Louis Armstrong – Hot Fives And Sevens
Tom has talked about the difficulty of switching from modern pop to ’50s #1s for his magnificent Popular project, but I just went from Disco Inferno (the interesting and sometimes impressive indie ba[…]

In a game between Manchester United and England, at the moment, Man U would probably win, although it seems according to the Observer that the interesting action would be in the fighting beforehand.
I know that if I had heard MU fans singing &#8220[…]

New Reading: hurrah hurrah, book #2 about Byron being a vampire done and dusted. Grebt stuff, must find more. Perhaps I mite even read some Byron – so far I’ve gathered he was Pale and Interesting and made Lady C. Lamb go MENKO and dress […]

Sentences you never expected to read #3984: “I say, Tom,” cried East, having hit on a new idea, “don’t you remember, when we were in the upper fourth, and old Momus caught me construing off the leaf of a crib which I’d t[…]

Some talk on the “blogosphere” about “Regressive Rock”, (80s schmindie-indie to you and I) particularly from K-punk and the resurgent Marcello. Broadly speaking Mark Kpunk is against it, and Marcello is if not wholeheartedly f[…]

UNSUNG HEROES OF COOKERY 1: CELERY
When I was littler I had little time for celery. Except for its star bendy turn in a mid eighties Salad Cream advert, I could see no reason for its existence. A crunch swizzle stick of a vegetable it had a taste whi[…]

Three Questions About Kill Bill (Volume One).
a) How can a woman, squealing, flinching and watching an entire movie through the cracks between her fingers then get up, walk out and declare that it was was the best film evah!
b) Why did so many men th[…]

My new blog[…]

Maureen Gallace paints the things that are mocked as kitsch: lighthouses, fall foliage, barns, fields, sea breaks and rivers; all in a rigid, simple style. Almost a new Gramma Moses, w/o the sentimentality about naivety or age.
I know which critical[…]

is it art? or sport? or telly?[…]