I try to have a healthy diet – organic, local, farmers market produce – that sort of stuff. That includes wholesome, wholemeal, often rye bread. Long lasting, slightly damp, chewy, it’s tolerable when toasted, but coming down for breakfast of a morning, I’m not sure I always relish the rather dull and cloying prospect awaiting. Having said that, though, there a part of me that likes the solid, healthy taste and I know it’ll sustain me well through the morning – slow release of energy, that sort of thing.

Some music’s like that. I look at my collection and wonder what to listen to and my heart sinks a bit. I’ve heard that band so often, I know them off by heart; that singer’s songs are all much of a muchness, etc. But if I start listening to them, I start to remember why I like them – the wheat shows through the chaff.

Galaxie 500 are a good example of that. Their ponderous instrumentation and somewhat amateurish vocals which vary little from song to song give me the sense I’m going to enter a musical swamp when I play their songs. Yet, once immersed, I get mesmerised, and Dean » Continue Reading.