The Listening Post #3

 

A couple of years ago my wife and I bought a new house. As part of this momentous event we decided to spoil ourselves a bit and buy a couple of new sofas for the living room after the old one had done twenty plus years of faithful service. It was all very nice...

 

Then came the stupid data sharing... For about six months after we had the new sofas my Facebook was bombarded with advert after advert trying to sell me... new sofas!! Not only that, but they were all from the same company I'd just bought the sofas from! Duhhh, you stupid dumb data driven muppets... I've just bought two expensive brand new sofas from YOU. If they are made properly I expect them to be in use for at least the next decade, so try as you might to get me to buy another I'm not going to. We're all 'sofad' out!! Ask me again in 2033!! This illustrates the fundamental flaw in data driven algorithm reliant AI nonsense in our current clown-world. The algorithm has no consciousness, no awareness, no personality and no soul, so it cannot use any discretion which would suggest 'I'd better not waste company A's advertising budget by trying to get this guy to buy another sofa when he clearly won't'.

 

And don't ask me about AI creating art...

 

Having said all that I do have a pleasant use of targeted data sharing that completely contradicts my rant above... Such as it to be a real human being...

 

Quite some years ago I discovered the early 70s Canterbury Prog Rock scene through hearing bands like Egg, Khan and Hatfield and the North. All very jazzy, English and whimsical. Top of the charts for me in that scene are the band Caravan, mostly because of their sense of humour (Album titles like 'Cunning Stunts' and 'For Girls that Grow Plump in the Night'). My favourite of theirs is the classic third album, 1971's 'In the Land of Grey and Pink'  which I listened to over and over again on Spotify.

 

 

I noticed that it had been released on heavy weight vinyl as a pink and grey splatter double album packed with extra tracks etc. Being a vinyl collector I thought yes that's for me and it went to the top of my shopping list. So, a while later we went on a trip to Britain's second city, Birmingham, and knowing there's a gigantic warehouse style HMV shop calle the Vault in the middle of the town centre I checked online and the out of date site said it was in stock. Of course, once in the shop I searched far and wide throughout the shelves for ages and no it wasn't there. So I bought a few other vinyl albums that were further down my list. I did find it on CD though and bought that instead. Not the same but it'll do for now.

 

 

Not long after buying the CD I had this documentary recommended on my YouTube feed. I enjoyed it and watched some more of the channel's other music documantaries. Great work that wouldn't be out of place on BBC4 or SkyArts late on Friday night. Just a fan producing entertaining and informative content about the bands he loves which has a lot more creative integrity than drab fake corporate puff peices. Give it a watch if you've got a spare half an hour.

 

My top songs 2025, Spotify wrapped... 'Winter Wine' is my favourite though...

 

 

The pink vinyl is still on my shopping list for when the pennies allow.  

 

NEXT- MORE THINGS...

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I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
'NO' to 2030