Two weeks ago I saw John Grant play a concert here in Utrecht. I'd vaguely heard one or two of his songs before the gig but nothing could have prepared me for how brilliant the first half hour of this concert was going to be.

After 20 minutes I was convinced that this was going to be one of the greatest gigs I'd ever seen. After half an hour I actually had tears running down my face, partly due to the joy of seeing something as good as this and partly because of the heart wrenching content of some of the songs.

The rest didn't quite live up to that opening and it sagged at the end - why do so many artists insist on doing 90 minutes when 60 would make a better gig? However it was still a terrific experience, primarily because of that first half hour although there were other highlights. For anyone who hasn't seen him on this tour, he has no band - just his voice, keyboards and another keyboard player to accompany him. Amazing.

I bought the album the next day and it is as great as it promised to be.

To continue the theme of a previous post about how the writer finds it difficult to get the enthusiasm up to go to gigs these days, I have (almost) stopped buying music.

I LOVE music still as I have done my whole life (nearly 46 years) but I found myself in Fopp last month with the idea of buying the new British Sea Power album and I thought 'what's the point, I've already got three albums by this band. Why do I need more' and I walked out empty handed.

I have hundreds of CDs and 200 vinyl albums which I don't listen to enough covering all the decades of popular music. In fact I'm pruning the collection again in order to free up space. Why do I need more? How much do you really need? Is there anyone else out there who feels this way?

Just got a new Android phone and was recommended BeyondPod as an App. This works great with the This American Life and Sound Opinions podcasts but I can't find the Word Podcast feed with it. Can anyone help me here please?

Thanks.

Eleven years ago, I left the UK and moved to the Netherlands. Six years ago, we cancelled the cable TV and since then we've watched DVDs instead as well as having more time for other stuff.

I received the series Luther as a Christmas present two weeks ago and have now watched four episodes. I have to say that I am seriously shocked by the level of violence which appears to be allowed on TV these days if this is indicative. I've never been bothered by this sort of thing before but this is on the edge of what I personally find acceptable.

Is this series an extreme example or is TV moving more and more in this direction? Is it acceptable?

Last Saturday I went to see I Am Kloot in Utrecht. I have to admit that I hadn't heard much of them before but they were fantastic - one of the best concerts I've seen in ages.

No idea why I hadn't come across them before. I bought their latest album and the album Natural History on the spot but are their other records also worth buying?

It looks like I won't be able to get my copy of Word 92 (the Ferry or is it Ross cover) because of the recent DHL debacle. So, my question is, who would like to donate their copy to me? I will obviously pay the postage or perhaps Jerry and David would like to do that ;-) Or alternatively I could send something back - a book perhaps.

It would be preferable with CD but I'll still be very happy with it if that can't be the case.

Who can help me?

Just got back from a great European night at FC Utrecht. I'm firmly of the belief that Neil Lennon is 100% to blame for what happened tonight. As I wrote earlier on another thread (Hopes for the football season)just after the draw was made:

As a fan of FC Utrecht I will be hoping that we can stuff the words of Neil Lennon back down his throat. He hasn't heard of our players? What like the Dutch international goalkeeper, one of the stars of the last African Cup of Nations, a couple of great young players already called up for their countries and a large selection of other internationals.

At least he's done the pre match talk for Utrecht. To quote Jim Telfer "They don't rate us, they don't respect us". Celtic are definitely favourites but Utrecht will be a lot better than anyone they face in the league this season bar Rangers.

Since then, I've seen interviews with Lennon in which it was clear that he had never seen our players, had no idea how we played and had even less of an idea of what a match is like here in Utrecht. Surely a great club like Celtic can do better than Neil Lennon....

So, will Mick Jagger appear at either of this week's World Cup semifinals and if so, who will he support?

Jagger has apparently been at the stadium supporting USA, England, Brazil and Argentina in the last 10 days or so and all four have lost. The curse of Mick Jagger has become a huge phenomenon (we put it in our Twitterfeed at work (www.twitter.com/infostradalive) last Saturday and it has been retweeted 925 times!

I've seen Uruguayan websites carrying photoshopped pictures of Mick Jagger wearing a Holland shirt and all manner of comments from people asking him not to support their country.

Has anyone seen or heard about this or anything similar?

I am also bemused by the dismissal of new stuff here. I'm 44 and listen to a lot of old and a lot of new. I think time filters the wheat out from the chaff and NOW is just as much of a golden age as the past but it's just more difficult to find the gold. There's always a lot of rubbish around but there are always gems. If you dismiss new, try a few of these (you never know, you might like it):

- The National
- The Decemberists
- Frightened Rabbit
- Phoenix (particularly the last album)
- Richard Hawley
- Laura Veirs
- Leisure Society
- Wild Beasts
- The Unthanks

There are many many more and surely the members of this parish can appreciate the likes of Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear and Crystallised from The XX from the last year too?

Films of course are another matter ;-)

I bought a Logitech Squeezebox internet radio as a Christmas present for the FPO. The radio stuff works perfectly but it won't pick up my music libraries. I've got the Squeezebox server running on my PC so that seems fine but if I click on My Music on the Squeezebox, it just gives me an explanation of what it is with no way of connecting to my library.

Can anyone in this parish help please?

Thanks.

A couple of recent blog entries have made the suggestion that current TV viewers are dim. I would totally disagree and would lay the blame at the doors of the producers. When I lived in the UK (I left in 2000), I knew a young up-and-coming TV producer who had absolutely no respect whatsoever for the viewing audience and I'm sure many of his contemporaries are no different.

Inspired by Heppo's column in this month's issue, I've been thinking about the current bands I most like and have come to the conclusion that I have discovered the vast majority myself in various ways.

- The National: downloaded some stuff after reading an article which made them sound up my street.

- Decemberists: saw them play years ago in a small club having never heard them

- Shearwater: same as the National

- Besnard Lakes: same as above

- Leisure Society: heard one song on the radio when they were absolutely unknown

The list goes on. In this age of so much press on music telling us what is good and what isn't, I wonder if I have subconciously decided to ignore all that and search out my own stuff. What are your experiences?

Not to everyone's taste I'm sure but I'd like some recommendations for Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five albums. I've got Rockin' the Suburbs and Songs for Silverman which cost me the princely sum of 9 euros for the pair but is there anything else worth getting hold of?

Just read the "Is there too much entertainment" thread. My question is why bother watching TV at all? I gave it up two and a half years ago once I realised what a load of tosh I was watching. I haven't missed it at all and won't be going back.

Instead I occasionally watch DVDs of things recommended to me by family, friends and on here. If I want to watch sport (I particularly like football and rugby), I go to the pub or to an actual live sporting event.

My viewing this year has consisted of Homicide: Life on the Street, Weeds, the fourth series of Battlestar Galactica, a handful of rugby DVDs covering Lions tours in 1997 and 2001 and England's World Cup win, completing The Wire and a number of films. I've also discovered that there are some quite brilliant old films now available in box sets - most of Powell and Pressburger's best work for about 20 quid for example.

Who needs the current dreadful output of TV? This way, I can even filter out the odd gem to watch at a time and pace of my choosing. Can anyone tell me what I'm missing?

Steely Dan are playing in Amsterdam towards the end of June but it costs 59 euros plus ticketing fees which will probably take the price closer to 70. I've always liked Steely Dan but have never seen them live.

I'd love to go but the ticket price is putting me off as I have never paid so much to see a concert before. I usually go to smaller gigs and rarely pay more than 20-25 euros to see a band. However, the Heineken Music Hall is small enough to be bearable (I'd guess about 5000 capacity having seen Morrissey there) but the key question is whether Becker and Fagen can still cut it live. Quality of vocals are obviously important in this assessment.

So, anyone seen them in the last few years and care to advise?