My god his new show is shit! What have 5 live done with the aftenoon schedule, Mayo was always going to be a hard act to follow but they haven't really tried. To make matters worse he is immediately preceded with the hateful Gabby Logan, a more self satisfied media type you will struggle to find. In effect we now have an all day phone in.

Just caught the last 1/2 of this show, really shit. Fearne Rotten and some other fool trying to convince us what a great year it has been for music. How old are the audience, are these BBC staffers bused in? It is not an 'incredible year', probably one of the worst ever.

Here goes:

1) Chocolate bars are expensive, my son found 50p and could not buy a regular chocolate bar. Twix, Snicker, Kit Kat all 65p +. Who knew?
2) Further to the above I no longer know the cost of most everyday items
3) A lot of new (music) releases have little appeal to me, it is a real struggle to find things I like outside of back catalogue.
4) You become out of touch sooner and more suddenly, I am 38 and do not get twitter, facebook etc etc

I accompanied the wife to see The Specials on Saturday and despite not really knowing more than about 6 songs I really enjoyed it. I don't think the hyperbole surrounding the live shows is really merited but, as I am not huge fan, I do not possess the store of goodwill required for such occassions. Terry Hall manages to be charismatic without really doing anything, whenever he left the stage it was just not the same. As ever my enjoyment was marred by the f*ckin' camera phone cretins (I was in the nodding section by the sound desk so you know who you are). Why do people do this? You have paid handsomely to see the long awaited reunion only to spend all night staring into a small LED screen. Let me apprise these people of two few key facts; your shots will not come out and nobody is interested in your pathetic 'look where I am' email/picture messages. As an aside, am I alone in thinking that 40+ males in harrington jackets, burgundy doc martins, fred perry's and long sideburns is a bit sad? I saw Springsteen in the summer but resisted the temptation to tote the requisite 80's gear I would have worn when first becoming a fan during the 'Born in the USA' era.

On another thread (best movies of all time or something similar) I put forward the film 'Soylent Green' for consideration. I do not necessarily think it is the best ever but it is certainly a very commendable piece of work. Anyway, it is on TCM 2 this Friday and I would be most grateful for the Word massive to cast a critical eye over it. It is a dystopian vision of the year 2022 and unlike some future set movies it does ring quite true. It stars Charlton Heston and Edward G Robinson (in his last role). It does not get the plaudits of, say, 'blade runner' but I actually prefer it; see what you think?

Are they any good, or is this just more indie landfill which only gets played on Soccer AM? Should Johnny Marr be embarrassed?

I have very recently found out that Bob Marley was really rather good, surely I must be among the last persons on earth to recognise this? I remember when Bob Marley died, I was at primary school and a rather scary teacher (Mr Eade I recall) did an assembly on him. He talked about how brave he was in his battle against cancer, at the end of the 'sermon' he played one of his records. The entire hall full of children started to laugh as it was quite unlike anything else we had ever heard. The scary teacher just completely lost it, stopped the record and shouted at us, saying it was just like to records we would play at home. My parents used to listen to Gerry Rafferty, Dave Edmunds and Buddy Holly, none of whom sounded like the Wailers! Anyway, I do digress, who were you the last to 'get into'?

Just had a quick flick through the new word and greatly enjoyed the Richard Hawley piece. Nice of him to give his uncle Frank (White) a good mention as I have often felt he came across as slightly mean spirited on this subject in the past. We all love a 'would've, could've, should've' story and the tale about Frank being invited to join the Stones is a classic! Purely apocryphal I'm sure!

I have just discovered the joys of Little Feat, always passed me by for some reason but I have started to delve into the back catologue and they really are rather good.

I went to see 'the boss' for the first time on Sunday at Hyde Park - wow. What a performer, 2hs 45mins straight through, played plenty of old and a good mix of the obvious and obscure. He seemed to have a mike problem in the first song (London's Calling) but still held the crowd. I sincerely hope I am in such good shape at 60! The overall event was really well organised, easy to get served at the various bars and the prices were even reasonable. As an aside, the Dave Mathews Band were really very poor, how did they ever get a deal? I have seen better pub bands. Anyone else from the word massive in attendance?

In response to a number of recent nostalgia fests and blatant revisionism, I though it might be fun to start a definitive post. The big question is, what is genuinely better today and what has actually got worse? I'll start with 3 of each. Better? Cinemas, greater choice of films, more comfortable seats, better toilets and generally a cleaner, more pleasant experience. TV, a contentious one this. Basically we have far greater access to great TV not just from these shores but worldwide. Examples? The Wire (greatest ever and I will accept no argument on this), Sopranos, State of Play, My friends in the north, the inbetweeners, curb.., 24, The Shield, The Street etc, etc. Compared with the, so called, golden age of the 70's we have never had it so good. Pubs/Bars, again never been better. If you want real trad real ale there are plenty around, wine bars, cafe bars, gastro, beer gardens, kid friendly it is all there. Ok, now for the worse. Music, nothing now compares to the best of the 60's, 70's (and arguably the 30's, 40's and even 80's). Films, rather ironic this, but the blockbusters always seem to disappoint and there are fewer mavericks about. The FA Cup, we need more plumbers scoring wonder goals and the better teams actually bothering.

Why is it that whenever there is a public sector cock up with tragic consequences (Baby P et al), some spokesperson or other always utters the phrase 'lessons have been learned' or 'lessons have to be learned'? Is there some kind of public sector phrase book?'In case of emergency please break the glass and read out the contents at random'. Also, no individual is rarely, if ever, at fault.

I watched the Steely Dan classic albums programe on Sky Arts the other night and I could not believe the sheer attention detail involved in making this record. I could not possibly conceive the level of musical nouse required to deliver such an album. It is not actually my favourite of theirs, I prefer Katy Lied, but my admiration is pretty much boundless.

Did anybody else hear that pretencious w*nker who was interviewed along with Gideon Coe on the Today programe this morning. I am not a Dylan fan, but this bloke (his name escapes me sorry but he was from Northern Ireland) raised the bar in terms of sycophantic eulogy. Apparently the recent Dylan punters were 'suffused with joy' and his concerts are an 'act of love'. He continued to crap on about the new album being great and then alluded to his current music continuing the folk/roots tradition as his Bobness produces it himself (as if this is somehow unique!).

Is there an 'artist' with as little talent as Ms Faithful? The generally good press she recieves is totally without merit to my ears, surely anyone who saw her stink out the 'Later' show this week will concur. She simply cannot hold a tune in a bucket. Even less talented than Nico!