Tim the Guitarist

Great Guitarists #12: Steve Cropper The Great Guitarists series is back, and we’re restarting with one of my all-time favourite guitar Players, Steve ‘The Colonel’ Cropper. Even if you don’t recognise the name…

I wrote about Steve Cropper three years ago. This piece now serves as an effective obituary #RIP

Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, dies aged 84 The musician was known for his work on hits including Green Onions and Otis Redding’s The Dock of the Bay.

R.I.P., Steven Lee Cropper (1941-2025).

Veteran guitarist, songwriter & producer, notably with Stax Records, Brooker T & the MGs, and of course, The Blues Brothers, Steve was one of my foundational guitar influences.

I'm very sad to learn of his passing.

#SteveCropper #guitar #RIP

Everything I hear about the rise & proliferation of AI music (such as Sunk et al), the more I feel like we're being robbed of our souls.

The joy of learning, writing & performing music is essentially being gamified for someone else's financial gain.

#AI #AImusic #MusicIndustry

I think they're just under £200 if you buy one direct.

I think the only chambered bit is that top section where the hole is. The rest feels fairly solid (and it certainly isn't lightweight).

I have more hollow/chambered guitars for when I need that sound. This f-hole feels more like a purely aesthetic choice.

Telecaster style electric guitar, in natural wood finish, lying on a blue tartan blanket.

Here you go, with apologies for picture quality...

It's a Harley Benton version of a '69 Thinline Tele. The neck and fingerboard are roasted maple which I really like the feel of (all my other guitars or rosewood or ebony 'boards).

Sounds great too. I like it so far.

Update: Tele incoming

#guitar #guitarist #telecaster

Mixed

I keep hearing the media describe the government as "unpopular".

I can't help feeling that's because they seem to be governing by opinion poll, instead of the anti-tory vote which got them elected.

Just imagine if they stopped pandering to Reform. An unpopular gov has nothing to lose... #budget

I was just about to highlight this lecture and encourage more people to listen to it. Deeply worrying...

#ReithLecture #Morals #Facism

Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81 Star of The Harder They Come had hits including You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now

R.I.P. James Chambers, AKA Jimmy Cliff (1944-2025).

Fire away... (That's not the euphemism)

Well he seems delightful 🙄

Isn't what schools are supposed to do (assuming it had anywhere near the correct level of funding & staffing)?

Absolutely.

I only really see it at the top of Google searches (a basic collation of information -and not necessarily the RIGHT information - so can't be trusted) or in God awful auto-generated (read: stolen) art/music.

We could be doing really good things with this technology, but aren't.

Finally getting some much-needed coffee on this very cold day ☕❄️

"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated" - Justice Robert Jackson, at the opening of the Nuremberg Trials, 20th November 1945.

Bloody hell! What a game! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #SCOvDEN

More philosophy should sound (or at least start) like this...

River with clear, almost cloudless blue sky above. The riverbanks are lined with green-leaved trees on both sides (taken late September).

River with clear blue sky above (reflected in the water). The leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow (taken early October).

River with cloudy (but bright) sky reflected in its waters. The leaves of the trees on the right riverbank have turned deep yellow, red and brown. On the left bank, the green leaves are still visible with yellow and orange emerging (taken late October).

River with cloudy sky reflected in its waters. The trees lining the riverbanks on both sides are now entirely yellow, orange and brown, with almost no green leaves left (taken early November).

Autumn's progress over the space of around six weeks...

(late September - early November)

#autumn #seasons #river #sky #autumnleaves #photography

Turns out if I don't have a gig on a Friday night, I'll happily spend much of the (rare free) evening on researching PhD funding...
#RockAndRoll

Yes, it has one.

Since everyone has decided "it's all over for Kier Starmer", the funniest thing he could do is introduce a tax on the ultra wealthy & highest earners.

Even if it speeds up his removal, it's a hell of a hospital pass to his predecessor - they'd struggle to justify its removal to the electorate.

I just might...

(once some of the invoices I've sent out are actually paid ha ha)

I always assumed this is what the films did. It even fits with the backstory explored with Daniel Craig's Bond - his version of the character would (and did) jump at the chance to assume a new name entirely.

Wonky shot from a recent gig...

#guitar #guitarist #photography #gig #livemusic #stage #music

The Central Bar, a triangular building in front of a raised stone railway line with a sign that reads "Gateshead Railway Quarter" - a nod to its ongoing regeneration. The Sun is shining towards the camera, causing a hazy effect on the left of the picture.

Central Bar, Gateshead. Located right at the south end of the Tyne Bridge, and looking lovely in the autumn sunshine.

#Gateshead #Newcastle #railway #NorthEast #pub #architecture

Two overseas gigs confirmed for next year 🎸🎶

Not what I expected to read just before bedtime...