Archive for March, 2010

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Don’t embrace the past

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Now for my 96th video, and an all time favourite song. I’ve been wanting to do this one for a while. A few years ago I got into a band called Muse. I’d heard a few of their songs and liked them so much that I went out and bought all their albums :)

The song I chose for my 96th video is taken from their third album “Absolution”, and the song is called “Blackout”. I happen to think that it is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The music is relatively simple and so are the words, but the message is so powerful and well put across. I hope I’ve managed to get that through.

Here is my take on “Blackout”.

Jeffstunes singing Blackout by Muse

As always, here’s the latest YT figures.

Subs are up at 1,619.

My channel has now been viewed 36,499 times.

The total viewing figures for all my videos now stands at 831,005.

I haven’t yet planned my next video upload. I might try and cross another off my massive request list, or perhaps I might put up another original!

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Coldplay in the sea

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

The 95th video was yet another of my requests. I was recently asked by one of my subscribers if I could sing this and dedicate it to her boyfriend, who also happens to be one of my subscribers, and so I’m told, a big fan of my work. The song is called “Swallowed in the sea” by none other than Coldplay. This is one of many requests for different Coldplay songs. I have already recorded quite a few.

Now to the song. Here is my rendition of this wonderful tune from the album X&Y.

Jeff Edwards singing Swallowed in the sea by Coldplay.

So it’s back to the stats for my Youtube channel, and my subscriber tally has increased to 1,414.

The viewings of my channel have gone past the 33k barrier to 33,008. My total video viewings is creeping ever nearer to 700k at 687,830. I’m hoping that figure will be passed before the end of the month.

Now, just a little info on the next post. I have already done a recording of the song, and I have to say that I believe it is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. My lips are sealed at the moment, and I’m hoping that will have created an air of anticipation. Here’s to the next one :)

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By the telephone.

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Some commenters have accused me of miming in my vids, and I have to say that I take that as a great compliment. That they should be convinced that I’m miming to someone elses voice.

I thought I’d have a little fun with that idea for this video. It’s made up of some of my old photo’s, but it’s not an ordinary slideshow.

This song is called “You found me” and is by a group called “The Fray”. I did another one of their songs on Youtube called “How to save a life”.

This is MY version of it. I hope you like it.

You found me - The fray (My cover)

Last, but by no means least. It’s the low down on the Youtube figures.

The subscriber increase is still on that climb and has now reached 1,408.

The visits to my channel page now stand at 32,714.

The total video views are rolling forward and have now reached 677,653.

My next video is a Coldplay number and a dedication for a couple of my subscribers.

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Neil Diamond again.

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

I’m now up to my 93rd video.

It’s time I did some of my requests and I’m starting with the one that has been requested the most. There have been quite a few requests for lots of different Neil Diamond tunes, and I’ve covered a good deal already on Youtube, but this one has evaded my microphone thus far.

It’s “Love on the rocks”. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did singing it. Neil Diamond compositions are always a joy for me to sing.

Love on the rocks - Jeff Edwards

Let’s get back down to the nitty gritty figures. It’s all going well.

My subscribers have climbed up to 1,406.

The channel views have now moved forward to 32,593. and the total viewing figures for all my videos combined is 673,277!!

Here’s what’s coming next. It’s going to be another of my most requested, and it’s going to be by “The Fray”. Then something from Coldplay :)

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The 92nd video.

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I’m putting my dad’s story on hold for a few posts. I’ll finish it off at some point in the future.

It’s been quite some time since I uploaded my last vid, but the video views are still as strong. I’ve recorded a few songs that were requested, and this is the first of that batch.

It’s one of the many well known songs from The Carpenters. I was watching a documentary about their rise a couple of nights ago. That’s probably the reason why it’s going first.

The song is called “For all we know”, and here is my take on it.

Jeffstunes cover of For all we know by The Carpenters

Here’s the latests on the statistics. They have certainly advanced.

The subs are healthily up at 1,368.

My channel has been seen 31,758 times.

Finally, the overall video views are 648,469.

I’m hoping to upload a Neil Diamond classic relatively soon. Then my second Fray cover. That’s coming up :)

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Making use of Captcha

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Youtube video 91, and astonishingly one of my choices. I thought I’d give myself a little treat. I’ve been hearing a song for a while, but haven’t really paid that much attention to it until recently. Then when I did get around to having a sing-a-long, I discovered that it was pretty simple to sing, and very enjoyable at the same time. So I had to give it a go. The song is called “Use somebody”, and it’s originally by “Kings of leon”.

Here it is:

Jeffstunes singing use somebody

I thought I’d use the video opportunity to pump a website I made. It all came from answering my comments on Youtube. If you attempt more than 4 comments in 10 minutes, you get challenged by Captcha. You get asked to type in made up words that are sometimes very amusing. You can make it generate loads by continually clicking “Can’t read”. Virtually all the words do not exist in real life, and pretty soon i started dreaming up dictionary definitions for those words. I was thinking of how amusing it would be if someone made a website with the fake Captcha words and fake definitions in a disctionary. It would be so funny. I couldn’t wait for that to happen, so I quickly put together my own site and called it “Captchionary”.

I sat down for a day going through some of the captcha images I’ve collected and added them to the site with definitions. I’ve made it so that anybody can submit their own captcha definitions. The more I get the better. I can’t wait to see what other people come up with.

So keep an eye out for those amusing Captcha words. If you see one that brings an amusing definition to mind then right click on the Captcha image and save it to your computer. Then visit the Captchionary website at:

The Captchionary

Fill out the form at the bottom and upload your image, or just provide another definition for one of the existing words. Then leave up to the vetting process. While you’re on the site. Why not check out some of the existing words and definitions. You can click the “Hit me” link for random words. I have abdominal pains from too much laughter. That’s from writing and reading them.

Now down to the Youtube business. Here’s the state of play with the stats.

Subscribers = 1,208

Channel views = 28,081

Total video views = 537,056

Until my next post…

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You just call out my name

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

My request list is way out of control now. There are more than 300 songs at the latest count. I get many more requests than I can possibly do, so I’ve decided to pick and choose from the list. My first selection is “You’ve got a friend” by “James taylor”. People have compared my voice to many vocalists over time, and James Taylor is one of those comparisons. I don’t believe I sound anything like him but that’s my opinion.

Can you hear any shades of Taylor in this:

You’ve got a friend - A Jeffstunes cover

My Dad part 12

The two other drunks apart from my dad that I’ve told you about, worked for a while with my father at a company called “Taylor woodrow” in Greenford. I got the distinct impression that the company were winding up operations on the site they were working on. I remember once being invited to their annual summer party. It was good fun, but I didn’t really know anybody there. I visited his place of work on a number of occasions. I think he was employed in the capacity of some sort of security guard. The site was very larger, with many many buildings. Office and storage. There seemed to be a lack of staff though. It was a bit like a ghost town. I’d say that was probably the perfect environment for my father to work in. Nobody to see him drinking, and he did at work. There were many objects around his place of work, and if they weren’t nailed down, then he would take them. Actually he probably also took some things that were nailed down. By the time his appointment was over, his house looked like a bit like the offices :)

I’m not sure if he ended up getting fired or made redundant from there, but it doesn’t really matter in the end.

My father used to like to give. His gifts consisted of all sorts including precious and valuable items. The problem was that he didn’t buy any of these items. He took them. Something I found out at a later date. So what was bequeathed to me. Let’s see now. After adding it all up it amounts to nothing. He stole them from me, probably to buy more alcohol. I’m not too bothered about that. I’m not really a wearer of jewellery, and i never considered them mine. The brutal truth is that he didn’t have a right to give them either!

So, what does it feel like to be the son of a common thief and an alcoholic?

I imagine it’s no different from anybody else. Most of us disagree with some of our parents actions, it’s just that those of my father were illegal :)

To be continued…

The Youtube figures have been climbing steadily. My average daily viewing figures are roughly between 1,100 and 1,300. Oddly enough though. Occasionally one of my videos gets a boost in viewing figures for no apparent reason. Like one video getting 4,000 views in 2 days. I’m still scratching my head.

The subs are healthily up to 1,183.

The viewing figures for my channel are 27,367 and finally, the overall video views have stormed past the half a million mark and now stand at 521,210.

The current plan for the next vid is another cover version. I’m in the process of doing another duet so I’m not sure if that’s going to come first.

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NECTARINES!!

Friday, March 5th, 2010

A break from the music vids for a short while. Here’s something a little different. I thought it would be a good idea to bring the new year in with some humour. I was going through some old video of my daughter, and found the tape I made of her first year. There were a number of clips on the vid that still make me laugh out loud, so I thought I’d put those moments on youtube for all to see, and hopefully to be as amused as I was.

As my daughter was settling into solids well, I tried many different foods to see if she liked them or not. Around her first christmas she was introduced to Nectarine with very funny results. She shuddered with each taste, but wanted more. I’m so glad I captured it on camera. It never fails to amuse me.

Here’s a summary video on my Jeffhasspoken channel:

NECTARINES!!

Now for more about my dad.

My Dad part 11

As I mentioned before, my father was an alcoholic. I think it was this that was a key player in the demise of his relationship with Sheila. The two children adored him, but Sheila was getting fed up with the other alcoholics that he brought into the house. The two I remember the most were Bernie and Adam. Bernie passed away a few years ago due to the abuse of alcohol. His great love was his football team Manchester city. Kashif liked Bernie and the love of Manchester city rubbed off on him. Now my father was never a big man. In fact he stood about 5 foot 5 and was very slim. I remember an occasion in Sheila’s house where Bernie was in one of his regular drunken stupors. I’m not sure how the conversation started, but at one point he started talking about how he could easily take me at any time (in a fighting sense). Something I seriously doubted, considering he couldn’t even walk straight, and I was the sober one. His suggestion amused me, but my father was less than impressed having overheard the conversation. Dad rushed in the living room in rage and put one hand around Bernie’s throat and physically lifted him off the ground with one hand telling him “Never, ever threaten my son”. It did surprise me because Bernie’s weight probably exceeded 12 stone, and my father was a mere 9 stone. It is astonishing what adrenaline can do for your strength. The other alcoholic friend of my father’s that I got to know was Adam. He was a guy that could handle his drink. A Scotsman that totally enjoyed a good debate. Especially with me. It didn’t matter what your opinion was about anything, he would always find another way to look at it. Talking with him was entertaining. The last I heard, he was still alive. I also heard that he had given up the drink. That’s fortunate for him. When I knew Adam he had a partner, who was also a lover of alcohol. I got a call from the police one morning, telling me that they were holding my father and Adam for an alleged rape of Adam’s partner. I considered that I knew my father well enough to come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t have done anything like that. It turned out that Adam’s partner had a history of falsely accusing people of rape. Those are the people that make life more difficult for the genuine rape victims. That’s just another one of those gifts from alcohol. It can make you do the strangest things.

To be continued…..

Here’s the regular Youtube statistics digest.

I now have 1,109 subscribers.

My channel, Jeffstunes has now been seen 25,766 times.

The total viewings for all my videos is fast approaching the half a million mark at 470,388.

The next of my video uploads is another funny clip from my daughter’s first year. Until then….

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Not like the others

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

89 videos and counting.

The title of this one is “Beautiful freak” and it comes off the album of the same name which was put out in 1996 by the band “The Eels”. It’s one of my all time favourite albums. At the time their music was cutting edge and I was a big fan of their lyrics. I do plan to do another one from this album in the future. The music is very much the same except I only used Piano, Bass, Cello and Strings. This is the result of my efforts:

Jeff Edwards singing Beautiful Freak

Now for part ten of my dad’s story.

My dad part 10.

When I finally caught up with my dad, he was involved in a relationship with a lady called Sheila, who was the mother of two children called Sima and Kashif. She originally came from Tiger bay in Wales, although she certainly had asian roots. The two children absolutely adored my father. From my perspective it seemed like a strange relationship, but then maybe it was just me. His side of the family criticised the relationship, but as I saw it, if they were both happy then it must have been ok. I believe that everybody should be allowed to live the life they want, and befriend the people of their choice. Sheila resided in Southall with their dog Ruffles. Southall being west of London. If you didn’t already know, the bulk of people living in Southall are Asian. From being at the house many times, my father appeared a little bigoted, with negative comments about those from an Asian background. Yet he was having a relationship with one. I can only think that the comments were drawn from the people he mixed with in the past, because he obviously wasn’t a racist. He walked proudly with them among the streets of southall, as did I.

It is possible that his comments may have originated from those walks with the family though, because he told me on several occasions about the dirty looks and insults he received from Asians in the street because he was with an Asian woman. That wasn’t exclusive to him. I experienced a bit of that too, because I also walked with them. So if there was any racism, then it was coming from the Asians in the street who in my opinion were narrow minded to even consider such insult. We are all human beings. They just have a better tan than I do :)

To be continued……

I got out the feather duster and started to do something with my Myspace page. Seeing as it’s been sitting there for a few years now. I thought I’d let people know it’s there :) So here it is if you want to add me:

Jeff Edwards Myspace page

Also I’m going to try and do something with my Facebook page. When I first joined up, it was a very quiet place. Not like now :) I’ll broadcast that too. Here it is:

Jeff Edwards Facebook page

Now the lowdown on the current state of play on Youtube.

My Subscribers have raced forward to 1,061.

The channel views are up at 24,867 and the overall viewing figures for all my videos are 442,298.

Coming up next. I’m not really sure. I’ve got that other Eels song in my mind at the moment, but I have a habit of changing my mind :)

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David Van Day and Coldplay.

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

I’ve reached video eighty eight. This is my cover version of a recent Coldplay song called “Lost”. More than 10 subscribers have rquested this song of me so I thought it would be a good time to do it.

Have a listen:

Jeff Edwards singing Lost by Coldplay

My dad’s story will resume in my next post, because there was something I wanted to cover that was quite current. If you are in the UK then you may know about a TV programme called “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here”. One of the celebrities in the show was a man called “David Van Day”. I first noticed he was in it when I was visiting a friend. My friend enquired who he was. I told him that he used to be in a group called Dollar, who had some success in the eighties, and that I didn’t think too highly of him.

I came to that conclusion because of an event when I was younger. When I was about 17 I worked in a shop called CRS (Co-operative Retail Services) in Uxbridge. During my lunch I popped into WH Smith to buy a few records. The title of one of the purchases was “Videotheque” by “Dollar”. Quite by chance, as I was about to pay, who should walk in but David Van Day and Therese Bazaar. Collectively Dollar. They happened to be there to sign copies of their new release, Videotheque. David was vertically challenged, and Therese was even shorter than him. She moved up the counter to me and picked up the records I was buying, complimenting me on my musical taste. Then we had a little chat. David grew more and more impatient, and asked her to get on with the signing. So she asked me for my name and signed it with love, and then shoved the record in front of David, saying “Sign it”.

I paid for my discs, said my goodbye’s and went back to work. Therese smiled and bid me goodbye, and David said nothing. My impression of him was that he was quite selfish.

I’ve seen him on “I’m a celebrity, get me out of here” and it looks like he hasn’t changed much at all. Therese made time for people. I think she enjoyed the conversation, and that made me feel happy.

Back to the Youtube stuff.

At last I’ve passed 1,000 subscribers. The figure now stands at 1020.

There are 24,010 channel views and my total video viewings are 414,193.

I haven’t yet planned my next vid, but it’s probably going to be another cover. There’s also another duet with Kareneng coming up soon :)

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