THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 10
PET SHOP BOYS – ‘Shopping’ (from the album Actually)
Actually is the keynote album for late-80s England: this kind of brittle, cynically commercial chartpop was, it turned out, the only way oppositi[…]

THE ENGLISH ISSUE, SIDE 1 TRACK 9
MADNESS – ‘Embarrassment’ (from every Madness Greatest Hits album)
Two-tone is a defining moment for English pop, for the obvious reason spelt out in the label‚Äôs very name. White pop music, me[…]

The music blog explosion: where are they all coming from, asks westernhomes? It’s not Napster, it’s the proliferation of easy-blogging tools like Blogger, and it’s just the sheer obviousness of the links/reviews/thoughts format as a[…]

The Vinyl Exchange: Crate Diggin’: “Diggin’ means that you have forty dollars in your pocket and you can’t decide if you should either get that original Meters LP or take your girl out for your four year anniversary. Diggin&#8[…]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 8
THE SPECIALS – “Do Nothing” (from the album More Specials)
The downside of living in Suburbia, which I gloss over in my semi-paean, is that it is indeed, in general, in real life, really fucking bori[…]

THE ENGLISH TAPE, SIDE 1 TRACK 7
FRAZIER CHORUS – “Typical” (from the album Sue)
More politeness: Tim Freeman’s whispery, resigned entreaties to his lover are as English as tea on a rainy day, the disappointed murmurings and s[…]

NICK DRAKE – “Hazey Jane II” (from the album Bryter Later)
The sudden inflation of Nick Drake’s fame is deeply pleasing: sensitive and gorgeous, he makes a much better ambassador for British pop than Travis or bloody Toploader[…]

THE ENGLISH ISSUE, SIDE 1 TRACK 5
SAINT ETIENNE – “Mario’s Cafe” (from the album So Tough)
The same scene, nearly thirty years later, and one of Saint Etienne’s most beautiful songs, the peak of the bubblegum-dub style t[…]

… Note, for instance, the seeming contradictions between playing music to set a mood and playing it to get into a mood. Currently I’m listening to Brother JT, who might or might not be insane. Certainly when I saw him live at Terrastock 2, a[…]

Create your own Belle And Sebastian song!: you know you want to. “Is she alright or is she on the game?” etc. And for karmic balance here’s Full Fathom Five on why B & S matter.[…]