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Tuesday June 22, 04
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03:25 PM - Jim'll Fix It
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The postman was very good to me the other day. He delivered to me two shiny tickets for Morrissey at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh in August. I am really looking forward to this.
Most of the last week and a half has, naturally, been spent watching the European Championship finals. Some highly interesting events. Greece stunning Portugal on the opening day. The comedy of France's win over England. The rise of Wayne Rooney. Latvia being really tough nuts to crack. Spain out. The blatant fixing of tonight's conclusion to Group C, sending the Italians home. And of course, Saturday's magnificent game between the Netherlands and the Czechs (who, with the elimination of Spain and Italy, are the only team left I'm really supporting). Being a football fan, there are probably more things I see which disappoint and sicken me and make me wonder why I bother with the game, than there are things that fill my heart with joy. But games like that really do restore one's faith in the beautiful game. Impossibly dramatic, exciting, and full of great players playing brilliantly.
The stuff of legends, one might say. And talking of legends (what a link - I don't just throw this thing together haphazardly, you know), tomorrow I'm going to see Bob Dylan. How exciting is that? Okay....he does come with reputation of being inconsistent live, but he's still Bob Dylan. Y'know. He wrote and recorded Subterranean Homesick Blues. Draw up a list of the, say, ten most culturally important figures of the twentieth century, and I'm pretty sure Dylan would make your list. A perusal of various recent set lists suggests about six or seven near certainties, out of a standard set of seventeen, so to add to the excitement, I've no idea what the other ten will be. Not SHB, but hopefully he'll drop in a few sixties classics.
Not much in the way of gigging activities since Peter Gabriel, apart from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I must say, that was a disappointing gig. A stadium affair. Urgh. To make matters worse, I had to miss the France-England game. We were right in the top row, so I could see out of the stadium. Had a nice view of Edinburgh Castle, mind, and could see my place of work. Pity I couldn't see the Chilis as well...
They were fine though, lots of their mostly very good recent singles, plus old classics such as Under The Bridge and Give It Away to finish, but they struggled to command the stadium, and certainly couldn't command the very top row of the stand. There was one moment of excitement, at least, when they began one song with the intro to Transmission by Joy Division, which regular readers will recognise as one of my favourite tracks ever in the history of all things ever. Support was provided by N*E*R*D (who I now don't need to waste my time going to see at T In The Park...oh, they were alright, y'know, but...meh...) and Ash, who I have a lot of time for but again were hardly suited to the venue.
Oh yes, and the sound was pish and there was no beer. It wasn't an awesome day.
Last Friday I was out with my workmates, and drank a lot, but it seems I wasn't any worse than anyone else. I think I went into a Morrissey rant at one point talking to one poor soul (who I don't even work with, but is a friend of workmate). I wonder if I made a conversion... I also seem to recall going on about the Pixies a bit.
So that's about it. Like I say, I've been watching football a lot so little to say. If you want a blow by blow account of the games I'm sure there are websites which do this.
Nice to see Ploppy Pants back, by the way. There aren't enough of the old school about any more. Did you know? - my journal celebrated its third birthday ten days ago.
What a depressing thought to end on...
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But if it was, I wouldn't be upset at all. The I still haven't forgotten all the spit and piss that was hurled at me and my fellow Wales fans from the top tier at the San Siro last September. Fuck Italy.