I haven’t really heard it for a while, but coming back from dropping Annabel & Margaret at the airport (they’re off to Rome for the weekend!) I heard the full shipping forecast. There’s something really comforting about the announcer reeling off the names:

Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromatry, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight, Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, Biscay, Trafalgar, Fitzroy, Sole, Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey, Fair Isle, Faeroes & Southeast Iceland.

and the strict format of the synopses themselves:

Sole, Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall. Southerly 6 to gale 8, increasing severe gale 9 or storm 10, perhaps violent storm 11 later. Very rough, becoming high or very high. Rain or showers. Good becoming moderate or poor.

I’ve almost become used to Finisterre being renamed Fitzroy, in 2002, but it still jars slightly. I guess, looking at Shipping Forecast on Wikipedia, others will still have memories of a pre-Utsire times.

I grew up hearing the shipping forecast on Radio 4, just before 18:00 every weeknight, between the PM programme and the Six O’Clock News. While working for one particular place as a student, I would regularly hear the 00:48 forecast, preceded by Sailing By and followed by the National Anthem. It’s strange how these things work into your head — I can remember the area names & order off by heart (though I did use Wikipedia to verify them for this post).

This ramble was brought to you by the fact that I refuse to actually start working at 06:00 but there’s no point in going back to bed…

OK, I admit it, I’m a closet Meat Loaf fan. Well, I guess I’m no longer in the closet. I love Jim Steinman’s lyrics — who else could get away with a song entitled Objects in the rear-view mirror may appear closer than they are? The operatic sounds, the incredible stories the lyrics tell; just fantastic.

So here I am, having just acquired the new album. Listening to track and thinking ‘WTF?!?’ The Monster is Loose is a very different style to his usual fare, isn’t it? Do you somehow suspect he’s emulating the likes of Linkin Park (just listen to the guitars!) in order to endear himself to a new generation of listeners?

OK, apart from the silly drum track in the background at the start, Blind as a Bat is getting back to his usual style. Much better.

Of course, now I’m remembering that the real reason I went music-hunting was after hearing a track from Arcade Fire last night and wanting to explore more of their stuff…

Update Ooh, a nice update to Bad for Good (originally released on Steinman’s own album with the same title). But I’d much rather have heard Meat Loaf’s own rendition of Lost Boys and Golden Girls if he was going to redo something from that album…