JR Moores

And to think one or two musicians have told me reviews make next to no difference. It’s getting aired on Marc Riley, apparently, that really boosts sales. 🤔

I’ve been reminded that it’s Bandcamp Friday so you could do a lot worse than whacking some of these in your library. 🎶 @bandcamp.com

JR Moores' Columnfortably Numb top "psych" picks of 2025. ONWARD! @thequietus.com thequietus.com/tq-charts/co...

It’s 30 years since the release of The Beatles’ comeback single, Free As A Bird. Here’s what the stars of the day had to say about it… 🐦 ✌️ 🎶 reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/off-the... @rockingbob.bsky.social

Oh no! He was very chatty last night. Did about ten minutes of improv before they’d even played a note. No support band. That… helped.

He did. Also got an anecdote about Mick telling the cops that all the fireworks they had in their van as they tried to cross a border belonged to Warren. 🧨

Australia’s greatest living “highbrow rock ‘n’ roll band” - DIRTY THREE - live at Leeds Irish Centre. Lidl Christmas jumper. Elvis sequin t-shirt. Banana break. That show had it all. 🎻 🍌

Actually haven’t listened to that one in donkeys so will revisit and get back to you with a typically infirm conclusion!

The wait for a star-studded Lulu tribute album continues. In the meantime, I wrote about this RSD Black Friday compilation inspired by Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music for @thequietus.com thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

Happy December! Here are The Quietus’ albums of the year, 2025. Which ones sound like a drill? How many of them use a hurdy gurdy? (Dedicated Columnfortably Numb psych list to follow...) #MUSIC @thequietus.com thequietus.com/tq-charts/al...

I do most of my music journalism these days for Record Collector magazine. They've got a Black Friday deal where you can get 3 months' subscription for £5. Today's the last day it's available, so jump on it while you can. (I just did.) recordcollectormag.com/black-friday

Love ‘em.

“You’ll be visited by three spirits.”

The three spirits:

@reaktionbooks.bsky.social
@helenmccusker.bsky.social

Have you enjoyed streaming The Beatles Anthology series on Disney+? Want to know more about the (ex)member who comes across best in it?* And what else he got up to in the decade that documentary was first released? I’VE GOT JUST THE BOOK FOR YOU. reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/off-the...
*Besides Ringo.

No doubt Rob Schneider is the man to revive his mojo. 🤔

It's that time of year! We're offering a whopping 40% off all our titles* when you use code BLACKFRIDAY25 at checkout. Head to www.reaktionbooks.co.uk now!

*Offer excludes ebooks, only valid for UK customers, offer ends midnight Monday 1 December 2025. T&C's apply

#blackfriday #books #nonfiction

Tommy Saxondale owned a pest control business.

An origin story prequel for Danny Glover’s character in Predator 2. Right?!

BARDO POND

Panel One: A sportscaster speaks to a television camera "You join us just in time for the annual booksellers versus librarians tug of war." Panel Two: We see the participants warming up as he continues... "Two very strong teams this year, they’ve both been in training since February. As always, the real skill in this match is not to start chatting about boo-" Panel Three: "Too late!! A pair of librarians are discussing the new Margaret Atwood! A crowd is forming! The booksellers are joining in! It's all over!!" We see all the participants chatting. Panel Four: The sportscaster finishes up to the camera: "The rope lies untouched! The discussions continue! We have a draw for 325th year in a row! Join us again next year!" End. Bonus alt-text Content: Fun fact! The first tug of war was between the staff of Cranston Library and those of Daniel Midwinter Booksellers www.cranstonlibraryreigate.com/ www.blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscripts/2017/11/10/booksellers/

Now for some sports news...
(this week's cartoon for @theguardian.com books pages)

In the early 80s, millions of people who'd risked their lives to defeat Hitler, and lost friends and family in the struggle, were still around.

Farage has been spitting on them his whole life.

20 Years On: Endless Nameless By The Wildhearts Revisited | The Quietus Near self-destruction was synonymous with The Wildhearts from the precise moment of their conception. The legend goes that after being sacked from The Quireboys for boozing too heavily, the mononymous...

Earth Vs The Wildhearts and P.H.U.Q. are the classic sound but I like this commercial suicide sonic hand grenade of a record: thequietus.com/opinion-and-...

😮 👋
What a night!

Never did I think I would see Lou Barlow (Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, The Folk Implosion, etc.) perform in an Acomb bakery. He played loads of my favourites as well - including ‘Mary’ (as requested). What a night! 🎶 🍞

I wonder whether @stuartmaconie.bsky.social has read ‘Off The Ground: Paul McCartney In The 1990s’ yet… because Maconie is mentioned in it!👀 (Erin Torkelson Weber’s ‘The Beatles And The Historians’ is fantastic, by the way.) #beatlesbooks #maccas

Noise is a Healing Force: My Bloody Valentine Live | The Quietus Daniel Dylan Wray remembers Mani at a My Bloody Valentine show and relishes in the healing powers of volume and noise.

Always a joy to be blasted by My Bloody Valentine. Last night was also a tribute to Mani and for @thequietus.com I dug into the idea of extreme noise as a vehicle for calm and tranquility. thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

Yes - great lyric. A distant cousin to Greetings From Shitsville by The Wildhearts?

I interviewed Mark E Smith and was disappointed that he didn't sneeze, meaning there was no way I could verify if he did actually sneeze like you'd imagine him to sneeze.