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  1. Listening to:
    Willie Nile – a late discovery for me, I think from someone mentioning a gig they’d been to that was read out on Marc Riley show. Now thoroughly immersed.
    Dungen – filling in the gaps in my collection of this pastoral psychedelic Swedish outfit. Recommended
    Nico, Chelsea Girl – forked out for a Japanese cd of this. Much improved sound and a timeless album IMHO.

    Reading: Just finished re-reading Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. Every bit as good as I remember it from 30 or so years ago. Surprising that no one’s adapted it for the big or small screen, but perhaps that’s a good thing.

    Watching: really going for it with my wife’s MUBI subscription, trying to squeeze in their recommended film of the day whenever possible. Recently watched the Belgian 2022 film Close. Devastating.

  4. Bore da.
    Heard.
    I predicted last month that Boygenius would in all likelihood be getting a pretty regular spin during April and that turned out to be so. It’s not a great record but it is a good one that slowly gets under the skin, reminds me of the Case Lang Viers album from several years ago and that is just fine by me.
    Nana Rashid was a new name for me that ticked a few of my boxes and her debut album Music For Betty should appeal to the jazz fans amongst y’all. She reminds me a little of Melanie De Biasio but that’s probably just me looking for a convenient peg. Yet another name new to me is Kerry Charles and his album I Think Of You is still causing me a few head scratching moments. Is this a parody? Or is this straight up? It’s certainly a slice of blue eyed soul that much I am certain of as it has that vibe. Here and there a sprinkling of Prince is discernible and Hall and Oates springs to mind. I dig it but I’m not entirely certain exactly why.
    Rounding out the new releases is Everything Is Going To Be OK from GoGo Penguin which unsurprisingly sounds exactly as an album from GoGo Penguin should sound. Can’t help but think there should be a question mark in that title though.
    Read.
    Much of April’s reading was given over to two large-ish novels. I decided to re-read An Instance Of The Fingerpost by Iain Pears and I’m so glad I did so. I remembered being blown away with it when I first read it many years ago but I had forgotten for the most part exactly why. It’s a stunningly good book that’s why. I’ve never read anything else by Mr. Pears perhaps I should rectify that oversight but I’d be astonished if he has written anything else of this quality. Highly recommended to those who haven’t read it. The second half of the month was taken up with Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead which I notice has been included on the short list for The Women’s Prize for Fiction and I may say it will take something special to outclass it. The plot will be familiar to any reader of David Copperfield as in essence this is the template for the book. Ms. Kingsolver moves the setting to below the Mason-Dixon line and the time frame to modern day. I don’t want to write anymore about it for fear of inadvertently spoiling so all I will add is that it is certainly worth your time should you wish to dive in.
    Seen.
    Not a great deal. I finished watching Servant on Apple + and can happily report that it is mostly completely nuts. The second series in particular, I almost gave up on it half way through that batch. I had however already persevered after being almost traumatised by the sight of Ron Weasley making the beast with two backs against a kitchen unit with the programmes titular “heroine” in series one. Ron Weasley’s vaguely ginger arse was a sight I never expected to ever witness and something I hope never to witness again. Now watching Ted Lasso and it’s a thoroughly entertaining watch. Gentle feelgood comedy and each episode is the correct thirty minutes long. Proper. No Weasly arse action. Good.
    Bits and pieces of other stuff. Nothing of note.
    A.O.B.
    As has been already mentioned in a thread a few of us met up for an afternoon of beer & blether. I can only hope that everyone concerned enjoyed themselves as much as I did. It was an unalloyed pleasure. This week feels very empty in comparison. Just me and my paintbox and now I can hear a storm rolling over the Clwydian hills…

    • Weasly Arse Action – No more from them ever!

      Seen
      I watched the first two episodes of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? which I had never seen before and was enjoying and then it disappeared off the schedules, so I was delighted to see it back this week. Something to do with Snooker taking over the schedules? It’s interesting how much of the enjoyment of this show comes from the very mannered acting and dialogue where you can hear the typewriter hitting the page. Maybe I’m tired of the naturalistic style of comedy..?

      Heard

      You’ll forgive me if I haven’t devoted much of my life up to now to wondering, if Easy Star All-Stars were to record a Ziggy Stardust themed album, which would be the outstanding track. But I suppose if I had thought about it, it might have seemed obvious that It Ain’t Easy – perhaps the least loved and most ill-fitting track (but also the most soulful) would come out on top. Ziggy Stardub is alright, with too many faithful arrangements for my taste (and no dub), but it’s helped rehabilitate that track in my ears, so yay!
      xPropaganda, the continuity wing of the ZTT band, have issued Strangely a sort of remix of/appendix to their The Heart Is Strange album from last year, which has acquainted me with Only Human/Extra Human – xTension V5 (which actually sneaked out last year on an E.P.) a delightful extended version of the standout song from said album.
      It seems like only last week we were talking about the extended versions of songs by ZTT artists..
      It’s already May and no album has really grabbed me so far in its entirety, but I am presently hypnotised by Kara Jackson’s Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?. It’s slow, minimalistic (sometimes just her and one stroke of guitar melodies) and thoughtful and has a coherence to it that makes you want to play it all the way through, which is not something I need to do with a lot of albums. Here is No Fun/Party:

      Reading

      Following (1) the news and (2) an interview with Lex Fridman on YouTube where he lays out the case for a pause on elite level artificial intelligence research, I’ve gone back to Max Tegmark’s Life 3.0: Being Human In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence.
      I think we have been cursed with living in interesting times – the threat of one apocalypse can be shrugged off, but when several seem to arriving together it starts to look like that old gag on Candid Camera when they accelerate the conveyer belt and the hapless worker is overwhelmed by the number of cakes whizzing past..

      • Oh bloody hell. I’d only just got used to an xPropaganda album (and very good it is too) before there’s a remix. Might be a bit much for me if I’m honest but thanks for alerting me.

  5. Seen Two shows this month, one comedy one opera.

    First up was Tom Davis and Friends at The Fireworks Factory in Woolwich. Tom’s amiable anecdotes were a treat, and I recognised his description of how dull gatherings of middle aged men can be, but for all that I enjoyed Tadiwa Mahlunge (‘I hope I’ve pronounced that right’) and the inspired prop-based lunacy of Spencer Jones even more.

    Last year we missed Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House because of a rail strike, so we bought tickets for Opera Ukraine’s production at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend as soon as they went on sale. The production went heavy on the tragedy of Cio Cio San, but the most stirring moment was a performance of the Ukrainian national anthem during the curtain call.

    On TV I enjoyed Australian comedy Colin from Accounts, about a couple whose lives are turned upside down when they meet in unforeseeable circumstances, without thinking it the laugh out loud fount of hilarity many others have. It’s hugely enjoyable and I recommend it, but is it all that funny?

    AOB My Other half is a huge Ian Rankin fan and one of the reasons we chose Edinburgh for a short holiday in March was an archive exhibition of Ian’s work at the National Library of Scotland. So guess what we completely forgot to do on the holiday? Anyway, that’s why we went back to Edinburgh for an overnight stay.

    The exhibition, now closed, is a small affair – just one room of old manuscripts, early journalism and so on, so it’s just as well we took the rest of the time to go to old and new favourite pubs and restaurants. The best thing we did all month was the Three Bridges Tour around the various Forth Bridges. I confess we were lucky with the weather but you should go if you’re in the city.

  6. Read
    ——
    After boasting about making it halfway through A Glastonbury Romance last month, I barely made a further dent in it this month. I suppose I just haven’t been in the reading mood. No other reading of note either. Must try harder.

    Listened
    ———-
    Emmm… wow, I’m really struggling here. Been a slow month for me. I had my annual “falling in love with the Beatles again” phase, but I don’t suppose anyone really wants to hear about that.

    Watched
    ———-
    Slightly more to report here.
    We have been watching Succession, and up to about halfway through Season 2. It’s been absolutely terrific so far, so I really hope it keeps up the quality as the series goes on (unlike 99.9% of all TV shows).
    If you haven’t heard of it (I hadn’t), Brian Cox is amazing as the central figure, Logan Roy, a kind of Rupert Murdoch type who is the head of a big corporate empire, owning news stations and all sorts of media. It’s partly a drama about each of his children jostling for position as he nears retirement (hence the name, Succession), and partly a kind of dark comedy about the toxic culture behind bg corporate empires like this.
    Jesse Armstrong is involved, who was one of the brains behind The Thick of It, and you can see the comparison with that. It’s that same kind of quality. There’s one character in particular, Greg, who is an Ollie Reader type; slightly hapless, but ruthless in his own way, and struggling to swim among the corporate sharks to rise in the business by any means possible.
    My favourite character is probably Kendall, one of Logan’s sons, who goes through a series of massive crises and changes in fortune as the episodes go on.
    It’s really addictive viewing.

    • I think Succession takes a dip at the start of season 3, but the last 3 episodes of that season and pretty much all of season 4 so far are some of the best television I have seen for years. I think the dip, which others might not perceive, was a result of reshuffling the production for lockdowns and bubbles.

      • Just reached the start of season 3 and I think I agree. It seems to be in a bit of a hiatus with the current dispute sorting itself out. I will take your word for it that it picks up again at the end of this season!

  8. Heard:
    2 new albums (very recently) arrived
    Damned – Darkadelic. It’s The Damned celebrating their hook-laden psych styles. In a similar vein to The Black Album and Strwaberries (note: this is a good thing)
    Glen Matlock – Consequences Coming. Well written, well played, fine songwriting, less rockabilly overload than his last one. Just wish Glen would sing in his own accent. Whatever, going to see him live next week.
    Picked up the first album from Death Of Guitar Pop – ska-tastic.

    Was musing t’other day: is there enough new music by new artists? I’m sure there is, but I keep missing it (or rely too much on 6Music, which with Marc Riley moving slots, that introduction reduces)

    Seen:
    Blue Lights – enjoyed this. Not sure there could be a second series though
    Grace (was that last month?) – one of the better police drama thingys, and left like there will be another series. Every time I watch it though, I just think that Sam Tyler has dimension-jumped again.
    The Curse returned to Channel 4 – the story of what happened next. It’s complete fiction (slightly based in fact), but a nice humorous adjunct to the recent Gold doo-dah on BBC.
    Bronson – Tom Hardy stars as Charlie Bronson (the criminal, not the american film star). It was well acted, but I did detect a bit of John Lydon sneaking into the portrayal.
    If Bronson is an unhinged as the film suggests, it’s no real surprise his parole was denied recently.
    Trash TV: Bangers & Cash is eating up a lot of hours at the weekends – how can a programme that is basically TV cameras at a Car Auction be so addictive?

    Read:
    One of Simon Napier-Bell’s 3 memoirs (Black Vinyl, White Powder).
    He tells a good story, but can also come across as a big ego, and quite dismissive of anything that (a) he didn’t have a hand in, or (b) does not come from the late 50s and 60s

    AOB:
    Reading FC were relegated last night. Hardly surprising as they have been shi*e since December. I haven’t actually been to see them this season as after 3 years flirting with last day survival, I decided Amazon was more deserving of my cash
    (maybe it’s my fault – one more person in the crowd and they might’ve survived)

  9. Seen
    65 (Scott Beck, Bryan Woods).
    65 million years ago astronaut Adam Driver crash-landed chez nous on Planet Earth while out exploring and stuff. It’s good cos the film shows you exactly what Earth was like 65 million years ago and it was quite different in some ways. For one thing, the place was run by dinosaurs back then. Plus, it was a lot muddier. Adam plays Sam Neil, helping his young companion navigate the dinosaur infested swamps like he did in Jurassic Park. Then an asteroid storm thingy comes and wreaks all sorts of havoc upon both fauna and flora.

    Heard
    After reading a Guardian article full of praise (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/28/susanne-sundfor-blomi-review) I checked out the new album by Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør. It’s called Blómi, which is probably Norwegian for “blimey”. or something. The Guardian said: “The romance and life force of 1970s singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and Carole King – as well as their burned-fingers wisdom – are embodied here”. Well! It’s indeed a lovely album.

    Read
    Am re-reading A Confederacy of Dunces for the third time. Funniest book ever. I’m up to the bit where Ignatius is working as a hot dog vendor.

  10. Got a lot to catch up on as I missed last months post on account ofbeing too bloody busy:

    Heard: The Long Ryders September November is wonderful and typical of their canon although there is a rather lovely instrumental piece that is a departure for them.
    Stephen McCarthy and Carla Olsen – Night comes falling excellent album I was totally unaware of until reading a review in Idler magazine which is not where I usually get my music recommendations from.
    Jarrod Dickenson Big Talk as mentioned by @niallb – saw him at Cambridge Folk the year before Covid and he stole the show. This album is very good especially th final song Goddnight which is deeply poignant.
    A couple of purchases to fill gaps in my collection – Blue Aeroplanes Beatsongs (deluxe) and Yo La Tengo – Extra Painful. The Aeroplanes was a delightful slab of nostalgia as i had this album on cassette back in the day and it is as good as I remembered it. The deluxe version adds a slightly strange cover of Paul Simon’s The boy in the bubble.
    Marian Makeba – 3 cd compilation The Sound of Africa absolutely beautiful and has had frequent plays.
    My favourite album though is Natalie Merchant Keep your courage. Two of the songs Big Girls and Sister Tilly are up there with the best she has ever done. Easily my contender for album of the year so far and cant wait to see her in Bath in October. Her voice is as strong as ever.

    READ:
    There are not many musical artists I have much interest in knowing outside of their music. Lucinda Williams is most certainly one and when her book Don’t tell anybody the secrets I told you arrived at the end of April, everything else I was reading and every book in pile to read were relegated. to make way for this. I love her songs and her spirit and her drive.
    Not quite finished it yet but it is a delight.

    SEEN:
    We saw the trailer for Allelujah which suggested a comedy about Care Homes so we duly went to watch it. It was garbage despite a very good cast. It turned into a polemic in support of the NHS and was not how it was portrayed in the trailer. Short changed.
    On TV I have really enjoyed Blue Lights, Magpie Murders and particularly Race Across the World which I would one day love to compete on.

    ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
    Up until about 3 months ago I would have told you I couldn’t abide dates. Some neighbours bought some back from Dubai and I was quite taken with them. My wife and I went to Jordan and bought back a pack of Mejdool dates which are absolutely divine. I am a definite convert.

      • Ah yes, too bloody busy. I was there too. The final day of the month was the only night at home of ten successive. “I must stop going to parties, I think they’re doing me in,” etc etc. But would I have missed any of it? Of course not, especially the aforementioned ‘assemblage’ in Chester with Hubert, Retro and ‘Squeezer.

        SEEN:
        Tarren at The Met in Bury. Took my mucker from work, who was completely new to their music, but I had guessed right. He loved it. Fine musicianship across fiddle, squeezeboxes and fretted things of various descriptions. The trad complementing the self-penned, with lots of inspiration from morris tunes (which have become all rage, it seems – think Leveret, John Dipper).
        Then it was my turn to depart my comfort zone. I went to a jazz gig. Eeek. I only went because it was at my friends venue, and their son was in the support band. The moment the brushes start on the drumkit, I am recoiling. This really isn’t for me. So you enjoy what you can, and it is still better for me than any number of popular rock or pop gigs. Again, much musicianship to admire and interesting for me to observe the stagecraft of others at close hand. Fortunately, it was experimental (not words that will naturally pass many lips) and there was itches it scratched for me. I have blogged before about how jazz influences so many of my favourite artists from other genres – Ravel, Crimson, Blowzabella, Messiaen – and I could hear moments which thrilled me, but the restless shifting never allowed the musicians to dwell and develop on what I liked. And I’ve not even mentioned the act yet – Corrie Dick – I don’t know whether that means anything to anybody here. Interesting that he was a drummer leading the band. Lovely fellah, and it was admirable to see how he was nurturing his band of younger musicians. Lots to like, but not likely to happen again in a while.

        HEARD:
        Lucy Farrell’s like actual debut album, after years of duets and collaborations. Hers is one of my favourite voices on the folk scene, so this was anticipated keenly. Not quite found my home with it yet, but will persevere.

        READ:
        Probate forms. Dull dull dull.

          • Oh, I say, that is really very lovely. I was going to say that I detected a certain Bristol sound to it cf Tarren, Spiro, Three Cane Whale, but I see Alex Vann is on mandolin, so that confirms.
            Well shouted for me!

        • Just the one concert His Lordship at the Trades Club Hebden Bridge. I’d seen them last year in Todmorden and greatly enjoyed them, not as much this time though. Can’t explain why.
          Monthly visit to the Folklore Centre in Todmorden this time to see the film Damnation Village which was actually about three villages. Beautifully filmed.
          Spent time doing crosswords, word games etc.
          Can’t remember what I’ve read.
          The highlight of the month was the assemblage in Chester, a return is on the cards. Good to meet up chatting and quaffing. The gift of a Squeezer painting was the proverbial cherry.
          Many thanks.

        • The thing that first attracted me to “modern” jazz (swing, bebop,post-bop, modal etc.) in the early ’80s was how completely different jazz drumming is to rock and pop drumming.

      • Yep Baron – haven’t had a free weekend since beginning of March.
        Next one is in June when things slow down a tad. Two week business trip to US/Canada didn’t help.

  11. GIGS:
    Not long back from Costa Ibiza where Mrs Black & I had an absolute whale of a time. Nice weather, a couple of really hot days, then settled into more comfortable temperatures. Nowhere near as chilly at night as we have sometimes experienced in previous years. The bill was very good and the sound was in the main excellent. My own faves were Fairport Convention who played as a 4-piece sitting down, Magpie Arc, Bryony Griffith & Alice Jones, Katie Spencer, Show of Hands and the mighty Edward II who are my favourite festival act by some distance. Not long into their second set on Sunday afternoon we went up to the front to dance and got there just in time for the singer to say “this next one is a Bob Marley tune, Waiting in Vain”. For the next few minutes I was enjoying a little bop and thinking that like doesn’t get better than this.

    Two days ago we went to a new-to-me venue Lowther Pavilion in Lytham to see Gretchen Peters on her farewell tour. She was very good and clearly finding the tour an emotional experience. It’s the 4th time I’ve seen here and she has always delivered a high quality performance.

    WATCHED: We enjoyed Blue Lines and Magpie Murders. That’s about it.

  12. Seen: Goat. Excellent. Even did a mini review.

    Read: Judas 92 by Charles Cummings. Spy shenanigans. Really well written and seemingly plausible.

    Heard: The usual schnizzle. The Church Radio on Spotify turned up a lot of fab jangly 80’s stuff.

    Exciting times chez Freddy.

  13. Cut’n’paste from wrong thread….
    April was it? Well, a day out in Chester edged out most the competition, supping Cheshire Cat ale with its inspiration. Whilst @pencilsqueezer couldn’t offer a beer in his name, to come home with a painting was an amazing gift. Plus, of course, a bag of Yorkshire crack from Hubert.
    No live music managed, annoyingly: had to bail from Brighde Chaimbeul and Ross Ainslie at the last moment. And to miss being able to say, for the first time, “I’m on the guest list, pal” at Symphony Hall, for the Blue Highways. Must try harder. Saw Hugh Cornwell on Friday, mind, technically May. Smaller venues and increasingly large use of the S word on the billing did not augur well. But he was great. A first set of greatest solo ‘hits’ revealed some good songs. He had a youthful band of bass and drums who made an agreeable clatter. Second set was all the faves from his old band. But he did them proud, with a lot more love than the perfunctory dash he gave em, when I last saw him, a decade ago. And Golden Brown without keyboards? Surprisingly, you can. Very effectively, at that.
    No books and precious little telly I can recall. Started Succession again, but got a bit unbothered again, by the end of the first series.
    Lots of new music… I know there are some Iain Matthew’s fans here, possibly as surprised as I that Matthew’s Southern Comfort have a new album out, The Woodstock Album. Not a greatest hit collection either, and that songs not on it. It’s him tackling songs by artists who played at the 1969 festival. Not all great, where it isn’t, it is still interesting. His voice isn’t what it was, which helps for some of the material. His Hendrix and Santana prove the best cherries to pick, astonishingly, for an acoustic band without a drummer.
    Dark Luminosity, a 21st century catch up compendium, covering Jah Wobbles last thirty odd albums, is great. A reminder of some and a pointer to others, very little to skip over, across 4 discs.
    Dan Willson, aka Withered Hand has made one of the albums of the year, with How To Love. A sometimes lyrically bleak record, the songs are chock full of a jangly pop and folk/rock sensitivity. Added motowny horns give further pleasure.
    Elsewhere see Josienne Clarke give a healthy polish to her back catalogue, some new from Leveret and the return of Imar. The cat mentions Lucy Farrell, her album also well worth a punt. Was Bennett Wilson Poole April or March? Regardless, I can second and third the plaudits this trio have already been given here by @niallb , amongst others.
    Which reminds me, did I mention the Legends of Tomorrow last month? A double disc retrospective of that esteemed chronicler of the N’orn question, amongst others, @colin-h , it is worth getting hold of for way more reasons than AW brand loyalty.
    (Coming next month, in this column, or next week in real life: the return of Glasgow’s finest, the Primevals!! Don’t be square, be there (at the record store to purchase a copy))

  14. April was a busy rollercoaster of a month which left me exhausted but, ultimately, in a good mood.
    Not much time to spare for music etc, but here’s the tally anyway:

    Read:

    A couple of books of essays (a favourite genre of mine, when well written), one short and light and the other a tome of great importance and brilliance.
    The short one was reflections on crime writers – not my thing really, but as it was written by a favourite (Swedish) author of mine I couldn’t resist. It was fine.
    The tome was by another Swedish favourite, Kerstin Ekman, and bought second hand since I missed buying it at the time of publishing and it’s now unavailable. Essays on the subject of forests, looked at from every angle and in some of the best writing I’ve had the pleasure to read.
    My first 10/10 read of 2023 (that wasn’t a reread).

    Then I read By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah, my fourth of his and definitely my favourite so far. His writing is superb, as always, and the story and how it is structured and revealed in this novel added extra tension and interest.
    As much as we enjoy joking about the Nobel Prize and the Academy that’s choosing the litterary recipients, I have to say that in the latest decade or so they’ve certainly picked almost all great authors that I’ve really enjoyed getting to know, if I didn’t already (never did try Handke – for reasons – and can’t quite understand the greatness of Munro).

    I’m a little more than half-way through Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and Pencil is right, this is the novel to beat, for any prize (I’m hoping that it may be up for the Pulitzer as well, it deserves it!) It’s both a proper pageturner and a tough read that I find myself needing frequent breaks from to get through…but if it keeps going the way it’s started then I’m certain that it will be my second 10/10 read of 2023. I don’t think you need to have read David Copperfield to love this novel, but I can tell you that having the Dickens novel as a favourite reread since childhood really adds an extra level of enjoyment and admiration for the author, for her choices for the modern equivalents of the original tale’s components.

    Heard:

    The new album from The Tallest Man On Earth is called Henry St. and although I haven’t had time for the required Tigger 6, I can already tell that it’s all I wanted from him and more, and what I had wished that his last album was. Comfort and joy.

    Boygenius also looks like it deserves the praise it’s been getting, but I’ve had even less time listening to The Record so I’m less certain than I am of TTMOE.

    Jana Horn’s previous album got onto my Best Of 2022 list, and new The Window Is The Dream sounds promising, if a bit too quiet and whimsical for my current mood.

    Altin Gün’s latest use mostly traditional (Turkish) songs and play them in a slightly psych prog kind of way…fans of the microtonal set of albums by King Gizzard… should feel right at home! 😀

    Radical Romantics is the name of the new Fever Ray album, and as before it’s not an easy and comfortable listen, but always very interesting and sometimes hauntingly beautiful in between all of the noise and angst. Fits a certain mood, but it’s not necessarily an every day soundtrack…(I hope; if it was I’d be tempted to ask if everything’s OK?)

    AOB:

    I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know Linda’s (AKA Carolina) wonderful sister Julia better, when she visited Stockholm at the end of April. The weather didn’t cooperate, but we managed a couple of days full of sightseeing, food and conversation, and a lovely time was had.
    I’m now in the process of slowly investigating the music on the iPods that Linda left for me, which Julia brought – lots of surprises so far.

    My brother had a very close call with a bad infection, but is now well again and back at work.
    But we’re still waiting for the scan results that will tell if the procedure to remove his cancer (which was ultimately how he later ended up in the ER) was completely successful.

  15. Heard: I added Soundgarden to the music list, as well as “Rat Saw God” by Wednesday which is…interesting. But by far the biggest airplay was De La Soul’s 3 Feet High, which is nothing short of brilliant.

    Read: For someone who could read 10 hours a day, the fact I struggle to get to 15 minutes is upsetting. Nonetheless, I took the decision to go through Hornblower, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

    TV: Mainly comfort stuff. The Hornblower TV series, which I enjoyed immensely, as well as the complete Sharpe. It’s nonsense, but it’s very well done nonsense. I also worked through the first 4 seasons of Balthazar (French tv) in preparation for the arrival of the fifth and final season on May 1.

    AOB: The medical wheels grind slow. I’m more or less at peace with where I am, but on the occasions I’m not, it’s bad. The winter holiday is booked, and Son and Heir will be here is just under a month, so there are rays of light on the horizon. Apart from the trip to Darwin; I don’t know why we’re going and I think I’m being punished for something.

  16. Heard
    It was late on in April, but the album that really caught my ear was Dreamer by Nabihah Iqbal. It’s an album that has been eagerly awaited & i really love it. This World Couldn’t See Us is one of my favourite tracks

    Read
    A few read this month. The Troubles With Us by Alix O’Neill A memoir about growing up in Belfast during the 90s which is very funny & had more than a few laugh out loud moments. Fans of Derry Girls would enjoy (it’s this mention on the front cover that prompted me to give it a go!) & it’s one I really enjoyed.
    Ashes to Admin by Evie King. It’s rare for a book to make you laugh out loud and cry at the same time, but this book managed it. It’s set in the rather macabre world of a Council Funeral Officer and part of their remit is to organise the funeral of someone who doesn’t have the financial means to pay for a funeral or any family who are able or willing to pay either. It should be a very dark read, but is actually really insightful & touching whilst also being very funny. It could be the 2023 version of Adam Kays This Is Going To Hurt (without the casual misogyny!) & is well worth a read.
    Reach For The Stars by Michael Cragg. If you are a fan of that classic era of Pop (96-06) (GUILTY!) , then this is a book for you. It is told through the voices of the people involved & includes some amazing anecdotes*.
    If you grew up in this period this is the perfect book. If you’re interested in the music industry you’ll learn something new. If you just want a good read then look no further!
    *My favourite anecdote – Blue being invited to perform for Donatella Versaces birthday party & being flown on private jet to Italy with lots of gifts bestowed upon then & getting kitted out in the latest Versace range. After performing they met her & she was quite abrupt & rude to them which puzzled them slightly. It was only when they got back home they were told she was expecting Blur……
    The best of the lot was Bloodbath Nation by Paul Auster.
    Paul Auster is one of my favourite writers (he could rewrite the phonebook & it would be engaging & brilliant), so I am a little bit biased on this one.
    This is a very short read & is a review of the gun culture in the US & why/how they are where they are, with 75% of all global mass shootings occurring in one country. He is clear with his views, but also nimbly points out why banning all guns could make the situation worse & a more nuanced approach is required. Paired with how the history around the second amendment has impacted 2023 and the power the NRA has garnered, this results in a really interesting read & some parts that will definitely stay with me for some time

    Seen
    4 gigs in April & three of them were the residency by Peter Hook & The Light @ Manchester Albert Hall where over 3 nights he performed a Joy Division & a New Order album in full. Seeing Closer followed by Power Corruption & Lies on the 2nd night was really special.
    The last of the 4 was Gaz Coombes @ Manchester Club Academy. His solo stuff is really great & despite not listening much to the new album it was a cracking gig. He was also supported by Arxx who have released my favourite album of the year so far which was a great surprise.
    On a TV front I have been enjoying Masterchef as I would a nice warm blanket. Colin From Accounts is also rightly getting some love. Not sure why it landed so well, but it definitely had me invested & a lot of moments to enjoy. (notably ‘your friend Ryan is a dick, i hope he dies….like tonight’)

    • I have seen a lot of good reviews for Colin from Accounts and tried it for first two episodes – it’s mildly amusing but those Australian accents are a bit wearing to be honest – cue getting a kicking from the Aussies on here – fair dinkum I guess.

      • It really is pretty good, but I wouldn’t call it brilliant. Partly because it just isn’t as good as anything on the first 4 Supergrass albums. Having said that, it’s more mature and has some charm.

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