daring double down delight

hello there 

looking back (rather than forward) it does strike me that there are "phases" of various things being focused on here. focused on or obsessed over, i suppose, for the line between those definitions is quite abstract, look you see. one such thing, for i did a bit of research here prior (rather than after) to writing this, would be KFC. 

a bit of a warning that this might get a bit "link heavy", if that is the right term. not really intended as a shameless (or shame free) plug, for all will be to my own blog, but rather just "handy" for anyone who is for some reason interested in all of this. moving on, then, and in regards of previous KFC moments here there was of course that time i did meticulous research to establish that The King, Elvis Presley was likely alive and well in China based on the number of branches of KFC (and Cadillac dealerships) there. which my friend Mike went and researched, with inconclusive results.

perhaps of greater (as in actual) relevance here is the occasional thing off of KFC called the double down. this is something i have determined to be one of the best, greatest and most important things ever to exist. effectively, for those unaware, it is something that started as an April Fool's "joke", but was clearly a bit of cheeky, opportunistic marketing to see if it would work (verk) or be popular. the idea was that KFC "did" a chicken burger, but in a bit of a "f*** you, bread" move, they replaced the bun with another two (2) chicken fillets. 

sadly, or alas, they have never gone full tilt with the idea. as and when KFC have made the double down available what one gets is the two fillets, but not a chicken burger in the middle. disappointing, of course, but here we are. for more along the lines of "here we are", well, behold this link festival. by no means is this a conclusive (or comprehensive) list of the double down featuring here before, but here we go. all you Grant enthusiasts can rejoice, as to start with here is he (Grant) trying one of them over in the wonders of New Zealand way back in 2011, which is further away than you might think. unless i missed one i believe it was only in 2013 i got to try a double down for the first time, as detailed right here. immediately prior to this post (at least as far as i can tell) the last time i encountered a double down was five years ago. yes, i have found an extraordinary number of words to write here. 

it, as you can see above, has returned once again. by it i do (indeed) mean the double down, and i suppose it would be fair to say it has "kind of" returned, since inexplicably you can only get a variation of it that is a "zinger". really would prefer just regular fillets, thanks, but for whatever reason (my guess would be slanted, wonky or dubious market research) KFC in the UK is obsessed with making as many items as it possibly can the "zinger" ones. so yes, as you can see above and below, i went right ahead and took the decision, or dare, to go and try one again. 

not an easy decision to make, dear reader, and one that i wrestled with for some time. i am, after all, living a different life in a radically different world. for those unaware (and i would entirely understand anyone having little interest in my plight) i have had quite the medical odyssey this year. with my proclivity being to post on nearly everything what i experience, the start of it all can be found by clicking here and the most recent post on the subject is here. quite likely there are links in the latter to highlight all the progress.

for those not inclined to look at the links there, well, medically i should be avoiding things like KFC, or any such (similar) take away food. to be fair, i indeed had done sone. my visit to KFC to once again indulge the delights of the double down was the first time i had been to a "take away" or if you like fast food place (to eat, at least, i have stopped for coffee) since that initial episode where i really, really thought that this was how it ended, that i was to be no more, that i would not be here writing this. 

oddly (perhaps) i have not missed such dining options. whereas i didn't really ever have what one would call a healthy or well balanced diet it's not that i was frequently eating things like this. wouldn't really be able to put an exact figure on it, but from what i can remember before the "episode", well, i believe my take away intake was limited to a weekly KFC treat, usually to mark returning to my lodgings in my place of exile after a week of verk in that there London (innit). all things considered, i figured i was due something akin to a "treat", and ultimately went for it. 

how was it? since there is every chance someone might have clicked on this for a "review", i suppose some time had best be spent doing such. disappointing, really. the packaging they are doing is awful, with the poorly constructed double down sticking to the box which is awkward to open. for taste, well, not bad as such, but what a needless, convoluted mess it was to eat pretty much distracted from any appreciation for a sense of flavour. 

maybe, if they are just going to do it for the sake of it, KFC should stop reviving the double down. the joke element of it dissipated quite some time ago and the novelty factor has been erased by a combination of poor presentation and the insistence on doing them only as a "zinger". still, when they first came along, yes, they were wonderful. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

of four new christmas tapes

ho ho ho pop pickers

well, yes. strictly this is about eight new christmas tapes (discs, look you see), for one of the sets contains five (5) of them. but four new "albums" procured on tape (disc) ahead of the festive season it is. so of course i have every intention of, for want of a better word, showcasing them here.

fear not, not that i believe anyone would, for i shall still be playing my usual christmas tape collection, which includes a Barbra Streisand one, a couple from The King, Elvis Presley, a most excellent set from Chas & Dave and of course a serviceable collection of agreeable songs by Mr Sinatra. there shall also be the traditional playing of the b-side of the 12" (so to speak) of The Power Of Love off of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, so that i may hear their christmas wishes.  these new tapes i just happened to see on my travels and felt an obligation to get them. 

pictured above, they are, in the not particularly satisfactory mode of "psychedelic". really disappointed with this "app". for clarity, then, these new ones are Elvis Christmas off of (ostensibly) The King, Elvis Presley, 80s Christmas Party off of several people, 100 Greatest Christmas off of a number of people, with some artists (artistes if you will) appearing a few times, and then A Christmas Gift For You from no less than Phil Spector. indeed, that one. 

saying i am not sure how interested anyone shall be in this lot feels kind of like stating the obvious, for i never know what here will be of interest, either at all or to anyone. but you are here now, and as this is one of the few internet things not to have adverts, well, read on. and why not. 

who is it that could tell me a more fitting place to start than with The King, Elvis Presley? this, for provenance, is a tape (you know) which caught my eye down the market. essentially it features His vocals from songs that are now somehow copyright / royalty free (public domain, i think, is the term) but dubbed over some new music off of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. however, rather than chancers releasing it this is an official thing off of His estate, and for good measure features some lovely liner notes off of Priscilla Presley. can't really argue for £1.

but is it any good? of course, for it is He, The King, Elvis Presley. a nice "mix it up" of the two (2) other christmas branded tapes of His what i already have. if you are wondering what the highlights of this tape are, the answer is all of it.

perhaps the most interesting aspect of this one is the memories it jogged. in younger, arguably more innocent times (say south of 10) i took it as "Royal" anything meant it existed mostly (or maybe even exclusively) to serve the Royal family. had i any concept of what a "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra" was at that age i would likely have assumed they existed to play music for the Royal family as and when they wished to hear it. like, for instance, if P[TEXT REMOVED ON LEGAL ADVICE] invited renowned friend of the elite Sir J[TEXT REMOVED ON LEGAL ADVICE] over, along with some [TEXT REMOVED ON LEGAL ADVICE] and they wanted to cover themselves, for a laugh, in tinfoil and pretend to be G[TEXT REMOVED ON LEGAL ADVICE] then they may have commanded them over to play some of his classic songs, such as [TEXT REMOVED ON LEGAL ADVICE] but obviously not the Led Zeppelin one. 

quite frankly the above pictured 80s Christmas Party very nearly didn't get bought, even though it was all of a modest 50p in a charity shop. why not? because of the bewildering number of songs which are neither christmas themed nor the sort of thing one would play at a "christmas party". as in things like Digging Your Scene off of Blow Monkeys is on there. there's also Pass The Dutchie off of Musical Youth on there, which brings to mind presently my chum Spiros is busy trying to claim he was the original lead singer for that band before they changed direction. if we are honest anyone that plays Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now off of Starship at any sort of party wants their f*****g head kicked in, they really do. 

but then, being thorough, i noticed what the very last (actual last) track on the set was. at this point i went yes, i don't actually have that on tape (or disc), let me put up with the drivel on it so that i may have a decent copy of that boss tune. yes, some video, here is a snippet for your pleasure. 

might be that i have no need to clarify this, but also i do. the origins of the sample you are hearing are all down below, but the above is indeed Christmas In Hollis off of Run DMC. should the importance or relevance of this need expanding on, this is the song what Argyle is playing in the limo in Die Hard. no, i am not going to get into that "is Die Hard a christmas film" thing, rather just celebrate how that magnificent film brought this outstanding tune to as wider audience. 

yes, ok, on the plus side this tape (disc) does also feature that Peace On Earth thing off of David Bowie and Bing Crosby which, oddly, i am not certain i had a copy of. but it also has Spandau Ballet on. even when giving money to charity one has to be careful of what they are knowingly procuring. 

this one may well be one of the most curious, if not controversial, purchases what i have ever made. again it was from a charity shop for 50p. so we have arrived at A Christmas Gift For You, which as the cover says is from Phil Spector. indeed it may well be that this ends up focusing on him rather than the music contained on the tape (disc). 

briefly leaving aside that side of this tape (disc) and what youf  have here is a truly stunning set of classic christmas songs off of some great artists. doing three or so songs each are Darlene Love, The Ronnettes, Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans and The Crystals. sheer vibrant, beautiful, passionate takes of some well known songs. with the sound, of course, being as great as it is because of the of the greatest record producers of all time was behind it. you even get a poster of him dressed as Father Christmas...

yeah, Phil Spector. if you were unaware of his fate, well, he died in prison a few years ago, and he was in prison for the not inconsiderable crime of murder. generally when someone famous does something like that they get shunned, quietly erased (or airbrushed) and quietly forgotten about. bit difficult to do that with Phil Spector, though, due to the incredible records he produced. and the least of those is most certainly not a Beatles album. presumably an awful lot of mental gymnastics goes on, with people deciding (or declaring) that he was "only" the producer and so it is all right to play the songs. 

he has certainly not been the only casual beneficiary of such double standards, and another christmas themed song comes to mind as being the thing that rescued someone. when you consider what, exactly, Boy George went to prison for (here) one can be left baffled as to why he has not been "cancelled" or whatever they call it these days, but remains positively celebrated. laughably a BBC interview, i think by Chris Evans (the sh!t British one), brushed it all off as him being "quite conflicted". maybe if he had done what he did to a woman rather than another man it might have been different, but also the prospect of not being able to play Band Aid ever again conveniently saved him from being blotted out. 

finally, then, a large five tape (disc) one hundred song set claiming to be the Greatest Christmas one, even if it is the 100 greatest cheapest to license songs. and a few songs which do not immediately scream christmas, such as the (admittedly superb) cover of Somewhere Only We Know off of Lily Allen. 

it is mostly done on the cheap, featuring as it does covers of I Believe In Father Chistmas and Frankie's not intended as a christmas song but f*** it here we are The Power Of Love rather than the originals. still, you get some Kylie, some (reasonably rare to appear on compilations) Pet Shop Boys and, of  course, Sir Cliff. the two main draws for me buying this down the market were the presence of 2000 Miles off of The Pretenders, and this one (the video below) which may sound familiar if you have already played the video above. 

what you are hearing there is the magnificence of Back Door Santa off of the very sexually aware Clarence Carter, dear reader. indeed this is the song that Run DMC sampled extensively for their one. and why not, for sampling done to create something new isn't that bad, so long as it's creative and makes a genuinely new dynamic listening experience. so yeah, i love both songs equally and am delighted that my christmas soundtrack shall feature both. 

as usual i will say it's highly unlikely anyone shall be all that interested what i listen to this christmas as i sit alone in my place of exile, lonely and longing to be not alone but knowing that will not change. that said, you never know, some of you may well have picked up a few tips on what tapes to get so as to get your very own groove on over the festive period. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!