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When God and guitars were all that mattered “Hallo, and welcome to a rather different audioletter, or Beatcroft Social, or self-indulgent trawl through my musical antecedents. I’m not going to introduce each track individually on air, so to speak (or not). The longish article below partly explains where this comes from and why I chose…

Some verses regarding fashionable canines This was provoked by the sheer number of so-called hypoallergenic dogs (mutt breeds that either don’t shed their hair, or have little or none of the stuff) currently having their organic vegetarian excrement scraped off the Troon promenade. Our rescue sheepdog/Staffie cross Dexter is nothing like as hairy as the…

A sonic missive from Troon I’ll be writing a wee essay about being in Troon this time (some odd memories resurface), but the one-hour show which went out on 60 North Radio this evening (Friday) was put together here, in the wee flat we have as our mainland bolthole. The weather has been, on the…

Want to know about the Free Kirk? Alex Macdonald’s brutal new thriller may open your theological eyes… Despite its many recent and continuing  travails, the Scottish National Party’s membership numbers have increased, apparently. Has the same been true for the Free Church of Scotland, its profile skyrocketing through the public visibility of member and (very…

As heard on 60 North Radio. The poem! the playlist! The sounds! The Dreichness Snow in April’s fine Above the tundra line Where Capercaillie dwell In an icy hell Pursued by hikers And mountain bikers The outdoor purists Very hardy tourists Seeking endorphin thrills Without the aid of pills Except for Ibuprofen Which they take…

Waiting for a better nation to arrive… Strange days indeed in Scotland, waiting as we do for Alasdair Gray’s better nation to arrive. I’m waking up early each morning, reaching for the phone and despairing at the latest revelation. Sure, there are the comedy camper vans, the titivating tents, the ill-advised First Minister one-liners, like…

Just music and music-related chat in this show. Playlist follows… The show goes out on 60 North Radio at 7.00pm on Fridays. You can stream it on Mixcloud here. Josienne Clarke — Anyone But Me Phil Cordell — Londonderry Lieutenant Pigeon — And the Fun Goes On Mungo Jerry — She Rowed Steely Dan —…

The continuing song-sequence known as The Camper Van Cantata Several conjunctions of notes found in this song may be familiar from the work of Mr Peter Nardini (Larkhall), Mr Martin Stephenson (Jemimaville) and the late Mr Michael Marra (Tannadice). Something to do with multisyllabic Scottish placenames. In Uddingston There used to be a zoo, you…

A song from the upcoming Motorhome concept album. Audio and text Please confiscate my campervan It’s been sitting there for years Tyres flatter than Conservative opinion polls It’s driven us nowhere except to tears The neighbours I must say are less than happy They think someone’s making crystal meth inside I parked it in that…

Read or listen. From the Bothy Band to the Undertones via passing places and annoying sheep You can read this or listen at your leisure (it’s an hour with music by everyone from Lowell George to Kylie Minogue) by clicking on the Mixcloud link here. Cut off! Well, not quite. I managed to squeeze the…