Daily Musings — 27th February 2017

So today I was going to tell you all about the War On Terror exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. Except, I was unable to get down there and spent most of the day trying to get down there, so I’ve basically done nothing too entertaining. Or anything remotely entertaining. I’m rambling to take up words.

I’ve been watching a lot of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Comedy Central Extra. Now, I hadn’t watched the show since I was very young and it followed The Simpsons on Channel Four. Like Friends, the story-lines two decades on are still very relatable. The humour still makes lots of sense. This is because the format works. The format works because the situation could be replicated at almost any point of history in any location imaginable. We all know someone like Carlton or Hillary, don’t we? The key is also the directions you can go with a diverse range of characters. Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, Will, Geoffrey and Ashley can all have their own focused episodes. That is why such a show still endures.

On this day in 1900, the Labour Representative Committee was formed. In 1906, this would become the British Labour Party. The fallout from Copeland continues. Corbyn is looking increasingly frustrated at being asked questions on his future. This isn’t an attitude befitting of a Leader of The Opposition. Indeed, when he meant to say “well done to our MSPs” but mistakenly said “well done to our SNP”, he took a jab at the press. “I bet you got that one” he joked. This sounds as though he’s claiming the press are out to get him. Something which Trump has claimed about a thousand times by now and given everything that’s happened, I’m not sure it was an appropriate comment to make. Certainly, supporters of the current Labour leadership are choosing to focus more on Stoke Central. Beating UKIP in a safe seat. Also from what I can see, Jack Brereford didn’t have too much support from party HQ. This lead to a perception it was between Snell and Nuttall, so Nuttall split the right-of-centre and right vote. A lot of people have also joked Stoke Central is a constituency where you could pin a red rosette on a donkey and it’ll still win, so I’m not sure if focusing on it is in their best interests’ or a productive use of their time.

I also recently saw a video on Loudwire, which summed up an interview given by Steven Adler, the drummer in the classic line-up of Guns N’ Roses. Adler says he found it “heartbreaking” to watch full time drummer Frank Ferrer play his songs and too not see former rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin tour with Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan. I do tend to agree with him, although there is questions about Adler’s long term health. Having suffered from drug addiction through most of his twenties and even having suffered a stroke, it must be seriously risky to take him on a major tour. Likewise, Stradlin, was never one for the fame, so it’s not surprising he has only come for a handful of shows. Richard Fortus and Ferrer are both really talented musicians and from what I’ve seen, the new GN’R line-up has done really well. It would be interesting to see if at the end of this tour, the band decide to write new material. The last album featuring original material with Slash and McKagan were the double Use Your Illusion Albums in 1991. Chinese Democracy in 2008 was the last Guns N’Roses album to hit the shelves. Whilst I’ll admit the sound was a lot different to the previous albums, as a stand alone album it was great. Fans just kept it comparing it to Appetite For Destruction, when it had different personnel and a different sound. On its’ own it is a really sweet album and Axl Rose is one of the best writers of his generation. A new album will be really sweet, especially if they can get the original 5 in the studio for at least one track.