Record Reconstructor

Dashboard! People who have been reading this blog in sequence might have noticed a certain level of reluctance for me to engage with the music streaming services which ultimately are powering this entire project;  obviously, I would much rather the musical artists I love get paid well for their artistic contributions instead of what modern distribution allows them.  Gone are the days when musical acts toured in order to promote the album, sales of which was the primary revenue stream for them and their label (and in fact, many tours lost money).  Now, where getting 30,000 plays on Spotify pays less to an artist than a single sale of a £30 vinyl from their direct storefront, live music tours, and their associated merchandise have become the primary source of income for anyone trying to really make a living as a professional musician. Also, if you've been paying attention, you will be aware there were long sections of my life when I have been very financially disadvantaged;...

  Dashboard! It's been seventeen and a half years since my first date with my partner Catherine;  we met, as was the style at the time - before internet dating became an entirely different environment (as I understand, I myself have been out of the game for a while you see, but I hear horror stories) - on Match.com, exchanged a few messages, enough to arrange a meeting for coffee the week before Christmas at the Showroom Cinema Bar in Sheffield.  I told her much later on that during that first date, when I went to the bathroom, the fly zip on my jeans broke completely and I spent the second half of that date very subtly draping my jacket over my crotch area to prevent her from thinking I was either unable to dress myself or giving very inappropriate signals.  Our second date was a week after New Year, and the rest is history.   For two people who spend a lot of time listening to and discussing and sharing music, we somehow don't have 'a song'.  No firs...