scaryblog

And 2024 bites the dust! Well, looking at the list, it's interesting how many of the albums I just don't remember at all - and some of the ones I do remember would probably prefer that I didn't. We started the year with a weird week picking several albums (Raye was my favourite) just to avoid having to listen to Taylor for two weeks in a row and we finished the year with a weird week with Lana's album from '12 - and there were quite a few other weird weeks in between as well! Unsurprisingly, the ownership ratio was 0% this year but there were a fair few albums I think my wife and daughters would have bought if such things were still done - whilst there were a surprising number of artists we met that I own albums of, I'm not sure I would have been tempted by too many of them (but I might have borrowed some of my daughters' purchases). Looking at the year-end chart of the "biggest albums" of the year, we find the top two artists from last year are ...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 27/12/24 : Born To Die - Lana del Rey This album was released nearly thirteen years ago, so seems a peculiar album to visit in the last chart of the year, doesn't it? There is a nice symmetry to it though because I rejected it as unsuitable to start the year with, so I guess we just have to give in and go with what the rules are telling us. I remember there being a whole load of fuss about "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" which I didn't really understand - my expectations are fairly middling about the whole thing. Actually, I didn't mind this at all - it's got considerably more variety than I was expecting but it all hangs together in a very lush and vamp-ish style. It's all well done - I don't know why I've been avoiding it all this time. I particularly liked "Summertime Sadness" but there wasn't really a track I didn't like. You know what - I might even listen ...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 20/12/24 : I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1) - Teddy Swims This album has been around a long time but has its highest chart placement this week - even so, it was lucky to get a look-in. I know I've heard one of the singles and thought it was OK, but apart from that, I'm pretty much at a loss as to what I'm gonna get. Ah yes, I know "Lose Control" ("I lose con-tro-oh-oh-oll") and I think I'd upgrade it to at least pretty decent - it's well done indeed. As is the rest of the album - but it's not something I feel the need to have in my life in the slightest. It's kinda Rag'n'Bone Man/Lewis Capaldi territory, so if you dig that scene then check this out (although I'm guessing you probably already have) We're at #12 in the chart this week with a new entry on a 35 week run, with him having previously had a 14 week run, so he's been in the chart for most...

Xmas party! I thought I'd done my last gig of the year, but the boss managed to swing a suite at the mothership for a team get-together to watch Sam Fender - he's not really my sort of thing but his Glastonbury set from earlier in the year was impressively energetic so I was interested to experience the vibe live. But first, an apology to Wunderhorse - I've had quite a few people recommend them to me and so was quite looking forward to seeing them support him. However, whilst they were on, we had the opportunity to explore The Ninety Third, which the premium members club area, so it's more the case that they were more "on in the background" - let's just assume they were great (and the arena did seem to be pleasingly full for their set, which is always a good sign). However, from the audience reaction to Sam arriving on stage, it's very clear who they were there to see - it's fair to say it was a rapturous reception! And he was straight into it - an...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 13/12/24 : Rosie - Rosé I know Rosé is part of BLACKPINK, so I'm expecting this to be somewhat strange - but I couldn't tell you in what way it will be strange... Well, I'm completely wrong! It's pretty straightforward really in a Taylor/Olivia/Sabrina kinda style. It's all pretty well put together, whilst also being all very inessential - for me, anyway, but I suspect others may contest that point of view. I do have to admit she's got a good voice, I quite liked "two years" and "stay a little longer" and there's nothing wrong with the rest of it - I was just expecting to be a bit more challenged than I was. But obviously if I'd been more challenged, I'd have just moaned about it - so let's accept this is a well done example of something we've seen an awful lot of this year. We're at #4 in the charts this week with a new entry and the rest of the top five are ...

  The second  of two gigs this week - and this venue is a bit of a step up! Thea Gilmore came to my attention with her 2001 album Rules For Jokers, which is a fine example of the female singer-songwriter thing that I very much go for - I've tried to keep up with her in the intervening years but I have to admit I can't say I've listened to all of the 21 albums she's released over her career. I saw her live back in '12 in the exotic environs of St Albans and liked some of her last album, so thought I'd investigate where she was touring this time around and saw she was playing a venue I've been meaning to visit for some time - Union Chapel in Islington, so I was very much up for that. This is the second gig in a church I've written up (and the third I remember going to) and Union Chapel is in much better nick than St John in Bethnal Green - it's an absolutely gorgeous venue with dark wood everywhere and loads of candles flickering. I also like the fact...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 06/12/24 : The Party Never Ends - Juice WRLD Our second posthumous visit with Mr WRLD - last time I was somewhat underwhelmed and I have no reason to assume things will change here. Oh yes, I'm even less whelmed that I was before.  It’s not hateful except for some of the lyrics (there's a lot of effing them bs going on), but it’s just very, very average (as are most of the lyrics). Eminem's contribution to one of the tracks throws up an interesting comparison because although it feels very lazy for him, at least what he's saying makes some kind of sense and isn't boringly repetitive. I just don't understand why anyone would bother listening to this - it's just dull and doesn't sound like any particular skill has been involved. And I'm not a fan of the album cover either! We're at #5 in the charts this week with a new entry and the rest of the top five are  Taylor Swift  (up from #16 due...

The first of two gigs this week! I've always loved Del Amitri ever since I heard "Nothing Ever Happens" back in '90 but I've never managed to catch them live. I didn't really go to gigs back in the 90s and whenever I looked at ticket prices for their various reunion tours in later years, they were always surprisingly, nay, eye-wateringly, expensive - and it felt like it could be a bit of a risky purchase. But either they've got enough cash now or (more likely) everyone else has just caught up so the prices seemed more reasonable for this tour and they were playing the Shepherd's Bush Empire which I remember liking, so I thought I'd give them a go. Given it was a chilly night and the audience was on the somewhat elderly side, there was a lengthy queue waiting for admittance when I rocked up - but I also knew there was quite a pleasant Brewdog just around the corner and this seemed like a much better option. And so it turned out because one pint late...

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews... The Fear of 13 : Donmar Warehouse I'd always wanted to go the Donmar Warehouse, but you have to get in early for the tickets because they go quickly and I've always failed to do so - but this time I managed to book for TWO things, with this being picked entirely on the basis of it having Adrien Brody in it.  And so last night I found myself desperately wandering around the edges of Covent Garden trying to find enough mobile signal to get maps up on my phone to find the bloody place! I knew I knew pretty much where it was, but both the theatre and mobile signal were proving stubbornly elusive as the deadline approached. Fortunately a kind doorman at The Cambridge Theatre pointed me in the right direction - given they are approximately 30 seconds apart, it was surprising how the rest of his colleagues had never heard of the place! But I made it to my seat with a whole five minutes to spare and, given I was in the back row, ...

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts 29/11/24 : GNX - Kendrick Lamar Our fourth visit with Mr Lamar and I never really know what to say about his music - there's a lot to admire about it, but I don't love it and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. And there's absolutely no reason to assume that there's going to be anything different about this. Nope, not really! Maybe it's a bit more accessible than our previous visits, but there's nothing here for me to love. Yes, it's all sonically interesting, but I'm still perplexed by the whole experience - people seem to love it, but I've no idea why. We're at #1 in the charts with a new entry this week (his second #1) and the rest of the top five are Michael Kiwanuka (another new entry),  Sabrina Carpenter , Limp Bizkit (a much better performance than I expected) and  Charli XCX  (out on tour, so people are back). And, getting close to Christmas, we have a load of ...