OK, here's the (well, i think it was anyway) very surreal and, yes, synchronistic thing that happened to me today.
I got on the Tube at Northfields, west London, on the Piccadilly Line and, miraculously, got a seat for my daily journey into town.
Happily, I had last night downloaded the latest Word podcast, weighing in at more than 58 minutes, and almost sufficient to cover my entire commute.
Having secured the seat, I closed my eyes and listened, as Mssrs Ellen, Hepworth and Lewry discussed issues including how much folk artistes can command for doing bespoke, personal shows and dinners etc.
The podcast neatly segues (is that the word?) into the Shopcast in which Ellen and Hepworth discuss The Kinks new boxset.
By now we are approximately 50 minutes into the podcast, at a point by which our hosts are discussing the wonderful pictures painted by The Kinks' descriptive lyrics.
The Tube train has pulled into Covent Garden. I am, on this particular morning, headed for Holborn, and concerned that I have missed my destination while lost in the wonderful Word podcast, open my eyes to check our progress on the Underground sign displayed on the wall outside the carriage.
My eyes fail to connect with the sign because, as I listen to his voice on the podcast, there before me on the opposite seat is Ellen, glasses on, greying hair tousled in such a rock way, pointed boots laced, studiously reading David Nicholls' 'Starter for Ten'.
So I am, at once, listening to a man who is in fact sat opposite me but is saying nothing in reality. Now that's what I call great podcast value. I don't care how much people go on about iPod synchronity (eg "I was listening to my iPod when I was on the beach and on came On The Beach by Chris Rea" etc etc). This was the real deal.
Which has led me today to thinking two things;
1. Has anyone else ever had such a synchronistic Word Magazine podcast or other iPod related experience? For example, have you listened to the podcast while Harrison, Hepworth, Mossman, Lewry or other contributors were sat opposite? Or were you listening to Down in the Tube Station at Midnight while on the last Tube home sat opposite Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton or Rick Buckler? And
2. How much would we be prepared to pay to have Mssrs Ellen and Hepworth attend one of our parties/dinners/events to entertain one and all with their stories of the rock years 1974-2009? I for one would happily start the bidding at 500 of my English pounds for the privilege. From the podcast, I seem recall that's approximately how much Brinsley Schwarz went out for in 1974 when they'd had a hit...

Here's a good one?
You are the curator of your very own four-night festival (Thurs- Sun) in the grounds of your own country house this summer.
Who would you want to play?
The only rules are as follow...
1) You have one stage for four nights (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) and are allowed five acts per night.
2) All members of all acts appearing must still be living, or acts still performing without original dead members. The bands can reform specially for the festival, so long as they are all performing members are living (you must suspend belief as to whether they would get together or not).
3) Programming should if poss reflect likely mood of the weekend.

So to kick off here's my offering...

THURSDAY
Sigur Ros
Interpol
Elbow
Fleet Foxes
Midlake

FRIDAY
Radiohead
New Order
The Cure
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Chameleons

SATURDAY
Kate Bush
The Smiths
Cocteau Twins
Death Cab for Cutie
Shearwater

SUNDAY
XTC
Loney Dear
Joan As Policewoman
Josh Rouse
Robert Forster

Mr Hepworth has quite rightly pointed out the robotic - and quite frankly psychotic - nature of digital radio stations which believe they don't really need to man the studios through the night - or actually at all.
So here's an account - from the station manager no less - of how that policy went (oh so very) wrong for the ironically named Chill FM, which in fact left its fans totally and utterly stressed out - and desperately in need of some, er, chill out music...
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=52421784...

I've just got home with my newly-purchased New Order album Tecnique, remastered and repackaged with sleeve notes (not very enlightening) by Ian Harrison, brother of Andrew of this parish.

Now, I'm only 43, but I still can't quite tell if the actual album sounds better or not than the original version or not. Quite frankly I'm not sure that it does. Perhaps if I had an even more expensive sound system or iPod it might do?

Anyway, CD1 is debatable. But CD2 there's the unmistaken sound of snap, crackle and pop! Yes, CD2 appears to have been remastered solely by sticking on a bit of rare New Order vinyl and then twiddling some knobs to get it into an mp3 format!

Vinyl remastering. Quite frankly, quite literally, anyone of us could do it. So I'm feeling pretty damn cheated. Discuss. Thx.