It Starts With a Birthstone...

Always great to see fab new Bobby Darin pitch up on the jukebox. What a wonderful and actually underrated performer he was.

Odd, upbeat Hispanic tribute to masterful Czech novelist.

On the 12 inch of 1982's Back of Love.

Someone brought to general notice by inclusion on the Songs in the Key of Z compilation. This isn't the track of his on there but i...

One for one of the more dubious characters of the Twentieth Century.

2020 really swung into gear music wise on Friday with several excellent new releases taking my fancy as I browsed during the day. Most ...

Life is not an easy road. nor should it be really. But it's important that we realise its miraculous incidental moments and appreci...

A song for Nick Cave that's probably as different from the man himself as it's possible to imagine.

Iranian Pop Star who was massive before the 1979 Cultural revolution, then found his music suppressed and performances curtailed therea...

Felt's Creation career compilation Bubblegum Perfume  is now on the jukebox at The Newcastle Arms. Thanks to me. I doubt whether ot...

An underappreciated marvel. Re-released today. Here's what I wrote about it way back in 2014: The introverted Stone Roses. I may ...

One of the most gorgeous, evocative and essentially English bands of the last twenty or so years.

'When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.' J...

And another from Biff Bang Pow! named for the bassist of The Weather Prophets who went on to join The Rockingbirds. Strictly a team play...

Creation band featuring label owner Alan McGee and cohorts Dick Green and Joe Foster. Named after a song by The Creation, personal hero...

Song for archetypal Film Noir tough man.

Bobb Trimble is something of an early Christmas gift for muso trainspotter types. Obscure as you could possibly want, with a great back...

Pretty much a sucker for anything that's in French as well as sounding good.

Grace knows best.

'Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, had they holidayed in draughty Glasgow tenements...'

Shabazz Palaces. One of the weirdest, most out there and interesting things going on in Hip Hop in recent years. This comes from 2014. ...

Certainly felt like it weather wise yesterday afternoon.

Top groove for top Punk drummer. Called Topper.

A reference guide to help understand the symbols and motifs at play in Classical Art. 

New year. New and pretty good record. Not entirely new, as Portland, Oregon's Alexandra Savior's latest The Archer draws on sl...

To supplement my recent Nina post, here's her cover of Rich Girl from the Baltimore album. Slight, by her own standards, but still ...

For John Cazale, who was in The Godfather, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deerhunter, and was gone, far too soon in 1978. Eve...

Played by Bonnie Greer this Sunday lunchtime on 6 Music. Then rediscovered in an empty Newcastle Arms later on the same afternoon. From...

A great internet find for me over the past few days has been Humdrum Hippies , now listed on the right hand side of this page. A beauti...

Tim Burgess, a fan first and foremost, is on the radio playing songs that inspired his latest book One Two Another. Takes time out here...

Rather lovely classical piece to honour Anna Akhmatova, one of the greatest Soviet resistant poets.

Another of the truly special bands. This comes from 2013's Somewhere Beautiful and is fuelled by their full on, intense melodic mom...

The girl with the mousy hair. 'Suburban Bromley isn't so different from the flatlands of Nineteenth century Normandy.' ...

While waiting for 2020 to kick into gear in terms of new music, there's plenty still in 2019's tank in terms of quality stuff I...