Mark M Smith

Where nobody knows your name... Tracing the anonymous faces at the start of Cheers.

Hey! Lots more fun here now.

Original versions of the title images from Cheers: UPDATED.

open.substack.com/pub/joelmorr...

Cory Hanson - Western Cum (2023)

#nowplaying

Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble on Living in Iona | The Quietus The Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble describes his life on the spiritual and golden 'island off an island' Iona.

I interviewed the lovely Roddy Woomble of Idlewild about life on the Isle of Iona. thequietus.com/interviews/t...

A lesson when it comes to records I rarely follow.

Fair enough! I might keep an eye on Juno in case it turns up there.

I spent a ridiculous amount when I could ill afford it on a Japanese import of Bali bitd, before it got a UK release. A good reminder sometimes patience is key.

I’m apparently old too so perhaps would have ordered this but not at £25 for postage. Sticking to my CD.

That should be Francis Hime.

Listening to a Chico Buarque musical that is a strange mix of songs he wrote, Mack The Knife, and an operatic section sung by Gal Costa and Francis Hines. All over the place.

This has been bugging me so much. Glad I’m not the only one!

There’s a channel called U&Eden repeating Later… from the start.

Just turned it on and there’s Jellyfish doing the Ghost At Number One. Perfect timing.

Delighted to have a new Emma Pollock record to listen to today.

Season 17 of Always Sunny feels like a definite return to form. Enjoyed it much more than any of the recent seasons.

Clearly a realistic recreation but undermined at the end. McCartney would never have used the word schnitzels.

Sunday long run in Denmark this weekend (visiting the in-laws).

One of those runs where you start in sun cream and sunglasses and finish in torrential rain soaked to the skin.

Brian (a cat) lying on a rug beside the new issue of Mojo which just arrived in the post.

Cat post

Into The Sixties: Towards A Cosmic Music. Pre-echoes of a momentous decade. A 3cd box set on Cherry Red.

The back cover of Into The Sixties: Towards A Cosmic Music.

#nowplaying
Something a bit different for a Wednesday afternoon - for me anyway

WHY IS it so expensive to take the train? They're going that way anyway, why can't they just drop me off? David Chittock, Cheltenham

subscriptions >>> shop.viz.co.uk/viz348bs

Went for a long run as per usual on a Sunday. Thoughts on the music in my ears…
Hot Chip best of - I like them but a little goes a long way and was bored before the end. No true best of would miss off ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’.
Much better running music is Sabrina Carpenter’s new record.

The cover of Nara Leao’s os meus amigos sao um barato

#nowplaying
Nara Leao - os meus amigos sao um barato (1977)

Beautiful record. Leao collaborates on a track each with the likes of Gil, Veloso, Lobo, Buarque, Donato and Jobim.

It’s also a terrible name for a band. But, it is a pre-Jellyfish Sturmer and Manning so happy to have a copy.

Beatnick Beatch’s self-titled record from 1988

#nowplaying
Beatnick Beatch - s/t (1988)

This is *very* much a 1988 record.

Every beat of my heart This is the bass-drum head from the kit I used as a member of an R&B band in 1964-65. Last week, two days after I’d taken it to the recycling centre as part of a general clearout of super…

I’m not sure that Richard Williams is on here. I always enjoy his music writing, particularly on jazz, but this one’s on something bigger than that. Best wishes to him.

thebluemoment.com/2025/09/09/e...

If you’re looking for something to give joy then Adam Buxton and Benedict Cumberbatch’s competing Werner Herzog impressions at the end of Adam’s latest podcast should do the trick.

Leonard Cohen laughing and hanging out with Devo

It’s Devo and laughing Leonard Cohen!

Their belief in De-evolution seems very apposite right now.

The Devo doc on Netflix is tremendous.

What they don’t mention is that their brilliant SNL performance of Satisfaction was on the week after the Rolling Stones had been on the show.

The Stones were terrible. That contrast made the Devo performance even more amazing.

Such a nicely done reissue too with revealing song notes.

Billy Joel: And So It Goes review An unusually forthright—and an unusually long—documentary about the success and struggles of the piano man who never wanted to be mistaken as a soft rocker.

I've spent too much time in the past month listening to and thinking about Billy Joel. My review of the five-hour HBO Max documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes.

Al Jardine Is Keeping the Beach Boys' Legacy Alive, One Show at a Time Al Jardine talks about how he's keeping the Beach Boys' legacy alive by playing Brian Wilson's songs on tour with the Pet Sounds Band

Nice article on Al Jardine's Beach Boys Love You tour, and *God* I hope he brings the tour to the UK at some point.
Incidentally, Al talks here about Mike's behaviour at Brian's funeral, and Mike denies Al's version. Al's version is how I heard it from someone who was there and friends with both.