Having read the Dolly Parton interview, I just need to check that everyone noticed the following anecdote recently, which I read in Simon Hoggart's Guardian column:

At the opening of her new library scheme in Rotherham, Dolly sang her song "Coat of Many Colours" and explained to the audience how she came to write it: "This little song is about when I was a little bitty baby; we was poor, and ma momma made for me a coat from all of the bits of old rags that she found in her sewin' box...."
At which point, from the back of the hall, a heavy Yorkshire voice grunted loudly : "You were lucky......."

I love situations in which Americans, especially showbiz Americans, are exposed to the most British aspects of British culture. I now feel the need to revive another HORA, which doubles as a HOFA (Hoary Old Football Anecdote), and acts as a perfect example:

Mohammed "Alf" Fayed brought his showbiz mate Michael Jackson to a Fulham game several years ago. As the pair took their seats, the Fulham fans turned round and barracked Jacko with the traditional chant to fairweather fans (to the tune of "Bread of Heaven"): "Where were you, where were you, where were you when we were shit? (etc)". You can imagine the look on Jacko's face, the confusion seeping through the plastic...

[I posted these elsewhere on the site by mistake - sorry for taking up unnecessary space].

Your "It's A Movie!" feature on page 24 is very good, but sorely missing the opening lines of Bob Dylan's Hurricane. I think it was P.J. Harvey - a real Desirephile; didn't she even release an album called Is This Desire? - who pointed out that all you need to do is mess with the punctation a bit, and it becomes the opening to a screenplay:

Pistol shots ring out in a bar room. Night. Enter PATTI VALENTINE from the upper hall.
She sees a bartender in a pool of blood. Cries out:

"My God, they killed 'em all!"

Clever bloke.

...Word magazine on my doorstep this morning. Always a welcome sight, but especially welcome this month to help ease off the house-bound boredom whilst recovering from a broken piece of torso. Even more welcome contained therein was not one, not two, but THREE lots of the criminally-underrated and ignored Joe Jackson: track on CD (wow!); really good review at the back (Ooh! - put that on the birthday wish-list); And an article spanning TWO pages (Bloody 'ell!).

Not so welcome? Morrissey on the cover. Again. (is this the fourth time or something, or does it just feel like it?)

Excellent mag tho. I was just growing out of Q when Word turned up, so stick me on the Hepworth/Ellen fan list. And could you make the podcast daily please? I'm running out of stuff I want to listen to via the BBC's listen again...

Hate to say i told you so but my prediction of this as album of the year 2008 (see best of 2007 thread)starts to gather credibility - excellent review Nige. Also good to see The Autumn Defense get a positive spin.
The picture of Steve Howe frightened my horses!!! Otherwise another triumph .

In his editorial bit, Mark Ellen asserts there is nothing wrong with this month's issue.

3 words Mark

Strairway To Heaven ?????

The new CD is mintex, a near classic Word compilation. The Joe Jackson track is amazing as are the tracks by Trouble and Angels In The Rain. Not forgetting the British Sea Power track, a band we can all be excited about. Congratulations to Andrew Harrison's piece in Word on these eccentric scamps. Roll on the new album. I gather they are a quiet bunch; my brother approached singer Yan a few years ago after a gig in Leeds and complained that their final 25 minute jam was perhaps a "bit long". Yan looked up timidly at my (well over 6ft) brother and replied "We try our best", before looking as those he was going to burst into tears.

-adopts Derek Jameson voice- ...do they mean us?

of asking Robyn Hitchcock if we can all hear what Gillian Welch gets up to on Garageband, is there?

Yes, Janet Street Porter was banging on about bloggers in her Independent column (blah blah who wants to read about some ordinary person's mundane life blah blah it's OK to read about mine in a newspaper though because I'm interesting and special blah blah). Could it not be that blogging is the one creative thing to come out of the internet?

Never mind social bloody networking - why shouldn't ordinary people write about their lives, and read about others' lives? I really enjoy keeping up with the blogs on my wish-list, and one of the reasons I like blogging is that you don't have to run it past an editor, or do a word-count, or make it profound.

You'll find some really honest writing out there - and the dialogues that go with the "comments" sections are again often part of the fun. (I don't think newspapers should base large chunks of their publications on what bloggers are saying - that's just lazy.) It's also self-policing - those that get something out of it keep blogging, those that don't just give it up.

One of my favourite blogs is by Mr D Hepworth, but not because he's famous and special, because his thoughts are worth sharing. Bloggers of the world unite.

It's like free therapy - the chance to opinionate. By the way, Andrew - I've only done two series of The Wire so far. Who sings Way Down In The Hole for the third and fourth (or, for that matter, the fifth) series?

.. that Ms Streeet Porter's main gripe with blogging is that some practioners (eg the Hepster, yourself) are creating more interesting stuff in Web 2.0 style for nothing than she can come up with on boring old paper for the Indy's not inconsiderable shilling.

The mag? Good as ever. Sorry to see Jude's going though. Does that mean no more husky podcasts?

In Barry McIlheney's review of the Van Morrison remasters, he sounds like he's never heard of a place called Tupelo.

Is he serious?

thought the CD was all rather dull. Sorry.

I did enjoy the Ringo interview and Mark's Led Zep review ( mmm...Robert old man, did Robert Johnson really record 'Terraplane Blues' in 1952?! ) Surprised that yer man reviewing the Van reissues had never heard of Tupelo...birthplace of a certain Elvis Aaron Presley....

This one's always worth a look (no, it's not mine):

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=30274...

This started out as an interesting strand, but has morphed into a 'my favourite song' melee. I think the originator implies we should try to justify our choice objectively - so we should end up with some common ground (unlikely that the same people would rate Be My Baby and Senses Working Overtime as highly.

How about

'it's not my personal favourite but I can't argue x is one of the most perfect pop songs ever written?

I would place Every Breath You Take and Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Don't like them, personally; but I admire them as great pop moments.

With mounting excitement I read the Adrian Deevoy article on Morrissey, because....I was there! A little in the background perhaps (I am not mentioned), but, nonetheless, I was attendant at that Cecil gig. And I chatted to his holiness, the pope of mope, too & even, if I recall properly, spoke to Adrian for a while. I certainly remember being introduced to a journalist.

Adrian does have the date slightly out,though: it was actually in summer of 95 just after "The World of Morrissey" & very shortly before Mozza's exit from EMI. I remember pretty exactly because I spoke to Morrissey at some length & slightly worse for wear (snakebites seemed appropriate in that particular dive)threatened to name my imminently due, but now 12 1/2 year old, first born after him. Stephen Patrick Morrissey Dolly she is then! (Fortunately not - a sensible wife stepped in so this part of the story never came true)

Morrissey was indeed downing the ales that night & was in a very funny, chatty, teasing mood. I even witnessed the great meeting of minds between lead singer of Cecil (Ste?)and Morrissey as described in Adrian's piece. It was a shame I had to spoil it by dry humping his leg (I am the world's biggest Mozzafan). Still this did result in Morrissey describing me as "that disgusting little man" a label I proudly received from the great man and treasure to this day.

Excellent work on magazine, podcast and everfink

Keep it up

After watching the wonderful Pop Music On Trial last night, Joe Brown "I am 66, going on 36" could definately have been included in the You Haven't Changed a Bit feature. As could Pete Wylie, albeit on the Excuse Me, Have We Met? page.

In the worst crazes chart it could also have been mentioned that Pokemon introduced many youngsters to the world of criminality. There was a surge in muggings, certainly in South West London, whereby one day a kid would be mugged for Pokemon cards and then the next would become a perpetrator as some other hapless kid lost his or her cards to make up for the previous day's stolen collection.

"any day now" hmmm? *drums fingers*

Virtual pat on the back to whoever wrote the clever caption for the Shortbus picture on page 59, it made me giggle like a girl - happily I read it the privicy of my own bathroom rather than in the middle of an over crowded Thamelink carriage.

As a "middle-class parent" who has taken quite a bit of time off work over the last ten years to bring up a child I'd quite like to know who the fuck Mark Lawson thinks he is.
"Organic food". "Rugby dads". This fella moves in rarified circles and thinks talking pretentious horseshit about books on the radio qualifies him to pontificate about how the rest of us run our lives.
And have you ever seen a face more deserving of a kicking than the smug one on page 65.