I tried to route overlapping profiles, so as to more securely interlock the boards. But my cheap Titan router is, frankly, shite. And not up to the job, sadly. So I had to abandon that idea. The above pic is me preparing to cut off the botched (and incomplete) routed profile edge.
You can see the latter, Along the right edge of the board. The brown shiplap slat is screwed to the board to act as a guide/fence. I had to nip out and buy a new circular saw blade. I wound up getting a cheap set of three from the local ToolStation. Prob’ not good quality. But they allowed me to make the necessary cuts. Whereas the previous dull blade was simply binding mid-cut.
An X-rated entry (snigger) for ye blogge. Here we have a two-fer, put out by Ace Records: Cold Shot and Snatch & The Poontangs, both being Johnny Otis albums, albeit released under different names. And, rather unusually, both kick off with (different) versions of the same song, the superbly hilarious ‘Signifying Monkey’.
Cold Shot (1968) is a very bloozy affair, featuring Johnny’s famous guitarist son, Shuggie Otis, and singer Delmar ‘Mighty Mouth’ Evans. And, apart from the initial ‘Sig’ Monkey (Part 1)’ business, is fairly work safe or family friendly.
Snatch & The Poontangs (1969), however, is a completely different matter altogether! A talented artist, as well as musician, Johnny O’ did the R. Crumb rip-off cover cartoon. And he may also have painted the inner gatefold, which depicts late ‘60s Freak Brothers-esque urban rioting.
On the delightfully earthy Snatch, after the even filthier ‘Sig’ Monkey (Part 2)’, we also get such treats as the rather wonderful ‘Pissed Off Cowboy’. I scoured the web for lyrics for some of these smuttier gems. Alas, to no avail. So I may do the world a favour, and put the texts online, as best I can, at some point soon (time allowing!).
Taking the two albums together, they cover a whole range of blues styles and sounds, from the Bo Diddley beat of ‘Hey Shine’ to the lyrical conceit of ‘the dozens’, in which humorous insults (the ‘dirty dozens’!) are traded. And there’s also the fabulous tradition of bigging up one’s badass self, as exemplified here by ‘Two-Time Slim’, ‘The Great Stack-a-Lee’, and ‘Big Jon Jeeter’.
Anyway, these two albums sit very well together. And are augmented by a couple of bonus tracks. Great stuff!
Wow! An absolute monstrosity. Led Zeppeloid, at their Titanic swaggering best. With a fuzzed out riff that is pure Valhalla. The power trio of Page, Jones and Bonham, with Plant as hoodoo shaman, stride across continents in shining iron bellbottoms, their sloshing wake a tsunami that drowns entire nations in 100% proof rock’n’roll.
And what amazes me. Nay, astounds me. Is that despite all the trappings that might make for a very dated sound, the energy is so massively ‘in the present’, it sounds as fresh today as it ever did.
People often think of Whole Lotta Love as The Zep’s totemic riff Leviathan. And of course, that’s a fabulous track as well. But there’s something about the joyous elastic bounce of the How Many More Times riff that transcends almost all ostensibly similar rock music.
For my students, a little video I found online, talking about and demonstrating the signature fill from Jr Walker & The All Stars Motown soul classic, Shotgun.
A stone cold soul classic. Could this be what’s sometimes known as a ‘banger’? A one riff wonder: eight chugging bars of solid uplifting soulful grooving. Jackie Wilson sings his heart out. Just as he did his whole life, literally singing himself to death, onstage…
Some versions, such as the one YouTube offered up in ‘first place’ when I searched for the song itself, sound like they’ve had parts replaced with synthesised parts… Sacrilege!!!
The rather silly ‘fly guy n gal’ video, at the top of this blog posts, at least preserves the original sound. With the slightly out of tune guitar, in all its effervescent glory.
The guitar part.
The bass riffs.
I plan to record a version of this number myself, at some point. With me playing all the parts. Or at least all the parts I can. The lead vocal is a very scary prospect ! And do I do ye horns a capella? Or do I get some real horns recorded?
All such shenanigans will have to wait on getting a new computer and up to date DAW software, as my poor ol’ Mac is ailing, and can no longer even run Logic! A terrible state of affairs.
LYRICS
Your love, lifting me higher Than I've ever been lifted before So keep it it up Quench my desire And I'll be at your side, forever more
You know your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Listen… Now once, I was down-hearted Disappointment, was my closest friend But then you, came and it soon departed And you know he never Showed his face again
That's why your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Alright… I'm so glad, I've finally found you Yes that one, in a million girls And now with my loving arms around you, honey I can stand up, and face the world
Let me tell ya, your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Now sock it to me Hold me, you're my woman Keep my love going Higher and higher I said keep on lifting Lift me up mama
Yesterday I finally ‘finished’ transcribing the drums. It’s currently very hard to do that, currently, as I don’t have any software in which I can easily loop and/or slow down stuff. Or, rather, what software I do have I’m not so au fait with it. Net upshot, I’m not able to easily loop sections.
Finished is in inverted commas above, because under the circ’s, it’s as finished as I could make it after a few hours of cabin fever screen-burn-out! I may have to tweak it a bit,* as I both learn to play it myself, and teach with it.
To remedy these transcription issues, I just shelled out (poss for a second time?) for the full version of Amazing Slow Downer, an app by Roni Music. Poss’ one of the best most accurately named apps ever!? £12.99, at the time of my purchase.
Combined with Moises, which I will probably also wind up buying the full version of, I can isolate the drum tracks (or other elements), and slow them down, etc.
These are two great apps that I thoroughly recommend to all budding and long in the tooth musicians alike.
* For starters, there’s a very subtle and tasty little drum fill, rather buried in the mix, at about 1:36-7, which I really must cop! And it’s only really possible to hear it once everything but drums are removed, using Moises.
