1. US Independence Day
It's Independence Day in the US, a big deal there and the first in four year where the USA is acting like part of the global community again after the dreadful Trump years.
To celebrate, here's ten of my favourite rabble-rousing American toons!
2. The new Fightmilk album
This actually came out in May, but there is a backlog getting vinyl records made, so my copy of the wonderful Fightmilk's new album, Contender, has only just arrived. I have held off listening on Spotify, so can't wait to give this a blast today! Do check them out - I hear a lot of Sleeper in their style, no bad thing!
3. David Hasselhoff covering Iggy Pop
Travesty as this sounds, it's actually not bad...dare I say it, it's even quite good! And is it just me or does the Hoff these days look a bit like Keir Starmer???
4. Bestsellers
Bestsellers is a brilliant podcast by my lovely friend Natalie Jamieson and Phil Williams - each episode looks at a particular book and interviews its author, who will read a passage and then discuss their process and also share their own recommendations. As someone who is a terribly lazy reader, I love the fact that they approach this with zero snobbery and focus on things that are popular, as well as uncovering gems from new talents. I am off to buy some Andy Weir books tomorrow (this week's interviewee).
5. Band merchandise is getting ridiculous...
And yet I am getting suckered in. This week I have purchased a new turntable mat, styled as New Order's Power, Corruption & Lies (the album is reviewed here). It's ridiculous, yet brilliant and I love it. I feel a blog coming on...
See you next week, stay safe, x