Enjoying, as I said in the music reviews thread, A Kind Revolution by Paul Weller. Innovative, as his last few albums have been, but still in touch with his rock/soul roots. Hopefully get to see him in February.

I teach Creative Writing, and I used the lyrics to that song once. And I do mean once.

I'm happy to report that A Kind Revolution by Paul Weller continues his almost decade-long reinvention winning streak. That's 5 adventurous albums in a row from an artist in his 50s - and one not previously known for hitting on new ground.

It's been a while since I listened to Everything Must Go - I fear it'll have lost something over the years, be a little more Britpop-sounding than I would like.

Slave Ambient is so good. I've got it on one of those vinyls that you play at 45rpm. Sounds great, but you've no sooner sat down than you're up changing it.

Best of Blondie was the first album I got that I still play. I might give it a spin tonight, in fact.

Have you heard of PP Arnold? She was American, but she released a couple of soul albums in the UK in the mid-60s. Jagger & Richards and The Small Faces contributed a few songs (she sings on Tin Soldier), and she does the best version of The First Cut Is The Deepest. She's not Aretha, obviously, but she's pretty good.

Yeah, me too. I have a shop near me (Pet Sounds) that sells excellent stuff and excellent quality stuff - I can count the duds I've had on one hand. Other places, eh, it's hit and miss.

I have a playlist, switching between the early soul stuff and the later funk. So good.

What's the sound quality like on those albums?

A bit of Paul Weller, a bit of Talking Heads, a bit of James Brown.

The aim is to make it legal once again, would you believe? (Of course you would believe.)

1st Anniversary!

As I say below (or above), I'm rereading the 4th - the clear winner of the series, which overall I'm not a great fan of.

Three on the go at once. John O Farrell's An Utterly Impartial History of Britain - I'm bad at history, and not hugely interested, but this has jokes and a light tone so I should get through it - and maybe learn something along the way.

Richard Thompson - Among The Gorse, Among The Grey
The Band - Key To The Highway
Nina Simone - Just Like A Woman
Diesel Park West - People Get Lucky
Wilco - Standing O

That's awful.

Fuck Theresa May and her love of fox hunting. How far can we revert back? The 50s? The 30s? Let's aim for Victorian squalor.

Your comment gave me too much fucking perspective.

If only your professor had known about the time Gordon Brown called the old woman a bigot.