Guest Blog - Allan Guthrie

As you are all well aware, I have a great love of music. I have music playing continuously and blog about my passion regularly. I thought I would invite some of my fellow authors to share the ten songs that they like to play while they are writing. I have also requested their guilty pleasure to add a little bit of fun.

My first guest is fellow Scot, Allan Guthrie. Allan is an award-winning Scottish crime novelist, a literary agent, and co-founder of Blasted Heath. His latest book is Bye Bye Baby, a police thriller novella, published in paperback by Barrington Stoke in December 2011. A self-published ebook edition was an Amazon Kindle top ten bestseller earlier in the year, selling over 35,000 copies. 

Many thanks, Sinclair, for the invitation to supply a playlist of songs I listen to while writing. I'm afraid I have to cheat a little, since I can't write when I'm listening to music. I've tried many times but I'm the world's worst multi-tasker.

So here's a list of the ten songs I listened to most whilst not writing over the last few months.

Maria Solheim: Different Seasons


Norwegian singer-songwriter of off-kilter pop songs. 

Amanda Palmer: Leeds United


In a world where it's hard to be decadent any more, Amanda Palmer manages to succeed. Btw, this is the video where her record company wanted the images of her belly removed cause it was too fat. She refused and was dropped for being uncommercial.    

NIN: Something I Can Never Have (live studio version)

Best version of the best song ever written.

The Blue Nile: I Would Never


Paul Buchanan has that same haunting edge to his voice that Trent Reznor has, and the kind of emotional intensity to their voices that means they could be telling you the sky is red with yellow spots and you'd believe them without queston.  

Fresh Mud: Make The Devil Mad


Nothing quite like a bit of hard funk, now, is there?

Kimbra: Good Intent

I didn't know noir pop existed till I heard this.

Niki King: Wild Is The Wind


Scottish jazz singer with a great voice.

Julia And The Doogans: Come Home

Another Scottish singer with a great voice. Love the cello. In an idea world, Bye Bye Baby would be adapted for TV and the end credits would roll over Julia Doogan's vocals.

Rubberbandits: Song For Willie O'Dea

This should probably be my guilty pleasure, but I think it's such a great piece of musical parody that I don't feel guilty listening to it. It's a song about an Irish  politician I'd never heard of. Doesn't matter. The dancing's great. Reminds me of me.

Fiona Apple: Fast As You Can


A good song to play when your deadline's approaching. 

Guilty Pleasure: 

The Baseballs: Chasing Cars.

Well, um, yeah. Be happy!

Thanks Allan for this fantastic list of songs. There are a few favourites and one or two tunes that are new to and I love to discover new music. I hope you enjoy Allan's playlist and that you will support his writing.

I will be inviting some more authors to contribute their musical favourites in the near future.

Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol

Next year will be the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. I have been a fan of the great man since reading Christmas Carol when I was quite young. I have read it more often than any other book I own and have now added it to my e-book collection. It has also been in my thoughts as my daughter made her first appearance in a school show on Monday, as Scrooge.

What I love about the story is the way Dickens uses the supernatural to make the reader realise the real meaning of Christmas and the way it appeals across generations. It is populated by people that exemplify Dickens' own genius for creating characters and are the secret of the novella's continuing popularity. 

Scrooge begins as the very epitome of avarice and greed, the Victorian 'man of business' exposed as heartless and uncaring. Christmas is a day that costs him money, he cares nothing for and knows nothing of his employee Bob Cratchit.

Bob is the antithesis of his employer. He is a dedicated family man and someone who sees Christmas as a joyous time to spend with his family. He must suffer Scrooge's mistreatment for the sake of his wife and children.

Marley's Ghost

Jacob Marley's ghost is the spectre of what may happen to Scrooge if he does not mend his ways. Dickens' perfect use of the chains as punishment for the people who have ignored their duty to their fellow human beings is brilliant. The links they should have made with other people have become they chains binding them to earth.

The ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come, each have their own characteristics. The first two ghosts throw Scrooge's own words back at him and as a result make him look in the mirror and begin the transformation to the man he should be.

The characters shown to Scrooge on his journey include the effusive Mr and Mrs Fezziwig who are everything that Scrooge isn't. Scrooge defends them vehemently when the ghost of Christmas past dismisses what they did for their employees at Christmas. It is a glimpse at the person Scrooge used to be before money became his obsession.

It is a short book and there isn't the range of less sympathetic characters that normally populate Dickens' novels. Scrooge is the only 'nasty' character until the final ghost shows him the future. Scrooge's character is reflected in the  'men of business' discussing whether to go to his funeral and the vagabonds arguing over the bed clothes that were stolen while he lay still warm on the bed. Scrooge does not realise who they are talking about until the spirit shows him his own headstone and the transformation is complete.

Scrooge then becomes the spirit of Christmas himself and embraces his responsibility to humanity not just at Christmas but all through the year.

The story was published in 1843 and is one of Dickens' most enduring and best-loved stories. It is also the most filmed story ever with over 60 movies made over the years. Despite that, if Dickens came back for Christmas 2011 he would see child poverty in Britain on the rise once again and the 'men of business' going on their merry way. I wonder what he would he think.

If you haven't read Christmas Carol, you should, it is a masterpiece. If you prefer to watch it with your family,  I recommend the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim which was called Scrooge and Patrick Stewart's TV version from 1994.

You can see more of the magnificent original illustrations to the book here.

No matter your faith or if you have none,  I wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday period. 

My Top Ten - Blues Songs

Born from the pain of slavery, the blues is the single most important musical genre in American music. The blues gave birth to Jazz, Soul and Rock 'n Roll. Its finest artists inspired many of the great British artists of the sixties and without it there would be no rock,  R&B or indie.

I discovered the blues by tracing the origins of the artists like the Rolling Stones. What was revealed to me was music so rich in emotion that I couldn't help but be captivated. So let's go on a short trip to the Mississippi Delta and beyond.

Robert Johnson - Crossroad Blues The legend of Johnson meeting the devil at the crossroads to sell his soul is surely one of the greatest in all of music. As the story goes, Robert Johnson was a poor exponent of the blues until that fateful meeting. When he returned to the circuit he was a guitar virtuoso, an emotive singer and was the new king of the delta blues. The song's a perfect example of the raw sound of those original blues men.

Elmore James - Dust My Broom Producer and consumer of moonshine whisky, Elmore James had the colourful life that made for a great blues man. 'Dust My Broom' is the typical subject matter for blues singers, a cheating woman.

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom John Lee Hooker's staccato style of delivery is distinctive and unique in the blues. In 'Boom Boom' he tells a girl that he's going to knock her off her feet and take her home by the sheer power of his personality.

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy The main inspiration for the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters is one of the very best blues artists. The lyric of this song includes the line 'I'm a rollin' stone'. This is about as good as the blues gets.

Bessie Smith - Me And My Gin Bessie Smith is one of the all-time great singers and was a huge influence on a number of jazz artists who followed her. In this song she covers a popular subject for the blues, alcohol. She plaintively tells anyone who will listen that 'any bootlegger sure is a pal of mine.'

Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning A giant of a man with a powerful voice, Howlin' Wolf was another huge hero of British acts like The Animals and The Faces. This song with its hypnotic rhythm of passing train is his finest work.

Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - That's Alright Mama The fact the first song that Elvis Presley released was a cover of this song speaks volumes about his influence of 'Big Boy'. Crudup was one of the black artists that helped to create Presley's style.

Sonny Boy Williamson - Don't Start Me Talkin' He was one of the best harmonica players of his generation and also a fine singer. In this song he comes across as the town gossip as he regales us with tales of infidelity, violence and scandal.

B.B. King - The Thrill Is Gone Riley 'Blues Boy' King is possibly the most famous bluesman on the planet. Now well into his eighties he still loves to strap on his old guitar 'Lucille' and play for audiences. His distinctive way of bending a guitar string and mellow voice have made him popular with artists such as Eric Clapton and U2.

The end of another list that was way too short, I could probably have created a top 100 of my favourite blues songs. I hope I've inspired you to discover the blues for yourself or if like me, you're already a fan then I hope you will be pressing play on your favourite blues tracks again.

My next musical blog will be about another of the blues children, the classic soul of the 1960's.

You can listen to my Blues Top Ten if you are a Spotify subscriber.