I got snarked at by a fanboy for not suggesting that New World Record was the work of a different band entirely from, say, the one that did their second album, which is a wonderfully expansive, sprawling, heavy, delightful mess.  They were one of my first loves, and it saddened me to see them go pop.

Sorry, but And Then There Were Three was cack, rushed out to prove they could do without Hackett.  Two songs set in the wild west?  Really?  I thought Duke was a return to form after that, but then….I lost interest altogether.

Sorry, but And Then There Were Three was cack, rushed out to prove they could do without Hackett.  Two songs set in the wild west?  Really?  I thought Duke was a return to form after that, but then….I lost interest altogether.

Try Peter Hammill.  That guy bares his very soul and takes you to some pretty dark places.  Definitely not for kids.

Try Peter Hammill.  That guy bares his very soul and takes you to some pretty dark places.  Definitely not for kids.

Lovely — just got the box set of Cook, as well as Jet Lag and Chocolate Kings, which I hadn't heard for about 30 years.  The latter two are very different from the first, with Lanzetti on vocals sounding like Gabriel with the shakes, but they're all great stuff.

Lovely — just got the box set of Cook, as well as Jet Lag and Chocolate Kings, which I hadn't heard for about 30 years.  The latter two are very different from the first, with Lanzetti on vocals sounding like Gabriel with the shakes, but they're all great stuff.

I always thought Relayer was a colder, harsher version of CttE — I felt their covers gave an amazingly accurate representation of the music within.  I loved Relayer for Moraz's weird-ass keyboards, but still feel that, on this, Howe will never play one note where he can fit twenty in, and White…White just didn't have…

I always thought Relayer was a colder, harsher version of CttE — I felt their covers gave an amazingly accurate representation of the music within.  I loved Relayer for Moraz's weird-ass keyboards, but still feel that, on this, Howe will never play one note where he can fit twenty in, and White…White just didn't have…

I'm not convinced. A news item in the late 80s (I think) about her doing "anti-male" comedy (wearing a fake moustache, a baseball cap, a jacket and a really short micro-skirt while holding a pint of beer in one hand and a cigar in the other and telling bad one-liners) was so embarrassing I still hope it was a…

I'm not convinced. A news item in the late 80s (I think) about her doing "anti-male" comedy (wearing a fake moustache, a baseball cap, a jacket and a really short micro-skirt while holding a pint of beer in one hand and a cigar in the other and telling bad one-liners) was so embarrassing I still hope it was a…

Okay, I missed the whole Eddie Murphy SNL phase — I stopped watching for sure when the original cast left — and always regret that but Jesus wept: that Gumby clip you have up there is arse-grindingly unfunny.  I assume the jokes come later?

Okay, I missed the whole Eddie Murphy SNL phase — I stopped watching for sure when the original cast left — and always regret that but Jesus wept: that Gumby clip you have up there is arse-grindingly unfunny.  I assume the jokes come later?

Tenenbaums put me right off Anderson, so I was surprised at how much I loved Life Aquatic.  I don't think it was that it was overstuffed, just that it was twee, self-satisfied monkey poo.

Tenenbaums put me right off Anderson, so I was surprised at how much I loved Life Aquatic.  I don't think it was that it was overstuffed, just that it was twee, self-satisfied monkey poo.

With the passing of Donna Summer and Robin Gibb, there's been a re-appraisal of disco over here in the UK.  35 years on, that's fine with me, but they do keep coming back to that particular well, the tired old excuse, as if to say "Disco would have made the world one big melting pot, but those nasty racist, homophobic…

With the passing of Donna Summer and Robin Gibb, there's been a re-appraisal of disco over here in the UK.  35 years on, that's fine with me, but they do keep coming back to that particular well, the tired old excuse, as if to say "Disco would have made the world one big melting pot, but those nasty racist, homophobic…

Shameless (UK). Just thought I'd say it.  That should have been put to bed years ago to preserve the memory of those first brilliant three series, when it was one of the best things on TV at the time.  It still pumps away, but I don't know anyone who still watches, and every now and then the critics will get a fruit…

It was a genius format, which is why it's hard to understand quite why it went so spectacularly wrong.  I came in on the second series, which I loved, stuck it through the second cast, where it began to become seriously unstuck (utterly dislikeable main characters, no real reason for most of them to be friends,…

The odd thing, I felt, about the George Harrison flick is that in three and a half hours, despite several mentions of what a great, "timeless" song "My Sweet Lord" is, they never once mentioned the law suit that sullied Harrison's name and reputation, nor the great single ("This Song") he came back with.  I remember…