And so, 11 years after it was clobbered by the mother of all imposter syndromes (for which sincere belated apologies are due), Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? returns as a podcast, each episode comparing six singles that were in the same position in t[…]

Hooray! Finally, after ‘breaking a decade of omertà,’ the eponymous new Mars Volta album is here! I’ve been hoping for this moment for so long, and yet now that it’s finally happened, I’ve been weirdly reluctant to listen as obsessively as[…]

When I started this project four years ago, I said Maybe by the time I finish, the Mars Volta will have confirmed their reunion, complete with a triple-album release and world tour starting with a week’s residency in London. I can dream!
IT’S HAP[…]

Friends, so far 2022 has been exactly as lousy as it is brilliant, both on a personal and a global scale. And while I do feel somewhat obligated to keep well-informed about current events, they’re far too packed with the constant rollback of basic […]

Despite the fact that I haven’t listened to an actual, physical CD in many years, a select few hold an almost talismanic power over me. Unfortunately, after various flat-decantings over the years, my once-alphabetised CD collection has become consi[…]

There comes an inevitable moment during every long, pointless passion project when a person begins to seriously question why it seemed like such a good idea. I passed this point during the first lockdown, when, like many others, I was both fascinated[…]

Writing this proved to be an extremely slow process for all sorts of tedious reasons, but here are my notes on DAY 3 of the 2021 poll. Now long since completed but you can listen along on YouTube here – some true greats in this stretch.

 
Day[…]

Thanks to getting Covid (again!) I’ve made only slow progress on the poll track write-ups – in fact I only finished this selection after all the matches ended (oops). YouTube playlist here:

Here they are though! 
Day 2 – 5 Discove[…]

Here are my listening notes/capsule reviews on the first day of this year’s round-up poll. If you want to take part the polls are here and there’s a link to the Spotify playlist too.

5 Discoveries from Day 1:

Arooj Aftab – “Mohabbat”
[…]

POSTPONED UNTIL THE 19th FEBRUARY.
All details below correct for the new date
After a year off for some reason or other (the online pub crawl was lovely but not this), here is  the 22st Annual Between Christmas and New Year Pub Crawl (ABCANYPC).
And[…]