“it was great to meet you, i’m sorry it was in a place where one could not really conduct a conversation @ normal talking volume” says duane of the Windmill in Brixton

Which it wasn’t, it’s true: the odd thing is that […]

Land Of A Thousand Dances is doing the even vaster American equivalent of the already brobdignagian Popular – reviews of every No.1 hit single, in this case starting in 1950. Even if you’re not interested in 1950s No.1 hits (and what kind[…]

B-b-but Tim what about the Black Eyed Peas? Was sad upon actually seeing local video for local street children by Black Eyed Peas that they were a rather earnest “killings be bad” (and that’s a good thing [har har]) collective rathe[…]

I have the impression that hip hop with a positive message is frowned on in this region of the blogosphere. I can’t easily point to any examples, so maybe that’s a straw man. Relentless positivity can be very dull, certainly, acting as a […]

JAMIESON – Complete
Slow on the uptake as ever, this song only really grabbed me when I heard it being played in Next. Is there something about retail outlet sound-systems that makes great pop stand out? The acoustics? The relief from the horro[…]

Archigram-Carnival
Being a house obsessive means records are constantly jostling in your memory to be the ones which remind you of great nights out. There must be about 100 I absolutely love, and 100 more I dance to and enjoy. It’s always diffi[…]

The Thing about working nights is deciding which music to play, its all about keeping awake and keeping your customers interested…Some people do this by trying to play into their desire for cock rock and chart country. I do so by shocking them […]

Matt Ingram is dead right about those nasty Putumayo covers – Isabel actually owns Gypsy Caravan and the sleeve has always been a bit distressing. In other ways the label is a bit more innovative – their ‘Playground’ series of[…]

The Proclaimers — The BBC Sessions
No music lover needing to keep in with the latest fads can afford to miss the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4. Yesterday morning, for instance, they turned their thoughts to the erudite phenomenon of British p[…]

JANET JACKSON – “Runaway”
Everyone has a “dreary day” song; something that gets played on those days when you’re feeling down or slightly under the weather and you need a pick-me-up. This is one of the few songs J[…]