I just came across the “First Time with …” on the iPlayer, a series of programmes that appeared (appear?) on 6Music in which musicians talk about their musical milestones. Is this only new to me? Clearly, I should have paid more attention as they are six series in.

There are 26 episodes still available to listen to on the iPlayer. I have just finished listening to the Loudon Wainwright prog (available for another 5 days only) and will follow up another day with Elvis Costello, Terry Hall, Peter Gabriel and others.

Is anyone else a fan of the “Soul Music” series? For those that don’t know, each episode is about a song or a piece of music and people talk about why the song or piece is important to them: it’s sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but – I think – never less than engaging. Last week was “Boys Don’t Cry” and included Lol Tolhurst talking about how the song was written. As is always the way, some episodes are better than others – the “The Way You Look Tonight” one sticks in mind – but, they are always worth a listen and there are plenty to choose from.

Finally, I » Continue Reading.