That Bloke In The Big Smoke

We are lucky in the UK to have free access to a government-funded local library network. Despite the swingeing cuts imposed by the coalition in the last parliament that forced the closure of hundreds of branches, they haven't disappeared completely. If you are resident in the UK, you can sign up with any public library in the country*. And perhaps due to the effect of the changes in recent years, several councils in London have partnered together to provide a broader set of resources, particularly online. Indeed, two of my favourite aspects of public library membership in London provides me with unfettered, free online access to The Times newspaper and The Economist archives, in addition to the latest editions of over 330 magazines and journals such as The Economist, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, National Geographic, Newsweek, Businessweek and The Week. The great thing is that you can read the magazines on your computer, tablet and smartphone.

(* So long as you turn up once in person to prove your identity and residence, plus pick up your membership card.)

Maverick:
1867, "calf or yearling found without an owner's brand," so called for Samuel A. Maverick (1803-1870), Texas cattle owner who was negligent in branding his calves. Sense of "individualist, unconventional person" is first recorded 1886, via notion of "masterless."

Gobbledygook:
also gobbledegook, "the overinvolved, pompous talk of officialdom" [Klein], 1944, American English, first used by U.S. Representative Maury Maverick, Democrat-Texas, (1895-1954), a grandson of the original maverick and chairman of U.S. Smaller War Plants Corporation during World War II. First used in a memo dated March 30, 1944, banning "gobbledygook language" and mock-threateaning, "anyone using the words activation or implementation will be shot." Maverick said he made up the word in imitation of turkey noise. Another word for it, coined about the same time, was bafflegab (1952).

SOURCE: Online Etymology Dictionary

About two months ago I posted a single playlist of my ongoing best-ever songs in English compilation. But perhaps you'd rather listen to them by time-period? If so this entry is for you.

Links to Spotify [Word Doc]:

Pre-1960s         [Link]
1960s & 70s*      [Link]
1980s             [Link]
1960s, 70s & 80s
1990s             [Link]
20th Century
2000s             [Link]

(* I'm in the process of separating the 60s & 70s songs into their own playlists.)

Three-and-a-half years ago I "decided to embark on an ambitious project to bring myself up-to-speed with music. I thought it would be a delightful idea to compile a DVD (the one with the highest capacity, 9GBish I think) with the world's greatest music of all-time." That's what I wrote here then and today I'm proud to report back to you the fruits of that labour. Before I do, a major round of thanks to everybody who contributed their feedback with tracks and artists I couldn't leave out from a "greatest-ever" list. I think you'll each find something to your liking, even if several other inclusions raise an odd eyebrow or few. In a project like this it's impossible to please everybody. Ultimately, this is my compilation and it caters to my tastes.

The playlist encompasses over seven decades of English (pop) music. The oldest songs are from the 1930s, the most recent is from 2009. I haven't included anything since then because frankly, the majority of them haven't stood the (arbitrary) test of time yet. The playlist is also incomplete so don't be surprised to find tracks missing in it. It's a work-in-progress and will remain so, as long as time doesn't stand still. But there's enough to bring back memories and create new ones. I just happened to have reached the 1000 song milestone.

Unfortunately, I cannot make a DVD of this compilation because quite simply, I do not own CDs or records of most tracks. At the time of making the original post, I intended to download all the MP3s and burn them onto a DVD. I've since realised the importance of copyright infringement and decided to keep the whole thing legal. To my good fortune, I was introduced to Spotify less than a year after making the original post. It's fair to say Spotify is the only reason this project came to fruition. Less than two months of using it for free, I recognised the benefits of a premium subscription. For just £10 a month, I had unlimited access to every Spotify track available in the UK. I can't stress enough how amazing this was for a music lover.

Spotify has its limitations but that's the price you pay for staying on the right side of the law. Artists like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Metallica and Oasis are not available due to lack of licensing agreements. But hopefully that will change in the future. Even so, there's still so much else to choose from. I've even managed to compile a 1000 greatest-ever tracks!

So without further ado, I present you The Best English Songs of All-Time. You can view and play it in Spotify. Or you can view the playlist in a Word document, with links to Spotify.

Please continue leaving your feedback about tracks and artists that I've left out. In the meantime, enjoy!

Judging by these letters written to the Guardian some years ago, we have every right to question whether the practice of using numbered ballots has been abused by the authorities (ie spooks) in such a way as to deny us a secret ballot during elections.

So following on from my previous post, I don't think there's much doubt that the sexiest accents in the British Isles, particularly when piped from someone of the fairer sex, are Welsh and Scottish, followed closely by Irish and anything else Northern. No offence, Brummie, West Country and London, but your accents do not stimulate the senses. Especially Brummie. I've never heard anything more depressing. Even when someone's chipper, it sounds like their whinging. Of course, it's a personal preference. Nothing does it more for me than a pretty lady with a Glaswegian or broad Welsh accent. Or man, if I'm brutally honest. There's just something about the broad Welsh lilt that makes my nerves tingle. Even just thinking about it... *mmm*

Its database alone is worth the £10 monthly fee. But imagine if someone had created a public playlist of every composition in chronological order by your favourite composers? Or if you could listen to audiobooks on the life & works of the same composers, or an audiobook dedicated to a single work by the composer? Or a playlist of the best works by British composers, the best Trumpet solo tracks, pop songs based on Classical works, your favourite Operas, the list goes on. With Spotify, your dreams come true. Or mine at any rate. And worried you'll miss the latest Classical tracks added to Spotify? There's a playlist for that too. And a blog to go with it. If like me you love Western Classical music, look no further than Spotify.

1650s, from French régaler "to entertain or feast," from Old French rigale, from gale "merriment," from galer "make merry" (see gallant). Influenced in Old French by se rigoler "amuse oneself, rejoice," of unknown origin. Italian regalo is from French.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary

1530s, "moderator, umpire," from stickle "mediate" (1520s), probably a frequentative of Middle English stihen "to arrange, place," from Old English stihan "to arrange order," which is cognate with Middle Dutch stichten, German stiften "to found, establish," probably from Proto-Germanic *stihtan "to place on a step or base," from Proto-Indo-European base *steigh- "to stride, step, rise" (see stair). Meaning "person who contends or insists stubbornly" is first recorded 1640s.