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DJ Poppy's PodcastI'm not dead yet! |
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DJ Poppy Takes A Trip - 5. Jet Lag
June 26, 2011 03:11 AM PDT
My last post has really hit home - I may not be around for much longer. When you reach my age, tomorrow isn't always guaranteed. So I made a conscious decision to speed up my rate and finish this project off before the decision is made for me. I've never been one of those people who can leave a job half done and I would hate to think that you lot out there thought I didn't have it in me to complete what I've started. And so I informed Nanna that I would unavailable to be co-conspirator in whatever nefarious activities she was planning for the week as I was otherwise occupied. I harnessed all my faculties and focused them on the job in hand (not, I might add, without significant verbal harassment from the lady in question)and can now offer you the final installment in my DJ Poppy Takes a Trip series. As the name suggests, Jet Lag represents an attempt to deal with the aftermath of the previous journey. The feet are feeling leaden, the brain has dulled, the eye have become heavy yet the mind continues to tap out a beat - or at least, this is what I read on the interweb. And so I have started to slow the tempos, chosen some prettier melodies and offered up some more familiar tunes to lull you into the never-never. It has certainly been a useful tool to promote afternoon napping around here. I hope you've enjoyed the series - I've enjoyed putting it together...now I'll have to find another theme...hmmmm. Track List:
June 17, 2011 02:00 AM PDT
I'm probably going to dead before I finish this series - I mean really, what was a man my age doing setting himself a target like that? Since I delivered number 3 four of my fellow residents have taken their final bow. Makes you realise you could go at any moment. Though in truth I've been fighting fit over the last four months save a gammy knee and a dose of the common cold. So what is my excuse this time, I hear you ask. Sheer bone idleness, if you must know. Even the clamour of my fellow residents was little incentive, despite one of them, I know not who, sliding a white feather under my door on more than one occasion. I did amuse myself with the thought that the culprit's heart would have been nudging into the danger zone as they made their shuffling escape down the corridor panicking lest I reach the door before they could turn the corner. Hmmm, perhaps it's one of the staff? So here it is at long last - Volume 4: Landing Gear. Having already distributed it on the facility's black market (or should that be grey?), I have already had the feedback that there aren't enough vocals (Nanna) and that it's a wee bit fast for effective toe-tapping (Mr. Tappin, who only has the one foot and has to lean on his can to achieve toe-tapping). I'm sure neither of these will be of issue for my discerning listeners... Track Listing:
February 04, 2011 10:45 PM PST
Well, Christmas and New Year took it out of me a bit, what with the sun baking, surfing, hot nights and the like. Actually, we've been mostly confined to barracks as the air-conditioning makes it the most suitable place to continue living. Though even indoors most of the facility's residents can be found slumped in their chairs manically fanning themselves with whatever they can get their hands on. We've been lucky to miss the floods and cyclones that have plagued the rest of the country, but not the heat and humidity. It has made one un-eager to do anything, particularly slaving over hot decks. Still, knowing you have been eagerly awaiting the next installment, I have dragged myself up, stocked up on isotonic fluids and delivered what you are after. The third volume of DJ Poppy Takes A Trip which I have modestly called Mile High. By now the idea is that you should be up on your feet and jumping up and down. I'm not, obviously, but I imagine that I can still do it... Enjoy Track Listing:
November 12, 2010 04:08 AM PST
OK, so I've been slack in the posting department - but getting two at once is no bad thing, at least that what's Marjorie Throgmorton tells me and she should know. By all accounts she had quite the reputation in the late 30's. So here is part the second, "Lift Off" - hardly and original title, I know, but you try coming up with names when most of your neurons are on a permanent tea break. If you are at a loss for what to do with it, it's designed for moving from the upright stage to actually jiggling the legs about a bit (but don't go and do something silly - I'm talking to you Nanna, I don't want to have to replace a fourth hip). Plus for those of a nostalgic disposition there's a few singalongs... Track listing:
November 12, 2010 02:44 AM PST
I know, I know, it has been months since you've had the pleasure of my company - but what's an old codger to do when a cold winter plays havoc with the rheumatic knuckles. As a young man I had immense pride in my nimble fingers, just ask Nanna about them if you don't believe me, she'll wax lyrical about them. But this year they seized up and were next to useless for much of the season. Still, it has meant that Nanna has had to step up and manage some of the more fiddly chores. Would you think less of me if I told you I took advantage? Oh well, so be it... It hasn't of course stopped me thinking about the next musical project, nor has it stopped me buying new tunes from my favourite interwebsites (although I have obliged Nanna to be my mouse assistant from time to time which has been fun). I have, however, set myself something of a Herculean task given my days must surely be numbered. It is inspired by all the media noise around DJ Flowers. Whilst I could never venture forth into the outside world to play in a proper flashing-light nightclub (the danger of a seizure is ever-present) I reckon I could give Mrs. Flowers a run/amble/shuffle for her money. I have therefore decided to create for your listening pleasure a 5-disc set - indeed, you heard me right. Featuring my favourite music of the last 12 months or so, each set will progress into the next in the manner of a greater set and thus take the listener on a journey. My effort is naturally called DJ Poppy Takes A Trip and I hope you enjoy the first segment 'Departure Lounge' - it's supposed to take you from supine to upright at the very least. Track listing:
May 23, 2010 12:02 AM PDT
I know, it's been a while, but it's been an eventful Summer here at the facility. Firstly, we had an escape - old Mr. Wildman managed to go over the fence. No one knows how, but security has been stepped up as it's caused no end of embarrassment. Surprisingly Wildman's family doesn't seem in the least bit concerned. We're all hoping Jack's made it to the tropics. But the big news is that my own Nanna has, all of a sudden, seen the Light. She woke up one morning late last year claiming to have had a dream in which she had been touched by the Lord. I refrained from asking where exactly He had touched her, fearing the pillars of the Church could come crashing down if it turned out to be somewhere personal. I thought it might be a passing phase (she was always a bit of a faddist), but she has embraced the born-again philosophy with a verve I've not seen in her before. She's even tried proselytising around the facility and I've been asked on more than one occasion by fellow inmates and staff to try to keep her under control, but she won't listen to me. The manic light of faith burns fiercely in her eyes and I know better than to confront it. Besides, it gets her out of the unit for hours at a time leaving me to my own pleasures. However, she has inspired my latest offering to you - the Gospel According to DJ Poppy. Given Nanna's ongoing fervour, I went through my hard drive and selected a baker's dozen gospel or gospel inspired tracks from over the years. I hope you like my choice... Track listing: There Will Come A Day [Full on Anthem Mix]
October 31, 2009 12:05 AM PDT
Ahh, the first breath of summer! How we long for it here at the facility - you can almost hear the collective letting go of breath held throughout the winter as we realise we've survived another one. And yesterday that wonderful smell of jasmine came floating over the barbed wire on the top of the wall and you could see everyone's mood visibly lift. Nanna has now put the thermal underwear away for another six months and was even sporting a floral sun dress this morning, albeit with fleece slippers on her feet - the blood has always had trouble travelling that far through her convoluted ciruclatory system. We have started venturing out into the facility gardens, if you can call some patchy lawn and a few moth-eathen shrubs a garden. Still, the feeling of sun on your face and the balmy breezes makes you think of the beach, the sea and a fruity cocktail or two. Not that we have those things to look forward to anymore, but it's amazing how you can survive on a memory. So I've been in a good mood of late and have been veering towards happy tunes. I've collected some together for you and called it 'Sunshiny Day' in honour of Spring. Marjorie down the corridor tells me it transports her to a couple of particularly carefree months in the summer of '63 when she had a dalliance with a pair of bronzed Hungarian twins. She was rather flushed so I thought I'd leave her to it... Anyway, here's to Summer! Track listing:
October 17, 2009 06:15 PM PDT
Well, it's been a cold, dark winter here at the facility so I've been laying low. Nanna's been poorly for most of it with the flu from hell - I told her it was probably Swine Flu and got a look that could curdle milk for my trouble. It seems to have lasted the entire winter, so it's been laugh-a-minute here! On the plus side, Harry's son dropped off a little black box that he called a hard drive - said it contained 'a history of house'. I had no idea what he was talking about of course (something architectural perhaps?), but after I read the note he included I figured it all out. Well, I've been like a pig in clover - music coming out every orifice and most of it more than 10 years old. That's the beauty of music - it may be fifteen years old but it sounds fresh if you've never heard it before - if only the same could be said of humans. So I've put together a little recording of some of what I consider to be the gems, or, as I like to call them, the Olden Goldies. The youngest is from 1999 - spring chicken by my standards, of course, but practically prehistoric in the annals of 'house' apparently. Some of the artists will be familiar even if the tracks aren't. I hope you like them...but if you don't, I'm not going worry - life's to short and getting shorter!! Track listing:
July 27, 2009 02:32 AM PDT
June ended up being quite a busy month for me. Now that I have my laptop, I've been feverishly acquainting myself with everything that the interweb has to offer, much to Nanna's chagrin. She feels I should be paying her more attention, but the way I look at it is that she's been getting my attention for the last forty years so shouldn't complain now that I'm paying attention to myself for a change. At least I'm still in the same room while I'm doing it... One of our inmates, Kitty, also celebrated a birthday and managed to bribe the authorities into having a bit of a knees-up. She has been one of the people who have sought out my black market CDs so she asked if I could play something during the party. I naturally agreed and decided to record the results. We were only allowed to celebrate for 2 hours (enjoyment being severely rationed here, just in case someone does themselves an injury and the authorities find themselves at risk of a lawsuit) so this mix is a little longer than normal and won't fit on a CD so you'll just have to transfer it to your Kerfuffles or whatever those things young people use these days are called. In my day it was records played at 78 rpm!! You may be curious as to why I have called it Purr-fect Party. Well, Kitty is not her real name - none of us actually know what is. Since she arrived as an inmate, our Kitty has been under the delusion that she is in fact a cat and is prone to sneaking up behind you and Miaouw-ing when you least expect it. As you can imagine, we've had a couple of cardiac incidents but she's not to be reasoned with. Anyway, that's why it's 'Purr-fect'. Hope you like it - if you've listened to my other episodes you'll recognise some of it, but there's also a lot of new music in there. Track List: I Want To Thank You [Bad Yard Club Mix]
July 04, 2009 07:12 PM PDT
...and here's 'Nonsense'. Track List: Galaxy [Thommy & Spen Piano Hump Mix]
July 04, 2009 05:58 PM PDT
What with one thing and another, it took a little time for me to create a new recording after 'Popping Out'. Part of it was the excitement of discovering digital shopping - I spent a lot of time acquiring and less time creating. Plus I started the process of acquiring my own computer to alleviate the need to use the communal one. What with the security conditions here and the evident increase in attention being paid to Ada and myself, I had to be a little bit cunning. First I had to engineer a situation for me to be able to speak to Harry's grandson - which meant organising a clandestine 'meeting' in the garden while he was wheeling Harry around on one of his visits. The guards, sorry, staff step up their vigilance during visiting hours so I decided it was best for me to slip him a note rather than run the risk of being caught talking to him for too long. Luckily Tom (that's Harry's grandson) was game and knew exactly what I needed. He was able to smuggle everything in as part of some new bed linen he brought in for Harry - what with his condition, he needs new replacements quite regularly. I made sure I was visiting Harry's room when he arrived and the hand-over was made. He left me very detailed notes about what I needed to do to get it to work, though we had a few weeks of passing notes through Harry before it was all up and running. The new-found freedom is exhilarating! You may also be wondering about how I actually make my recordings given the technical limitations and security restrictions in place here. Well, you might remember I mentioned in my first post that I had persuaded a staff member here to assist me. All I will say is that the recordings are made by him secretly during the bridge sessions. I can't say more or tell you his name just in case - the last thing I want to do is put him in jeopardy. So, after Nanna's complaints about the instrumental break in 'Popping Out' I got to thinking about my next recordings. Much as I love her, Nanna's taste does tend to be rather restrictive and I don't think it is one shared by members of our little gated, barred and bolted community. In fact, I have found that those of our fellow residents who are a little hard of hearing tend to prefer instrumental tracks so they don't have to strain to try to decipher the lyrics. I therefore decided to do something a little daring and do a double recording - one with 100% vocal and one with majority instrumental tracks. My theory is that this will keep the extremes happy whilst the middle ground might enjoy both. For obvious reasons, I have called my recordings 'Fluff' and 'Nonsense'. I present them both to you here and ask only for your forgiveness for the slight blooper at the very start of 'Nonsense'. I'm still getting to grips with the programs and Ada took a bit of a turn not long ago and is recovering in hospital so I couldn't seek her advice in rectifying it. You live and learn!! Track List: I'll Be Around [Surprise Mix]
July 04, 2009 04:44 PM PDT
Well, to my great surprise,'House Bound' has become something of a hit around the Facility - turns out the residents had been paying attention during my sets at those bridge nights after all. I had always assumed that most of them were deaf as there wasn't even a single toe-tap as I played, just intense focus on the cards. But it appears that was just contentment - who knew! I realised when old Harry Tinker sidled up to me (inasmuch as you can sidle in a walking frame - I had to be a bit patient) and asked me in a hushed tone whether I had any of my music for sale. His grandson had given him a CD player and some headphones for his room (smuggled past the guards, of course) and he found my sets helped him concentrate during bridge. Well, if I'd known the skullduggery we would have to resort to to avoid detection, I might have thougt twice, but it's begun to enliven things around here. Harry had to rope his grandson in to get the blank discs and I had to sweet talk Mrs. Plunkett into being my technical accomplice. In addition to being a Youtube addict, she has mananged to get past the security settings on the computer in the Entertainment Room and set it up for us to be able to create our own CDs - it's been a revelation! Not only that but she has shown me how I can buy new music without having to leave the grounds! We've had to be a bit careful though as the guards, sorry, the staff have been giving us some funny looks and it might be my imagination but they seem to do their rounds through the Living Room more often these days. Plus, Nanna's becoming a bit suspicious of the time Ada (that's Mrs. Plunkett) and I spend huddled round the computer - I tell her it's innocent, but she's always had a bit of a jealous streak. Anyways, Harry got his CD (for free of course, I play for pleasure not for gain) and no sooner had I given it to him than Marjorie Trotter accosts me while I'm taking my morning constitutional in the garden demanding to know where her copy is. By the end of that week I'd had to supply half the Home with copies. Harry's grandson is going to be invaluable in the supply chain! So it wasn't long before the calls started coming in for a new release. I can't help thinking the genie's out of the bottle... In February therefore I created 'Popping Out', named in honour of a bit of discomfort I had with my hernia not long after Christmas - Nanna warned me not to overdo it, but I got swept along in the Festive cheer and besides it's the only time of the year that the staff turn a blind eye so you might as well make the most of it, I say. Anyway, hope you enjoy it - it's been well received at the Home, though I have had a few grumbles from Nanna about the instrumental break in the middle. She's very particular about her music is Nanna and can't really cope with vocal silence which might explain why she rarely shuts up! It's made me think about my next recording though... Track List: I Want To Thank You [Bad Yard Club Mix]
June 17, 2009 03:57 AM PDT
Welcome to DJ Poppy's, that's me, blog site - it's been a long time coming, if I say so myself. It has come as a bit of a shock to find myself so thoroughly in my twilight years so I have decided, before it's too late, to leave a little something for posterity. It took me a while to figure out what it should be but ever since I've been entertaining my fellow residents at the retirement village the idea of making it something musical has taken hold and Nanna, my ball and chain, though I think I detected a stifled snort that she claimed was a hiccough, appears to be supportive. Besides, my sets on bridge evenings have got quite a following. So I present my first effort, DJ Poppy's House Bound. It was recorded back in December '08 after I came down with a rather unpleasant bout of something unmentionable and was unfit for public consumption. Since then I've had to bribe one of the staff here to teach me how to 'upload' it and before you ask, yes it did take six months - I've never been a fast learner and Mrs. Plunkett has a bit of a Youtube addiction and can be vicious when crossed. Anyhoo, House Bound sums up my musical taste - a bit of everything, ha ha - and Nanna cracked a bit of a jiggle, so it can't be all bad! Mind you, all that knob twiddling played havoc with my finger joints, but more about that next time... ...Hope you enjoy it. Track list: Dream On [Ashley Beedle's Full Insomniac Vocal Mix]
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About DJ PoppySome people think that I, DJ Poppy, don't really exist - but anyone saying this to Nanna (that's my ball and chain) runs the risk of a handbag to the head. Some people also don't think I am really as old as my name suggests - but as I drift rudderless in my dotage I can assure you I am not one of your young, trendy types with an outlandish haircut - no, I keep what hair is remaining in good order. I am real and there are days when I feel very old indeed. Circumstance has forced DJ Poppy to keep a low public profile. Currently domiciled in a high security old people's facility somewhere on the glorious coast of New South Wales, Australia, I don't get out much. Given that I've forgotten exactly where I live - you don't get to my age without a few cobwebs - it is probably just as well that I don't stray too far from the facility grounds. Thankfully, the 12 foot gates and razor wire keep me from losing my way. You may think it odd that someone of such advanced years should be messing about with dance music - after all, too much excitement might do me an injury - but I've been a groover since the days of the Jitterbug and what is house and techno if not the Jitterbug of today? It is true that I missed the first few buses to the digital age, but now that I've arrived I intend to make the most of it. The interweb is now my contact with the outside world and I will invite you into my world whenever the security personnel are not looking. My fellow inmates and various other allies have persuaded me to start this podcast thing. They think that you out there need a glimpse inside our lives. It's not too bad really if you know how to get past the wardens and we can be quite devious when we want to. Followers
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