so sad to hear that Bob ‘Bomber’ Harris is retiring as a DJ who we all grew up with here via The Old Grey Whistle Test earning his sobriquet ‘Whispering’ Bob as we all tuned in every week to see who he would feature (Captain Beefheart, Ry Cooder, Roxy Music, Eurythmics etc etc . . . . ) and the endless brilliant cartoons played via the featured album tracks. That he continued so long via BBC Radio is little short of miraculous and we will miss him sorely. It is reported his pancreatic cancer has no spread to his spine thus incapacitating him further. I trust his ongoing treatment lends to his comfort in his retirement . . . . . . .
Reasons to be cheerful . . . . . .or reflective for sure
TWO Staggering pieces from Kelly today . . . . .still struggling with my (albeit ancient) view on AI but on a day where AI has aided science into developing treatment for COVID-19 type vaccines is this the future? . . . . . If you want to know what Kelly thinks check out here Ted Talk! Amazing woman!
"I always return to surrealism. I feel like AI and surrealism go together like wine and cheese. When Midjourney updates their app, I love to go back and try old prompts to see how different they look. This was one I really loved and it didn’t disappoint. I wrote the song, ‘In Here’ just thinking about the scenes and thought of Hotel California and the thought about going into a place and not being able to leave. When I was younger that song theme always stuck with me. These scenes made me think of that. It’s creepy but many of the scenes have a little humor too."
In Here
[Verse 1]
They've got windows that face
The wrong way in
And a streetlight that burns through the day
A hundred-foot redwood
Grown through the floor
Of a house where the lost people stay
And they say if you see the spirit
In the big white house
You will fall in love
And you'll never come down
'Cause there's something 'bout the air
In here
[Chorus]
You can get in
But you can't get out
You wanna go
But you don't know how
You found yourself
In the lost and found
You ended up in
But you can't get out
Of here
[Verse 2]
It ain't in no book
And they all laugh
When you say you wanna go
The streets fold back
On the roads you came from
And the exits all lead where you've already been before
If they say it's the best time that they've ever had
That they lived a thousand lives and they're never going back
And I may be obliged to defend Every love, every ending Or maybe there’s no obligations now Maybe I’ve a reason to believe We all will be received In Graceland
Now I mentioned Elle and Toni yesterday and have a confession to make, I do not believe I had noticed that ATSE’s Paul has posted quite so much by this fantastic pair. The gals excel at everything they touch IMHO but there is a plethora of cover songs here check the link for works by them from 2013-2015 to today!
This one the exception being not Sunday morning ‘covers’ but Elle’s own work!
I highly recommend the work of these two and if this huge lot above mean you don’t quite know where to start might I guest their two volumes of Elle’s own songs and then delve into the collection of Sunday Morning covers if you like what you hear!
Much hullabaloo has been made of Bob doing Baby, Won’t You Be My Baby as being a first time live event!
And you know what?
THEY’RE NOT WRONG!
Bob.com
says:
Baby, Won’t You Be My Baby Source: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes RAW played live where and when Jun 04, 2026 Jun 04, 2026 number of times played 1
Now following Nat Myers’ version of this classic song I went searching for the original and of course found it (although most folk scarcely mention that it is a duet with his wife Kate) . . . . .the high reedy voice made me search for more versions and whether any other covers were as inspired as Nat’s and of course it falls to Sister Rosetta Tharpe to nail it (nearly!) as good as our Nat! I think because the song amused me so I wondered about the lyrics and always enjoy a good yarn but in places it lost me verse four especially what DOES that mean!? Aaaanyhoo enjoy!
I sure as hecken freck did!
For those celebrating sobriety out there this one’s for you! One for the Fellowship!!
Blind Willie & Kate McTell-God Don't Like It
God Don’t Like It ( an’I don’t either)
Blind Willie McTell
Verse 1]
Some say they done cut whiskey out
But you can have a little wine
Most everybody gets on a drunk
By drinking this old moonshine
[Chorus]
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
[Verse 2]
Some of our members gets on a drunk
Just to speak their sober minds
And when they raise the Devil
Lord, they put all the blame on shine
[Chorus]
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
[Verse 3]
Some of our preachers just as bad as the members
About this old moonshine
They're trying to make love with every woman they meet
Just a buyin' and drinkin' shine
[Chorus]
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
[Verse 4]
Then some of our children got naked
And the mothers never go
But the father makes that money by the roll
For the women know their shine is gold
[Chorus]
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
[Verse 5]
They said this yellow corn
Makes the best kind of shine
They'd better turn a-that corn to bread
And stop that making shine
[Chorus]
For God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
Now God don't like it and (I don't either)
It's scandalous and a shame
Verse 6]
I know you don't like this song
Just because I speak my mind
But I'll sing this song a-just as much as I please
Now I love Jesse Winchester and bought Third Down 110 to go when it came out here in the UK and continued to follow him. Great mellow songwriter and with profound poetic lyrics often deceptive and yet humorous they tend to the human condition I think his Defying Gravity one of the finest songs so here a twofer . . . . . if you don’t have anything start here
Jesse Winchester was one of the top singer-songwriters of his generation. This talented artist was born and raised in the American South, but relocated to Canada to avoid being drafted. His early inability to tour in the US may have permanently stunted his commercial success as a recording artist, since he never achieved sales commensurate with his artistic achievements.
After growing up in Memphis, Winchester received his draft notice in 1967 and moved to Montreal, Canada, rather than serve in the military. In 1969, he met Robbie Robertson of the Band, who helped launch his recording career. In the same way that James Taylor's history of mental instability and drug abuse served as a subtext for his early music, Winchester's exile lent real-life poignancy to songs like "Yankee Lady," which appeared on his debut album, Jesse Winchester (1970). He became a Canadian citizen in 1973.
Jesse's debut was released in a fold-out LP jacket that featured the same sepia-toned portrait (which looked like one of those austere Matthew Brady photos from the Civil War era) on each of its four sides. Winchester emphasized the dichotomy between his southern origins and his northern exile in songs like "Snow" (which Robertson co-wrote), "The Brand New Tennessee Waltz" ("I've a sadness too sad to be true"), and "Yankee Lady." Jesse Winchester was timely: it spoke to a disaffected American generation that sympathized with Winchester's pacifism. But it was also timeless: the songs revealed a powerful writing talent (recognized by the numerous artists who covered them), and Winchester's gentle vocals made a wonderful vehicle for delivering them. [Originally released by Ampex in 1970.
His two-and-a-half-years-in-the-making follow-up was in some ways even more impressive. Without the influence of Robbie Robertson, Winchester, who produced most of the album himself (three tracks were handled by Todd Rundgren), gave it a homemade feel, using small collections of acoustic instruments, an appropriate setting for a group of short, intimate songs that expressed a deliberately positive worldview set against an acknowledgement of desperate times. Winchester found hope in religion and domesticity, but the key to his stance was a kind of good-humored accommodation. "If the wheel is fixed," he sang, "I would still take a chance. If we're skating on thin ice, then we might as well dance." The album was littered with such examples of aphoristic folk wisdom, adding up to a portrait of a man, cut off from his very deep roots and yet determined to maintain his dignity with grace and even occasionally a goofy sense of humor.
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
Jesse Winchester 1970 1. Payday - 2:55 2. Biloxi - 3:21 3. Snow - 2:24 4. The Brand New Tennessee Waltz - 3:09 5. That's A Touch I Like - 2:50 6. Yankee Lady - 4:03 7. Quiet About It - 2:30 8. Skip Rope Song - 2:27 9. Rosie Shy - 3:06 10.Black Dog - 4:44 11.The Nudge - 3:34
Third Down 110 To Go 1972 12.Isn't That So? - 2:29 13.Dangerous Fun - 2:08 14.Full Moon - 2:06 15.North Star - 2:02 16.Do It - 1:31 17.Lullaby For The First Born - 2:57 18.Midnight Bus - 2:20 19.Glory To The Day - 3:50 20.The Easy Way - 1:33 21.Do La Lay - 1:57 22.God's Own Jukebox - 1:44 23.Silly Heart - 2:55 24.All of Your Stories - 2:38
All songs by Jesse Winchester except track #3 which is co-written with Robbie Robertson