Social Media Discoveries 61: Bobaflex, Less Autre, Shiv, Super Power Club & More!

Normal service has resumed with episode 61 of Social Media Discoveries, and this week we might have something for everyone's taste here, hard rock, folk, country, 8-bit chiptune, and there's even a bit of classical music for you.

One Million Visitors!

Earlier today the number of visitors to my blog went past the one million mark.

I have no idea how long my blog has been around in it's current form, but this figure is a bit staggering for me. Okay, I don't get the numbers I used to back in the day when my wrestling column was syndicated to over twenty sites and newsletters, and it's nothing compared to other blogs on the internet, but the fact that there's still people out there who read and watch whatever I put up there means a lot to me, especially as I left the wrestling and MMA worlds behind many years ago.

So to those who still support me after having been online for nearly twenty-six years, a big thank you to each and every one of you.

Here's to the next one million website hits.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Nine: Fragments of a Shattered Mirror

            The amusement arcade was a surreal landscape of flashing lights and electronic beeps, even in the middle of a storm. The power was still on, though the machines were empty of players. Julian moved through the rows of claw cranes and racing simulators, his shadow dancing across the walls in distorted shapes. He could hear Marcus behind him, the heavy thud of the rifle butt against the door frames.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Eight: Cold Through the Pier Girders

            The storm was no longer a threat; it was a reality. The wind howled across the promenade, tearing at the signs of the closed-up shops and sending clouds of stinging sand into the air. Julian, soaked to the bone and shivering violently, made his way toward the pier. He had called Elena from a payphone, telling her to meet him there. It was the only place left that felt like neutral ground, though he knew better than to trust the shadows.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Seven: The Depth of the Lie

            The basement smelled of old stone and stagnant water. Julian was chained to a heavy wooden pillar, the iron cuffs biting into his wrists. The floor was covered in a few inches of freezing seawater that ebbed and flowed with the tide outside. He was in the cellars of the Vane manor, a sprawling Victorian pile that sat on a private stretch of the coast, hidden from the world by high stone walls and ancient trees.

A Stage Musical About Wrestling? How About a Concept Album Instead?

So, a stage musical based on professional wrestling you say?

 

Well, I can't do that, but how about a concept album based on a series of blogs, a story about a writer deep diving into his local wrestling scene back in 2001?

 

How about fifteen tracks, plus two bonus tracks, lovingly curated with a bit of AI help?

 

How does that sound to you? Interesting? Watch this space.

The Thursday Rock Show: 90's Rock Anthems VI

We're back with another edition of The Thursday Rock Show as we take a sixth trip back into the 90's for some more rock anthems.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Six: Blood on the Promenade

            The lighthouse at Happisburgh stood like a red-and-white striped sentinel against the encroaching dark. It was a lonely place, miles from the nearest house, and exactly where Julian had told Siobhan to hide. He drove the Land Rover—now with new tires and a fresh dent in the bumper—up the narrow track, the headlights cutting through the swirling sea fret.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Five: Echoes from the Victorian Ballroom

            The Grand Hotel stood on the cliff edge like a crumbling cake, its white plaster peeling and its windows staring out at the sea with a glazed, indifferent expression. Inside, however, it was a different world. The charity gala was in full swing, a sea of black ties and silk gowns that seemed determined to ignore the decay outside. Julian adjusted his borrowed tuxedo, the fabric tight across his bandaged ribs. He felt like an intruder, a wolf in a rented sheepskin.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Four: The Weight Of Silver Chains

           Julian woke to the sound of Siobhan’s voice, sharp and rhythmic, like the clack of a typewriter. He was lying on the sofa in his office, his head throbbing with every heartbeat. The smell of antiseptic and burnt coffee filled the room. He groaned, trying to sit up, but a firm hand pressed him back down.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Three: Whispers In The Crab Shack

           The Crab Shack was a low-slung building near the slipway, its walls covered in decades of salt spray and peeling blue paint. Inside, the air was thick with the smell of boiled shellfish and the low hum of men who had spent their lives at the mercy of the North Sea. Julian walked in, his presence immediately causing a dip in the conversation. He was a local, but he wasn't one of them. He didn't have the calloused hands of a fisherman or the thousand-yard stare of someone who had seen a rogue wave swallow a friend.

Social Media Discoveries 60: Frog Leap Live in Europe

We're up to episode sixty of our Social Media Discoveries series, and as the episode number has a zero on the end we're going to do things a little differently again with a show dedicated to one of the original discoveries I made on social media many years ago, Leo Moracchioli and his Frog Leap band for their 2019 compilation Live in Europe.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter Two: A Town Built On Shifting Sands

            The walk to the West Runton cliffs was a journey through a landscape that seemed to be actively trying to disappear. The North Sea was a relentless architect, carving away the soft Norfolk clay, inch by agonizing inch. Julian parked his battered Land Rover near the old slipway, the wind whipping his coat around his legs. The air was thick with the smell of rotting seaweed and the sharp, metallic tang of the coming tide. He climbed down the steep path, his boots sinking into the wet shingle. This was where Elena’s husband, a man named Thomas, had met his end.

Album Listen-Along: Music To Grow Up To II

I've got another album listen-along for you, and this time we're going to listen to the second of my Music To Grow Up To collections.

These collections include theme tunes and songs from shows I used to watch when I was a kid, remixed into a hard rock style using the Suno AI music generator. All of these shows are from here in the UK, so some people may not be familiar with them.

Saltwater Grudge Chapter One: The Tide Brings In More Shells

Last year an advertisement for a new AI service called Vivibook appeared on my Facebook news feed. It was a service that advertised itself as being able to write a complete novel in just a few minutes from a series of prompts. I was intrigued, especially as I've been experimenting with AI a great deal with regards to my own work and hobbies. So I registered for the site, came up with an idea, and typed in the following: “Write a story where I work as a private detective and solve a murder in my hometown of Cromer.”

            Low and behold, a few moments later, what you are about to read appeared before me, a short story called “Saltwater Grudge” in which I, Julian, work as a private detective in my hometown in Cromer. However, it’s not the Cromer you know. There’s all sorts of seedy dealings going on, and quite a few shadowy characters in and around town as well.

            It’s a Cromer that you probably wouldn’t recognize, but then again this is a work of fiction, written in reply to a few prompts by an algorithm that has never smelt the early morning, crab-infused coastal air. Or seen the pier. You’ll know what I mean by that if you read on.

            So here’s a short story where I, Julian, delve into the dark underbelly of the “Gem of the Norfolk Coast”. Just think of it as being a Cromer in another dimension, part of a grander multiverse as it were.

The Thursday Rock Show: 90's Rock Anthems V

It's time for The Thursday Rock Show once again as we make our fifth trip back to the 1990s for some more memorable anthems.

Social Media Discoveries 59: Shannon Clark & the Sugar, Elyose, Mitch Grainger, Frank From Blue Velvet and More!

It's time for episode 59 of our Social Media Discoveries series, and we've got the usual collection of songs from around the web, some acoustic blues, some dark country, some mashed-up metal, a group of vikings, and even some Northampton-based Atlantean warriors.

Album Listen-Along: The Soul of a Rainbow IV

The next of my album listen-alongs sees us taking in The Soul of a Rainbow IV.

The Artemis II Launch, to the Music of Pink Floyd

Footage taken from the onboard cameras of the launch of the Artemis II rocket, paired with the Pink Floyd song Time, from their Dark Side of the Moon album.

The Thursday Rock Show: 90's Rock Anthems IV

It's time for The Thursday Rock Show once again as we make our fourth tip back to the 1990s for some more memorable anthems.