22/09/2012

Have I done the right thing?


Wilson has decided that, before he invests too much love and effort in another singer, he will do some research. To this end, he has downloaded Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life onto his Kindle, so he can be sure he won't get any nasty surprises or shocks if he happens to like Cohen's work. 
He says that until he can be certain about this, he will not even listen to a single song.
I hope I did right in suggesting Cohen and not, for example, Billy Joel. Or Bowie. Neil Young or Joni Mitchell. Only time will tell…

21/09/2012

Leonard Cohen


Wilson is still very upset about Bob Dylan. 
I tried to explain that all of Dylan's back catalogue is just as good as it ever was. He agreed, but said that listening to Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands will never be the same in view of what he now knows; in his head, it will always have a backbeat of Here Comes Santa Claus
Wilson then asked me about other music icons. I thought for a minute, then tentatively suggested... Leonard Cohen.
W immediately asked, 'Has he ever recorded an Xmas album?'

20/09/2012

Bad Mood Rising


Still very upset by his purchase of Bob Dylan's Christmas In The Heart album, Wilson told me, 'I'm going to contact iTunes to demand a refund!' 
When I explained that all the royalties went to homeless charities (Crisis in the UK), and that in any case he'd bought the download using my credit card, he agreed not to pursue a refund... but insisted that he would never listen to it again.
Actually, W is in a pretty bad mood all round, having missed International Talk Like A Pirate Day yesterday. 
I suggested we might spend today talking like pirates, but he said it wouldn't be the same -- if there was just the two of us doing it, we'd look like idiots. 
Heaven forfend that we should look like idiots! Yarrr!

19/09/2012

Disillusionment is a terrible thing...


Today I found Wilson listening to the iPad in a very gloomy mood. I sat on the floor next to him and asked him what was up. He silently removed one of his ear-buds and passed it to me. A terrible, terrible cacophony emerged from the tiny bud, so I declined W's offer to put it into my ear. 'It is clean,' he said, 'I washed my ears just yesterday,' but I  just didn't want to hear this racket any louder than an annoying, tinny whisper.
'What on earth is this?' I asked.
'It's Bob Dylan's 2009 Christmas album, Christmas In The Heart!' he replied, miserably. I downloaded it this morning to get me in the Xmas mood.'
'Didn't you read any reviews?' I asked.
'Only from the Music Critics,' he replied. 'They just said it was "unusual" or "iconoclastic", but they just didn't want to offend him. Now I've looked at the User reviews, and they all say it's rubbish… and it is. Mr Bob Dylan, my former hero, has Feet of Clay. The Scales have fallen from my Eyes. I am no longer a BobCat.'
We sat quietly for a few moments… in silence but for a tinny, phlegmy rendition of The Little Drummer Boy emerging from the ear-bud resting on the floor...

18/09/2012

Christmas is Coming!


After watching the Dr Who Christmas Special last night (well, we've both been very busy!) Wilson started to feel quite Christmassy! 
He asked how long it was until Christmas, and when I told him it was only about 12 weeks, he became very excited and went to bed to begin drawing up his Christmas Presents List for Father Xmas. 
I'm even feeling a little bit Christmassy myself.

17/09/2012

WILSON HAS WRITTEN A BOOK!


Look, everyone: Wilson has written a book! He's VERY excited and he'd like you all to take a look, and to send it to your friends! 

It's only got eight pages, so it won't take long to read... in fact it's nearly all pictures, so what have you got to lose?

Hey Little Hen


This morning I was woken by Wilson's singing… this time not a Dylan song, but the WW2 classic Hey Little Hen
When he'd finished, I asked him if he'd tired of Dylan's songs, and he frowned, saying, 'Of course not. Hey Little Hen is one of Dylan's early classics! It dates, I think, from the transitional period between his protest songs and going electric.'
I tried to put him right, but he refused to believe me. He stomped out of the room, returning a few minutes later holding his (actually, my) iPad, which was playing a video. It really did appear to be a video of Bob Dylan singing Hey Little Hen, but closer inspection revealed it to be Burt Kwouk on the Harry Hill Show
It's an easy mistake to have made, and we continued to sing Hey Little Hen together for the rest of the morning… in our Dylan voices.
Is that Mr Harry dressed as Allen Ginsberg in the background? And isn't that Stoufa the Cat's head peeking out of the wheelie bin?

See the video for yourself here, at around the 9m50s mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4h6-gDWqe8

16/09/2012

The Future has slipped from my grasp...


I was watching Wilson while he cooked lunch today. He was humming and singing to himself, and I caught the words, 'Come mothers and New Dads dum-de-dum-de-dum/Don't criticise what you can't understand/Your dum-dum-te-dum are beyond your command/Your old road is rapidly changing/Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a paw' etc, and I thought, Hang on, that's MY generation's battle-cry
But now I'm a part of the older generation, and the future has slipped from my grasp… It's now up to youngsters like Wilson to try to make a better world than the one we've left them with. Good luck with that!