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Blogger Takeover LXIX

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It is the first Friday of a new month, so come gather round the virtual firepit, help yourself to a glass of good cheer, and tell us all – what have you been listening to, reading, watching or otherwise occupying your time with?

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  1. As ever, music has been sustaining me. The Primevals have been working on new songs, and spent a weekend recording in the studio, which was a great joy. Strange to be doing that with masks on, and with checking how many people are in the control room to see if you can go in, but an uplifting adventure, especially after so many months of working from home.

    The Quarantunes series continues – on bandcamp, pay what you like, Volume 13 now available. https://tomrafferty1.bandcamp.com/

    I had a week of holiday, which I spent mostly lazing around and deliberately not sitting at the PC.

    I have been listening to the Spiritual Jazz series – the Prestige collection was great, the collection of Impulse! tunes was obviously fab, and I had not heard of the Steeplechase label until now.

    I’ve also been listening to a lot of early Ry Cooder – Taxes on the Farmer Feed Us All and Always Lift Him Up are two highlights.

    TV – very little. Portrait Artist of the Year, and Only Connect is about the extent of it. I don’t have any interest in dystopian thrillers. I did enjoy the Quincy Jones documentary on Netflix – filled with great anecdotes. What a career!!

    Books – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. A really clear explanation of some key cooking concepts, beautifully written with enthusiasm and insight, and with lovely illustrations.

    AOB – I did Inktober for the second year (finish one ink drawing a day and share it on social media) and was delighted that my primitive scritchings were so warmly received. A pal bought one of my drawings, which was a thrill. At secondary school, a million years ago, I was regarded as one of the many who “couldn’t draw” because I had not mastered perspective, and the focus of the class was on those pupils who could draw. About 10 years ago, on another long run of work travel, I picked up a book on drawing and some pencils. It turns out I can draw, kind of – pretty much everyone can. Spending some time focussing on pencil shading, filling in boxes at different intensities, or trying to capture the curve of a teacup is pleasantly meditative, no matter how the marks on the paper end up looking. Finishing at least one drawing a day for a month has greatly helped my confidence and focus – I’d encourage anyone who might be interested to give it a go.

    As we enter another stage of lockdown, with the news full of gloom and worry, I’ll be trying to stop doom-scrolling through bad news and spend a bit more time making music, drawing, and getting back to online yoga.

    Take care of yourselves!

  2. Bore da.
    Hope everyone is safe, well and vaguely lucid. It’s all a bit bonkers isn’t it?

    Heard.
    As usual this is the music I have found myself reaching for repeatedly this past month. Many others have put in brief appearances but these have kept on keeping on.
    Group Listening – Clarinet & Piano : Selected Works, Vol. 1
    Rival Consoles – Articulation.
    Belbury Poly – The Gone Away.
    Rhodri Davies – Telyn Rawn.
    GoGo Penguin – GoGo Penguin.
    Espen Eriksen Trio – End Of Summer.
    Tonbruket – Nubium Swimtrip.
    Brona McVittie – The Man In The Mountain.
    Vic Mars – I Am Dead.
    Bohren & Der Club Of Gore – Patchouli Blue.
    Sunda Arc – Tides.
    Gilroy Mere – Adlestrop.
    Chip Wickham – Blue To Red.
    Joshua Redman – Round Again.
    Eland Cooper – Hether Blether.
    Bugge Wesseltoft – Somewhere In Between.
    Laura Veirs – My Echo.
    David Boulter – Yarmouth.
    Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl – Artlessly Falling.

    Read.
    Prussian Blue – Philip Kerr.
    Piranesi – Susanna Clarke.
    Songs From A Quarantine – David Plumbley.
    The Fighter – Michael Farris Smith.
    This House Is Haunted – John Boyne.
    The Furthest Station – Ben Aaronovitch.
    Ancient Sorceries & Other Weird Stories – Algernon Blackwood.
    Sing Your Sadness Deep – Laura Mauro.
    Fallen Angel – Chris Brookmyre.
    NOS4A2 – Joe Hill.
    Faces In The Water – Janet Frame.
    All The Devils Are Here – David Seabrook.
    More William – Richmal Crompton.
    Possession – A. S. Byatt.

    Watched.
    Not a lot. Only Connect is the only thing I make a point of watching every week. I did listen to the Bafflegab production for the BBC of Children Of The Stones on BBC Sounds which was most enjoyable does that count?

    A.O.B.
    Bugger all.

      • I rate their albums as follows:

        2012 Fanfares – 4 stars
        2014 v2.0 – 4½ stars
        2016 Man Made Object – don’t know it
        2018 A Humdrum Star – 5 stars
        2020 GoGo Penguin – 4½ stars

      • Bugge Wesseltoft is another magnificent name, so I had to check him out, and he is a very cool jazzy Norwegian pianist. I discovered the album Songs by him on Youtube and have bought it, so thanks very much for that, Pencil!

      • I’ve been taking my time with the Bernie Gunthers. Only two left now and sadly of course there will be no more. I tend to eke out certain book series rather than gorge on them that way I know that I will always have something I’m almost guaranteed to enjoy in times of need. This is why I still have plenty of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux books to go amongst lots of others from various authors. I’m going to start a re-read of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin this month so that will keep me going for a while and I’ve decided to finally embark on Georges Simenon’s Maigret novels all seventy five of them!
        The Brookmyre is really good. A standalone novel, a contemporary whodunnit and whydunnit. It’s very entertaining.

        • @pencilsqueezer

          I’ve sadly no idea how many Bernie books there are and I’m sure I’ve not read them in order but no matter, really enjoyed them all. Just finished “If the Dead rise not” which was a bit of a departure as he ends up in Cuba.

          Will see if I can pick up the Brookmyre in my local British Heart Foundation shop should it be open.

          • There are fourteen BG novels starting with March Violets and ending with Metropolis. I don’t think they need to be read in order. I’ve read them in published order simply because I bought them as they were released.
            Good luck finding the Brookmyre, it’s worth the effort. I would send you my copy but unfortunately it’s an ebook.

              • I don’t know yet. I am planning on making a start on them sometime this month. My curiosity about them finally got the better of me. Simenon is often described as one of the great twentieth century writers so I guess I’ll find out if he is deserving of such high praise plus I love good crime fiction.

                • Don’t want to put you off or anything, but I read one recently – Striptease, a non-Maigret – and it was sensationally dull. Penguin have been doggedly republishing the entire oeuvre over the past 10 years or so, and they’re not in the charity business, so it might be just me.

                    • I’m a big fan of Freeman Wills Crofts, a 1920s-50s British/Irish crime writer often regarded as a ‘master of the humdrum mystery’. But I find his style of plodding policework rather intoxicating. HarperCollins and the Brit Library have republished a fair number of his books in the last couple of years. I’m still waiting for them/anyone to republish his rarest half dozen or so books, though. Pricey second-hand…

        • Thanks so much for the James lee Burke tip, finished all the James Elroys and Phillip Kerr books (did the rationing thing) and just read the first Dave Robicheaux book, really good. Does he come so close to death in every book?

          • Let’s just say it’s not an infrequent occurrence. The quality doesn’t dip. I’ve read eleven of them to date as I wrote above I tend to ration out series I enjoy rather than binge on them. If you are open to a good crime series with a distinct wiff of sulphur and the supernatural I would highly recommend John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series. Cracking entertainment.

    • I must say, Pencil, you have three very fine Clay Pipe Music selections in your listening list, in the form of Vic Mars, Gilroy Mere and David Boulter.
      I love everything about Clay Pipe: the music, Frances Castle’s consistently brilliant artwork … it’s such a classy operation.

      • They are a consistently interesting label. All three of those will probably figure amongst my favourites of the year. I’ve been listening to Alison Cotton’s latest Only Darkness Now as well but I think I need to hear it more before making my mind up about it.
        You’re absolutely right about the album artwork. It’s so gorgeous it’s almost edible.

        • I trust you have also listened to Jon Brooks’ How To Get To Spring from earlier this year on the same label? Lovely pastoral electronica, it certainly helped me through the first lockdown

          • I’m still playing it Kid and it’s yet another one that will probably end up being amongst my favourite of the years releases. His back catalogue is also well worth exploring but I assume that’s something you are well aware of.

              • A particularly lovely cover that.
                I have a couple from Bandcamp including the latest, only as downloads. I can’t find his stuff on either Spotify or Tidal so I guess he isn’t keen on making his work available for streaming however his work as The King Of Woolworths is available as is his stuff with The Advisory Circle and the rather splendid album from a few years ago Peel Away The Ivy by The Pattern Forms.
                He appears to have a lot of irons in multiple fires.

  3. I impressed with the drawing thing, El Hombre! (And, of course, I’m even more impressed with Pencil’s ‘drawing thing’ 😀 ). I used to be pretty good at drawing once, though I was never quick. But it somehow slipped away over time. Or at least, I lost the inclination / time for it.

    Read: I’ve read two of Jim Eldridge’s ‘Museum Mysteries’ series this month – a couple of sleuths (a private investigator and an eminent female archaeologist) called in to investigate, well, murders at museums in the Victorian era. It’s cosy crime stuff, like Edward Marston’s *Victorian) ‘Railway Detective’ series, which I also enjoy. Also been enjoying more ‘British Library Crime Classics’ (reprints of generally obscure interwar Brit crime) – the ones that were written during WWII, with London during that time as a backdrop, are particularly fascinating. I bought a second-hand Buddy Bolden biography, from 1978, which looks promising. Buddy was, as legend has it, ‘the man who invented jazz’, whose career ended in 1905. There are fewer photos than there are for Robert Johnson, and for many years (40s-60s) much of the testimony about him came from Bunk Johnson – an eccentric man ‘rediscovered’ in the late 30s and pushed out into the world with new recordings etc. as the closest thing to what 1890s New Orleans jazz sounded like. Heady stuff for British trad jazzers in the 50s/60s. Bunk somewhat played up his association with Bolden – so the first chapter of the book is about not so much debunking myths as de-mything Bunk! 😀

    Heard: I’m involved in Repertoire’s forthcoming ‘Colosseum at the BBC’ 6CD set, so I’ve been hearing a lot of vintage Colo recently – superbly restored/mastered by Eroc. I’ve also been reacquainting myself with a cheap/cheerful 6CD set of Don Rendell 1950s albums from Real Gone, ahead of a couple of Rendell/Carr archive trawls from the Rhythm and Blues and Jazz in Britain labels. This month has also seen a lot of work towards the (now) 8CD ‘Bert Jansch at the BBC’ set that I’m effectively ‘curating’ – so as you might image, I’ve heard a lot of Bert Jansch music. I’m very excited about it. Restoration/mastering maestro Cormac O’Kane has worked wonders with a fair amount of tricky audio, though the vast majority of the set is master quality – including an unabridged 135-minute 2004 concert in Edinburgh, missing from the BBC archive but thankfully kept by a former producer. I’ve also been enjoying – or quietly appreciating – various multi-hour ambience videos on YouTube, involving rainfall, howling wind, crackling fires and the like, inside cosy interiors. Wonderful for doing work on the PC to. I’ll post one here.

    Seen: I’ve been enjoying the New Zealand ‘cosy crime’ series ‘Brokenwood’ on the Drama channel – quirky and with various recurring characters/oddballs in a backwoods NZ town. Also watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ on Saturdays – takes the mind off the misery all around us – and some ITV snooker. Plus Only Connect/University Challenge. I enjoyed the Count Basie doc on BBC4, and the Fairport doc on Sky Arts.

    AOB: I made the mistake of seeing some Northern Ireland news (albeit via RTE news – which I’ve been watching instead of UK TV news since March: the virus is no respecter of borders and RTE has detailed daily coverage of the figures affecting the whole island) last week, which reignited my ire from October 2018, when I wrote/recorded ‘Smash the System’, about NI MLAs trousering millions and doing no bloody work. This time, the Stormont govt has sent out (months ago) £4.5 million in Covid aid to 452 people/businesses that didn’t ask for, need, or qualify for it. This was exposed recently and so far several Sinn Fein politicians have had to resign (including a former UKL MP and current Irish senate member) – seemingly, they were quite happy for thousands of underserved cash to be resting unnoticed in their accounts. Naturally, I’ve written a raging punk rock song, called ‘Northern Ireland Politicians’, and will regroup a version of Bourgeois Fury to record it in the next couple of weeks… We need these sort of futile gestures…

    I’ve also commissioned a pro musician friend to studio record a ‘lost’ Bert Jansch song – a beautiful Christmas song called ‘Shine Your Light’, known from only one concert bootleg, in Louisville, April 2011. It will be freely shared online when it’s done – in a couple of weeks.

  4. Heard: apart from the usual random melange (I was cooking to Queen’s Greatest Hits this evening) a couple of things have caught me ears.
    1. Gwenifer Raymond, a rather haunted looking woman who plays 6- and 12-string guitar and banjo music likes she’s just been discovered in Appalachia 50 years ago. The album’s called You Were Never Much of a Dancer – no vocals, lots of DADGAD and so on – think John Fahey. Haunting and compulsive.
    2. Tivon Pennicot – young(ish) sax player who plays some of the most inventive stuff I’ve heard for yonks, sometimes New Orleans, sometimes Monk, sometimes Leonard (or Elmer) Bernstein. He’s equally at home working with an orchestra or a bop 4-piece. Here’s a taste.

    Read: the usual not much. A pretty good WW2 story called The Interrogator by Andrew Williams, claustrophobic stuff about an obsessive RN interrogator who has a top U-Boat captain in his clutches and is convinced he hasn’t told all he knows, despite the scepticism of his complacent superiors. Robert Harris territory really. Coincidentally I’m listening to (and enjoying) the audiobook of Harris’s latest, V-2. You can probably guess the plot. Harris is a pro, and although his books tend to follow a formula (Meanwhile, in Berlin…) he delivers. Now reading The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith, which I’m a bit disappointed by given his track record – I’m nearly half way through and still waiting for it to get going.

    Watched: Just finished Series 4 of the Good Fight, which SBS has been doling out one episode a week. They had only finished 7 episodes when the pandemic hit, so we’ve been left dangling you might say. Still by some way the most enjoyable thing on the box though. Apart, possibly, from Queen’s Gambit – we’re 3 episodes in and it’s absolutely brilliant. Whoever thought chess could be so sexy? Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays the chess genius, is just extraordinary – she’s feral, almost like a wild animal. I’m completely obsessed with her, as is Mrs thep.

  5. I did sober October, no problem at all. In fact it is now 6 weeks and counting. Lost a little weight

    I did not go to the cinema, that is now 8 months and I miss it. I did not see any concerts, that is now over 10 months and I miss it.

    Started re-watching Mad Men, and have this week been watching the Queen’s Gambit which is pretty good especially as I used to play a lot of chess.

    We had a reasonable amount of snow earlier this week, but this weekend we could get up to 20 degrees so my main aim is to get outside and enjoy it, will probably be 6 months before we get warm weather again.

  6. Crammed in loads of local football while I had the chance, and did much the same for cinema.

    “Hope Gap, ” Bill Nighy, and “On the Rocks,” Bill Murray … both rather what you’d expect a Bill Nighy or Bill Murray film to be like. If you like either actor, you’ll probably enjoy their film.
    “Kajillionaire,” this is more like it, madder than a box of kittens, highly recommended.
    Frida Kahlo documentary – wonderful.
    “Wolfwalkers,” animated film, excellent.

    Saw a great documentary about Muriel Spark on Sky – one hour long, as taut as her novels.

    David Hepworth’s latest book … a really excellent appraisal of American troops in the U.K. during the war in Chapter One (all you’ll ever need to know about the war, really), and the 50 or so pages on the Beatles going to America was terrific. After that, it rather tailed off as Mr. Hepworth’s interest in the subject seemed to tail off … but then, why wouldn’t it? I’d have been the same if I’d been writing the book.
    He didn’t go much on punk, rather pleasingly.
    Highest U.S. chart position for “Never Mind the Bollocks?”
    No. 106.
    Oh dear … the Americans clearly haven’t always been bonkers!

    This month … the 25th Anniversary of an interview with Diana which I never saw or heard because I was standing in a queue in London in order to get the Beatles’ “Anthology 1” … a much more important event then, and a much more important event now … so it’s the 25th Anniversary of “Anthology 1.”

  7. Read: loads of legal documents and the entry on Rightmove for every house within 5 miles of here! Finally bought one yesterday, but really not looking forward to moving. I don’t want to leave this house and area, don’t want to move back into the middle of Barnsley and the thought of having to move all my stuff fills me with dread, but not a great deal I can do about it.

    Seen: What, besides 4 solid days of CNN’s election coverage (not looking forward to their coverage of the sequel, the 2nd US Civil War) and the leader of the free world coming out with a speech that was totally unhinged, deluded, classless, racist and stopped just short of inciting a riot? I have, however, been able to lose myself in loads of TV shows, the upside to having the living room to myself every night. Just finished watching the first four series (I’m presuming season 5 will be forthcoming) of Animal Kingdom. Really enjoyed it, and Ellen Barkin as the head of a crime family is superb. Also enjoyed watching series 1 and 2 of Before We Die, a Swedish cop show, and Stath Lets Flats, a very well performed surreal comedy that you’ll either love or hate within about 5 minutes. Also enjoyed The Comey Rule and Brave New World, whilst the remake of Rebecca was nice to look at, but not a patch on Hitchcock’s version.

    On the subject of disappointing remakes… The Haunting of Hill House is my all time favourite TV show. It’s brilliant. Unfortunately, whilst it has its good bits, the follow up, The Haunting of Bly Manor, was a disappointment. The lead actress was a bit irritating, Henry Thomas’s ‘English’ accent was laughable and very distracting and it was impossible not to compare it with the superb The Innocents. Giving the ghosts their back stories took away from their menace.

    Heard: Still immersed in the world of jazz and wondering why I waited till I was in my 50s before first listening to a Herbie Hancock album. He’s ace. But I’ve mainly been listening to albums from this year for the past fortnight. I’ve listened to a lot of new albums so far this year, but it’s a few months since I’ve heard a new one that I’d put in my top 40 for the year. Sa-Roc and Thurston Moore’s albums are both growing on me though. I guess the pandemic is mainly to blame for the lack of decent albums coming out, but hopefully there’s still a few more good ones to come this year. The great Joe Pernice has used the pandemic restrictions to record his second solo acoustic album of the year, following up the excellent Richard with an album of…Barry Manilow covers! Never thought I’d hear anything like that.

    Because I’m a couple of years into my album ranking project (which has been set back big time due to the influx of hundreds of jazz albums!) I don’t tend to listen to albums on repeat, apart from newly released ones (in fact, I’m listening to very little outside the project), but I have been playing a CD I bought recently quite a lot. Straight Up by Badfinger is ruddy brilliant. Why is this album not spoken of as one of the best albums of the 70s? There’s not a bad track on it. Sadly I find the rest of their albums completely dwarfed by it, but it really is a brilliant album.

    I’m also really enjoying some of the extra discs in recently released superduper editions. The Tom Petty Wildflowers set is excellent and is top of my list for when I next have some money to spend. And the original recording of The Fall’s Imperial Wax Solvent, that’s included as a bonus disc of the reissue is fab. One boxed set I did get was the John Lennon Gimme Some Truth set. It misses out a couple of my favourite Lennon songs, that would have sounded great in 5:1 (Bring On The Lucie and New York City), but the ones that they did choose make for a good compilation. I don’t mind the high ratio of Double Fantasy songs, as I really like that album (maybe they could lose Dear Yoko). I heard the stereo remix of my favourite DF track, I’m Losing You, and didn’t like the new intro, but it sounds better in 5:1. The best 5:1 mix is #9 Dream. One of the best 5:1 mixes I’ve heard. The arrow on the front cover is a bit daft though.

  8. Where did that month go?

    Heard:
    Damned – Rockfiled Files.
    Only 4 tracks but as good as anything they’ve done. A few echoes of The Black Album, and not just because it was recorded at Rockfield.

    Bob Mould – Blue Hearts.
    Oo it’s good. This’ll be near the top of the end of year lists.

    Paul Weller later solo albums – I should’ve spent more time on them when they first come out. Some real gems in there (Wake Up The Nation and Saturns Patterns being 2 I hastily discarded)

    Style Council – better than I remember, but still not quite “there” in my head

    Deep Purple – rapidly coming to the opinion that Made In Japan is one of the top five live albums ever
    (full list available on request)

    Seen:
    White Riot – Story of Rock Against Racism

    Style Council doc

    Guy Garvey progs, other docs and stuff on SkyArts (it really doesn’t feel part of the “Sky” world. There seems to be a bit of intelligence going on there”

    More police dramas on Netflix: The Fall, Marcella (waiting for Series 4 to land), and Whitechapel

    Read:
    Will this Elvis Costello book ever end?

    Another surprisingly consistent issue of Mojo devoured (it feels lack that, even without competition, they are actually trying)

    AOB
    A week before lockdown, I picked up my new car.
    Affordability, sensibility, and a wife, steered me away from Ford Capris, Jaguars,and BMWs. I have a 16 month old Vauxhall Insignia (stuffed with all the toys) sitting on my driveway. Long distance journeys in it may be another month off …

  9. Read
    All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
    A beautifully plotted book, as we see the paths of the 2 main characters slowly converge in a war-torn French city. Vivid characters and some startling imagery.

    Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
    The novel amongst a virtual community that is seeking meaning in the fragments of a film that are being anonymously released online. It’s intriguing, if a little bloodless, and unfortunately ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

    Scrublands by Chris Hammer
    Traumatised journo is sent to grief-stricken town to hunt down a follow up story to a mass shooting and to rediscover his journalistic mojo. This book is overlong, over complicated and filled with unconvincing characters.

    The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
    This book centres on Jake Marlowe, a 200-year-old werewolf suffering an existential crisis as he discovers he is the last of his kind. Add to this an underground paramilitary group that hunts occult creatures and has Jake firmly in its sights, vampires, flamethrowers, silver bullets, guns that fire stakes, and a plot that sees our protagonist trotting round the globe, engaging in the odd bit of gore and a lot of sexy-time shenanigans. The trouble is that this isn’t quite as nimble on its (clawed) toes as it needs to be. Whist some of the set pieces are great fun, there is a lot of downtime as the big bad wolf only puts in an appearance for a few hours every month.

    Seen
    The West Wing
    All 7 seasons have recently dropped onto All4. I am working my way through series one and it’s great to catch up with these characters again, although I admit that I had completely forgotten about Mandy Hampton (Josh’s ex who rocks up at the White House after a couple of episodes). As entertaining as it is, it now looks even more like a liberal’s wet dream than it did when first broadcast.

    Autumn Watch and Bake Off
    As the nights have drawn in and the temperature has dropped, these shows have been warm and generous of spirit.

    Heard
    Plenty of Spotify playlists whilst pottering in the kitchen or DIYing – but nothing specific.

    AOB
    Watching the US elections have been draining, haven’t they? At the time of writing this, things still hang in the balance. It has just compounded the ongoing C19 unpleasantness.

  10. Heard:
    Working Men’s Club – don’t normally go for the shouty young types favoured by 6music but this lot sound like they have progressed beyond their Joy Division records to get to at least early New Order, which is a start.
    Matt Berninger – as discussed on this here site, better than recent efforts from his main job in The National. Very good.
    Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler – described very well in one review (Sunday Times maybe?) as Patti Smith playing with Mick Ronson, Butler’s guitar playing in particular is a joy. I wish he’d record more stuff.
    Gorillaz – not always on board with Damon’s cartoon act, usually depends on how much Damon there is, but there’s a lot of good stuff here if perhaps too much of it.
    Laura Veirs – Lovely on first few listens, though a dope like me would have to be told it was her divorce album or I’d not realise it.
    Jeff Tweedy – I like everything Jeff does, and I like this, but I have a nagging feeling that he should put out slightly less stuff – recent solo and Wilco albums haven’t stood out to me like the ones from back in the day.

    Read:
    The Farther Corner by Harry Pearson – wonderful book about non-league football in North East of England, anyone who knows Harry’s writing from WSC or ex-Guardian would know he’s a funny guy and his ability to get down on paper a nugget he overhears at a random game is second to none. Always seems a good egg too.
    Middle England by Jonathan Coe – Part of Coe’s trilogy of books set around the Trotter family, and as good as I remember the others being. Good cast of characters, engaging little plots, possibly a little heavy-handed for some with the politics. Looking forward to his book set on a Billy Wilder shoot.
    That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry – one of Ireland’s best writers, not sure how well known he is amongst the massive but this is a short collection of short stories that never outstay their welcome. Not sure that there’s anything here that he hasn’t done as well in the past, but i still horsed through this.

    Watched:
    On TV, have watched Roadkill to date. Preposterous but entertaining, Hugh Laurie was born to play this role. Seems to have got a bit of a kicking in the press. Also watched the first couple of episodes of The Undoing. At the risk of repeating myself, it’s preposterous but entertaining. Glad to see Barry pop back up again on Sky Comedy as i missed most of its run the last time out and it’s very funny.
    On Netflix, two movies. Enola Holmes was a grand way to spend a couple of hours with the kids, but no more than that. I’m Thinking of Ending Things – well, where to start? One of the contributors to the Bigmouth podcast made a very good point about the ratings systems for culture in relation to this one. He said that you could give him any score to rate this movie out of between 1 and 10, and he’d be able to justify it in a review. Overall, I liked it while also finding it infuriating at times – as you might expect from Kaufman.

    AOB: Very little to report. Admire Dai’s Sober October, I think I might be drinking more during lockdown than when the pubs were open (they’ve been closed or stuck with stringent restrictions in Ireland since March.)

    • Ooops – forgot the major ‘Heard’ of the month which is The Divine Comedy boxset. I’ve never spent as much on a CD package but i couldn’t resist this. Beautifully packaged. I’ve never had the kind of ear that notices the differences in remasters and so on but the early albums do sound great with a little bit of polish. The bonus discs have a lot of fairly ordinary demos and instrumentals but also some wonderful b-sides and outtakes. A DC nerd like myself can find omissions to bemoan, but overall a thing of wonder.

  11. Heard:
    Like last month, hardly anything – except choosing between a bunch of tracks more or less suited for the latest swap theme; future. But at least I’ve finally placed another order for new albums, so I’ll have something to talk about next month!

    Read:
    To first finish up from last month: the second novel by Yaa Gyasi was a bit of a disappointment, and the end half of Cluny Brown wasn’t very good at all – watch the film instead, the script fixed all the problems of the novel.

    This month’s stack now; the best novel I read in October was Larry’s Party by Carol Shields which was brilliant. We’re taken through the life of Larry in chapters focused on different aspects of his being and named things like “Larry’s Friends”, “Larry’s Work” “Larry’s Penis” and “Larry’s Threads”, to name a few. It’s often very funny, but without making Larry a figure of ridicule. I didn’t even mind the final chapter’s too neatly tied up events, because it was so well written and entertaining.

    Sebastian Barry’s A Thousand Moons is a sequel to Days Without End, but could probably be read independently. It is not, however, quite as brilliant as that one was. It’s still very good, but the narration of this isn’t as perfect as Thomas’s narration of his story. Also, having fallen in love with the characters already in the previous novel and awful things happening to them very soon into this novel…I was so afraid to read on because I feared for their lives and didn’t want it to happen, so I had to force myself to go on reading! Anyway, Barry’s a fantastic writer and I’ll definitely go on reading anything he publishes in the future.

    Also read a new collection of articles and essays by Swedish author, professor and member of the Academy Sara Danius (RIP), most of which I’d read previously, but well worth reading again. Its only fault was that it should have been bigger.

    The worst book of the month, year and possibly this century…Charlotte by Helen Moffett. Avoid at all cost! The idea wasn’t bad – it’s the story of Charlotte Lucas from Pride and Prejudice and her life as married to that awful man. Unfortunately the author changes the personalities of every Austen character and makes them say and do things that are absolutely ridiculous. The writing isn’t good, it has a whiff of fan-fic about it that doesn’t belong in print. And although she bends over backwards using old-fashioned vocabulary to create an illusion of being a part of Austen’s time, she brings in very modern ideas and sensibilities into this mock-Austen universe, and does that in a clumsy and silly way. This book annoyed me in so many ways…

    Anne Glenconner’s memoir Lady In Waiting was bizarrely entertaining (or entertainingly bizarre); “Thank god I’m not a part of the aristocracy” was the thought that I was left with after reading it.

    I’m almost finished with The Five by Hallie Rubenhold, about the lives of the women who became known only as the victims of Jack the Ripper. Contains hardly anything about the murders, this is an attempt at writing their true biographies and debunking the sensationalist myths about them all being prostitutes, invented by the press at the time. It’s quite interesting, more so in the overview of the lives of (especially) women at that time, and how easily your circumstances could change for the worse if you belonged to the working classes.

    I’m also half-way through The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams. This is a curious one: well written, laugh-out-loud funny a lot of the time, very clever and quirky, containing lots of subjects and style elements that I usually love in books. And yet I find it difficult to get through, it makes me feel oddly bored and restless and I have to force myself to read on, only two pages at a time! Even when it makes me laugh, I still don’t feel tempted to read “just one more page”…I can’t figure out why I’m unable (so far) to fall in love with it. Perhaps it has to do with the two main characters, neither inspire much emotion (negative or positive) in me. I don’t think I care what happens to either of them, unfortunately.

    In the continuing “fixing-up” of my flat I’ve unearthed my saved music magazines – Smash Hits, Pop (brilliant Swedish 90’s mag), Bibel (90’s Swedish fashion+music mag), Sonic (another local music mag, recently gone for good) and a few choice (The) Word, and started to sample a few articles and interviews. Made me miss having a proper, exciting! music magazine to read.

    Seen:
    The usual suspects: University Challenge, Only Connect, Portrait Artist Of The Year, The Great British Bake Off, and a few YouTube channels. Not a lot. No films, no TV drama or comedy series.

    AOB:
    Hoping to use this weekend to get the last things in place at home, so I won’t have to live in chaos any longer. So a lot of unpacking of boxes and moving things around. My new furniture is all in place now, looking good. Now all that’s left is the small stuff that takes forever – sorting through and finding a good place for everything I packed away when I threw out the old furniture! Thanks to covid at least I don’t have to feel guilty for staying indoors and keeping socially distant from everyone all weekend…

        • Hmm … interesting to read your comments on “The Liar’s Dictionary”, Locust. That book has just been chosen as the next title for the book circle of which Kaisfatdad and I are members. We’ll let you know what we think next month!

      • Hm, I don’t really tell most people that many details about my life, unless I know that it’s a subject we are both interested in, and the few friends I have (after a life of working late hours) are not interested in music or literature (except perhaps autobiographies by celebs and silly “feelgood” romances etc, which I’m not that into…)
        IRL I only talk to my family (parents & siblings) about these topics, and not that much with them either!

        I recently mentioned at work that I had assembled three new bookcases that weekend and one of my colleagues stared at me in shock and asked “What – do you have three bookcases??” No, I have three, no four, NEW bookcases, but in total I have…one, two, three…umm, thirteen bookcases”, I answered. He looked like he was going to have an aneurysm and shouted “Do you have THIRTEEN bookcases????” Like I was a freak or something. I’m not, I just love books! 🙂

    • Sebasian Barry and Carol Shields are both fantastic. Larry’s Party is great and I remember I absolutely loved her final novel ‘Unless’ when I read it some time ago. Higly recommended as is literally anything Barry you may not have read.

      • Thanks for the tip, I’m planning to work my way through their works over time (but have quite a substantial stack to get through at the moment, so I’m not allowed to buy any more books right now! 🙂

  12. A strange start to lockdown 2 meant I was in self-isolation for the week or so before, emerging, blinking, on wednesday before the thursday….. hey ho.
    READ: Yup, actually did some reading, and devoured the Secret Barrister over several days of uneasy reading, now terrified of being ever tried for something I didn’t do, aka Innocence tax. Something more light hearted now necessary, and Neil Gaiman selection of short pieces, Fragile Things, looks just the job. Just one story in, a superb imagination of when Sherlock Holmes comes close to Cthulhu.
    WATCHED: The Hugh Laurie political vehicle, Roadkill, was rather good, as is proving the the murder whodunnit, The Undoing, with his namesake, Mr Grant. Loads of films but can’t remember any of them: the hit rate for Netflix is about 4 films started to every 1 finished. Prime even less, as they can’t be arsed to add subtitles all that often. One cracker, however, was the war biopic of Marcel Marceau, Resistance. Who knew he did all that? Oh, and a terrifically bleak french corrupt cops and gangsters thriller, Rogue City (or Bronx, as it was called in France).
    LISTENED: Well, I’m still hoovering up obscure scottish folkish stuff: Evolution/The Tartan Amoebas and Crude/Bongshang being two recent delights, as well as Uillean piping Ulsterman Jarlath Henderson’s Raw. Talking of N’orn, I also found an extraordinary Jake Burn’s solo album, Drinkin’ Again, where he flirts with styles far folkier than his usual, coming across as a cross between the Levellers and Van with a sore throat. He even does an interesting version of Domino. Not, maybe, good, but interesting. Newer stuff has included Source/Nubya Garcia, horn heavy jazz with distinct slabs of dub and drum’n’bass in the rhythm section. Plus a recommendation from the Squeezer, The Man in the Mountain, by Brona McVittie, irish harp folkstrel with jazz trumpet and light electronica, hit more spots than I expected. Talking of recommendations, after I was talking about Justin Adams last month, ,someone, sorry I forget who, signposted me to rivermudtwilight by Les Triaboliques. Thank you! It’s great. Finally En Espagnol, by the Mavericks. The Mavericks???? Yup, those purveyors of that awful hit song from a decade ago, all trumpets and sombreros in a supermarket. Loath it and, by default, the band, only later getting to grips with how good a singer is Raul Malo. This is, as the title hints broadly, all in spanish and is deep twangy electrics, mariachi brass, gloriously OTT vocals and no risk of assessing the likely banality of the lyrics. Well good, if possibly an acquired taste.

  13. The most interesting thing for me about October was that I tested positive for Covid19. I am relieved and pleased to report that my symptoms were very minor and by about day 5 of my 10 day self-isolation I felt right as rain. More to the point my good lady wife came out completely unscathed. She did her 2 weeks indoors, never took a test because she didn’t fancy it and in any case never showed any symptoms. I assume she had it and was asymptomatic but you know, who knows? I have to say though that I have a new found respect for the elderly / vulnerable sector of the population who self isolated for 12 weeks at the start of the pandemic. It would have driven me crackers

    HEARD: October’s “support your favourite Artists” haul included Old Flowers by Courtney Marie Andrews, The Land That Time Forgot by Chuck Prophet, Here If You Listen by David Crosby & pals, and the compilation album Come On On On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits. I liked them all, particularly the Chuck Prophet album

    READ: I’m the world’s worst reader but actually read 2 e-books which I found via this website, namely Songs From A Quarantine by David Plumbley of this parish, and Guitarman by Vic Flick. I enjoyed them. I’m just a few years too young to be aware of Vic Flick. I was always aware of Big Jim Sullivan, but that’s probably because he was a fixture of the Tom Jones TV shows. I know now from reading his book that Vic played in the Harry Stoneham quintet who were the houseband on Parkinson. His book is illuminating on the subject of how session musicians get paid (or as seems to be often the case, don’t get paid)

    WATCHED: We enjoyed Ghosts greatly. I thought it was incredibly well staged with often so many actors in a very small set. The 2nd series developed nicely, with some poignant scenes and some big laughs. Our other TV think is Spooks, which we started watching after a Facebook Friend said she had rewatched the whole thing on the iplayer. I never saw it first time round. There are 86 episodes and we’ve done about 20. They pack a lot of story into each 60min episode

    My favourite streamers continue to perform every week on Facebook. Celia Woodsmith’s Pretty Songs on a Sunday Morning and her Della Mae bandmates Avril Smith & Kimber Ludiker play hoedown music on Monday nights (tuesdays UK time). Bless them all!

    Beyond that I try to stay sane by running and walking. Not helped by the onset of winter drawers on. But I’m lucky to live in in a semi-rural area where those pursuits are relatively easy to do

    • The more I listen to the Courtney Marie Andrews album the higher it is likely to be in my festive top ten this year. Her last album didnt really stick for me but feels like this one will.

  14. HEARD: Lots this month.
    Grant Lee Phillips – Lightning show us your stuff – great album, good songs, voice in tact.
    Dawes – Good luck with whatever – reviewed on here, very strong return to form after the disappointment of their last.
    Bruce Springsteen – Letter to you – nothing wrong with this but not up there with his best – made me realise I miss a live E street gig more than an E Street album.
    Robert Wyatt – His greatest misses – fabulous (has quite a bit I was unaware of ).
    Tom Petty – Wildflowers – 4 cd expanded version of his best album – excellent and great sound.
    Blue Note reimagined – I really like this, re-workings of Blue Note classics by the cream of the current jazz scene. A top release.
    The Mojo cd last month had a song by Ane Brun – I love it and her voice, I have taken a punt on her album coming out this month but if anyone can guide me in the direction of her back catalogue please feel free.
    The new Costello album Hey Clockface has really grown on me – initially not keen on the 3 songs he sings and plays solo that he recorded in Helsinki but they really fit into the album in a strange way.
    There are comments that at 66 his voice isn’t what it was – that’s just wrong – the song I do (Zulas song) is fantastic – maybe one of his best vocals ever and the the steve Nieve led band in Paris is just fabulous.
    Eels – Earth to Dora – good to have E back – I love his work.

    SEEN:
    It seems like I have been on a mission to save our local independent cinema The Red Carpet Cafe and Cinema – under threat due to lockdown we went and saw The Secret Garden and Stevie Nicks Live – I wouldnt have chosen either in times of a normal itinerary but felt compelled to do my bit. As it turns out The Secret Garden was really enjoyable and Stevie Nicks was okay.
    On TV Roadkill and Only Connect and Rebecca – Kristin Scott Thomas was sufficiently menacing.

    READ:
    Let me lie – Clare MacIntosh – okay but a little formulaic – the ending was typical harem scarum nonsense with no guile.
    Just about to reread Henry Miller’s Quiet Days in Clichy – Not sure whether its the pornography or the descriptions of Parisian Cafe life that are drawing me in. This is a prelude to embarking on Costello’s autobiography which I have had on the shelf since release but the sheer size of which has dissuaded me from jumping in.
    @monsignorbonehead thanks for flagging up ‘The farther corner’ it has been in my Amzon wish list for the last month – you have just convinced me to move into orders.

    AOB:
    Proud to have made my very first cake which came out very well – Rhubarb and Custard cake – recipe on BBC Foods – delicious if I may say so.
    Within a week of downloading the NHS app I got an alert that I ‘may have been in contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid” and that I should quarantine for 10 days which I duly did. Forgive my suspicions that the app is Bullshit but have subsequently been told that I only have to quarantine if there is a further call or message from the NHS. No wonder half the population are deleting the app.

    • Hi Steve. Ane Brun you say, give Changing The Seasons from 2008 a listen then try It All Starts From One from 2011. She has also released a number of excellent live albums all worth a listen. I picked up on her back in 2005 when she released Duets and have dipped into her output here and there ever since. I haven’t as yet heard anything from her that I actively dislike. Her latest is certainly up to muster.

  15. Heard: nothing new, but loads of classic Disco on headphones during work hours in my box room ‘home office’ – so life affirming, & a handy tonic against continued pandemic BS – I’m very lucky, have a decent sized gaff & access to proper country open space within a 40 min walk – but still can feel a little ground down by the endless sameness routine. What better than A Taste Of Honey, Odyssey, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Chic, Hamilton Bohannon & co to banish the self pity blues? The ‘Purrfect Remix’ series on YouTube is great – there are 15 minute mixes on there, a labour of love!
    Also a ton of dub, the heavier the better – current fave is Termination Dub – Glen Brown & King Tubby- ideally made to shake the glass out of the windows, but I have neighbours, so headphones it is!
    Read: ‘The Border’ – Don Winslow- last part in the epic trilogy – it delivers in spades.
    ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’ by Sarah Kendzior – chilling & spookily accurate dissection of the ‘International Crime Syndicate Masquerading as a Government’ that have thankfully just been given their marching orders. Like a modern Cassandra, Kendzior has predicted virtually every move Trump & his cohorts have made (including the current refusal to concede defeat). Her work needs to be noted & digested if the mistakes that enabled Orange 45 to get away with it for so long, are to be prevented.
    ‘The 99% Invisible City’ – the book of the great architecture & design podcast from Roman Mars – a nifty guide to identifying the overlooked details of modern cities – power grids, street signs & loads of ephemera- great fun & an ideal gift for design nerds.
    Watched: ‘The Boys’ Series 2 on Amazon – outstanding! Gross! hyper-violent, cynical & sweary as hell – it’s knowing in ways that the Marvel universe movies can only dream of.
    Plenty of old film noir – Big Sleep, Key Largo, Double Indemnity etc. etc. – what really stands out about them is they’re populated by world weary adults, rather than infantilised gym bunnies, with supporting actors with ‘real’ faces, who look like they live in the real world ( some of them are even ugly!).
    Discovery of the month: The Blind boy podcast – thanks to a great Adam Buxton episode – Blind boy – originally known as one half of The Rubberbandits – is a superb communicator – & his pods are fantastic esoteric rambles, perfect for long walks. Can’t recommend it enough!
    AOB: finally got my e-bike back from the menders – only took 8 fecking weeks! – it’s been a pandemic lifeline so it’s a major relief.

  16. Heard
    On repeat “Cat’s Foot Iron Claw Neurosurgeons Scream For More”
    Relieved by daily listens to Fay Hield and The Rheingans Sisters.
    All covered elsewhere.

    Read
    Common Ground by Rob Cowen. A book I started long ago, the name having appealed. Initially I found it humdrum in comparison to the Roger Deakins and Rob Macfarlanes to which it refers and in whose wake it appeared to swim. So the bookmark remained at about p50 for months, then lone holidays brought it back into focus and suddenly it connected. I am no naturalist, but any writing that uses avian metaphor is pushing at my open front door. Then at the end, there’s a chunky quote of a Martin Simpson lyric and it becomes no surprise to me that I was enjoying it. The end credits runs through the following thanks ‘Mike Oldfield, John Martyn, Nic Jones, Nick Drake, George Harrison, Michael Chapman, Anne Briggs, Steeleye Span, Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits’. Obviously he missed out Thommo to throw Afterworders off the scent, as clearly he is ‘one of us’.

  17. Listening
    Album of the month has to be Bob Mould’s Blue Hearts, best since his eponymous 1996 album.
    Emmy The Great – April bought on the strength of one song heard on Liz kershaw’s show, has been getting many plays, a rewarding mix of poppy-folk
    Gad Whip – Fanimal Arms Thankfully GW continue in their own idiosyncratic way, as they said about the Fall, always the same always different.
    Working Man’s Club they may wear their influences on their sleeves but manage to put enough of themselves into the mix to make the noise their own.

    Read
    Finally managed to finish Pete Paphides Broken Greek, at times unputdown-able at others a bit of a chore, on the whole enjoyable.
    Started the latest Vinyl Detective.
    Really need to get back into the habit of reading books, most reading theses days is dipping itno Record Collector, Uncut as I took out the 5 issue cheap deal or looking at the Guardian or this blog on the PC.

    Watched

    Giro de Italia and latterly the Vuelta Espana have been magnificent gripping event’s, afternoon’s have been lost watching stages live on Euro sport or failing that the highlight packages in the evening.
    Watched all 5 series of In The Line of Duty, hadn’t seen them before, found them to be something like a Stephen King novel, intriguing, full of twists many of which are forced or clumsy , enjoyable, building up to a hopefully wonderful climax which turns out to be something of a squib leaving you feeling a bit cheated having invested so much into them.

  18. Upthread, @pencilsqueezer mentions reading Susanna Clarke’s ‘Piranesi’. It is quite wonderful, and has affected me deeply at this time. I think I want to go to the House. I’ve thought of doing a review here, but spoilers! The review in theguardian sort of said that you could imagine someone writing Piranesi and then ‘Strange & Norrell’, but that what she has done in the order she has is quite remarkable.

    Ian Dunt’s ‘How to be a Liberal’ (Canbury Press) is the current read, and is excellent.

    Grace Dent’s ‘Hungry’ to follow.

  19. Listened: Nothing new, except some Ray Wylie Hubbard. Oh, and the Shedunnit podcast, which if you like Golden Age detective books is an absolute gem of a series.

    Watched: I’ve been with the in-laws for all of October, so a ton of streaming Britbox and sport.

    Read: I may have mentioned the library app Libby over here. What a godsend. I have three library cards from where I’ve lived in the US, and it means I have access to all their e-books and Audible books, all for the grand price of nothing. That means I’ve been binging Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series and the new (to me) Mickey Haller books. I think I prefer the Haller series, but both are good reads. My Comixology Unlimited account means I have a ton of comics I can download so I’m working through a backlog of Marvel stuff that I’ve never historically bothered with.

    AOB: My visa finally arrived, and I have arrived in Sydney. It was a long journey – Austin Texas to Washington, Washington to San Francisco, and then 15 hours SF to Sydney.
    I’m now in the mandatory 14 days of quarantine in a hotel in Sydney. Not allowed outside the room, no window to open…
    I was a little concerned about the process prior to landing, but everyone involved was a superb ambassador for Australia.
    We got off the plane and in an orderly line went through a process briefing; a medical checklist with some begowned people; passport control; the baggage claim and on a bus to the hotel. Police then came and briefed us. Into the hotel to check in, followed by a police questionnaire. Then some guys from the Navy and Army helped out with bags.
    Two things stood out that would never, ever, happen in the USA, and I’m not sure about the UK. The passport officer was the nicest guy in the world, and finished with “Welcome to Australia. Go well”. And the copper who came on the bus to explain the hotel process started with “Hi I’m Chris”. No rank, nothing officious. They couldn’t have been nicer.
    We get a call from the Nurse on duty every day, and in an environment where it must be really tempting to do everything the same for everyone, they have remembered the information that I am diabetic and eat low carb, and are adjusting my meals accordingly.

    The whole process has been terrifically well handled, and I am impressed.

    • Welcome to Sydney Sitheref2409 – I MUST say I copied & paste & printed your AOB re: arrival & quarrying here & your introduction to it – I give it to she who must be obeyed to forward to our relo’s etc in the UK showing them how it is really done for survival & restarting a close to “normal life” as we can get. I am glad to read that it was “pleasant experience” for you, as it has NOT been for everybody.
      BUT BUT ALWAYS A BUT – HOW DID YOU MANAGE WITH ALL YOUR AILMENTS TO “PROCURE” A VISA?????
      Skippys don’t need a visa to return home – Poms & other “aliens” do – that was how OZ government used to describe people entering & passing thru’ customs in the good ole days.
      Oz is very strict on “infectious diseases/ailments” such as TB etc that can impact on our medical resources.
      Anyhow all the best enjoy your stay/life (If emigrated here) especially as we are now coming into our summer season -hoping lockdown quarantine is NOT too daunting for you. Stay Covid safe & remember to Slip, Slap & Slop – Skippys know what it means.
      regards Jack

  20. I had meant to post this on Friday but I found out that had friend had died, this coming a week after finding out that another old friend had died, didn’t really feel in the mood.

    Reading
    We’d planned to move this year so I’ve been reading stacks of books I don’t want and possibly not allowed to take with me. So mostly folklore, folktales, golden age detectives and Wodehouse. I now subscribe to the New European which has some excellent music articles, Bowie, John Martyn and UK festivals of late.

    Music
    I tend to put radio3 on and listen to stuff I’ve never heard before. I’ve got the Richard and Linda boxset and listened to only one cd, the live 77 tour which as I recall was a very intense experience, which is the reason I bought the boxset.

    Watching
    Period detective series especially from other countries as you don’t know the actors you don’t have to think ‘oh that’s one of our famous thespians, they must have done it or have some bearing on the case’ as in Midsomer Murders.
    The last half of Mastermind unless I know one of the specialist subjects, Only Connect and University Challenge.

    Gigs
    When I found that Upapa epops was doing a solo residency at Collingham Cricket club about 30 miles away I though I must go. I’d last seen him in India two years ago and a chance to see him live and close up that close to home was too good and an opportunity. A small select group were there, one couple I spoke to had travelled from Lincoln to see him. An excellent display, don’t know when he’ll visit these shores again.

    AOB

    Preparing some slides for one of the funerals has occupied some of the time.
    Messing about in photoshop and engaging in badinage with chums on facebook and thanks to taking possession of my new @pencilsqueezer I have started my own cult.

    Had a post 1st and pre 2nd lockdown visit to the gym all on the same day, but I’ve now got a new device for my leg which means I can now walk further so at least I can still get some exercise.

  21. Listening To:
    Lots of Jazz, ancient and modern.
    The second of Martin Freeman & Eddie Piller’s “Jazz On The Corner” compilation albums. Not as good as the first one they put together but worth having.
    “Sunny Side Up” which is a compilation of Melbourne Australia-based artists compiled by Gilles Peterson. Some interesting stuff on it.
    A few albums by Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow, namely “Trios”, “Andande El Tiempo” and “Life Goes On”. All excellent.
    Another, older (’80s) Carla Bley album “Sextet” which has a lovely full-band version of “Lawns” on it (a favourite since I saw the Youtube clip of her and Steve Swallow’s duo version) and “The Girl Who Cried Champagne”, which crops up again in a trio version on “Trios” above.
    “Quarantena” by Tenderlonious, which has it’s moments, as does another from him “The Piccolo-Tender Plays Tubby”.
    The great “Blue Note Re:Imagined” album which was mentioned up above somewhere. There are maybe one or two cuts slightly below par, but overall it’s great.
    A few albums by Alfa Mist, “Structuralism”, “Nocturne” and “Antiphon” which are all pretty good. Possibly not so good is “Epoch”, an early one in collaboration with singer Emmavie.
    “Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery” by “The Comet Is Coming” is great. A proper banger.
    “Band Selects” by Ill Considered is pretty good.
    “I Am Panda” by Chiminyo has it’s moments, but not enough really.
    Mark Kavuma’s albums “Kavuma” and “The Banger Factory” are pretty good, The Banger Factory being the better one.
    A compilation of old Lennie Tristano piano recordings, “All Time Jazz” is ace. An amazing player. Tipped off to him by Jamie Cullum on his BBC Radio 2 show. Another good tip from him was “Gyroscope” by The Gordon Beck Trio, Beck being another neglected piano hero.
    I was reminded of the existence of Melody Gardot’s “Worrisome Heart” and “My One And Only Love” and it was nice to hear them again.
    I gave Claire Martin & Jim Mullen’s “Bumpin’-Celebrating Wes Montgomery” a listen but was a bit disappointed. Claire’s singing seemed a bit half-hearted on some of it. Not enough of Jim’s playing either. I’ve seen more fire from both of them in live concerts. A rather strange project anyway, making a vocal album of Wes Montgomery tunes.
    “Tresilian Bay” by Huw Marc Bennett is interesting. A sort of blending of electronic minimalism with afrobeat and dub reggae. Good on the first listen or two but my enthusiasm has now cooled somewhat.
    A mention by Pencilsqueezer sent me back to Eivind Aarset’s “Light Extracts” and “Electronique Noire” and “Connected” got a listen too. Still very enjoyable.
    A trio of albums of John Zorn’s melodic compositions for his “Dreamers” band proved very rewarding. “The Gift”, “The Dreamers” and “O’o” are just superb. Marc Ribot’s guitar and Jamie Saft’s keyboards predominate, over Kenny Wolleson’s vibraphone and Cyro Baptista’s percussion, with Trevor Dunn’s bass and Joey Baron’s drums. Mr Zorn conducts, arranges and does not play.
    Playing some of Eivind Aarset’s albums reminded me of his work with superlative Tunisian singer/oud player Dhafer Youssef, so “Birds Requiem” got a well-deserved spin.
    Another jazz radio show, “Jazz World with Linley Hamilton” on BBC Radio Ulster reminded me that I was a bit lacking in Bob Brookmeyer recordings so “Bob Brookmeyer & Friends” got a play, chez moi.
    There are a few good jazz programmes to be found on the BBC these days. BBC Radio Scotland has “Jazz Nights” usually presented in a somewhat gushing style by singer/violinist Seonaid Aitken. She plays some good stuff and there’s an interesting section of the show where a pianist buddy takes a jazz standard, explains how the tune works with examples from different versions on record and then plays a version himself, solo.
    Jamie Cullum, on his BBC R2 show reminded me how great David Axelrod’s early albums were, but that’s straying into what I was listening to in September.

    Reading:
    Bingeing on crime/espionage fiction.
    Mick Herron’s “Slough House” series was fairly quickly consumed. Very readable with some very dark humour and some pathos amongst the all-too-likely contemporary skullduggery.
    The most recent of Andrew Cartmel’s Vinyl Detective stories “Low Action” was OK. Not as good as the best of the series but nothing to be ashamed of.
    I downloaded Martina Cole’s “Crime Is A Family Affair” quartet of London gangster books but was struggling by the middle of the first volume “Faces”. The subject of the story is such an extremely vile person, a psychopathic megalomaniac, that I’ve stopped and turned to less dark fare for now.
    It also seems to me that, by use of repetition, the author is rubbing our noses in just how evil the protagonist is and also padding the narrative out.
    A 99p a pop Kindle offer on all but the most recent of Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko detective novels has had me filling my boots. I read “Wolves Eat Dogs” and then “Polar Star” in paperbacks my brother gave me when he downsized his abode a few months back. Out of sequence but wtf.
    Next will come “Gorky Park” which I will be interested to compare with what I remember of the movie adaptation. That was quite a few years ago. A good writer and good plots on the two I’ve read.
    I’ve now got a subscription to Private Eye. My first edition arrived in Friday’s post.

    TV:
    Just junk, mostly, and not very much. I’ve worked my way through the “Inspector Montalbano” series on the BBC iPlayer. Watched a BBC 4 doco on Ella Fitzgerald and watched a bit of Devs.

    Movies:
    None. It’s months since I watched any movies.

    AOB:
    Stir crazy, with no live music to go to. Caught up on my old Mojo & Uncut crosswords and then binned (recycling) the mags. I got rid of the unsightly living room curtains and put up a venetian blind in their place. Weekly Zoom meetings with a few old friends. An inspection visit from my landlady’s letting agent. Apart from that it’s mostly eating, drinking, sleeping, quick trips to the supermarket for essentials

    • Seonaid Aitken is a fascinating lass. As well as top notch classical violinist, and her jazz singer status, which leaves me cold, she is also the go to girl for Scottish folk string sections. Saw and spoke with her at a Roddy Woomble gig a decade or so ago, since when she pops up in loadsa stuff, especially Blue Rose Code

  23. Late to the show for this thread (story of my life)

    Listening
    As much podcasts as music and also wrapped up in the writing and recording of a new Feedback File album which takes up most of my ‘music’ time. Of the things I have heard the new Fleet Foxes – ‘Shore’ stands out. I haven’t really followed them much since that lovely first album but this is very calming and apt for these days.

    Reading
    Nearly finished Midnight Atlanta, by Thomas Mullen. The 3rd instalment of the Darktown series. It focusses on the years just after the 2nd World War where the first black police unit has been set up in Atlanta. Cant recommend these enough. Also really enjoyed ‘Days Without End’ by Sebastian Barry which I think someone mentioned earlier. Also “Where The Crawdads Sing’ – evocative and beautifully written. Would also like to give a shout out to my brother in law Bill McGuire who has just produced his first novel – ‘Skyseed’ which is a post apocalyptic environmental thriller.

    Watching
    We have become quite engrossed in ‘Call My Agent’ (thanks @Twang) – funny, heartfelt and sexy in a way that only the French can do well. ‘The Chicago Seven’ film on Netflix was superb – based on real events and and with just the right amount of humour to offset the seriousness of the subject matter. Of course being able to watch my team (Rotherham United) via the iFollow website site been a life saver – I’ve now forgotten that there are no fans and get totally engrossed in the action. Also been catching up with the latest ‘Later’ series where Jools interview musicians and get them to pick favourite moment from over the years. The Jarvis Cocker episode was great and I loved the attached performance by Jonathan Richman (the bit where he pronounces ‘Guitar!’ is priceless. Finally that on-going saga ‘Trump’ is a must – what will we all do after he’s gone (will he ever be gone ?) – lot of pressure on Bojo to keep us laughing.

    Other
    Concerted effort to reduce alcohol and meat intake. Enjoying the veggie food but at the cost of producing prodigious amounts of wind. Still I have two dogs and can always blame them.

    • I’m glad you posted. I didn’t know there was a new Darktown book out. I loved the previous two so am looking forward to this. It’s going on my Xmas list. Thanks.

  24. AOB – work has dominated my last few months (who’d’ ve thunk it, people wanting therapy?!) and that’s involved a heap of on and offline CPD courses, mainly in the area of trauma. And the way brains work, forever pattern matching to make life easier, when I read the words ‘Trauma therapy’ I see the word ‘TRaUMa theraPy’…

    Seen: As a counter to the above, I’ve loved season 2 of Undercover (Netflix), the Dutch-Belgian cop series. Poor dubbing, reminiscent of The Flashing Blade, but just the ticket.
    Only Connect and University Challenge have been grand, though on the latter there doesn’t seem to be anyone on the level of the American guy from Imperial last year.

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