Under-appreciated interpretors

It's the singer songwriters who get all the glory, but just because they wrote the words it doesn't mean they are always the best people to communicate the message within the lyrics.  Of course, cover versions are often simply pale imitations of the orginal, but once in a while someone comes along who takes a set of lyrics to a whole new level.  The new June Tabor and Oyster Band CD does that with my favourite song, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', and last Friday I saw Barb Jungr do the most incredible things with the songs of Bob Dylan.



I've loved her work for years, but hadn't previously seen her live, and the best word I can come up with describe her performance is visceral.  It helped that were right at the front, no more than ten feet from her, and it was awe-inspiring.  I recall seeing her on BBC Breakfast once and the presenters did the usual 'You're going to sing for us, aren't you?' routine, and got much more than they bargained for.  She didn't get up from the couch, and just started, from cold at 08:30 in the morning, and with awesome power- poor old  Bill didn't know where to put himself as Barb stared into his eyes and sang a love long beautifully.

'Like A Rolling Stone' was imbued with a power and a viciousness that Dylan's voice just doesn't get across, and she finished with 'God On Our Side'.  When she sang the seventh verse...

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
...the fact that we were seeing her at the New Greenham Arts Centre, built on the site of Greenham Common, scene of the women's peace camp, and for so many years home to Cruise missiles, meant that a collective shiver ran through the audience.  We were sitting right by where, in 1958, a B-47 bomber was destroyed with a resulting radiation leak!

Her singing was great, and her introductions to the songs, including lots of 'Dylanology' were wonderful -at some times, funny, and at others extremely moving.  Her intro to 'The Man In The Long Black Coat' was excellent, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house when she told the story of the one-man audience at a gig when she first took 'The Songs of Bob Dylan' to New York.

She goes back there next month in triumph for sell-out shows over a week, and then she heads off to Austin, LA and SF.  If you can't get to see her UK gigs, buy the album, but the band that backs her on it, although really good, can't capture the power of seeing her live with only her pianist to accompany her.
 

Driving in Scotland - part 3

Back in my adopted homeland, having been told en route to 'Respect Roadworkers' - if I meet any then I'll remember that sage advice.

Can anyone tell me why Edinburgh drivers refuse to drive in bus lanes?  The notices every 400m say that the hours are 07:00 to 09:30, and 16:00 to 18:30, but between 09:30 and 16:00, hardly anyone ventures into them.  Part of the reason that traffic congestion in Edinburgh is so bad is that most of the major routes in the city are made into single lane roads by drivers' stupidity.  It really beggars belief that people can be so thick.

Driving in Scotland - part 2

As if driving in Scotland wasn't hard enough and dangerous enough already, Transport Scotland have a novel way of distracting drivers.  The illuminated signs on motorways have a purpose: to tell drivers when there's a hazard ahead, or inform them about how long it might take to get to a point further along their journey.  However, north of the border they are used to annoy and to help your attention wander.

Heading up the M6, all is sane, but then you hit the A74/M74, and the madness starts - it also features on the M8 and the Glasgow motorway system. (you'll note that punctuation doesn't figure on the signs).

'Bin your litter Other people do'
'Picking up your litter risks workmens lives' - I wasn't sure how my picking up my litter endangered anyone, but then I realised this one was ambiguous as well as being daft
'Drive smart save fuel' - an advert for Smart cars?
'Check your tyre pressure regularly' - but hopefully not at 70 mph in the second overtaking lane.
'Check your mirror for bikes' - I did, and there were none hanging off them
'Could you car share'
'Think about car share' - actually, I was thinking about Tunnock's caramel wafers until you distracted me
'Soft tyres waste fuel' - soft signs waste lives!
'Wear seat belts its the law'
'Car sharing save money reduce emissions' - since when has that been a sentence?
'Be a courteous driver' - wasted on me as I was by then screaming 'F*** Off!' at the signs.
'Dont drive and take drugs' - are prescription drugs included in this?

Why do they do this?  Does some overpaid bureaucrat sit at a computer typing in platitudes all day long, or are they randomly generated? 

Does Transport Scotland seriously believe, that as I speed up the M74, my driving experience is enhanced by this glib, fatuous nonsense?  If they want to improve the standard of driving in Scotland maybe they should try:

'Indicate occasionally' or 'Give us a clue what you intend to do next'
'Try driving in the driving lane rather than the second overtaking lane'
'Try driving in lanes rather than straddling them'

Is this really what devolved government has given Scotland - the right to become a laughing stock?

By the way, should anyone be incensed about these two most recent posts to my blog, I'm a Scot so I'm allowed to say what I like about my fellow countrymen and countrywomen!