Brought to you by the letter D

I could be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time - but in all the years I've been writing about music and popular culture* (and certainly in the last dozen or so I've been curating this blog) I've used many superlatives and adjectives when waxing lyrical about artists and their work, but I don't think I've ever reached for the D word to describe anyone or anyone's music. Until now, that is. 

GusGus** are an Icelandic electronic combo with an impressive eleven studio albums under their belt. This is taken from their tenth, Lies are More Flexible. And, yes, in my humble opinion, it is divine.  

GusGus - Fuel (2018)

...

* Or stuff, as I generally tell people who ask what I write about.

** From a 1974 German film Fear Eats the Soul, in which a female character cooks couscous and calls it gusgus.

Wish You Were Here

Wedding of the Year 2018

2018. It's had its ups and downs, for sure; but with more ups than downs, definitely. All in all it's been a good year - well, it would be, it's got an '8' in there, hasn't it?

A lot of firsts; my eyes have widened and my soul deepened, that much I do know. I also know that, pretty much like last year, my end of year round up is very simple, being both compact and bijou:

Best Song: Paul McCartney - I Don't Know

Best Mixtape: Hong Kong Ping Pong 10

Best Wedding: James & Janneke

Best Bar/Pub: either Jenkins [Sherwood] or the Organ Grinder [Loughborough] - I really can't make my mind up
Best App: remove.bg Remove the background from any photograph Instantly (see 'Wish You Were Here' - below) 

Best Walk: Attenborough Nature Reserve. By a country mile

Best Breakfast: Warsaw Diner, Canning Circus
Best Gig: The Prodigy - Nottingham Arena

Best Podcast: Ruthie - Me & My Dad

Best Blog: What's It All About? [Alyson]

Best Radio Station: another joint 1st. prize - Soho Radio [London] / RTÉ Radio 1 [Dublin]

Best Radio Presenter: Pete Paphides

Best Book: The Chalk Man - C J Tudor (below)

Best Open Mic: The Running Horse - with a big thank you to Paul Carbuncle 

Once again a big thank you to everyone who looks in my shop window, and an even bigger thank you to those who trust to luck and cross the threshold... 

Have a peaceful Christmas

Thank you so much @cjtudor and everyone at @nottsmechanics for a great evening. Caz, you had me enthralled for the full 2 hours x pic.twitter.com/eeYbjZ9c5N

— John Medd (@JohnMeddUK) May 9, 2018

The January Man

The curtains are drawn, the kettle is on. The thin morning sun coming through the kitchen window is giving nothing away.
Tea is now poured. My mind is wandering. I remember coming in last night and falling asleep, though the timings are hazy. I know the old year was asked to empty its desk and leave the building - its replacement ushered in seconds later through a side door. There'll be plenty of time for introductions later; we'll have the measure of one other soon enough.

I have a few errands to run this morning so I shall face this new January day, this new shiny first of the first, with the collar on my brand new winter coat turned up and my gait will be purposeful. This is how I shall start the day, this is how I shall start 2018. Walk tall, walk straight - as the song says. And let the New Year blink first.