Big Puss (Vincent Pastore) has died. Such a good actor in The Sopranos. ‘Not the eyes Tony, you give me that?’.

I don’t really have much to add on the subject of the death of Rod Liddle, aside from that that’s one less column in The Sunday Times I am closer to buying it again, but does anyone remember the beef between Hepworth, Ellen, Word Magazine and the alleged satirist and actual wife beater? Was there a healthy exchange of opinions?

As a companion piece to Tigger’s thread on books, it seems only sensible to consider those films that you have compulsively re-watched even though you know the ending and can probably quote the dialogue. Some might be comfort watching, some might reveal new insights on each re-watch, others might just be darned clever, elusive, beautifully photographed, directed or feature your favourite actors. The list could be endless, but I’ve restricted myself to just 10 films that I’d be quite happy to watch again tomorrow.

Casablanca – Bogie’s finest hour, and the noir’s noir. Brief Encounter – English stiff upper lips were never stiffer, but this is a beautiful film – with trains. Picnic At Hanging Rock – Unsettling and compulsively watchable Peter Weir drama – see also Walkabout The Night of the Hunter – camp southern gothic, Robert Mitchum’s finest hour. Fanny and Alexander – beautifully photographed Bergman masterpiece. Schindler’s List – One of the best films about the Holocaust. Ralph Fiennes is superb, See also The Zone of Interest. Sophie Scholl – compelling film about the German Resistance. Hidden (Cache) – Michael Haneke film with Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil. Mulholland Drive – David Lynch’s best film. The English » Continue Reading.

Fifty nine listeners! While some stations would fear the director general or shareholders wielding their axes on receipt of such audience figures, for my imaginary Spotify station, which started here, it’s a small triumph. Not only does it represent three new listeners getting on random old shite train this month, it is also almost certainly more than yours truly attained as a 12-year-old “jock” on Chorley Community Radio (actually a pirate, run from someone’s spare room); or on college radio (Airthrey, on the AM, broadcast through rotting cables as far afield as Murray hall); or Soul 24/7, with my sidekicks Gary Barrell and shoegazing’s Nat Cramp, left to our own devices to explore the “soul” sides of Deep Purple in a ridiculously well-appointed studio more used to pumping out George Benson and Anita Baker. There have been other even smaller ventures on Mixcloud (20 years, five listeners; that sort of numbers), but also a couple of stints on late-night and early-morning BBC London with Sean Rowley and Gideon Coe which must have been listened to by someone?! Heck, even my appearance on Billy from that station’s Nostalgia of the Future podcast must have easily had 59 listeners. I suppose what » Continue Reading.

I didn’t speak any English until I was around six. I was brought up in Welsh. Once, on holiday with my parents in Ifracombe as a five year old, I got lost and was rescued by an old chap who kindly led me back to my relieved parents. He apparently said something like “He’s a very talkative young chap, although to be honest I couldn’t understand a single word he said.” Of course, at five, I though the whole world spoke Welsh. Ah, English. TV and pop music taught me the basics. Then school and Philip Larkin did the rest. Now, thoroughly (and somewhat smugly) bi-lingual, I’ve become greedy and want a third. I’ve been learning Japanese for about a year. I get one-to-one zoom lessons every week with Sensei Masato and, my God, I never realized how difficult picking up a language could be. Maybe, as kids, we find it a lot easier because our brains are more of an empty page. Anyway, I’m finding Japanese fascinating as I’ve always been interested in the culture and so I wondered if any amongst our number here were similarly currently engaged in learning a foreign language and, if so, what prompted » Continue Reading.

Who? OK, most here will know the name, but ask around at the next family gathering, and most won’t. Phil Ochs, I refer to, the singer. Onetime peer of Bob Dylan, and, at the time, in much the same mould of civil rights champion, with songs of protest and righteous anger. Think battered acoustic guitars, hoarse polemic and Pete Seeger on next. But the songs are really good and, worryingly, apply equally well to the current climes of suspicion, wars and flag-shagging. I will admit I was unfamiliar with other than the name until recently, despite knowing, from somewhere forgotten long ago, a song or two of his. It is down to Phil Odgers, he of The Men They Could Not Hang, that I write this. He, in cahoots with John Kettle, of Merry Hell, and the Tansads before that, has just released a 2nd album, celebrating the songwriter, who took his own life in 1976, aged 35. The album, which concentrates on Ochs’ anti-war rhetoric, is wonderful; Odgers has never sung so strongly and with so much passion, and the accompaniment is never less than complementary, acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, that sort of thing. It is called ‘The War » Continue Reading.

Posting this for no other reason than its a brilliant clip from last nights Nick Cave concert in Brighton.

Always loved this song (and the album it came from) and this live version certainly does it justice…

Post your recent brilliant clips as you wish….

So Rein Me In by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean has broken the record for the most weeks at number one, 17. I must confess to being totally oblivious to this song, and while I have vaguely heard of Fender, I know nothing of Miss Dean…..come to think of it, I couldn’t name a single song in the top 20 this week or indeed any week for maybe rhe last ten years at least. I am very old…

In which life goes from the sublime to the ridiculous.

https://njbrannigan-zvxuy.wordpress.com/2026/07/31/diary-of-a-lump-34/

Alexis Petridis does it again, but really what an absolutely stunning collection of songs. But where the hell is Big Sky?

I am standing in for a guy on our local radio station tomorrow at short notice. He usually does a feature on an album. I intend doing Aja so any guff on the album or individual tracks. No mind if you think it is well known having em all together here will be handy.

thanks.

As agreed and passed unopposed at the recent AGM, the New Rules are in force as from 01/08/26. I’m really looking forward to Frantic Friday (“Anyone who posts an eagle is automatically given a 32 stroke penalty”) and as for “Torrid Tuesday” (“Whoever is last shall be first”) – I simply can’t wait. Best of luck, may the best man win …. as long as he was born in Aberdeen.

I’m investigating Substack in an effort to fill the few remaining minutes of my waking day which aren’t already spent looking at a screen, and also finding that a lot of blogs I used to follow have moved over to the platform.

What are your favourites? My interests tend to pop culture, soft-left politics and humour but feel free to recommend anything that others might enjoy.

Great find earlier today, still in it’s original shop bag! This is a 10″ 78rpm promotional flexi-disc for Dewar’s Whiskey released in 1930, featuring Sandy McNab singing a Harry Lauder song on one side with Mancino’s Orchestra performing Happy Day’s Are Here Again on the flip, pics in comments.