and the Black Kids... (altho it was only 6 quid off itunes - albums are getting cheaper!)

Disappointment set in right from the outset of the concluding episode of the Fourth Season of Russell T. Davies’s reincarnation of “Doctor Who”. I wanted ...

Yep...look at that. This is the weather we went out in on Saturday night. Snow. Loads of it. A bit of an occasion for us really as we often only see the ...

In his 1998 book *Tommy and Me*, Ben Stein chronicles his feelings of frustration and joy of being a father. It's a short book, at 152 pages, and contain...

Here’s a little something to whet your appetite for a comic coming up in a few months. Obviously, it’s divorced from its context, but I like the image, so ...

Heh! Yeah, I bet THAT title had you shocked didn’t it? Get your minds outta there, nothing of the sort! And to The Guy : Hon? Once you have recovered from ...

@steevbishop Is the fanosphere at large having a fit, then? It was a perfectly serviceable piece of TV. The Wow! outdid the Wha? easily! # Grr @marcellerby...

Iron Maiden @ Twickenham Stadium, 5th July 2008 In 1985, Iron Maiden released "Live After Death", an album recorded on the Long Beach date of their "Worl...

I heard from Jude today, one of my best friends ever. We haven't been in contact with each other for a while, but she sent me a text because she's off to s...

A long time ago I announced that I was embarking on a personal project that has been in the works since when I was quite young. Starting my own indie comi...

Listening to: Trouble Sleeping (Corrine Bailey Rae) Weather: turning grey and cold Tough choices in the pigshed this week after the piglets proved exceptio...

*Did you ever see the wild goose sailing on the ocean Ranzo my boys, oh Ranzo Ray They're just like them pretty girls when they get the notion Ranzo my boys,...

This is almost as much fun as rearranging furniture - only easier because it doesn't involve heavy lifting. No risk of scratching the hardwood floor either...

I've spent a fair part of this weekend on the road again with another return trip to The Boonies. (Yes I survived the babysitting, no children or animals w...

I’ve caught up on a lot of my comic reading, and thought it was about time I highlighted a few comics that may have escaped your attention. Most of these ...

This weekend I have been having an e-conversation with Justine 'my friend from St. Augustine' about the differences in our eating habits. As the e-mails pr...

Sutton Festival of Arts on Twitter - A great example (in my view, for what that's worth) of how an event can use Twitter to connect with and inform an audi...

*SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY/ FOREST OF THE DEAD* Never one to shirk controversy, I’m willing to stick my head on the block and call Stephen Moffat a quite go...

... was delighted to find that I had eventually found the perfect way to rid myself of Duffman. After being inflicted by his witterings for far too long I w...

It annoys me when people use the wrong word, not because they (temporarily) cannot think of the right word, or they utter the wrong word on impulse and so ...

Leaving tomorrow..back on the 14th..but with my irregular updates..you'll hardly notice.

While we were waiting in Toronto for our connect flight to Tel Aviv, I saw a young woman circling a payphone. You can try to imagine her. She was probably...

Kerry went down to pick up the car from outside the railway station only to find that some arsehole has smashed the passenger side window. There was little...

I was surprised to discover the barrier that was open at 9 in the morning was closed at 7 in the evening [Add a comment]

Well, after a decent night's sleep (the night before was lost as I think I've trapped a nerve affecting my left shoulder), I woke up refreshed and eager t...

My sister comes into my room with a face that says* I'm in a flap*. *"Have you got any nice tops? I've got nothing to wear."* I hesitate, and not because I...

As an addendum to the My Bloody Valentine post, I had a couple of their CD singles up on Amazon, and because nobody else seemed to be selling them, I liste...

Just to keep you going until I find time to bring some more relief to your suffering, I saw a newspaper headline today asking "Should women be CofE Bishops...

HBO's John Adams series was great...but dude, 1776? Completely tops. (Look, it was this, or me posting the GI Joe movie intro again.)

At last, in this prog’s episode of *Oz*, *Judge Dredd* stops kicking his heels around *Mega City One* and arrives in Australia. Since the latest multi-part...

Hannah Swenson owns and operates the Cookie Jar, a small bakery in a tiny town called Lake Eden, Minnesota. She also solves mysteries. *Carrot Cake Murder*...

Super Smash Brothers Brawl is brilliant. I knew it would be. For those who might be interested, my Friend Code for the game is 0388 0323 8824, and my Wii Co...

This week's Friday Seven, sponsored by* PJANG* and *OUTCASTES*, the thinking persons small press publications. Remember, if you want to read quality indepe...

I had that peculiar little ditty Five Years Time stuck in my head the other day. It got me thinking - not just about what an irritating earworm it was - ...

The Social Secretary and her daughter have been having a strange morning. First they took the dog for a walk in the woods, and were taken aback when a larg...

Blimey. A month. A lot of the reason for not posting is not having time. The other reason for not posting is not really having much to say. Things are hect...

I'll tell you what I wanted, what I really really wanted, I wanted to see a great film last weekend. But went to see Wanted instead. Not that it's bad, it'...

One of my earliest postings on this blog; My Sweeping NHS Reforms concerned my fantasy reforms of the National Health Service - the majority of which I sti...

Issue one of *PJANG* (short for the *Nick Cave* lyric "Peaople Just Ain't No Good") is now available and I strongly recommend that you give it a go. You m...

Reports have been posted saying that a full version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis have been found in Buenos Aires of all places. The previous longest version ...

Just about to go on holiday (see sidebar and loathe me insanely). My mind is so occupied with this that I have been unable to come up with a post for today...

A few months ago, there was a sensational Van Morrison backlash in a blog post of note. Sure, he's a bloaty, moany old scroat now, more than past his best...

It has been noted in the past that fellow blogger and fellowette tranny Lauren Close (now how can I put this?) *wears her hair* somewhat like me. It's in ...

Corporate HQ

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I went to see my mate's over at Qurios Entertainment yesterday, and Niel there told me that I had to update this blog or he'd post the video he has of me u...

Yes, after several years (well, the vast majority of my life) my love-life seems to be looking up. I have a date on 8th July. More details when I feel like...

There are certain things one anticipates when taking a holiday with one’s best mate, and when one’s best mate is Best Mate, these include a frighteningly w...

Mild Drizzle was forecast Torrential downpour was what we got. Must be Glastonbury this weekend! Bad News for the Barn Owls I saw a few days ago. The rain I...

So I was on the radio the other day. All went well. My bit starts about 15 minutes in. If you're interested, you can listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.u...

This blog may be going offline tomorrow, as I haven’t been able to pay my hosting fees this month. I’ll still be around lurking in the back of comments box...

It's two years to the day since I took the picture I use as my avatar. Such a lot has happened in those two years, not all of it fun. That day I was fishin...

So, there we are, mrs spice & I, heading off on a two and a half hour drive to pay our second visit to a potential new location for spice acres. It's ...

Should anyone have missed The Scaremongers on last night's The Culture Show, and desperately need to watch it, here it is on the iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.u...

*Bam!! * Kicking it up a notch with the spice weazle. What a crap day. Foggy, rainy, cold, miserable..... woke up to the distant sound of a recycling wagon...

Still working, still kinda writing. Things are humming along with CAGES. I actually spoke to my publisher for the first time last week (thanks to Skype), w...

Next week I see nearly six months of headaches come to a massive (anti)climax when everyone in my department gets the chance to be interviewed .... for ou...

Well hello folks, it's me, Rob, back again :-) You may have heard that I'd gone off with Lips Laura and Squeeze Box Sarah. Well! I must say that the story ...

Many Happy Returns Richard Starkey MBE, 68 today; rabbit shadow puppets second to none. . 'Time and tide wait for no man - but at least you can move your d...

Today is a re-letter day at TVV, as at some point the blog is going to receive hit number 200,000. From tracking some basic stats, I've learned that there a...

Anyone who went through the '80s knows that maybe sometimes, for some reasons, you might just miss the side ponytail. On Saturday night I went to a (totall...

Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - Mostly A Friend Chromeo - Bonafied Lovin' (Yusek Mix) DCLC - They Be Underwater Unkle - Kaned & Abel *Doveman - Never*

Last week's theme at Star Maker Machine was the fifty states. Going through my “state” songs, I wasn't surprised to see that Texas, California, Georgia, Al...

During the Spring 1993 semester, I composed a series of "morning poems" which took the form of doggerel glosses scribbled in the margins of my class notes....

Second flood in a week has owners contemplating a move. The second of two major floods this week at Adams Morgan vinyl vendor Crooked Beat has owner Bill D...

[image: AM Syndicate] No longer can the seventies come back to haunt us. *KD* AM Syndicate - To The Peasants Of The Emperor *More Info:* Official *Buy Son...

*One of the primary reasons I focus on coversong here at Cover Lay Down is because I believe that covers are a great way to make the process of discove...

I probably should have done my Independence Day post last week but I was inspired by my Kiwi houseguest. Anyway, here are some songs to listen to as you nu...

As usual, we’re on the cutting edge of new music here at Another Form of Relief. As such, here’s a song from Iron & Wine’s 2005 EP, Woman King. Mockery asi...

With not a single rain cloud in sight, the most controversial day in Glastonbury's history starts well. And with ground all but dried out, it's something ...

Chris Bradley: Voices (Splashing Duck Records) Chris Bradley's Voices is described as being anticipated. It should be, even if you've never heard of him ...

"There are only two truly infinite things: the universe and stupidity. And I am unsure about the universe." - *Albert Einstein* MP3: Papier Tigre - Concret...

All I can say is Saint Etienne have bloody good taste in records. This is fantastic. Bobby Reed - The Time Is Right For Love

There's a saying in Iceland that seldom is a good poem too often recited. Thus I'd like to draw the reader's attention once more to the excellent Brazilian...

Not the easiest of Google searches, that one, but amazing what useful advice it turns up. Now, you know my sparkly new record label that I’m slowly leverin...

I’ve been in Montana for three days now - hot days, cool nights. Bozeman, MT is a small, friendly place with a coffee shop on every corner - pure heaven. T...

Happy 4th of July everybody. I know I've been an absentee blogger this week -- trust me when I say it has to do more with being under the weather (found ou...

Yesterday Retro Music Snob made a sneaky return to action after being on indefinite hiatus since November. It was definitely a welcome surprise to suddenly...

*"...Mexican kids are shooting fireworks below, hey baby,it's the Fourth of July"* - Dave Alvin, *Fourth Of July* Happy Fourth of July ! Whether you're han...

Curtis Lee Mayfield was, quite simply, one of the greatest songwriters ever to have lived. As prolific as he was fantastic, Mayfield enjoyed over fifty ye...

It’s hard to believe that half of the year is already over. I still consider it too early to accurately determine my favorite releases of ‘08, but it is st...

If you’re like me and find yourself saving pennies for gas and groceries and don’t really have the proper funds to feed a healthy music addiction then might ...

I am safely on the east coast and have sporadic internet access, but I wanted to say hi and give a fond farewell to California. As I get more settled I w...

In our five-year interval intros quiz series we reach 1993. As usual, there are 5-7 second intros of 20 songs from that year, for you to guess. I must confes...

Inching towards the number 1 spot, here we have a band that has also been featured here before but this version of the song is different to the one I'd previ...

Readers of my other blog will know I traveled hundreds of miles to see Tom Waits last month (missed it? Read about night one and night two.) His tours are ...

NEW ORDER - AGE OF CONSENT

He's back. Bugger. Nick Drake - Black Eyed Dog

Hey all. We've got a special guest post today, from Ray at the super swell site Testify. He'd like to share with you a modern cla...

Made it back, barely, from Lincoln, Nebraska. Gettin' through/around Iowa was a bit of a challenge (train back was canceled, had to ren...

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post—which is out of the blue and spur of the moment and a slew of other idioms meaning spontaneous—but I'm thin...

In the early 1990s, Nora Guthrie, daughter of Woody Guthrie, sees Billy in concert in the States and adds him to her shortlist of musicians to write new mu...