Lamplight

Driving someone mad
By changing the truth comes from
That old film Lamplight

Power In Numbers by Jurassic 5

This is great stuff - hip hop funky beats, smart samples and powerful lyrics, a world away from the misogynistic violence of gangsta rap. The tracks explore different musical styles along the jazz/funk/rap/electro spectrum but the album as a whole flows beautifully. Reading the wiki also tells me that the album starts with the same bass riff that the previous album ended with, so you could play one after the other in a seamless mix.

The highlight for me was “A Day at the Races” which samples David Axelrod’s Song of Innocence, one of my all time favourite albums, and does it in such a way that in both respects and builds on the original. The a capella track DDT is also a revelation, and not something that you usually hear on hip hip albums, focusing attention on just the vocals and word play.

Dinosaur-tastic!

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

When Silvio Luparello, a respected local politician is found dead in his car from a heart attack with his trousers down at a local dogging site, Inspector Montalbano is given just 48 hours to investigate the case and hush up any scandal for the sake of his family and the party. On the face of it this is just a sad and sordid tragedy, but as our hero starts pulling at the various threads he suspects that there is more here than meets the eye.

He starts by interviewing the two garbage collectors who discovered the body, finding out that one of them had discovered a distinctive and valuable gold necklace near the scene. They also remember calling Luparello’s personal attorney and political crony Rizzo to ask what should be done and finding him curiously unbothered by the death of his friend and the potential fallout. 

Other things about the case just don’t seem to add up - who was the tall, blonde woman seen leaving the scene and being picked up by a convenient passing car? Why is Rizzo now supporting Luparello’s chief party rival? Why would an apparently cautious married man suddenly decide to risk everything for a sexual liaison in a public place instead of his secluded beach house where he would usually conduct his affairs in private? Are the clues at the scene just too convenient?

‘And Luparello’s case is one of those where things were set up to appear simple.’ ‘When in fact they are complicated?’ ‘Very complicated.’

This novel is set in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata and the author Camilleri does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of small town corruption and decay, with run down factories, prostitution, warring mafia gangs and political croneyism. Inspector Montalbano is the archetypal dogged detective, digging into a case that other people would rather be closed quickly. He calls on friends, fellow officers and sympathetic officials that owe him a favour as the need arises before explaining the denouement twice - the official story, and the sadder and more tragic truth of the matter that Montalbano keeps out of the public record.

‘So you gave yourself a promotion, eh?’ asked Livia after a long silence. ‘From inspector to god – a fourth-rate god, but still a god.’

I enjoyed this, especially the sardonic humour of the inspector himself, as he deals with a very human tragedy.

Joy

I’ve thought about this
And yes, all my books spark joy
Marie can do one

Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens

I’d always thought that Cat Stevens was just another old hippy who struggled with the transition from the 60s into the 70s, but I’m glad that I gave this album a chance. I was also surprised how many of the tracks that I was already familiar with.

There is a lot of wistful longing and introspection here, as he muses on ideas of growing and changing from childhood to adulthood, his relationship with his father, and the state of the world obsessed with materialism at the expense of everything else. It’s easy to see the roots of his spiritual journey here that lead him to Islam and changing his name to Yusef Islam.

He ended leaving music for some time and was caught up in some controversies (that seem to be down to wilful misquoting out of context by tabloids), but it seems that he has returned to his music in recent years, emphasising the peaceful and moderate side of his faith.

What Up Gangsta by 50 Cent

Lasted about a minute before the first n word shortly followed by an h word. Nah, I’m out.

Boisterous

Sunny day, kids at play
Boisterous shouts, ball kicked out
Tears before bedtime