No links today, because, well, because I just don't want to... but I must say You Tube is better than MTV ever was, or ever could be. There is a vast archive of material that people all over the world gladly upload. Armed with a Blu-Ray player and a big screen TV, I can stream You Tube to our "entertainment center" in the living room, equipped with a real-deal stereo system, with nice, full-throated speakers.
And what do I stream to my entertainment center? Music. Concerts. Some amazing things. The Beatles in a rollicking, messy concert in West Germany in 1965. The Jimi Hendrix Experience on TV in Stockholm in 1969. Big Star in Missouri in the 90's. Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (with George Harrison & Eric Clapton) in England 1969. The National live at the Sydney Opera House in 2013. Radiohead in the studio playing songs from "In Rainbows," and "King of Limbs." Atoms for Peace at Austin City Limits. The Faces (with Rod Stewart) in their prime, in glorious black & white at the Marquee Club. The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park (Keith is playing a Flying V, badly out of tune!). The Stones at the Marquee Club in their "Sticky Fingers" era. The Who at Woodstock and Isle of Wight. The Patti Smith Group on their "Horses" tour. Andrew Bird playing, singing and whistling at his home studio. Blind Faith in Hyde Park (a revelation, Clapton plays a Telecaster! Supposedly Clapton wasn't happy with the performance but it's superb!). Led Zeppelin at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970. P.J. Harvey playing a dulcimer! Morrissey in "Who Put the 'M' in Manchester." The Grateful Dead live at Winterland 1975. The Smiths on various British TV shows in the 80's. Nick Cave and Grinderman kicking up a fuss in a foreign land. The Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac on British and US TV! Stevie Ray Vaughn live in concert in Texas. Cream blasting through "Sunshine of Your Love" in a little theater in England. Joe Cocker and Leon Russell on the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour. Fairport Convention on French TV in 1968. Nirvana at the Paramount Theater in Seattle fresh off of "Nevermind." The Beatles in their swan-song performance on the roof at Abbey Road. Nirvana "Unplugged in New York." Neil Young in Canada at Massey Hall in the early 70's. U2 on their totally, delirious, over the top Pop-Mart tour in Mexico. Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett at the UFO club in London (yes, you can see Syd playing that mirrored Fender Esquire - astonishing!). The Band playing "The Weight" at Woodstock (lost footage that didn't make the movie). Dylan in his Rolling Thunder glory (Idiot Wind!) . Buffalo Springfield on TV in the late sixties.
An amazing, ever-expanding archive. Videos uploaded from all corners of the globe. I love the concerts, the TV appearances, the odd bits, the historical stuff. It's all a few keyboards strokes away. Pretty phenomenal, if you go in for that kind of thing. And I do, I really do.