After The Noise
Everything Is Equal
Monday 01 June 2026
Jason Donovan – Sign Of Your Love (2012)
Well, shiver me timbers, by Brazilian standards it was a little chilly today.
For the first time since leaving Manchester, I had to wear thick socks and, gasp, a jacket. Thankfully, normal service resumed this afternoon. The sun returned, a pleasant breeze arrived and I found myself sipping a can of beer in far more suitable conditions.
Jason Donovan first.
I glanced at the track title and assumed there had been some kind of mistake. His astonishing debut album Ten Good Reasons is on the playlist, but I didn’t recognise this song at all.
A little research revealed what had happened. Having already featured a track from Ten Good Reasons on The Listening Log, I’d quietly removed it and replaced it with Donovan’s most recent studio album from 2012.
The Donovan has only managed six albums during his career. His middle name, incidentally, is Sean.
As for the song, there’s some pleasant whistling before it settles into a sophisticated pop groove. It’s no Too Many Broken Hearts, but sounds like the work of a man entirely comfortable making the occasional record when the mood takes him.
It got my toes tapping, which is always a good sign.
More beer. Next.
Graham Central Station – Why? (1974)
Now this is perfect.
Seventies funk overdrive.
Funky bass, funky guitar, random key changes and drum patterns to die for. Add some electrifying shrieking vocals and the job is done.
That was almost music journalism by my own low standards.
Three beers in, a pleasant afternoon unfolding around me, and I’m reminded why holidays matter. Music, sunshine and not much else to worry about.
Then comes the horrible thought.
This time next week I’ll be back at work, catching up on two weeks’ worth of emails. Most of them will be deleted without reading. Half the time I’m not entirely sure what they’re about anyway.
But that is next week.
This is now.
Charli XCX – Open Up (2026)
Short, sharp and straight to the point.
Charli is becoming a firm favourite on The Listening Log, she seems to crop up a lot. Moody, brooding and naturally accompanied by a healthy amount of vocoder.
This comes from the Wuthering Heights soundtrack, so a certain amount of woo and woosh is to be expected.
Hardcore XCX.
I like it.
There, I’ve said it.
Am I becoming a secret admirer of the vocoder-loving queen of modern pop?
Probably not.
But I do appreciate what she does.
The Coward Brothers – My Baby Just Purrs (2024)
Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett.
What’s not to like?
I’ve dabbled with both over the years and rarely hear anything from either man that disappoints.
This has shades of classic early Costello. Listening to it reminds me there are few things better than drinking beer in a warm country with absolutely nowhere you need to be.
Especially when the music is this good.
It sounds effortless too. Like something they casually assembled from an old cereal packet and a roll of double-sided sticky tape.
Tom Waits – Ol’ 55 (1973)
About bloody time Tom Waits turned up.
Another artist I’ve admired more than fully explored.
This comes from a compilation called Used Songs, a good intro to his early work.
Waits sounds magnificent.
Almost, dare I write it, tuneful.
All those unpleasant thoughts about returning to reality suddenly disappear.
The trick now is to enjoy these final few days.
Properly.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lucio Gallo, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado – Le Nozze Di Figaro, K.492, Act IV: No. 27, Aprite un po’ quegli occhi (1994)
And there it is.
The biggest challenge facing any Listening Log writer.
Something from bloody Figaro.
It took longer to type the title than it did to listen to some of the other tracks.
I nearly abandoned the entire exercise halfway through but became determined to see it through once I’d started.
Bloody marvellous though.
What’s not to like?
There was a time when I dismissed music like this entirely. Now I find myself embracing it wholeheartedly.
As it plays, I imagine myself wandering through ancient Italian ruins illuminated by candlelight, dressed in the finest dinner jacket money can buy.
Some things simply ooze class.
This most certainly does.
A euphoric finale to the afternoon.
END OF LISTENING LOG
The Listening Log 