Sam Walton

Cleveland Indians’ Asdrúbal Cabrera makes a pretty awesome play. As impressive as a storming home run and, in my eyes, what Baseball is all about.

Symarip - Skinhead Moonstomp

Another absolute classic, in a different vein to Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come”, and one of my favourite tracks from the Trojan Skinhead box set. I was planning to post a little ‘review’ of that, as I did with the Rock Steady one, this weekend but I’ve been rather busy all week. Should have it done some time next week, in the mean time, enjoy this and the break from the rain we seem to be having.

I stumbled across quite a bargain last week; bottles of BrewDog’s 5AM Saint for 98p in Sainsburys. And thus, I felt I should do something I’m quite comfortable with, and review this rather tasty drink.

Well, what can I say? It’s a pretty tasty Amber Ale, though is surprisingly dark when poured. It leaves a lovely white head and smells of malt and honey. Taste wise, it’s quite malty with a strong citrusy after-taste, which must be the hops coming into play.

It’s got a rather earthy feel to it, even with the sweet and citrusy notes that shine through. All in all it’s a nice beer; the only way for Brew Dog to improve it would be to sell it in larger bottles!

Whilst it’s no longer on offer, it’s still a reasonably priced beer, at around £1.50. If you stumble across it, give it a go!

Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come

Another classic for a lazy Sunday afternoon. If only the weather was a touch brighter things would be pretty perfect.

An interesting little fact is that Jimmy Cliff is the only living musician to hold The Order of Merit, which is “part of the Jamaican honours system and is the third highest honour conferred by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or on distinguished citizen of another country who has achieved eminent international distinction in the field of science, arts, literature or any other endeavour.” (Thankyou, Wikipedia)

A little while back I started a love affair with ska and reggae music. Since then I’ve had an interesting journey, discovering new artists, sub-genres, and some tunes I’m surprised I hadn’t heard before.

Rather than explaining this all to you - however - I think it would be best if I took a small look at one of my favourite albums…

It should come as no surprise, to those of you with an ounce of knowledge about reggae, that I’ve chosen something produced by Trojan Records; they are, after all, the Granddaddy of all things good.

It’s probably useful to provide a quick overview of Rocksteady for the uninitiated before I continue.

Rocksteady is a distinct musical style, a successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, and has hints of both genres. Its name comes from a type of dance mentioned in Alton Ellis’s “Rock Steady”, which is - some what surprisingly - missing from this particular volume.

As a genre it’s generally a lot slower than ska, and makes a great soundtrack to a lazy afternoon.

This is a 3 disk box set, with 50 tracks all in all, and is one well worth searching out. There’s a few gems here,with Soul Tops’ “Rain and Thunder” and Keith Thompson’s “The Way I Feel” being particular favourites of mine.

If you’re going to start a reggae adventure, this might seem an odd place to start, but it gives you a feel for the genre’s origins and is - in that respect - invaluable. I recommend you give it a go.

Something has happened to me, lately. And it is something that will surprise those of you who know me…

Having always poured scorn upon those who blow the act of moving one of a variety of balls around a variety of playing areas, or into a variety of receptacles, I seem to have become enamoured with a sport.

Baseball, America’s Favourite Pass Time, call it what you will. A couple of months ago I was sat at home with nothing to do, and after a bit of channel hopping I stumbled across a baseball match. Now, the video posted above is pretty much everything I love about the sport. A good, skill-full, defensive play.

The importance of a double play becomes apparent when you understand how the game works. Rather than being time limited, or limited by the number of pitches, a game consists of 9 innings, each inning being completed when three batsmen are out. A double play, then, gets 2 batsmen out without them scoring any runs, making the inning much easier for the defensive team.

And where as a lot of sport is fast, and seemingly hyper-competitive, baseball seems to take a more leisurely pace and the skill of players can be admired, rather than envied.

There’s not much more to say at the moment, save to note that this is likely to be the first of many baseball related posts, if my minor obsession continues unchecked.

Nicky Thomas - Love Of The Common People

I guess it’s only right to christen, and set the theme for, this new Tumblr venture with a lovely little tune. I’m not sure what it is about this number, it just really makes me smile.