All the news that's fit to speak.

Sitting in the playroom, looking out at a very wet garden (torrential rain last night) and checking news stories for tomorrow's bulletin. I really need to see if I can get it out of the way today, as tomorrow is always crazy. First day of the week, kids back to school (bags, clothes, shoes - all dispersed around the house) trying to get out of the house first thing in the morning is stressful enough without having to find another half hour to do the news. Plus, the cleaner turns up in the middle of all that chaos, and is liable to switch the hoover on.
So, I need to look at the NME Music news page, and parse some content. It's quite amazing how ALL of it seems to be about Michael Jackson, and R.Kelly. I did a bulletin - Friday, I think, where it was just sex abuse allegation stories, for three minutes. Ugh.
And, to top it all off, Milo's rescheduled birthday bash is this afternoon. Not quite a full party, just mates coming over for Pizza and cake - but the house will be a war zone for a few hours.
So, there'a trip to the supermarket that needs to be done, a kids party, a couple of meals to make....it seems so quiet, right now. I suspect that I'll look back and wonder what the hell went on, when I post later.

I love it when people return, and surprise me.

I interviewed Esser at least a couple of times during my tenure at NME Radio, and found him incredibly interesting. Always more than his outlandish image - thoughtful, polite, reserved. Very, very focused. I loved the stuff he was doing back then, but this? It's just.....fantastic. As much of a jaw-dropping reinvention as that last Horrors LP.

Where to start? (again)

A busy year for me, with as much going on as the last couple....
Marnie is my big news, obviously, but also, NME Radio is no more. A real shame, as we were producing something of real quality, with great content, committed, passionate and knowledgeable presenters, and great music, to boot. The state of alternative music radio in the UK is really starting to worry me: Six Music may have been saved (well, for now, at least) but Xfm is a shadow of it's former self, and there isn't much else, to be quite honest.
So, if anyone has any need of a Radio Presenter, do let me know, won't you?
Right, I'm off to look after my garden.
And BTW, how's the new template?

Blimey

Today, I've been listening to Wim Mertens (same old story, huh?) and decided to have a quick listen to "Alle Dinghe", which is a 3-CD set, part of a trilogy which runs to seven CD's. It's wonderful, elegiac orchestral stuff - and seems like it's actually one of his most sought-after works. A quick flick through eBay reveals that a replacement copy would set me back - get this - over FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
ZOMG.
Loving the new time slot on NME Radio - I get home in time to enjoy the whole of the evening, there's more time for cooking....
Now, all I need.....is for *something* to happen ;)

Also......

For those of you who listen to the show, and get the downloads of the day, I'm thinking about ways of archiving the links. Would you go to a blog which listed those links? Would that work? Let me know, I'll muse on this some more while I'm at work.

New day, new week, new time.

I'm changing slots today, so I'm on from 11-3. It's the sort of thing which happens ALL the time in the world of Radio, but there's still a slight frisson of excitement and anticipation. Plus, I have to worry about what to have for a packed lunch!
On the other front, no news. Yet.

A beautiful day....

Sees me sitting in the sunshine, nursing a minor hangover, thinking about the day ahead. This week has been packed full of stuff: Jez has been sorting out the flat, getting it painted (which it definitely needed) and there's been lots to do at work. I've been adding posts to the In The Studio blog, and I'm filling in for Neil Cole this weekend too. There's also the small matter of preparing and recording the show we do for Virgin Atlantic. Tomorrow brings another voiceover for the Travel Channel, and more organisation for weekend shows. Phew.

And here's what the studio looks like.....

That's me, Peter Robinson from Popjustice, and Andy Capper from Vice magazine....

Still dazzled by the sunshine....

I'm blinking my eyes and looking out over West London, even loving the smell of Diesel from the buses nine floors beneath me - today is just one of those days when everything seems OK. Well, there's plenty of time for that to unravel, I guess, but for now - all's good.
I'm just about to head off to do more voiceovers for the Travel Channel, which is always fun. If you want to hear what I sound like, check this out. Then it's off to Southwark for the final radio show of the week, then some leisurely cooking to round off the day. I love how the promise of a day can put a smile on your face.
The weekend should be good too, Jeff's over from Cleveland, so there will be pints in the Portobello road, and some leisurely shopping for bargains in the basement of Record & Tape. Life doesn't get much better than ale and vinyl. Musically, today is soundtracked by the wonderful First Aid Kit.

Twitter stuff....

We finally got a decent Twitter client sorted out in the studio today, which means that the presenters can finally interact with the followers of our Twitter stream. Spent most of the afternoon sneaking furtive glances over the stream, getting a feel for the makeup of the Tweeps we've got following us, occasionally firing off some Tweets to test out whether people would reply (They did, phew!)
Apart from that, it's another evening filled with food - specifically, Sausage & Mash, with cabbage. Comfort food at its very best. I'm off to have a quick decco at the mp3 blogs. More tomorrow.