Troubled times...

The 2020s are shaping up to be pretty bloody awful aren't they eh? A pandemic, a war and now a cost of living crisis not seen since the 1920s. I'm just waiting for the four horsemen (sorry...horsepeople) of the apocalypse to ride into town and then I reckon we're pretty much done. Against this backdrop a couple of tracks have been spinning around in my head for the past few days, Thee Headcoats Troubled Times and Go-Kart Mozarts tragically underrated Relative Poverty.

Still at least it's warm and sunny in the UK at the moment...what's that...snow by the end of the week? Oh bugger off. 

Lighthouse - Mattiel

"Let me know when you can breath again" sings Mattiel on this perfect slice of springtime pop, after 10 days or so of sodding coronavirus I'd like to know the answer to that one myself. If snot was a valuable commodity I'd be a millionaire by now. 

Cough Cough - Everything Everything

Still coughing like someone who's smoked a crate of untipped ciggies, so what better track to end the week on than Everything Everything's prescient ode to Coronavirus, Cough Cough. 

The Plague - Marc Almond

After dodging Coronavirus for two years it finally caught up with us this week, presumably after our break in Bristol which included a couple of cheeky indoor gigs (our first since 2020). Thankfully, as with most people, it seems to be like a bad cold. No idea if it would've been worse if we hadn't been triple jabbed or if wearing a mask at the gigs would have made much difference. No one else was so I suspect it wouldn't have done and let's face it we have to get back to normal at some point so it might as well be now. Sadly some people seem to be particularly judgemental when it comes to vaccines and masks. Get jabbed if you want, wear a mask if you want, stay indoors for the rest of your life if you want, pop on a tinfoil helmet to stop Google from stealing your thoughts if you want...it's up to you.  

Happy Birthday 6 Music!

Working from home for the past 13 years or so 6 Music's kept me company for many, many hours and introduced me to more than its fair share of great music, like Sufjan Stevens for instance. I can remember hearing this track at a particularly stressful time in life (so that'll be most days then) and knowing instantly that it would be a firm favourite for as long as I'm alive and kicking (which, given what's going on right now, might be next week sometime). I'm not a huge fan of some of the changes its made recently but there's still enough good stuff on there to keep me listening, so Happy Birthday 6 Music, may your decks keep spinning (do they still use decks?) and your woofers and tweeters keep...er...woofing and tweeting. 

Ой у лузі червона калина - Eileen

Forgive the endless war related musical posts of late but I couldn't resist this one. Beautiful and justifiably defiant stuff. You listening yet Vlad? 

Mad World - Puddles Pity Party

Given Vlad Shitcan's recent actions...bombing Europe's biggest nuclear power station...wow...smart move there fella...Puddles Pity Party's cover of Mad World seems pretty appropriate right now. Let's hope no one 'accidentally' sprinkles some novichok on his cornflakes eh? 

Super Strut - Deodata

Another selection from last weekend's charity shop CD stash, this time something I spent a whole £1.99 on. I know, big money eh?! It's a little bit jazz, a little bit funk, a little bit rock...and more than a little bit ace. Play it loud and feel at least 78% cooler.