should my memory hold out, and it is not normally so bad with this sort of thing (please note not that sort of thing, thank you), today, the date this is published, would or could have been an anniversary. had i remained where i was, at verk where i was, then today is the day that my service would have reached the milestone of 21 years, look you see. or 21st anniversary, to be sure.
there is a danger of getting caught up a bit too much in what might have been. recalling and reminiscing is not so harmful in itself, but i would imagine you're better off having more eyes on where you are, not are not. as ever, it is to Mani we can turn to best understand this. journalists kept a calendar on a specific matter, and when a set period of time fell they simply could not wait to ask him about how (relevant to the times) he felt of now being in Primal Scream longer than he was in The Stone Roses. his answer was "exactly the same as i feel about being in Primal Scream longer than i was in The Beatles". or something along those lines.
but, this isn't really about me, or my verk, or Mani. well, yes it is, if you take the latter a bit extended and use Mani as the definition or personification of referencing music. let me try and get to the point, if there is one. i was, during my time of isolated quarantine during the invisible war on the plague, sorting through some discs. this led to me finding this disc.
should it look like a compact disc which for some reason bears the name of where it was that i called verk, but specifically dated some 12 - 24 months prior to my arrival there, well, the reason for that is that it is. as it happens, or i shall have you know, it was no less than Spiros, the greatest legal mind of his (or any) generation, who gifted me this disc several years ago. when i found it and asked him just, what, exactly, the f*** i should do with it, he suggested that it needed to get to "the biggest audience i could possibly manage". and so here we are.
you may have worked out (or know, if you have done a google thing) that this Nedcor disc is called, or better defined as subtitled, Going For Gold. that was, maybe still is, the name for the awards ceremony they have for verk staff once a year (give or take), to award outstanding service. yes, surprisingly, i did win one or two in my time.
with that said (or written or typed), i do not recall any specially composed music at any of the award ceremonies i attended. no, i do not recall much, for alcohol flowed freely at the events. i am pretty sure i can remember an incident with a bottle of something rather potent and a funnel, and also a pair of Austin Powers branded boxer shorts i had on. although not at the same time. maybe.
anyway, from track one of the CD, here is the Nedcor Legends song, as it is titled on the disc. please, press play, sit back, enjoy, and remember how if it's too loud you are too old.
i suspect that no one will be asking, but if you are asking what i think of it, well, mostly that it is. obviously not the greatest song i have ever heard, but also not exactly the worst, since i could not detect the sounds of Sammy Hagar or that Mr Kim Kardassian (or whatever) on it. no, that isn't the music i would generally seek out for myself, but if someone sat me down, gave me a nice dinner, some ale and a certificate, then yes, i guess i could listen to it grumble free. mostly grumble free.
quite a few people (or at least one or two) seem to get terribly upset when musicians, and indeed other artists, do "things", such as perform their art, in a way that is overtly for money. the general accusation is that they are "selling out". it has never made all that much sense to me, in truth. all need to get the coins to live, such is the way the world is by our design. good luck to anyone who gets a gig like this, and everyone else should just dig what they dig.
could i be at all persuaded to present here a picture of me (moi), with Spiros, involved in some heavy duty intense corporate banking stuff? yes, indeed. however, if you have asked like that, you may well be in for a disappointment, as such is hardly all that much of a visually stunning thing.
my best guess, going on the locale and the tinsel, would be that this image is just north of 20 years ago, but also south of 21. also, though, i may be a year out, and it is not like it isn't a perfectly natural thing for Spiros to beautify his surroundings with glittery stuff and similar.
what was my time in the realm of corporate banking like? interesting. there is probably enough for me to bore you for hours with, but i shall not. anyway, i am almost certain that one or two adventures, or episodes, will be in the archives of this blog.
that said, no, not much (well) was like that Wolf Of Wall Street thing; at least not at the level on which i was at. or maybe it was, and i just didn't pay attention. also, you go in all naive and innocent, with somewhat idealistic views such as "well, why would someone sign for something that they were not supposed to" and "i doubt anyone would spend money that they knew they did not have", but these are soon chased from your mind. experience is quick and, well, interesting in such matters, and then some.
indeed, that is the second specifically composed song on the disc, presumably the official Nedcor Going For Gold anthem. for those who are for some reason interested, the tracks in-between seem to be "melody" or "mega mix" things from specific decades. so, presumably those what were at this award event got a really good show.
for some reason i have, thus far in my travels through life, had the incredible ability to join various industries just as the financially halcyon days are drawing to a close. by the time i join a sector it seems that they are no longer flush with cash to squander on extravagant ideas like putting on a full blown (tilt) theatrical musical production for entertainment at an awards function. usually, though, i got on just fine with the hand dealt. especially when it had a budget that stretched to a bottle of something (anything) splendid and a funnel.
not so Spiros, of course. he moved on to ever higher echelons of power in the corporate sector, which makes sense for the greatest legal mind of his generation to do. invariably he gets an invitation to a ceremony to celebrate him and his achievements two or three times a month, with entertainment provided in a by no means cheap way from the likes of Sir Elton, and other "corporate gig friendly" types of performers.
on one instance, i think, there was the time that he, Spiros, was doing something or other with the Soviets, or whatever they are called now. to show their appreciation for his efforts, an award ceremony was held, at which several prominent, multi-millionaire professional footballers were ordered to do a little dance for his pleasure. because, well, why would you not if you could.
my views on that second song above, since i forgot to mention it earlier, and if you are asking, are pretty much similar, or the same, as the first one. due to how an internet works, in particular if one uses one of them "google" things instead of some alphabetical directory, there is every chance that someone who was actually at the event, or gig, where these songs got played has found this post. if so, nice one, and may all the memories be good.
undoubtedly, yet equally, there shall of course be some Spiros enthusiasts looking at this, hoping for a rather more homogeneous, or erogenous, picture of him. with me in it, of course, but indeed that would be secondary. well, here you go.
a compass can only point to a finite number of directions, and there would be absolutely none of them that gives any guidance to any direction where i could go with the rest of this post after that image. so, i shall mostly remain silent, allowing you all the time you like to reflect on it all.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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