Welcome to /Countdown/2022 – this year’s wrap-up of the best new music that I’ve heard across the year. I begin as usual, with the best compilations and reissues in no particular order, although it should be noted that as is the norm these days, there are a whole lot of reissues coming through.
The final /Tuesday Ten of 2022 is, at least in part, about togetherness. Over the last few years, the idea of banding together to help, to achieve and make better has in some quarters at least gained traction again.
Back to normal weekly postings again for the foreseeable. The post, then, is a roundup of (relevant to this site) new and upcoming music, a nod to upcoming events and livestreams both from this website and others and also catchup of what I’ve posted recently. Thanks to everyone who sends me new music and events, […]
It has been a chaotic, busy month, as we’ve dealt with my father in hospital (still, although he’s now recovering at last), my wife being ill with tonsilitis, and me preparing to start my new job (today). But even among all of that, I’ve managed to find time to write about another bumper batch of […]
Another busy week of releases and announcements, as I try to keep up… The post, then, is a roundup of (relevant to this site) new and upcoming music, a nod to upcoming events and livestreams both from this website and others and also a catchup of what I’ve posted recently. Thanks to everyone who sends […]
Into 2022 and the cold, grey January, and on the first Friday of 2022, it is time for my traditional round-up of what we know about (relevant) new music coming your way in 2022. What do I mean by relevant? Broadly, that means music I might cover here, which to be honest, these days, covers […]
Stay-In-Fest and the Bank Holiday are already in the rearview mirror, and we’re now inching toward autumn, and the usual packed release schedule as things ramp up again. Today I bring you a fully updated events listing, a host of releases today on Bandcamp Friday, and the first of my interviews from Stay-In-Fest fully transcribed. […]
The madness of 2020 has not been kind to autocratic or authoritarian leaders, who have been left wanting when it comes to dealing with a crisis that came pretty much out of nowhere, and that they can’t spin themselves out of. That said, all of them are still in power as I write this.
Following on from last week, there’s been lots of warnings of late. Warnings to social distance, warnings to stay at home, warnings about what to do if you’re infected. We’re also – well, were, before the rain came today – hearing announcements in Finsbury Park telling people not to sunbathe or lounge around in the […]
On an average day, I might awaken early, waiting for my alarm to go off. I’ll wait for the kettle to boil, I’ll wait for my work laptop to boot up and load any e-mail that has come in since I last logged in. I’ll wait for the post, I’ll wait until lunchtime. I might […]
Fifty years ago today, three NASA astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins) left the Earth on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, and four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to step onto another body beyond Earth – pretty much the crowning moment of what became known as […]
Right then, we’re back in the saddle now, and regular editions of the /transmission podcast will now be released once again – broadly bi-weekly, but that may depend on our commitments around the time! Anyway, this week we get through the letter “j” and start on “k”, with perhaps a couple of contentious artists this […]
Are you ready for a little addition? Maybe some subtraction? Or I can just split the difference with you as we circle around a subject that can get very complex indeed. This is the first part of songs about mathematics, dealing with the “easy” stuff this week, and the really complex stuff next week.
One of my closest, and oldest, friends comes to visit this weekend. We met by chance amid the chaotic Lost Weekend in 2000, and have remained firm friends ever since – and she was even my Best Person at my Wedding two years ago. We’ve had many great times, had nights of sketchy memories, seen […]
Another Friday, another round-up. As always this is a look at upcoming releases, relevant music news and upcoming events and gigs worth spending some of your time at. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’m always on the lookout for more to include.
Another Friday, another round-up. As always this is a look at upcoming releases, relevant music news and upcoming events and gigs worth spending some of your time at. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’m always on the lookout for more to include.
I’ve said it before, but really, I can’t believe I haven’t covered this before. Dancing is such an important companion to music. It can be a joyful release, a form of protest, epoch-changing, style-leading, a celebration, a way of meeting or courting people or even dealing with unimaginable horror. It has changed the world, it […]
As many of my friends and readers will know by now, I’m a dedicated music fan. I’ll happily espouse my views on whatever I’m listening to, what’s new, what’s good, what’s not (the latter more often in person than online!), if there’s a discussion about music generally, I’m happy to be involved. Which is why […]
I toyed with the idea of a post celebrating Europe last summer around the referendum vote, but frankly, I was too damned down about the whole thing to even consider it. Debate has raged, of course, in the press, in person, on social media, just about everywhere, and there is certainly no doubt that the […]
This week, on part three, I turn my attention to the best albums of the year. I seem to say it every year, but really – 2015 has been an extraordinary year for alternative music, you’ve just got to have been looking in the right places to find some of it. Not all of it […]
