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...

That's wordwang!

I find it hard to believe but, as far as I am aware, this morning was the first time I have ever watched the video for The Chemical Brothers' 'Let Forever Be.' It's ace. I was flicking about during half-time in the rugby and ended up sticking with the entire video. Great stuff.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of 'Let Forever Be,' 'how does it feel like?' In what world is that allowed. There's clever twisting of the language and there's talking utter bollocks because it fits the length of the line. That'll be talking bollocks then. Silly man.

Nobody likes peeing outdoors

This is a track from current favourites, BC Camplight. It's as close as you can get to being Ben Folds without being Ben Folds. With a healthy portion of the Beach Boys thrown in for good measure.

I would imagine the insoles are warm

For part 2 of 'Something Changed' I thought I'd conduct an experiment. Up to this point Shed Seven have functioned as the punchline to virtually every musical joke I have ever made. They're a very easy target, and Rick- cockney rhyming slang - Witter's foghorn voice really used to piss me off. However, with time I have mellowed and actually found that a lot of the tunes from the indie years are quite charming. Admittedly much of this is to do with nostalgia, and I'll never think Menswear were good but, in an attempt to be fair-minded, I have bought their greatest hits, entitled 'Going For Gold,' for £2.50. Below I will be writing a track-by-track commentary as I listen to it. Will my opinion of the band have changed at the end? Read on.

1. Going For Gold - Perfectly serviceable indie fare, although until this moment I was under the impression that it was their highlight. Hopefully not, otherwise the next hour could be quite punishing.
2. Disco Down - Now this is more like it. I really, really hated this when it came out. But then I felt obliged to. Shed Seven were the hate figures to represent the average side of indie that any self-respecting indie kid must rail against. It's actually a neatly put together indie-dance number with some nice string sounds. Things are improving.
3. Getting Better - Frankly, this shits all over 'Going For Gold'. This was the first Shed Seven I can remember encountering. I thought it was alright. It certainly didn't provoke the hatred that I have since attached to the band.
4. Chasing Rainbows - One of two Sheds singles I actually bought. T'was a gatefold 7" if I recall correctly. Bit over-polished and badly sung for my liking. Represents the very smug side of Britpop.
5. Speakeasy - "at The Link, it's easy." Hard to forget the terminally shit ad that adapted this track. It's a bit more naive sounding than the other stuff, with more of a Wedding Present feel. Not bad at all. Ooh, it's just gone all baggy.
6. She Left Me On Friday - Forever attached to the episode of 'Teachers' where Simon has pissed off Maggie and spends the entire weekend alone in his pyjamas, lying on the sofa failing to achieve anything. This was the first Shed Seven song that I truly hated, but its rehabilitation at the hands of one of my all-time favourite TV shows has worked wonders for it. I'm actually quite enjoying it.
7. On Standby - It builds like there's going to be an anthemic chorus. But then there isn't one. Dull. Really very dull.
8. Dolphin '99 - Presumably a re-recorded version to get fans to buy the best of. Musically akin to the second Charlatans album. What does that one sound like, I hear you ask? Exactly my point.
9. High Hopes - Quaint string-based intro, before ballady drums creep in. Woah. It's finished, and I'd barely noticed that it had even happened. Bland.
10. Bully Boy - The reason for wanting this compilation. Another track that got used in 'Teachers', and the other single of theirs I bought. Admittedly it was on tape, as part of a 3 Cassette singles for £1.50 offer, but I bought it nonetheless. Perfectly, storytelling, singalong, air guitar-friendly indie fodder. Possibly their finest. And a great ending too.
11. Devil In Your Shoes - They nearly won me over in their twilight years with this one. A gently, lilting tune with Witter's singing notably improved. This is rather anthemic, nice use of horns and genuinely enjoyable, if not earth-shattering.
12. Where Have You Been Tonight? - I can remember the little adverts for this in the NME. An atmospheric swagged to this one, and it's hard not to warm to it thanks to the confidence of the band's playing. It's typical mid-90s cocky indie band in pomp stuff. But that's great. No, really.
13. Ocean Pie - Drifted by a bit. A few engaging chords but vocally fairly drab. I may well be losing interest, folks.
14. Mark - Doesn't sound like Shed Seven! Rick's voice is different. In fact it reminds me of a current band, but I can't quite figure out which band. Yes, I know, and excellent point of comparison, therefore.
15. The Heroes - And here we are at the end. A weirdly twinkly and off-kilter organ thing to kick off. Slightly too languid vocal, but nowhere near as annoying as I would have expected. Launches into another mid-paced, ballady bridge, although it has a hint of that cheeky mid-90s, 'we can get away with anything' spirit. Ideal album closer. Has a nice ending, but then noodles on a little bit. Sometimes less is more.

So, what have I learnt. Essentially, fuck all. But, I do think Shed Seven are ok now, and freely admit that they actually had half a dozen really decent singles. For me, that's serious progress. I don't think they were a particularly brilliant band, but I will concede that they were by no means the sub-indie pondlife I thought they were. Any thoughts?

But where's the indie chart?

Last week I decided to give the NME another chance. Partly as a result of my recent obsession with my Britpop-infused youth and partly because I wanted a bit of follow-up on Glastonbury. I realised that Maximo Park had escaped my attention because I wasn't really scouring enough channels for new music - the NME being one of them. So, I coughed up my £2.10 (a week! Not in my day) and settled down for a flick through the latest issue of a rag that used make me genuinely excited when I woke up on a Wednesday.
It's not as thrilling as it used to be. But then that might be me. Perhaps I'm not as easily thrilled as I used to be. However, it's pleasing to see that there are some quality journos still working for them, including a few from my era. In addition, the anarchic spirit of sections like the letter page remains as blunt and sarcastic as it ever was.
Most important though, was the 'Radar' section (for new bands) and the reviews section. While browsing the reviews I happened upon a positive review for the new Air Traffic album, 'Fractured Life'. Never heard of them, I thought. But the review made it sound like I really should have. So, today, whilst browsing in the local indie store I decided to take a punt on it. I have to confess to be being bloody surprised that it actually turned out to be a really decent album. Piano-heavy rock without being Keane. It's not like Ben Folds either, mind. I'll try and review it properly in this coming Sunday's 'Revelations.'
Anyway, I've learnt my lesson. Give the NME a chance. I'm such an obsessive when it comes to music mags that I'm already trying to decide if the subscription offer's worth a punt.
P.S. Mojo can fuck off with their free badges and shabby 80s supplement this month. What a load of old toss. The magazine itself isn't much better.
Uncut looks alright, but then it's a 10 Year Anniversary issue, so bonhomie is carved through it like Blackpool in a stick of rock.
Plan B has a huge interview with Bjork and a free CD from Rough Trade. Sounds more like it.

I want to ming with you

The genius of the Super Furries for you. A not especially high-quality live recording of new single, 'Show Your Hand.' Has there ever been a more consistently excellent band? Not one duff record in thirteen years. Time for some surround sound 'Phantom Power', methinks.

Angel Interceptor

For all of my independent record shop rhetoric I caved today. Morrisons are doing their chart CDs for £7, and the new Ash and Chemical Brothers albums were sitting there, luring me in. The Chemicals album might have something about it, but the first listen proved it to be wallpaper with slightly higher bpm.
The Ash album, however, is a beauty. I didn't think they had it in them after the terrible, terrible career nadir of 'Meltdown', but this is the power pop indie of old. It's their 'last' album before they go download singles only on our collective asses. Nice bit of PR but it means bugger all. Shame mind, as this may be their most cohesive album to date.
Sadly, I was correct about Seven Ages Of Rock. At least half the show appeared to be given over to Oasis. Yes, Noel is a cracking interviewee, but he's said pretty much all he's going to say on the subject now. Occasionally I thought, "woo, here we go, some time on Suede or Blur", but having had them on screen for a few minutes of we were back to the riverboat on Gallagher senior's alimentary canal. Where were Sleeper, Pulp, Dodgy, Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, Elastica and so on? It was 50% longer than the other episodes, so the need for a precise focus is bullshit. The film about Britpop, 'Live Forever', managed to cram plenty of indie luminaries into its ninety minutes. It was engaging telly, but another missed opportunity. Part 2 of 'Something Changed', the Britpop review will be on here towards the end of this week. Oh, and fucking Franz Ferdinand at the end. When was this made? May 2005?

You're like House without the limp

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

Maximo Park - Every last thing they've every done, seemingly. As I may have mentioned, Maximo Park's performance at Glastonbury last weekend sparked something in me and another 'new favourite band' was born. I'm well aware that they're not 'new', indeed I already had both of their albums prior to seeing this performance. But something about their presence on stage, in particular that of frontman, Paul Smith, pushed all the right button. It's spiky, literate indie with no shortage of noise and thrust. It doesn't come across as particularly fashionable, just hugely enjoyable. As a result of that dawning realisation I reverted to my teenage approach to music and started to hoover up everything I could find. Only difference being I now have access to eBay and Amazon marketplace, which makes it both easier and more expensive. It's been fun though. Lovely assortment of colours on the 7" vinyl.
Ryan Adams - 'Easy Tiger' It's a very nice record. I'm sorry to use the word 'nice', but that's where I'm up to at the moment. Considering he releases a recording of pretty much every noise that is ever emitted from his body, simply being nice isn't too bad an achievement. There is a very limited edition orange vinyl pressing of this one, and unlikely previous Lost Highway vinyl outings, it's a pretty quiet pressing. I think I like it, although I couldn't hum you a tune from it if you put a gun to my head. That said, if you're the kind of person who would put a gun to someone's head over a Ryan Adams album then I suspect you're probably unhinged enough for me to get away with a brief doo-doo-doo. Is this the worst review ever written. Possibly.
Super Furry Animals - 'Show Your Hand' Possibly the greatest comeback single of the year. The album, 'Hey Venus!' is yet another sun-kissed SFA masterwork. Is any other act this consistently bloody brilliant? Caught a performance of the new single from Glasto last weekend, and it really is as good as it first seemed. Sixties harmonies, pure-pop melodies and a real sense of urgency. It'll probably get to Number 22 and then drop like a stone, but then this is the same public that thought Michelle MacManus had a pop career in her. (Do your own joke)

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:

Scrubs - It returned to E4 this week, for season six. This prompted me to resume devouring season five on DVD. It really is never less than hilarious, and often much funnier than that. The shift in JD's character as he is now, at least nominally, Cox's equal is well handled, while Cox's breakdown after a wrong decision made for some genuinely lump-in-the-throat viewing. An undervalued work of genius that nobody will shout about until it's long gone, no doubt.
News 24 bloke with enormous bouffon grey hairdo - Good grief. I happened to have News 24 on yesterday morning, while they were covering the Queen's visit to the Scottish Parliament. Listening to this bloke trying to string a sentence together was genuinely disturbing. Every so often you were on edge as you waited to see if he'd actually died or simply forgotten every single word in the English language. Thank God that Peter Sissons was on duty when the burning car got stuck in the automatic doors at Glasgow airport.
Buying shops that have been in administration twice already isn't a good idea - 'Nuff said.

Certainly triggered

It's the dreaded British indie episode of 'Seven Ages Of Rock' tonight. I'll be recording it, as 'Jekyll' is on at the same time, but whenever I get around to viewing it I'll report back on how traumatised I was by the whole experience. I guess there's a chance they'll do it well.

Ha!

Maximo Park live from the Oxford Union tonight on Channel 4, apparently. It's one of those Vodaphone TBA things, that seem to exist only to get the name 'Vodaphone' into the tv listings. And blogs, evidently.
Maximo Park are my current love affair. I have a habit of throwing myself into the collecting of a band or artist as soon as that magic 'click' occurs and I realise their greatness. I've stubbornly held out on Maximo Park for some time, but thinking back, I'm not sure why. I took a punt on 'Our Earthly Pleasures' back in April because the CD was fairly cheap, and realised that they weren't at all bad. A chance to buy the special edition of the debut at a good price ensured that that was in the collection too. However, the adoration didn't happen until the Glastonbury performance (See video clip in a previous post.) They delivered a blistering live set and suddenly I realised what I'd been missing.
As a result, this week has involved tons of Maximo Park stuff pouring through the letterbox, including a multi-coloured pile of 7" singles, a Japanese b-sides collection, a limited edition CD/DVD book thingy and both albums I already own, but this time on vinyl. Ok, so they didn't come through the letterbox, but you get the idea. I have form for this kind of behaviour. But, it's not like I don't listen to it all, and thoroughly enjoy it.
I really do recommend that you check out the Field Music re-version of 'I Want You To Stay', available on the single of that name, or for download via the excellent Bleep.
The music's spiky, the lyrics are just the right side of odd and the presentation is perfect. An indie band that's a cut above the rest. It'd be nice to hear about an act such as this lot on tonight's 'Seven Ages', but I suspect it'll be the Oasis show. I'd love to be proved wrong.

It's just MVC repeating itself...

And so it was confirmed today - Fopp is dead. Internet rumours suggest that the staff were told in an email, yesterday afternoon, that they were out of work and would not be receiving their pay for June. A fairly shabby way to treat your staff, especially when they've been having to trot out nonsense excuses to the public for the last week.
I used to love Fopp. I first discovered it whilst at uni. The first few visits were slightly too overwhelming to result in actually spending all that much. That was a problem I soon ironed out and was frequently to be found exiting with £40 worth of CDs and books every couple of weeks. The nearby rival in Nottingham is 'Selectadisc', who altered their pricing policy to be competitive against Fopp's 'pile it high, sell it low' approach. It was at this point that I realised that if continued to do what I was doing - and, let's face it, many other people in the city were doing the same - then one of my favourite record shops, Selectadisc, was losing previously guaranteed custom. This wasn't so much of an issue while Fopp was still genuinely different to all of the big stores, but in the last few years it was becoming predictable and faceless. Far too much of the stock and pricing was interchangeable with HMV and Virgin. Vinyl disappeared from many of their stores and the few remaining bargains tended to be in the book section. My spending in Fopp tailed off dramatically, and while I've still used them in recent years (£25 last month on the Sly & The Family Stone reissues alone) it had lost that excitement factor that musos feel when going out record shopping.
My loyalties were even more torn in recent weeks when I found out about the plans for a new Fopp in the Eagle Centre redevelopment in Derby. As I may have mentioned in the past, I have an unhealthy love of Reveal Records in that their city. It's like a big blanket in winter, and a chilled foreign beer in the summer. I can never buy only one thing in there, and their constant 2 for £20 and 2 for £18 offers (on vinyl as well as CD) ensure that each desired item is suitably paired off. I popped in today and spent twice as much as I had intended to. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The stock is varied, well-presented and competitively priced. They've got a healthy vinyl section and the shop is light and airy. It is, to my mind, the best record shop in the UK.
Another rumour that circulated the internet in recent times (and I restate that this is nowt but a rumour) was that there was a bonus available to Fopp staff in new branches, if they killed off the local indie store within months of opening. Now, this does sound rather like fanciful nonsense put about by those poor indie stores that are on their last legs, the length and breadth of the country, but it does fit with the increasingly sour image of Fopp in recent times.
I hope to see them breathe again in some capacity. If only so I can have one more visit. But it's unlikely that it can be a going concern as a business. I can't really envisage a time without physical record shops, but it's clearly becoming harder and harder to even break even. I was worried the day that it was announced that Fopp had bought up the Music Zone stores and sadly those fears have proved to be justified.
They treated music fans well for a while. How about justice for the staff?

Woop-dee-bleeding-doo

Left-Legged Pineapple in Loughborough (a record shop) closes this week. Fopp appear to be in serious trouble as a result of their takeover of Music Zone and HMV are preparing to launch new stores in the Borders mould so that they can reduce their rent in each city by not needing an HMV store and a Waterstone's.
Thank fuck then that music has been saved.

The Spice Girls are getting back together.

Yup. Named after a Wilco lyric.

Still obsessing over Maximo Park. I'll be writing about that 'I must buy everything they've ever released' feeling tomorrow.
In the meantime, someone else for you to check out.
The quite sublime, Cherry Ghost. This song is out on 7" and CD this week.

Just a bit good!

Not much on telly tonight

Glastonbury Revelations:
Well, if you can't change the format on your own site, where can you? Glasto only this week so that I can tidy up my views on the festival.
Editors - how can he sound like that but look like that? Doesn't really look tortured enough to sing the kind of harrowing tunes that they specialise in. Bloody good, though. Tight play, decent vocals and a fired up crowd. New stuff sounded just as good as the debut album, which is no mean feat when playing prior to release.
Super Furry Animals - only caught fifteen minutes of this before going out on Friday, but it was a joy. Few bands can make me dance like a twat and nod like a muso at the same time. SFA are one of them. 'Northern Lites' in a Big Star/Teenage Fanclub style was a gem and 'Hello Sunshine' sounded like a Sixties classic that should have been a worldwide smash. They're just so charming. New material was broadcast; most notably the new single, 'Show Your Hand'. A world-beater if you ask me. In at 27 if you ask the British public.
The Who - great value entertainment. Roger's voice isn't what it was, but Pete's guitar playing was superlative in the extreme and to be fair to Mr Daltrey, his ability to catch the mic without looking is a fantastically precise science.
Arctic Monkeys - a no frills headline set from a band hitting their stride. Wasn't sure with album one, but completely sold second time around.
Maximo Park - I've been quite fond of this lot for a little while now. I'd recently picked up the debut album and was content with another 'indie band I quite like'. However, their set on Saturday night was near perfect. A charismatic frontman, tight musicianship, belting tunes being sung back by the crowd and every single member of the group looking like it was the happiest day of their various lives. The thirty minute highlights package was essential viewing - so much so that I watched it three times.

The Stinkers
Paolo Nutini - I'm reminded of a Ross Noble routine about a drunk talking into his can of special brew. What a bizarre voice! Somewhere between comical and genuinely disturbing.
Kaiser Chiefs - Bloody sing! Stop shouting. People will stop loving you pretty bloody quickly if you think you can piss away that much good will in just over an hour. Smug, clowning and vacant. Like Robbie Williams pre-'Angels'.
The Killers - Terrible shouty cobblers and way too close to the posturing of The Darkness. It confirmed for me that 'Sam's Town' really was that shit.

You can watch plenty of these performances over at the BBC site until next weekend. www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury

And it's still raining

The Manics did ok, although I think I prefered the interview with Zane afterwards. Not their natural environment, but they were fairly well received, and Nina from The Cardigans managed to stick to the tune of 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough'. Only caught a bit of Beirut, but it looked bloody great. I was asked how I'd describe them and I was reminded of a review I read that said something along the lines of, "it's the album of the decade. That decade being the 1920s" or somesuch. For me it's cossack-folk with hippy love sprinkled all over it.

The Kaiser Chiefs appeared to be all bluster and self-worship with piss-poor vocals just to top it all off. Alex Greenwald managed to cause all kinds of mental anguish for security by climbing up into the gantry during Mark Ronson's performance while doing his vocal on 'Just'. All good fun, but didn't really add to the experience of the really rather good studio album.

Chemicals looked ace, but it's not really what you want blaring out of the telly late on a Sunday night. In fact, that seems to be exactly what The Who were made for. BBC2 has been broadcasting them for a solid hour and fifteen minutes as I type this. Fair play to them for that. Poor old Roger's voice isn't what it was, but they can still put on a decent show. The Gossip are on one of the other stages. I just don't get the appeal.

Well, there's plenty to mull over for the final comment on the weekend, but a number of acts did themselves proud. Plenty of mediocrity as always, mind.

Gum boots

Editors were outstanding. Maximo Park pulled an absolute blinder. Sometimes all it takes is one fantastic festival performance to put everything into place. Certainly the case for me and, as almost certainly nobody calls them, the Park.
Seth Lakeman had his moments. Mika didn't. Neither did Bassey. Young Knives sounded a little bit all over the place, as did The Rumble Strips, although I think they're meant to sound like that. The Killers were as dull as you might expect. Wasn't entirely convinced by Weller for once, and didn't quite sense the majesty of CSS that everyone else seems to think is present. Nice of BBC3 to give us all of five minutes of the Manics. Bit of a weird day in terms of coverage. Edith Bowman really is one the most depressingly uninteresting individuals to ever have walked this fair planet of ours. Mind you, I'm even finding Lauren Laverne annoying this weekend, and I normally have plenty of time for whimsical ways.
I'm going to delay the 'Revelations Of The Week' until tomorrow so that I can do a Glasto special.
In the meantime, if you need to do some homework, the place to go is the BBC Glasto site.

I prefer marmalade

What in the name of all things bizarre and freakish is Paolo Nuttella's live performance from Glastobury all about? Is he slurring? Is he doing it on purpose? Has someone told him it sounds good? It's genuinely uncomfortable viewing, and not just because it involves watching, and unfortunately hearing, the songs of Paolo Nuttella.
The Dirty Pretty Things set looked promising from the three minutes we got of it earlier, and the highlights of yesterday have been enjoyable enough. That's what I like about the Beeb's Glasto coverage. While never particularly essential, it's comforting like cricket commentary on the radio. Plus, with the red button, it introduces an element of mental anguish as you sit there constantly worrying that you might be missing out on something good over on one of the other video streams.

But it is still essentially an end

I think it's safe to say that the Editors are never going to release an album called 'Ten Songs About Picnics and Wanking'. The new album, 'An End Has A Start' picks up where 'The Back Room' left off. It's slightly more relentless in terms of maintaining the pressure throughout and the production is a little smoother, but the all-encompassing sense of dread that was so successful on the debut is still the key-selling point. I've not played it enough to offer any valuable insights on lyrical quality, but it does seem to have the tunes. I get the feeling that there's a bit of a backlash against them already, which I don't really understand. It seems that there is a suggestion that with the sheer wealth of bands out there people are only adoring the 'next big thing' for one album, before moving on. If you liked 'The Back Room' then I can't imagine you being anything other than delighted with 'An End Has A Start'. The vinyl comes in a kind of thick yellow tracing paper inner sleeve that wears through on all sides with depressing ease, but it looks pretty!

I'll be posting random thoughts across the weekend to make up for the lack on content on Thursday and Friday.

I miss The Chart Show

Something Changed

I fucking loved getting off the bus on a Monday evening and dashing across the road to our town's one and only independent record shop. You had to go down a little set of steps to get into Dominion Records. It didn't mean an awful lot to me until Britpop kicked off. I can vividly remember standing by the 7" section, flicking through the new releases and trying to decide if I could justify spending £2.29 on the vinyl of 'Country House', when I'd bought the tape for the same price the week before.
Across those halcyon years in the mid-90s, every spare penny I had went into the till in that shop. You felt like no record would be a bad move. Nothing that you picked out would be shite - it was Britpop, and Britpop seemed invincible. That said, I never stooped to buying a full price Shed Seven single (I ended up with 'Bully Boy' in some kind of 'buy three for £1.50' clearout deal, but we won't count that.) 'Marblehead Johnson' by The Bluetones and 'The Circle' by (say it quietly) Ocean Colour Scene were the two CDs that proved to me that I was besotted with this particular 'movement'. Never before would I have justified paying, gasp, £2.99 for a single. But, in October 1995 I got my first CD player, and thus the additional avenue of multiple CD sets entered the fray. I can remember being pissed off that both Woolies and my beloved Dominion Records wanted the best part of £3 for The Bluetones. I wasn't too worldly-wise, but I knew that a single by The Bluetones was hardly a gold-encrusted cultural document.
Anyway, what Britpop offered to me was a route into an obsession. My love of music was vastly accelerated by those years, those issues of the NME and those hours spent glued to Lammo and Jo on Radio 1. The Sesh, as nostalgic wankers such as myself now call it, was a nightly appointment with two cool friends who seemed to have all of the new records long before we did. (Remember, this was a time before the internet was the first source of a band's new single) I can remember Jo Whiley's articulate, compassionate and incisive interview with Nicky Wire when the Manics were taking their first, tentative steps as a three-piece. I'd make a mental note of any particularly good songs played across the week, and then hope to God that Dominion would have them in on the Monday. I can remember having to wait for the family trip to Bristol to rummage on the Gloucester Road for a copy of Marion's 'Sleep' on orange vinyl. Still a cracking tune, to these ears, although probably not worth the petrol involved.
The afore-mentioned NME also played a huge part in my development. I was an NME snob, and I couldn't bear the Melody Maker. It wasn't as clever, it wasn't as well designed and it didn't get such good interviews. Occasionally I'd buy it for a Manics or Blur interview and sniff with derision as I flicked through it on my way to the important interview. It was a period where you had to speak up for whichever side you were on, where lines were drawn and allegiances fiercely protected. I loved it.
I get hugely nostalgic for it now, and that's why 'Something Changed - The Britpop Years' will be an on-off series for the forseeable future on this blog. Please have your say via the comment option.

Somewhere on the Goldhawk Road

Currently giving 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' another play. I remain convinced that the vinyl is the way to go with this one. While other albums have looked to be running it close for album of the year, thus far of course, it remains my favourite. The Manics, Wilco and Lavender Diamond all made strong pitches, but this one's going to take some beating.
It's claustrophobic and yet atmospheric. It's brooding and yet sweetly beguiling. It's full of longing and seemingly content with its lot. In short, it's bloody great. I'm going to keep banging on about this record for, well, quite possibly, ever. I suspect it might well pass into the annals of time without due attention and admiration, despite critical approval on release. Where this really holds its own above the other contenders is the way it works as a complete listen, rather than simply being a selection of songs. While I hate turning any album off halfway through, this is one I simply can't bear to interrupt. From the opening notes of 'History Song' through to the clattering finale of 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen', this album ebbs and flows and pulls you into every little musical nuance. I still don't feel like I've heard everything there is to hear on this album, but with familiarity, far from bringing contempt, comes infatuation. Over at the previously recommended www.blurcast.tv you can see a number of great TG,TB&TQ videos, including live performances and interviews to promote the new record. Worth a look.

Something Changed - The Britpop Years - starts tomorrow.

Bless his cotton socks

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Bruce Springsteen - 'Live In Dublin' - A joyous 2CD (and DVD if you're willing to spend the extra) set that simply encapsulates the atmosphere of an excellent gig. Live albums are nearly always a crock of shit, but this one sounds like the crowd were having a riot and The Boss sounds on good form. Mainly drawn from the 'We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions', a fine album in itself, this is the most vibrant that Bruce has sounded in yonks.
Manic Street Preachers - 'Assorted B-sides' - As I think I mentioned, I'm currently attempting to buy up the Manics singles that I missed out on first time around. Hearing tracks like 'Hibernation', 'Too Cold Here' and 'Love Torn Us Under' it makes me wonder how the hell 'Lipstick Traces' ended up with the tracklist it did. Well worth hunting down these increasingly cheap old CD singles to hear some lost gems. And a shit live version of 'Drug Drug Druggy'.
Amy Winehouse - 'Back To Black (vinyl pressing)'- This album finally got a vinyl release recently, and as I said back at the start of the week, it really does improve the listening experience on this one no end. An extra mention in the weekly round-up in the hope that it will spur a few more people on in terms of registering the sonic differences.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week
The work of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David: I sort of stopped watching season six of Seinfeld on DVD around the time the Michael Richards (Kramer) story broke about offensive comments made during a stand-up gig. It's what Google's for, kids. Anyway, up till then I'd been devouring the series at a fair old pace but it took its place on the shelf and dozens of other things moved ahead of it. However, a bargainous offer over at Amazon whereby you get £5 off if you buy two TV DVD boxsets from a certain selection allowed me to get Seinfeld season 7 and Curb season 5 for £18.50 delivered. An offer not to be passed up, and thus I felt obliged to finish off season 6 prior to 7's arrival. And what a delight it was. I didn't watch Curb's fifth season as it went out on More4 because of its late-Sunday slot, so I have the delights of that ahead of me too. If you've not bothered with either series, it's not too late. In fact, it's bloody cheap to get up to speed now.
Jekyll - Plot all over the shop, delightfully menacing performance from James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan looking eerily like Kylie at one point, this was the latest Saturday night offering from the Beeb. It's ace, although I'm not sure why. So much unexplained, although I guess that's the point. The cast is particularly well chosen - Paterson Joseph as the slightly OTT bad guy was a sublime idea. Written as it is by Steven Moffat it was unlikely to be shite, and sure enough it wasn't. Charmingly bizarre, I hope it doesn't get an intellectual panning in the press to blight its run.
Simon Ambrose - If only I was a betting man...

Yadder, yadder and indeed yadder

A plug for someone I find rather interesting now. I'm a bit of a radio geek and some years back I first caught some of 'Late Night Nick' on Hallam FM in Sheffield. I found him more than a little obnoxious and disagreed with pretty much everything he said. However, as a fan of Nick Abbot, I was well aware of the fact that this is a requirement for any good talkshow host. I even went so far as slagging him off on some tinpot radio forum.
However, always one to admit if I've got it wrong, I happened upon his show again in a convenience store in Sheffield after leaving a gig at the Leadmill. It caused me to tune in again and suddenly something clicked. Nick, or to give him his full title, Nick Margerrison was bloody good at his job, and I made sure that I popped back to said tinpot radio forum to explain my change of heart. Hallam FM, in their infinite wisdom, stopped the phone-in element of the show and then stopped the Nick element of the show. He's now doing music radio in Morecambe but writes a regular blog and has now branched out into podcasting. You may find him an acquired taste, and the podcast is in its infancy, but he's an amusing man, and worth a few minutes of your time.
Find him here: www.margerrisons.blogspot.com

In addition, some vintage Nick Abbot has surfaced thanks to http://forums.nickabbot.info
Clicky here for part 1
Clicky here for part 2

I am an architect

I realised today that I never actually commented on the Manics' concert at Nottingham's Rock City at the end of May. They were, it must be said, bloody marvelous. It was the eleventh time I'd seen them and it was right up there with their best. The venue was absolutely packed and the atmosphere was remarkable for a band who appeared to have slipped out of the mainstream with 'Lifeblood'. The comedy middle-aged baldies congregated in the middle of the floor and virtually ever person in the place seemed to know all of the lyrics. Certainly a different experience to the crowd at the 'Past, Present, Future' gig I attended in Derby, back in 2005. The passion was back this time, not only from the audience but the band also.
Material from the new album, 'Send Away The Tigers' sounded like it had been in their cannon all along, while vintage joys such as 'Sleepflower' were dusted down to keep us keenos happy. In short, it was 100 minutes of delight on an otherwise dull Thursday evening. It certainly rejuvenated my interest in all aspects of the band.
I've since been attempting to track down a selection of early Manics singles via eBay and the like. I had everything from 'A Design For Life' onwards and the six singles from the 'Generation Terrorists' era, but nothing from the 'Gold Against The Soul' and 'The Holy Bible' periods. I remember coveting these rare CD singles ten years ago and being aghast at the high prices being asked for them. However, online auctions and marketplaces have reduced the reliance of guide prices and now things simply sell for whatever they can get in a certain time. In the past couple of weeks, I've tracked down the 2CD sets of 'Revol' and 'She Is Suffering' as well as the CDs of 'La Tristesse Durera' and 'Roses In The Hospital'. 'MASH', 'From Despair To Where', 'Faster' and 'Life Becoming A Landslide' are all in the post. I can't deny that there is a certain satisfaction in being able to fulfill a youthful ambition, however materialistic. On top of all of that, they had some bloody good b-sides. 'Love Torn Us Under' and 'Too Cold Here' are standouts from these discs, and yet they weren't on the b-sides compilation, 'Lipstick Traces'. Manics history tends to get revised and shuffled quite a lot, so the best way to make up your own mind is to do as I have done: keep an eye out for auctions that finish mid-week, ideally in the morning and have fun. These can all be picked up cheap and there's much to enjoy.

Pig's arse

I think I just saw legendary Brum record shop, 'The Diskery' on Dalziel and Pascoe! That'll do for today.

For lots of words, see other posts. I'm tired.

Raise eyebrow in a quirky way

Arch-indie trio:

Yes, the one about the bus

Whilst perusing the message board over at www.thedivinecomedy.com, I noticed a reference to an instrumental version of 'The Booklovers', the legendarily bonkers track from 'Promenade' featuring a gargantuan list of authors read out with ad-libs and affectations linked to each person. Subsequent rummaging provided the information that this had come from an American promo CD designed to get airplay and soundtrack appearances for said band. Also on there are instrumentals of 'Sticks and Stones' (one of only a few highlights on his career nadir, 'Absent Friends') and 'Here Comes The Flood' (one of only a few lowlights, as t'were, on 'Fin De Siecle'). In addition, this promo features a delightful cherry picking of all sorts of bits and bobs from Neil Hannon's work. Plus, oh no - I'm going to say it again - it looks pretty. Damn, won over again. A copy is winging its way over from the US as I type. I shall report in further detail upon its arrival.

Anyhoo, it's directed me back to the many many joys of The Divine Comedy. I've just noticed that I can finally download the 'To Die A Virgin' 7" b-side, 'Long Slow Suicide' from iTunes. Not that I can't play the 7", nor that I couldn't wire it all up and record it through the pooter, but I'm a lazy bastard and it was much easier to do it this way. It's up as part of iTunes Plus, which is nice, if expensive. This has allowed me to bring together my 'complete b-sides' set for the 'Victory For The Comic Muse' album. Yes, I'm a sad bastard - I know this, and there's nothing you can say that can hurt me. (Perhaps, 'that man over there thinks Kelly Jones is an excellent singer' might do it, but there's very little else) Anyway, it got me thinking about what an excellent period for Neil that campaign was. I adore the album. From start to finish it is beautifully produced, played and arranged. Neil's voice is sounding superb and the ten original songs are right up there with his past glories. 'A Lady Of A Certain Age' is rightly revered amongst the critical fraternity, but I'd add to that 'Light Of Day', 'Snowball In Negative' and 'To Die A Virgin'. If you've ever had a passing interest in the band, treat yourself to that last album; it's a delight.
The b-sides were pretty decent too. The version of 'Lili Marlene' on the 7" only release of 'ALOACA' was quaintly charming, while the aforementioned 'Long Slow Suicide' is one of his finest cast-offs. 'Pamplemousse' is great fun and 'Births, Deaths and Marriages' is a romp of the 'Casanova' vintage. 'Absolute Power' never quite managed the transition from beguiling live tune to vintage recording, but it's still a belter of a track.
Not a great deal of point to today's witterings, other than continuing to try and get everybody to give The Divine Comedy a go at least once. You might surprise yourself.

Can't think why they tried to make you go there

Ah, The Winehouse, or Majestic, as we call it round here. 'Back To Black' remains one of THE pop/soul albums of recent years, containing as it does, not a single duff track. I always thought the CD sounded a little too mashed, even though the plan was always that it should sound like the compressed to hell vintage Motown singles of the sixties. It made those annoying clicking noises that you get with over-compressed records. It's not hugely noticeable, but when you're obsessive about these things it becomes an issue. Thus, I was pretty chuffed to discover that a vinyl release was finally upon us and that it sounds a lot better than the CD.
Now, as far I'm concerned that statement is true. A copy arrived in the post today, and it sounds wonderful. The album breathes, as well as swinging, bounding and seducing. It's hard to pin down what is so much better about the vinyl, but then I've always been like this. I love the sound of a good piece of vinyl - currently, Terry Callier's 'What Colour Is Love?' - but short of 'it's analogue', I don't really have any reasons why. Naturally, it looks pretty, but even I'm not shallow enough to buy a format for that reason alone. Anyway, this vinyl. If you have the means, track yourself down a copy and treat yourself to just over half an hour of soul indulgence. It's a modern classic, and I don't bandy that phrase around willy-nilly. (I appear to writing this live from the 1960s, based on some of my language choices this evening. Anyway, it's been a long, long day, my hay fever is ridiculous and I'm knackered.)
Till tomorrow.

I'm a nice girl, me

Musical Revelations Of The Week:
Hamfatter - What Part Of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand? I've been hugely fond of this record for the last two months since it dropped onto the doormat. The artwork promises little and they've not got the best band name I've ever heard, but they've got the tunes. A whole album full, to be precise. I've been playing this rather a lot today for vaguely professional reasons and I'm still discovering new bits I love about it. I won't say too much now, as it's not out till mid-July, but around release time I'll deploy hyperbole like you wouldn't believe.
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #3 This one that I have to thank Radcliffe and Maconie for. 'Loop Duplicate My Heart' was an early single of the week on their new Radio 2 show and their name lodged at the back of my mind as a result of its shining brilliance. I was tootling around town on Friday evening, in the mood to pick up a few bits and bobs and this popped back into my mind. Glad it did. Very Magnetic Fields-y with some superb summery sounds.
Songs : Ohia - The Lioness I've been working my way through Jason Molina's back catalogue over the last couple of years, and this was the last album for me to pick up. The blessed Norman Records got a second hand copy of this in on vinyl last week so I figured it was time to get hold of it. Once again, it's a beautiful, fragile album that creates an atmosphere and commands your attention. I'm conscious of the fact that his albums need a bit of time to be absorbed and that I flit about far too quickly to truly appreciate them. Thus, I have mentioned it here so that it might actually remind me to spend more time with the Molina cannon in the near future.

Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
Alex James - 'Bit Of A Blur' Yes, I know, it's a book primarily about music, but when you bear in mind that I spend as much of my free time obsessing over music as possible it's hard for anything else to creep in. Anyway, it's as good as I had hoped. I've even forgiven him for selling his soul to the Mail on Sunday and letting them print extracts in the run up to its release. It's honest, breezy and chirpy. It doesn't get bogged down in the first sixteen years of his life like so many biographies that end up boring the arse off you before you get to the good stuff. I'm just over a hundred pages in and he's already up to the recording of 'Parklife'. Suits me just fine.
Another quick mention for Blurcast.tv (full details below) at this point. Currently watching/listening to the '13 Live' show that was on BBC2 to promote said album, back in 1999. Excellent stuff.
Big Brother - Apparently they have a moral conscience after all. Did they need to show the clip though? Was it really essential viewing? In a sense I do agree that it had to be aired once in context in order for it to be put to bed, but at the same time Channel 4 can't really claim to have been acting with anything other than ratings in mind, as with the Diana show. If nothing else it confirmed my opinion that Emily wasn't even half as clever as she thought she was. The flimsy attempt at an explanation in the diary room was disturbingly confident, almost as if she didn't really believe anything would happen. Yes, I'm still watching it, four days after the point at which I normally storm off in a huff complaining about how annoying they all are. I still think that, only I seem to be more tired in the evenings and less willing to get off the sofa.
New Zealand rugby team - Is there any point having the World Cup later this year? Watching the destruction of France at the hands of the All Blacks, who themselves were not at their best, made it quite clear that nothing much is up for grabs this autumn. However, for some insane reason, New Zealand will be playing a warm up game against Canada next weekend. Canada? Even my beloved Welsh team managed to put a bucketload of points past them last year, so what sort of challenge will they present for the world's best rugby team?

Bloody hell! It's The Ozone!

Late post today as I can't drag myself away from www.blurcast.tv
It's the most astonishing archive of Blur bits and bobs.
Not going to say much as I've got a few more things lined up, but it's great to know there's a full length version of the 1999 South Bank Show special available here.
Have a look.
Unless you hate Albarn, of course.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

I've just listened to the Felice Brothers' new record with appeared in the post this morning. The first reason for pointing out that it is rather spiffing is the inclusion of 'live' lightning on track 3. Apparently the studio was struck during the session for 'Hey Hey Revolver' and they liked it so much they left it in. I don't imagine Sir Thumbs-Aloft has that on his newie, although I have to confess that what I heard of it in Starbucks earlier was quite, well, pleasant. It didn't help that a couple, clearly in the early flush of romantic endeavour, were exchanging saliva in such a fashion that it brought to mind the way snakes dislocate their jaws in order to swallow their prey. Where was I? Oh yes, a rare visit to Starbucks. It's on constant repeat there as it's on their own record label. It would seem that the price of their instore CDs are on the grande side too. Anyway, it sounded ok.
Right then, back to the Felice Brothers, who sound really rather like Dylan. In fact, more like Dylan than Dylan often does these days. Charming in a Bob and The Band kind of way, with some quite beautifully yearning steel guitar and the slightly fragmented vocals that tell of experiences long remembered. It's a delight from start to finish, although some of that pleasure comes from the soundalike quality of the performance. It got me thinking - how accepting am I of music that sounds like other music I like? Is it simply a stepping stone from one CD I like to another one I'll probably enjoy or do I need to have a clear distinction between 'similar to' and 'inspired by'? Too many of the current 'The' indie groups have plenty in common with my Britpop heroes, and thus I can't find a great deal to enjoy in them, and yet at the time I was awestruck by the mid 90s music scene I didn't have the same reaction to these shameless bands plagiarising all the had gone before.
I guess it's a little like literary theory. Each person will have their own, unique spin on many things in life as a result of their own, unique experiences. Thus, with music, every circumstance that has led to the record collection alongside you now will inform every judgement you make about an album on its first play. It's what makes music criticism such a peculiar field. On the one hand it's invigorating, inspiring and enlightening. On the other, it's frustrating, fickle and phenomenally controversial. What tops it all of is the fact the by the forth play of an album your opinion may have nothing at all with what you thought first time around. I'll let you know how the Felice Brothers fare this time next week.

'Tonight at the Arizona' is out Monday on Loose Records.

The contract stipulated brie

I posted this elsewhere and figured it might be nice to offer it up here. I'm not a big one for sharing music across t'internet- I prefer buying a physical format, however, I don't imagine any money is being made from this these days. If anyone would like me to nuke the link, just say so and I will.
Video preview:


The link:
The Shirehorses - Our Kid Eh

First time for everything, I suppose

I remember getting excited about buying the NME each Wednesday morning before getting on the school bus. It was the burgeoning Britpop era and the improvement in paper quality that bookended my stint with the nation's most renowned music weekly. I'll never forget the wit, enthusiasm and passion of the bog roll days. 'He Could Be Eros' was a classic cover to mark the release of 'A Short Album About Love' by The Divine Comedy, while everybody knows the historical Blur/Oasis Heavyweight battle image. The charts were there to study, the letters page took the piss magnificently out of the loonies and the album reviews were amongst the most coruscating pieces of writing I've ever read. God bless mid-90s NME, and all who sailed in her.
Then things changed. The 1998 shift to posher paper began the drift, but things really started to tail off as the price kept creeping up and the cover even became glossy. The volume of text reduced rapidly and the sense of fanboyism that made the paper so lovable, comforting and familiar evaporated.
I occasionally dip in these days. I bought the issue with The Good, The Bad & The Queen on the cover around Christmas and found all but that interview decidedly uninspiring. Nothing about the new issue has achieved anything other than the same result. Big pictures, large adverts and some fairly uninspiring text. However, it's got a free White Stripes 7" this week, previewing the new album. Actual vinyl, stuck to the front of a magazine. Fabulous!

Ignore the fact that Colin Murray likes them

If you want words, read the plentiful supply of them in previous posts.

If you're after a new favourite album, try 'We Can Create' by Maps.

What do you do when the music stops?

It's boiling here. Technically summer from here on in, methinks. Which means one record in particular gets dusted down. Each year one album tends to get branded my 'summer album of the year'. It's not always obvious which record it's going to be, but once an album clicks into place it gets played constantly throughout the warmer months. In 2005 it was the sublime 'Road To Rouen' by Supergrass, and last year it was The Pipettes' debut album, 'We Are The Pipettes'. I started every work day with that album for three weeks on the trot almost a year ago. Harnessing all of the charms I've been exploring on the 'Girl Group Sounds' boxset, along with 21st century lyrics packed with wit and charm. It's a sing-a-long album and, as someone who mimes when called upon to join in with any kind of public singing, that takes some doing. If you didn't pick this record up last year, do so now and guarantee a smile till September.
This year's summer record looks like to be Wilco's 'Sky Blue Sky' as things stand, but it's not guaranteed just yet.

I listened to Christopher O'Riley's piano interpretations of Radiohead last night. Entitled 'True Love Waits', it's a collection of the great and good from the band's back catalogue played in sparse but oddly affecting fashion. Quite apart from allowing me to wallow in the foul mood I was in it also made me think about how much I'd enjoy something similar for a number of artists. R.E.M., Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright all struck me as possible contenders for this. Simply thinking out loud here, or whatever the typing equivalent is. In a 'loose-fingered' fashion, perhaps? Although that sounds a little odd.

Finally, 'Bit Of A Blur' by Alex James is out there. My copy's on its way from Waterstone's who send books via Royal Mail with free delivery, unlike a certain other internet store who are increasingly fond of those shoddy delivery networks that throw parcels around your garden, if they ever actually manage to deliver the thing in the first place. So, that was Waterstone's. Very reasonable price.
Really looking forward to this one, although I'm still not happy about him selling his soul (well, extracts from his book) to The Mail On Sunday. Will feedback on it as soon as I have something to say.

Wangers

Musical Revelations Of The Week:

'Girl Groups Sounds - One Kiss Can Lead To Another' Boxset - A quite brilliant box from Rhino, up to the high standards of the Nuggets sets. It contains four CDs of 60s pop with a female origin. In amongst the tried and testeds lurk some truly wonderful neglected gems. If that wasn't enough, it comes in a mini-hat box with each CD in a digipack styled like a make-up compact. Splendid. Shown here.
The Beta Band - Best Of DVD - Finally picked up the 2DVD set this week as it was less than a tenner. Much to love about the Betas, although it was the case that perhaps not enough people realised this at the time. Well worth getting for the 'Let It Beta' documentary on Disc 2 that follows the band for the entire process of creating 'Heroes To Zeros', their final album. Absolutely warts'n'all, and full of hissy fits and seriously pissed off musicians, it's compelling viewing.
John Phillips - John Phillips (John The Wolfking of LA) - Reissued last year, this country-rock wonder is well worth investigating. Released at the start of the seventies, it's a wonderfully produced album, with the warmth of sound one associates with that period. Hard to describe adequately, so it might well be worth seeking out some audio clips.


Non-musical Revelations Of The Week:
The Apprentice - It dawned on me this week that all of the remaining contestants are a bit rubbish. Would you have faith in any of them if real money depended on it? Alan (come on, it might catch on) made the point that it wasn't about being TV presenters, and yet these channels depend entirely on good presenting in order to flog some of the utter arse they wish to peddle to the public. All round excellent media chappie, Andrew Collins, points out on his blog that Katie will be made to suffer in next week's episode. I can hardly wait.
Big Brother - Only my computer's frequent inability to perform basic tasks (the key one being - working as a computer) annoys me more than some of the new housemates. Every year I start watching, and every year I get a week in and storm out the room declaring it the biggest waste of time imaginable. Same situation this year. So few of them are even likeable, although presumably that's the point. So oddly involved with it was I on launch night that I even watched Chris Moyles hosting 'Big Brother's Big Mouth'. When will TV executives realise that he can't do telly. It just doesn't suit him. He can be occasionally amusing on the radio, but put a camera in front of him and he becomes the playground bully. If you laugh at his crass generalisations then all will be fine, but if you dare to slip up then he will target you with a personal slight as quickly as the thought can get to his lips. It was horrific viewing and it almost made me want to see more footage of the twins talking instead. Almost.
The Sindy's new look - One big paper, one big magazine, one pound. Yeah, this week maybe, but no doubt it'll be £2.50, or something similarly ridiculous once the hyping stops. I've been an Indie reader for the last eight years, and I've stuck with it through thick and thin (apart from a brief strike as a result of that awful 'Sleeping Around' column), despite its occasionally obsessive environmental front pages and its love of price hikes and all in all I'm happy with what I get. Looking at the relaunched Independent On Sunday this morning was like looking at website content that had been put into the paper. It now has the equivalent of hyperlinks telling you where to go next and the stories can be read in more detail via their website. Not entirely convinced about what they're trying to achieve, but it all looks quite pretty. Simon Kelner, the editor of The Indie, frequently makes the point that papers are too cheap when you take into account the sheer volume of writing you get in them. While he has a point, you have to wonder how much it's possible to stretch the definition of value for money. I don't buy a paper everyday anymore, as a result of the increasing costs. The Indie's website is my homepage and I flit about each day, whether I've bought a physical copy or not. But constantly hiking the price requires an audience that are resolutely tied into your product. If Indie readers are the sort of people who like the idea of hyperlinks in their newspaper articles, what's to stop them simply reading the paper on the web instead?