The bear seemed to be rather introverted today so I looked out Joan Osborne�s How Sweet It Is � I have only played it once since I bought it. I first spotted JO in Standing In the Shadows of Motown where she sings a few songs with the Funk Bros very well. This is an album of covers too but I am not sure about the rearrangements � not that I have anything against doing new versions in covers. The bear sometims pulls out her doing a live version of a song I first heard on a Prince triple � JO�s version of One of Us was a hit and Prince is doing a cover � I know now I was wrong in thinking he wrote it � it was written by one of the Hooters. However Prince changed a line to make it less abrasive and took a co-writing credit on that basis As a song about incarnation it ought to be played alongside all the Xmas pop songs we hate. JO�s version charted in Nov 1995 including a no 6 position in the UK but I suspect this is not the live version that the bear likes.

Eric Bazilian of the Hooters discussed the song in an interview, saying "I wrote that song one night � the quickest song I ever wrote � to impress a girl. Which worked, because we�re married and have two kids. But we were in the middle of writing Joan�s album, which was a group effort with Rick Chertoff and Joan and Rob and I, and I did a demo of �One of Us,� this wacky little demo which I ended up putting as a hidden track on the CD of my first solo record, and I played [it] for them. And it really hadn�t even occurred to me that it was something that Joan might do, but Rick, in his wisdom, asked Joan if she thought she could sing it. And I think it was better that he asked it that way rather than �Do you want to sing it?� Because the answer to that might not have been yes. But she definitely said she could sing it, and we did a little live demo of a guitar and her singing it. And when I got into my car and popped the cassette in, I started practicing the Grammy speech that I should�ve gotten to give.

NESTA sent a Christmas newsletter � there s a chance to become a trustee. I have made a piece from the viola track which Gilbert wrote in Sibelius for an ambient track called Envelope. I have converted it into a piece for two violas and a cello. We are both surprised at how it turned out. I have sent Gilbert a piece called Mouse to consider.which contrasts the Minimoofg anaolg brass with the same patch in SMS-GS. It has snowed here today. JO does a pretty straight version of Live Together which is one of the best tracks on the album.. It was a hit for Timmy Thomas in 1972 using the stripped down demo version � one of the first RnB hits to use a rhythm machine. She also does a swampy version of the Weight which shows just how brilliant the lyric is. I also played my favourite tracks from SM�s Stargazer � they are just wonderful even though it's the usual suspects � quite close to Songs from a Seagull. Good Times and Odyssey just take my breath away.

Just a reminder of the 10+4 link.

http://www.last.fm/music/Gilbert%2BIsbin%2B%2526%2BIain%2BCameron/Ten+from+2010+plus+four

People seem to like Quiet Thoughts and Evening.