After The Noise
Everything Is Equal
Friday 17 April 2026
Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell – You’re All I Need To Get By (1968)
I’ve got that Friday feeling, somewhat smugly. A bit of Motown at work, just when you need it, with the afternoon dragging a little bit.
Still mildly satisfied with the plucky point Cambridge United gained at top-of-the-table Bromley.
Automatic promotion is still on!
That opening feel, straight away. Light, steady, like it knows exactly what it’s doing. No fuss. Just gets on with it.
And then you remember. Tammi Terrell was 24 when she died. Twenty-four. It always lands the same way. Feels wrong every time.
Then the song carries on.
That’s the thing with this era. The quality is just there. Built in. You don’t question it, you just let it run. Proper songs. Proper voices. Everything sitting exactly where it should.
It floats.
You can feel it in your body without even trying. The rhythm does the work for you. Head nodding, foot tapping. No effort required.
Takes me back as well. This kind of thing was made for vinyl. Kind of ironic, given I listen via streaming. Not background noise, not shuffled into a thousand other things. Just this.
There’s something about Motown that cuts through everything else. Doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing. It just works.
Even now.
Steve Jones – I Did U No Wrong (1989)
And in rolls Steve Jones.
Post-Pistols, late 80s, full LA sheen on it. Big drums, big riffs, everything turned up just enough to feel like it belongs exactly where it came from. 1989 stamped all over it.
But it works.
He’s never going to be known for the voice, let’s not pretend otherwise. It does the job. Gets out of the way of what matters, the guitar. And that’s where it lands.
Proper riffs. Clean, confident, no messing about.
It’s easy to overlook this stuff. Falls into that category of “yeah, I’ve heard of it” without ever really sitting down with it. But when you do, there’s something there. More than people give it credit for.
Didn’t set the world alight. No massive success. But that’s not really the point.
Some albums just exist slightly off to the side. Not chasing anything, not needing to justify themselves.
I frequently dig this and his other solo effort from 1987, Mercy, out of the archives.
You put it on, it sounds good.
That’s enough.
Gordon Jacob, Aeolian String Quartet, Thea King – Clarinet Quintet in G minor, IV: Introduction, Theme and Variations (2023)
Exactly what I need on a mundane Friday afternoon. Rain hammering down, and as always, when it rains, every last person seems to jump in their car at the same time.
Then it stops and the sun shines. British weather, eh? Like women. Difficult to read. Even more difficult to understand.
What I needed was something classical. Something calm, as I grapple with next week’s rotas and keep printing things out slightly wrong, missing vital information. The environmental police will be hammering down the door if I carry on like this.
This playlist’s turned me into a bit of a fan of the Aeolian String Quartet. They keep appearing, and every time they do, things feel a little more level.
I’ve had a few days of clean eating and two meals as well, and the difference is remarkable. Head clearer. Mood steadier. I was half-convinced I needed to go to the doctor about medication or depression. Now I’m starting to think it was the food all along.
Until I hit the biscuits yesterday. So I made the executive decision to quit biscuits. They trigger something.
I’ve been cutting caffeine down too. Fewer coffees, more herbal teas. The coffees I do drink, I appreciate and enjoy much more.
Yesterday, before I knew it, it was time for dinner: pork and vegetables. Simple. Straightforward. Chicken thighs with vegetables and soup today. Nice, honest, satisfying food.
And the fog started to lift. Creative levels have been good this week.
When that happens, you feel more alive. More ideas. More clarity. It really hit home after a huge food binge on Sunday dulled everything.
At work, everyone’s talking calories and meal replacements. Powders and shakes. I’ve never trusted anything called a “meal replacement”. A meal is a meal. A shake is a shake.
Still, everyone finds their own way. Some systems work for some people. My sister keeps her weight off with Weight Watchers, so who am I to argue?
And this clarinet music fits the mood perfectly. Soft, measured, calm. Just what the afternoon needs.
For now, just letting the music settle everything down.
Dave – Marvellous (2025)
A track by Dave comes on next. Always makes me wonder why he just calls himself Dave. It’s such an ordinary name for someone with such a serious reputation. You expect someone called Dave to be fitting your boiler, not topping the album charts.
His album The Boy Who Played Harp caused a big stir when it came out. I’ve never really spent much time with him, but this sounds decent enough. Polished, confident, very modern UK rap.
He knows what he’s doing, that’s obvious. Swearing, though, always feels like the easiest trick in the book. Says the man who spends half his commute swearing at traffic.
Personally, I still lean towards the harder stuff. Public Enemy. N.W.A. That old-school hip-hop bite. But this is pleasant enough. Smooth, well put together.
Alright, Dave. You’re alright. Not exactly storming my personal history books, but perfectly respectable company whilst figuring out Excel sheets.
END OF LISTENING LOG
The Listening Log 