After the success of my recent series on songs related to English contractions, I though I would see if the same might be true of Exclamations. So today we are going to begin with “Stop”. It first appeared in Old English as “stoppian,” which has, so far, only been found in the written record in […]
Ain’t
The word ‘ain’t‘ is a contraction for am not, is not, are not, has not, and have not in the common English language vernacular. In some dialects ain’t is also used as a contraction of do not, does not, and did not. The development of ain’t for the various forms of to be not, to […]
The Plank (1967)
The Plank is a 1967 British slapstick comedy film (51 minutes) made by Associated London Films. It follows the misadventures of two builders who require a floorboard. It was written and directed by Eric Sykes, and produced by Jon Pennington. The story was based on an episode of Eric Sykes’ BBC comedy series Sykes and […]
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Redding’s style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many […]
Tim Curry
Tim Curry is an English actor and singer. He is known for working in a diverse range of theatre, film, and television, most often portraying villainous characters. Curry’s first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968, where he met Richard O’Brien who went on to write […]
Persona 4
Persona 4 was one of David’s favourite games. The endurance run created by his beloved Giant Bomb and undertaken by Jeff Gerstmann and Vinny Caravella was something to which he returned again and again, particularly in difficult times. So I have chosen to feature it today in celebration of his birthday. Persona 4, also known […]
The Major General’s Song.
“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” (often referred to as the “Major-General’s Song” or “Modern Major-General’s Song“) is a patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera, The Pirate of Penzance. It has been called the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan patter song. Sung by Major General Stanley at his first […]
Bob Dylan
In honour of Bob Dylan celebrating his 80th birthday this week, I have selected some of my favourite pieces of his music for this blog post. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career spanning nearly 60 years. Much of […]
The Andrews Sisters
Today we are really travelling back in time. Looking through YouTube you will find that many modern groups will cover songs orginally made famous by the Andrews Sisters, so today we shall clebrate the originals. The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie woogie eras. The group consisted […]
Star Wars Day
This particular day in the year has become known as Star Wars day after some wag noticed the similarity of the phrase ‘May the 4th Be With You’ to one of the oft repeated remarks from the Star Wars trilogy. The music for the primary feature films (which serves as the basis for the rest […]