Talking of the Shake Sessions, last Wednesday night we introduced Shake Revelations to an unsuspecting world. JJ and I each have an hour to feature a particular act  or topic for a full hour, including interviews and music from other musicians who have influenced the act in question. JJ featured last year’s new superband Chickenfoot, while I tried to cover a large part of John McLaughlin’s career (with some difficulty as it’s a career that spans 50 years and is still going strong). Fortunately, I had researched a substantial piece on JM for the site so much of the information I needed was at hand. But a little more research revealed that when most of us in our pre to early teens were listening to Radio Luxembourg and Caroline, John was listening to Ledbellly, Muddy Waters and the Delta Blues, and by the age of 13 it was Flamenco, and by the time 15 arrived he was being blown away by Django and jazz. However, at the age of 25 it was the Beatles and Hendrix, who he actually jammed with in one 2am - 8am private session, who influenced him. I also wondered whether it was George Harrison’s Indian Sitar music on REVOLVER and that period spent meditating in India that switched JM onto Eastern music and culture…

This week I received a few very, very interesting CDs. The first was Hjaltalin’s new album TERMINAL, which is so radically different from the Iceland band’s debut 2007 release, and is likely to become a subject for Shake Revelations in the not-too-distant future. I also received Harper Simon’s (son of Paul Simon) 1st ALBUM which could so easily have been a disappointment but wasn’t. The trio of great records was completed by the latest offering from Matisyahu (LIGHT) which I have say blew me away! All three are strongly recommended and if you want to hear tracks from them listen in on Sunday night (Shake Sessions 10-midnight, Calon 105FM/www.calonfm.com).

Last night two events happened which I watched in great expectation but ended up disillusioned and disappointed. Liverpool’s performance against Atletico Madrid at home was diabolical. The Spaniards made Liverpool looked like a third division club - I lost count of the number of times they lost possession. I also noted that Liverpool only fielded four British players. With the World Cup just weeks away, I believe we are in for a drubbing and are lucky that the initial group we’re in is not one of the strongest. The huge amounts of money now involved with the game has ruined it, and the FA needs to THINK AGAIN!

The other event was the final Party Leader Debate which was mind-numbingly bad. As the old arguments were handed out repeatedly, I felt that the British public were being treated like idiots. Even Liberal Democrats’ Chris Clegg disappointed - there was nothing passionate or new to grasp hold of - and missed his last opportunity to land killer blows. Cameron won the ‘debate’ on the night but I think we all lost, and badly. The format of these debates has been unhelpful, and once again the marketing men/women have sought a level of control over proceedings that makes a mockery of the real democratic process. Frankly, the whole thing has been a bad joke and all involved should be ashamed. Now what if noboby voted next week….