I have recently discovered that, via the wonder of Amazon, it is possible to get your hands on old albums on CD for quite reasonable prices. It’s very helpful if you don’t live near a Fopp. I’m particularly keen on hoovering up albums from the 1990s. From the age of about nine I was already […]
The Seasons
The Seasons is one of those albums widely talked about but seldom heard. I guess you could call it a cult classic. “Discovered” in charity shops about a decade ago, this album has grown in stature but has remained unavailable — until now. Trunk Records (who else?) have managed to sort out a proper reissue. Originally […]
The Belbury Tales
Twisted nostalgia. Spooky photographs of a fictitious town. Liner notes about the ploughman’s lunch. It could only be the new Belbury Poly album, The Belbury Tales. Purchase it from the ever-excellent Ghost Box.
Look Around You is ten years old
Look Around You is a hilarious pastiche of programmes for schools, public information films, and 1970s television in general. Made by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, it is beautifully made and packed with silly jokes. It’s one of my all-time favourite comedy programmes. This is the final episode, Brain. There is also this film, Birds […]
My top ten albums of 2011 (part one)
10. Steve Reich — WTC 9/11 Steve Reich’s piece, about the September 11 terrorist attacks, is similar in concept to the great Different Trains. The piece uses recordings of radio broadcasts made by air traffic controllers and fire officers made at the time of the attacks, moving on to interviews of New York residents talking […]