70 years since John Lennon was born. Still the greatest voice in rock and roll.

Happy Birthday

OK I know we've done this many times, and it may not be time for the next Randomiser, but I was so gobsmacked by the the first 5 on shuffle when I went for a run tonight I thought I would share them

Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles

Don't Talk - 10,000 Maniacs

4 Leaf Clover - Badly Drawn Boy

Boy From Tupelo - Emmylou Harris

Bootleg - Creedence

Damn near perfect.

Things went predictably downhill from there, but did include the gorgeous Micho Russells by the wonderful Sharon Shannon (great to run to by the way). I love it when 'Shuffle' throws up a track you havn't really paid attention to before - maybe because it doesn't stand out on the album on which it appears. And in weird sequencing which shouldn't work in a a million years but somehow does it was followed by the third movement of Mahler's 7th Symphony which in the context sounded remarkably contemporary and radical.

any other happy randomiser tales to tell?

Rather late in the day, have offered my three unsung records on that thread, and just realised that two of them ('Blue Horse' by Be Good Tanyas and 'Take It Home' by BB King) were bought on impulse when I heard them in a record shop (remember them?) and asked the guy behind the counter what it was he was playing. On each occasion, said knowledgeable individual not only told me what it was, but enthused about the record - the combination of liking what I was hearing and this recommendation led to my purchasing a record I duly came to love and might well never have encountered otherwise. So my questions are

does anyone still buy records like this (the two record shops responsible for the above purchases have (of course) long since closed)?

and, more positively

what is the best record you have bought based on hearing it or having it recommended in a record shop?