I mean, I've written quite a few pieces for them already, so I've no need to lick any toes
Journalist ('arts', don't you know), sometime columnist (mostly Guardian), Bloomsbury author and Bowie-obsessed God-botherer with a book coming out about Bowie and God. Also a bit too keen on porridge, toast, Swindon, Noel Edmonds etc
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I mean, I've written quite a few pieces for them already, so I've no need to lick any toes
Ha, no, but I appreciate it may look like I wrote it! I just get a bit frustrated about things like this sometimes, especially when people haven't read the piece. And some people may not know the series it's a part of, so I'm happy to educate them!
Yes, and this piece kind of ridicules that notion!
Pretty sure I have some media savvy! It's just a light-hearted piece - it's not some sort of grooming exercise. The Pass Notes feature has been running for ages. I accept these pieces don't always translate brilliantly online to audiences who are unfamiliar with British newspaper conventions though.
It's OK, the piece isn't meant to be taken seriously
It's part of the long-running Pass Notes series. It's not meant to be taken particularly seriously
Have you read the piece? It's not meant to be taken seriously
It's not meant to be taken particularly seriously
It's a light-hearted article
It's a light-hearted piece, part of the long-running Pass Notes series
Described by my wife as 'Angelo Badalamenti meets M83', which might be the nicest thing she's ever said
Thank you! And excellent weather!
New music from me! Some big synthy euphoric melancholia for you. It's come out like the theme from a lost video game or '80s/'90's sci-fi animation, which pleases me at least peterormerod.bandcamp.com/track/anothe...
It's apparently from 1981, a whole four years before this
(sorry, I think you might have to follow me to enable this to happen)
@johnharris1969.bsky.social Hi John - sorry to bother you, but would it be OK if I sent you a DM about something?
@matosman.bsky.social Hi Mat - sorry to bother you, but would you mind if I sent you a DM about something?
It's set at a barbecue and involves karaoke but I reckon Fat Ham is more Hamlet than quite a few actual Hamlets. Deservedly Pulitzer Prize-winning stuff www.warwickshireworld.com/whats-on/art...
The radicalisation of the Telegraph deserves more attention - thanks for raising it. The paper was instrumental in the rise of Johnson and Truss, and trades on its old respectability to pump out some pretty squalid stuff
For anyone who found Saltburn’s honkingly contrived let’s-go-viral twitpieces not quite infantile enough, this latest magnum opus sounds like an absolute must-see.
It's a very popular weekly feature that's been running for ages
Thank Andy - much appreciated
If the Online Safety Act protected us from 'humor' like this, I'm pretty sure it'd have universal support
I've written about Samaritans, and why they're so good, and why I'm concerned about the charity's plans www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Ha, yes! And good to hear David Buckley given his dues, too - completely agree re Strange Fascination, and this battered old thing was my Little Red Book back in the day. It happens to fall open (and apart) on relevant pages!
Thanks for this! Love how the album ends with Goodbye Mr Ed, as if they'd finally nailed the whole project and then stopped. Although the Big Hurt chat reminded me that this exists youtu.be/TbiZmbRiW_M?...
There is a difference between soft and unjust, of course.
The image of you listening to it loud on headphones in Dubai is weirdly evocative! I bought my copy on tape from a tiny shop in an alley in Barcelona in 1998. Got a funny look from the shopkeeper, who had surely given up hope of ever selling it
A lot of listeners to this podcast will already know the albums it talks about, but it's also a great way to introduce people to albums they don't already know. And let's face facts, barely anyone knows this one. An episode as entertaining and insightful as ever
Excellent that you have such a shelf!
Just had the first proofs of my book - and I can tell you that @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social have done a beautiful job with the typesetting. I can also tell you the chapter titles
Some of the earlier sets in the series were put together with thought and care and maybe even love. You'd expect the same for this one, especially as it covers such a fascinating and often brilliant period. But no. Great to hear it discussed with such insight and honesty and humour though
Very much worth a listen. This box set screams 'cheap' in every way apart from its price tag
Love the Isherwood comparison! Being the thing while watching the thing. Detached and immersed. Also pondering how it relates to number 3 on your list, which is very Issyvoo.
At least he's by a wall wearing black in a black-and-white photo with his name in a serif typeface to the right of his head. Reassuring
He says it's *a* creative outlet. I've no love at all for Sheeran, but the fact he paints isn't really evidence of anything
I mean, that's a different argument
Dylan paints, as does McCartney, as did Bowie
It's easier to save democracy if you can talk with people
Various things can be true at the same time: Oasis are culturally significant Oasis mean a lot to a lot of people Oasis' reunion is a genuine event Oasis made only one and a half decent albums Oasis were only really good for about 18 months, 30 years ago Oasis made some really good songs
Bowie in 1976: I'm the embodiment of the icy darkness that lies at the heart of European civilization Also Bowie in 1976: here's a doodle of a swearing bear
Some of the good stuff in the V&A's David Bowie Collection, opening in September
Liam Howlett surely needs to be recognised as one of the great musical visionaries and creative forces of the past 40-odd years. So much artistry in what he does, plus a phenomenal understanding of sound and dynamics Glastonbury, The Prodigy: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002fctt via @bbciplayer
Really enjoying how this year's Glastonbury is simultaneously a vile hotbed of far-left extremism, a bourgeois glorified holiday camp, a rich kids' playground and a swamp of crusty benefits scroungers, depending on which click-hungry contrarian or lazy reactionary you read
And of course Lorde at Glastonbury yesterday too
Also, a week ago today full-on Bowie disciple Yungblud was running his own massive all-day festival
Bowie was a big cheerleader for TVOTR in their early days and sang a song with them youtu.be/kRU7qBTKKqE?...
Not that we need evidence of Bowie's enduring influence but TV On The Radio, Pulp and Gary Numan are all currently performing at the same time at Glastonbury
Wondering if there's a tension between the idea of diagnosis (implying faultiness of some kind) and neurodiversity (implying difference rather than illness). As things stand, diagnosis is necessary to access support, but it also positions autism as a medical problem. Maybe a big rethink is required
I was lucky enough to have lunch at the Ritz once and all I can say is that it's the only time I've eaten roast beef that tasted exactly the same as roast beef flavour crisps
I've never known! I sort of wanted to ask but also didn't want to ask in case I had to explain it to my editor
Hamlet also always reminds me that the Leamington Courier used to have a column about rural life called 'Country Matters'
Hamlet + Hail to the Thief by Radiohead = pretty thrilling stuff, it turns out www.warwickshireworld.com/whats-on/art...
I had a complicated relationship with Late Review but I would jump back in like a shot if it returned
The brilliance of Sly Stone is captured so well in Summer of Soul, surely one of the greatest music films ever made. It's available to stream so watch it if you can www.youtube.com/watch?v=slFi...
It sounds like she is criticising others for pathologizing while being equally guilty herself
My magical mentor, the incredible Alan Yentob … Creative Director of the BBC passed on. I was his “Space Cadet” plucked from the crowd for his Cracked Actor.. May his Memory be a Blessing
www.northamptonchron.co.uk/whats-on/art...
I've been lucky enough to get to speak to the great @jonronson.bsky.social about his Psychopath Nights, diagnosis, labels and other things besides (including Noel Edmonds but that sadly didn't make the edit) - the link is below Do get to one of these if you can
Yentob's Bowie documentary Cracked Actor is rightly getting a lot of attention, but this interview from 1997 had a big effect on me - it was the first I'd seen with Bowie, and I'd never heard a rock star speak like this. Also admired how Yentob challenged him youtu.be/xA9uMyY6SLk?...
RIP Alan Yentob. his "Cracked Actor" is an essential document of Bowie's 1974 and helped to create "Thomas Jerome Newton" the next year. Yentob's Bowie on screen--alien, isolated, yet playful--- is as key a DB character as Ziggy Stardust
Another loss: House is a prime ingredient in the glorious weirdness of Lodger
Sad to hear today that Simon House has left us. He played violin and mandolin on Lodger and was part of Bowie's band for the Isolar II tour, appearing in the Stage album. He was also well known as a member of Hawkwind and worked with many others.
Or, indeed, this youtu.be/5ENoovVzTW4?...
Wondered if this might have made the list youtu.be/eO7dnRXkCUc?...
The best Brian Eno anecdote I’ve read this week, courtesy of the ceaselessly entertaining Daphne & Celeste in today’s Guardian.
Really shouldn’t have taken all seven goes to get today’s Wordle
Isherwood used about 37 on every page, and if they're good enough for him etc
My book will change all this, just so you know
My former church changed its mind on LGBT issues not through people like me arguing about it but by LGBT people staying in the church and people getting to know them
Fascinating on why arguing tends not to convince people, but getting to know people actually does (a bonus is that you may learn something from them too)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnu6...
Imagine wanting a 'Rock CD' and ending up with Tonight because Amazon suggested it
You can do it though www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/discove...
I think at some point I'd say it's a mansion
Little thing I've only just noticed: Bowie obviously learned a particular pose very young and kept with it
This afternoon I pressed the button at a pedestrian crossing but crossed the road before the lights changed and then I was walking casually on the other side of the road when the traffic stopped because the lights had changed by then and I felt like this
Monitor, Pop Goes the Easel: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00drs8y via @bbciplayer
Extraordinary documentary on iPlayer from 1962 about pop art. Directed by Ken Russell. Pauline Boty is amazing in it. Watch it, you'll love it
In the mail today: at last! Coming your way in a month or two
I wrote about it a few years ago and ended up on a panel discussing it with City types. A man from Mastercard was very nice but didn't seem to understand the concerns at all - it was like they hadn't occurred to him www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Really good to see this from @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social - it's important this issue doesn't become monopolised by the right (esp its crankier elements)
Gorgeous variety. Might even rival Strand power
Be Here Now and Hello Nasty, in their different but similar ways
Just found a pitch I wrote about this ten years ago, when Satnavs were in the news for various reasons
Been wanting someone to write about this for ages. GPS map tech doesn't just de-skill us - it puts us at the centre of the world, making the world revolve around us. I don't think that's healthy
Thanks Sean!
I went to see The Flaming Lips in Birmingham last night. Seen them loads over the past 20 years and there's still nothing like them. Here's my review www.birminghamworld.uk/whats-on/art...
Obviously you don't want a whole load of MPs doing PR and lobbying, but the rise of the professional MP has coincided with a decline in the calibre of our politicians
There was a time not that long ago when it was pretty normal for an MP to have a second job - it was seen as a good way to stay in touch with real life. 'Career politicians' were viewed sceptically. I don't think the UK is governed any better now than it was then www.parliament.uk/business/pub...
Coming to think that Eno's most valuable quality as a producer and collaborator was discernment
Here's the finished song, from the album Station to Station, released in 1976 youtu.be/hmtL3RxiVjc?...
These are early words to Bowie's hymn, Word on a Wing, sung to God from the depths of anguish. The line 'astonishingly simple, amusing to the learned' didn't make the final cut, but it's lovely. Happy Easter
Sorry, no, it's not making fun of typos - it's taking to a comic extreme the routine and deliberate omission of the verb 'to be' from headlines. (Apologies for being pedantic about this!)
But the headline is part of the satire
She's not saying it's a good thing
It's a deliberate satire of newspaper style