Thursday 16 April 2015

55 From 55 - 2014

55 songs in 55 days - one for every year of my life...so far. 

This whole shebang started on a whim. A few tunes, each with an attached few lines of waffle - 55 posts, bob's yer uncle. Once I got into the groove though, the thing took on a life of its own. For some of the years I struggled to come up with anything and it probably showed, while for others I had more memories, tunes or photos than you could shake a stick at. So I've got a little backlog of stuff to dip into, going forward (one for all you Buzzword Bingo fans out there).

One of the unfortunate by-products of my devoting so much spare time to 55 From 55 (as well as being laid low by an absolute stinker of a cold last week) is that I've fallen way behind with all the excellent blogs I follow myself. Normal service, on all counts, returns henceforth. Next time I post, it'll no doubt be regarding some of the newer stuff that's been tickling my fancy over the past couple of months. 

Thank you to everyone who has dropped by to support this little endeavor, it really is very much appreciated. Right, I'm off out for a spot of Birthday lunch with Mrs S. Catch you later. And remember - age is just a number.

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As is the way of such things these days, many of my favourite albums of 2014 don't actually enjoy a physical presence here at Swede Towers. A case in point was, until recently, 'Unlikely Mothers' by Big Blood, where the only physical release was of the 'Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl Double LP' variety, which of course I was too slow off the mark to snap up. Fortunately for me, a second limited run of 150 appeared early in 2015. This time I was off like a shot and managed to bag a copy.


I can't recommend Big Blood highly enough and I shall return to them more fully at some point in the future. If you have any space in your head and heart for a gothic acid psych folk hybrid, then I urge you to check out 'Unlikely Mothers' here and if you like what you hear, you're in luck. The band have a wealth of music going back 10 years, all available to consume at the Free Music Archive (here).

12 comments:

C said...

So, today's the day! Wishing you a very happy birthday, TS, and have a lovely lunch with Mrs S.
It's been a great series - a huge task to undertake but what a brilliant idea - and, whilst UTOTS has always centred around the music, I always enjoy the little extra-curricular moments immensely. You've delighted us with your photos, moved us with your personal stories and even let us see your moustache...
Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, sir, and many congratulations on a splendid and always edifying series. Enjoyed it greatly.

Ramone666 said...

Many happy returns Swede. And thanks for the wonderful series of course. Cheers!

Brian said...

You did it! Well done all around, Swede. Much respect for putting yourself out there. I'm in awe of the discipline it took to do 55 in 55 days too. Have a great birthday.

Anonymous said...

I hope you have a very special birthday, Mr. S! Thanks for sharing so much of yourself with us over the past 55 days.

All the best!

Charity Chic said...

Happy birthday to you Swede.
Thanks for a truly epic series and for sharing your journey with us

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday and congratulations on a fantastic series.
Swiss Adam

John Medd said...

MHROTD on this your Britvic birthday!

george said...

It was a great series, some great, and not so good(!) photos long the way, and today's track by a band new to me is very good indeed. Happy Birthday.

Anonymous said...

All the best Swede, that was a fantastic series of posts, a kind of alternative autobiography with music. Well done to you for pulling it off.

The Swede said...

Thanks everybody! The series was a very interesting challenge for me. I think I learnt a lot along the way and certainly remembered a lot about myself and my family too. I raise my hat to the daily bloggers out there, I really admire your discipline. I found producing a post every day quite difficult at times, not least when I had a stinker of a cold for most of last week!
Thanks again to you all for the kind words throughout the series and for your birthday wishes.

Scott said...

What a truly wonderful series of posts over the last 55 days. It has been a privilege to read and share in all your memories, some of which would not have been easy to write about. Many Happy Returns and huge congratulations on getting through 55 posts in 55 days...

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