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Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 22/01/06 :  The Back Room -  Editors I used to like this back in the day and I even saw them live at Glasto one year - but remember very little about them, so make of that what you will.  Let's see if the album jogs any memories - I'd certainly hope it does. Yeah, it was certainly the sort of thing I used to like but I don't have so much time for these days (see also The Bravery, Interpol, The National).  "Munich" is indeed a fine track - I knew there was an REM cover version  which is worth checking out but I wasn't aware of Corinne Bailey Rae's version , which is a pleasantly different version.  Having said all that, I think "All Sparks" is my favourite track on the album - it's quite enjoyably sinister.  Overall, I didn't mind the album but I did feel it could do with a bit more variety - "Camera" tries something a bit different, but the rest of it is all a bit samey.  I ...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 24/02/23 :  Trustfall - P!nk I'd never listened to a P!nk album before until I came across her 2006 album earlier this year - it was OK, but not exactly a must-listen for me.  And I'm pretty much expecting the same from this, although I don't mind the title track. Actually, I didn't mind it at all.  She's got a lovely voice and there's more variety there than I was expecting - yes, most of it is what you'd consider as classic P!nk shouty-pop (that's an official genre, right?), but there's elements of dance, country and even disco on various tracks.  It all gives the impression of a life well lived, but not without its regrets - it did all make me wonder how many times she's been married (Wikipedia tells me it's just the once, since 2006 but it's not been without its dramas).  Two tracks did stand out for me, bookending the album - "When I Get There" is a lovely track a...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 29/01/06 :  Stars Of CCTV -  Hard-fi We're on a proper run of ownership here - I can't say I've listened to it in ages, but it's one I know so well I can hear most of the songs in my head (although I'm expecting there to be a few I've completely forgotten exist). And the good news is that I still like it.   It's not the greatest musicianship or vocals, but there's plenty of enthusiasm there and the songs have that little bit extra that these things to elevate them above the crowd - generally with a nice hooky chorus to boot.   "Cash Machine" (depicting a state that far too many people still find depressingly relevant), "Unnecessary Trouble", "Living For The Weekend" and the title track (although I'm not convinced by the use of falsetto) stand out for me, but I actually enjoyed (and remembered) most of them.   One track I didn't recognise because it wasn't on ...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 05/02/06 :  Keep On -  Will Young I've never minded Will - he seems like a decent enough chap and he's pushed on through some challenges with an admirable openness (it's weird now to think of the fuss about him being forced to "come out" after winning Pop Idol before a paper outed him).  I've never really loved his music though - it's fine, but doesn't really push any buttons for me. And yeah, it bounces along nicely enough and he's got a nice enough voice, but I can't say too much really stood out for me, although I did quite like "Ain't Such A Bad Place To Be" and "Madness".  If you like Will's stuff and don't know this, then there's absolutely no reason why you won't like this but I struggle to imagine it converting many fans.  What more do I have to say on it?  Pretty much nothing other than that I'm intrigued as to what's going on on the ...

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's   top 50 films of 2022 #44 :   The Woman King Stirring period epic starring Viola Davis as the leader of the Agojie, a brigade of female warriors in west Africa who are attempting to see off threats from the Oyo empire as well as from slave-buying colonialists. I've heard this is good, and I can assure you there would have been no chance of me watching it under any normal circumstances.  I'm imagining it will be impressive and educational without being, for me, overly engaging. Hmmm.  Whilst watching this, I was trying to decide the best way to describe it - and then I saw The Guardian had got it exactly right in its first three words with "stirring period epic".  It's the sort of thing that comes in and out of favour from time to time, but, for a change, it's got mostly women and people of colour this time around (think African Gladiator).  The Guardian is accurate with the rest of its description as well, although it...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 12/02/06 :  Keys To The World -  Richard Ashcroft Let's forget that Richard is a bit of a silly boy these days and just concentrate on what he was like back then - I enjoyed the stuff he did with The Verve back in the 90s but when I listened to his first solo album (which I don't think was this one, but couldn't tell you without looking) it found it to be perfectly fine, but not adding anything to what he'd already done so I kinda gave up on him.  So I guess "perfectly fine" is pretty much what I'm expecting here. And yeah, that's pretty much where we are - it passes by pleasantly enough but is almost instantly forgotten on a first listen (and there isn't going to be a second I'm afraid).  I would say that there is something slightly different to The Verve output here - Bob Dylan was brought to mind at times.  But obviously with a much finer voice - Richard certainly had a fine set of pipes...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 19/02/06 :  Back To Bedlam -  James Blunt I've been quite rude about male singer-songwriters in this year, so surely I'm going to take cheap pot shots at the easiest of targets, aren't I?  Well no, actually - I like this album (or I did, anyway) and I remember there being some very decent tracks on there.  Yes, I appreciate this isn't the coolest of opinions but I was basically under the impression it mostly just suffered from ubiquity - but it will be interesting to revisit it to see whether I still think that. Hmmm - yes and no.  I did still enjoy it, but there were a few more filler tracks on there than I remembered and I can see that his voice can be quite annoying at times.  But the good tracks are very fine tracks indeed - yes, there are obviously the singles that everyone knows (and either likes or detests) but I also really like "Tears And Rain", "Wisemen" and "No Bravery" as we...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 26/02/06 :  Employment -  Kaiser Chiefs Wow - two in a row that we own.  I've not listened to this as album in years, but the singles pop up from time to time in my playlist and they romp along enjoyably and I even saw them live last year at one of the premiere festivals out there (OK, it was Pub In The Park).  I have a suspicion that the non-singles may prove to be slightly weaker, but I'm expecting to enjoy at least half the album. Yeah, that's a fair enough description - "Everyday I Love You Less And Less", "Oh My God" and "I Predict A Riot" are all fine tracks which barrel along nicely.  The rest of them are either slightly inferior or very inferior - the album does get to be a bit of a drag by the end.  But the overall feeling is a load of fun - it manages to both hark back to both the 60s and Britpop whilst also sounding pretty contemporary, with the lyrics being both relatable and am...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 05/03/06 :  Eye To The Telescope -  KT Tunstall Like most of the country, I'd never heard of KT until I caught her on Jools Holland, doing this - which, for all I know, may be very easy to do but it looks impressive to the likes of me.  She was a last minute stand-in and it's fair to say she took her opportunity well - and I wasn't alone in being impressed because her album then sailed up the charts.  And these things happen, but the album doesn't stay there for any length of time unless it's a goodun - and it very much did, because it very much is... Yup, it was a pleasure to revisit this - she's got a lovely voice and these are well-crafted songs which show a decent amount of variety across the album.  If I had to pick favourites I'd go for "Other Side Of The World", "Black Horse And The Cherry Tree" and "Miniature Disasters" - but it was a pleasure to revisit them all (a...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 12/03/06 :  On An Island -  David Gilmour I'm not their biggest fan, but I don't mind some bits of Floyd from time to time and obviously Mr Gilmour is a big part of what they've achieved over the years.  But the only solo album I've heard from the band's members is Roger Waters' Radio KAOS (which I actually really like - it's one of my favourite "concept albums") - I'd struggle to say my expectations are sky-high for this. And my expectations were just about met, and certainly not exceeded - it's some average vocals on some average songs which feature some above average guitar playing.  Exactly what I what I thought - not terrible, but I struggle to imagine who would check this out other than Floyd fans.  And I couldn't single out any one track as standing out - and neither could you, I imagine. So, obviously after such an underwhelming verdict, we're at #1 in the charts this we...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 17/02/23 :  This Is Why - Paramore We've had two visits with Hayley Williams (the lead singer) but we've yet to visit a Paramore album.  I don't think you could call me a huge fan - I've liked the random tracks I've heard, but I've yet to listen to a whole album of theirs.  But I've no reason to think I won't like this. And I was quite right to think that - this is pretty good.  It's fine indie-pop - there was a  nice bit of variety across the album (more than I was expecting).   I was surprisingly r eminded me of Dry Cleaning in quite a few places, more for the music than the vocal delivery.  It very much p lays to the disaffected teeens/twenties market - and why shouldn't it?  So much of the shit out there these days is ridiculously "you can do this" when so many people know perfectly well there's no chance of that happening - personally I'd prefer to hear something t...

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's  Top 50 TV Shows of 2022 .   #9 :  Derry Girls Lisa McGee’s magnificent coming-of-age comedy picked up endorsements from heavy-hitters including Matt Groening and Martin Scorsese and boasted cameos from Liam Neeson and Chelsea Clinton. But success didn’t go to Derry Girls’ head: the final season was every bit as pointed, poignant and hilarious as ever. With GCSEs and romantic confusion assuming equal significance to the looming Good Friday Agreement, the show once again movingly illustrated that the personal and the political are inseparable: they dovetail within individual lives and wider communities alike. The great sitcoms manage to combine humour with real emotional heft – and by the end, Derry Girls could hold its own with the very best of them. Wow - I thought I'd already done this.  Turns out the last series was in 2019 and I only started doing the telly best ofs last year, so there's no way it could have happened - ...

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts. 19/03/06 :  Corinne Bailey Rae -  Corinne Bailey Rae Well this is one I very much remember - although I couldn't tell you a single track on it apart from the one about the birds.  But it's all lovely chill warbling which will be nice to catch up on. Yeah - that was sweet - once I'd tracked it down on Spotify because for some weird reason it's not available on Amazon.  I still couldn't tell you any other tracks apart from "Put Your Records On" - I know the "Three Little Birds" bit is a Bob Marley reference, but I always forget it's the "every little thing gonna be alright" song.  But, back to Corinne, the whole album just glides past nicely - it's a real sunny Sunday afternoon album.  If you've liked recent offerings from Arlo Parks or Celeste and you don't know this, then check it out to hear an earlier version.  I assume others were doing similar stuff before Corinn...

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's  Top 50 TV Shows of 2022 .   #6 :  Big Boys Jack Rooke broke hearts with this autobiographical series about the best friend he made while grieving his dad. Thankfully, he constantly made us laugh between the tears too. As Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and Danny (John Pointing) navigate university together, Jack becomes more confident in being gay and finding his identity. Danny, though, struggles with his own declining mental health, while hiding behind big smiles and laddish banter. What ensues is a beautiful, thoughtful and honest story about male friendship. Originally, I wasn't planning to watch this because the original Channel 4 trailers didn't do a good job of selling it to me - it all felt a bit "watch the trendy lad take the piss out of the gay lad".  However, I saw some clips from it on Gogglebox and it actually looked really nice and very warm, so it was on the list of things to watch but I'd not got round to it - unt...