This week I have been mainly

This week I was mostly listening to
Benjamin Blower – The Pillar of Smoke
This fella has a very Old Testament view of the world which lends to some wondrous imagery akin to that you'll read in Revelation. 'Babylon is Dead' appears to be his mantra. It's a very tribal sounding noise that relies a lot on percussion, weird time signatures, spoken word vocals akin to Mike Skinner and a kind of indie rock edge. To get into the head of this troubled Brummie soul check his manifesto. Quite frankly though I just like the noise he makes.
Oposium – Life Under The Sun
An interesting self-produced listen that was almost entirely the work of one man, Richard McLester. A very promising debut by the south coast art/indie rock outfit who clearly take influence from bands such as Muse, Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros.
Damien Rice – O
You gotta love him. After the opening track you've got three immense yet beautiful songs in a row – Volcano, The Blower's Daughter and Cannonball. Maybe I should get round to buying his follow-up '9'?

This week I was mainly watching
Apart from The Apprentice, Have I Got News For You and Reginald Perrin I can't actually remember watching anything of note.

This week I was mainly reading
The last few chapters of the four gospels. It's always interesting to read how the four different authors each add their own flavour and perspective to the resurrection story (and what follows on) to weave the greater picture. Of course they all stress the same fundamental truth though.

Other things of note from this week
Last weekend I celebrated my Grandma and Grandpa's diamond wedding anniversary. That's 60 years married to same person!
Also I hardly touched my blog...

This week I have been mainly

One day I'll read this and it'll remind me of something I once liked but have forgotten about.
For everyone else, you'll probably find this rather pointless...



This week I was mostly listening to
Becoming The Archetype - Dichotomy
Without a doubt one of my favourite albums of 2008 ... nah make that EVER. Amazing musicianship, deep and meaningful lyrics and just a kick-ass sound. Brutal progressive metal at it's zenith.
Woe of Tyrants – Kingdom of Might
A band fairly new to me and fairly new to The Rock and Hard Place. Progressive metal of a different type to BTA but still very entertaining. The two part title track is without doubt the highlight. One of the best heavy albums of 2009 so far.
Kate Nash – Made of Bricks
I would say it's a guilty secret but I'm not ashamed in any way to name it as one of my most enjoyable listens of the past year. Mariella is an amazing song, I chucked the CD in my car radio a few days ago and got goose pimples.

This week I was mainly watching
Yes We Can! The Lost Art of Oratory
Obviously it comes off the back of Obama-fever. I really am a sucker for soaring oratory, maybe I should go to a black-majority church once every month to get my fill. It pumps me up!
Newswipe
A spin-off from the excellent Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe. He dissects TV news in an educating, entertaining and downright funny way.
The Boat That Rocked
Richard Curtis' latest. As a bit of a radio nerd I was perhaps a little more interested in the detail than your average punter. But as a story it was not bad at all nicely playing on some good themes and tugging at the emotions. Certainly more enjoyable for me than his rom com back catalogue.

This week I was mainly reading
Gazzetta Della Grog
A wonderous nostalgia trip with the bittersweet knowledge that I'm a much different person to the bloke that wrote it.
Book of Job – The Bible
You think you've got it bad?! A wonderful story of being tested to the absolute limit and written in a very poetic way. There's only one thing you can put your absolute faith in.

Other things of note from this week
Last Sunday we went for a picnic on a very sunny, but remarkably chilly, day. We both managed to find inspiration, she wrote a poem and I came up with two different ideas for a book aimed at boys aged 8-12.