Andrew Neal

Great list but the Thrilled Skinny album didn't come out until 1989.

My #topfive albums for September 2025:
Patrick Watson: Uh Oh
Emma Pollock: Begging The Night To Take Hold
Cerys Hafana: Angel
Cate Le Bon: Michelangelo Dying
ALA.NI: Sunshine Music

Only one of my choices in the top 30 but all five show respectably in the top 50 so I'll settle for that. Thanks as always for the time you take compiling these.

Life Without Buildings. Great choice and another one I should have considered.

Had forgotten The Polyphonic Spree. Great band.

I'd mistakenly thought Dogs was 1999, otherwise Nina Nastasia would have been on my list.

Honourable mentions to Franz Ferdinand, The Go! Team, Futureheads, The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Stephen Malkmus.

Hi Rich
My #5debutalbums0004 choices are:
1. Fiery Furnaces - Gallowbird's Bark
2. Broadcast - The Noise Made By People
3. Jeffrey Lewis - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane
4. Laura Cantrell - Not The Tremblin' Kind
5. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender

More Sparks. Fantastic!

ALBUM REVIEW – THE ANTLERS: BLIGHT A glance at a record’s list of songtitles often offers an indication of its type of music. The Antlers’ ‘Blight’ is deceptive in that respect. In addition to the title track, there are songs called ‘C...

"Shows the value of gently probing, drawing out connections & contradictions... pairing these thoughts with imaginative arrangements and music of minimalist beauty works a treat."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews @theantlers.bsky.social
www.silentradio.co.uk/10/02/album-review-the-antlers-blight/

Also came away with a pile of books from the library.

Well worth a visit to the Harris Museum, Preston for the Wallace & Gromit exhibition. Lots of models & sketches which made me want to watch all the films/shorts again plus some early works where it is easy to see Nick Park's style develop. It's free as well.

Digital ID cards are such a terrible & unnecessary idea. Please do everything possible to ensure a massive number of people sign this petition.

ALBUM REVIEW – CATE LE BON: MICHELANGELO DYING The breakup album is virtually a cliché. There are reasons why it can be irresistible to artists and listeners alike. It is a common, almost universal, experience. Very few will have been lucky enough...

"Le Bon sculps great beauty from its jumble of feelings and it confirms her reputation as one of music’s most distinctive artists."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews Michelangelo Dying by Cate Le Bon
www.silentradio.co.uk/09/26/album-review-cate-le-bon-michelangelo-dying/

ALBUM REVIEW – CERYS HAFANA: ANGEL Sometimes artists kindly try to do journalist’s work by describing their music. On Cerys Hafana’s Instagram page, their music is described as “sad Welsh harp pop”. As a description, this barely scratc...

"It weaves its spell and is at its absolute peak when the instrumentalists combine at create a rare magic."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews Cerys Hafana's Angel:
www.silentradio.co.uk/09/22/album-review-cerys-hafana-angel/

10 Favourite TV comedies:
Seinfeld
Frasier
Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?
The Phil Silvers Show
Black Books
The Day Today
Fawlty Towers
Porridge
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Detectorists

ALBUM REVIEW – MULATU ASTATKE: MULATU PLAYS MULATU Over the course of a long gig-going life, there will inevitably be regrets about opportunities missed. Festivals in particular offer so many choices that there is bound to be the odd misstep. From the...

"a mature record that manages to embrace the ancient and modern, which is hypnotic in moods, relaxed yet emotive, a journey into his unique and influential world."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews Mulatu Plays Mulatu
www.silentradio.co.uk/09/21/album-review-mulatu-astatke-mulatu-plays-mulatu/

ALBUM REVIEW – THE GENESIS: A STORY Fear not! This is not an ode to Messrs Collins, Banks and Rutherford, or even Gabriel. The Genesis is an entirely separate beast and ‘A Story’ comes, aptly enough, with an incredible backstory. Hand o...

"even when the words are occasionally indistinguishable the music evocatively fills the void to tell the story."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews The Genesis
@handofglory.bsky.social
www.silentradio.co.uk/09/19/album-review-the-genesis-a-story/

I like this album rather a lot!

Hi Rich. This is pretty brutal but my #5albums50s60sfinal selections are:
1. Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
2. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
3. Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
4. Love - Forever Changes
5. Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica

ALBUM REVIEW – ALA.NI: SUNSHINE MUSIC Home is a loose concept. A person’s physical location is not necessarily where their thoughts and emotions are centred. The third album from ALA.NI is a classic example of this paradox. It may have be...

"ALA.NI's voice is a delight, understated and uncategorisable albeit with noticeable jazz and soul inflections."
@andrewneal66.bsky.social reviews ALA.NI's Sunshine Music
www.silentradio.co.uk/09/12/album-review-ala-ni-sunshine-music/

My #topfive August 2025 albums:
Modern Nature - The Heat Warps
SunYears - The Song Forlorn
Marissa Nadler - New Radiations
Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
Prolapse - I Wonder When They're Going to Destroy Your Head

Totally agree but going to wait until I've voted in the Deputy Leader election in the vague hope that it might make some difference.

Struggling to believe that I interviewed Robert Forster.

I Am Martin Parr Discover the maverick behind some of the most iconic images of the past century on an intimate and exclusive road trip with a photographer whose work has revolutionised contemporary photography.

Wonderful Martin Parr documentary. Love the vivid nature and humour of his photos - www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Who Owns England? by Guy Shrubsole is a clear account of one of England's biggest problems - massive inequalities of land ownership, all the issues it creates & suggestions for alleviating the situation. A rallying call and well worth a read.

Wonderful and wild.

The Devo documentary currently showing on Netflix is a delight. I like the band rather than being a completist but it definitely added to my appreciation and enjoyment of their music and the ideas behind it.

Thanks as always for doing this Richard. All five of my picks are in the top ten. I must be turning into a populist, although this must be the only universe in which Trout Mask Replica could be seen as a populist choice!

Hi Rich. Here are my #5albums50s60s5 picks. We agree on our top choice!
1. Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
2. Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica
3. Beatles - Revolver
4. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
5. Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!