1. (I) Travel - our first trip in 8 months
So Mrs JO'B took me for a weekend to St Leonard's - beaches, beers with friends and a different four walls to sleep in! This is a wonderful treat. And of course, meant the inevitable trip to a new record shop - Wow and Flutter in Hastings, new purchases (Ian Dury and the Blockheads' New Boots And Panties!! and Candylion by Gruff Rhys), plus a Half Man Half Biscuit themed burger bar and a splendid bit of Spike Milligan art! A splendid time was had, but we are out of practice on this going out lark and are very sunburnt...totally worth it!
2. The new Nick Waterhouse album
Me and Mrs JO'B are big fans of Nick Waterhouse. Fantastic retro-soul from a man who looks a little like Morrissey's beefier, librarian brother. Review to follow next week!
3. Sound of Metal
Riz Ahmed stars in this tale of a drummer whose life is thrown into freefall when he loses his hearing. It's already been nominated for 6 Academy Awards and Ahmed definitely deserves his first Oscar for his mesmerising performance.
It's available on Amazon Prime or you can find release details at https://www.vertigoreleasing.com/portfolio/sound-of-metal/
4. Wind of Change Podcast
Spies. Secrets. Soviets. And tight leather pants. It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. A heavy metal band from West Germany, The Scorpions, releases a power ballad, “Wind of Change.” The song becomes the soundtrack to the peaceful revolution sweeping Europe — and one of the biggest rock singles ever. According to some fans, it’s the song that ended the Cold War.
But there's a rumour. The Scorpions didn't write it. The CIA did. This is awesome! Check it out (and thanks Jodie and Karen for the recommendation!).
5. Tim's Twitter Listening Parties
National treasure Tim Burgess has been a complete LEGEND during lockdown, having now delivered 754 listening parties via twitter. His replays website has now exceeded over 1,000,000 replays - truly brilliant. And I now have a funky new badge as well. It's all good. Check out his replays website - https://timstwitterlisteningparty.com/pages/replay.html
See you next week, blogs include 25 songs that "sound familiar", reviews of Nick Waterhouse, The Antlers, Blitzen Trapper and a look back at Depeche Mode's Violator. Stay safe, x