James Chapman

That too

This was such a beautiful, tender performance totally appropriate and equal to the moment

I agree, but given the total fixation with Reform from the BBC down seems unlikely to change any time soon
it would at least be nice to hear some challenge to the narrative that they’re firmly on course to win the next election - they’re a long way from being so.

Large parts of the media have assured us Reform is likely to romp home to victory in 3 recent by-elections:

Gorton and Denton: Greens won;
Caerphilly: Plaid Cymru;
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse: Labour

Perhaps we could have a bit more focus on Reform’s underperformance and what it means?

Don’t forget From the Choirgirl Hotel. Another 10/10 Tori Amos album from that decade.

Tori Amos IN TIMES OF DRAGONS

She’s touring the UK, Europe and the US in the coming months.

toriamos.com

Sadly not a fan. I find the lyrics and sentiment unutterably trite and banal. Fascism’s on the rise but it’ll be okay because we’re stronger together and moms love their daughters? Please. Tori is capable of so much more. Hoping for more from the rest of the album.

Agree - the piano and vocal tracks are especially strong. Weatherman is some of the finest songwriting of her career, as is the bonus track Forest of Glass.

The SCOTUS tariff ruling will age Trump more than anything else during his presidency.

They’re not just his core economic policy; they’re his primary leverage for global bullying and corruption. He sees them as the source of his strength.

This will serve as a catalyst for his cognitive unraveling.

Ugh

Loving Growin’ Up and Hoover Factory

Labour will ultimately be judged on economy and NHS. Are both turning?

Record £30.4bn budget surplus in Jan
Flash PMI at 22-month high of 53.9
Retail sales up 1.8% MoM; 4.5% YoY
Inflation down to 3% 
Base rate down to 3.75%
Job vacancies up after 3 years of falls
Waiting lists down

This is my ranking

1= BFP
1= SW
3 FTCG
4 LE
5 UTP
6 TVAB
7 O2O
8 NI
9 UG
10 NOH
11 SLG
12 Diving Deep Live
13 MG
14 TBK
15 ADP
16 Muses
17 Tales
18 Gold Dust
19 AATS

Can’t wait for the new Tori Amos.
It’s been a while since she put out a dark, angry record and that’s what this one sounds like.

😢

They don’t clash with the UK and European tour do they?
Perhaps Tori wouldn’t have him only do the European leg and not the US.
Anyway, it seems very bad form to commit publicly to a tour and then take a better offer, if that’s what happened.
It seems very late to be bringing in a new drummer.

Very odd that Ash was announced by Tori and posted himself that he was on the tour and has now been dropped.

Billing it “the shadow Cabinet” fits a pattern of hubris from Reform that I think voters will find increasingly unappealing.
We saw it today in Farage’s insulting treatment of an FT journalist.
And when he said Reform is “on track to become the next government”.
And in every Zia Yusuf appearance.

Straight out of the Trump playbook. Sadly, the media doesn't respond in the right way. The next reporter should have asked the identical question. And the next. And call him out for crap or hint of misogyny.

I agree. The only “achievement” of his entire career is Brexit, yet he never talks about it and never gets asked about it, for reasons that are obvious. It should be the first thing asked in every interview.

Agree with this. Farage is tied to Trump and the more toxic the latter becomes in the UK, the worse that is for Reform

People sometimes praise Farage for taking lots of questions from the press.
That seems irrelevant when he regularly responds to reasonable questions in insulting and Trump-like terms, often attacking individual journalists and their outlets. Collectively, the lobby shouldn’t stand for it.

Hard disagree. Labour at five points behind at this point in the electoral cycle is nothing.
If the economy picks up and the NHS continues to improve, Labour will get some credit.
Betting markets are often more reliable than polls and they no longer have Reform as favourites to win next time.

Reform lead down to five points with YouGov and the betting markets have shifted so they are no longer the favourites to win the next election.
Those pundits who’ve been assuring us of a Reform landslide in 2029 risk looking very silly indeed.

Cornflake Girl is great but overplayed.
My favourite would be Pretty Good Year or Reindeer King.

Share albums until you reach the character limit (all 10/10 for me)

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
Aimee Mann - Lost in Space
Tori Amos - Boys for Pele
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Kate Bush - Aerial
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Ryan Adams - Gold
Gregory Alan Isakov - That Sea, the Gambler

Given the new album looks very angry/political I am betting Pancake is going to be a staple on the new tour ❤️

The Best of Tori Amos

There are a lot of albums and hundreds of b-sides and covers to catch up so this might help.

open.spotify.com/playlist/2Xf...

I’ve been following Tori for 30+ years now and she never disappoints. I’m excited for her new album which sounds like a dark, political work.
The show a few months ago was the first time I’ve seen Thea Gilmore but it won’t be the last - she deserves to be much bigger than she is.

I saw Thea Gilmore play a little church in London a few months ago; it was magical.
And I’m seeing Tori Amos at the Royal Albert Hall in April; can’t wait!