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  1. Checks weather app, -14 wind chill after a night of snow, ice pellets and high winds. No, not spring yet.

    I saw a movie, first in a year. A Complete Unknown, thought it was excellent. Chalamet was a revelation, he hadn’t really impressed me before. Mangold is a really good director

    New Manic Street Preachers album was listened to. I think they are just going through the motions now, 3rd underwhelming one in a row. Will give it one or two more chances. Haven’t picked up the massive box set of Wilco’s A Ghost is Born yet, but the “free” sampler from Uncut magazine is superb

    Re-read The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Hard to believe that the source of such a popular and brilliant TV series also includes an incest storyline. Different times.

    Otherwise been grappling with several health issues, hopefully past the worst of it for now

      • Been rewatching the first two series. Still mostly great, but the parts that haven’t aged well are taking the shine off the whole. Having read the novel, it’s a bit weird watching it knowing that the Jimmy/Linda relationship is there in another universe.

        • I remember reading the book and wondering why David Nobbs bothered with the Jimmy and Linda storyline. It just seemed gratuitous, unnecessary and could easily have been left out with no effect on the rest of the story, as in the TV version.
          Still, I do love the sitcom. So many good performances in it, although CJ usually steals the show.

  2. I listened to Led Zep the Biography by Bob Spitz and listened to all the albums as they were mentioned. Really enjoyed the book and had forgot how good their first album was.
    Tried to get into the Ezra Collective but they make The Lighthouse Family sound like Eater.

  3. Saw Glenn Matlock, supported by Kathy Valentine, at the smallest venue in the world, Ramsgate Music Hall. Valentine was charmingly shonky, coming into her own when joined by Matlock’s band. Matlock’s set was a bit meat and potatoes, competent guitar rock and he played Pretty Vacant too. A good, if unexceptional night out.
    Reading Butter by Asako Yuzuki, a tale of a female serial killer, based on a true story. It’s quite engaging once I get around to picking it up but I keep looking at the ever growing TBR pile. Still, I’ve got two long train journeys next week so I expect I’ll finish it then.

  4. Seen
    Not a lot, quite frankly, apart from a charming comedy show on (I think) iplayer called The Cockfields, with a quality cast including Sue Johnston, Joe Wilkinson, Susannah Fielding and the wonderful Ben Green. It’s a fairly easy to watch family sitcom but with more than enough moments of recognition to make it feel very real, however absurd.

    Heard
    I suspect I may agree with @Dai above, the new Manic Street Preachers album is extremely tired and lacking in ideas. After reading some decent reviews I had my hopes raised but their well of inspiration is running really low these days.
    Constellations For The Lonely by Doves probably hasn’t quite had enough time to fully sink in yet but even at this early stage it’s a stately, atmospheric and classy album which has a nice balance of the bleak and uplifting. Recommended.
    Although I liked a couple of their singles around 35 years ago, who would have thought a new album by ex Morrissey favs (don’t let that put you off) Bradford would be such a delightful surprise? “You Are Stronger Than You Think” is a wonderful set of themes familiar to chaps of a certain age, but is delivered without judgement or bitterness, utilising a beautiful set of thoughtful melodies, reminding me of I Am Kloot, Paul Heaton, and Elbow at their least plodding and stadium embracing. This Stephen Street produced album (he also played bass) continues to get a lot of play in this house.

    Read
    Just been dipping in and out of old music biographies really, nothing earth shattering to report I’m afraid, and I could really do with some recommendations if anyone has any…

    AOB
    Having left working in Education after 30+years at the end of November, after a protracted period of awfulness at work led to some nasty brushes with mental ilness, I have set up as a sole trader (selling preworn and vintage clothes) and am currently the happiest I have been for years. My goodness I must be so much easier to live with…

      • Thanks Colin, I would probably have retired in 2 or three years anyway so this isn’t quite as drastic as it might first seem, but it really was time to put my sanity first. I’m fortunate to have a very supportive wife, no mortgage, no dependant kids as well as having been financially prudent. I genuinely feel for all those in a similar work situation but not as fortunate as me.

        • I feel for such people too. Health must come first. I have a relative struggling with this at the moment – clinging on to a debilitating job until there comes a tipping point health-wise. One cuts one’s cloth accordingly – or tries to!

  5. SEEN:
    The John Martyn Project, and not for the first time. Somehow they feel better than a tribute band, though I guess that is what they are.
    Transatlantic Sessions at Festival Hall
    Steve Tilston as part of Chester Folk Festival’s February Folk Day. The first time I saw Steve was at Cropredy and I remember he seemed particularly uninterested. Unfortunately this coloured my view of him for years, but I’ve seen him enough now in smaller venues to appreciate his craft.

    DANCED:
    Hardcore time again – Breton, Swedish, Balkan, Vendee, Bal – at Kinnersley Castle in Herefordshire. Music always provided lovingly by amateurs who are part of the scene, and always excellent quality. It has since become apparent that I slipped a disc while I was there. I am pleased to say that diligent and disciplined adherence to my physio’s regime sent my disc scurrying back home last Saturday. I still find it hard to comprehend that this time last week I was in excruciating pain, wondering whether this was what the rest of my life held for me, and now I honestly feel better than I have for months.

    • I’m always baffled when Facebook Fairport/Cropredy diehards call out for acts for this year’s/next year’s Croppo – often mentioning singer-songwriters like Steve Tilston who are brilliant in a small room and totally ill-suited to a big field.

  6. Heard:
    * Manic Street Preachers – Critical Thinking
    Not a great opening track if I’m honest, but then opens up into wide-screen Manics. Unlike previous Manic releases there is more than one great song and then some nearly great (plus some ho-hum) in this package. Maybe not their best, but far from the lower end of the list.
    * Block 33 – Promised Land
    3rd album from DIY Mod band, and another fine outing – the plan was to crash the charts which they did manage (even being as high as number 4 in the mid-weeks), and scoring the number 1 independent album that week.
    Hoping to catch them live very soon.
    * Sam Fender – People Watching
    Simple redux says “Geordie Springsteen”, and I can see the fit. He can write a song, deliver it, and not rely on auto-tune or studio gimmicks and hype to sell it. Oh, and he can tug the heart-strings too.

    Seen:
    Lots, but nothing rally earth-shattering
    Umm …
    * Sick Note on Netflix is worth a watch (slightly mad premise of a comedy about cancer, and then finding out he doesn’t have cancer). Don Johnson playing an egocentric boss is worth the entry fee.
    * New series of Dave Gorman’s Modern Life Is Goodish just started on Dave. Episode 1 has the usual skewering of the humdrum, plus the return of the Found Poem (built from internet comments)
    * Am I being Unreasonable adds a dark(ish) note to the sitcom premise – not sure it’s as good as the previous series, but the threads do seem to be coming together

    Read:
    I finally read something this month (or more correctly re-read, and it went in this time).
    The Chimp Paradox
    Aeorsmith once sang there was a Monkey On My Bank – Steven Tyler was wrong. This book suggest there’s a monkey in your head, and it is your job to recognise this and to control it.
    Does make sense – in short, it’s the emotional vs analytical bit of the brain, and the Chimp Paradox gives insight to how and why this happens.
    Just don’t use it like a work colleague who sees at as some holy text to be adhered to and quoted at any given opportunity.

    • Said it before the opening track on the Manics album is my favourite. Only one that is vaguely interesting so far to me

      Btw the album hit no. 2 in the UK album chart first week. 2nd week not in the top 100!

      • The panel format just didn’t work.
        He did say that there was a lot of work, and I think he wanted a well earned break from it. Glad it’s back in it’s original form.

    • I saw Dave Gorman’s tour at the end of 2023 which was the forerunner of the programmes. I thought some of the stories shown on the programme would have been developed further from then with the collusion the theatre audience but perhaps this didn’t happen.

      Alas he’d had to drop from the series the gentle pisstaking of Gregg wallace which was quite a major part of the show.

  7. Play Johnny B. Goode every morning (a guy who I can’t remember the name of, from a group nobody’s ever heard of, got me onto it), still waiting on my tickets for Neil Dates, and…

    Cinema –
    Now is the best time of the year to go to the flicks, always is…

    Hard Truths: A Mike Leigh film which I thoroughly enjoyed. The main talking point seems to have been the abrupt ending, considered a negative by many, it’s what has kept the film in my mind for the last three weeks.

    September 5: Munich, Olympics, 1972. Excellent. Full marks to the director for making 95 minutes, set almost entirely in a dark room, fly by.

    I’m Still Here: Brazil 1970. You’d have thought the era of Pele was the time for the country to rejoice, be vibrant, colourful, young… hey! no one told the government!

    Becoming Led Zeppelin: It was the word ‘becoming’ that got me to this gig, and great for Golden Age footage. I suspect yer Led Zeppelin fan was saying “When does it get ugly and boring so I can enjoy it?”

    Radio –
    The latest Charles Paris Mystery.
    And The Likely Lads, a very rare outing for the 67 series.

    Music –
    Another great Mojo CD (the Soul one)… and, pretty much 24/7, The Yardbirds’ Ultimate Live at the BBC on Alexa… possibly my favourite record ever. I must get the 4-CD set.

    TV –
    Best of the lot.. THE MONKEES ARE BACK!!! – on Rewind (Sky Channel No. 182).
    Pristine condition and, as far as I can see, completely in line with the original U.S. broadcasts from September 66 onwards.

    Sad to report that – unlike the year 2025 – it’s in colour.

  8. Read
    The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry.
    2 World Wars, Irish independence, colonial rule in Africa, love, loss, family, the mutable nature of national identity and the immutable notion of home – all these themes and more are mediated through Eneas McNulty – an innocent abroad whose life touches on the profound.

    Wellness by Nathan Hill
    To me, a long book can be like a deep, warm bath – something in which to luxuriate and contemplate. Wellness is such a novel, with Hill looking at the meaning of art, gentrification, social media algorithms. But also, time, memory, perception, dysfunctional families and the struggle to define what good parenting looks like. It’s a gorgeous, nourishing, funny and heart-breaking book.

    Seen
    Captain America – Brave New World
    Thankfully this latest offering from the MCU ditches the multiverse shenanigans that I find tiresome. Whilst I found it pretty enjoyable, it’s still a movie overstuffed with characters and some hyperbolic action sequences. And one wonders what on earth Harrison Ford is doing. I can’t imagine he needs the money, and struggle to see how acting against green screen floats his boat. Maybe Marvel provides sensational catering?

    Nightbitch
    Amy Adams gives a strikingly committed performance as a woman with a young son and doofus husband who is losing her sense of self. It’s a bit muddled, but it is entertaining. And it is so unusual to a film that focuses on motherhood.

    Paradise
    A preposterous political thriller that nonetheless I was already finding pretty engaging. But things really stepped up a level in the penultimate episode that was exciting, tense, scary and surprisingly moving. Sterling Brown is great as the stoic secret service agent, but James Marsden is something of a revelation for me. His President Bradley is flippant and facile, but also empathetic and guilt stricken.

    The Monkey
    The trailer promised a dark horror leavened with comedic moments. Actually, it’s more of a comedy with added gore. Once I got my head round that (mental gymnastics that I had completed by the end of the opening scene’s harpoon gun money shot) I had a whale of a time with this one.

    AOB
    So farewell Gene Hackman. He was always such a solid, physical presence on screen; an actor so good that he never seemed to be acting

  9. February felt even shorter than usual, probably because I was supposed to go back to work again after the op in early March, so I did a lot of physio to get well in time…this led to a setback when we added exercises that would mimic the kind of stress that my knee is subjected to in my work, and my knee couldn’t handle it at all yet.
    Back to the starting line again for nine days of really bad pain and barely being able to walk, only able to do very light physio for a couple of weeks, and only now able to get back to where we were before this setback.
    So I’m going to have to stay away from work a little longer (will find out how long next week when I speak to my surgeon) and will probably not go from 0% to 100% work over night, as it was originally said…but if not in March, then I hope to be back in April.

    Read:

    A bit of a strange reading month, with re-reads and shorter books – I blame The Goldfinch!
    Perhaps I needed a break from big books for a while…but also I’m not in a financial situation that allows me to buy a lot of books right now, so I’ve been looking to my bookshelves to find things to read.

    I did read a couple of new-new books in February; first Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Woods. I liked it, but didn’t love it. It’s a slow burn that gets more gripping towards the end, but it was too much of a slow and contemplating novel for my mood at the time. I don’t need a lot of plot or action or conversation in a novel to love it, but if it doesn’t have much of any of that, I do need the prose to be more lyrical or interesting than this.
    Set in a sort of convent in the country, a non-religious woman moves away from her life and joins the nuns, first for a short retreat, then for good. There’s a mouse plague taking place that is vividly described, and two visitors to the convent (one dead, one living) stir things up further, but the narrative is very introspective, from this unnamed woman’s point of view.

    The second new book was the “family memoir” of Griffin Dunne called The Friday Afternoon Club, which I liked slightly less. More than enough dramatic things happened in this one, compared to the previous one, but in this case I unfortunately disliked Dunne and his family more and more the longer I read! I did absolutely feel for them during the many horrible things that they had to go through, but at the same time I just couldn’t stand them…there was something very smug and self-congratulatory between the lines (and on some of them too) that rubbed me the wrong way. It was still an interesting read, and I’m probably in the minority about my dislike of them as persons.

    New to me, but getting close to being “classics” are the autobiographical novels (for kids and adults) by Judith Kerr, of which I read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and its sequel Bombs on Aunt Dainty. Enjoyed the first one a lot, the second slightly less. There’s a third one but I haven’t decided if I want to continue (and I don’t own a copy of it, so it would have to wait).

    Then I read the non fiction book The Gospel of the Eels by Patrik Svensson, which I didn’t read when it was so very hyped a few years ago, but having read his second book of essays about the ocean and its creatures among other things, and loving that one; I went back to his debut hoping for more of the same. Which it is, but not quite as brilliant as his second, IMO.

    Another much hyped book in the last three or four years (but first published in the 1920s) is Passing by Nella Larsen, which I’ve also been saving for when the hype had blown over, and finally read in February. I did like it a lot, it’s very well-written and thought-provoking and the ending is masterful, but again; I so disliked the two main characters that I found the novel difficult to love rather than like and admire. And I’m not saying that I can only like books about nice people; some of my favourite books are about flawed and awful characters, but sometimes (and I couldn’t tell you why then and not at other times) I find it difficult to stay focused and enjoy the reading experience when the characters annoy me. And that was the case here – only to the degree that I gave the book a 7/10 rather than an 8/10, however, so it’s not a huge dealbreaker!

    My re-reads are the first three books in a fantasy series by Lene Kaaberbøl (The Shamer’s Daughter, The Shamer’s Signet, The Serpent Gift, The Shamer’s War) so that I can read the fourth which I couldn’t find anywhere for years and years, so that when it finally happened a year or two ago I had forgotten everything that happens in the first three books. I don’t really like re-reading a whole series of books, so I put it off until now, but I’ve been enjoying them in between reading other books. Still haven’t gotten to the fourth one, but soon! They’re for kids, but very good.

    And I also re-read my favourite novel by one of my top five favourite Swedish authors, as I do every other year at least – it’s a very short novel but packs a punch. Unfortunately, when I later ordered a copy of it translated into English to give to a friend, I discovered that the translation was pretty bad, from just reading through the first few pages (I still gave it to her, but with lots of caveats and apologies…)

    Seen/Heard:

    Nothing new. I watch mostly YouTube and I didn’t listen to any new albums this month, kept listening to the same playlist I did last month (but added to it beyond my first 50 years to make it longer).

    AOB:

    I’m still writing my novel every day, still loving it. I’m getting close to 150 pages now, just started Chapter 8. Re: The fake songtitle thread – this novel is partially told via fictional song lyrics, which I counted yesterday and found out that I’ve written 119 of so far (complete or partial), and a few poems as well. Which is why it’s taking a bit longer; prose is quick enough to jot down, but writing song lyrics of all kinds (different genres, different voices, spanning 100 years of music, some meant to be good, others meant to be bad etc, and all there to make some specific point in the narrative) is giving my brain some exercise…! It makes me giggle a lot (which is good, as it’s meant to be funny).

    And my mum has finally gotten approved for surgery, despite being 93 years old, and a date is set for the beginning of April. She’s having intestinal problems, and they are ruining her quality of life. She’s been getting quite depressed, so we’re very happy that she’s going to get help.

      • Most questions that begins with “have you seen” and ends with a film title are usually answered with “No” by me.
        In the 80s I went to the cinema all the time. Since the 90s I’ve been perhaps twice.
        I used to have film channels back when I owned a TV (and film channels was a thing), now I don’t have a TV and no streaming services.
        I used to buy a ton of films first on VHS, then on DVD – I still buy some films on DVD, but I hardly ever get around to actually watching them…unless they are old classics (especially if I’ve alredy seen them and know I like them).

        I’m not sure if I actually like film that much anymore…

  10. Watched:
    Anora. Loved it. I look forward to a second viewing as a treat one day. My expectations were low as I’d somehow got the impression it was going to be a romantic film, plus the Best Picture winners are very rarely my favourite film of the year. But this was. And Mikey Madison thoroughly deserved her Oscar, imho.
    The Gorge. Hated it. Why do actors of the calibre of Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy get interested in a script like this? I’d have binned it as nonsense on the first read. I reckon Sigourney Weaver only got in on it cos the residuals from Doc Martin have dried up.

    • And you, too, @gary, the same annoyance is directed to you, for making me think Anora worth £4.99 and 2 hours of my time. Dreadful tripe with neither any feelgood nor comedy within it, the supposed descriptions that appear most. Exploitative nonsense for all of any second half alleged justification. If that’s the best of show, I’d hate to see the rest of the litter.

      • @retropath2
        For feelgood and comedy on a similar theme, Pretty Woman is your man. Though I must say, I thought Anora had some very funny moments and characters. I could have happily followed them for another two hours.

  11. Last night I watched this – a fabulous film documentary on Liverpool nearly-men The Big Three made in 2017, part funded by the Canadian government. I don’t think it’s been on Sky Arts, BBC4 etc – registering with Vimeo is easy – make a point of doing so if you love a great music doc.:

  12. Apart from listening to elements of Roberta Flack and Marianne Faithfull’s back catalogues, the main music on my player has been 300+ tracks from Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Spectrum, Sonic Boom etc – in the pursuit of which are my favourites. I can’t really get beyond late S3/early Spiritualized in terms of preferences. Later songs are well, interesting, but really going off in the direction of gospel, blues and fairly mainstream sounds. Nothing much yet as brilliant as Perfect Prescription/Playing With Fire.

    Mind you, a chance meander after seeing the lumpen Gary Clail ‘disco’ track posted by fitterstoke – (really?), led me to the Adrian Sherwood dub version (Reset in Dub) of the last Sonic Boom/Panda Bear album, which I quickly purchased – lovely skronky sax on this opener

      • Yup – I wouldn’t give you tuppence for Emotional Hooligan. Having said that, End of The Century Party and The English Disease are absolute on-U classics, which I love.

        I remember this soaring out of the massive Pyramid stage speakers in 1990, on the afternoon of the day the Mondays were due to play. The sense of power and potential was surging as the associated vocals, and other sounds poured out across the sunny fields

  13. Heard: Being liberated from having to write about favourite songs this year has meant lots of extra opportunities to catch up on new music, and it’s been a nice change of pace after all that navel gazing. A few recent highlights to follow…

    Black Swan – Victoria Canal

    Wonderful balladry at the precise mid point between Olivia Rodrigo and Agnes Obel.

    The Great Pyramid of Stockport – Antony Szmierek

    House music’s own Mike Skinner adds to his burgeoning reputation, hard to argue with a line like “Cleopatra lived closer to the France 98 World Cup than the construction of the Pyramids”.

    I Want You (Fever) – Momma

    Oh look, the early 90s have rolled around again, and this time MBV have eaten Belly.

    Emergence – Sleep Token

    They dress like Slipknot but sound like Linkin Park and I’m here for it.

    Heathen – Deafheaven

    Happy to report that after an ill-advised detour into proper music the screaming has returned. Very good.

    Read: A couple of weeks of incredibly tedious jury service provided a bit of extra reading time.

    I was underwhelmed by Richard Haight’s The Anxious Generation. I have a lot of friends who swear by it, but beyond its frankly undeniable central premise that social media has been a catastrophe for young people I found it to be a bit airy fairy. At its heart it’s a plea to nostalgia, to proper playgrounds with cast iron roundabouts and the endless Summer days of our own youth – always powerful stuff, but nothing new and the evidence-based for some of it seemed pretty slim.

    The Origins Of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt was a revisit, and a good excuse to try to pick apart similarities and dissimilarities with certain events currently occurring elsewhere in the world. It’s a brilliant book, and I hope that eventually someone does an equivalently thorough job of pinning down the root causes of our current blight. It would be nice if we could learn some lessons from it all.

    The Shortest History Of Japan by Lesley Downer was a short but fabulous read, a real whistle stop tour through a fascinating and vibrant history that see saws constantly from triumph to tragedy. The section on the opening of Japan was particularly interesting and (I thought) well drawn.

    Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte I would strongly recommend to anyone who is sick of the Internet and what it seems to have done to people. A series of interlocking short vignettes of extremely 21st century characters and their endless battles over their internal and external identities, it’s perceptive and cutting and I really enjoyed it. Will try to read more by the same author.

    Seen: Most of the Oscar corridor releases, as discussed elsewhere.

    Beyond that, I finally watched Before Midnight, having avoided it for years, and found it to be exactly as painful as anticipated, albeit obviously brilliantly made.

    Attended the PCC for a screening of Mother, a mid 90s Albert Brooks gem featuring Brooks as a middle aged man who gets divorced for a second time and goes to live with his ageing mother (Debbie Reynolds, no less) in an attempt to establish why women hate him. I had somehow never heard of this film previously, but I thought it was great – very gentle, full of great one liners and the central performances were charming.

    In other forgotten 90s movie news, I went to a screening of Diggstown, a James Woods/Louis Gossett Jr flick about a pair of hustlers taking down a small town bully via an elaborate boxing challenge. It’s unspeakably early-90s and exactly the kind of film they don’t make any more, with very good reason. I enjoyed it enormously.

    Mickey 17 was something of a curate’s egg. I’m a big Bong Joon Ho fan, and consequently I got what I came for and had a great time. But it’s also probably his weakest film to date; there’s plentiful evidence of studio meddling (of which there has been a great deal) in the various truncated plotlines and characters, and really it’s just an amalgam of previous works, specifically Snowpiercer and Okja. On the other hand, Robert Pattison is brilliant, Mark Ruffalo delivers a scathing villain pitched at the mid point between Musk and Trump, and there are plenty of laughs to be had. I’d recommend it, but it’s probably marmite.

  14. February was so short I hadn’t noticed the changeover. Or that’s my excuse, given so little to report. Sure, a lot seems to have been happening, but the calendar assures me they seem all to be March based.
    WATCHED: The usual mass of poor and/or discardable telly. We seem to have all the available platforms, with never the adage that there is so much to choose from that there is nothing left to see. Are to many productions being green lighted, by to many competing channels, with insufficient regard to quality control? There seems to be a shed load of, loosely, westerns. American Primeval I thought was great, my wife then latching me on to Yellowstone, which we (both) gradually lost interest in. 1923, the prequel, similarly palled, but 1883, the pre-prequel was a corker, largely courtesy the great Sam Elliott. (Uncertain how many octogenarians were as active in the saddle back then, but hey!) Taylor Sheridan is the fella behind the trilogy, helming also Landman, which we are now giving a go. It’s oil and drugs, but, thematically, is still a western. Billy Bob Thornton is convincingly oleaginously nasty, possibly typecast, but we’ll see.
    LISTENED: Musically, February was chock with excellent new music. Dean Owens chalked up another away win, taking his dusty Glaswegiana to the Italian hills of Emiliana Romagna, for Spirit Ridge, restoring his worth again, after the slightly disappointing Sinner’s Shrine. Seth Lakeman came finally good (for me) my lingering prejudice of his wanting to be a Farmfood Robert Plant toppled at last, by the excellent Granite Way, good old folk-rock of the first order. The Delines split my vote with Mr Luck and Ms Doom; the further slide out of country tropes into sultry southern soul is superb, with me missing any pedal steel not at all. But one track spoilt it all, the hackneyed cliche of Nancy and the Pensacola Pimp, which seemed penned on autopilot. All the critics loved it’s gritty narrative, almost strengthening my contrary stance, Similarly, most of Bonnie Prince billy’s The Purple Bird I loved, it then let down by a little too much schmaltz in the sugar bowl. Thea Gilmore reprised a covers set, with These Quiet Friends. the risk of covers albums can be in choosing songs too ubiquitous. Do we really need another Dancing in the Dark? (No) Having said, her renditions of Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms) and Wrecking Ball (Neither Shake or Gillian Welch, but Miley effing Cyrus) more than make up for it, either worth the price of purchase. Album of the month, released on the last day, was a surprise. Always an admirer of Jenn Butterworth, the astonishingly adept rhythm guitarist of Kinnaris Quintet, and rhythm methodist of choice for many other Scottish artists, her solo debut, Her By Design, caught me out entirely. Rather than focussing on her guitar play, this is principally a vocal album, showing that the girl can really sing. OK, she had sung a bit elsewhere, but it was always seen as a necessary extra, rather than the centrepiece. Surrounding herself with some of Scotland’s finest sessioneers, it is a tremendous album, firmly in the canon of trad derived folk music for the 21st century.
    SAW: Live music got hit by the age and infirmity of my ma-in-law, who spent the month in and out of hospital. Given she lives some 2 plus hours north, in Blackpool, this meant several emergency kennelling of the hounds and trips up there. Magpie Arc’s Day of Folk was one such casualty. However I did get to see the Ollam at a low key gig in Drum’s Irish Quarter of Digbeth. (I may have mentioned that one last month, so won’t elaborate, beyondd that if you fancy complex polyrhythmic funk, fronted by two whistle players, they are the best in their albeit small silo. @colinH ‘s chum, John McSherry, was one of them, also playing Jillian pipes, the second whistle from Glaswegian Ross Ainslie. And, on top of the record, I got to see Seth Lakeman play The Granite Way out live, cementing the grandeur of the set, and using the same band as play on the album, notably Benji Kirkpatrick in stringed instruments of every type, Ben Nicholls on bass, Cormac Byrne on percussion, Alex Hart on bvs and the estimable Archie Churchill-Moss on melodeon. With most unfamiliar with these names, believe me, this is an A team of Anglo folk. Benji is, of course, son of the great John.
    READ: Yay, I finished Demon Copperhead at last. A thoroughly engaging read, for when I could find or make time for it, it managed to make the pits of opiate dependency somehow buoyant, however low the lows, shown without pity or unwarranted pride.

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