I know we don't do politics but this week's Grauniad Politics Weekly podcast is extremely good.

Out of academic interest and a decent review in the Observer I signed up for the free Coldplay single - which consisted of giving them my email address; I should have received an email with the download details. I didn't, but have now received my first piece of Coldplay spam. Still no single though. I suppose I should have known better - did anyone actually get it?

I know we've done films a few times. but Patrick's recco of Persepolis prompted me to update my Lovefilm list - any recommendations? I like most things non-blockbuster/Disney. Especially French movies with people doing nothing but give each other smoldering looks in cafés over a tiny coffee and lots of fags.

Suggest something to update my list?

Rereading Andrew Collins' column over a butty I have to wonder whether we, the intelligent life on Planet Rock, actually watch the dross he refers to - Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares USA, Masterchef, Big Brother, Ladette to Lady, etc. All cynical reality TV vehicles to allow pathetic needy wannabe "celebrities" to be humiliated on prime time TV. As someone said, this is the modern equivalent of Victorian Bedlam, where the middle classes go to laugh at the unfortunates. My telly remains untroubled by this rubbish - am I missing something?

Van the man is on Beeb 4 tonight at 10. Don't know about his harmonica.

Occupying boring conference call by some gentle browsing, came across this site where you can find out what was number 1 that day you were born.

http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/Number-One-Songs-90s.html

I got "Don't (I Beg of You)" - Elvis Presley - could be worse.

Just spend a splendid weekend in Rye, near Hastings. Imagine my surprise to find a REAL second hand record shop in the high street - as in rack upon rack of old vinyl. It is housed in the old town grammar school, and has metre upon metre of rock, country, jazz, easy listening, classical, compilations, etc etc etc. I had forgotten the joy of working your way along a rack of vinyl, finding lost treasures and curios. And the smell of old vinyl in the morning - mmmm! Me, I simply had to buy "Thick as a brick" in the original newspaper sleeve, mint nick, for a fiver (see recent Tull posts) but could easily have spent a fortune in the folk section, chocker with obsure folk rock albums including a Linda Thompson one I had never heard of. I urge readers to head there should they be in the environs (BTW - I have no relationship with the shop at all other than love at first sight).

Sorry for crap quality of photo - phone camera in the rain!

Any other real vinyl shops out there?

Has someone been "at" Ello's Wiki entry since the discussion on the 'cast? Allotment?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ellen

As it happens I did read it a while ago and this is definately a new entry!

My ipod definately goes through phases or particularly favouring certain artists. In the early days there was a long patch where shuffle would throw up Emmylou Harris several times a day. Then it moved on to a Steely Dan period - neither being a problem of course, but it then got more trying when it kept bunging tracks from "24 Stomps from the swamps" - now I love a bit of cajun, but it deliberately picked times when jolly fiddle was deffo not on the agenda. Lately it has been really into "Morph the Cat" by Donald Fagen (remember it is a Steely Dan fan), especially "The H Gang" which it wants to play daily. However it doesn't like tracks from Word, even through there are hundreds of the buggers on there, nor does it like the mighty Tull (see other posts). Jackson Browne can't get arrested. RT occasionally appears, but given the volume of his work on there I can only assume it is ignoring him as some sort of untidy-then-tidy-beard retribution. Mind you, it is very sparing in Little Feat exposure too, where we are dealing with have both a large number of tracks and a magnificently straggly beard. And how come it never plays any classical music except Eric Satie? And it only seems to like 50s jazz (Lester Young being a particular favourite, though I only have one CD..).

How do I bring it into line?

Went to see Jethro Tull last night in St. Albans - a 40th anniversary tour of sorts. As Ian Anderson put it, "we're going to do stuff from the early years (loud applause).....and maybe some stuff from later decades (slightly less applause)....like the 1970s (loud laughter).

All the "old" was played, nothing from the new album as there is no new album, two members from the original lineup guested (Clive Bunker and Mick Abrahams). Ian's voice is down to about 3 notes but otherwise they were tight as the proverbial crab's arse and lean as a butcher's dog. Terrific.

According to Barbara Ellen in yesterday's Observer, Word is a "niche" magazine. Which niche exactly? (I believe BE is an ex-NME hack?)....

Where do you start with the Grateful Dead? The first time I heard them I was shocked - I thought they'd be a sort of American version of Hawkwind, psychedelic etc - hur hur hur - all I hear a sort of weedy country rock band that the Allman Brothers would have blown off the stage by any measure (length of jam, number of notes, whinyness of singer, number of guitarists, number of drummers, length of songs etc - we're talking the 60s here, one-note-solo fans). I've got "American Beauty" which is OK I s'pose - can't help thinking I must be missing something....am I? Or did you have to be there?

Thread about the Clash's non-reformation....

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/wenn/20080401/ten-strummer-s-last-plea-to-simon...

I'm not especially bothered about them from a musical POV but respect to Paul Simonon for holding the line!

Are there any reformations which worked? (By whatever definition of "worked")...

Apparently the Saturday headliner at Cornbury is Paul Simon! Maybe you all know this but I just heard. Pretty cool! Though I guess he must clash to some extent with Nick Lowe who is headlining on the other stage (boo).

Like a long lost brother, jazz rock has crept back into my life. Soft Machine, Al Di Meola, John Stevens, Return to Forever, Brand X, Billy Cobham, Mahavishnu, Nucleus, Isotope....love 'em all. Much as I love a great song well played, there is a bit of me that likes great musos blowing like fuck.

Like this....

Anyone read "Kill your friends" yet? Finished it yesterday. Blimey. No wonder the music biz is falling to pieces.

I've been exploring the areas of the Beatles catalogue that I had missed previously. Following Heppo's excellent "definitive Zep song" thread (easy - "Ramble on") - what is the definitive Beatles song?

Dunno about you but I do a lot of my music listening in the car these days during a long commute. Last night I was bombing down the M4 at 7.30ish and the old iPod shuffle popped up "One of these days" off Meddle by the Floyd. At 70 miles an hour the scenery whizzes past exactly in time to the the music - making it feel like you're in your own video - a perfect merging of motion and music. Wow - what was in that machine coffee?

A mate at college always used to set off on a trip in his MGB by playing "The cowboy song" off "Live and dangerous" by Thin Lizzy which starts slowly (turn keys, engage reverse, put roof down), has a slightly speeded up first verse (reverse out - manoeuvre down drive) then in come the harmony lead guitars (brrrrm brrrm) and in bangs the second verse (roar off in cloud of smoke).

Your favourite driving tracks?

Since there are loads of festivals now, what other (smaller) less publicised ones do the Wordiscenti recommend? All genres welcome other than all nite ravy/dancy/wiiiiild stuff - will be camping with 4 year old! I'll drop in the Dorking Bluesgrass festival which happens in August in a few nice boozers, Mickleham village hall and the cricket pavilion. Lovely!

OK, you pop into a quiet little backstreet pub, and there is an acoustic duo playing in the corner. "Ahhh, nice!" you cry, and resolve to stay for the rest of the set. The punters are not die hard Word reading music fans, but are clearly enjoying something slightly different to the trad covers band. Each number is a new surprise - feel good, reasonably well known, but not hackneyed and over played. What a fine night, you mumble, departing happily at 11.00 outside a few pints of Fullers.

What songs did they play?