The Magnificent 7. Seven Sisters. Seven Police Academy movies. Seven deadly sins. Seven Dwarfs. Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.
I was watching a show last night, when a character complained about his 10 days of annual leave a year said, 'It's only 1.426 weeks of year.' I called out 'It's 1.429!' Or to be more precise 1.428571.
So if you ever wanted to know how much of the the deadly sins gluttony makes up or what percentage Dopey, Doc & Sneezy are of the Seven Dwarfs you're in luck.
1/7 expressed as a fraction is .142857142857...
It keeps on repeating in the same pattern.
The first thing that struck me is that the 6 different digits in the sequence does not include a zero or any multiple of 3.
Also if you add the 1st & 4th digits, the 2nd & the 5th or the 3rd & the 6th digits, the answer is always 9. It turns out there is a good reason for this.
The full sequence of the fractions is:
1/7 - .142857
2/7 - .285714
3/7 - .428571
4/7 - .571428
5/7 - .714285
6/7 - .857142
So the 6 digits are used in all of the fractions. Also the order that they appear in does not change. The digit that starts the fraction changes, but the sequence stays the same.
It also means every digit is in a different slot for each fraction. Eg 1 is 1st in 1/7, 5th for 2/7, 3rd for 3/7, 3rd for 4/7, 2nd for 5/7, and 4th for 6/7.
Also if you look at the first 3 digits & the last 3 digits you'll notice that for;
- 1/7 & 6/7
- 2/7 & 5/7
- 3/7 & 4/7
just switch around the block of three digits and you'll get the answer to the other. Eg 1/7 is .[142][857] & 6/7 is .[857][142].
Also if you double the first 2 digits of any sequence you will get the answer is to what the next 2 digits are, (in some cases you have to add 1 to the answer if it breaks certain rules).
So for 1/7 - 14 doubled is 28. Them 28 doubled is 56. Now there are no multiples of 3 in the sequence, so just move up one number to 57. Put that together and we get 142857.
The double of 57 is 114. Take the last 2 digits of that which is 14 and you're back to the start of the sequence.
For 5/7 - if you double 71 you get 142. The last 2 digits are 42. If you double 42 you get 84. Now we've already used a 4 so we move up a number to get 85. So 714285 Double 85 & you get 170. The last 2 digits are 70. Now as we know we can't have a zero, so we move along 1 to 71. And we are back to the start of the sequence.
The 1/7 fraction. The most beautiful number there is, just ahead of 867-5309.
Talking Crap
Thursday, 16 January 2020
Thursday, 19 September 2019
My order of New Order
My favourite 50 New Order Songs.
49 of them are on this Spotify list. I can't find a version of Hurt. Some versions are by Peter Hook & The Light.
https://open.spotify.com/user/1245310313/playlist/3ssrbF0BL2jh8Va6mwkXUv?si=xKzfFTFrTvy0ILC1yfcioQ
50 Rock The Shack - 2001 - Get Ready
49 In A Lonely Place - Single B side Ceremony
48 Turn My Way - 2001 - Get Ready
47 Singularity - 2015 - Music Complete
46 Leave Me Alone - 2001 - Power, Corruption & Lies
45 Paradise - 1986 - Brotherhood
44 We All Stand - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
43 World in Motion - 1990 - Single - UK 1 Aus 21 - Rereleased ,2002 - UK 43
42 Who's Joe - 2005 - Waiting For The Sirens' Call
41 Slow Jam - 2001 - Get Ready
40 Round & Round - 1989 - Technique - UK 21 Aus 67
39 Jetstream - 2005 - Waiting For The Sirens' Call - UK 20 Aus 79
38 Ecstacy - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
37 Sooner Than You Think - 1985 - Low-Life
36 Dreams Never End 1981 - Movement
35 Primitive Notion - 2001 - Get Ready
34 Murder - 1984 - Single - UK 92
33 Hurt - 1982 - 1981-82 - B side Temptation
https://youtu.be/OY3WNEsb3DE
32 The Village - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
31 Procession - 1981 - 1981-1982 - UK 38
30 60 Miles An Hour - 2001 - Get Ready - UK 29 Aus 37
29 Sunrise - 1985 - Low-Life
28 Everything's Gone Green - 1981 - 1981-1982
27 Mesh - 1981 - 1981-1982
26 Plastic - 2015 - Music Complete,
25 Bizarre Love Triangle - 1986 - Brotherhood - UK 56 Aus 5
24 5-8-6 - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
23 Restless - 2015 - Music Complete
22 Regret - 1993 - Republic - UK 4 Aus 26
21 Age Of Consent - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
20 Crystal - 2001 - Get Ready - UK 8 Aus 53
19 Cries & Whispers : 1981 - Single B side Everything's Gone Green
18 This Time Of Night - 1985 - Low-Life
17 World (The Price Of Love) - 1993 - Republic - UK 13 Aus 87
16 Someone Like You - 2001 - Get Ready
15 People On The High Line - 2015 - Music Complete
14 Dream Attack - 1989 - Technique
13 Close Range - 2001 - Get Ready
12 Here To Stay - 2002 - Single - UK 15 Aus 64
11 1963 - 1987 - Single B side True Faith. Released as a single in 1995 - UK 21 Aus 206
10 Elegia - 1985 - Low-Life
9 Ceremony - 1981 - Single - UK 34
8 Love Vigilantes - 1985 - Low-Life
7 Vanishing Point - 1989 - Technique
6 Ultraviolence - 1983 - Power, Corruption & Lies
5 True Faith - 1987 - Single - UK 4 Aus 8
4 Tutti Fruitti - 2015 - Music Complete
3 Blue Monday - 1983 - Single - UK 9 Aus 13 Rereleased 1988 UK 3 Aus 4. Rereleased 1995 UK 17 Aus 109
2 Temptation - 1982 - 1981-1982 - UK 29
1 Perfect Kiss 1985 - Low-Life - UK 46 Aus 85
Breakdown by Album
Movement - 1
1981-82 - 5 compilation EP
Power, Corruption & Lies - 7
Low-Life 6
Brotherhood - 2
Technique - 3
Republic - 2
Get Ready - 8
Waiting For The Sirens' Call - 2
Music Complete - 5
Singles - 9
Saturday, 1 July 2017
Friday, 30 June 2017
Anyone Here Like The Human League?
Its been rumoured that The Human League are (finally) returning to Australia in December, although it hasn't been confirmed by the band.
Note: even though they often play Together In Electric Dreams, it was released as a Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder single...and it wouldn't have made the top 10 anyway.
#10 - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (1981) - not released as a single at the time. Re-released in 2008 but didn't chart.
The opening song on Dare and is the song that gives the album it's name.
Is also the song that (briefly) gets played on The Young Ones.
Best part: A great start to a truly remarkable album, Musically interesting and some great lyrics
Take a lift to the top of the Empire State
Take a drive across the Golden Gate
March, march, march across Red Square
Do all the things you've ever dared
Take a drive across the Golden Gate
March, march, march across Red Square
Do all the things you've ever dared
Everybody needs love and adventure
Everybody needs cash to spend
Everybody needs love and affection
Everybody needs two or three friends
Everybody needs cash to spend
Everybody needs love and affection
Everybody needs two or three friends
#9 - Life on Your Own (1984) - Hysteria #16 (UK)
Musically not overly interesting but poppy enough. An interesting take on a person who seems to be struggling after ending a relationship and who seems in dark & lonely place literally and figuratively.
#8 - (Keep Feeling) Fascination (1983) - Fascination! - #2 (UK) & #8 (Aust)
The title track from Fascination!
Also gives a chance to include this take on the Spanish Inquisition.
Best part: Musically quite good and I like the use of the 4 different voices.
#7 - Darkness (1981) - Dare - Not released as a single
Not released as a single, but was on an album with a load of songs that were good enough to be released as singles (five were eventually)
Best part: Musically a very good song and the way it builds up towards the end is fantastic.
#6 - Mirror Man (1982) - Fascination! #2 (UK) & #4 (UK)
The first single from Fascination! I wasn't a huge fan of this when this was released, (a bit too poppy and some parts musically let it down). However I've come to appreciate the lyrics over the years and besides a few parts musically it's pretty good.
Best part:
The water shines, a pebble skips across the face
A dozen times, then disappears, not a trace left behind
The thrower turns and walks away
A change of mind, another start a brand new day
A dozen times, then disappears, not a trace left behind
The thrower turns and walks away
A change of mind, another start a brand new day
You know I'll change
If change is what you require
Your every wish
Your every dream, hope, desire
If change is what you require
Your every wish
Your every dream, hope, desire
#5 - Empire State Human (1979) - Didn't chart on release. Re-released in 1980 #62 (UK).
Recorded and released before the Human League/Heaven 17 split. Like Being Boiled has a great dance beat.
Best part: Musically has a great beat and Phil's voice adds to this. The repeating of lyrics adds to the rhythm.
#4 - Being Boiled (1978) - Didn't chart on release. =in 1982 #6 (UK)
Their first ever single. The lyrics are Phil Oakey's with the music from Martin Ware and Ian Marsh, with it sounding very much like a Heaven 17 song.
Best part: How musically dark it is whilst maintaining a dance beat.
#3 - The Lebanon (1984) - Hysteria - #11 (UK) & #23 (Aust)
The most political of their singles. Also probably their most rock 'n' roll and very different from their previous sounds. Released during Lebanon's civil war. It's hard to believe now that Beirut was called the Paris of the Middle East and Lebanon was the democratic beacon in the Arab world. Too long a story to get into what happened and who was to blame, but what a bloody mess.
Best part: Musically this is fantastic and most of the song really rocks.
#2 - Sound Of The Crowd (1981)- Dare - #12 (UK)
The first single from Dare. Musically this is my favourite song of theirs.
Best part: The music. Synthpop at it's best. A (mainly) instrumental version.
#1 - Open Your Heart (1981) - Dare - #6 (UK) & #33 (Aust)
The third single from Dare.
Easily my favourite song of theirs. A great song about love, dealing with heartbreak and negative friends.
Best part: I like the music but this is more about the lyrics. The opening verse is fantastic.
And when it hurts you know they love to tell you
How they warned you
They say "Don't be surprised at someone's lies"
They think they taunt you
But if you can stand the test
You know your worst is better than their best
I also loved Phil's ear ring in this video. Always wanted one of those, but never went past a boring ring.
************************************
No spot for Don't You Want Me. It is obviously their biggest hit (it was the Christmas #1 in 1981) and in ITV poll in 2015 it was voted as the UK's 7th best #1 from the 1980s.
It was the 4th single from Dare and Phil Oakey didn't want it released and allegedly thought it was little more than filler, although he is now apparently proud of the song although thinks it is over rated.
It's a nasty song about a man who is threatening a woman who is ending their relationship. He's made her a star and he can put her back in her place. She'd better change her mind of they will both be sorry.
A song writer doesn't always have to support what they write and they can be written from a different perspective. I don't hate it and it does have a great pop beat, but I like plenty of their other songs more than this.
Saturday, 27 May 2017
And the winner was any sport that wasn't Football
Liverpool played the Smurfs (aka Sydney FC) in a post-season friendly in Sydney during the week. I love football but am not a fan of friendlies and rarely watch them unless the Socceroos or Spurs are playing. I'm so keen to watch Spurs at the moment I hunted down a Facebook feed of then playing Kitchee in Hong Kong during the week.
Spurs have played friendlies in Sydney & Melbourne in the last two years. In all honesty the games were the least memorable parts of their trips. Going to the training sessions and getting autographs; spending a few days in Melbourne with a close friend with also supports Spurs; having some drinks at the Imperial and then the march to the game; meeting some players at Pitt St Mall & Federation Square; the nights with Ossie Ardiles & Ledley King; the Spurs trivia night in Melbourne; bumping into other Spurs fans; meeting another Spurs friend at the Melbourne game; having a quick chat to Andros Townsend were all more memorable than the actual games.
Anyway the Liverpool vs Sydney FC game was shown on ABC2. The match was arranged only in April (in comparison Arsenal's two games in Sydney were first announced in December 15 with dates announced in April 16). Accordingly the ABC won the rights to the game only very recently.
Most of the post match review wasn't given to the game, but instead to the coverage. To give an idea of how well the coverage went down is that apparently the CEO of the ABC Michelle Guthrie will give a response at the Senate estimates hearing. Also it was so bad that it seems to have scuppered any chance the ABC had of getting the free-to-air rights for the A League.
Of course former Socceroo and now commentator Robbie Slater hated the coverage. Robbie tends to criticise any football coverage he isn't part of although to be fair to him, his criticism of this coverage was warranted. It think Slater is a very ordinary commentator. I quite like most of the ex-players who are on SBS: Andy Harper, Mark Bosnich, Mark Rudan, Ned Zekic. Slater really stands out like a sore thumb on their coverage.
I think generally sports commentators get to much stick. On some social groups I'm part of, whenever any sports commentator/journalist is mentioned, there will be people who will take a dig and who really hate them. I think part of is that with so many of us being sports fans, we think we know more than them and could do a better job. Anybody who has spent much time with me will know my views on Rebecca Wilson, Ben Ikin, Paul Kent and really any sports journalist at the Tele.
What has people upset wasn't the match commentary, but the pre-game, half-time and post-game coverage. I didn't watch it at the time, but did see some of it in the subsequent media storm. I have since watched it on ABC catch up. Oh dear. If I can compare this to a premier league team it would be Derby County in 2007/08, when they had one win all season and were relegated by March.
The coverage contained three comedians Jules Schiller, Tegan Higginbotham and Steen Raskapolous (son of Peter the former Socceroo and the captain of Australia's World Cup youth team) with sideline commentary from another comedian Aaron Chen. The only person I knew before hand was Schiller for his work with Sam Mac on the football show The B Team. I was talking about that show recently and called it a poor man's Santo, Sam & Ed's.
Schiller has made a passionate defence of the coverage. He is right that the fact this is going to a Senate enquiry is a ridiculous. He also made a strong defence of the other people involved in the coverage. My take is that individually they might have been ok (with the exception of Chen). However, together they didn't work well.
Schiller points out that with this being a friendly the went for a light hearted approach. There is nothing wrong with that, but they got the balance between humour and football wrong. Very, very wrong. On the coverage it takes almost 8 minutes before there is any real mention of the game. It might have worked (or at least wouldn't have been a train wreck) if the coverage would have included a proper football person, who could have bought some football perspective to the game and mixed in some humour. Their pre-game show had no real mention of Liverpool's recently completed season or on the career of Steven Gerrard who was playing. Somebody like Andy Harper would have been perfect, although he might not have contractually available. If not there are a whole host of others who would have been good. Peter Wilkins, Andy Paschilidis, Simon Hill, Stephanie Brantz, Ned Zelic etc could have all bought in some football knowledge with some good presenting skills.
Schiller misses the point that whilst their coverage was trying to be funny, that the people who were watching were doing so to watch a game. He is right that the coverage should have been a celebration of football. That's right of football. There was a place for humour but not at the almost total expense of providing some insight into the teams and the match.
Schiller had his moments on the coverage. When Higginbotham was plugging her upcoming show that features sporting couples, Schiller quipped that he hoped Warnie would be on there. A low point was when he said that Milos Ninkovic was a Smurf who might cause Liverpool some problems, only to be told by Raskopolous that Ninkovic wasn't playing, to which Schiller responded that he wondered why his name wasn't on the team sheet. Also I don't trust a man in whose probably in his 40s and still calls himself Jules. Wikileaks would have zero credibility if it had been led by Jules Assange.
Raskopolous was the standout of the three. He had some funny lines and knew his stuff. Higginbotham obviously isn't a football fan. Her comment at half-time that her hope for the second half was that Sydney would 'kick a goal' underscored that she is an Aussie Rules fan (apparently she has copped a lot of criticism on social media because of this).
Aaron's Chan interviews on the sideline with fans were horrendously bad. I rarely think interviews work well then the interviewer is the one trying to be the star of the interview, unless you are a comedy genius like Norman Gunston. I'm a massive Steven Colbert fan, but I though the only part of his former news show that didn't work well were his interviews, until he switched to a more traditional style. Schiller defends Chen's work by saying he saw him getting texts from the producers of Kyle & Jackie O (he doesn't say what the texts said) as they understand the younger demographic. The producers of Kyle & Jackie O also thought this was a good idea. That Chen's half-time 'interview' with Sydney FC fans was shown over an actual interview with Steven Gerrard was an indictment of what was so wrong with the coverage.
Schiller also points out that the coverage was blighted by technical problems. It was clear from very early on that they were having trouble in hearing. The fact that the ABC decided to use a box that wasn't glassed off from the crowd was staggering and was just asking for trouble. I had no problem in they having the teams on a whiteboard with pictures of the players. However what would have been good was if they actually showed the teams and didn't just discuss a few players.
Part of the reason football fans are so sensitive to things like this, is that they think they get a raw deal from the media. It's seen in the Rebecca Wilson/Daily Telegraph coverage of the banned A League fans. When Channel 9 had the rights to the 2006 World Cup their version of the Footy Show included Shane Warne and Peter Fitzsimons, a man who openly hates football and once put out two books on Australia sports people ('Everybody bar Phar Lap' and 'Everybody including Phar Lap') which failed to profiles of any footballers (the first book includes 37 profiles). The other Footy Shows do not give so much time to sportsman from other codes, including from a person who is openly hostile to that sport.
We shouldn't be wasting tax payer money discussing this coverage in the Senate. However, the coverage was exceptionally poor. If there is any good news to come out of it, it is that football fans will no longer sit quietly whilst served such a second rate coverage.
Spurs have played friendlies in Sydney & Melbourne in the last two years. In all honesty the games were the least memorable parts of their trips. Going to the training sessions and getting autographs; spending a few days in Melbourne with a close friend with also supports Spurs; having some drinks at the Imperial and then the march to the game; meeting some players at Pitt St Mall & Federation Square; the nights with Ossie Ardiles & Ledley King; the Spurs trivia night in Melbourne; bumping into other Spurs fans; meeting another Spurs friend at the Melbourne game; having a quick chat to Andros Townsend were all more memorable than the actual games.
Anyway the Liverpool vs Sydney FC game was shown on ABC2. The match was arranged only in April (in comparison Arsenal's two games in Sydney were first announced in December 15 with dates announced in April 16). Accordingly the ABC won the rights to the game only very recently.
Most of the post match review wasn't given to the game, but instead to the coverage. To give an idea of how well the coverage went down is that apparently the CEO of the ABC Michelle Guthrie will give a response at the Senate estimates hearing. Also it was so bad that it seems to have scuppered any chance the ABC had of getting the free-to-air rights for the A League.
Of course former Socceroo and now commentator Robbie Slater hated the coverage. Robbie tends to criticise any football coverage he isn't part of although to be fair to him, his criticism of this coverage was warranted. It think Slater is a very ordinary commentator. I quite like most of the ex-players who are on SBS: Andy Harper, Mark Bosnich, Mark Rudan, Ned Zekic. Slater really stands out like a sore thumb on their coverage.
I think generally sports commentators get to much stick. On some social groups I'm part of, whenever any sports commentator/journalist is mentioned, there will be people who will take a dig and who really hate them. I think part of is that with so many of us being sports fans, we think we know more than them and could do a better job. Anybody who has spent much time with me will know my views on Rebecca Wilson, Ben Ikin, Paul Kent and really any sports journalist at the Tele.
What has people upset wasn't the match commentary, but the pre-game, half-time and post-game coverage. I didn't watch it at the time, but did see some of it in the subsequent media storm. I have since watched it on ABC catch up. Oh dear. If I can compare this to a premier league team it would be Derby County in 2007/08, when they had one win all season and were relegated by March.
The coverage contained three comedians Jules Schiller, Tegan Higginbotham and Steen Raskapolous (son of Peter the former Socceroo and the captain of Australia's World Cup youth team) with sideline commentary from another comedian Aaron Chen. The only person I knew before hand was Schiller for his work with Sam Mac on the football show The B Team. I was talking about that show recently and called it a poor man's Santo, Sam & Ed's.
Schiller has made a passionate defence of the coverage. He is right that the fact this is going to a Senate enquiry is a ridiculous. He also made a strong defence of the other people involved in the coverage. My take is that individually they might have been ok (with the exception of Chen). However, together they didn't work well.
Schiller points out that with this being a friendly the went for a light hearted approach. There is nothing wrong with that, but they got the balance between humour and football wrong. Very, very wrong. On the coverage it takes almost 8 minutes before there is any real mention of the game. It might have worked (or at least wouldn't have been a train wreck) if the coverage would have included a proper football person, who could have bought some football perspective to the game and mixed in some humour. Their pre-game show had no real mention of Liverpool's recently completed season or on the career of Steven Gerrard who was playing. Somebody like Andy Harper would have been perfect, although he might not have contractually available. If not there are a whole host of others who would have been good. Peter Wilkins, Andy Paschilidis, Simon Hill, Stephanie Brantz, Ned Zelic etc could have all bought in some football knowledge with some good presenting skills.
Schiller misses the point that whilst their coverage was trying to be funny, that the people who were watching were doing so to watch a game. He is right that the coverage should have been a celebration of football. That's right of football. There was a place for humour but not at the almost total expense of providing some insight into the teams and the match.
Schiller had his moments on the coverage. When Higginbotham was plugging her upcoming show that features sporting couples, Schiller quipped that he hoped Warnie would be on there. A low point was when he said that Milos Ninkovic was a Smurf who might cause Liverpool some problems, only to be told by Raskopolous that Ninkovic wasn't playing, to which Schiller responded that he wondered why his name wasn't on the team sheet. Also I don't trust a man in whose probably in his 40s and still calls himself Jules. Wikileaks would have zero credibility if it had been led by Jules Assange.
Raskopolous was the standout of the three. He had some funny lines and knew his stuff. Higginbotham obviously isn't a football fan. Her comment at half-time that her hope for the second half was that Sydney would 'kick a goal' underscored that she is an Aussie Rules fan (apparently she has copped a lot of criticism on social media because of this).
Aaron's Chan interviews on the sideline with fans were horrendously bad. I rarely think interviews work well then the interviewer is the one trying to be the star of the interview, unless you are a comedy genius like Norman Gunston. I'm a massive Steven Colbert fan, but I though the only part of his former news show that didn't work well were his interviews, until he switched to a more traditional style. Schiller defends Chen's work by saying he saw him getting texts from the producers of Kyle & Jackie O (he doesn't say what the texts said) as they understand the younger demographic. The producers of Kyle & Jackie O also thought this was a good idea. That Chen's half-time 'interview' with Sydney FC fans was shown over an actual interview with Steven Gerrard was an indictment of what was so wrong with the coverage.
Schiller also points out that the coverage was blighted by technical problems. It was clear from very early on that they were having trouble in hearing. The fact that the ABC decided to use a box that wasn't glassed off from the crowd was staggering and was just asking for trouble. I had no problem in they having the teams on a whiteboard with pictures of the players. However what would have been good was if they actually showed the teams and didn't just discuss a few players.
Part of the reason football fans are so sensitive to things like this, is that they think they get a raw deal from the media. It's seen in the Rebecca Wilson/Daily Telegraph coverage of the banned A League fans. When Channel 9 had the rights to the 2006 World Cup their version of the Footy Show included Shane Warne and Peter Fitzsimons, a man who openly hates football and once put out two books on Australia sports people ('Everybody bar Phar Lap' and 'Everybody including Phar Lap') which failed to profiles of any footballers (the first book includes 37 profiles). The other Footy Shows do not give so much time to sportsman from other codes, including from a person who is openly hostile to that sport.
We shouldn't be wasting tax payer money discussing this coverage in the Senate. However, the coverage was exceptionally poor. If there is any good news to come out of it, it is that football fans will no longer sit quietly whilst served such a second rate coverage.
Friday, 31 March 2017
My top 10 Blondie songs
We get to see Blondie on Tuesday.
Here are my favourite 10 Blondie songs. The list is dominated, not surprisingly, by some from Parallel Lines (4) and Eat to the Beat (5)
An idea of the quality might some some of the songs that missed out: Picture This; Sunday Girl (I contemplated including the French version); Call Me; The Tide is High; and Maria.
Originally getting their break as one of the bands coming out of New York in the mid 1970s, Blondie always liked to try different styles.
Their first hit anywhere was 'In the Flesh' which went to #2 after Molly Meldrum played it on Countdown, The song was the B side to 'X Offender'. The are questions whether Molly accidentally played it, although with Molly's ear for a hit he probably realised it was much more likely to be a hit than the A side.
My favourite Blondie songs are when they mix rock & dance, and nobody does it as well as they did. And for that another Australian, there producer Mike Chapman deserves much of the credit.
#1 - Atomic
1980 - Eat to the Beat - (Deborah Harry & Jimmy Destri) - US #39; UK #1; Australia #12
Billy Bragg says that whenever a Musicologist asks him what his songs are about, he says 'shagging'. And when they ask 'even Between the Wars?' he replies 'yes, even Between the Wars'.
So much of rock is about having sex and this is the best rock/pop about having sex.
The song fits brilliantly into the Trainspotting sex when Mark & Diane; Tommy & Lizzie and Spud Gail are having sex, or almost had sex in Spud & Gail's case (although the film makers couldn't get the rights to the Blondie version and instead used a cover by Sleeper).
#2 - Heart of Glass
1979 - Parallel Lines - (Deborah Harry & Chris Stein) - US #1; UK #1; Australia #1
Right from the get to this is a great song. The mix of rock and disco is simply fantastic. Thankfully it wasn't recorded in a reggae style as originally planned.
#3 - The Hardest Part
1980 - Eat to the Beat - (Deborah Harry & Chris Stein) - US #84
Only released as a single in the US (Union City Blue was released as a single elsewhere).
It tells the story of an armored car robbery. Again a fantastic mix of rock with a dance beat. Should have been a big hit.
#4 - Rapture
1981 - Autoamerican - (Deborah Harry & Chris Stein) - US #1; UK #5; Australia #5
Famous for being the #1 to have some rap it. The rap part of Rapture is pretty ordinary in my opinion, However the rest of the song is fantastic.
It is an example of how the band varied with different musical styles.
#5 - Union City Blue
1979 - Eat to the Beat - (Deborah Harrison & Nigel Harrison) - UK #13
Released as the second single from Eat to the Beat, everywhere apart from the US (where The Hardest Part was released).
Apparently Debbie wrote the song after having a part in the Union City.
#6 - Slow Motion
Not released as a single - Eat to the Beat - (Laura Davis & Jimmy Destri)
Apparently this was going to the be the 4th single released from Eat to the Beat, but the plan was shelved when 'Call Me' from the movie 'American Gigolo' became a hit.
One of Blondie's favourite musical styles was the all girl pop band style, This is their best song in that style.
#7 - 11:59
Not released as a single - Parallel Lines - (Jimmy Destri)
For a long time was my favourite song on Parallel Lines. Would have made a good single, however that album was crammed full of great singles. Debbie's voice sounds out of control, which fits in beautifully with the song.
#8 - Hanging on the Telephone
1978 - Parallel Lines - (Jack Lee) - UK #5; Australia #39
The 4th single from Parallel Lines (their were six singles released from that one album)
A cover of a song by The Nerves
#9 - Will Anything Happen
Not released as a single - Parallel Lines - (Jack Lee)
I don't know anything about the song. As close to their punk roots as Blondie got on Parallel Lines.
# 10 - Dreaming
1980 - Eat to the Beat - (Deborah Harry & Chris Stein) - US #27; UK #2; Australia #53
The first single released from Eat to the Beat. Much poppier than anything on Parallel Lines.
This is the Blondie song used in Trainspotting 2.
Thursday, 9 March 2017
Rugby League Rules I'd like to Change
In the 1985 Grand Final the Bulldogs put up 5 consecutive bombs and tackled a St George Dragons (ahhh I remember them) player in the in goal area. This resulted in 5 consecutive goal line drop outs. The Dragons only got the ball back by successfully tying a short drop out.
The following are some rules Rugby League rules I'd like to change. The first, third, fourth and fifth points mentioned are the rules I'd like most to change.
Penalise players who use lead with their heads into tackles - If you get a tackle wrong and your bicep hits an opposition player in the head you can get penalised, put on report or even sent off. However if you get a tackle really wrong and you smash your head into theirs you don't get penalised. In fact in a lot of cased you get the ball back when the opposition player knocks on and have the opposition down to 16 players. Some players just don't seem to care if they make contact with their head (eg Josh Miller) and some players seem to do it deliberately (I'm looking at you Nate Myles and yes, even my beloved James Graham). If you penalise them for it, it would stop it quick smart. And the game needs to get serious about concussions. I don't mean to penalise those situations where an attacking player makes a sudden switch and a defender has no chance to make a correction. This is what I want to stop.
Bring back the send off rule - Oh it's still on the books apparently. Well use it occasionally then.
Put players in the Sin Bin who are put on report - Players are put in the Bin for for professional fouls but not dirty play, which is just ridiculous. If a player is put on report they should should be sent to the Bin, If the video ref thinks they don't have a case to answer they can come straight back on. Othwerwise it's a 5 minute time out. Indeed I'd even consider that if the video ref thinks it warrants it, that the offending player is not allowed back on after the 5 minutes, but that his team can go back to having 13 players.
Replacing players injured because of foul play - Teams should be allowed to carry extra reserves on the bench. If a player is injured because of foul play and can't continue, a replacement reserve is allowed. My views on the previous 3 points are well summed up by this incident involving Tyson Frizell & Tim Browne
Getting rid of golden point - Who was the bright spark who bought this in? Nobody was calling for it. There are very few draws each season and when they do occur they are entertaining. They definitely shouldn't be used in semi finals or grand finals (at least until an extra 10 minutes has been played). I'm not sure if this rule was changed after the Broncos vs Cowboys grand final. It should have been changed after the Broncos vs Dragons semi final a few years before that.
Get rid of the 40/20 - yes I know that this brings about attacking opportunities, but teams shouldn't be stuck in their own 40 on the last tackle. And why if you support this rule is is only 40/10 and not 50/10 or 30/30 or 20/40. Rugby League is a running game, If I wanted to watch a game with teams kicking away possession I'd watch Rugby Yawn-a-thon.
Get rid of the 7 tackle rule for kicks that have gone dead, when the kick came from inside the attacking 20 - The idea of the rule was good. Teams were banging from around the halfway line (I think the practice was started by that miserable Jamie Soward). They didn't mind giving a 20 metre restart as they could set a good defensive line. However no teams means to kick when inside the opposition 20.
Get rid of 7 tackles when missing a field goal - introduced when the rule above was introduced. Ridiculous that 7 tackles can be given when a team misses a field goal late in a game, although this rule has worked in the Bulldogs favour a number of times.
Tries for bombs can not be scored where ball comes off an attacking player and hits the ground - I hate those tries where the bomb goes up, it's tapped back and hits the ground, there is a scramble and a try is scored. If the ball is batted back to a team mate who catches it before it hits the ground, all well & good.
If a kickoff goes out on the full, the penalty from half way has to be a tap (eg no kick for goal or kicking for touch) - This is already a big enough penalty without tacking on 30 more metres (I'd be tempted to say the same for kicks kick offs that don't go 10 metres, but would want to make sure this rule didn't lead to a surge in short kick offs).
Don't penalise teams the non-kickoff team who touches a ball that hasn't gone 10 metres from the kickoff - I hate those short kick offs that just dribble over the 10 metre line and the defensive team can't make a play for the ball until it gets to the 10 metre line. It's a stupid rule.
Get rid of the 6 again rule - I hate when a team puts in a terrible squib kick on the 6th tackle and gets rewarded with 6 again when the defending team can't cleanly regather. Also 6 again on the first tackle gives the attacking team no real benefit and yet if it occurs on the first tackle there is a massive benefit. The way around this is to give an extra 3 tackles (eg you would get 9 tackles).
Following a knock on when the opposition regather the ball it is open slather and if it doesn't work out they get the ball back - I think that was used in the Nines and might be used in the UK. It would encourage the team regathering the ball to play some entertaining football knowing if it doesn't pan out that they will still retain possession.
Reversing penalties - Braith Anasta holds down David Fa'alago for too long. Fa'alago punches Anasta in the head and gets 10 in the Bin, Fa'alago gets the penalty. As Anasta says to the ref 'You're off your head!'. When the secondary offence is so much more severe than the original penalty, it should be reversed (also how wasn't Fa'alago sent off). Also I'd reverse penalties for players who throw the ball at other players or mockingly pat them etc (unless the person doing the mocking is Mick Ennis).
Don't test for marijuana - It's not a performance enhancer. If I was a club CEO and one of players was using it I'd be concerned, but a player shouldn't be suspended because of it.
Stop banning players for non-violent indescretions - The Todd Carney bubbler incident might leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but you shouldn't be able to sack a player over such an incident.
Parramatta and St George to have criminally inept leadership - Ok. This one has been taken care of.
A rule I would have introduced but is now to late to do so: Send of for shoulder charges that are high and with steep suspensions - It's too late to do it now because the shoulder charge is banned, I wouldn't have gone this far. Some players were brilliant at using the shoulder charge (SBW) and other smaller players (Chis Sandow) could never hit a player in the head with it. But I fear that changing this rule would lead to law suits.
The following are some rules Rugby League rules I'd like to change. The first, third, fourth and fifth points mentioned are the rules I'd like most to change.
Penalise players who use lead with their heads into tackles - If you get a tackle wrong and your bicep hits an opposition player in the head you can get penalised, put on report or even sent off. However if you get a tackle really wrong and you smash your head into theirs you don't get penalised. In fact in a lot of cased you get the ball back when the opposition player knocks on and have the opposition down to 16 players. Some players just don't seem to care if they make contact with their head (eg Josh Miller) and some players seem to do it deliberately (I'm looking at you Nate Myles and yes, even my beloved James Graham). If you penalise them for it, it would stop it quick smart. And the game needs to get serious about concussions. I don't mean to penalise those situations where an attacking player makes a sudden switch and a defender has no chance to make a correction. This is what I want to stop.
Bring back the send off rule - Oh it's still on the books apparently. Well use it occasionally then.
Put players in the Sin Bin who are put on report - Players are put in the Bin for for professional fouls but not dirty play, which is just ridiculous. If a player is put on report they should should be sent to the Bin, If the video ref thinks they don't have a case to answer they can come straight back on. Othwerwise it's a 5 minute time out. Indeed I'd even consider that if the video ref thinks it warrants it, that the offending player is not allowed back on after the 5 minutes, but that his team can go back to having 13 players.
Replacing players injured because of foul play - Teams should be allowed to carry extra reserves on the bench. If a player is injured because of foul play and can't continue, a replacement reserve is allowed. My views on the previous 3 points are well summed up by this incident involving Tyson Frizell & Tim Browne
Getting rid of golden point - Who was the bright spark who bought this in? Nobody was calling for it. There are very few draws each season and when they do occur they are entertaining. They definitely shouldn't be used in semi finals or grand finals (at least until an extra 10 minutes has been played). I'm not sure if this rule was changed after the Broncos vs Cowboys grand final. It should have been changed after the Broncos vs Dragons semi final a few years before that.
Get rid of the 40/20 - yes I know that this brings about attacking opportunities, but teams shouldn't be stuck in their own 40 on the last tackle. And why if you support this rule is is only 40/10 and not 50/10 or 30/30 or 20/40. Rugby League is a running game, If I wanted to watch a game with teams kicking away possession I'd watch Rugby Yawn-a-thon.
Get rid of the 7 tackle rule for kicks that have gone dead, when the kick came from inside the attacking 20 - The idea of the rule was good. Teams were banging from around the halfway line (I think the practice was started by that miserable Jamie Soward). They didn't mind giving a 20 metre restart as they could set a good defensive line. However no teams means to kick when inside the opposition 20.
Get rid of 7 tackles when missing a field goal - introduced when the rule above was introduced. Ridiculous that 7 tackles can be given when a team misses a field goal late in a game, although this rule has worked in the Bulldogs favour a number of times.
Tries for bombs can not be scored where ball comes off an attacking player and hits the ground - I hate those tries where the bomb goes up, it's tapped back and hits the ground, there is a scramble and a try is scored. If the ball is batted back to a team mate who catches it before it hits the ground, all well & good.
If a kickoff goes out on the full, the penalty from half way has to be a tap (eg no kick for goal or kicking for touch) - This is already a big enough penalty without tacking on 30 more metres (I'd be tempted to say the same for kicks kick offs that don't go 10 metres, but would want to make sure this rule didn't lead to a surge in short kick offs).
Don't penalise teams the non-kickoff team who touches a ball that hasn't gone 10 metres from the kickoff - I hate those short kick offs that just dribble over the 10 metre line and the defensive team can't make a play for the ball until it gets to the 10 metre line. It's a stupid rule.
Get rid of the 6 again rule - I hate when a team puts in a terrible squib kick on the 6th tackle and gets rewarded with 6 again when the defending team can't cleanly regather. Also 6 again on the first tackle gives the attacking team no real benefit and yet if it occurs on the first tackle there is a massive benefit. The way around this is to give an extra 3 tackles (eg you would get 9 tackles).
Following a knock on when the opposition regather the ball it is open slather and if it doesn't work out they get the ball back - I think that was used in the Nines and might be used in the UK. It would encourage the team regathering the ball to play some entertaining football knowing if it doesn't pan out that they will still retain possession.
Reversing penalties - Braith Anasta holds down David Fa'alago for too long. Fa'alago punches Anasta in the head and gets 10 in the Bin, Fa'alago gets the penalty. As Anasta says to the ref 'You're off your head!'. When the secondary offence is so much more severe than the original penalty, it should be reversed (also how wasn't Fa'alago sent off). Also I'd reverse penalties for players who throw the ball at other players or mockingly pat them etc (unless the person doing the mocking is Mick Ennis).
Don't test for marijuana - It's not a performance enhancer. If I was a club CEO and one of players was using it I'd be concerned, but a player shouldn't be suspended because of it.
Stop banning players for non-violent indescretions - The Todd Carney bubbler incident might leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but you shouldn't be able to sack a player over such an incident.
Parramatta and St George to have criminally inept leadership - Ok. This one has been taken care of.
A rule I would have introduced but is now to late to do so: Send of for shoulder charges that are high and with steep suspensions - It's too late to do it now because the shoulder charge is banned, I wouldn't have gone this far. Some players were brilliant at using the shoulder charge (SBW) and other smaller players (Chis Sandow) could never hit a player in the head with it. But I fear that changing this rule would lead to law suits.
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