Bibliogryphon

What do you interpret that line from Heathaze as meaning? Is the fisherman Jesus, or am I overthinking it? Is he just saying go through some bread to the ducks because it is pointless to try anything else? Yes, Trick of the Tail is, probably, objectively their best album as it contains the artiness of the Gabriel years with a slightly lighter, poppier touch and an injection of jazz fusion to make it that bit less ponderous. I understand what you sayabout him coming out from the drums but I read somewhere he said having the drum machine helped them make the music with more space/less cluttered arrangements from Abacab onwards. I think it does help, for although Duke is probably the more accomplished album I prefer the lack of clutter on Abacab and Invisible Touch. You are way overthinking that. I always take it to be about the futility of arguing with seriously deluded people. I do think Steve Hackett added some beautiful melodies which come to the fore on TotT and W&W but after he left there was a harder edge to the music. I had heard that comment by Collins but always took it as his opinion not musical truth.

Well, either that or we continue the foreign wars but do away with most of the major weaponry and get back to some 1914 stylee basics, eh? Its funny how we can always find the money for a good war.

I like Still but not Bankstatement. A Curious Feeling and Strictly, Inc. are probably his two best solo albums, though, IMHO. I used to be a big fan of Tony's as he was the person most responsible for som great Genesis songs from Firth of Fifth and most of the music on Wind and Wuthering through to some of the more interesting 1980s material like Me and Sarah Jane, Evidence of Autumn, Domino and The Brazilian. I have gone off him a lot though due to the cheesiness of some of his synth sounds and the morbidity of a lot of his lyrics (says I, a DeathLister!) especiallywhat he was composing on And Then There Were Three but even some of his more modern doom-'n'-gloom-fests too. I think that Tony's biggest problem is that a lot of what you refer to as doom n gloom fests effectively come across as a little whingy. He was born into privilege and has been successful from quite an early age. So what comes across is middle class angst rather than an expression of the futility of existence. I still think he is a very clever writer and some of the early Genesis mythological tracks owe him an awful lot. yes, maybe that is another way of looking at it. I don't think he's that great a lyricist, anyway. Occassionally, he will come out with a good line like "If races always ran to form, they never would be run" in A Curious Feeling but those moments are fairly far inbetween. Come to think of it, after Peter and Steve left, the band didn't really have any good lyricists at all. Phil was able to write those "confessional love letter" songs to his ex-wives that apparently touched many people but when he tried to move beyond that into social criticism or other subjects he just didn't have the skill (I don't blame him too much since he had a limited education through acting school and apparently didn't read for all the years he was on the road) but Mike and Tony went to one of England's top elite schools and they still come out with banal drivel... Sigh... Yes Tony was probably striving to be existenitalist but just came across as a morbid old whinger. I think the problem might be the relationship between the music and the lyrics. Tony can often try to fit two many words into the line which really jars with Phil Collins' 'drummer' singing where the rythym is everything. However songs like Madman Moon, Burning Rope and Fountain of Salmacis (which is lifted almost word for word from Ovid) there are some amazing results. "Beware the fisherman whose casting out his line into a dried up river bed,don't you try to tell him cos he won't believe you so , throw some bread to the ducks instead, its easier that way. Heathaze A Trick of the Tail is probably in my top 10 Albums. My problem with the later albums is when Phil Collins came out from the drums for the jamming sessions that lost a lot of the rythym.

Did someone do their degree in Irony? It is from American Psycho. The more commercialised Genesis becomes, the more the serial killer likes them. That makes way more sense now.

I was beginning to think of removing Jack Tweed from my radar as I did not want to have to admit in five years time I knew who he was but it seems he might be worth keeping as he seems intent on leading a life of destruction. He can stay.... ..... for now.

Surely most five year olds are content with a PS4 and an iPad

I like Still but not Bankstatement. A Curious Feeling and Strictly, Inc. are probably his two best solo albums, though, IMHO. I used to be a big fan of Tony's as he was the person most responsible for som great Genesis songs from Firth of Fifth and most of the music on Wind and Wuthering through to some of the more interesting 1980s material like Me and Sarah Jane, Evidence of Autumn, Domino and The Brazilian. I have gone off him a lot though due to the cheesiness of some of his synth sounds and the morbidity of a lot of his lyrics (says I, a DeathLister!) especiallywhat he was composing on And Then There Were Three but even some of his more modern doom-'n'-gloom-fests too. I think that Tony's biggest problem is that a lot of what you refer to as doom n gloom fests effectively come across as a little whingy. He was born into privilege and has been successful from quite an early age. So what comes across is middle class angst rather than an expression of the futility of existence. I still think he is a very clever writer and some of the early Genesis mythological tracks owe him an awful lot.

Michael Goldberg who wrote the screenplays for Cool Runnings and Snow Dogs has died aged 55

Thank you CheerSquad for that. The good news is that the link is for a news item about a benefit concert for Percy Sledge who has liver cancer and not an advert trying to sell you via**a.

But Ireland are supposed to be our friends, plus Rock Bottom was a big hit over there. Oirish eejits. But back then the public had no say, it was all down to 'industry experts'

and with all his subsequent releases

and Duncan's horses did turn and eat each other......

Oh dear now you have pushed me into a situation where I have to defend David Cameron. The logical extension of your argument on if you can afford it you pay for it is the start of a slippery slope that some Conservatives would like to go down. We have seen this with Child Benefit which was a universal benefit and now is going to be means tested. Healthcare needs to be free at the point of delivery so you don't arrive at A&E and the first thing they ask you for is your credit card or elligibility status. Yes the Conservatives are using this as an emotive issue to demonstrate Cameron's personal committment to the NHS. If you start questioning whether Cameron should have used the NHS you are doing the Right wing Tories work for them. The other important point is that in general the NHS is a weak spot for the Tories so if they can tie this to a Cameron vs Milliband personality issue then they can make electoral advantage out of it.

Did someone do their degree in Irony?

We still wouldn't have won, we ended up 15 points behind France. Both Greece and Switzerland gave us nul pointe too, but awarded France sept pointe and douze pointe respectively, so I blame them. So does the rest of Europe: They've never won since... I was interested to see this paragraph in the independent obituary In 1977 she and Mike Moran started writing songs together and “Rock Bottom” was the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. They had written the song for Blue Mink and unfortunately it was not the right material for the Contest, and fared badly Fared badly? Second? Any UK entry in the last ten years would take second even to the French than over the dismal showings we have put in.

The recent revelations about the enquiries into sex abuse by politicians and her friendhsip with Jimmy Saville seem to me to illustrate a naivity that Margaret Thatcher possessed as though she believed that people didn't really do evil things and that every one would do the right thing. In the same way there was no provision in homosexual criminal law which dealt with lesbians because Queen Victoria didn't believe in them. If you extrapolate this it may help understand why Thatcher applied similar thinking to economic arguments. She did not expect people to be greedy.

Those of you who take notice of such things will realise that I am not David Cameron's biggest fan but his speech this week proved why he is the leader of the Conservative party. He was right when he pointed out that Labour could not criticise him with regard to the NHS and his relationship with it. However the important point is that the General Election 2015 should not be a popularity contest between him and Ed Miliband it is about electing a group of people to run the country. There have been tory MPs who have gone on the record about how the NHS is a millstone around the neck of the country and we should have a system similar to US or Singapore. So the question is are the Tory MPs hiding behind a moderate, pretending to be more Eurosceptic than he actually is, personable and articulate leader?

Our posts crossed. I put it in Curse of the Eurovision with a link. It would be handy if there was a function where you could post to mutiple topics at the same time. Please no......

I thought I remembered that, but there's no mention of him in the BBC report, although various other blokes are namechecked. I think you're confusing her with Stephanie de Sykes. I stand corrected. Although Lynsey did write for Stephanie.

No! Honestly? Which bit? Aaah my knowledge of her out put is pretty much rock bottom.

No I think he was already quite good at it.

No! Honestly? Which bit?

I quite like some of the stuff on Tony Banks' solo albums Bankstatement and Still where he uses a range of guest vocalists including Nik Kershaw and Fish. A lot of hit and miss but some really good tracks.

She did manage to turn up for Robin Williams' memorial service at the weekend. No pictures though.

Our posts crossed. I put it in Curse of the Eurovision with a link.