Heard
The Band box set - A Musical History - an amazon bargain, as tipped here by dilbert01. Magic woven by musicians who support each other magnificently - the harmony singing is slightly raggged, which makes it all the better. Current top pick is "Chest Fever". As a counterpoint to that, I've also been listening to The Earache Sessions At The BBC - Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror. I think I'm recalibrating my ears. Work has been stressful in parts this month, and a blast of grindcore seems to help me chill .I think I'm recalibrating my ears. Lastly, a fantastic 3CD collection, Rockabilly's Gravest Hits, £3 in Fopp, which includes Elvis, Mac Curtis, Gene Vincent, Sleepy LaBeef, Johnny Restivo and many others. "Bop, cats, bop!"

Read
I picked up some books by Jeff Abbot in Fopp for £2 each. Good crime/thrillers. Even better was re-reading some Peter Temple - The Black Tide is a marvelous, Chandler-esque tale that runs around Melbourne, which is beautifully depicted.. He does a great job of catching the terse Australian way with words, and some parts are laugh-out-loud funny.

Seen
Only Connect - great to have it back, and I thought the show showed great wisdom in dropping the "elitist" Greek symbols and replacing them with hieroglyphs.

AOB
I had a great time at the London Massive meetup, lovely to meet so many of The Massive. When I can draw breath, I'll suggest dates for the next Glasgow one : if I may lift an idea from the North-West Massive, how about we make up a Jock & Roll compilation for it?

Their new album "Halcyon Digest " is as brilliant as i hoped it would be.

not suffering from Premature Ejaculation are we?

Hectic month for work, cd purchases and catching up with friends and family but here goes:

Heard:
Biggest surprise of the pleasant variety was buying Pretenders greatest hits paired with their last album Break up the concrete for £3 in FOPP. Bought to put the hits on the IPOD the Break up the Concrete cd is astonishingly good and Chrissie voice has developed a Lucinda Williams inflection.
Also XX - know I am late but liked this one - especially the space in the music.
Updated my John Martyn collection with Sundays Child and Inside Out both of which I had on vinyl. Sundays Child ranks amongst my favourites of the Big Man.
A great Bobby Charles compilation of his early Bear records output which is stupendous - lots of honking saxophones and his wonderful voice.

Seen:
Hancock and Joan a great film 4 production with a spellbinding performance from Ken Stott as Tony Hancock. If a fraction of the portrayed events are accurate then he was a bit of a monster. Favourite line was at dinner with his new mother in law and as he got progressively more pissed and more aggressive he started a rant that ended with him calling her 'a provincial norther cunt'. Warning: Do not try this at home!!

Read: Finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and enjoyed it enough to read the next 2.
Currently half way through Dylans Chronicles and must say am quite impressed with his writing style.

Next months Word Blog takeover will coincide with a US business trip unless El hombre comes a week early. I hope to take in a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame so will report on it when I get back - Bet you cant wait!!

Heard:

For the last month I've been listening to a lot of compilations of blues, soul and R&B. Top of the heap is probably The Ace Story Vol.1, a fabulous collection of the best of the Jackson, Mississippi label. For as long as I live, I shall never tire of Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu by Huey Smith and The Clowns. I'm also loving A Beginner's Guide to Rhythm 'n' Blues (thanks to Pat Carty for the recommendation), which contains amongst many gems the extraordinary Jack, That Cat Was Clean by Dr Horse. Another great release is Sehorn's Soul Farm: 50 New Orleans Soul Classics which as one might expect is fonky and true. Right now I'm playing The Best of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour Vol.2 (Chrome Dreams). I have just been reminded that Chuck Berry's Havana Moon is one of the great records.

Several spins also for Honest Jon's Bettye Swann and Candi Staton releases. Magnificent stuff. And I've been rediscovering the melancholy genius of On the Beach by Neil Young and the frazzled riot of ideas that is Station to Station by David Bowie. Lastly a mention for the wonderful Classic Trio Sessions by Earl Hines which collects together two of his 1960s LPs, Here Comes Earl "Fatha" Hines and Fatha. Both are absolutely superb.

Read:

I've almost finished reading Italiani con Valigia by Beppe Severgnini. Severgnini is an Italian journalist of repute and this book is a collection of his travel writing. I think I'm just about getting to the stage where I can tell if an Italian book is written well or not, and I would say that this one is excellent.

Also my housemate Clemens returned from Italy with several copies of Diabolik, featuring my favourite knife-wielding comic book anti hero. I'm devouring them on the bus on the way to work.

Seen:

Not a great deal of new stuff... in fact, nothing. I've watched a load of classic Minder episodes and I'm revisiting the magical, ludicrous world of The Mighty Boosh.

Heard: Le Noise. Die-hard Neil Young fan - though still disappointed in virtually everything he's released since Silver and Gold - I was excited by this one. Even Living With War and Greendale, while interesting conceptually, were a dull listen. Le Noise certainly isn't dull. It's not particularly pleasant either. But I respect his right to record it, and am kind of glad he did - even if I have no intention of going near it ever again.

Seen: I'm in the minority of people here who enjoyed Harry and Paul this week.

Read: Rabbit, Run by John Updike. I'm 100 pages or so into it. Fantastic stuff. Apart from the other Rabbit novels, where do I go next?

Heard: Le Noise. Die-hard Neil Young fan - though still disappointed in virtually everything he's released since Silver and Gold - I was excited by this one. Even Living With War and Greendale, while interesting conceptually, were a dull listen. Le Noise certainly isn't dull. It's not particularly pleasant either. But I respect his right to record it, and am kind of glad he did - even if I have no intention of going near it ever again.

Seen: I'm in the minority of people here who enjoyed Harry and Paul this week.

Read: Rabbit, Run by John Updike. I'm 100 pages or so into it. Fantastic stuff. Apart from the other Rabbit novels, where do I go next?

Read & enjoyed: Ellroy's "Blood's A Rover - very complex plot but, fortunately, all is explained in final chapters; this month I will mostly be listening on audiobook to Stephen Fry's autobiography;

Seen & enjoyed: not a lot;

Heard & enjoyed: new - Arcade Fire, Mavis Staples, Janelle Monae, Deutsche Electronische Musik - old - Peggy Lee "Beauty and the Beat!", Sarah Vaughan "Vaughan & Violins", Radiohead "Kid A" and Ryan Adams "Rock N Roll".

Heard- Thanks to Retroman and El Hombre above I have been mostly grooving away to some Wilko Johnson stuff (what a great tune "I Keep It To Myself" is!) and Down By The Jetty by Dr Feelgood. Both aces as possibly everyone except me knew. Another admission is I also have heard "Are You Experienced?" for the very first time. I know, what am I doing here you all exclaim. He's plainly never heard a thing.

Read- Sum: Tales From The Afterlife by David Eagleman. Don't be fooled by the title, this is a must for anyone who ever loved Kurt Vonnegut. Also read McMafia by Misha Glenny. Highly recommended book about globalised crime.

Seen - Inception. Finally. Liked it.

AOB - Please visit the Raphael Tapestries at the V&A. It's free and it's a once in a lifetime event.

Heard: Planet Rock played Back in the Saddle by Aerosmith from 'Rocks', this was my intro to ver 'Smith back in the 70s via a Tommy Vance or Fluff Saturday afternoon BBC Rock Show. It hooked me and I knew this was a band for me, next Saturday I went into Listen (Cambridge St. one) and bought it.
After that I went back for 'Toys', I dunno why but I never dug any further back but continued to buy their subsequent releases up 'Done with Mirrors'. That was the end until phoenix like they returned with arguably their best album - 'Permanent Vacation'. I bought 'Pump' and then lapsed. I don't think they've done anything of note since then but hearing Saddle on PR prompted me to go back through my collection, unfortunately mine's all on vinyl so 'my neighbour' replenished the Aerosmith well with these mp3 Johhnies from the internets.
Listening back to their albums I realise my love for Aerosmith has not diminished as I choose my albums carefully. No band has ever rocked out and boogied as well as ver 'Smiff do.
I still can't figure out why people would go for Gn'R when Aerosmith exist.

Seen: Green Zone, wasn't sure if I'd be into it (another Hollywood fillum about Iraq) but it hooked me almost immediately. I like Matt Damon he chooses his movies well and this one suited his style of acting. Doesn't tell us anything we haven't heard before but from an 'on the ground' perspective.

Struggling a bit with Mad Men IV but it's still the best thing on telly.

Read: The third part of Michael Moorcock's Oswald Bastable trilogy - The Steel Tsar, halfway through and thoroughly enjoying it, like the previous books.

Live: Fever Ray, Glasgow ABC - Astonishing! (review posted in Nights Out)
Nik Turner's Space Ritual/Gong, ABC again - bored me, Gong were excellent till about 25 mins in when Gillie Smythe came on and then it all went Pete. Hillage and Miquette looked fantastic, can't say the same for Daevid and Gillie plus Steinberg guitars were in abundance. Steve Hillage's Gong would be a better nicht oot.

AOB: These are heavy times as the great Paul King sang - seems I wasn't due the Working Tax Credits I've been getting for the last year and a half, so I somehow have to find £2,294.84 to return to them. I ken I can pay them back monthly but that was money that was keeping me afloat, now not only has it gone but I have to find the same amount and give it back.

The Mum had to go into hospital for a 'wee procedure', they removed a malignant growth about the size of a small mushroom.
Neither of us expected this.
We're floored.
She's back home and doing remarkably well. Not being selfish but it has taken it's toll on me; my condition (neuropathy and the amount of drugs I take to keep it at bay) don't respond well to tension, I've been less active and supportive than I should be.

Bad news about Mrs. Beany, the spouse of one of us. Terrible loss man, I wish you strength.

sorry, it was not my intention to rave on and be a bummer, but y'kna...

so that's what my last month has equalled

Heard
I've spent most of the last few days listening to new Phantom Band album which is pretty darn good. They appear to be the missing link between Super Furry Animals and Arab Strap. Bought the new Everything Everything and Nick Hornby/Ben Folds records today so they'll be my platters that matter over the coming week and - hopefully beyond.

If I can briefly self-promote, a couple of weeks ago I went and interviewed a band for a website I write for. They were extremely nice, a great laugh, and I've been listening to their EP ever since. Video below, but warning, it's VERY twee:

Read
This may not be a popular statement, but I've given up on Revolution in the Head - it just wasn't grabbing me. I've just started Nick Cave's The Death of Bunny Munro; it's certainly interesting, a joy to read and the kind of thing that might get described as "deliciously dark".

Seen
Never drink and Amazon. I woke up on Saturday to find I'd bought a 44 DVD set of The West Wing, despite having never seen a single second of it previously. Happily, the episodes I've seen since have been fantastic and I can tell I'm going to be hooked.

AOB
I've had two social occasions with The Massive in the past month; both of which I've enjoyed enormously. Another member of this here board has taken time out to do me a huge favour, which has been very much appreciated. What lovely people you all are.

Read -

Peter James - Dead Like You

The 6th and most recent of the "Dead" novels starring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Cop thriller/whodunnit. A rapist with a designer high heeled shoe fetish is terrifying the city of Brighton and Hove. A decent read except for the unnecessary twist at the end. I suppose that's the hook for the next in the series.

Kathryn Stockett - The Help

This is one of the Channel 4 Book Club Summer read recommendations. I too will recommend it! Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60's, it's about black maids(the help)working in the homes of rich white ladies. They cook, clean, raise the children and do almost anything else asked of them. Segregation is the law of the land and black people can't sit at the same table as white folks let alone use the same toilets. An aspiring young white writer(herself having been raised by a black maid)senses the injustice of it all and persuades a couple of the maids to tell their stories in a book but everything has to be done secretly because if anyone guesses who's telling the stories......their lives won't be worth living.

Justin Halpern - Shit My Dad Says

I saw this in the library and vaguely remembered a positive review of it in Word magazine. The title is apt as the Dad says *shit* in almost every sentence. Basically it's 20-30 anecdotes about the author growing up with his father, who's highly educated, down to earth and extremely profane. It's a short read with lots of laugh out loud moments.

Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox

It's difficult to imagine that in the 1930/40's, a man could have his wife or daughter institutionalised for having a baby out of wedlock or for simply not behaving properly in polite society. This novel, set in Edinburgh around the 30/40's and the present tells of Esme Lennox, who was sent to the loony bin for the heinous crimes of not getting her hair cut and wanting to think for herself. After being locked up for 60 years, the asylum is being sold so Esme is released to her family, none of whom even know she even existed. Superb storytelling with an ending as gripping as any thriller.

David Nobbs - Cupid's Dart

Almost a rom-com. A 55 year old Oxford philosophy don has a chance meeting on a train with a 24 year old darts loving Essex girl. Chalk and cheese hit it off and spend the best part of a year together. Funny in parts, yet quite sad in others. A touching story about a fully grown man really growing up.

Seen -

The Road(DVD)

DVD now £5 in Tesco. I find this hard to explain....I liked this when it was over but didn't like it much whilst I watched it. Probably down to the fact that I hate seeing children put in harm's way but more than likely, it's a scary film and I'm a scardey-cat.

Oil City Confidential(TV)

Enjoyable story of Wilco Johnston's part in Dr Feelgood. It's a shame there wasn't more footage of them on stage, and more footage of Lee Brilleaux but I suppose none exists.

Steve Earle

Solo acoustic concert in Dunfermline. I've already posted about it in the *My Night Out With* section.

Heard -

Ray Lamontagne and The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' And The Creek Don't Rise

Fourth album from the singer songwriter. This time, recorded at his home and self produced...and with a band! He seems to be able to do anything he wants with his voice. ie booms it out on the rockier numbers; soulful when required and fragile almost to breaking point on the quiet ones. A good mixture from inside the Americana genre...there's a country song that NYC will never use as a tourism advert; a Neil Young inspired guitar and harmonica ballad; a love letter written by a cowboy far from home; songs of hope and wisdom taking us to the last song which is an 8 bar blues jam that sounds so fresh, it could have been made up on the spot. 10 songs. No duds. Less than 45 mins long. Perfect!

Richard Thompson - Dream Attic

Last year's "Sweet Warrior" has become my favourite Richard Thompson album. This new one isn't going to change that. Not that it's a bad record, it's actually a good record. It's a live album of new songs with a really tight band that crosses a few genres. Of course, there's folk and folk rock and a country rock shuffle on "Haul Me Up", which wouldn't be out of place on a Dire Straits CD. The financial crisis gets a mention; there's a murder ballad; some love lost and for some reason, Sting gets a kicking. We'll need to wait for Sting's next record(does he still make records?)to see how he reacts.

Heard: Not a lot to be honest. I have RT's Dream Attic poised on the ipod but haven't had a suitable moment to worship at the altar just yet. I seem to have been shuffling a lot instead. Nine Below Zero have popped up more than normal lately, particularly 'Don't Point Your Finger'. Stripped, tight R and B. Much taken with the posting of 'Stay' by Bowie earlier this month and have spotified 'Station to Station' a number of times while painting the lounge and bedroom.

Seen: The Hendrix Night last Friday on BBC4. Well structured main doc but little revelation. Not that I expected to hear he was really called Neville Thwick and was born in Kettering. Ultimately it re-inforced the stupid waste of his tragic death and the pragmatic opinions of his peers that he would have probably jumped a big musical shark if he had lived. Not for long though, I bet. He'd be brilliant now.

Read: Some photography manuals. I took some, flukily, pretty good landscape shots while up in Beadnell last month and have felt inspired to get a bit of a grip on technique. 'Feast' by Nigella Lawson. The old fashioned chocolate cake recipe is exceptional. 'The Revolt Of The Pendulum' by Clive James. 'Lost and Found' by Robert Benchley and 'Leaving Home' by Garrison Keillor. Short pieces. Just haven't been in a mood for long narratives lately.

AOB: Emulsioning walls is a great mind-clearer. And you end up with a clean and tidy house at the end of it.

first time Blogger Takeover contributor.

Heard: Tangerine Dream - Ricochet

Mr Blast of this parish put me onto the Tangies (?) and this live album from what I believe was around their peak period is wonderfully evocative. The GLW says it sounds dated, meaning that as a criticism, whereas I'd say it's a complement.

Read: Risk - The Science & Politics Of Fear by Dan Gardner

Fascinating study of why our brains are hard-wired to respond to things (often illogically) the way they do, arising from the fact that the for over 99% of our species' history we lived in circumstances nothing like modern urban environments.

Seen: The Young Ones (DVD of the early 80s sitcom, not the Lionel Blaircut programme on at the moment)

Stands up really very well - again, some aspects are dated, but in a good way. Makes you wonder whether any of them (other than Alexei Sayle) has done anything better since then.

AOB: Walked across the Erskine Bridge (very high suspension bridge over the Clyde - the sort of place where they put up big adverts for The Samaritans next to phone boxes). Very exhiliarating in both a good and a bad way. Makes you realise how under-appreciated solid ground is.

Went to see "The Town" earlier this evening. Good film, really enjoyed it.

Heard: new albums from Lloyd Cole and Edwyn Collins - both commented on by others elsewhere on this site; and Jonsi's album - like Mr Hepworth's review some months back I have no idea what it is about but I like it.

Read: not much - working through Murakami's Kafka on the shore - so far so good as usual.

Seen. Joanna Newsom at the Royal Cooncert Hall - stunning; and have reached the end of series one of Mad Men, only a few years late.

Anything else: did the great scottish run and thoroughly enjoyed, knocked 2.5 mins off my PB so felt quite chuffed with myself.

Read: Am reading Stone Junction by Jim Dodge which is OK, but not as great as I expected. Have huge pile of books to start including the Hepworth-endorsed Ed Smith, Bourdain's latest and Gary Shteygardt's much-hyped Super Sad True Love Story. Will report back next month if I can ever finish Stone Junction!

Seen: Have watched far too much TV. Mad Men, This is England 86, and many of the education programmes on BBC2. But the highlight has been watching my mate Ben on Masterchef this week which had us all very excited in the Ford household.

Heard: Been listening to the new Los Lobos, Cotton Jones, Andreya Triana and Allo Darlin' who are a bit like Belle and Sebastian but with a bit more bite.

Read - not a lot, best comic... probably Bulletproof Coffin by David Hine and the legendary Shaky Kane - silver age Kirby Kosmic madness, it's just luvverly.
Seen - got into downloading tv progs from iTunes to watch on the iPhone on the cross-trainer, works surprisingly well. Particularly enjoying Tim Roth in Lie to Me.
Heard - the album of the year *is* Cathal Coughlan's Rancho Tetrahedron. There is no finer lyricist working today. The introduction to The Frond Seller is the tunefullest tune ever.

Read - On Michael Houellebecq's Atomised at the moment. Filthy stuff really, extreme, reprehensible characters but it's pretty compelling. Also got through James Ellroy's American Tabloid.
Seen - Southland. Shocked to only realise tonight, when it didn't pop up on the EPG, that it's run has ended rather suddenly on More4. Only seven episodes in the first series, six in the second after it was cancelled in the states, although a third is in the pipeline. But such quality. The Illusionist has been covered elsewhere in the blogs - a great film. And thought The Road To Coronation Street was one of the best bits of UK drama in a long time.
Heard - Janelle Monae. Finished The Sopranos recently so have been listening to as many title songs that I can find on Spotify. Been giving some of The Waterboys' albums a go on there as well.

Joe, who asked about John Updike - I'm a fan but ashamed to say I've never got past the Rabbit books. Plenty there to keep you going obviously, but Couples and The Collected Early Stories always get good recommendations.

Read: Love Is A Mix Tape, by Rob Sheffield. Lovely. But you need a box of kleenex to get through it.
I've just started reading Stephen Fry In America. Too early to say if it's any good.

Written: the God thread gave me a great idea that slipped perfectly into the short story about chryogenics that I've been working on, so thanks to everyone that took part in the debate!

Heard: September was `oldies but goldies´ month for me.
Dr John, XTC, Talking Heads, all kinds of jazz and the quite wonderful Disco Discharge series. The only new kid on the block has been Villagers. Interesting, but I need to give it a few more listenings before I can make my mind up about it.
But now it will have to compete with a big pile of CD's that I just got in the mail... A few new ones like Edwyn Collins and Dungen. But mostly old favourites bought dirt cheap ( each for less than the price of a cup of coffee! Including a 9 CD collection of Bach! )

Seen: very little TV these days. Tried a few new shows, but they were all of the take it or leave it variety, so I left quickly. The only movie I've seen lately was a screening of Mamma Mia on TV - the worst movie I've seen in years! Chockingly bad.

READ - well, listened to 1974 by David Peace, grimy thriller set in its eponymous year in Yorkshire

HEARD - Le Noise, probably won't listen to it again but didn't mind it, ol' Neil's voice is a bit nostalgic these days

SEEN - 19 Australian films which I was judging for an awards show - half a dozen good, half a dozen rubbish and the rest kind of ho-hum. Recommend "Mao's Last Dancer" if it's available anywhere else in the world

HEARD: The only newbie, Lloyd Cole's Broken Record, is a lovely properly grown up country/pop record and it's very good. Other than that still digging about in the vast bottomless crate opened up by Electric Eden. Trees, Mellow Candle, Bread Love and Dreams and Sandy Denny have all hit the spot. Also, where's Kaleidoscope's Tangerine Dream been all my life? - it's superb.

READ: Only book finished was Paul Du Noyer's In the City, a history of London music. Intersting stuff.

SEEN: 3 1/2 series of Mad Men (hence lack of books). Nothing more needs to be said about this, it's just perfect.

Also, The American, Anton Corbijn directing George Clooney plus beautiful ladies in mysterious hit man Euro thriller. What could go wrong? In fact can be reviewed very simply: Meh.

Heard - been listening to this a lot
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmosonica-Crazy-Covers-Vol-1/dp/B0008KLVQO/ref...
Some great covers, some less so.
Also some Radiohead, Pixies and Belle and Sebastian.

Mostly podcast listening when I'm out running (Danny Baker show, Fighting Talk, Guardian Football Weekly, Off the Ball - Scottish football)

Read - 3/4 of the way through Christopher Brookmyre "Not The End of the World". I love Brookmyre's books, very funny, bizarre characters and he keeps you hooked until the end. 2 more of his books on order.

Seen - working my way through "The Big Bang Theory". Very, very funny US comedy series. Sheldon Cooper is my new favourite comedy character, his intellectual snobbery and lack of social conventions remind me of a younger version of Niles Crane...and everybody knows that "Frasier" is a work of genius too.

AOB - in training to run a 16mile race this Sunday in Edinburgh that crossses over the Forth Road Bridge. I'm hoping the inevitable cross wind doesn't blow me over the side.

Read: Joseph O Neill´s Netherland. Mesmerizing book on memory and loss as a cut adrift , recently seperated Dutch banker gets drawn into the netherworld of cricket clubs in NYC and the slightly grandiose schemes of Chuck Ramkisoon, a rather shady cricket entrepreneur. Really excellent characters and beautifully written

Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies: Aussie film buff Michael Adams decides to spend a whole year of trying to watch and categorise some of the worst movies ever made. Entertaining and has had me having a look on Amazon but some of them are quite expensive.

Seen: Second season of Nurse Jackie. Im hopelessly in love with Edie Falco.

Re-watching Frazier, is there any finer sit-com ?

The White Ribbon, very fine German movie on the origins, or not of Nazism in a rural community at the start of the 20th century

Heard: Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention, never heard until now, can´t think why not.
Shootenany by Eels, trying to catch up on some back-catalogue

AOB: Still haven´t fully started back at work yet, so I have decided to try and redecorate the office, take long walks with the dogs and have finally learnt the art of making really good fig jam.
Oh, and Ive grown a beard

Read - An advance copy of the new book by Oliver Sacks about how the brain interprets what the eyes are telling it. Mildly interesting although I skipped a few pages here and there. I'm now enjoying my 3D vision like never before (and now I don't have to pay Hollywood £8 for the thrill). I've now moved onto Freedom by Jonathan Franzen which is brilliant so far (this is how I like my authors: to take 10 years to write a new book and to put a very good approximation of their whole world into it).

Seen - The Proposal. One of the weakest romantic comedies I've ever seen. Just really poor with a blank uneventful script.

Heard - My new 78 minute playlist of the best songs so far of 2010. Which confirms that rock is dead. If you're a rock snob look away now ("If this is the music of today then I weep", said one such snob).

"1CD Best Of 2010 (28/9/10, 78 minutes)

1. On A Mission Gabriella Cilmi Ten 03:02 Pop

2. The Flood Katie Melua The House 04:04 Pop

3. He's Not A Boy The Like Release Me 02:35 Pop

4. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Arcade Fire The Suburbs 05:26 Rock

5. Cousins Vampire Weekend Contra 02:25 Pop

6. In the Sun She & Him Volume Two 02:50 Folk-Rock

7. Aphrodite Kylie Minogue Aphrodite 03:46 Pop

8. Out Of Our Minds Auf der Maur Out Of Our Minds 04:32 Rock

9. Do-Wah-Doo Kate Nash My Best Friend Is You 02:34 Pop

10. Elastic Love Christina Aguilera Bionic 03:34 Pop

11. Lost A Girl New Young Pony Club The Optimist 04:22 Pop

12. Record Collector Lissie Catching A Tiger 03:44 Rock

13. Imelda May - Sneaky Freak Word Magazine Now Hear This! 90 August 2010 03:04 Rock

14. Forever And Ever Amen The Drums The Drums 04:28 Rock

15. Our Love Is Fading Sheryl Crow 100 Miles From Memphis 06:21 Soul

16. The Futureheads - Sun Goes Down Word Magazine Now Hear This! 90 August 2010 03:53 Other

17. I Will Break You Sparrow & The Workshop Crystals Fall 03:21 Folk-Rock

18. Woah Billy! Lucky Soul A Coming Of Age 03:29 Pop

19. Hollywood (Album Version) Marina & The Diamonds The Family Jewels 03:50 Pop

20. Any Which Way Scissor Sisters Night Work 04:41 Pop

21. Boyfriend Best Coast Crazy For You 02:30 Pop"

Heard
Anais Mitchell's Hadestown is still getting a lot of air time at the Hovel along with a lot of Babba Maal.This last week has been given over too extended perusal of the truly wonderful and surprising compilation discs of the N.W.Massive.Cor Blimey!

Seen
Battlestar Gallactica for the third time,Kick-ass,Four Lions and Mad Men of course.

Read
"The Girl Who Played With Fire" Steig Larsson.The same as last month,very busy so I'm afraid the reading has had to suffer.

A.O.B.
A lot of painting,fixing the central heating,sorting out a broken ipod and attending the N.W.Massive mingle in Manchester.Another marvellous night this time made all the more special by the attendance of Mr Fraser Lewry of this parish,a true gent and a genuine pleasure to meet.
Sadly this month has ended on a sombre note with the terrible news of our Beany's dreadful loss of his wonderful wife.You are in our thoughts my friend.We hope to see you soon.

Heard: Recently been having a Pogues' fest, inspired by some reminiscing about the first gig I ever went to with the GGH. If I Should Fall From Grace With God is an absolute belter of an album. Other current rediscoveries include Talking Heads' Remain in Light, and Stiff Little Fingers' Hanx - really taking me back to my youth, or rather childhood.

Seen: Just finished a seven season run-through of The West Wing, which has been 'crack' televison for me over the past few months. On more than once occasion I've stumbled bleary-eyed to bed in the wee, small hours, after uttering that fateful phrase: "Just one more episode..."
Saw This Is England '86 (four part-series). Discussed this on another thread, but it was genuinely the most entertaining and disturbing thing I've seen for a long time. Who says there's never anything good on the telly?
EDIT: Also, I watched A Prophet, a startlingly good French prison drama, starring Tahar Rahim, a young Algerian actor, who gives the best portrayal of the black descent from innocence to evil since Al Pacino in The Godfather.

Read: A whole range of lavishly illustrated hardbacks, with concise, simple language, examining man's ever-changing relationship with machines. That sounds impressive. What I really mean is I've been reading baby books (mainly called things like Tractor! and Digger!) to my motor-head toddler.

AOB: Attended my first Massive meet-up in London. Was quite nervous, which manifested itself in necking back an unwise number of sherberts. Needn't have worried - I was made to feel most welcome by a lovely bunch of extremely entertaining people. Mr Drake is expressing serious interest in attending the next one.

...first time I joined in this thread (and I'm afraid all of it is v. obvious) so:

Heard: Nina Simone Sings The Blues (an unfortunate unplanned walk past Fopp on the way to the cinema leading to my purse being several pounds lighter). I love it, and hadn't seen it on CD for years (£3). Edwyn Collins new LP, it's been said many times, but it is really good, and I'm still unbelievably moved when I hear/see him performing after everything. Still listening to Janelle Monae, and it's growing on me loads after being a tad disappointed at the first few listens. Had a thing for Haysi Fantayzee's 'John Wayne is Big Leggy' for a few days after playing for a friend who had never heard it. Grinderman 2: on paper sounds rubbish, really, but just isn't rubbish. At all. Delighted that In Our Time has returned from its summer break (especially as this week one of the experts on the Delphic Oracle was Prof. Nick Lowe), and Listen Against on Radio 4 is that rare beast: a Radio 4 comedy that makes me laugh. A lot.

Read: I'm having a terrible time with fiction recently. I simply cannot get in to books, and end up reading papers and magazines only. However, this month I have re-read Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits and read some short stories by Rose Tremain hoping that the fiction habit will return. I miss reading, and it also means I get to bed earlier rather than pottering around much too late in the evening. Got Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall staring at me accusingly on the bedside table, so that'll be next, hopefully.

Seen This is England and Mad Men like everyone else. Both excellent in different ways. I've a penchant for period dramas set in big houses, with lovely frocks and a clash of classes. Downton Abbey is going to suit my Sunday evenings well. At the flicks, seen Winter's Bone, which I loved, but wish I'd seen it pre-hype. Also saw I'm Still Here, which I wanted to like as I rather admired the idea, but absolutely hated. Like looking through the holiday photos of someone who don't know very well and don't like at all. Yuk. Tamara Drewe: Meh. OK in places, but nowhere near as funny as it thinks it is. Very good performances though, which save it. No live gigs or theatre this month.

Heard:
Neil Young - Le Noise. I really like it. A lot.
The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana. A sublime classic.
Legion Of Mary - 1975-04-09 Bottom Line - NY. Cantor Soundboard. Where's my time machine? What a night.

Seen:
Monsters. Will probably be classed as the best scifi film of the decade. I loved it. Alledgedly made for less than $15K. Post-production from the directors bedroom (Gareth Edwards - he's British).

Read:
Stephen Fry - The Fry Chronicles. Sadly, I thought it was awful. Read like it had been written for the natty iPad app: very disjointed, very bloggy. Hacked off that I paid twelve quid for it through iBooks to get the extra video embeds - they added nothing to the experience.
Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot. Puts things in perspective.
Shuichi Yoshida - Villain. A depressing but worthy novel of modern Japan...and murder.

Heard For some reason been revisiting Board of Canada's oeuvre. Thanks to the layers of samples and sonic tricks all of it rewards repeated listening, but I reckon Campfire Headphase is their best. I have also picked up The World Ends - Afro Rock & Psychedelia In 1970s Nigeria. Some really funky earworm tracks on this, none more so than Rough Rider by The Hygrades. It instantly sounds like a classic you've known for years:

It'll probably end up as the soundtrack to some black and white trainer advert, while a little lad in rags from a indeterminate third world country astonishes us with his slo-mo skills.
Also become slightly obsessed by Moon Wiring Club a one-man hauntology turn. There's a few bits of pieces by them as free downloads on tinternet but I recommend getting their CDs as they come lovingly packed like high art.

Seen Finally saw Avatar in 3D in a proper cinema and it was still a load of old rubbish. Caught The Illusionist for the first time on telly last week and can only agree with other opinion on this site: a smashing old-fashioned film.
Also saw John Simm's go at Hamlet at The Crucible. A real curate's egg. He was completely believable as an enraged young man teetering over the edge of madness as he deals with the series of unfortunate events engulfing Elsinore, but I don't think he had the depth to pull off the existential angst of the famous soliloquies.

Read Intrigued by mentions in books like Satan Wants me I picked up the definitive book on the archetypical sixties cult The Process. Love, Sex, Fear, Death charts how a splinter group of Scientologists led by an ex-architect student and a former vice-girl mutated into an apocalyptic cult worshiping Jehovah, Lucifer AND Satan in Mexico and finally ended up as a mid-west animal welfare charity. Given this level of lunacy, I wasn't shocked to see Genesis P Orridge took an interest in The Process. This book - along with Natural Born Messiah, which I read last month - convinced me that whatever total guff some "guru" comes up with, someone, somewhere will believe it. Also finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics, a novel pushed as a new cult classic a few years back. My initial thought: "God, is this self-satisfied pretentious dribble or what?" Half-way through: "actually, it might be quite good after all" At the end: "It was definitely a pile of self-satisfied pretentious dribble" I think part of the reason it gained so much attention is that the author Marisha Pessl looks incredibly beautiful on the dust-jacket.

Strange month, mostly because of not much time; ramping up for undergrads arriving.

Heard
Dug out Love/Hate's Blackout In The Red Room from 1990. Forgotten what a bloody great rocking album it is.
History of Modern by OMD. Patchy, with good bits and less good. The good bits are very,very good though.
Junior - Röyskopp. Jaunty, fun. Just right for the last gasps of the summer.

Seen
Not seen much TV at all.
Four Lions - Beautifully nuanced and really rather fabulous. The funny bits are pant wetting, the rest is tragic.
Going Postal - a much better than adequate of my favourite Terry Pratchett Discworld book. The amazing Richard Coyle was just note perfect, and exactly what I imagined Moist von Lipwig to be.

Heard previews of Orb v David Gilmour, which I await with excitement. It supposedly arrives the day after my visit to o2 for JM Jarre

Read
Terry Pratchett's I Shall Wear Midnight. Supposedly a "children's book" but one written by a man of impressive powers. Funny, wonderful economy of words and imagery. And, above all, a great story.
After that, mostly management textbooks I'm afraid (for a postgraduate course I'm doing at work), and not hugely interesting.

Read - 'Ordinary Thunderstorms' by William Boyd. One of his best I think. A hard to put down, exciting thriller but also full of depth and meaning with insight into modern life - a squalid, violent, frightening, urban world where poorer people live versus a corrupt, criminal corporate world and what happens when these worlds intersect and collide.

Now reading 'Rabbit Is Rich' by Updike. Not sure I've read any author who writes better.

Heard - 'The Suburbs' by Arcade Fire. Might be their best album. Best when they go against expectations and previous approach and adopt a more old-fashioned, less indie style of music.

Also purchased remastered 'Help!' and 'Hard Day's Night'. Forget all this tiresome business of whether Lennon or McCartney was the real genius behind the band (I plead guilty to making this error too) and accept they both needed the other to be at their best. You could make a reasonably strong case for either a Lennon or McCartney song being the best track on any Beatles album. For those who champion McCartney, the lion's share of writing on HDN, a candidate for best album of theirs, is by Lennon. But then it's got 'Things We Said Today' on it, a Macca masterwork. I suppose it's the less familiar ones I am appreciating the most. 'I'll Be Back', and 'I've Just Seen a Face' for example.

Seen - 'Tamara Drewe'. Loved this film. It's funny and entertaining. Quite light but in an intelligent way.

Also 'This is England '86'. Not as good as the film but has it's moments of brilliance. Not entirely convinced of the realism, of the authenticity regarding the time it's set in. The individuals are rather exaggerated caricatures, distortions. Still good to have a proper powerful drama of the kind we so often lament the decline of.

SEEN

A few years ago, a soul-sapping period of long-term unemployment was brightened by E4’s airing of Gilmore Girls - A show the channel continues to broadcast on rotation in weekday instalments. My initial open hostility to the eccentric population of the fictional American small town of Stars Hollow softened over time, approximately mirroring the Kübler-Ross model describing the five stages of grief. In my case it was:

(1) Denial: Christ, this is annoying. Come friendly bombs and fall on Stars Hollow.

(2) Doubt: If I don’t like this show then why do I keep watching it?

(3) Disbelief: Is that Carole King?

(4) Acceptance: It is! It is Carole King!

(5) Fandom: Oh my God! Oh my God! Luke and Lorelai are getting married. I must go on the internet immediately and discuss the significance of this event with other housebound middle-aged women whose dearest wish is for a better relationship with their teenage daughters.

Boiled down to it’s essence Gilmore Girls is a soft-focus version of Twin Peaks that keeps the damn fine coffee but throws out the malevolent, wood-dwelling spirits and backwards-talking dwarves. The story centres around the lives of the whimsical and frequently irritating Lorelai Gilmore (Every time she ignores the no mobile phones sign in Luke’s cafe I feel the urge to reach in through the screen and drag her outside by her ear) and Rory - her more-grounded, conscientious and studious daughter.

I received season seven on DVD for my birthday, thereby completing the series. With a daunting 154 episodes at my disposal I am now able relive, any time I want, Kirk’s pretentious black and white art house movie; the time a nerdy 12 year old girl turned up at Luke’s diner requesting a sample of his DNA for a school science fair project to determine the identity of her father; the dark period when Rory drops out of Yale, goes off the rails and steals a yacht; the episode where Lorelai breaks up with her boyfriend and is subsequently followed around by cats who seem to sense that she is doomed to a lonely spinsterhood; and the military precision with which Rory smuggles the new Belle and Sebastian single (Legal Man) into the possession of her best friend Lane, under the suspecting gaze of her strict, devoutly Christian mother.

Carole King makes very occasional appearances as the crotchety owner of Stars Hollow’s musical instrument shop and is one several musicians to appear in the show: Grant Lee Phillips (formerly of Grant Lee Buffalo) plays Stars Hollow’s licensed troubadour. In season six, after he takes a brief leave of absence to go on tour with Neil Young, the town becomes infested with street performers hoping to take his place, among them Yo La Tengo, Sparks, Sonic Youth and Joe Pernice; all ignoring the town mayor’s threat to have them forcibly removed with canine units and fire hoses if they don’t disband peacefully.

Other bizarre cameos in the show’s history included Norman Mailer who took up permanent residence in the Dragonfly Inn’s restaurant and refused to order anything other than iced tea, and the former US Secretary of State - Madeleine Albright.

HEARD

Black Mountain join a short list of bands that I really like without being able to explain exactly why. A group who wear their 70s prog, rock and blues influences on their sleeve and whose song titles (Old Fangs, Radiant Hearts, Let Spirits Ride) read like they should be embroidered onto the charter patches adorning the leather jackets of biker gang members. The latter song sounds like it was written to accompany a white-knuckle, two-wheeled navigation of dead man’s curve.

A strong sense of purpose seems to drive the band’s music and image, permeating into the cover design of their albums: From the literal black and silver mountainscape of their eponymous debut, to the none-more-prog, blasted landscape with it’s neat stack of metallic cuboids, that was a strong influence in my decision to purchase their second long player - In The Future - at a time when I had very little money. On the cover of their new album - Wilderness Heart - the reflection of an open-mouthed, great white shark looms in the mirror glass of an out of town corporate building.

Like its predecessors Wilderness Heart incorporates echoes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, stitched together with retro-futuristic keyboard riffs. Ramshackle opener - The Hair Song - finds the bad band rooted on the spot amidst a storm of lurching organ and the relentless crash of drums and cymbals, as if they are subjecting themselves to preliminary stress test prior to the pulsing menace of Old Fangs and the hymnal folk of Sadie and Buried By The Blues.

In common with early REM the lyrics remain on mysterious side of obtuse. Possibly this unknowable quality is part of the band’s appeal.

READ

Set in the early 1970s, on the campus of the African American Sutton University, The Nigger Factory by Gil Scott-Heron has echoes of J.G. Ballard in its depiction of a society in microcosm, tearing itself apart internally. A three way struggle erupts between the principled student body president - Earl Thomas; Calhoun - the president of the University - a former radical turned unsympathetic repressor of student dissent; and MJUMBE - the unelected militant wing of student politics who illegally acquire Thomas’ carefully researched and constructed list of complaints against the university, and use them as the basis of a pre-emptive strike against Calhoun, with a revolutionary spin to it.

The book is a fictional study in what happens when stubborn men who refuse to give an inch get locked into a downward spiral, with players making their moves and then second-guessing what the response will be before it happens. Scott-Heron creates a cast of sympathetic characters who are hard to dislike even as they prepare to bring the temple roof down on their heads. I started this book one Saturday morning and kept going back to it until it was finished.

As much as I enjoy the writing of Alan Moore and Iain Sinclair, the pseudo-occultism of psychogeography (the effect that geography and architecture has on the emotions of individuals) has always struck me as a self-important, literary equivalent of the Most Haunted TV show, and therefore ripe for parody.

In The Groundwater Diaries, author Tim Bradford walks the course of several underground rivers that form part of London’s subterranean landscape, in a book that’s part autobiography/part metropolitan travelogue, and has its tongue wedged firmly in its cheek.

Map legends denote the presence of extra strong lager drinkers, smashed-up cars and football/mason conspiracies (The Arsenal stadium, apparently); a theory as to whether the consumption of the strong canned beer favoured by the Capital’s homeless alcoholic population can assist in dowsing is rigorously put to the test; and the Westbourne is cited as a possible catalyst for the uprising of Punk.

The Groundwater Diaries is at least a hundred pages too long and like the frayed tributaries of the rivers it follows, contains to many meandering digressions to be a truly engaging read. It’s a funny book none-the-less and an antidote to those writers who often seem intent on reducing the thriving, diverse, and energetic urban sprawl that is London to a city of ciphers.

Like many of you I'm enjoying the new album by the wonderful Edwyn Collins. This week I've also been playing the rather fine 2003 album by his old sparring partner James Kirk. It's called "You Can Make It If You Boogie".
As much as I love Edwyn's solo stuff (espech "Hellbent On Compromise") I sometimes wish it had a bit more of the early OJ spirit about it. YCMIIYB, for me, fills this salmon-shaped hole in my life.
Are any of the massive fans of this record?
Also, I know nothing about Mr Kirk's life post OJ (and with that name he's a bugger to Google) can any of the massive enlighten me?

...having a reasonable commute of late I have torn through Charles Stross's "The Atrocity Archives" which for an old Sci Fi fan (and IT wonk) was a hugely enjoyable surprise.

That and Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" followed immediately by "Kitchen Confidential". Very amusing, and ample evidence if any were needed that a) shows like Masterchef are ridiculous, and b) any delusions I may have had about a career switch are massively unrealistic.

I do most of my listening in the car. This month's sd card included:

RT Dream Attic. I like this a lot. Funnily enough I didn't really enjoy his contribution to the singer / songwriter programme the other night. I'm not sure why his acoustic performances don't currently float my boat. But the electric band stuff, top drawer which is why Dream Attic is the boy for me

Corrine Bailey Rae; the Sea. I bought this after some rave reviews on this forum. I can see why, it's terrific. I've been wondering who it reminds me of, and I've decided it's Anita Baker, mostly in terms of compositon

Railroad Earth: Grey Fox 2010
Greensky Bluegrass: Grey Fox 2010

I downloaded both of these from archive.org. I attended Grey Fox this year, and it's nice to relive the experience. RRE are bluegrass in instrumentation only, they are a first class jam band in the Grateful Dead tradition. Greensky Bluegrass (as the MC says "from the great bluegrass state of Michican") are bluegrass jammers, well worth checking out

Seen:

Lots recently. I got a late offer to go and see the Bare Naked Ladies at Manchester Apollo and was knocked out by them, particularly their demonstrative joi de vivre at being back playing UK since their co-founder left. Also very impressed by their opener Boothby Graffoe who was funny but also had very clever quirky material

I attended the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Longford, Ireland for the 4th consecutive year and had a great time. It's a terrific gig, and highlights this year included Rodney Crowell, Iris DeMent and regular closing day favourite Gerry O'Connor. Disappointed by the main bluegrass act Mountain Heart whose whole seemed to fall a long way short of the potential sum of their parts

I also saw Caitlin Rose open for Deertick at Manchester Deaf Institute. Liked her, didn't like them much, loved the venue

AoB: I've developed a renewed interest in cooking and do Sunday dinner most weeks. My best efforts have all come courtesy of Jamie Oliver's website which strikes me as being a splendid resource

Heard
Grinderman 2 - Grinderman. It has its moments, but I preferred the first album and the last Bad Seeds album.
Band of Joy - Robert Plant. Really growing on me - has an earthy, natural quality.
The First Days of Spring - Noah and the Whale - nae bad.
Through Low Light and Trees - Smoke Fairies - if you like a bit of folk with beautiful harmonies and a sense that music is timeless, this might be for you. Richard Hawley reckons it's the best thing he's heard in years.
Read
Electric Eden - Rob Young - a fascinating 700 page exploration of the roots of the 1960s folk boom and a detailed look at the well-known (and less well-known) proponents of the boom. Occasionally disappears up his own arse, but overall a good read.
Seen
Armstrong & Miller at Sheffield Lyceum. A well-executed and often hilarious stage enactment of the characters from their TV show (Chav Pilots, Blue Peter presenters, bawdy Flanders & Swann characters, and many more).
AOB
Got soaked on Sunday out in the Peak District, but it was worth it to see normally babbling brooks in full spate.

Read
Commuting: The Greatest Show On Earth - Richard Dawkins explains the mechanisms of evolution with immense clarity. Some brilliant moments of illumination - for instance when talking about the arms race aspect of evolution, it's not so much necessary for potential prey to have to be able to run faster than the predator, as to be faster than the slowest member of the herd. A joy to read.
Bedtime: Too Big To Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin's inside account of the 2008 battle to save Wall Street, taken from interviews, e-mails and even videotapes of meetings. It's an absolutely fascinating account of the collapse of Lehman Brothers et al and the efforts to save Lehman and the rest of them. So depressing to see things coming around again so quickly.
One thing I didn't understand was with Lehman's share price plummeting CEO Dick Fuld blamed the short sellers in hedge funds for their precarious position. So who did the short sellers get to buy the shares when they surely knew they were on a losing bet?

Heard:
Bruce Cockburn - Inner City Front and World Of Wonders. I've found myself listening to Bruce a lot after he kept popping up on my MP3. At £4 each on Amazon I couldn't resist these albums that I had read are highly rated by long term fans, and I find I can't disagree. They really are fine albums. ICF saw Bruce going electric after moving to the city after his divorce.

Seen:
The Kids Are All Right. Annette Bening, Juliana Moore and Mark Ruffalo are all excellent in a very enjoyable film about the impact of the sperm donor father of the children of a lesbian relationship entering the family's life.
Mary Chapin Carpenter. Fab. I put a show review in My Night Out With.