Have to confess that I still haven’t got round to watching The Killing. Managed the first few minutes of both the Danish and US versions, but neither looked worth a 20 episode commitment. I expect I’ll get round to the Danish version in time, but don’t hold your breath. There’s a glut of good TV at the moment and long may it last. This is a time when a four star funny series like Bored To Death gets cancelled after its second series and the best drama on television (for my money, were I allowed to pay for it) Breaking Bad doesn’t have a UK taker for its fantastic third series, or, at the time of writing, a scheduled dvd release. Mad. Meantime, backed up…
Here, for those of you of a trainspottery persuasion, are my 40 favourite albums of 2011. Plus, as a bonus, one of two tracks from an underpublicised limited edition Christmas single by Rumer. This is a Gilbert O’Sullivan song, which always sounded rather mawkish in his version, but she respects the innocence of the lyric and adds some romance. Rather special. Oh, and a track from The War On Drugs, who would have made it onto my best of year comp, only I didn’t get the album until December 23rd. Fantastic stuff. Rumer – We Will The War On Drugs – Brothers PAUL SIMON – So Beautiful Or So What THE ARCTIC MONKEYS – Suck It And See THE WAR ON DRUGS – Slave Ambient…
Above is the cover of the second Bone & Cane novel, What You Don’t Know, which was published as a Kindle exclusive on Christmas day, and is only 99p during the ’12 days of Kindle’ promotion. Other eBook editions follow in February, with the trade paperback out in early May. I hope you enjoy it (and it you do, please leave a brief review – they made a huge difference to the sales of Bone & Cane). And have an excellent holiday. Below you’ll find my christmas gift to you. Right click and ‘save as’ each song to download. Every year since 1988 we’ve made a best of year music compilation to give to friends. For the last few years I’ve been putting it online.…
Sorry, not been posting here regularly of late but university lectures to write, novel to copy-edit, then proof. I’ve been feeling guilty, so here’s today’s Saturday post (a day early as I’m at an NTU day school tomorrow, then a Five Leaves party). Another song from the forthcoming Lana Del Ray album has leaked, and you can download it below. Will Lana feature in this year’s best of year CD, which I’ve just done the prototype version of? You’ll be able to find out in a week’s time when, once again, I will post a track from our best of year cd every day until new year’s eve, with brief sleeve notes. Come back then, but in the meantime, enjoy this, the title track of…
This is my review of last night’s show from the Nottingham Post, with a download of one of the show’s highlights and a bonus cover version, which (if I remember correctly) Rumer put out to her fans on Valentine’s day this year. It’s a year since Rumer played a six song set to Smooth FM competition winners at the casino down the road (my Post review here). That night, she was a nervous presence, yet won over the audience with the quality of her voice. The songs turned out to be growers, too, and Seasons Of My Soul got to number three in the album chart, going platinum with over 300,000 sales. Tonight, on her second headlining tour, the concert hall was all…