Favourite 10 Talk Talk songs - my reply to a query from Toby Benjamin

Just prior to Christmas I received a message from author Toby Benjamin inquiring about 10 favourite 10 Talk Talk songs. He mentioned he would select some of it for a post he was going to do for his Spirit of Talk Talk page and honestly I was happy to oblige, but honestly, it wasn't a fair question. Narrow it down to only 10 favourites? Unpossible!

Here is the post where some of my Peanut babble made it mainstream. Woot! Thanks to Toby for the opportunity to stretch my writing chops a little bit over the holidays! :) Below this is my entire unabridged submission to Toby. 

It’s My Life - Hands down, my favourite because it was the first song I’d ever heard by them and it was this song that made me (many years later) decide to find out more about their other releases. Also as much as I hesitate to admit this, it was No Doubt that reminded me about this somewhat long forgotten song in my ill-gotten Napster-made library and made me go looking to get a better (read: official) copy of it. 

Runeii - On first listen this was the song that made me start the track over again because it was so subtle and quiet and clearly every note, sound and pause was meaningful and I knew my full attention was needed. 

Today - My love of Talk Talk made me many good online friends in the last few years. My friend Lorraine (in Australia , I’m in Canada) found this 7” single and randomly decided to gift it to me. It is one of the first actual physical piece of Talk Talk merchandise I owned. Living in Another World - I’ve always loved the power start to this song that set the high energy for the rest of it. Also the climax of the song where Mark sounds like he’s almost shouting. (God only knows what kind of tales you tell). 

Life’s What You Make It - This is the 2nd song by the band that I knew of. But it was different enough that it was a few years before I realized these were the same guys that wrote ‘It’s My Life’ I’ve always loved that about Talk Talk. Their albums sound different. Their albums are very much like those lined up school photos your mom has of you from kindergarten to university. They sound like that to me, except a wide gap from junior school pics (The Party’s Over and It’s My Life) high school (the Colour of Spring) university thesis (Spirit of Eden) and post doctoral (Laughing Stock) … sorry for being so wordy.  

The Rainbow - What a solid opener and definitely the moment I realized what Mark was going on about in his early interviews when he described Talk Talk was more like a jazz quartet. 

Candy - Same as ‘Have You Heard the News’ I have heard the ReAction version and I think I like them better. But I love that even then they were making sure they weren’t background music. The change in tempo, that marching drum beat, in the last half of the song jars you to attention. What happened there? Amazing. 

It’s Getting Late In the Evening - When I first heard this song (knowing it was a B-Side) I was immediately surprised it wasn’t a B-Side for a Spirit of Eden single. The same goes for ‘For What It’s Worth’. Both beautiful songs. 

Time is Time - My favourite non-single track off the album. It just sounded perfect. I couldn’t explain more than that. 

Taphead - I’m not sure why my brain connects this song to Mark’s solo track ‘Westward Bound’. Probably the guitar. I can’t explain why I like this song yet. But I do. I'm happy to listen a few more hundred times and come back with a more cohesive explanation someday.

(This one goes to 11) The Colour of Spring - You said Talk Talk but I love this song very much. It could have worked as the title track for that album. But it seems like such a perfect start to the last offering we were ever going to have from Mark Hollis. It was delicate, with that right amount of measured power behind his voice. I remember reading he said his voice was like one of the instruments and I think it really is here. Thanks Toby and hopefully you’re to use some of my babble. 😃

Blog P.S: There were actually 13 in my list, with Rustin Man Night in Evening City and .O.Rang Moratorium rounding out the final two, but I stopped short of writing anything about them because I felt that they were going to be left out anyway. 

 

 

The Tale of the Peanut and the Long COVID

 

Hello. 

Yup. It's a work night. 

I have a confession to make. 

I can with almost 99% confidence tell you that mega-flu I had back in Christmas 2019? Probably COVID-19, before it was even a thing here. Upon seeing a doctor a few weeks later due to a lingering cough and fatigue, it was dismissed as that 'bad flu' going round. I was prescribed antibiotics (for a virus? I was highly confused at the doctor's treatment but too tired to argue. FYI, antibiotics are NOT for treating viruses. Bacterial infections- YES!) and sent home. I never filled the prescription lest whatever I had would turn into an antibiotic resistant super bug if it was indeed some kind of bug, which it wasn't. It was a persistent deep chest cough, a lingering symptom.

It was probably Wuhan novel coronavirus. (Remember when it was called that. I barely do, but then, I stopped watching the news when my mom had a stroke back in 2018 and given a terrible prognosis which she outlived by almost two years). 

I had fought my first round of COVID-19.

That persistent chest cough broke my rib a month later. I never officially got it checked out because what was the hospital going to do? Overrun with COVID at that time, risking catching COVID-19 for an x-ray to be told, "Yup. You gone done and broke it. Go home. Hold a pillow when you sneeze or cough" didn't seem like a smart idea. I've had a broken rib before. Four in fact. 

Bad flu indeed. 

It would be a month after my first bout with COVID-19 before Canada's patient zero was reported on by the media. At that point, I had a lingering cough, fatigue and brain fog. Fun fact! Patient zero was known to my co-workers who may have come in contact with him. But by then, I was already naturally immunized. 

I suppose I'm fortunate. The fatigue and brain fog I sometimes experience these days isn't as bad as some people have it. I've heard some terrible stories. It's been hard to focus and mundane, day to day tasks have become harder to do. I'm forgetful too, which makes me panicky. My mother had Alzheimer's. I may have it. It's just waiting to rear it's ugly, forgetful head. But I'm still mostly functional and able to make it to work daily.

 

Just when I thought I might be getting better from the bouts of fatigue and brain fog, back in February of this year, I was hit with a bad cold that tested negative each time. But the deep and familiar chest cough was back. It lingered for two months. The fatigue was more pronounced and there was brain fog galore. How did I know it was COVID? Special thanks to my husband who started to get sick the following week and tested positive. For what it's worth, this second round of COVID was a bad cold at it's worst. The vaccine was doing what it was supposed to do. We didn't die... or at least, I think I'm ok. After all, I could be writing this via some awesome Ouija board blog function. 

The chest cough remained for a month after recovering and at the end of it, here I am again, with a potentially damaged esophagus and potentially related stomach and liver issues that I'm currently seeking treatment for. I can't say if they're COVID related or not. Neither can my doctor.

So this is where I stand at the moment. Dealing with a health care system that is catching up after two long years of shutdowns and extraordinary demands. I have other health concerns and so far the push to seek treatment in those areas have been slow at best. One specialist has refused to see me over a potential miscommunication initiated by my family doctor's staff, the other specialist did damage to someone close to me and I repeatedly asked to be referred to another specialist (there's more than one in the city) because of that conflict of interest. So far, I've yet to receive any feedback or follow-up. This long waiting game continues. 

I guess I'm venting a little. Apologies. I knew when I started this blog, I'd eventually let loose and just speak my mind. 

This is me, timidly venting about my health. I tend to keep my heath personal because when you discuss issues like, say, what my blood sugar levels are, everyone is suddenly a dietician or endocrinologist who loves giving out unsolicited opinions and advice. People have made terrible assumptions about my health because of my weight. I understand sometimes it's meant as concerned helpful advice, but unless I asked, don't offer. I'm not diabetic and for the last 10+ years, haven't crossed that line yet.

As someone once said, my weight is of no concern to you unless I'm sitting on your face.

While we do have free health care, the wait to see anyone tends to be long and frustrating and so I vent a little more. What healthcare we do have certainly needs to be protected. I urge everyone to keep pressuring the powers that be to ensure that our access to healthcare remains and gets better, not worse. 

I'll update occasionally for my own sense of blog fulfillment but don't expect daily whinging posts about how horrible I feel. I try to keep things light, positive and funny. 

If you have concerns about COVID-19 or other health concerns, while I don't mind if you want to comment about them here, I might even comment back if I can think of something to say, but I can't offer advice. I'm not a medical professional, which is where you should go for these kind of things. I can only offer a "there there" and a pat on the head.

COVID-19 and Post COVID/Long COVID resources: 

World Health Organization

WHO-COVID Information

WHO-Long COVID Information

Health Canada 

Health Canada-COVID Information

Health Canada-Long COVID Information

Center for Disease Control (CDC-US)

CDC-COVID Information

CDC-Long COVID Information

DISCLAIMER - I'm not an expert by any means on COVID. I've provided links from the three top health organizations that I'm familiar with above for some reference and starting points if you are seeking information. If you believe you may have COVID-19 or are suffering from Post COVID/Long COVID, seek medical attention for appropriate diagnoses and treatment. 

Stuff I'm Listening To (Morning Groove Edition) - Hugh Laurie

Title: St. James Infirmary (From A Celebration of New Orleans special)

Lyrics:
When I die, bury me a straight laced shoes
A box backed suit and a Stetson hat
Put 20 dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys'll know I died standin' pat

Why?: My newsfeed on my FB sometimes brings me some new stuff that’s pretty freakin’ good and serves as my morning groove as I’m getting ready for work. Like this lovely piece.

Hugh Laurie is one of my favourite doctors and a damn fine pianist.

Link to song (in case you didn't want to sit through the whole show): https://youtu.be/AzEBH6DZJVk

So for reasons beyond my understanding, the person who posted the clip of the piece won't allow playback on other sites, which I suspect has more to do with driving traffic directly to his YouTube channel than anything else. Fortunately for me, i was able to clip a piece for my social media to share my newfound discovery with my friends and, it made me seek out the entire show, which blessedly does exist and it posted as the main feature here. So pleasant researcher, internet rabbit hole bonus. :D 

Hugh Laurie's discography (as of 2022): 

Let Them Talk (2011)

Didn't It Rain (2013) 

Live on the Queen Mary (2013)

Deezer, YouTube, Spotify, Hugh Laurie Blues Website