January 2022. A lot of stuff…

PODCASTS. All completely brilliant. Lots from the BBC. Who says the licence isn’t worth it? (Clue; not me).

Recently I have really enjoyed….

Fault Lines. David Dimbleby’s astonishing deep dive in Bush, Blair and The Iraq War. Masterful, compelling, depressing and entertaining in equal measure.

Things Fell Apart. Jon Ronson’s pop cultural exploration of origins of The Culture Wars (meaning the things society argues about). Light and profound and entertaining. Bite sized chunks. Terrific.

The Coming Storm. Absolutely wonderful and deeply alarming; this is a thorough look at the bizarre and terrifying rise of Q Anon in the USA. If it wasn’t so disturbing it would be bonkers in a funny way. But the world is changing and some seriously bad shit is going down in the USA.

Elon Musk. The Evening Rocket. A learned and engaging look at the influence of science fiction on Musk’s business ventures. I didn’t have any interest in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but if you did you will; find this doubly fascinating.

The Wind of Change. The brilliant, bizarre story of how the CIA might just have written a soft rock masterpiece/mega hit to help smooth the way for the West after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Imposters. Strange tales -presented as a rolling series- of people who audaciously try to pass themselves off as someone they patently aren’t.

BOOKS.

Recently I loved…

Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads. Deeply engaging, a hundred characters, wit, depression, explosions, family, music, religion. The master at his best.

Sarah Winman’s Still Life. My book of the year (last year). Beautiful, haunting, eccentric, funny, sad tales of people and their deep loves for people and place. A total masterpiece.

Ai Weiwei. 1000 Years of Joy and Sorrows. I don’t feel that this is brilliantly written but Ai is such a wonderful and compelling and angry genius and I love the book. The second best book about art I’ve read recently (after the Hockney/Gayford Work of genius Spring Cannot be Cancelled).

Assembly by Natasha Brown is a short read but will stay with you. It’s about the decisions we make and race and gender and other important stuff but it is also racy and original.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead shares its title with one of the greatest songs ever written and is nearly as good. It’s a terrific literary crime novel about race and determination and family all vividly -and I imagine realistically- set in Harlem in the late 1950s and early ‘60s.

Recent records I’ve bought include.

Yard Act. The Overload. Gobby, funny, elegant modern guitar music. Great tunes, attitude, originality, fun.

Eris Drew. Quivering in Time. I don’t have much use for House Music in my life anymore (sometimes I am sad about that, others not so). But I love this; it’s poppy, uplifting, crisp (and I think quite fashionable).

Isaac Hayes. Hot Buttered Soul. A complete landmark record from the tail end of the 1960s, recently repressed on vinyl. It’s absolutely sensational. It’s kind of what soul music means.

The War on Drugs. I Don’t Live Here Anymore. I always think of TWoD being the point when Springsteen and mid period Dylan meet Kraftwerk and I loved their last two records. To begin with I found this underwhelming but it’s a grower; perhaps more subtle, confident even than its predecessor.

Damon Albarn’s The Nearer The Fountain…. I don’t like the shouty bits of Blur. If I never heard Song 2, Parklife or Girls and Boys again I would be happier. But to the End and This is a Low are different matters and this album is closer to them; some bits are masterful. What a clever boy he is. Truly.

I am still listening on repeat to last year’s albums by:

James Blake.

The Weather Station.

Floating Points/The London Symphony Orchestra/Pharoah Sanders.

Kid A Mnesia by Radiohead. I bought the super deluxe version of this of course. The original two albums are great, as well know; the new ‘middle’ one of out takes etc less so. But it prompted to listen to Kid A and Amnesiac again and they are so so good.

Have you heard Jonathan Bree? I was just introduced to him last week. Try it.

Track of the Year? I mean last year obviously. Self Esteem’s I Do This All The Time. It should have been number 1 everywhere. Maybe it was, I don’t know. But this pop single has it all; it’s original, catchy, sexy and fun and it oozes class and attitude. It’s absolutely fantastic. I don’t really like the album but that song, I love.

April 2021.

Some things that I’ve liked this month.

BOOKS.

David Hockney. His new book of conversations with Martin Gayford, Spring Cannot be Cancelled is absolutely wonderful. It’s a beautiful book to look at and incredibly revealing about Hockney and the way he sees the world. Honestly, I cannot recommend this more highly. Having read this, I went backwards to their previous book of conversations A Bigger Message and loved that too. I think the most recent one is better but not by much. Oh, and if you are going to read Spring… then I recommend that you do it now, during spring. I wish I hadn’t read it so that I could start again.

I also absolutely loved Rachel Cusk’s trilogy of books called Transit, Kudos and Outline. I read them in the reverse order because I didn’t know they were a trilogy until I’d read the most recent, but it made no difference. These are beautiful, sparse, deceptively simple books in which not a great deal happens, but everything happens. There is more truth and humour, warmth and intelligence in every page than most novelists achieve in a lifetime and they race along so quickly that one chapter never feels like enough.

MUSIC.

The Weather Station. Ignorance. An excellent off-kilter alt folk album. This is a sort of modern Joni Mitchell record with flecks of disco. It’s a real grower.

Tindersticks. Distractions. I love the melodic, melancholy music of Tindersticks and, in particular, the deep, dark voice of Stuart Staples. This, their thirteenth album, might just be their best. Unlike many of their records, it grabs you from the first listen. It was recorded when their tour was cut short by the first Covid lockdown and brims with resouircefulness and beauty.

Mustafa. Otherwise known as Mustafa the Poet. I’ve just discovered the music of this multi-talented Canadian, who is a poet, singer and film maker. Best, I think, is Stay Alive which will lock you in from the first listen. A good reference point would be a soulful Jose Gonzalez.

PODCASTS.

Transmissions. The Definitive Story. Joy Division/New Order. This is an absolutely masterful eight episode series, narrated by Maxine Peake with contributions from every important figure. A truly brilliant series.

Hunting Ghislaine. Another excellent series, with John Sweeney. This isn’t so much about trying to actually find Ghislaine Maxwell but more about trying to understand what happened to make her who she is and why.

I Am Not A Monster. A brilliant blockbuster series from Panorama about an American woman who, with her husband, took their children to Syria to join ISIS. Fascinating, weird, confusing and brilliantly told.

WTF with Marc Maron. Maron’s interview with Hunter Biden tells an extraordinary story of how the President’s son became hooked on crack, lost everything, invited a homeless woman into his flat to live with him (provided she brought him his crack), slept for ten hours a week and then, perhaps, finds salvation. The interview is in support of a book, but I think the podcast is enough for me. I’m unconvinced by Biden but Maron -in his brilliant way- conducts a masterful interview. 

I really enjoyed Adam Buxton’s short interview with musician and artist Laurie Anderson who positively oozes positivity, curiosity and joy. 

TV.

ZeroZeroZero. This masterful series about the cocaine trade makes Narcos look like a gentle walk in the park. This is highbrow drama that pulls no punches and it is dark, violent and beautifully made. It’s about the drug trade but what’s so interesting here is that it follows the narcos, traffickers and mafia on different continents. There’s enough light to avoid despair and a brilliant soundtrack from Mogwai that is used liberally and to brilliant effect. 

Unforgotten. What took me so long? I think that this might be the best British crime series that I’ve ever seen. It follows a team of detectives who work on (very) cold cases. The leads are amazing and there are endless side characters that shine, too.

Yellowstone. I haven’t heard anything about this from friends or reviewers or whatever but it’s a great. It’s an epic series on every level starring Kevin Costner and telling the story of his struggles to retain the family ranch. It is movie-like in its scope and ambition and almost every shot is full of beauty (in a Ralph Lauren kind of way).

Your Honor. A blockbuster series and apparently loved by everyone. This is a story about how you’d behave if one of your children did something really bad and you thought you could cover it up, but couldn’t.

SHOPPING.

I am eying up the beautiful ceramics of Tanya McCallin on Hole & Corner’s online shop.

I’d happily take everything in David Shrigley’s new shop in Copenhagen which is founded in partnership with his friend and gallerist Nicolai Wallner.

Boring but life enhancing. I bought some toughened non-stick pans from Le Creuset and we all absolutely love them.

Montezuma’s white chocolate buttons. The best £3.99 you will ever spend.

I bought four more of these amazing Artemide lamps for the cottages at Glen Dye.

And, again for the cottages and cabins loads of wonderful, vernacular French glasses from Merci at a great price.

January 2021 Books, Stuff, Records.

Objects. Things I’ve Bought and Loved This Month.

These copper sponges are brilliant for washing up; they are gentle so you can use them on non stick pans but they're also good for removing rust.

This guy paints furniture in the most perfect shades. It sells out instantly but I bagged a chest of drawers for Glen Dye.

I collect the beautiful work of Arjan Van Dal and added two pieces to the hall table this month.

I bought four new Annie Atkins prints for our office.

Cindy’s Poppy Tea. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. I knew opium helps with sleep, but this is legal.

Felt Coasters from Labour and Wait.

Each of our cabins and cottages has some of Alex Pole’s incredible heirloom objects in them and I stocked up this month.

I had some of these bespoke City pennants made for Glen Dye and for our pub, too.

A red alarm clock designed by Jasper Morrison for Punkt. It’s great; you really don’t need your phone in your bedroom.

I bought some of these wonderful chairs in various colours for the Showman’s Caravan at Glen Dye.

I stocked up on my favourite pens; the finest writing instrument known to mankind is the Artline 200 Fine 0.4. Yours for £1.62.

Some wonderful frying pans from a French master via the excellent Dyke and Dean.

Culture. Things I’ve consumed and Loved This Month.

The Avalanches’ new album is so damn good it’s up there with a good Prince album. Rough Trade have some elegant editions.

A new EP by James Blake that’s far more interesting than some of his more recent work.

Olafur Arnalds has made his most beautiful album yet. This is the point that Icelandic electronica meets traditional classical music with wonderful results.

My Rembrandt is a wonderful documentary about the master and the passion his work evokes. It’s also about money and greed and competition.

Foundering; The WeWork Story is a podcast from Bloomberg. I am strangely drawn to the story of WeWork and all of the hubris, greed and stupidity that led to its collapse. This is a well-told story of all of that and more.

Snow by John Banville is a thriller by the Booker Prize winning writer and it’s great; dark, evocative, absurd and a real page turner. This is an intelligent detective story that will live with you.

Trio by William Boyd. Boyd is one of our most enduring novelists and this story about the chaos of making a film in Brighton in the 1960s is great.

Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind is about the end of the world as seen through the eyes of two families who end up sharing a house in the American countryside as everything collapses. It’s probably best avoided if lockdown anxiety is getting to you, but I loved it.

Sho Shibuya’s overpainted New York Times front pages are wonderful.

October 2020.

October is off to a flying start with the recent of a magnificent new Fleet Foxes album that sits somewhere between their most traditional, pastoral beginnings and more experimental later phase. It’s lovely, layered, nuanced, complex/simple music and there are eagworms around every corner.

I’ve been decorating some more cottages for our Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages business. It’s the most enjoyable bit of my job and here are some of my favourite suppliers of homewares. I haven’t included the links (because I want you to stay here/don’t know hw to without lengthy reference to How To sections on squarespace). But here is my roll call.

Print Club London and Jealous Gallery for excellent prints, great service and brilliant (and well-priced framing).

Smithson Gallery are good, too.

Indigo Framing near us in Wales. This is a one-man operation and between various businesses Mike has now framed over 2000 pictures for us. He’s a machine and great value.

Editions Copenhagen for more specialist limited editions. artrepublic is good, too.

Each house has around 40 pictures, so I spend a lot of time rooting around online looking at prints. I love it!

I bought some outstanding lockdown/socila distancing prints from the excellent Printer’s Devil.

And Basil and Ford are terrific, too.

Home Bothy, Baileys Home, Hadeda, Home Barn, Wovenology and many others for excellent vintage and hoe made bits.

I went to excellent vintage fairs this week in Cheshire (Arthur Swallow Fairs) and the classics at Newark Runway and Kempton. All were thriving.

Lamps by Artemide as ever and Heal’s and Habitat, both of which are at the peak of their game at the moment. And plenty of Anglepoise, of course.

RugVista is just incredible for all types of rugs at all price points. Honestly, it’s unbeatable.

I have bought a fair bit of Lloyd Loom stuff, which feels right at the moment.

Lighting and hardware from Urban Cottage Industries, as ever and of course Original BTC.

Mustard make great metal cabinets, if industrial is your thing.

Two saunas, made in Wales, from Heartwood Saunas. Several hot tubs from Hikki in Sweden.

Another Country are good but I can’t vouch for them nowadays because my stuff isn’t yet with me; that’s 3 months so far. Hmmm.

If you’re thinking about planting wildflower seeds now is then time. I’ve done a lot of sowing this year. Landlife Wildflowers are excellent.

For houseplants try Hortology; they’re great.

September 2020.

Books. Well, lots. Benjamin Markovits is a British novelist whose writing I like a lot, but who seems to go largely unappreciated. A couple of years ago I very much liked his book A Weekend in New York which focused with wit and precision on a family as they gather for a weekend together in The Big Apple. And now there’s a sequel called Christmas in Austin that follows the same group and their extended family as they gather in December. I quite enjoyed it, althoughI found many of the characters peculiarly spineless and boring. I eventually read The Traitor and The Spy by Ben Macintyre and loved it; it’s a brilliantly-told story of the Cold War’s most successful spy. It’s witty, beautifully researched, fast-paced and you couldn’t make it up. Zadie Smith’s lockdown essays Intimations are short, clever and well worth a few hours. I am deep into American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and loving it; it’s like a long episode of Narcos with more emphasis on family. And on a long drive this week I listened to the audiobook of Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential which has lost none of its razor sharp insight, verve or sparkle with age. It’s new to audible and it’s great.

Music. Fontaines DC knocked me sideways with the maturity of their second album A Hero’s Death. This is a band that draw on PIL, Joy Division, The Strokes and even The Smiths and deliver their own version of things with real maturity. Other highly recommended new music comes from The Flaming Lips whose new album is their best for many years, if not quite a return to their imperial best. There’s a new Lampchop single that clocks in at 13 minutes and has some wonderful words and there’s new, mature, ear worm of a single from Future Islands, too. Lanterns on the Lake’s Spook The Herd is their best yet; if you like Beach House or Slowdive then this is for you, dreamy, guitar driven, elegant and forceful. If you’re craving something nostalgic and really well put together then try Doves’ new album, The Universal Want. This is just scratching the surface really, there is so much great music around. Finally, though, try Four Tet’s remix of Is It True by Tame Impala.

June 2020.

And (some of) the best lockdown albums are…

Darkstar. Civic Jams. Their fourth and best album. sits at the intersection of showcase, classical, bass music’s ‘hardcore continuum’ and pure pop. Intelligent, nuanced, very beautiful. Best on headphones.

High Violet 10th Anniversary Edition. One of the National’s finest (hell, they’re all brilliant) is rereleased with extra tracks. I don’t know if I need the extras but the original is so important and vital that this birthday deserves to be celebrated.

Cornershop. England is a Garden. An excellent, eccentric, elegant collection of fine alternative rock from a band who should be huge.

Pacific Breeze. Japanese City Pop, AOR and Boogie, 1972-1986. A beautifully assembled collection that may sound almost provocatively niche but, in fact, is hugely joyful and accessible.

Ghost Poet. I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep. I keep coming back to this beautiful, ruminative, languid record, partly because it reminds me of Tricky at his best.

Caribou. Suddenly. Bright, vibrant, intelligent, accessible dance music for this spring/summer and way beyond.

Four Tet. Sixteen Oceans. In many ways this is his most accessible or conventional album but it’s still beautiful and bold and full of jazz-inflected genius. Perfect contemporary pop.

Eve Owen. Don’t Let The Ink Dry. Modern folk from one of the fastest rising stars of the genre. Owen is best know for her work on the National’s excellent I am Easy to Find but this deserves attention on its own merits.

BC Camplight. Shortly After Takeoff. The critics loved this and they were right; it’s a bold, confident singer-song writerly album with all sorts of influences from synth pop to straight ahead rock n roll.

Ben Lukas Boysen. Mirage. A wonderful, loose, organic album from the Berlin based producer that sits in that hinterland between classical and electronic music. Released by the ever reliable Erased Tapes.

May 2020.

May 2020 was the month I published around 15 of my own podcasts. You can discover my Love in the Time of Coronavirus series via the link on this site, but, anyway, this lead me to make some cassettes and I had 120 produced as gifts and for sale. I think that cassettes might just be the future again, there is something delightfully homemade and cheap and easy about them. Returning to simple fanzines and cassettes feels right for today.

Talking of returning to things, I think raving is due to make a comeback. The last time it happened was 1989 and there was a similar pent up need for people to party; what I mean is that young people were, at the tail end of the 1980s, feeling downtrodden and unheard. And soon they’re going to feel the same but they won’t be allowed to party so they’ll go underground. Anyway, I decided to read The Second Summer of Love by Alon Shulman to better understand this; it’s about 1988/89 and Ibiza and Ecstasy and Acid House and it is fascinating and engaging and I think that raving will come back. I sort of wish I was younger.

I took a deep dive in natural wine and I am hooked. I read Natural Wine for The People by Alice Feiring and although I can’t pretend to remember even half of what the author told me, I knew I needed to get involved. I bought wine from Natural Born Wines (an Italian specialist) and Buon Gusto (a much larger operation with a wider offer) and we even started stocking them in our Farm Shop. It takes a bit of getting used to for me; I have always enjoyed big, ballsy, obvious reds and the natural alternatives are more nuanced and challenging but I am very very firmly in.

April 2020.

I decided to try to put my money where my mouth is (or somewhere near, at least) and support some small/local businesses during lockdown. It’s funny, we can all talk a good game about the importance of local, independent retailers, but when you really stop and think about it, these businesses are truly a lifeline between a civilised, intimate, local, community-based world and mega corp induced dystopia. I like amazon and use it all the time but we need local and small businesses, too. And small businesses bring everyday pleasures that are easy to forget; friendly recognition, a conversation, care and attention to you, the customer. These are not simple things to understand and nor are they easy to replicate once they have gone.

So, I thought about the businesses that have bought me deep pleasure in the past decades and I decided to support them as much as I could afford. These are some of them.

Kafka in Aberdeen for menswear which is run by two amazing brothers and which I have been a customer of for 20 something years.

Rough Trade Records. My absolute favourite record shop with a brilliant online service.

My Wine Cellar. Quite a new online shop but efficient and friendly and with a small, curated selection.

Natural Born Wines. An excellent selection of Italian natural wines (a new enthusiasm for me).

The Good Wash Co. A Welsh company doing good soap and social good, too.

Black Bough in Ludlow for cards and gifts; a beautiful small shop.

Freight for similar goods to those above and some great candles.

Print Club London. A small company selling brilliant selection of prints.

Jealous Gallery. As above.

Gail Bryson. For the best Rainbow prints that anyone made during lockdown.

I eventually subscribed to The Idler. Most months they have given me a copy but this was the time to commit.

And I did the same for Monocle, which I find equal parts brilliant and infuriating, but admire hugely.

Pinch London. Proper, handmade, British furniture. Genuine heirlooms that I would get into in a deep way if I could afford it.

Alex Pole Ironwork. I bought some astonishingly beautiful ladles and spoons.

Quite a number of bookshops, both small and local and bigger chains such as Daunt.

March 2020.

I love Caribou’s new album, Suddenly. It’s a subtle, sparkling pop album from one of our most modest and inventive musicians. And the latest reimagining of Gil Scott-Heron’s seminal I’m New Here (now called We’re New Again) by Makaya McCraven is brilliant; powerful, engaging, raw and beautiful.

If you enjoy the Sally Rooney books then you’ll equally enjoy Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. It’s a highly believable, warm. human book about race, class, guilt and friendship. It isn’t heavy and it isn’t a game changer but it’s a good read and it will be (is already) an absolute smash. I loved Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson; it’s a beautiful, often very funny story about twins who spontaneously combust and their massively capable/completely capable nanny and it’s beautiful and quite profound. I read Pine by Francine Toon after reading a compelling review in one of the serious papers. It was quite good; a sort go ghost/crime story with some lovely imagery. Ultimately I found it a bit ponderous and lightweight but if you like ghost stuff, give it a go. Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Desapin has been translated from its original Korean. It’s a lovely, cold, atmospheric book about a strange relationship during a winter in the South Korea.

In podcasts; I have three good series to recommend. The Fake Heiress, The Missing Crypto Queen and The Assassination are all BBC productions. Look them up; they’re perfect for a long car journey or your daily commute

February 2020.

Films I’ve seen recently. 1917. I don’t know, were we missing something, but none of us thought this was amazing? Maybe we should admire it for its cinematography or something (I don’t really know what that is but it sounds good). It looks good and it is engaging and big and beautiful but its a 7/10 for me. Little Women, on the other hand is perfect; beautiful, fast, engaging, profound, funny. I loved Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. Unfashionable view alert! He’s better than Tarantino. This is an old fashioned crime caper with a brilliant script and amazing clothes. I liked The Irishman on Netflix but it is far too ,long for me to have sat through at the cinema. It will bear repeated watching. But best of all is Jo Jo Rabbit; what a masterful, profound, brave, original, bonkers and funny film. I absolutely loved every minute.

Chocolate of the Month. Waitrose Single Origin Milk. Dominican Republic. Feuilletine and Sea Salt. Not flashy but the perfect blend of sweet and salty. BOOM.

Cheese of the Month. Gorgonzola. Weirdly underrated. (Italian blue cheese, unskimmed cow’s milk). It’s often best when softer and mild. Outstanding with pasta.

January 2020.

My late contender for the best album of 2019 is Aldous Harding’s Designer. It’s a rich, deep, folky, arty album full of lovely hooks and sophisticated melodies. I loved her last album but this one eluded me to begin with.

I started to read Ben Lerner’s massively acclaimed new novel (a ‘truly great American novel’, a ‘masterpiece’, blah blah) The Topeka School but I just found it dry and boring and gave up half way through. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood because I know he’s really good. Instead I did what I have never done before and read a book about business;  This Could Be Our Future; A Manifesto For a More Generous World by Yancey Strickler (the founder of Kickstarter) does what it says on the tin. He has strong ideas and he’s living them and I quite enjoyed it. But it’s Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age that I tore through this month; this is a book about race and class and friendship for people that like Sally Rooney.

I made a long playlist, full of old and new songs and designed for life in the woods at Glen Dye. I truly love all of this music https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XnT3SqnimQsDeid3GJE1p?si=gfty3xWXSw-lW3Xl2UWiVQ

Chocolate of the Month. Twirl. The finest snack for around £1 and the best thing about motorway services.

Cheese of the Month. I’m going with Stilton, which is the most Marmite of all cheeses. I like it when it’s relatively mild and creamy. Actually, technically, this British cheese comes in white and blue varieties but the former seems a bit pointless to me.

November 2019.

New Albums

Cigarettes After Sex. Gawd, that name. It must be provocative. But ignore that and you will find a rich, dreamy, deeply melodic, cinematic new album called Cry. It’s the very opposite of music to mosh to; it’s for swaying and cuddling.

Michael Kiwanuka has made another really fine new album, called simply Kiwanuka. It’s a clever hybrid of new and old sounds; soul, spoken word, politics and some killer tunes. One of the best British albums of the year.

Underworld. Drift Series. This is probably one for aficionados or fans only. It’s a function of the dance pioneers rigorous work ethic and desire to keep forging ahead. If you like Underworld, try it; if not move on.

Caribou’s new song Home is a complete winner; old should samples sit shoulder-to-shoulder with some very 2019 electronic sounds. Moreish. Brilliant, in fact.

ELO. From Out of Nowhere. ELO were one of the first bands I truly loved. And that love has never disappeared. I listened to them over and over and over again. In fact I managed to bond with a band I once signed called The Sundays (signed to Elektra records and imagined to be HUGE, but they petered out) over a shared love of ELO. This new album repeats many of the original ticks. It isn’t ELO in their imperial phase but it is good.

Big Thief have a new album on the way. Early tracks are great if you like wonky contemporary folk in the mode of Joni Mitchell.

Between New and Old Albums.

The double album of Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time… is great, from the 1970s artwork to the inclusion of some ads. Impress your friends with your eclectic and near perfect taste.

Old(ish) Albums.

Rediscovered classic of the month is Prefab Sprout’s I Trawl The Megahertz. I always feel that Prefab Sprout were underrated (possibly because of that name; you are not alone Cigarettes After Sex). This is an oddity but it is mesmerising; a beautiful fever dream with rich sound and a lot of spoken word recorded while Paddy Mcaloon was going blind. Brave, original, genius.

Books.

Valentine Warner’s The Consolation of Food is great; half recipe book and half autobiography. It is a sparkling, funny, usual book that absolutely oozes its author’s character.

I was between books in an airport the other day and bought an excellent novel called Tin Man by Sarah Winman. It’s straightforward, unsentimental and very elegant story of love lost.

October 2019.

In London, The Anthony Gormley show is great; it’s at once serious and relaxed, heavy and fun. I liked the Olafur Eliasson show too although I had seen the most photogenic bits a thousand times on Instagram before I got there. The two shows actually go together really well and it seems to me that the main distinguishing point between them is that Gormley deals in strong, metallic colours and Eliasson in bright colours. But both shows are wonderful and I am so lucky to have seen both in the same week.

At home I love my new Moccamaster drip coffee machines. I have bought a yellow one and a teal one (I know, I know, the extravagance but once I find a new machine I love I need it by my side wherever I am) and they are the first decent drip machine I have found. Add to these the Swedish fizzy water machine by Aarke that has recently replaced our Sodastream (which nowadays seem to be really badly made) and kitchen life is feeling pretty good. Like the Moccamaster, the Aarke machine is elegant and really functional and solid.

I loved Patty Smith’s new book Year of the Monkey. I read it when I was feeling quite woozy and it made perfect sense; it’s a sort of autobiographical fever dream that jumps from (apparent) absolute reality to fantasy and back again throughout. And some of the writing is exquisite; on her birthday. “Seventy. Merely a number but one indicating the passing of a significant percentage of the allotted sand in the egg timer, with oneself the darn egg.” Patti, it took me a long time to really find you but we are so lucky to have you and your fearless, restless creativity.

Oh, and The Capture on BBC. As good as a thriller gets.

In music:

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ Ghosteen is just mesmerisingly beautiful and sad. A true work of genius.

Angel Olsen. All Mirrors. Lovely, confident ballads and torch songs. Florence and your Machine; eat your heart out.

And great new music by Elbow, Wilco, Michael Kiwanuka and Big Thief too. Music, the gift that keeps on giving and giving.

September 2019.

Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a great American novel. An absolute corker and almost certainly the best novel about marital perspective written this century.

Bee Wilson’s How We Eat Now is required reading for anyone interested in food, diet, sustainability and our future. Erudite, readable and compelling. Do it!

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson is an excellent American family epic from 2001.

There was a time when I thought that I would never enjoy Bon Iver again. I just got a bit tired. But then a magical show in a park in London made complete sense to me. And the new album has a bucketful of great songs.

August 2019.

Some summer reading that I’ve enjoyed.

I tried the international mega seller Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. Hmmm. To me it was just like I imagined Fifty Shades of Grey might be. I gave up.

The last few books I have read are:

Jane Gardam. The Queen of the Tambourine. Very funny, quite moving, a  kind of fever dream. It won the Whitbread.

Max Potter. Grief is the Thing With Feathers. Almost a long poem. Dark, honest, sad, original.

Felicity Cloak. One More Croissant for the Road. A wonderful cycling tour of French gastronomy; funny and erudite and brilliant at loving the general shines/chaos of France.

Patrick Dewitt. French Exit. From the author The Sisters Brothers a wonderful, bonkers, strange and original family saga.

Tayari Jones. An American Marriage. Obama says he liked it; if it’s good enough for him etc. An epic about the strain put on the marriage of someone wrongly sentenced to 15 years.

Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy Jones & The Six. A fictional rock n roll lifestyle as recounted by those involved. I quite enjoyed this. It’s probably what is commonly called a good beach book.

Try the new Lloyd Cole album if you like singer/songwriters who keep on evolving. Thom Yorke is an acquired taste but Anima is great. Oh, and watch The Great Hack on Netflix if you want to worry about how Facebook use your data.

July 2019.

So much good stuff.

I loved Nicholas Hytner’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge theatre in London. Bright, confident, funny, fast, beautiful. If Coldplay did Shakespeare. One of the best plays I have ever seen.

In Liverpool I loved the Keith Haring show at the Tate and the John & Yoko show at the Liverpool Museum was quite good, too.

If you like Hot Chip then their new album A Bathful of Ecstasy is one of their best yet; sweet, cheerful, sometimes melancholy house music for people who don’t go to Nightclubs.

Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Review follows Bob Dylan on the road in the mid 1970s. I am far from a  Dylan nut but the live footage is incendiary and the concept of the tour is inspiring. The vinyl box set that accompanies the film has some amazing moments, though its a bit long for me. I like what I have heard of the new Thom Yorke album, too.

Without reading him, I had always imagined that Dave Egger’s writing was a bit trashy but I enjoyed Heroes of the Frontier, and so I was wrong. It didn’t thrill me but it has echoes of  really good Franzen book.

I bought some EarPods for my phone. They’re great; a game changer. The way you set them up is almost worth buying them for. I had imagined the tinny sound of early iPhone which I didn’t much like. Again, I was wrong.

June 2019.

The Hidden Life of Trees is a great follow on read for anyone who enjoyed Wilding; different authors, similar richly engaging subject matter. I also highly recommend Tom Hodgkinson’s Why Ignoring Your Children Will Make Everyone Happier.

I very much hope to get to Nicholas Hytner’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge in London. It sounds wonderful.

I’ve surprised myself by really enjoying most of The Fat White Family’s lp Serf’s Up. The closest reference point I can think of is a psychedelic Happy Mondays.

In podcasting, Marc Maron interviewing Perry Farrell is about as good as interview/guest podcasts get.

And on Netflix, the second series of Ozark is great; dark, cold, exciting, funny.

May 2019.

Damian Barr’s new book, You Will Be Safe Here. Exceptional. If you read his much lauded autobiography Maggie and Me then you will find many common threads. You Will….. is a novel that weaves together two stories set in different centuries. It is richly textured and races along to a brilliant climax. There is a new edition of Isabella Tree’s now seminal book Wilding available. If you have the slightest interest in nature and the environment then you should read this. It divides people and when you read it, you’ll understand why. But I think it’s important and highly educational as well as being easy to read (despite being stuffed with facts and opinion). Darren Henley’s Creativity and Why It Matters is short and sharp and has some interesting ideas. And the final book in Rachel Cusk’s trilogy -Kudos- is great. It reads like a series of intertwined short stories and although we barely get to know the main character there is depth and wisdom on every page.

Some music I’ve been listening to:

Mainly The National’s new album, I Am Easy to Find is exceptional. I think it’s possibly the greatest modern alt rock album of its time. It’s fresh, accessible, complex and pretty brave. There is a connected film, made my the album’s musical director and sometime Oscar nominee Mike Mills but I found that somewhat pointless and pretentious (that isn’t to be too unkind, I hope to the director, who has helped the band to create their masterpiece).

And Vampire Weekend’s new record. A gentle, confident, modern folk record.

Beth Gibbons and The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Which led me back to Portishead and their later, underrated, caustic Third.

Sharon Van Etten.

Ezra Collective. Some of this is great. Some isn’t for me. Modern lightweight jazz and some reggae jams.

Cocteau Twins. Still good.

Beruit’s first album. A masterpiece.

Some new things in our kitchen.

First, an aarke sparkling water machine. It’s more expensive than a Sodastream but it us far better, beautifully made and elegant. So, I am happy. And a new coffee machine by De’Longhi (an Authentica). I am embarrassed to admit that until last week we were using those nasty plastic coffee pods. But at least I had an epiphany. The new machine seems great and grinds its own beans.

April 2019.

Two good books. Boom!

Eric Vuillard’s translated The Order of the Day is a brilliant, funny, terrifying and highly judgemental book about the Nazi invasion of Austria. It is also highly readable and highly recommended.  And Joe Dunthorne’s new book (he wrote Submarine) is excellent; it’s called The Adulterants and it’s one of those books that has your squirming in horror and laughing at the same time. A book about screwing up and repentance.

I think Local Hero is possibly the finest film ever made. You may not agree but I hope you like it; I sort of feel that if you don’t like it then you and I can never be true friends. Anyway, a musical of the film has just opened in Edinburgh and it’s an absolute wonder; funny, sad, melancholy. I am not normally someone who might recommend a musical; in fact they generally make me feel a bit sick. But the music here is by Mark Knopfler who did the original soundtrack. It’s transferring to The Old Vic next year. If you like the film you’ll like the musical. It was rapturously received on the night we went. Recommended.

Paradise is a terrific murder mystery podcast from the BBC. It’s still playing out as I write. Talking of podcasts there’s a TV show that delves into the case behind Serial’s first series. The Case Against Adnan Syed is good and shows, if nothing else, how unbelievably complicated this sort of case is when investigated deeply.

March 2019.

Music, new and old.

Sparklehorse and Thom Yorke. Wish You Were Here. Two wonderful artists meet over Pink Floyd. The hardest working bad in show business, The National, are back. Had Your Soul With You is lighter than some recent work, but it’ll grab you. Lambchop have a couple of new songs online in advance of their new album; they’re the lightest of sketches with all of the mastery of depth and melody I expect from one of the greatest, most low key songwriters ever. Little Simz is one of the most original voices in hip hop; part punk, part rock, part blues, totally original. Her new album GREY area is good; It’s a bit full on for me, but I get it. Billy Swan’s version of Don’t be Cruel from 1974 is a recent Shazam discovery. It’s great. Sharon van Etten makes some great music. I’ve heard people speaking about her for ages and just cottoned on. The Maribou State album just gets better and better with repeated listens. Michael Chapman has another good album out. I’m a little disappointed by Jim James’ latest album, though because when he’s good he’s very very good. But if you haven’t yet discovered his solo work I highly recommend his first album.

Books.

I picked these three up in McNally Jackson in Brooklyn and loved them both.

The Lost Girls of Camp Forever More. Kim Fu. Part Lord of the Flies with girls, part American life epic that circles one tragic day at summer camp.

Pretend I’m Dead. Jen Beagin. This is great. A black comedy rammed full of truth about a cleaning lady and her relationship with a heroin addict, a mystic client, two Zen neighbours and more.  Brilliant.

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday is a serious book with a very funny last section. It’s her first novel and I imagine she’s a serious talent. It is two stories told in three parts which collide in lots of ways. Have a look, it’s really good.