I don't know what causes me greater anxiety: the prospect of snow, or the constant reminders by every amateur meteorologist I meet that "it's gonna snow tonight - and it's gonna be a bad one!"
As it was, it wasn't that bad, was it? Still, that's enough for this winter, thanks.
Pixies have a new record out. I mention this for the benefit of those of you (like Martin, and myself) who completely missed the last one coming out until months after it had been released. I saw a sniffy review in one of the broadsheets which I didn't read because it was bemoaning the fact that Pixies don't sound like they did 35 years ago. What does, mate? It doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it...
Aha - good to see you. Here are a-ha...ndful of bands called aha (or some variation thereon).
I doubt Alan Partridge would approve of many of the tunes below. "They're just noise!"
AHA #1
Formed in 1982 in Sweden... not Norway. Those northern European countries are very easy to mix up though... maybe this is Morten & co? No, this is the hard-drinking, hard-rocking Swedish Aha...
The other A-ha who formed in 1982 and immediately invited us all to take them on. Arguably they never bettered their debut single and its era-defining video...
Oh yeah, this one's a beauty. Right up George's alley. And it's from Norway too!
I couldn't hope to describe these guys as well as they do on their discogs biog... so here we go:
AHA!! (all capitals) was an avantgarde quintet with Eivin One Pedersen as leader, formed in 1982-83. Its debut was at the Moldejazz festival in 1983, before it released its first record - "Keep Nose in Front" - in 1984.
Due to the later appearance, around 1984-85, of a certain Norwegian pop group (that called itself a-ha), the group decided to change its name to avoid any confusion of the two. As if there was any possibility of that!
When AHA!! released its second album in 1986, the quintet thus called itself JAMAHA!!. As is evident, this was generated from a word-play on its former name: This group was the Jam-aha!!, or the jamming aha, and not the other one!
Five years later, in 1991, the group had been reduced to a quartet. It released its third album under the band name Extended Noise. This last group name points back to the name of the second album - "Extended Nose", which again is play on the name of the group's first album, "Keep nose in front".
Get ready for eight minutes, 41 seconds of... this:
South Korean Progressive House from 2014. Further proof that putting the word "Progressive" on the front of another musical genre rarely makes it better. Equally good proof that putting the word "House" on the end of another musical genre has the same effect.
