Ok, so who took it with them?

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Ash - 'Twilight Of The Innocents.' 'Meltdown' was a crock of shit. There's no disputing that I'm afraid. Oddly, I appear to have the 2CD limited edition of it nevertheless, which one again casts further doubt on my quality control when it comes to purchases, but that's for another time. This latest one is full of quality pop tunes and Tim's finest vocal performance to date. Unfortunately, it's been mixed so it sounds like you're listening to it through two pillows rather than two speakers. Presumably it's another example of the compression that's being used to kill off the remaining elements of the music industry. That said, it's a minor quibble about an unexpected triumph, particularly with the absence of the lovely, lovely Charlotte (whose album, 'The Deep Blue' is also worth some of your time.) Ok, so they've gone for cheap publicity by making the announcement about there being no more Ash albums, but you can't blame them for wanting to raise their profile a little.
B.C. Camplight - 'Blink Of A Nihilist' - Like Ben Folds fronting the Beach Boys. Don't think I need to say anymore because in what universe does that not sound like a great thing?
Crowded House - 'Time On Earth' - Unlike most 'reformed' albums, this is bloody great. Having received the spangly CD/DVD edition, I've given it a more thorough listen and it is a really strong collection of tunes. Like much of Neil Finn's songwriting, it takes a few listens before it starts to reveal its full charms, but once it does there's plenty to get excited about. 'Don't Stop Now' is reasonably representative, in the sense that it sounds very much like Crowded House, but there are a number of less conventional tracks towards the end of the album that ensure things are interesting until the last notes are played. Plus, it made me dig out the Finn Brothers' 'Everyone Is Here', which is another great album.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:















The Thick Of It - Due to a combination of a shite DVD recorder and a briefly hectic social life, I never managed to see all of the first part of the two-hour special when it was first show in January. Thankfully, it was repeated this week in preparation for the debut of the concluding part on BBC4. Both episodes were laugh-out-loud hilarious and, while not surprising for a show with a 'swearing consultant', the expletives were beautifully executed. My favourite bit involved Malcolm talking about downloading rice. I won't try to quote it as it'll never managed to be as funny as the real thing.
Catherine Tate in Dr Who - She'll be his regular compadre for the next series. And it was all going so well.
Summer - I used to console myself with the fact that although I was suffering with nuclear hayfever, at least it was sunny outside. Yet this week I have had chronic symptoms and it's barely stopped raining. Exactly how is that fair? Some nice weather would be appreciated. That said, the current weather does make for ideal playing conditions for 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen.' Every cloud, and all that...