Michael Shallcross

Keir Starmer's failure to stand up to this man is a cowardly and suicidal calamity

YouTube video by Errol's Hot Wax Lung Leg feat. Lora Logic - Girls

Very exciting to hear a great new song from Lungleg on Radio 6 this morning - one of the finest Scottish bands of the '90s!

Vinyl reissue of Adam Green and Binki Shapiro's self-titled album from 2013

#NowPlaying Been hoping for an affordable vinyl reissue of this wonderful record for years. Adam Green and Binki Shapiro casting themselves as a 21c Lee and Nancy, with an absolutely gorgeous set of chamber pop miniatures.

By way of contrast, Bill McKibben develops such a charitable and sane critique of Paul Kingsnorth's dubious grifting in the latest issue that it made me look up McKibben's own work with interest. Reviewers - this is how you do it.

"Myers's previous writing has been a shade too readily in command of its chosen material (nature, northernness, violence, history, male abjection, etc) for my taste". From Keith Miller's review of Benjamin Myers' 'Jesus Christ Kinski' in the TLS, 17 Oct 2025

Another instalment in the occasional series, 'what is the TLS reviewer talking about?'

Obvs few things more aggravating than an author being readily in command of their chosen material.

John Lennon's school desk, with a school cap from the period, school photos of Lennon, an attendance register featuring his name, and a sign reading 'Quarry Bank High School for Boys'.

Improbably, the museum currently has Lennon's genuine school desk on loan as an exhibit.

Photo of Yoko Ono and John Lennon from the latest issue of Mojo, with Lennon wearing a US army shirt

John Lennon's US army shirt, in the Beatles Museum in Liverpool.

Taking a short break in Liverpool, brought the latest issue of Mojo to read on the train, then ran into a familiar sight in the Beatles Museum.

A plate of pan fried, Indian spiced chicken livers, with shallots and bread, on a table with a knife and fork

Not the most elegant dish, granted, but Indian spiced chicken livers = desert island dinner. Comfort food of the very highest order.

MUBI Podcast | Jennifer Lynch Writes “The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer” Season 9 continues with insights into David Lynch’s collaboration with his daughter, who gave Laura Palmer an inner life.

All the episodes of this recent 'Ladies of Lynch' series are really interesting, but this is maybe the best, with Jennifer Lynch talking about the process of writing 'The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer'.

Vinyl copy of 'Sympathy for Life' by Parquet Courts

#NowPlaying Finally picked up a vinyl copy of the most recent Parquet Courts album, 4 years after it came out. Wasn't initially sold on the 80s electronica angle, but now think it's ageing well. Probably my favourite US band of the last 15 years, hope their recent silence is just an extended hiatus.

YouTube video by DAVID LYNCH THEATER David Lynch’s Weather Report 10/24/20

Think I might start watching one of these every morning, to get the day off to the right start. There are 950 of them, so that'll give me something to do for the rest of my forties 👍

Jo is great, and this is bound to be very good fun - get down there, London folk

Jeez Lou Reed

No Ordinary Thing: The Momentous Life & Times of Dory Previn On the release of a new documentary on Dory Previn, Adelle Stripe explores an artist who learned to live with voices in her head

It’s Dory Previn’s centenary today, here’s a repost of a Quietus feature from 2024 if you‘re curious to find out more. Really enjoyed writing this (and the documentary is excellent too).

thequietus.com/opinion-and-...

Splendid news!

Vinyl copy of 'The Singles 1969-1973' by the Carpenters

Anyway, moving on to more U-rated fare. Rainy Days and Mondays eh.

A black cat staring at a laptop on a sofa

Vinyl copy of 'Oh Death' by Goat

Reposting pics with strategically placed sticker, to see if that gets around the AI adult content mod...

If I had unlimited funds and a much bigger house I would absolutely buy this

Yeah, I guess so, especially if spotify aren't making much effort to keep on top of it, which that thread (and everything we know about their attitude towards artist rights) suggests is the case.

That is what's going to become of me, Joan. That is what's going to become of us. Men in dark suits saying “and now the weather”...

In case you didn't happen upon it, this is a very good recent essay of appreciation.

What's the point - to extract revenue from plays before it gets pulled down? Seems like that wouldn't exactly be a fast track to mega-dollars.

Ghoulish is the word!

Spotify's home page, announcing a new release by Syd Barrett, which is plainly not a new release by Syd Barrett.

So spotify is just making up new releases by dead artists now

I think it would be very much your cup of tea

Have you read Rose Simpson's memoir? If not, I very much recommend it. A wry but affectionate reflection on her time in the band, turning a sharp eye on the experience of being a female musician in the late 1960s.

McCartney, 'Waterfalls', is a very strong contender

Well, I enjoyed it a lot more than Licorice Pizza. But my favourite PTA film by a long distance is Punch-Drunk Love, so make of that what you will...

That is definitely true! I would have been very happy for the leads in Licorice Pizza to be picked off by rogue federal agents.

I thought it was an effective thriller, in the sense that the time raced by and I felt genuinely on edge the whole time, despite the cartoonish elements almost inviting you not to suspend disbelief. I liked it and am glad I saw it, but didn't really love it, which is how I feel about most PTA films.

Yeah, hopefully so, but with only one promotion slot they can't afford many more slips. We'll see... They were certainly on commanding form today.

Less said about West Ham the better 😞 (Thomas's premier league faves are Wolves, so we're both backing the wrong horses in the top flight)