On Every Street

Had a request for some Dire Straits.  Didn't have to be asked twice...

Psycho and Psychic

Joe Meek was a British record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who is credited with developing space age and experimental pop music, as well as the use of sampling, reverb and overdubbing.  In 2014, NME named him the greatest record producer of all time.

The artists that Meek worked with includes Petula Clark, the Blue Rondos, The Tornados, Tom Jones, The Honeycombs, and my personal favorite, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages.  He also had a chance to sign Rod Stewart but ran from the room with his fingers in his ears when Stewart began to sing.

Like so many creative people, Meek had his demons.  He was schizophrenic and bipolar, his mental health made worse by his use of amphetamines.  He was also fascinated with the idea of communicating with the dead, often setting up recording equipment in cemeteries.

Perhaps Meek did communicate with the dead on one occasion.  In 1958, he claimed that a spirit had warned him that Buddy Holly would die on February 3.  When Holly played in London, Meek tried to warn him but failed to meet up with the singer.  Holly would go on to die in a plane crash, along with Richie Valens and the Big Bopper.  The date?  February 3, 1959.

Eight years later, Meek would shoot his landlord and then turn the gun on himself.  The date was February 3, 1967.

Yes, This is a Thing.

Know what this is?

A Nambian "artist" named Max Siedentopf has decided that Toto's "Africa" should play on a loop, using solar batteries, for eternity in the desert. This is his sound installation, consisting of six speakers attatched to an MP3 player with "Africa - and "Africa" alone.

Of course. He's 27.

So if you're ever lost in the African desert, don't bother following the music.

Surely you understand that I'm required to post it here now, and you're required to play it, and repeat it, for eternity. Either that, or move to Africa. Your choice.