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  1. I’ll pass on the banana bread thanks……

    Read: the new Charlie Parker book The Dirty South, a prequel to the series. Very good, as usual. The rest of the To Be Read pile is still more or less intact although I am part way through Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett, a recentish history of, er, Spain.

    Heard: mainly podcasts. Trump Inc, Pod Save America, Here’s the Thing, Americast (honestly, I’ll be glad when the US election is over but I’ve got this far….) and I’m a recent convert to No Such Thing As A Fish. Listening to Radio Paradise when out and about. Lots of Country this afternoon which was ok although I prefer it when they are a little more College Radio.

    Seen: Not a lot. Broadcast tv is in the doldrums. I have been working my way through Alias while I’m on the crosstrainer but it’s pretty stupid. My daughter and I did watch Train to Busan, a Korean zombie movie which got better as it went on.

    AOB: I quit delivering for Amazon. It’s modern slavery. I’m now dipping my toe into the world of music promotion and have my first gig in three weeks time at a local venue. It’s been quite slow to get interested parties to commit which is very different to how I’m used to working but tickets are on sale so we’ll see how it goes. I’ve got another potential one for the beginning of November and that may produce a contact for something else. It’s possible that there’s another micro business here but It’s very early days.

  2. Read: not a huge amount apart from the usual Readly mags. I finished Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, inspired by the famous photo of the man falling from the Twin Towers on 9/11, which I thought was brilliant – subtle and suggestive.

    Also read More Was Lost, by Eleanor Perenyi, not something I would normally have come across, but it was recommended by someone on Twitter and it caught my fancy. The American author was 19 and touring Europe with her parents in 1937 when she met the proverbial handsome prince at a dinner in Budapest. They fell instantly in love, married in short order and went to live in his castle in a part of Hungary that was sometimes in Czechoslovakia. Talk about steep learning curve – she spoke no Hungarian, which is a really difficult language, and had to learn how to manage a castle, estate, servants etc, a lot of the time without hubby who was off being noble somewhere else. All the time war was looming. An extraordinary book. Spoiler – they both survived the war but the marriage didn’t.

    Now reading new Jane Harper, The Survivors. Loved her first, The Dry, and her third, The Lost Man, slightly underwhelmed by the second, Force of Nature, and so far I’m slightly underwhelmed by the fourth, it’s taking a while to get going. If you haven’t read Jane Harper, try her odd-numbered books first.

    Seen: We keep trying to go to the movies but somehow never manage it. Discovered Kanopy, an extraordinary streaming service funded by universities and libraries worldwide, with a fantastic list of indie and classic movies and docs. It’s only available in a few places in London, unfortunately, so don’t get too excited. We’ve seen several excellent movies, all of which had previously passed us by, including People Places Things with Jemaine Clement (him out of Flight of the Conchords, really good), a graphic artist trying to make a go of being a divorced parent of twin girls in some unhip part of NYC. Utterly charming. Also the reboot of Henry James’s What Maisie Knew, with Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan terrific as the hopelessly self-obsessed parents of the 7-year-old Maisie, who doesn’t miss a thing. Also A Month of Sundays, an Aussie flick with Anthony LaPaglia and the much-lamented John Clarke. The copywriter just threw in the towel: “A MONTH OF SUNDAYS is about parents, children, regrets, mourning, moments of joy, houses, homes, love, work, television, Shakespeare and jazz fusion: about ordinary people and improbable salvation.” Trust me, it’s good. It’s great to have all these neglected movies on tap.

    Also two episodes in on series 4 of The Good Fight, which is even more demented than usual. Over here it’s being drip-fed an episode a week, which is not what I’m used to, but I expect I’ll adjust.

    Heard: nothing unusual to report, the usual muddle of stuff that takes my fancy.

  3. I’ve been with the in-laws for a month, and will be here until mid-October.

    Read: binging Elizabeth George (Inspector Lynley) and Dorothy L Sayers, as well as whatever comics I can pick up free on the Libby app – Captain Marvel was excellent, and so too some of the Spiderman runs.

    Listened to: mainly podcasts. Just dipping in here and there but nothing worth specifying.

    Watched: Astros baseball, College Football. Inspector Lynley on Britbox and PBS replays. Finally, finally watched Wolf Hall across 3 days, and can’t praise it enough – superb TV. Working back through Frankie Drake and Endeavour now. Also as much rugby as you can shake a stick at – NRL, Super League, Premiership, Super 14, EPRC.

    It’s an odd lifestyle right now, but pleasant enough.

  4. Went to London for the first time in 8 months. Strange experience, the tube was virtually empty.

    Covid watch –
    Male dodgers (quelle surprise … who could possibly have guessed?) are the real problem, aren’t they. Good luck if any of you live next to a group of Mediterranean/East European men aged 20-35, because, in my short visit to the capital, it was abundantly clear that that particular body of our population COULDN’T GIVE A SHITE! It was almost Cummings in scope in its “completely not giving a monkey’s!”

    Sport –
    The local football clubs are going through hoops to get everything right. In my ongoing history of the local club (I’m currently in 1947), 2020 is going to have a chapter all to itself. This weekend both the 1st XI. and the Women’s teams are at home. On Tuesday, masked-up, we’re going to an away match. Last Wednesday we went to see the local rivals play away. Now, is the time to lump-on for I fear such excursions won’t be available soon.

    Cinema –
    Very quiet, but this month going to see the Bill Nighy/Annette Benning film and the Frida Kahlo exhibition on screen.

    Music –
    Bought the Grateful Dead Uncut Special – bit dull but looks good on the shelf.
    Biggest event this month was obviously Jimi’s anniversary, so my go-to Jimi (b-sides and “Cry of Love”) got a considerable work out.
    Otherwise, “Smile,” at least once every day. Listening to it now.

    • @deramdaze what did you think of Hope Gap? I thought Annette Benning was astonishingly good but was slightly disappointed with Bill Nighy. I am not sure he was the right actor for the role. For me Bill Nighy is only ever Bill Nighy – he plays that part okay but once you have seen it a couple of times the attraction wears off.

  5. Heard
    ‘Cwmwl’ by Cerys Hafana. I read somewhere that the “Aberystwyth Arts Centre Ian McKellen Award” for 2020 was recently awarded to a young Welsh musician, Cerys Havana Hickman, a multi instrumentalist. Her principal instruments are harp and piano, but she also plays clarinet and violin. Curious, I thought I’d check out her music. She performs as a solo artist under the name Cerys Hafana and has just released her first CD, Cwmwl. It’s been described as her take on Welsh folk music (she is a member of Avanc: the Youth Folk Ensemble of Wales), but I found it reminded me a bit of some Japanese ambient music I have, like Hiroshi Yoshimura’s. Quiet, minimalist and beautiful.

    Read
    The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I haven’t read many Man Booker Prize winners (how come that hasn’t been changed to Person Booker Prize? Outrageous!) but the few I have read I’ve really enjoyed -Life Of Pi, Vernon God Little, Sense of an Ending, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, The Remains of the Day. The White Tiger is no exception. After recently reading the ultra-long and often unbearably tedious Shantaram it was great to read a novel set in India that is witty and fun and irreverent in it’s portrayal of the country.

    Seen
    Schindler’s List by Steven Spielberg. Talking of Man Booker Prize winners, I have never read Schindler’s Ark, but decided on a whim that I’d like to see Spielberg’s film again, after not having seen it since it first came out. I was absolutely blown away. It has really stood the test of time well. Obviously the story is an emotionally powerful one, but what really got me was how beautiful it is. Every frame is absolutely gorgeous to look at, even in the most harrowing scenes.
    I also saw a film called Under The Silver Lake, written, produced and directed by David Robert Mitchell and starring Andrew Garfield. I like Garfield and enjoyed Mitchell’s previous film, It Follows. But this was pretentious nonsense. Pile o’ shite.

  6. Watched the ITV drama ‘Des’ based on Dennis Nilsen. Quite enjoyed it, interesting that they based it on events after the killings. Does make you wonder how many poor souls in the 80s disappeared after arriving in London and how inadequate the police were to deal with it.

    Been listening to two new albums, both of which I highly recommend;

    Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song.
    The Flaming Lips – American Head.

  7. This seems to come around quicker every month. Nothing earth-shattering in September, but some cosy stuff which matches the earlier evenings.

    Read

    Low Action is the fifth and latest in Andrew Cartmel’s Vinyl Detective series. Our hero must track down a rare early pressing off an all-female punk band’s first album, withdrawn because the playing was ‘too good’, while also finding out who is trying to kill one of them. It’s not the best in the series (to date that would be the third one, Victory Disc) and suffers somewhat from a lack of significant peril to the Scooby Gang cast of regular characters, but if you like their company it’s an easy and engrossing read.

    I finally got around to Elton John’s autobiography Me, or rather the library reservation which I’ve had in place for months finally got around to me. Obviously, I’m late to the party with this, but I share the general view that it’s a fun, gossipy read in which Elt doesn’t spare his own blushes or anyone else’s. Scores are settles with his mother, anecdotes shared about everyone from Freddie Mercury to the Queen, and anyone looking for thorough insight into his songwriting or recording processes will come away deeply disappointed.

    Seen

    The best things I have seen all month are probably some old Avengers episodes watched in memorium Diana Rigg and 30 Rock which I got caught up in all over again once I watched the pilot on Now TV.

    For current programming, I have liked the second series Ghosts on BBC, which has some cleverly plotted moments and suggestions of sweary bits while still being basically a genial and amusing kids’ programme moved to the mid evening slot. And David Tennant and Daniel Mayes were both superb in Des, and the photography captured the grim, smoky 1980s atmosphere very well. Tennant’s Dennis Nilson was the bland, almost featureless character seen in real life footage after his arrest, but I would have liked to see some of the flashes of anger which home video footage from earlier in his life gave away. It might have made more sense of how such an anonymous man was also such a monster.

    I’ve been watching Us on BBC too, mainly for the images of unrestricted travel through some of my favourite cities in Europe. The downside is how unlikeable the central family are. Please, please get divorced so you can stop making each other miserable and never see each other again.

    A rare visit to the cinema, rarer than ever this year of course, was made for Bill and Ted Face the Music, which I reviewed on these pages. I liked lots of bits of it, but if I came out feeling well-disposed towards the film it was mainly because it wasn’t the total disaster I had feared it might be.

    Heard

    No so much. A couple of days after Dana Rigg died we made a tribute visit to the village of Aldbury where a couple of later Avengers episodes, notably Murdersville, were filmed. We stayed at the Travelodge in Hemel Hempstead, which is a location as grim as you might imagine though the room was large and comfortable, and a rummage around the charity shops in the town turned up a stash of early Rolling Stones CD’s. So those have been on rotation as I work from home

  8. Heard.
    Apart from listening to Bersarin Quartett from soup to nuts the music that I have returned to most frequently during September has been in no particular order…
    Eivind Aarset’s Electronique Noire – Light Extracts.
    Andrew Wasylyk – Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation.
    Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters.
    John Surman – Withholding Pattern.
    Sault – Untitled ( Black Is ).
    Sault – Untitled ( Rise ).
    Ben Lukas Boysen – Mirage.
    Caribou – Suddenly.
    Julia Kent – Character.
    Peter Broderick – Blackberry.
    Wilma Archer – A Western Circular.
    Buika – El Ultimo Trago.
    Joep Beving – Henosis.
    Stacy Kent – Dreamville.

    Read.
    Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton.
    The Cloven – Brian Catling.
    The Summer Book – Tove Jansson.
    The Devil All The Time – Donald Ray Pollock.
    The Narrow Road To The Deep South – Richard Flanagan.
    The Unsettled Dust – Robert Aickman.
    We Have Always Lived In The Castle – Shirley Jackson.
    Foxglove Summer – Ben Aaronovitch.
    The Long-legged Fly – James Sallis.
    Best Served Cold – Joe Abercrombie.
    Rogue Male – Geoffrey Household.

    Seen.
    The Boys which is ongoing.
    5 Da Bloods. Which was mostly crap.
    I know I’ve watched other things, other things that have obviously made such little impression on me I can’t remember what they were. So those.

    A.O.B.
    Painting, drawing, basic survival.
    Practising with mounting success not giving a fu*k.

    • I’m loving both Sault albums. Minimal but wonderfully effective, everything resting on beautiful bass lines.

      I also like Disclosure’s Energy. It’s the sound of a DJ pleasing himself before people start arriving at the club. They say you should dance as though no-one is watching and sing as though no-one is listening. Disclosure is DJ-ing when no-one is dancing. It’s fascinating and quite magnificent.

      • It’s definitely one of my favourite albums of this hideous year.
        There are a few on that short list that will make that particular cut. The Fiona Apple is magnificent as are both the Sault albums and the Ben Lukas Boysen.

        • I had a Patrick Hamilton binge when I was student, imagining a life of decaying dissolution. Wonderful stuff. The male equivalent of Anita Brookner books, in an odd way. Even precursive echoes of Ann Tyler, of small lives not always well or happily led. A bit like my miserabilist taste in music.

          • I am re-reading a few books here and there, this was one of those. I intended to have a second tilt at Proust but bottled it at the last moment. I do have the occasional lucid moment, not often I grant you but now and again sanity puts in a cameo appearance.

  9. Read:
    Beatles book about 1969. So much happened despite winding down the brand, despite not touring, well apart from the rooftop concert, despite Lennon’s supposed narcotic incapacity. He in particular was here, there and everywhere, Montreal, Amsterdam, Gibraltar. You think you know it all but there’s always more to read.
    Remain In Love, Chris Frantz’s memoir. He seems pleased with himself, with reason you have to say. Lots of tales of pretty bad behaviour by various famous names. Quite gossipy stuff, which is entertaining. Nothing dull here.
    Listening: Lana Del Rey back cat. which is mostly new to me. A kind of goth chanteuse for the 21st century hip hop era of modern, dance pop. Bruce is a fan you know.
    TV: We are watching an Italian series called The Miracle. A statue of the Madonna is found which cries blood non-stop and no one knows why. It appears to be a miracle. Characters include the prime minister and his family plus a priest who is addicted to gambling and is in trouble with moneylenders. He sees the Madonna and regains his faith. Darkly comic goings on and bizarre events. Well worth checking out.

  10. Not much in the way of music, but I have read Susanna Clarke’s new novel ‘Piranesi’. Just wonderful.

    Rather different, but Formula One fans might like Mark Hughes’ ‘F1 Retro: 1970’. I missed this when it came out a few years ago. Goes through the season race-by-race, with additional chapters on the cars, engines and drivers. I shall buy the follow-up which deals with 1980.

    I’ve just started Ian Dunt’s ‘How To Be A Liberal’. Not found a swear-word yet, which is slightly disappointing.

      • Our copy was bought from Waterstones, and was one of their ‘exclusive’ issues. It has an additional chapter at the back, which it frankly doesn’t need. I wonder if it was a section edited out of the novel during writing. If so, I can see why.

        They’ve done this with Ben Aaronvitch’s Rivers Of London series, but at least the extra content is a short story.

        • Mine too. I pre-ordered it as soon as I was able to do so. It hasn’t disappointed. Hopefully the wait for a third novel won’t be quite so long as the wait for this second one was but if waiting means that we get another fabulous tale then so be it.

    • Mark Hughes’ ‘F1 Retro: 1970’:
      “… a technical section uses the benefit of hindsight and modern simulation tools to analyse each design, including fascinating CFD analysis of the title-winning Lotus 72”

      Sold!
      (just need to find it a better price than the Amazon offer – half a kidney!)

      • I bought mine from Chaters bookshop, from their ebay store. Not discounted, but worth it. Photos are from the LAT library, many unpublished, well selected. Chaters appear to have some at £50.00

  11. Watched: Like many turned into Des, which was excellent. And nice to see that Daniel Mays turning up on the telly for a change. Two minds about The Third Day, might casually lose the will to continue. Splurged through Ratched, an entertaining and beautifully filmed comic noir based on the character from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. And of course, series 3 of Whitehouse and Mortimer, which gets better with each series.
    Read: Currently getting thru’ The Secret Barrister, which is proving quite a scary read.
    Listened: Lots of old, often for a first time, prompted by casual reminders as shuffle hits a nerve. So it has been the various back catalogues of Gay and Terry Woods, separately and together. They could have been Richard and Linda Thompson with better publicists. Some writing about tribute albums had me find Fire on the Montain, 2 volumes of reggae honouring the Dead. I rediscovered the Blue Aeroplanes, buying Swagger for the first time, enjoying the multi layered density of guitar.
    New included the new Bebel Gilberto, Agora, which is superb, bar the token track in English, and is a blend of bossa and electronica that delights these ears. Bear’s Den have reprised several songs with a chamber orchestra. Called Fragments, it gives a different spin to their nuanced indie-folk vibe. Finally, Monovision, the latest Ray LaMontagne, has proven a huge disappointment of derivative tosh, echoing all the worst vocals of CCR with the instrumental blandness of the Stray Gators. Where are the songs, Ray?
    Other: As ever, am having another week away before all the doors close in again, this time in the splendour of the Wrekin and the Severn Gorge. And what a terrific place it is, with not even the proximity to Telford and a Telford postcode can quench. Could live here and we possibly will.

  13. Read:
    Midge Ure – If I Was. There’s more to Midge than Vienna, and he makes sure you know it (Vienna takes up no more than a page, but is often referred back to in the tone of “that’s all people know me for”.
    He knows he’s not perfect, but has a firm belief in himself,and comes across as a top bloke.

    Just started Elvis Costello’s – Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink. There’s a bit of weight to it, so should keep me going for a while. Reads at times like your having a chat with him, as the prose bounces between stories and timelines.

    Mojo continues it’s 1 in 3 hit rate – this month’s is a fine read indeed (and a great CD too)

    Seen:
    Finished Line Of Duty last month, started and finished Luther this month, just started on The Fall.
    I now have a list of all these Brit Cop Drama I missed first time round.
    Any other recommendations?

    Heard:
    As I’m reading his book, it’s only right EC is getting an airing.
    Kate Rusby’s Hand Me Down has had many spins.
    Fontaines DC and Sports Team still making regular appearances.
    Damned – Rockfield Files EP early release tracks and bits on YouTube has had plenty of listening, and the new Sensible Grey Cells album (Get Back Into the World – due Nov) is on order.

        • I started watching (Canadian show) Cardinal after a recommendation here. I think I may be done with these series that have increasing body counts, all shown in very graphic detail, normally with 2 ill matched cops coming from different backgrounds …

          Incidentally Cardinal is described on the BBC iPlayer as taking place in “Northern Canada”, it is actually roughly set about 3 and a half hours north of Toronto which is very much southern Canada.

    • Re Brit Cop dramas – the one that I really enjoyed was Unforgotten – cold case investigations. There have been three series (each about 6 episodes ?). I think it was ITV so won’t be on iPlayer, but maybe on their equivalent.,,..

  14. Seen: Following a recommendation by Andrew Harrison on the Bigmouth podcast podcast I caught up on Mandy on the iPlayer, a gloriously grotesque character played to perfection by Diane Morgan.
    I watched Upload on A****n Prime which, despite having a premise quite similar to the only recently finished Good Place, turned out to be quite enjoyable in its own right..

    Heard: Following a recommendation by Andrew Harrison on the Bigmouth podcast I allowed myself to get a wee bit excited about the new Public Enemy album. Oh dear.
    Mind, it’s already October and, although there’s been loads of great new music this year I’ve only discovered one album which totally satisfies from start to finish.

    Read: Well, re-read Carl Sagan’s book accompanying the Cosmos tv show. It’s a cracking read, of course but in these particular times it has the added value of providing perspective, a voice of sanity and a reminder of the amazing ingenuity of the brighter members of our species. There’s also a lot of optimism about the future in there (from the late seventies perspective of the threat of imminent nuclear war) which I felt seeping into me as I turned the pages.
    I’ve made a start on Marlon James’ A Short History Of Seven Killings – old hat to many on here, I suspect. A bit dizzying at the start, what with all the different voices, but I’m getting on top of it, (I think).

    Looking forward to: I’ll take a look at the new Brave New World, although more in hope than expectation and I’ve got my fingers crossed that the new Open Mike Eagle album will come close to his last and, if not, I hope to be thrilled by someone completely new – the good stuff must come soon!

    • I enjoyed Brave New World, although it veered so far away from the novel I felt they should have sold it as a sequel to the original story. They could have called it Braver Newer World or something. There’s an actor in it called Harry Loyd. He first caught my attention when he was in Doctor Who episodes Family of Blood and Human Nature. He stood out enough for me to remember his character’s name, Baines. He’s easily the best thing in Brave New World, where he plays Bernard. His deadpan comedic timing is very charming and entertaining and the scenes with him in are by far the most fun to watch.

      • Thanks for the tip about Baines, Gary. Without it, I would have been distracted throughout Ep 1 wondering where I knew that guy from.
        Also: should have mentioned The Secret History Of Writing on Beeb 4. The first two episodes were informative – and great calligraphy porn – but the third and last episode, about the cultural and political significance of completing alphabets, was exceptionally good..

  15. I’ve barely listened to any music at all this month…probably because the radio is on all day at work, so I really long for silence once I get home! Haven’t bought any new albums either – most of my money went towards paying for all of the new furniture I’ve been putting together, plus a big book haul, because besides fixing up my flat and going to work, all I do is read these days.

    Read:
    I found Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve in a charity shop and took a punt, but I didn’t like it at all. Badly written, unsatisfactory lore, lots of silly YA tropes. Annoying.

    Neil Gaiman can be hit or miss for me, either very good or very dull, but Stardust ended up somewhere in between, closer to very good than to dull but not quite there. Lots of fun while reading it, but melts like a meringue from memory once it’s finished.

    A book by Swedish author (and former member of the Academy) Kerstin Ekman about Tullia, the daughter of Cicero. Except all we know about her is what her father wrote in his letters, so she speculates a little about her life and most of the book (sort of an essay) instead talk about the Roman Empire in general, what we know and mostly don’t know about the life of Roman women, the life of Cicero, Ekman’s school days and how she was taught Latin and fell in love with these subjects, Roman poetry and poets, Roman gods, wars, emperors etc. All very interesting, but this book doesn’t go deep enough on any subject and end up feeling confusing and slight.

    A short novel by Bangladesh author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (the Swedish title translates to “The Widow Who Refused To Die” but I’ve lent it to my mum so I can’t check for an actual title), which was a sort of feelgood read including a ghost, lighthearted and fun, but also interesting to read a story from a culture I’m not very familiar with.

    A collection of the letters of Mme de Sévignés, not the most entertaining or interesting letters I’ve read (and I’ve read quite a few, since it’s a book genre that I collect), but interesting enough. Most of my complaints actually had more to do with the presentation of this selection, the erratic and less than perfect use of footnotes, the incomplete list of characters etc.

    I completely fell in love with Blindness by José Saramago, which I bought years ago but never got around to reading until I now remembered that it deals with an epidemic and thought “if not now, when?” Brilliant, beautiful novel, grim but also hopeful. Lots of images that stays with you long after reading it.

    I’m now half-way through two novels: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp. Gyasi’s debut novel was one of my favourite reads that year, this one is not as good, this far at least.
    Having only seen the film version of Cluny Brown (one of my favourite comedies) it suddenly occured to me that I ought to read the novel and compare them. The novel is very funny, and very different from the film – which is also very funny, but things happen differently in the script than in the book, is what I mean. And the two main characters are described as very plain and unattractive, which you can’t say of Jennifer Jones and Charles Boyer… Anyway, it makes me giggle on my commute regardless. Still prefer the film though!

    Seen:
    I can’t remember what I’ve watched, a few documentaries probably, and the usual stuff like University Challenge. This year’s crop seems rather unimpressive so far (not that I could do much better!)

    Lovely autumn weather so far, warm and sunny mostly. Almost finished putting furniture together, unpacking boxes is another matter… My tactics of working slowly has saved my back at least, but I’m getting tired of being surrounded by chaos and I’m very much looking forward to being done with all of it! Especially since I have a list of new projects that I’m eager to get time to start on soon.

  16. Reading: Damon Runyon
    Listening: Beach Boys binge (happens every few years), plus a lot of Mingus.
    Watching: catching up with Schitt’s Creek (much better than its off-putting title) and DEVS (thanks to here).
    Doing: not spending money – not out of meanness – little income, few needs. Sending new novel out to potential agents (Afterworder review: “It’s absolutely fucking brilliant, I loved every minute of it. Compulsively readable, great dialogue.” Shame it won’t get published. Watching the weather (rainy season struggling into “cold” season – epic skies). Having teeth pulled (it’s like getting a response from an agent).

  17. HEARD:
    Inspired by a nudge from @retropath2 I sought out the 8cd set of Sinead O’Connor rarities known as the Black album. Mostly very good indeed but with the occasional drop in standards. Her version of Raglan Road is absolutely amazing but her 10 minute T

  18. HEARD:
    Inspired by a nudge from @retropath2 I sought out the 8cd set of Sinead O’Connor rarities known as the Black album. Mostly very good indeed but with the occasional drop in standards. Her version of Raglan Road is absolutely amazing but her 10 minute techno version of Troy isn’t.
    At the same time I found a Chrissie Hynde/James Walbourne lockdown recording of Dylan covers which is rather nice. It contains my favourite Dylan song Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
    The Prince Sign O’the Times box and the Richard/Linda Thompson boxes are both excellent and I have no idea where the claims of poor sound quality for the latter originate because they are patently not true. Anyway apparently it has now sold out so it seems enough ignored the spurious claims.
    Flaming Lips American Head is closer to the sound of Yoshimi/Soft Bulletin than anything else they have released in the intervening years.
    I have been lucky with Osees stuff this year as John Dwyer continues his prodiguous output without cmpromising quality. First up the new Osees album Protean Fear comes out and then we get his supergroup effort Bent Arcana which gets its influence from Can and Miles Davis. No sooner are these released then it is announced there is a companion Osees album to Protean Fear. Adding the Brigid Dawson album from earlier in the summer and it has been an all round excellent year for fans of this quirky psychedelic outfit.
    I purchased the anniversary version of Roberta Flack’s First Take- the bonus cd of unreleased songs is an absolute gem. Her version of Nobody Knows you when you’re down and out is just stupendous – how did this not appear on the original album?
    Finally Rose City Band album Summerlong turned up – its a fitting title as I have been waiting all summer for it to turn up – worth the wait though, a lovely gentle vibe that perfectly suited the tail end of the fine weather as Autumn reared it’s head.

    READ:
    Finished the Stuart Maconie Long Road from Jarrow book which I enjoyed very much but it is disturbing to see the similarities between 1936 and 2016.
    Currently reading Clare Macintosh Let me Lie – I like her writing and this one is shaping up to be an engrossing plot with no small amount of suspense.

    WATCHED:
    Us started off well but left me a little disappointed. Considering David Nicholls was an executive producer I thought the casting was a wrong. The mum and the son were fine – close to the book but the dad just came across as a sap. It is a while since I read the book but I thought they tinkered around with the ending.
    Hope Gap which @deramdaze mentions had a great performance by Annette Benning but a wooden performance by Bill Nighy. I get that his character was supposed to be infuriating to his wife and I get why she would want to slap him. Maybe that was good acting but I couldnt find any empathy with the character and really wanted something bad to happen to him.
    Gone Fishing continues to delight – absolutely delightful.
    Finally a complete unexpected gem. You know that time when you go to bed and just randomly flick channels to see if anything catches your eye when really you should just go to sleep? We had such a night and I stumbled across an Aussie Film noir movie called Goldstone. Never heard of it but I was riveted from the opening credits. Basic premise is a washed out cop goes out into outback to investigate the disappearance of a Chinese ‘Working girl’. He stumbles across bribery and corruption on an industrial scale as a company try to expand a mine that needs ‘Blackfella acceptance’.Cue aborigine ‘suicide’ and all sorts of shenanigans from the local feisty female mayor. A brilliant film that left me open jawed.

        • Both series of Mystery Road are on iplayer (for the next 10 months or so, plenty of time to catch up) the second series finished on BBC4 last night.
          It’s very cinematic, moody, elegiac (pretty to look at, but may be a bit slow if you’re not in the right mood)
          Essentially it’s a “Kangeroo Western”

          • Fair. I saw them via Acorn TV ages ago, after I discovered Aaron Pedersen on Jack Irish (which, if you haven’t read or watched I urge you to)

            I’m hoping they’ll be available when I do my two weeks quarantine!

            Kangaroo Western is a great phrase that I will shamelessly steal.

            • Thank you. The phrase popped into my head when trying to describe it. Definitely the vibe they’re going for.
              I like Aussie dramas because they tend to mix US type locations with a UK style of dialogue – I’ll have to check out Jack Irish

              • Regardless of whether you can get the shows, I can’t recommend the books enough. Peter Temple is a fantastic writer, who can wring more out of a five word sentence than anyone I know.

                Sharon got me his final compilation for my birthday, and it’s one of my favorite books.

  19. Listening to new-ish ones from the Pretenders, Chuck Prophet, H. C. McEntire, Kathleen Edwards and Mary Chapin Carpenter, all top notch if that’s your bag.
    Have just invested in David Hepworth’s new tome. I like the way he writes and have enjoyed most of his previous books.
    Watching loads of crap telly from my hospital bed. I’m told that my hip replacement will be life changing. Managed to get from my bed to a chair this morning, That London Marathon feels a long way off.

  20. I’ve surrendered to the fact that I actually like Dire Straits, after nearly forty years of denial. I’ve been listening to the first album and of course it’s lovely. The fact that they put something out like that in 1978, given the musical climate in the UK at the time, is admirable in itself.

    Similarly – The Pet Shop Boys. Turns out I think they’re great. Who is this stranger that’s been living in my head all these years?

  21. Read:
    In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes. Atmospheric 1940’s noir set around LA. Very dark and claustrophobic. Excellent.

    Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Lonely woman in Glasgow tries to navigate every day life while clearly damaged by her past. Some funny moments but never really took off for me.

    Heard:
    Neu! The first album. Great experimental but not too mad krautrock. Didn’t expect the white vinyl. Seems wrong somehow.

    STRFKR – Future Past Life. Heavy on the synths. Sounds a bit Beck which is fine with me.

    Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix. Maybe their finest album. So many great tunes.

    Watched:
    Rake on Netflix. Drama about an Australian barrister who is a lovable rogue. Very good. Reminds me a bit of Minder in an odd way

    • I’m reading Eleanor Oliphant now. My reaction is similar to yours, but I’m reading it on the recommendation of some people who identified with bits of it very strongly. I guess a lot of people feel ‘seen’ and empathised with by it.

  22. In the middle of reading a.m. homes’ May We Be Forgiven which is simultaneously the funniest and most tragic book I’ve read since Garp. There are so many twists and zinging situations I can hardly keep up. Only a third of the way through so far, but this has got enough ideas in it to maintain a good three series of primetime Netflix drama.
    In my daytime downtime I’ve just finished Barney Hoskyns’ Trampled Under Foot, which is an as exhaustively footnoted history of Led Zeppelin as anyone might possibly need. Many of the protagonists come out of it surprisingly sympathetically, given that it is all based around first hand testimony, Ross Halfin aside. A couple of minor surprises for me around Rat Scabies peripheral involvement, and Guy Pratt is reliably enlivening.

    I have been watching Season Two of Ghosts and trying to ration the ‘box set’ version so as to not run out of episodes within a fortnight. It’s a lovely,old-fashioned family sitcom, and surprisingly moving at times, when the ghosts‘ back stories are explored.
    We also signed up for Disney+, which meant I could watch the long-awaited/delayed Kenneth Branagh production of Artemis Fowl, featuring Dame Judi Dench. I refer m’learned friends to my contemporaneous notes, in which I reflect that “…the best thing about it is its brevity. Kenny (and/or his writers) has taken a perfectly good story, thrown it out of the window and miscast the entire ensemble before saddling them with an exposition-heavy voiceover-led ‘plot’ with more missteps than John Sargeant’s stint on ‘Strictly’. The special FX also suck. There’s a pretty nifty Bowie reference, until you remember that they did the same gag about Elvis in MIB. Poor Eoin Colfer.“ OOAA.
    We also rewatched Mary Poppins Returns, which is a proper blub-fest if you’re feeling remotely in the mood for one.

    Listening wise it’s been pretty quiet. I have enjoyed Teddy Thompson’s Heartbreaker Please which retreads his familiar furrow world-weary roue persona, only this time he’s the one who’s been dumped. Pleasant without being outstanding.
    I also made a point of listening to NME’s most important band in the world right now (TM) Idles who, upon reflection, are quite the band The Lurkers could have been. My online imaginary friend Mr. Wendell invokes the spirit of the “…or, if wet” maxim by referring to them as “OIW, These Animal Men”.

  24. Watching:
    The Boys Season 2 on Amazon is terrific, and bravely speaks volumes about the current state of the US. Funny, violent, smart and totally addictive.
    US – watching it week by week rather than binging, episode 2 wasn’t as good as 1. Tom Hollander, who I really like, is getting a bit annoying, so I actually don’t blame the Mrs for wanting out. Not sure this is intended. We watched the 7.39 two parter, which is a previous Nicholls story, and it is incredibly bittersweet. I have to admit to relating to the story as I went through almost exactly the same experience.
    Battlestar Gallactica – missed this first time round so binging on iPlayer as it seems to get good recommendations. It is surprisingly dated, but is lightweight and easily digested.
    Listening: Digging through the vinyl archives at the moment…some vintage Joan Baez today, and some Stones I don’t have on CD. Dirty Work is, I can confirm, bloody terrible.

  25. Just didn’t get a chance to post last month so this is something of a bumper edition.
    Read
    Robicheaux: You Know My Name by James Lee Burke.
    There is something paradoxically soothing about returning to Burke’s fecund and violent Louisiana. Beautiful writing, masterful storytelling, salty dialogue, and vivid descriptions. Add to this a cast featuring a charismatic local politician, a tortured writer, and an unrelenting hitman with a childlike logic and you have another great novel.

    Then we take Berlin by John Lawton
    First one of Lawton’s books I have read, and I bought 2 others before I had finished it. This is a cracking spy story that moves from war time London, post war Berlin, 60s New York and back to Berlin. Gorgeous writing and wonderful characters.

    Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
    Exciting SF novel set in a future in which technology has allowed humans to colonise the planets of the solar system. Expect space warfare, tense shoot outs, biotech, conspiracies. It’s really good, but it’s the first of an 8-part series – and each book seems to be at least 500 pages long. That’s a daunting amount of reading; not sure if I have the endurance!

    Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
    A really strange book, this. A cast of disparate characters – including a dangerously amoral politician, a group of wealthy young people with an appetite for cruelty, ex-Armed forces security goons and the eponymous Boy in the woods (feral kid discovered living in the woods as a child who now seems to be a sort of Grizzlie Adams / Jack Reacher type). For all of that it’s an oddly pale, bloodless and rather forgettable book.

    The Late Show By Michael Connelly
    On the other hand, The Late Show is tremendous. It’s a tightly plotted police procedural with a great protagonist. Well worth seeking out.

    The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser
    Properly nasty survival horror/thriller set in the Australian outback. Breathless and eye-wateringly violent.

    Seen
    Started in again for a second viewing of Breaking Bad. And Battlestar Galactica is on BBC, so I’ve begun rewatching that, too.

    VEEP. The final series recently finished. Some sharp writing and great ensemble acting. But Julia Dreyfuss was a cut above as the incompetent, self-absorbed, narcissistic Selina Meyer

    Gone Fishing with Mortimer & Whitehouse. It’s elegiacal and thoughtful and funny. The episode about the Trout was just lovely and very moving.

    Very much enjoyed Molly’s Game and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

    Heard
    Taylor Swift’s new album is a fine record – especially enjoying Exile (with Bon Iver)
    Bill Callahan’s new one is a bit good.
    Podcasts. Journey into SciFi. Some decent analysis, rather than just recounting the plot which so many of these podcasts often resort to.
    Betamax Babylon and Top Flight Time Machine. Sam Delany is my new find over the lockdown. Not to everyone’s tastes, I imagine (lots of swears) but makes me laugh like a drain.

  26. Read: English Journey-Beryl Bainbridge, Said and Done-Roger McGough,
    Songs From A Quarantine-David Plumbley.

    Heard: The Many Sides Of -Fred Neil, Hip Hop After All-Guts, Life Jacket-Ian Shaw, After Fire-Eric Gale,

    Seen: Modern Family, Corner Gas, Schitts Creek, River, Dont Forget The Driver, I Might Destroy You, Chewing Gum, Detectorists (three times), Unforgotten (third time around)

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