The Listening Log

  • World Cup Log #2

    I’ve largely avoided the media frenzy surrounding England’s World Cup campaign, but finally found one outlet that makes talking about England surprisingly enjoyable.

  • World Cup Log #1

    One unexpected result was enough to make me rethink the expanded World Cup, as Cape Verde earned a memorable draw against Spain and gave football…

  • New Music Friday #2

    A wander through more new music featuring Finn Wolfhand, Debba and a growing suspicion that “pleasant enough, without being thrilling” may be the defining sound…

  • Slow Emotion Replay

    Battling a June cold, miserable weather and post-holiday blues, while The The, Whitney Houston, The Amps and The Mothers of Invention provide the necessary medicine.

  • Miserable Monday

    Home from Brazil, back in rainy Salford with a sleeping dog in the back seat, Black Lace on the stereo and the grim reality of…

  • Open Up

    A Brazilian afternoon of beer, Jason Donovan, Graham Central Station, Tom Waits and Mozart, while quietly trying not to think about work next week

  • Isolation

    An overcast Brazilian morning featuring John Lennon, Erasure, Sepultura, Frankie Knuckles and the startling discovery that some music legends have been dead for years without…

  • Washington Wobble

    The Listening Log returns internationally from Brazil with BB King in the headphones, relatives chatting in Portuguese nearby and Duke Ellington transporting me back almost…

  • New Music Friday #1

    A slight change of direction for The Listening Log this week as I wander through Spotify obscurities, vocoder fog and promotional write-ups more entertaining than…

  • Threshold

    Preparing mentally for two flights and a long journey to Brazil next week while drifting between 4Hero, Red Simpson, Dead Can Dance and Charli XCX…