I had to give this a second listen. I admit to allowing it to wash over me first time round - which is quite an achievement for a Pogues album. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood. And you need to be in the mood for a Pogues album. This isn’t easy listening. There’s much more depth than I was expecting. The Eastern influences add more light to the simple piss up Pogues' persona. I had to skip THAT song, even in deep December. Sure, it’s magical. But you can only take so much of it, especially so at this time of the year.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I know Alice Cooper is cool, and I’m supposed to like Alice Cooper. But it’s still US rock shite. I haven’t spent the best part of four decades forming my finely tuned musical prejudices to give into this posturing.

⭐ ⭐

Only Nick Cave could get away with an album all about murdering women - although I doubt if he would walk away unscathed in 2025. The Kylie duet gets all the headlines. But it’s the PJ Harvey collab that works best for me. Polly brings out the best baritone in Smiling Nick.

⭐ ⭐

I wanted to really like this. I think it’s the idea of really liking it, than actually hearing anything of interest. In the end it was all a load of hippy nonsense, as expected. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) was a rare highlight.

⭐ ⭐

There’s some decent pop songs in here. But there’s an awful lot of noise. What’s with all the power chords and posturing? Green Day work best when they’re Green Day: back to basics pop punk. No one wants to hear a punk rock opera. I didn’t make it to the end. No shit. Like punk never happened.

⭐ ⭐

Not a bad album, but the NME naming it as one of the Top 500 albums of all time tells you more about NME, than the music itself. And so here we have a very dreamy album. It doesn’t inspire - it sends you to sleep. Which may - or may not - have been the point. Pleasant enough, but hardly a rallying call.

⭐ ⭐

Energy, enthusiasm, optimism. That’s Dexy’s - and never more so than on the Searching debut masterpiece. It’s not just a record. It’s setting a blueprint for what Kev believes music should achieve, and how to live your life.

I honestly believe that Dexy’s are equally as important as 2Tone in bringing together a diverse mix of musical styles. At the heart of Searching are fantastic tunes. The messages and call to arms are a bonus.

For God’s sake, burn it down, etc.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This is such a hypnotic album. I found myself drifting between tracks, not really paying too much attention as one track ended and another begins. It’s all so hypnotic. All My Friends is clearly a banger. There’s a cult like feeling to the whole album, with mantras sucking you in. Rather joyous.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

The soundtrack for American Graffiti - a double CD as well. You know how fond I am of doubles.

I love this film, almost as much as I now love the soundtrack. It use to be a consistently strong seller when I was working on the market store in the early 80’s. For a period of around three years it seemed to sell at a steady pace, week in, week out.

I never saw the appeal at the time tbh. It was old man rock ‘n’ roll music. Oh the irony of being turned on my psychobilly at the time, and not really making the connection.

American graffiti is hit after hit after hit, as Wolfman Jack might say. I’m being drawn back to rock ‘n’ roll later in life: the music, the clothes, erm, the hair.

Wasted on youth, etc.

For some unknown reason this reminds me of the Metal Micky telly show. It would have been the perfect soundtrack: new, shiny, the future. It still sounds fresh, over fifty years later. Bolan knew how to riff. He’s Chuck Berry with an afro perm. The singles of course stand out. Jeepster had me swaying along first thing in the morning, still in my PJ’s. There’s a certain amount of sorrow, before the boogie picks you up again. Decent.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐