I bought Arctic Monkeys, Jessie Ware, Loyle Carner and Olivia Dean, and like them all. Arctic Monkeys are a very different band now from what they were and haven’t taken everyone along on that journey with them, b […]

24 years? Did they have some time off, because I saw them at the Adelphi in 1997 when I lived in Hull and they were still just called Fonda, so that’s at least 26 years. One of the last gigs I went to in Hull b […]

There’s an argument that Twin Peaks: The Return is really a very long film. It was shot as a piece, all directed by one person (unlike most TV series), and then chopped up into episodes. It’s a magnificent ach […]

One Day I’m Going To Soar is probably my favourite album of the 21st Century. I came to Dexys late, having been a bit indifferent to the early stuff, but loved DSMD, and later appreciated the first two. I agree w […]

I watched all of season 4 this weekend, having avoided spoilers bar one major one (thanks Bret Easton Ellis), and up early this morning for the finale, which despite a few technical hitches (thanks NOWTV – why do […]

New Order’s Your Silent Face spends 3 1/2 verses being, well, lyrical before finally giving up at the end: The sign that leads the way The path we can not take You’ve caught me at a bad time So, why don’t you piss off?

The covers album is ‘My Beauty’, which I think is really good. ‘The Wanderer’ I could never get on with.

Saw it today at the QFT in Belfast. The 4k remastering job is amazing – I’d expected it to be still quite fuzzy, but it’s razor-sharp. I’d never seen it before, so was slightly disappointed that there were no in […]

I bought my first CD player in February 1985 at the age of 18, having got my first full-time job working in Boots record department (also where I bought the player). It was a Philips CD104, an amazing sounding […]

TV’s village idiot (© Charlie Brooker) becomes radio’s village idiot.

Always enjoy reading your writing about Billy, @dave-ross – you’ve been a real flag-waver for him and the band. And apologies for being a bit disparaging about No – I only realised you posted it above after it w […]

Two of my heroes gone in just over a fortnight (Terry Hall being the other), both just in their mid-60s. The Associates were my band of the early 80s, a group where I lived it felt like only I got. Sunie writing […]

One of the true greats of 70s soul, a formidable genre. His part in all those great records by The Delfonics, The O’Jays, The Stylistics, New York City and Dusty Springfield is extraordinary, but probably his b […]

Here’s my number one (plus, er, 33 others, in no particular order):

1. Decision To Leave
2. The Quiet Girl
3. Aftersun
4. Ennio
5. Licorice Pizza
6. Hit The Road
7. The Banshees Of Inisherin
8. Vortex
9. The N […]

Waiting is an absolutely brilliant album, start to finish.

Lost Illusions hasn’t had a wide UK release, is not available for streaming here and no UK DVD or Blu-ray that I can find (pricey European ones do exist). Bret Easton Ellis has also raved about it on his p […]

Agreed – Mulholland Drive should have been top 3.

Yes – it was quite annoying.

Cry To Me is probably due to it being featured in Dirty Dancing.