My favourite month

If you’re a regular visitor here you will have noticed my posts have become a little less frequent of late. The fact is lately my life has been so full of general stuff there has been little time left for indulging my passion for vinyl gazing. And looking at the next few weeks there would appear to be plenty more stuff around the corner. I’m not complaining, it’s mostly good stuff: a holiday, long weekends with friends, my job taking me away from home (but with the partial novelty of that being in another country, and working with colleagues I know and respect, that qualifies as a good thing). Then later this month our daughter is off to University so the logistics surrounding that will take up some more time (she has always been a bit of a home bird and it’s going to be very strange not having her around).

This week I had intended to put up a post a couple of days ago but a not so good thing has been consuming all my spare time. My son had been saving up for a fancy new HDTV to "improve his gaming experience". It arrived this week and we have spent just about all our spare time ever since trying to understand the myriad of connection options and picture settings involved in setting it up to a) work at all with his Xbox360, and b) get the picture to look at least as good as our three year old standard no nonsense TV in the lounge. We are gradually winning the battle but it really shouldn’t be this difficult. A case of technology going too far too quick I think, and I can’t help thinking that we’ve been suckered by the hype of the whole HD bandwagon.

I digress, but I needed to get that off my chest. Back to the point I was intending to make at the beginning of this post. It’s not unusual to see a blogger announce a hiatus, and I’ve stumbled across a few who have recently. Whether you go on one or have one I’m not sure. I’m also not sure how long a break in posts has to be before it constitutes a hiatus. I have no intention of taking a break, but just to warn you that posts may continue to be somewhat sporadic over the next few weeks. I’m sure my gaps won’t qualify as a hiatus per se, but let’s just say their infrequency may qualify as a hiatus from the normal beat of things around here.
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I have been reminded that I was going to put up the instrumental version of The Royal Rasses side that I posted a while back. It’s up now.
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That’s the end of the public announcements, now, as they say, on with the show…

September is my favourite month. In the UK we are often graced with calm, sunny and dry weather in September, and it is usually pleasantly warm. There is a beautifully serene feel to the month: a stillness in the air, a mellow almost washed-out quality to the light. The late afternoon shadows seem that bit longer. The sound of a distant motorbike seems muted. The trees and hedgerows are starting to display their autumn wonder. Nature will soon be locking down as the days draw in. I always find myself in reflective mood, there is the feeling of another chapter ending. I love it.

So far this September looks like living up to all my expectations, and after the shocking summer we have had that’s a blessing. It seems that in the excitement of its early appearance in April, rather like an athlete who hadn’t done enough pre-season training, summer tore a muscle and was banished to the treatment table. From May to August summer hardly made an appearance, and only now in September does it appear to be returning for an elegant swansong.

As a Chelsea fan the initials JT mean only one thing to me nowadays – captain fantastic John Terry. Back in the seventies though, indeed before Mr. Terry was even a twinkle in his parent’s eyes, the initials JT for me meant Johnnie Taylor. Here are three tracks from his seventies days. They all graced the Billboard soul charts during September. The lyrics may allude to stormy times but each track possesses a beautifully restrained feel that fits so well with my impression of September. And what do you know? One is even called "It’s September".

Johnnie Taylor – It’s September 1974
Johnnie Taylor – Cheaper To Keep Her 1973
Johnnie Taylor – Stop Doggin’ Me 1972

Buy the Johnnie Taylor Chronicle