To begin at the beginning…well you have to start somewhere so it might as well be here. Yes, I’ve had innumerable blogs; some have lasted, others have barely got off the ground. Presently, I do either solely write or contribute to four web-logs other than Rick Wakeman’s Cape. I know that you’re going to say, ‘That’s a little unnecessary isn’t it, Singing Bear?’ but I am often prone to logorrhoea, which I understand has now been given its own classification by the World Health Organisation, so I have an excuse.
Why jump on board with this one? Firstly, in order to team up once more with my old pal, The Wizard of Ooze, who knows more about the music and the stuff that matters than any other person I’ve ever encountered. Secondly, to find a way of considering some things that I do not have scope to examine in my other projects and thirdly, to have another reason to mention all the stuff I do already talk about on yet another web page.
Do I hear you ask, ‘So what is it that interests you, Mr. Bear?’ I’ll tell you. Obviously, music will always be my main focus, having spent the past forty odd years obsessing about the stuff. When I say ‘music’ I mean a whole lot of things – pop, rock, prog, folk, reggae, soul, psychedelia, funk, jazz and beyond, as long as it’s hot. Be warned, these days, I am pretty ‘old school’, so you may not find too many insights into the works of the latest things in Dub Step or Screamo (heaven forbid!) but you never know. I was thinking the other day of how music has actually been the biggest educator in my life as it has also lead me on to art, poetry, books of all kinds, philosophy and just about anything that’s worth talking about. I probably learnt more through reading the NME in the 70’s and 80’s than all the formal education I received at the hands of the state. That’s not to say that I think the likes of Paul Morley, Nick Kent or Charles Shaar Murray are great pedagogues but just by following clues in interviews and reviews I think I managed to give myself at least a little learning. Having said that, I must acknowledge the frightening amount of damage my musical interests have probably done to both myself and those around me. It’s all Yin and Yang, maaan. Where am I going with this? Just to say that I will basically follow the example of one of my heroes, George Orwell, and use this space to write ‘as I please’. See you soon.
Rick Wakeman's Cape 