The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
But check out “Hey Baby” by Bruce Chanel as the superior inspiration.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
And only the good stuff sticks around (unless it is epically bad). The 'this time it is true' brigade are fooling themselves. No one's thought that one before?
There is a vast amount of good music. It is the cultural significance of pop music that is in decline. A brilliant album is now just something to listen to, it doesn't define your life in the way that music used to in the 90's and 00's. I've listened to two amazing albums this evening on spotify from the last few years but ultimately there is an endless supply of more stuff to listen to tomorrow.
The one development that I dislike is the way that spotify tries to get you to listen to tracks rather than albums.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
But check out “Hey Baby” by Bruce Chanel as the superior inspiration.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
But that actually does not answer my question. Are you saying that cannabis, heroin, MDMA, ketamine, etc should all be easily available?
They are easily available, we just pretend they're not.
I know where to go to get some Nurofen or a bottle of whisky. I don't know where to go to score some heroin. So 'easily available' very much depends on context.
(I do know someone who regularly smokes cannabis. But he's a paranoid git, and so probably wouldn't tell me about his dealer even if I asked.
Your circles evidently are rather different to mine.
Oh come on; there'll be a PB expert who will have bought from all your local dealers, and can rank them on various metrics.
Yes, but I haven't seen @SeanT around recently. I think he may have gone abroad for the winter.
Someone ought to do a travelogue 'Britain's Best Dealers' or somesuch. A journey through the country's underworld (although I guess it might be able to do it in a very middle-class way).
In the before times, I did a favour for one of the biggest weed dealers in the UK. Managed to get his son's Bush 'TV and Modem' connected up to his ISP.
Without going into too many details, it was a very good deal from my point of view.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
There was nothing special about the 1950s. Musical movements come and go. Some of them inspire me, others don't. That mid-50s to mid-60s era is crap in my book. Ragtime, jazz, ye olde blues were all better. The psychedelia that came later was great. Punk and funk were highlights. Things went pretty awful in the 80s and bounced back a bit in the 90s. I don't see a golden era in all that, just the tide coming in and out depending on whether it tickles my fancy or not. And your Elvises and early Beatleses tickle no fancies in Farooq Towers.
Whatever your personal feelings (since all art is to some extent subjective), you are ignoring the revolutionary cultural impact of Elvis, Beatles, Dylan, Punk etc.
I was about to post what a rubbish post it is to say the earth has never produced a single drop of alcohol, but the 'Jesus converted water into wine' is such a better put down.
My older daughter turns 17 today. A complex age for any human. And I immediately thought of the Janis Ian song, and found this exquisite live rendition on The Old Grey Whistle Test
Just absolutely spine-tingling. Can you imagine being in that audience and hearing this LIVE for the first time. A cold clear copper bottomed masterpiece of a song. The voice, the guitar work, the immortal tune, the poignant lyrics, everything. Ah, fuck. What 'appened to music?
Great song. Do we always have to include that hangdog 'better in my day' bit at the end though? We're the same age (ish) but my son is double 17. That's 34 (for the non accountants). It's interestingly poised now, our relationship. 62 plays 34. He has a clear edge in almost everything.
Yes, unfortunately, we do have to include the "better in my day" bit because it is interesting. Because, for the first time in many decades, this tired old meme is provably true and says something important about politics
Thus elevating the comment from "Oooh I have a family moment and here's a nice song" to something a shade more interesting that might make a Gazette piece so I'm trying it out from different angles
Hmm, ok. I don't agree with you though. I don't think this 'better in my day' (about music) is any different to the standard one about anything else.
And there's nothing wrong with just sharing the family moment!
Where is the equivalent - post, say, 2010 - of a pop song as exquisite, delicate and moving as "At 17"? It does not exist
Amy Winehouse is much missed. She was the very last of the Golden Age. The Tintoretto of the Pop Music Renaissance
I've dropped off tracking new releases (being 62) and in any case there's so much product these days on so many platforms you can't get your arms around it as you once could. It used to be that if you were into music and there was a great song released you'd be bound to hear it. The corollary was if you didn't hear something it can't have been that good. This is no longer the case. There's tons of high quality new music now that unless you devote yourself to seeking it out (which you won't at your age) you will not discover. But it's there.
Eg what I've noticed is when I do random deep dives into recent music, or catch it on soundtracks for tv dramas, I come across plenty of absolutely terrific songs. Songs just as good as those on my familiar playlists. Songs whereby I know that if I listened to them a lot, and could associate them with my younger life, thus generating a sweet nostalgia hit, could take their place as 'classics' (for me). I don't have the time or inclination to do this now, so they don't, but they could. They are objectively good enough, is my point.
So although I'd like to agree that the stuff I've curated and love from many moons ago constitutes a 'Golden Age' (because it's nice to believe that), I kind of know that it isn't. It's another heart v head thing, this. Heart says you're right that music used to be better. Head says it's nonsense.
And yet I have a friend whose job is music reviewing and critiquing. He lives for this. And he LOVES discovering new talent
And he says it simply isn’t there any more. He goes to two gigs a week. Indeed it’s his theory that Winehouse was the last of the greats (I borrowed it)
He has various theories why
There is also factual evidence that music has got more simplistic, crude and lyrically vulgar and coarse
Read Ted Gioia’s substack if you want to find new music. He’s older than you and finds plenty of good stuff. Best music critic currently writing.
OK, Boomer
Man, I get that you’re jaded with modern pop music. If truth be told, so am I. There are no new fucking essential bands coming through. Last one was probably, what, Nirvana? A group that straddled the mainstream and received critical acclaim, globally.
Yeah there’s plenty of pop behemoths, but they all leave me cold, your Beyoncés, Coldplays, fucking Sheeran (lovely guy, but Jesus fuck his music is shite).
But times have changed. The internet has fragmented everything. Music’s fragmented. The charts are full of shite (but, to an extent, they always have been).
But there’s always good music out there. I’ve been obsessed, obsessed with music since I was about 10. All times, all genres, from bluegrass and the swing bands, the blues, into the all conquering rock from the Beatles on. Zeppelin. Punk. Post-punk. Grunge. Indie. Britpop. Electronica. Hip hop. Turntablism. Fucking act after act, genre after genre.
When someone asks me what music I like after 15 seconds their eyeballs are glassy and they’re slowly edging away, desperate to escape.
And you know how much I know about music, really? Despite all the music I’ve listened to, the books I’ve read, the magazines I bought? The square root of fuck all.
I get sad when I think about all the great music I’ll never listen to, like all the amazing books I’ll never read.
Th’s endless good music, you’re just not looking hard enough. The media, the scenes themselves, are so fragmented now, the charts are meaningless, you’ve got to work a bit harder. The acts might not necessarily be new - Paul Weller’s latest is very good, as it the recent album by Steve Mason, former Beta Band frontman - but by God there’s a torrent of good music coming out. So much it overwhelms me.
6music have just recruited a new DJ called Deb Grant, her new show starts soon but she sat in for someone last week on the 9 to midnight slot and she just fucking smashed it out of the park. Great tune after great tune, all eras, genres, and I’d heard maybe 1 in 20 of them, if that.
You’re an intrepid explorer, explore music. Go backwards, go outwards, go up and down and round about. It’s there, just waiting to be discovered. Isn’t that exciting?
I explore all the time, believe me. The sensation of discovering a great new sound is addictive, and it still occasionally happens
But it is now NOT happening to an extent where I believe there has been a discernible decline, and this tendency is firming not slowing
It doesn't really matter in the wider scheme. There was a marvellous period of continuous brilliance in the West, the Golden age of western pop music - 1960-2010. Great for us, we got lucky, but for our kids? Soz
But this is not unexpected. It is just the same as the Italian Renaissance which shone for about 200-250 years or the Chinese peak in porcelain which lasted for a couple of generations or the great era of opera which lasted about a century or.... and so on, and so on. Art forms rise and fall. This is a known thing. It is happening to us. Other art forms will - we hope - rise and replace "popular music"
That is my take. Others are available
There was great listenable pop music as far back as the beginning of electrical recording in the 20s, which is recognisably in the same spectrum as the (acoustic) pop of nowadays. More people bought it in the 1960s, but that's a function of technology and economics, and not necessarily of how many people heard it - they went to dances with live bands, played it on their pianos, or listened on the wireless.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
I was about to post what a rubbish post it is to say the earth has never produced a single drop of alcohol, but the 'Jesus converted water into wine' is such a better put down.
Yes, but who could know that
I looked up the story in curiosity, and apparently Jesus did it because his mum nagged him at a wedding as the guests were about to run dry. Not sure on the motivation, but still a good miracle and understandably a more popular message than 'alcohol is evil' from Mr Shuttlesworth.
BBC The line is completely quiet now as we assume the Twitter team is busily working to fix things on their end.
We just heard Musk say things were back working again, but it's once again radio silence.
Just before the launch of the Twitter Spaces room, Ron DeSantis published his campaign video on his account.
"I’m Ron DeSantis, and I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
These are the final words uttered by DeSantis in a short one-minute video posted minutes ago.
In the video, he echoed much of the common conservative rhetoric that has elevated him to the national stage.
He described a "disastrous" border, "crime infested" cities, and liberal "indoctrination" by the left as the prevailing perils against America, and has positioned himself as the cure.
Just stellar guys, Trump will have a field day.
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Nirvana like Amy never got a number one. Paper Lace did and were on that basis a bigger pop act. Funny world.
Bob Dylan hasn't either. But Joe Dolce has. Go figure.
I suspect Bob Dylan has made more money from pop music over the course of his career than Joe Dolce.
Even - especially - in the golden age of singles, #1s were often pretty eccentric choices. Even the real big sellers: Bohemian Rhapsody is a very, very strange song; Mull of Kintyre a rather odd bit of cod-folk with bagpipes.
But that actually does not answer my question. Are you saying that cannabis, heroin, MDMA, ketamine, etc should all be easily available?
They are easily available, we just pretend they're not.
I know where to go to get some Nurofen or a bottle of whisky. I don't know where to go to score some heroin. So 'easily available' very much depends on context.
You could buy gear in any town in England in about 15 minutes just by asking the scraggiest people you can find on the street.
The bus station in Uttoxeter was always *allegedly* the place when I was a teenager. But I don't know of the place around here - yet I know there are some, as there was a murder by a drug dealer five or so years ago.
But I fear if I was to go up to the scraggiest person I can find on the street to ask them for some gear, they'll probably think I'm police...
(On several occasions I've had people ask me if I'm police. Once in Slough when on a hike, with rucksack, once in Stepney Green where my crime was wearing a white shirt, and another outside March. I guess I just have the air. I'm unconvinced this is a good thing ...)
The bar at SOAS was always a winner but now I rock up to lectures at Birkbeck after work in my suit I’d likely get some funny looks.
The SOAS bar was not for buying eighths of hash. The amounts traded there were several orders of magnitude higher.
Not any more. Mt ex wife went to SOAS within the last decade. It is now extremely Woke and jihadi
Interesting combination.
If you think Wokeism and Islamism are contradictory you don't get out much
There is a fascinating juxtaposition (convergence?) between Ayatollah Khomeni’s jurisprudence on transgender people and the contemporary pro-trans movement.
That's absolutely right
From what I have heard (from insiders) a surprising number of referrals to the Tavistock trans-gender clinic come from fundamentalist Muslims parents, who would rather have a trans child than a gay child. The latter is haram, the former is barely covered in the Koran. So, trans is better
And Iran is "weirdly" tolerant of trans people but executes gays
"Iran is the only Islamic country where the sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is recognized"
There is nothing about transgender people (mukannathun/مُخَنَّثون) in the Glorious Quran. They are mentioned in the hadith sharif (al-Bukhari) in which the Prophet Muhammed (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) orders them into exile
Can I just take this moment to thank you for being the most outrageous, obnoxious, amusing and interesting contributor to PB?
You’re the only poster who manages to surprise me with every post.
Your opinions, anecdotes and references are utterly unpredictable.
Well done, sir, for keeping this site fresh!
Broadly true perhaps, though I can think of one source of even more unpredictable anecdotes...
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
One thing about Tina Turner, like Bowie, is she was unquestionably a star. Surprised she didn't do a few more films after Mad Max. Hate to agree with Sarah Vine but Private Dancer is a very under-rated song. A couple of the early ones with Ike - A Fool In Love and I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine are worth re-discovery and many thought River Deep Mountain High was the high point of Phil Spector's career.
Nirvana like Amy never got a number one. Paper Lace did and were on that basis a bigger pop act. Funny world.
Bob Dylan hasn't either. But Joe Dolce has. Go figure.
I suspect Bob Dylan has made more money from pop music over the course of his career than Joe Dolce.
Even - especially - in the golden age of singles, #1s were often pretty eccentric choices. Even the real big sellers: Bohemian Rhapsody is a very, very strange song; Mull of Kintyre a rather odd bit of cod-folk with bagpipes.
And let's not forget the last Number One of the 1960s and first Number One of the 1970s. Step forward Rolf Harris with Two Little Boys.
But that actually does not answer my question. Are you saying that cannabis, heroin, MDMA, ketamine, etc should all be easily available?
They are easily available, we just pretend they're not.
I know where to go to get some Nurofen or a bottle of whisky. I don't know where to go to score some heroin. So 'easily available' very much depends on context.
You could buy gear in any town in England in about 15 minutes just by asking the scraggiest people you can find on the street.
The bus station in Uttoxeter was always *allegedly* the place when I was a teenager. But I don't know of the place around here - yet I know there are some, as there was a murder by a drug dealer five or so years ago.
But I fear if I was to go up to the scraggiest person I can find on the street to ask them for some gear, they'll probably think I'm police...
(On several occasions I've had people ask me if I'm police. Once in Slough when on a hike, with rucksack, once in Stepney Green where my crime was wearing a white shirt, and another outside March. I guess I just have the air. I'm unconvinced this is a good thing ...)
The bar at SOAS was always a winner but now I rock up to lectures at Birkbeck after work in my suit I’d likely get some funny looks.
The SOAS bar was not for buying eighths of hash. The amounts traded there were several orders of magnitude higher.
Not any more. Mt ex wife went to SOAS within the last decade. It is now extremely Woke and jihadi
Interesting combination.
If you think Wokeism and Islamism are contradictory you don't get out much
There is a fascinating juxtaposition (convergence?) between Ayatollah Khomeni’s jurisprudence on transgender people and the contemporary pro-trans movement.
That's absolutely right
From what I have heard (from insiders) a surprising number of referrals to the Tavistock trans-gender clinic come from fundamentalist Muslims parents, who would rather have a trans child than a gay child. The latter is haram, the former is barely covered in the Koran. So, trans is better
And Iran is "weirdly" tolerant of trans people but executes gays
"Iran is the only Islamic country where the sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is recognized"
There is nothing about transgender people (mukannathun/مُخَنَّثون) in the Glorious Quran. They are mentioned in the hadith sharif (al-Bukhari) in which the Prophet Muhammed (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) orders them into exile
Can I just take this moment to thank you for being the most outrageous, obnoxious, amusing and interesting contributor to PB?
You’re the only poster who manages to surprise me with every post.
Your opinions, anecdotes and references are utterly unpredictable.
Well done, sir, for keeping this site fresh!
Broadly true perhaps, though I can think of one source of even more unpredictable anecdotes...
BBC The line is completely quiet now as we assume the Twitter team is busily working to fix things on their end.
We just heard Musk say things were back working again, but it's once again radio silence.
Just before the launch of the Twitter Spaces room, Ron DeSantis published his campaign video on his account.
"I’m Ron DeSantis, and I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
These are the final words uttered by DeSantis in a short one-minute video posted minutes ago.
In the video, he echoed much of the common conservative rhetoric that has elevated him to the national stage.
He described a "disastrous" border, "crime infested" cities, and liberal "indoctrination" by the left as the prevailing perils against America, and has positioned himself as the cure.
Just stellar guys, Trump will have a field day.
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
That's the whole freaking point, dude - DeSantis is Trump without the Trump.
> Trump Light? > Thinking patriot's/wingnut's Trump? > Trump for the Trump-fatigued? > All of the above!
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
There are two strategies for Republican hopefuls. We might call these strategies the "Prince Harry" and the "Cicada".
In the Cicada strategy our Republican hopeful goes to ground, to emerge some years into the future when Trump has passed from the scene.
The Prince Harry strategy is to line oneself up as the spare so that, if anything untoward were to happen to Trump which took him out of the running, they would be the obvious next in line. RDS has chosen to play Prince Harry.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
My older daughter turns 17 today. A complex age for any human. And I immediately thought of the Janis Ian song, and found this exquisite live rendition on The Old Grey Whistle Test
Just absolutely spine-tingling. Can you imagine being in that audience and hearing this LIVE for the first time. A cold clear copper bottomed masterpiece of a song. The voice, the guitar work, the immortal tune, the poignant lyrics, everything. Ah, fuck. What 'appened to music?
Great song. Do we always have to include that hangdog 'better in my day' bit at the end though? We're the same age (ish) but my son is double 17. That's 34 (for the non accountants). It's interestingly poised now, our relationship. 62 plays 34. He has a clear edge in almost everything.
Yes, unfortunately, we do have to include the "better in my day" bit because it is interesting. Because, for the first time in many decades, this tired old meme is provably true and says something important about politics
Thus elevating the comment from "Oooh I have a family moment and here's a nice song" to something a shade more interesting that might make a Gazette piece so I'm trying it out from different angles
Hmm, ok. I don't agree with you though. I don't think this 'better in my day' (about music) is any different to the standard one about anything else.
And there's nothing wrong with just sharing the family moment!
Where is the equivalent - post, say, 2010 - of a pop song as exquisite, delicate and moving as "At 17"? It does not exist
One person from the post-2010 era who probably does qualify as having a genuine cultural significance is Lana Del Rey:
Pop music in the 1900s (decade) WAS a bit rubbish, lots of ethnic prejudice and stereotyping, and lots of nonsense. And prior to the mid-20s, all recorded songs had to be shouted and blasted into the recorder, so Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby were in part lucky to flourish when the technology was there to capture their artistry. (Crosby gave back in spades to music tech when he invested the seed capital for commercial tape recording.)
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
BBC The line is completely quiet now as we assume the Twitter team is busily working to fix things on their end.
We just heard Musk say things were back working again, but it's once again radio silence.
Just before the launch of the Twitter Spaces room, Ron DeSantis published his campaign video on his account.
"I’m Ron DeSantis, and I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
These are the final words uttered by DeSantis in a short one-minute video posted minutes ago.
In the video, he echoed much of the common conservative rhetoric that has elevated him to the national stage.
He described a "disastrous" border, "crime infested" cities, and liberal "indoctrination" by the left as the prevailing perils against America, and has positioned himself as the cure.
Just stellar guys, Trump will have a field day.
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
That's the whole freaking point, dude - DeSantis is Trump without the Trump.
> Trump Light? > Thinking patriot's/wingnut's Trump? > Trump for the Trump-fatigued? > All of the above!
Is that a big market, if Trump is still a viable option though? I'd get the idea of "I like Trump, but he's not going to win like Big Ronny will", but it seems like people have soured on the idea that DeSantis is more likely to win now.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
I'm off to bed so don't want to give anyone sleepless nights puzzling over it. It was, apparently, Right Said Fred and 'I'm Too Sexy'.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
I'm off to bed so don't want to give anyone sleepless nights puzzling over it. It was, apparently, Right Said Fred and 'I'm Too Sexy'.
The anti-vaxxers got to Number 1 in USA with their debut single??? 😭
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
I'm off to bed so don't want to give anyone sleepless nights puzzling over it. It was, apparently, Right Said Fred and 'I'm Too Sexy'.
I thought it would have been Freddie and the Dreamers, but apparently they released a minor single prior to their US Number One.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Spice girls? Steps?
Actually far worse (if that's possible).
I know it's not S Club 7. Hmmm. Terrible British bands whose debut was US#1. Gary Glitter? Buggles? Liberty X (although I do like the latter two). Kinks, the Who, not terrible. Numan didn't #1 with his debut. Wham, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode not terrible. Sade, Tanita Tikaram, the Eurythmics, not terrible. Five Star? Take That? Hopefully not McFly/Busted. Not Blur, Oasis, Pulp.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Spice girls? Steps?
Actually far worse (if that's possible).
I know it's not S Club 7. Hmmm. Terrible British bands whose debut was US#1. Gary Glitter? Buggles? Liberty X (although I do like the latter two). Kinks, the Who, not terrible. Numan didn't #1 with his debut. Wham, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode not terrible. Sade, Tanita Tikaram, the Eurythmics, not terrible. Five Star? Take That? Hopefully not McFly/Busted. Not Blur, Oasis, Pulp.
Ok, give up. Who?
Right Said Fred? Oh, for Gawds sake. "I'm too antivaxx for my shirt, so seropositive it hurts?" There is no justice... ☹️
BBC The line is completely quiet now as we assume the Twitter team is busily working to fix things on their end.
We just heard Musk say things were back working again, but it's once again radio silence.
Just before the launch of the Twitter Spaces room, Ron DeSantis published his campaign video on his account.
"I’m Ron DeSantis, and I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
These are the final words uttered by DeSantis in a short one-minute video posted minutes ago.
In the video, he echoed much of the common conservative rhetoric that has elevated him to the national stage.
He described a "disastrous" border, "crime infested" cities, and liberal "indoctrination" by the left as the prevailing perils against America, and has positioned himself as the cure.
Just stellar guys, Trump will have a field day.
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
That's the whole freaking point, dude - DeSantis is Trump without the Trump.
> Trump Light? > Thinking patriot's/wingnut's Trump? > Trump for the Trump-fatigued? > All of the above!
Is that a big market, if Trump is still a viable option though? I'd get the idea of "I like Trump, but he's not going to win like Big Ronny will", but it seems like people have soured on the idea that DeSantis is more likely to win now.
Yes indeedy it's a big market. BTW my 3rd bullet point should have read "Trump for the Trump-fatigued Trumpite"
Plenty of conservative Republicans and leaners, from center-right to flaming-fascist, support Trump's politics, program and ideology (such as they be) to considerable degree BUT nevertheless have serious doubts about Trump's ability to deliver.
Being able to deliver on what Trump promises, is THE basic argument for DeSantis over Trump in 2024.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
I'm off to bed so don't want to give anyone sleepless nights puzzling over it. It was, apparently, Right Said Fred and 'I'm Too Sexy'.
I found the relevant Wikipedia page and it looks like there might be an even more bizarre answer. The New Vaudeville Band had a number one in 1966 with Winchester Cathedral. I'd never heard of it before and I can't see how it was ever a big hit:
Wiki says Peter and Gordon's debut single was "A World Without Love" (Lennon-McCartney), which was a Number One on Billboard a few months after "Can't Buy Me Love".
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
I've paid almost no attention to pop music since about 1998, so when someone says there was good music around in 2010 I won't know what they're talking about. Very stupid of me, because you obviously can't make assumptions about music from a particular period without actually listening to it.
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
You could say that The Beatles were "a band" and Peter and Gordon were "a group", but at the time, I think The Beatles were seen as "a group" - or more famously as a popular beat combo - whereas "a band" was something like the Count Basie Orchestra.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So pleee e ee eeeeeeeeeese Love me do.
There was no golden age. All sorts of criminally dumb songs are criminally popular in every age. Like the above effort. Only deranged people think that's any good.
The only reason people think there was a golden age is because they got old and cynical. I cleverly avoided this trap by starting my cynicism at a very young age.
Whoa-oh, love me do
Of course there was a golden age, you berk. Love Me Do is probably the crappest Beatles song though.
However John's harmonica playing is unique and cool...
It was also their debut single and reached Number One in the US. Trivia question: who was the next British band to achieve that exact same feat?
Hmmmm..
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
It's the Spice Girls, isn't it?
Ah, yes, on their debut release. I missed that part. Yes it will probably be the Spice Girls
I'm off to bed so don't want to give anyone sleepless nights puzzling over it. It was, apparently, Right Said Fred and 'I'm Too Sexy'.
This being part of that "golden age" people talking about
To be honest, I have happy memories of that song. Stockport County had just been promoted from the old fourth division and in the first game of the season, under joyful Autumn sunshine, after the third goal against Swansea went in, the cry went up: "we're too sexy for the third". And later that month it was played on the juke box in the rugby club by someone's little sister 14 times in a row. For what it was, it was a decent pop song.
Wiki says Peter and Gordon's debut single was "A World Without Love" (Lennon-McCartney), which was a Number One on Billboard a few months after "Can't Buy Me Love".
We'll claim that one, we'll claim that one. Much better than the nut job, conspiracy theory, anti-vaxx loons RSF.
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
IMHO you are being entirely toooooo LOGICAL in evaluating the RDS POTUS Launch & Twit-Fest.
Put yourself in the mindset of a conservative GOPer who likes Trump but harbors doubts and/or wants to move on.
Then go soak yer head!
I'm sure the audience love it, but I think Musk thinks entirely enough of himself without people sucking his dick about the purchase of a platform he no longer wanted, or wanted but was not as smart as he thought he was and couldn't get a lower price out of it.
I'm not expecting DeSantis of all people to point out the 'its priceless' line was laughable, but we can!
Musk does remind of Trump somewhat in that I think he genuinely believes whatever he is saying at any given moment, even the stuff which is contradicting other things he has said, and he believes anything he reads. Really he should be the one running, but sadly that's not a possibility even if he were inclined (and a super billionaire wouldn't be).
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
IMHO you are being entirely toooooo LOGICAL in evaluating the RDS POTUS Launch & Twit-Fest.
Put yourself in the mindset of a conservative GOPer who likes Trump but harbors doubts and/or wants to move on.
Then go soak yer head!
I'm sure the audience love it, but I think Musk thinks entirely enough of himself without people sucking his dick about the purchase of a platform he no longer wanted, or wanted but was not as smart as he thought he was and couldn't get a lower price out of it.
I'm not expecting DeSantis of all people to point out the 'its priceless' line was laughable, but we can!
Musk does remind of Trump somewhat in that I think he genuinely believes whatever he is saying at any given moment, even the stuff which is contradicting other things he has said, and he believes anything he reads. Really he should be the one running, but sadly that's not a possibility even if he were inclined (and a super billionaire wouldn't be).
Point re: Musk & Twitter for DeSantis, Trump and fellow rightwingers, is that Musk turned Twitter from part of the left-wing media conspiracy (in their view) into a force for right (in more ways than one).
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
"Dance with Me", Reginald Bosanquet (1980) "The Birdie Song", The Tweets (1981) "Ebony and Ivory", Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder (1982) "True", Spandau Ballet (1983) "Agadoo", Black Lace (1984)
It turns out that when the birth rate peaks, as in 46 or 66, there's a big market in saying that music for teenagers was at its peak quality around 13-19 years later.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
"Dance with Me", Reginald Bosanquet (1980) "The Birdie Song", The Tweets (1981) "Ebony and Ivory", Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder (1982) "True", Spandau Ballet (1983) "Agadoo", Black Lace (1984)
There is still much good music around, these days however you need to avoid looking at music put out by record labels and go to the self publishers and smaller labels.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
"Dance with Me", Reginald Bosanquet (1980) "The Birdie Song", The Tweets (1981) "Ebony and Ivory", Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder (1982) "True", Spandau Ballet (1983) "Agadoo", Black Lace (1984)
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
There was an enjoyable series on BBC4 recently with a 'best of TOTP' from each year of the 90s. The decline - sudden, then abrupt - in enjoyability over the course of the series was quite depressing. Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
"Dance with Me", Reginald Bosanquet (1980) "The Birdie Song", The Tweets (1981) "Ebony and Ivory", Paul McCartney featuring Stevie Wonder (1982) "True", Spandau Ballet (1983) "Agadoo", Black Lace (1984)
On the other hand, you have for example Japan's 1981 album "Tin Drum".
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
Musk sacked 80 per cent of Twitter staff and it still worked perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly, as shown tonight, but a nod's as good as a wink to a Twitter outage.
Compare and contrast the government's shiny new policy to cut waiting lists by giving patients a choice of hospitals, with Labour's tired, 3-day old policy to cut waiting lists by giving patients a choice of hospitals. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65663464
On topic, I agree with Mike. She played the Trump era pretty cannily, avoided getting in fights with him but managed to get through it untarnished, and the calendar is pretty helpful to her.
Two reservations: 1) Total absence of any sign of enthusiasm for her in the polling, OTOH they don't seem to hate her either, and it's pretty common for primary winners to have a period when they're polling next to nothing. 2) For now she seems to be going with the "don't criticize the front-runner" strategy that I'm sure is a loser no matter how much the base love the front-runner. But there's still time to change that.
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
Musk sacked 80 per cent of Twitter staff and it still worked perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly, as shown tonight, but a nod's as good as a wink to a Twitter outage.
Musk is currently censoring mention of the opposition in Turkey. He doesn't give a damn about free speech. Usual right wing lies.
That looks like quite a good site, haven't seen that one before.
So I have 15 albums from the 1991 list and 6 from the 2022 list.
Have thirteen albums from 2023 to date, top 5 so far are Lana Del Rey, Freya Ridings, Boygenius, Gabrielle Aplin and Jessie Ware - looking forward to new albums from Arlo Parks (out tomorrow), Noel Gallagher, Maisie Peters, The Japanese House, Blur, and Jorja Smith.
Currently listening to the Talking Heads albums for the first time
Well the DeSantis annoucement was distinctly low-key. 500k people listening on an audio platform managed to break Twitter, and doing it in a studio with no audience made the candidate sound even more flat than usual. He needs some serious media training, if he’s to come across as more enthusiastic and confident.
That looks like quite a good site, haven't seen that one before.
So I have 15 albums from the 1991 list and 6 from the 2022 list.
Have thirteen albums from 2023 to date, top 5 so far are Lana Del Rey, Freya Ridings, Boygenius, Gabrielle Aplin and Jessie Ware - looking forward to new albums from Arlo Parks (out tomorrow), Noel Gallagher, Maisie Peters, The Japanese House, Blur, and Jorja Smith.
Currently listening to the Talking Heads albums for the first time
That's the first time anyone has specified any new artists! Thanks.
I don't know any of them, I don't think. Except Noel Gallagher.
There no one more stupid than someone who thinks they are clever.
Exhibit A - Dominic Cummings.
This meme is ridiculous. Cummings is obviously and genuinely clever
He may be a nasty bully, absurd Brexiteer, misguided loon, and whatever, but all the available evidence says he is obviously a bright spark.
I detest this tendency to demean the intelligence of those we politically oppose
I disagree with these people entirely - sometimes almost violently - but I can recognise the intelligence on the British Left of:
Owen Jones John McDonnell Marina Hyde Nicola Sturgeon NPXMPX3
He really, really isn't.
And that's based on observing him and his mistakes, incompetence and lack of ability to grasp any concept beyond a very basic level over many years in several areas.
He gives the impression to the uninitiated of great intellect because of his smoothness and verbosity, but strip it away and there's never any substance.
This is of course why he's been a failure in every role he's had.
He's not alone. Tristram Hunt is similarly lightweight but fools many who are even stupider with his urbanity.
This is bloody absurd
He won
The Northen indy referendum The campaign against the euro The EU referendum The 2019 election which, with its big Boris majority, confirmed Brexit
To run through these in turn:
He worked on the North East Assembly referendum campaign for two days and came up with one slogan. The think tank he was running as part of it went bankrupt six months later because it could get no work.
He had nothing to do with the campaign against the Euro. That was Brown.
The EU referendum, again, he came up with one slogan. It was wrong.
For the 2019 election, he came up with a number of slogans but not a single policy that has been successfully implemented.
While chief of staff, he made innumerable embarrassing mistakes including stealing a phone, breaking lockdown, misunderstanding recruitment procedures and constantly leaking misinformation about himself to the press.
And that’s even before I get on to his failed commercial ventures or the disasters he wrought at the DfE.
He claims a much bigger role for himself than he had in all of these things I’m not sure whether that’s dishonesty or whether his self-delusion genuinely extends to the ability to rewrite his past to make himself seem more brilliant.
The issue is he’s not that bright, but he puts out propaganda claiming he is. Unfortunately Gove and Johnson were taken in by it.
There no one more stupid than someone who thinks they are clever.
Exhibit A - Dominic Cummings.
This meme is ridiculous. Cummings is obviously and genuinely clever
He may be a nasty bully, absurd Brexiteer, misguided loon, and whatever, but all the available evidence says he is obviously a bright spark.
I detest this tendency to demean the intelligence of those we politically oppose
I disagree with these people entirely - sometimes almost violently - but I can recognise the intelligence on the British Left of:
Owen Jones John McDonnell Marina Hyde Nicola Sturgeon NPXMPX3
He really, really isn't.
And that's based on observing him and his mistakes, incompetence and lack of ability to grasp any concept beyond a very basic level over many years in several areas.
He gives the impression to the uninitiated of great intellect because of his smoothness and verbosity, but strip it away and there's never any substance.
This is of course why he's been a failure in every role he's had.
He's not alone. Tristram Hunt is similarly lightweight but fools many who are even stupider with his urbanity.
This is bloody absurd
He won
The Northen indy referendum The campaign against the euro The EU referendum The 2019 election which, with its big Boris majority, confirmed Brexit
To run through these in turn:
He worked on the North East Assembly referendum campaign for two days and came up with one slogan. The think tank he was running as part of it went bankrupt six months later because it could get no work.
He had nothing to do with the campaign against the Euro. That was Brown.
The EU referendum, again, he came up with one slogan. It was wrong.
For the 2019 election, he came up with a number of slogans but not a single policy that has been successfully implemented.
While chief of staff, he made innumerable embarrassing mistakes including stealing a phone, breaking lockdown, misunderstanding recruitment procedures and constantly leaking misinformation about himself to the press.
And that’s even before I get on to his failed commercial ventures or the disasters he wrought at the DfE.
He claims a much bigger role for himself than he had in all of these things I’m not sure whether that’s dishonesty or whether his self-delusion genuinely extends to the ability to rewrite his past to make himself seem more brilliant.
The issue is he’s not that bright, but he puts out propaganda claiming he is. Unfortunately Gove and Johnson were taken in by it.
And the intelligence to find fault in things isn’t a particularly rare commodity, whereas the intelligence to know what to do and how to go about putting things right in a way that will achieve positive results in a real world with real people is rare. In the latter he was particularly lacking. The Seldon book demonstrates as much.
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
Musk sacked 80 per cent of Twitter staff and it still worked perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly, as shown tonight, but a nod's as good as a wink to a Twitter outage.
I think DeSantis's announcement last night shows that Twitter is not working perfectly well...
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
Musk sacked 80 per cent of Twitter staff and it still worked perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly, as shown tonight, but a nod's as good as a wink to a Twitter outage.
I think DeSantis's announcement last night shows that Twitter is not working perfectly well...
I don’t know. Given his launch was a car crash as a result I would say it’s working beautifully.
On Haley: I backed her... last time, I think it was, at 50/1. Always rather poor at assessing overseas things of this nature, but might put a little bit on.
So cringey - please tell us more about Twitter, the boss is watching.
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
Musk sacked 80 per cent of Twitter staff and it still worked perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly, as shown tonight, but a nod's as good as a wink to a Twitter outage.
I think DeSantis's announcement last night shows that Twitter is not working perfectly well...
I don’t know. Given his launch was a car crash as a result I would say it’s working beautifully.
Must have been a woke virus that crashed things.
A pitiful 500k viewers, and excruciating absence of sense if humour or thinking on his feet as things went wrong. He's a crap performer when unscripted. His debate performance - if he turns up - could be embarrassing.
If not a lay, then certainly not one to put money on. (Advice several right wing billionaires ought to have followed.)
A Nazi-themed poster of skinheads displaying swastikas was fixed to a wall by police officers working in a “racist” unit at the Dorset force, a misconduct hearing was told.
One PC allegedly called a black motorist a “c**n” while on duty. Another is accused of humiliating a junior colleague to the point where he felt suicidal.
Inspector Nicholas Mantle, PC Mark Jordan-Gill, PC Michael Lowther, PC Matthew Young and PC Paul Perdrisat allegedly fostered a culture of “racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ behaviour while serving in Dorset police’s force support group based in Bournemouth, the hearing was told.
The unit deals with outbreaks of public disorder in the town centre.
They are also accused of posting pornographic, misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group called “The Real FSG”. Four officers attended the hearing but all five deny the allegations of gross misconduct.
A Nazi-themed poster of skinheads displaying swastikas was fixed to a wall by police officers working in a “racist” unit at the Dorset force, a misconduct hearing was told.
One PC allegedly called a black motorist a “c**n” while on duty. Another is accused of humiliating a junior colleague to the point where he felt suicidal.
Inspector Nicholas Mantle, PC Mark Jordan-Gill, PC Michael Lowther, PC Matthew Young and PC Paul Perdrisat allegedly fostered a culture of “racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ behaviour while serving in Dorset police’s force support group based in Bournemouth, the hearing was told.
The unit deals with outbreaks of public disorder in the town centre.
They are also accused of posting pornographic, misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group called “The Real FSG”. Four officers attended the hearing but all five deny the allegations of gross misconduct.
A Nazi-themed poster of skinheads displaying swastikas was fixed to a wall by police officers working in a “racist” unit at the Dorset force, a misconduct hearing was told.
One PC allegedly called a black motorist a “c**n” while on duty. Another is accused of humiliating a junior colleague to the point where he felt suicidal.
Inspector Nicholas Mantle, PC Mark Jordan-Gill, PC Michael Lowther, PC Matthew Young and PC Paul Perdrisat allegedly fostered a culture of “racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ behaviour while serving in Dorset police’s force support group based in Bournemouth, the hearing was told.
The unit deals with outbreaks of public disorder in the town centre.
They are also accused of posting pornographic, misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group called “The Real FSG”. Four officers attended the hearing but all five deny the allegations of gross misconduct.
Supt Mo Aziz, 48, also faces two counts of causing actual bodily harm, coercive and controlling behaviour, causing a female to engage in sexual activity and two of disclosing or threatening to disclose private sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress.
There no one more stupid than someone who thinks they are clever.
Exhibit A - Dominic Cummings.
This meme is ridiculous. Cummings is obviously and genuinely clever
He may be a nasty bully, absurd Brexiteer, misguided loon, and whatever, but all the available evidence says he is obviously a bright spark.
I detest this tendency to demean the intelligence of those we politically oppose
I disagree with these people entirely - sometimes almost violently - but I can recognise the intelligence on the British Left of:
Owen Jones John McDonnell Marina Hyde Nicola Sturgeon NPXMPX3
He really, really isn't.
And that's based on observing him and his mistakes, incompetence and lack of ability to grasp any concept beyond a very basic level over many years in several areas.
He gives the impression to the uninitiated of great intellect because of his smoothness and verbosity, but strip it away and there's never any substance.
This is of course why he's been a failure in every role he's had.
He's not alone. Tristram Hunt is similarly lightweight but fools many who are even stupider with his urbanity.
This is bloody absurd
He won
The Northen indy referendum The campaign against the euro The EU referendum The 2019 election which, with its big Boris majority, confirmed Brexit
To run through these in turn:
He worked on the North East Assembly referendum campaign for two days and came up with one slogan. The think tank he was running as part of it went bankrupt six months later because it could get no work.
He had nothing to do with the campaign against the Euro. That was Brown.
The EU referendum, again, he came up with one slogan. It was wrong.
For the 2019 election, he came up with a number of slogans but not a single policy that has been successfully implemented.
While chief of staff, he made innumerable embarrassing mistakes including stealing a phone, breaking lockdown, misunderstanding recruitment procedures and constantly leaking misinformation about himself to the press.
And that’s even before I get on to his failed commercial ventures or the disasters he wrought at the DfE.
He claims a much bigger role for himself than he had in all of these things I’m not sure whether that’s dishonesty or whether his self-delusion genuinely extends to the ability to rewrite his past to make himself seem more brilliant.
The issue is he’s not that bright, but he puts out propaganda claiming he is. Unfortunately Gove and Johnson were taken in by it.
Cummings is a skillful project manager, which means he is very good at marshalling people and resources (and messages in his case) to deliver a result. As a sometimes PM I recognise his skill and would be happy for him lead a project if I could cope with his personality.
He should be let nowhere near policy and his blogs are drivel.
The golden era of pop started in 1956. Heartbreak Hotel, January 56.
I don’t know when it ended, I’d moot sometime in the mid 2000s, but I’m not sure when.
Of course there is still good music being made (just as there was before 1956), but it no longer has the ability to deliver or embody widespread cultural change.
1997/98 I'd say.
Agree on Heartbreak Hotel.
Wasn't American Pie 1971 an an elegy on the death of great pop music and arguably the last truly great single to become a number one hit?
That looks like quite a good site, haven't seen that one before.
So I have 15 albums from the 1991 list and 6 from the 2022 list.
Have thirteen albums from 2023 to date, top 5 so far are Lana Del Rey, Freya Ridings, Boygenius, Gabrielle Aplin and Jessie Ware - looking forward to new albums from Arlo Parks (out tomorrow), Noel Gallagher, Maisie Peters, The Japanese House, Blur, and Jorja Smith.
Currently listening to the Talking Heads albums for the first time
I also really like the albums you mentioned. I would also recommend the latest albums by Young Fathers and Caroline Polachek released this year.
There no one more stupid than someone who thinks they are clever.
Exhibit A - Dominic Cummings.
This meme is ridiculous. Cummings is obviously and genuinely clever
He may be a nasty bully, absurd Brexiteer, misguided loon, and whatever, but all the available evidence says he is obviously a bright spark.
I detest this tendency to demean the intelligence of those we politically oppose
I disagree with these people entirely - sometimes almost violently - but I can recognise the intelligence on the British Left of:
Owen Jones John McDonnell Marina Hyde Nicola Sturgeon NPXMPX3
He really, really isn't.
And that's based on observing him and his mistakes, incompetence and lack of ability to grasp any concept beyond a very basic level over many years in several areas.
He gives the impression to the uninitiated of great intellect because of his smoothness and verbosity, but strip it away and there's never any substance.
This is of course why he's been a failure in every role he's had.
He's not alone. Tristram Hunt is similarly lightweight but fools many who are even stupider with his urbanity.
This is bloody absurd
He won
The Northen indy referendum The campaign against the euro The EU referendum The 2019 election which, with its big Boris majority, confirmed Brexit
To run through these in turn:
He worked on the North East Assembly referendum campaign for two days and came up with one slogan. The think tank he was running as part of it went bankrupt six months later because it could get no work.
He had nothing to do with the campaign against the Euro. That was Brown.
The EU referendum, again, he came up with one slogan. It was wrong.
For the 2019 election, he came up with a number of slogans but not a single policy that has been successfully implemented.
While chief of staff, he made innumerable embarrassing mistakes including stealing a phone, breaking lockdown, misunderstanding recruitment procedures and constantly leaking misinformation about himself to the press.
And that’s even before I get on to his failed commercial ventures or the disasters he wrought at the DfE.
He claims a much bigger role for himself than he had in all of these things I’m not sure whether that’s dishonesty or whether his self-delusion genuinely extends to the ability to rewrite his past to make himself seem more brilliant.
The issue is he’s not that bright, but he puts out propaganda claiming he is. Unfortunately Gove and Johnson were taken in by it.
Cummings is a skillful project manager, which means he is very good at marshalling people and resources (and messages in his case) to deliver a result. As a sometimes PM I recognise his skill and would be happy for him lead a project if I could cope with his personality.
He should be let nowhere near policy and his blogs are drivel.
I wonder if anyone has any other information on this story? Seems incredible that the mining can continue without any legal authority to do so. Hard not to juxtapose this non-application of the law with the casual way in which people who were doing nothing wrong were arrested at the time of the coronation.
Comments
The one development that I dislike is the way that spotify tries to get you to listen to tracks rather than albums.
Without going into too many details, it was a very good deal from my point of view.
https://youtu.be/Of1HV4b0ccg
Now, I like indie, and 1990 for me was about peak indie; I was less enthused by Britpop (1995) than Baggy (1990), but the early 90s were generally pretty good. But then, as you say, after about 97, a crash.
That said, 2002-2010 was actually also pretty good for indie. I'd place the end of the golden period about 2010.
Though I stick to the view that the absolute pinnacle of pop's golden era was 1977-1984.
I looked up the story in curiosity, and apparently Jesus did it because his mum nagged him at a wedding as the guests were about to run dry. Not sure on the motivation, but still a good miracle and understandably a more popular message than 'alcohol is evil' from Mr Shuttlesworth.
The line is completely quiet now as we assume the Twitter team is busily working to fix things on their end.
We just heard Musk say things were back working again, but it's once again radio silence.
Just before the launch of the Twitter Spaces room, Ron DeSantis published his campaign video on his account.
"I’m Ron DeSantis, and I'm running for president to lead our great American comeback."
These are the final words uttered by DeSantis in a short one-minute video posted minutes ago.
In the video, he echoed much of the common conservative rhetoric that has elevated him to the national stage.
He described a "disastrous" border, "crime infested" cities, and liberal "indoctrination" by the left as the prevailing perils against America, and has positioned himself as the cure.
Just stellar guys, Trump will have a field day.
Is DeSantis just banking on Trump being taken out legally or something (hoping someone else will defeat him has been the GOP strategy every time and never works), as I still don't see what he is offering that Trump would not also offer for someone in the GOP base.
Even - especially - in the golden age of singles, #1s were often pretty eccentric choices. Even the real big sellers: Bohemian Rhapsody is a very, very strange song; Mull of Kintyre a rather odd bit of cod-folk with bagpipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMK6q6M6zP4
So Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini is ok (1932) but Barber's Adagio for Strings (1934) is not?
> Trump Light?
> Thinking patriot's/wingnut's Trump?
> Trump for the Trump-fatigued?
> All of the above!
In the Cicada strategy our Republican hopeful goes to ground, to emerge some years into the future when Trump has passed from the scene.
The Prince Harry strategy is to line oneself up as the spare so that, if anything untoward were to happen to Trump which took him out of the running, they would be the obvious next in line. RDS has chosen to play Prince Harry.
I'll have a guess at The Rolling Stones (but if it's a trick question it might be someone like The Searchers) but I'll stick with The Stones...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0
Ok, give up. Who?
Plenty of conservative Republicans and leaners, from center-right to flaming-fascist, support Trump's politics, program and ideology (such as they be) to considerable degree BUT nevertheless have serious doubts about Trump's ability to deliver.
Being able to deliver on what Trump promises, is THE basic argument for DeSantis over Trump in 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GcPYzYYM9M
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_number-ones_by_British_artists
The first question to DeSantis after his scripted opening pitch comes from the host, David Sacks.
He asks DeSantis why he chose to make his announcement over Twitter Spaces instead of a more conventional route, like cable news or a rally.
This is pretty funny though.
"Twitter was expensive but free speech is priceless," [Musk] says, about his purchase of the tech platform after DeSantis compliments him on buying it.
That must be why he tried to pull out of the deal entirely, either because he didn't want to buy it, or as a tactic to bargain down the price, which didn't work. Genius.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-65676382
Put yourself in the mindset of a conservative GOPer who likes Trump but harbors doubts and/or wants to move on.
Then go soak yer head!
And later that month it was played on the juke box in the rugby club by someone's little sister 14 times in a row.
For what it was, it was a decent pop song.
I'm not expecting DeSantis of all people to point out the 'its priceless' line was laughable, but we can!
Musk does remind of Trump somewhat in that I think he genuinely believes whatever he is saying at any given moment, even the stuff which is contradicting other things he has said, and he believes anything he reads. Really he should be the one running, but sadly that's not a possibility even if he were inclined (and a super billionaire wouldn't be).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Seventeen
Also look outside your geographic area
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/25/nhs-app-choice-five-hospitals-waiting-lists-virtual-wards/ (£££)
SKS fans, please explain.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65663464
https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/albums_by_year/albums_1991.html
Two reservations:
1) Total absence of any sign of enthusiasm for her in the polling, OTOH they don't seem to hate her either, and it's pretty common for primary winners to have a period when they're polling next to nothing.
2) For now she seems to be going with the "don't criticize the front-runner" strategy that I'm sure is a loser no matter how much the base love the front-runner. But there's still time to change that.
So I have 15 albums from the 1991 list and 6 from the 2022 list.
Have thirteen albums from 2023 to date, top 5 so far are Lana Del Rey, Freya Ridings, Boygenius, Gabrielle Aplin and Jessie Ware - looking forward to new albums from Arlo Parks (out tomorrow), Noel Gallagher, Maisie Peters, The Japanese House, Blur, and Jorja Smith.
Currently listening to the Talking Heads albums for the first time
For the record, Mr. JohnL, I am not Yevgeny Prigozhin.
I don't know any of them, I don't think. Except Noel Gallagher.
He worked on the North East Assembly referendum campaign for two days and came up with one slogan. The think tank he was running as part of it went bankrupt six months later because it could get no work.
He had nothing to do with the campaign against the Euro. That was Brown.
The EU referendum, again, he came up with one slogan. It was wrong.
For the 2019 election, he came up with a number of slogans but not a single policy that has been successfully implemented.
While chief of staff, he made innumerable embarrassing mistakes including stealing a phone, breaking lockdown, misunderstanding recruitment procedures and constantly leaking misinformation about himself to the press.
And that’s even before I get on to his failed commercial ventures or the disasters he wrought at the DfE.
He claims a much bigger role for himself than he had in all of these things I’m not sure whether that’s dishonesty or whether his self-delusion genuinely extends to the ability to rewrite his past to make himself seem more brilliant.
The issue is he’s not that bright, but he puts out propaganda claiming he is. Unfortunately Gove and Johnson were taken in by it.
Ugh. That’s going to cause problems even though the Egyptians seem to have acted pretty fast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpNpF3KkucY
A pitiful 500k viewers, and excruciating absence of sense if humour or thinking on his feet as things went wrong.
He's a crap performer when unscripted. His debate performance - if he turns up - could be embarrassing.
If not a lay, then certainly not one to put money on. (Advice several right wing billionaires ought to have followed.)
Bahrain.
A Nazi-themed poster of skinheads displaying swastikas was fixed to a wall by police officers working in a “racist” unit at the Dorset force, a misconduct hearing was told.
One PC allegedly called a black motorist a “c**n” while on duty. Another is accused of humiliating a junior colleague to the point where he felt suicidal.
Inspector Nicholas Mantle, PC Mark Jordan-Gill, PC Michael Lowther, PC Matthew Young and PC Paul Perdrisat allegedly fostered a culture of “racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ behaviour while serving in Dorset police’s force support group based in Bournemouth, the hearing was told.
The unit deals with outbreaks of public disorder in the town centre.
They are also accused of posting pornographic, misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group called “The Real FSG”. Four officers attended the hearing but all five deny the allegations of gross misconduct.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bournemouth-police-unit-had-nazi-themed-poster-on-the-wall-bn5r0p970
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12122187/Police-superintendent-honoured-Queen-appears-court-charged-four-counts-rape.html
Supt Mo Aziz, 48, also faces two counts of causing actual bodily harm, coercive and controlling behaviour, causing a female to engage in sexual activity and two of disclosing or threatening to disclose private sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress.
He should be let nowhere near policy and his blogs are drivel.
Wasn't American Pie 1971 an an elegy on the death of great pop music and arguably the last truly great single to become a number one hit?
Russia denies fire at Ministry of Defense, says state media
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/05/24/europe/fire-moscow-ministry-defense-intl/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/25/digging-continues-at-controversial-south-wales-mine-months-after-licence-expires
Just ask the 100+ people who have run in past 25+ years, vs the four who have been sworn in.
Not everything is going Ron DeSantis's way.
(The candidate I worked for had everything go his way in 1976—and won. Not in 1980.)
https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/1661592511171956747