Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Obituary
Black Midi guitarist.
A statement from his family said he died “after a long battle with his mental health. A talented musician and a kind, loving man finally succumbed; despite all efforts.
“He will always be loved. Please take a moment to check in with your loved ones so we can stop this happening to our young men.”
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Happenstance (collecting Offspring from the station after a day at the sales) meant I heard this in the car yesterday evening. The Wob draws a line between dubby bass lines and Tibetan Buddhism via having his head wired up at Salford University.
Excellent stuff.
Overseas AWers, PM me for ‘help’.
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Obituary
Driving home for the last time at 74, following a short illness.
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A bit bored during recuperation, I heard an early Texas song on the radio this afternoon and it set my tangential mind off with thoughts of punsome songs/performers as creatures.
Your starter for ten:
I Don’t Want A Plover.
Over to the AW hive mind.
Dancers Tom Whitehead (of the Royal Ballet) and Max Maslen (of Birmingham Royal Ballet) perform a dance choreographed by Hanif Kureishi and (Royal Ballet choreographer) Kristen McNally, to My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Come in Alone’, at Salts Mill in Saltaire, as part of Dance Passion Bradford.
On air BBC Four tomorrow at 8pm.
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Obituary
From Jools Holland’s Facebook:
“I’m very sad to report that Gilson Lavis my dear friend and long-standing drummer passed away at his home in Lincolnshire last night. On behalf of my Orchestra, Squeeze, the many musicians who have worked with and befriended Gilson over the years and all the people he has supported through the AA fellowship, I send our love and sympathy to Nikki and Gilson, his dear wife and son.”
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I spent yesterday having my kidney stones lasered, and today I am feeling a bit delicate. I’m not in the mood for music, but nerding out in front of the telly with a cup of tea is in order for the next few days.
I have Prime, and Offspring the Younger has loaned me her Netflix login while she’s at work.
DEVO, Quincy, and What Happened, Miss Simone? are in the list.
What else should I watch to distract me from the string and pipework hanging out of my [redacted]?
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Author:Graeme Thomson, Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill
A companion piece to Graeme Thomson’s excellent “Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds”, this takes the form of first-person interviews with the founding (and still current) creative hub of the band.
Each short chapter tackles a subject. Jim writes an intro, Graeme transcribes solo interviews with both Jim and Charlie. It’s all very conversational in tone and covers everything you could want to know about the rise, fall, and rise again of the post-punk-Euro-art-stadium-rockers, their backgrounds, personal lives, and the passage of time as they face turning 70.
With short chapters, it is an easy read, easy to put down and pick up, and gallups along over 300+ pages. My PDF copy had no pictures, which was a shame.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Whereas “Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds” covered the how from Graeme’s point of view. This one covers the why from Jim & Charlie’s POV.
One thing you’ve learned
The inspiration for their signature tune, ‘Themes for Great Cities’, was the Tornados / Joe Meek’s ‘Telstar’
06/11/2025
I have one ticket for this going spare.
My pal from Stuttgart was over in May, when the gig was originally scheduled, but it was then postponed until November. He gave me the e-ticket, but I can now no longer use it either*, and the promoter won’t offer him a refund.
If anyone can make use of it, PM me.
(*) I’m going to have my kidney stones lasered the day before, and won’t be going anywhere for about two weeks. I’d really rather go to the gig, tbh.
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Obituary
British actress, model and member of London’s early punk scene between 1976 and 1978.
She became ill a week ago and very quickly fell into a coma which she never awoke from.
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Obituary
Legend.
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Two expanded ZTT classic albums were announced on all-singing, all-dancing Blu-ray audio last week. Closing date for ordering both is next Monday.
Also available as multi-CD box sets.
Links in comments.
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18/10/2025
National Album Day is back and, like Viz, not as good as it used to be. What started as a celebration of the long-playing format has turned into yet another RSD, with a plethora of inessential coloured vinyl.
This year’s theme is Rock, hence the inclusion of, er… Amy MacDonald, Mozart Estate, T’Pau. List includes albums by both Kasabian and Stereophonics.
Although I might buy a copy of the Hole LP if I see it cheap later.
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Ahoy, pop kids of the AW.
The folks at Super Deluxe Edition are doing a blu-ray featuring hi-res stereo, 5.1 and Atmos mixes of Dare, the Canadian Sound of the Crowd mini-album and all of the 12″ singles and b-sides. The only thing missing is the 7″ mix of the early version of tSotC, because the master tape has disintegrated.
I’m sure it will sound fantastic. When the SACD was done years ago, it was a flat transfer because the master tape sounded so good.
Still one week left to get your order in.
The first album I bought with my own money (strictly speaking, a Christmas record token) and I still love it.
https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/the-human-league-dare-sde-exclusive-blu-ray-audio/
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(*) No, not that one. The other one.
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I’ve missed the start, but caught the end, twice. Luckily it is on BBC Sounds.
Radio 4 seems to be having a hot summer of music documentaries, with Talk Talk and Depeche Mode amongst the subjects.
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Obituary
Probably the first TV producer I was aware of, even before I knew what a producer did.
Also: I had assumed she’d already died years ago.
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Obituary
Jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, famous for her huge vocal range and wide musical repertoire, has died at the age of 97.
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The Creator Remuneration Working Group agrees to up the payments to musicians from pitiful to bugger all.
Features Raye (real name Rachel Keen).
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Venue:
Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Date: 19/07/2025
20 years ago a band of trainee school teachers formed in Fareham. They released two albums of “South Coast Indie-Folk”, slogged round the toilet circuit in a van during the school holidays, and drank too much (often the only payment for a pub gig). I loved ’em, fed and watered them, and put them on five or six times in various Cambridge pubs over four years. I’d do the sound for them whenever I could. After seven years of support tours with the likes of Frank Turner, they were exhausted and called it to a halt before they all fell out.
Last December they met up for a 40th birthday seven-a-side footy match and decided to reform for one night only in their hometown venue. Saturday night was the night in question.
Saturday lunchtime saw me my my youngest offspring set off in driving rain, heavy traffic on every road south, finally to arrive at the Portsea Island, exhausted, 10 minutes after doors opened. Our chance to socialise with the band beforehand had been eaten up by the Chichester ring-road.
I only caught two songs by Kat Meredith and her band, featuring » Continue Reading.
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A two-day weekend at Cherry Hinton with multi-venue gigs, a la Celtic Connections, in the weeks before and after.
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I’ve used Windows since 1991. I’m reasonably computer-savvy, installed W10 when my desktop PC’s SSD failed, that kind of thing.
Four years ago I bought an ex-business Dell Precision 5520 laptop (i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and it has done me fine. I don’t do a lot – web browsing, email, WAV file editing in Audacity, plug in my USB audio interface*, watch the occasional get_iPlayer video when I’m away in Norfolk.
Anyhow, Windows 10 will go unsupported in October, my laptop can’t do Windows 11, the hardware still works fine, and I am a tightwad.
I’m thinking of installing Linux, but where do I start? There are so many options.
(*) sadly my lovely Arturia audio interface only supports Windows or Mac, so I’m going to have to move my little W11 desktop PC into the music room when I need to do vinyl ripping.
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Obituary
“Mission Impossible theme composer”
And many more – my fave is Bullitt.
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A trailer over on Talking Heads social media proclaims “June 5, 2025”.
It isn’t the SDE of More Songs About Buildings And Food, which has already been announced, and which I will doubtless spring for once it halves in price.
New album? Reunion tour? One-off gig in the Cambridge Portland Arms (I can but hope)?
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Obituary
Smash Hits editor and one of the nicest men in pop.
