Recent Posts

• March 25, 2020

  Ghosteen

  I got into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds originally circa 1999 or 2000. The live album (Live Seeds) was a strong favourite, things like The Mercy Seat and Papa Won’t Leave You Henry were full energy punches to the face, and even the slower stuff like the Ship Song had me breaking out the acoustic guitar. The other big hitters of my early Cave years were Let Love In and Murder Ballads, the latter of which is largely jokey, but still pulls together Shane MacGowan, PJ Harvey, Kylie Minogue, a 14 minute track about a guy massacring an entire bar, and the joy of my teenage years, The Curse of Millhaven. This is even before I came near The Boatman’s Call.

• March 17, 2020

  Scenes from the struggle in Tesco

  This is still just the beginning of this thing. I’m still making jokes about it. Sometimes I forget to wash my hands. The schools are still open, the pubs are still open, even if Boris has told everyone to stop going to them. I’m still “in” work from my living room table, and we still plan to do this major product rollout that’s been in the works for a year and a half.

• March 12, 2020

  Music, running, global pandemic

  My classic album of the week last week was The Gilded Palace of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers. It was pretty fun, though I’ve had a distracted time. The Spotify blurb claims these guys basically invented country rock. I did notice some solid late ’60s lyricing in A woman's only human/This you must understand/She's not just a plaything/She expects love just like a man. Not just a plaything.

• March 05, 2020

  Running, the numbers

  At the end of October last year I ran the Amsterdam Half Marathon, with a goal time of under 1:30. It finished in the Olympic Stadium, crowds in the stands, very grandiose. On the top of the finish line, after a lap around the track, was a big clock, and as it came into sight, I saw it was on something like 1:29:52. I sprinted as best I could, but got a text shortly afterwards, congratulations, you finished in 1:30:05. Frustrating. But, close. A bit more training, and I could blast out those six seconds. I signed up for the London Winter 10k, set for February 9, and the Paris Half Marathon, March 1. Smash it.

• February 23, 2020

  Music Roundup 7

  A Night at the Opera