spare the darkness, let it never fade away...

--
Earworms of the Week

> "Stone Cold Dead in the Market" - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
(I can't find Ella's version online, but here's someone else doing it, and I'm sure you get the general idea)

A remarkably cheerful and light-hearted song about a battered wife murdering her husband with a frying pan. Not the usual kind of material for a comedy song, I grant you, but it's really very good. I believe it is essential that this song is sung in the most appalling cod-Jamaican accent. It might even be law. If you find yourself singing this song to yourself next week, you have to do the accent. That's all there is to it.

> "Mo Money, Mo Problems" - Notorious B.I.G.

I loathe this song. I hate the whole stupid bling-bling sean 'puffy' combes thing anyway, but I particularly hate this song. There is absolutely nothing appealing to me about a fat, dead guy bragging about how much money he has and how attractive he is to women. Nothing. So... naturally I was quite alarmed to find this song in my head. I haven't even heard it in about a year. Where's the justice in that?

> "Rule The World" - Take That

The theme song to "Stardust", which we went to go and see last weekend. The film itself is okay -- the book is a lot better -- but this is another in the long line of really very good Gary Barlow songs. I liked it when I first heard it, but I think it's been growing on me and I may be about to own my first ever song by Take That. You'd have got good odds on that a decade ago.

> Cantina Band theme - Star Wars OST

Well, do I need to explain? It's probably always playing somewhere in my head, along with the Twentieth Century Fox fanfare, but I think it popped up this week because I saw a bit of footage on the telly of Ewan McGregor visiting the site of the Tatooine set in Tunisia.... Uncle Owen's farm and ... crucially... they popped into a bar too. In spite of the fact that this was clearly quite a tourist spot and there was a massive poster of McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi on the wall, no one appeared to recognise him. He was actually wearing a t-shirt with his name printed on the back too.... but not a peep.

I imagine he was probably quite relieved. You know what Star Wars fans are like....

> "Salut Chantal" - Stefie Shock

asta was good enough to send me a copy of her shuffleathon CD and this is sitting pretty at track 3. It's in French, but as it's a CD worth of Canadian music, I imagine that they must be Québécois. In spite of having a French wife, I haven't really heard an awful lot of French rock music (or at least, rock music performed in French). French rock bands tend to perform in English if they have any real desire to be successful. I have to say though, it works quite well. It does here, anyway.

> "More Than a Feeling" - Boston

We put this on in the car on the drive back from the Foo Fighters gig. If Led Zeppelin taught him how to rock, Boston taught Dave Grohl everything he knows about melody. This is a brilliant record.

> "Gone Again" - Patti Smith

JoeinVegas kindly sent me a copy of the Great Grape Ape's shuffleathon and this is the opener. I like a bit of Patti Smith. She's clearly absolutely bonkers mad in the head, but she's a proper icon and a bit of a genius. I think this is a relatively recent number, but it's strongly reminiscent of her "Horses" heyday, and as such is absolutely brilliant. Wild eyes though. And scary hair.

> "When The Levee Breaks" - Led Zeppelin

As part of Zane Lowe's classic album thing that he's been doing, on Thursday night they played Led Zeppelin IV in its entirety on the radio. To be honest I'm a tiny bit bored by "Stairway...", but I don't think I'll ever get bored of Bonzo's monumental drumming on this track.

> "This is a Call" / "Everlong" - Foo Fighters

Well, I've been listening to the Foos pretty much non-stop since the gig on Tuesday night, so it's hardly surprising that a couple of their songs have sneaked onto the list. I prefer it when he rocks, but he's got a surprising ear for a melody as well. I was literally singing "This is a Call" to myself all day yesterday.... I just couldn't shake it out of my head. Thank God it's a good song. "Everlong' is supposedly the Foos best song. Well, I don't know about that, but I do know that it works well on record with the backing of the band and a bit of thrashy guitar going on, but it also works very well with just Dave Grohl doing it. I think that's probably a sign of a good song. Good band.

> "The Living Daylights" - A-Ha

This was an accident waiting to happen. When I plug my iPod nano into my car, it starts to play the first song by the first artist on it in alphabetical order.... and so it is that every single time I get into my car, I listen to at least the first thirty seconds of this song as I cue up another track. I suppose I should be grateful really, it could be a whole lot worse a song than this one....

Right. I'd best get myself off to Birmingham airport to rescue my wife... the bag containing her car keys hasn't turned up and she wants rescuing.

The things we do for love.

[cue earworm]

Next week: asta
The week after: Ben

Earworm Podcast are BACK!

(ah, apparently the bag turned up on the next flight. I'll be opening that bottle of wine then....)

but heroes often fail...

Straight in? Why not?

Earworms of the Week

> “Sometimes” – James

As I write this, it is absolutely bucketing it down outside the window, and apparently 2 months of rainfall is forecast to fall in the next 24 hours. It’s been a wet summer of “endless rain, endless rain”. This song reminds me of being in the kitchen of the flat upstairs from mine in Venice. I spent many happy hours sat around the dinner table listening to music with my friends Olly, Mark and Dom. At the time, I was completely obsessed with “The Holy Bible” by the Manic Street Preachers and “Dog Man Star” by Suede, but Olly introduced me to the pleasures of James in general and of this song in particular. I used to love the intimacy of that line in the chorus:

”Sometimes when I look into your eyes, I swear I can see your soul”

At the time, I held out absolutely no hope that I was ever going to be capable of forming a meaningful relationship, and somehow that line gave me a yearning for something I hadn’t ever really experienced and desperately wanted to.

Do I look into C’s eyes now in search of her soul? Hmmm. Perhaps I should do it more often. She’s got nice eyes.

> “The River of Dreams” – Billy Joel

Yes, yes. Clearly it’s a ridiculous song. Clearly it’s far from being amongst BJ’s best… but can anyone around my age tell me that they don’t have a soft spot for this song?

I bought the single, as I recall.

> “Shake Your Blood” – Probot feat. Lemmy

Probot is Dave Grohl’s heavy metal side-project, and it does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: each track features a different guest vocalist from an 1980s metal band that Grohl adored, and makes an attempt to imitate that band’s style, which usually involves Grohl going ballistic on the drums. This one features Lemmy F. Motorhead himself… and as you might expect, it rocks…

Not everyone’s cup of tea, I shouldn’t thing, but I like it.

> “City of Blinding Lights” – U2

I’m very much in two minds about U2 generally, and I don’t really listen to them very much by choice. Having said that, they certainly know their way around an earworm, and when I started talking to someone about how when I signed up to an Oxfam text message campaign once, I started receiving spam texts from people like Chris Martin, Kofi Annan and Bono himself. It was bloody annoying.

For some reason, I equated all of that with this song.

Don’t ask me why. I don’t know how my brain works.

> “Black Mirror” – Arcade Fire

People rave about the Arcade Fire, but I’ve always been a touch underwhelmed by them, to be honest. I like “Funeral” well enough, but was it the best album I’d ever heard? No it was not. “Neon Bible” was greeted by the music press with even more superlatives, but I haven’t even really been bothered enough by it to listen to it through more than about twice. I’m sure that’s my loss, but I only got to track 3 the last time I tried earlier in the week. This song is the album opener though, and I reckon that the fact that it has stuck in my head could be a good sign, right? I don’t think they’re the future of rock, but I do think that they deserve a fair listen.
At some point.

I actually saw about half of the Arcade Fire’s set at Glastonbury before heading off to watch the Arctic Monkeys on the Pyramid Stage. From what I saw, they seemed to be pretty good, and I reasoned that I was more likely to be able to pick up a ticket for the band’s winter date at the Nottingham Arena than I was to be able to get tickets to watch the Arctic Monkeys anywhere in the next couple of years. I was right too – I was able to snap up some tickets a couple of days after I get home.

Perhaps I was looking to be critical of them, given how they seem to be flavour of the month. Although they sounded good, my lasting impression of the bit of the set that I saw was that their fans were incredibly rude as they pushed past me in the mud in front of the Other Stage to get to the front… perhaps they’ll be a little nicer at the Arena.

Perhaps they won’t.

Perhaps I shouldn’t hold a thing like that against the band?

> Theme from Battlestar Galactica

“The Cylons were created by man.
They evolved.
They rebelled.
They look and feel human.
Some are programmed to think they are human.
There are many copies.”

We’ve been busy trawling our way though the DVDs of the new version of this hoary old classic, and we’ve now got about halfway through the second series. As well as being the main theme used over the opening credits, this is also played on a loop over the DVD menus, which I left playing in the background as I read the paper the other day. I pretty much tuned it out, but I think it must have sunk so deep into my subconscious that I will never shake it out.

What do I think of the series? It’s pretty good. I have my reservations about some of the religious overtones that seem to be becoming more prominent with every episode, but there’s still plenty here to keep me interested.

> “Personal Jesus” – Depeche Mode

I think this must have been on my iPod when I was out running the other day. I have absolutely no recollection of hearing this song at any point in the last few days, but here it is playing on my internal jukebox.

I’ve had worse.

> “Hush” – Deep Purple

Let’s be clear: the version of this that has been on a loop inside my head is absolutely, categorically and definitively the Deep Purple version. My brain is very much a Kula Shaker free zone, and long may it remain so.

One thing I love about Deep Purple is the keyboard solos. Utterly ridiculous and utterly brilliant all at the same time.

> “Island in the Sun” – Weezer

Hip Hip.

> “Life Becoming A Landslide” – Manic Street Preachers

“Gold Against the Soul” is certainly not their best album, but it does contain a number of excellent songs – including this one. I think I love it for the ambition of the lyric that links the howl of childbirth to the cry of anguish at the meaninglessness of life and your own inevitable death.

As I keep saying, they don’t make bands like that any more. Does Kate Nash write lyrics like that?

> “If You Could Read My Mind” – Johnny Cash

This song never, ever fails to move me. Gordon Lightfoot’s lyrics on their own tend to lurch into the saccharine, but the cracked and broken gravitas of Cash’s voice never lets the song slip down that path. This is just a raw, beautiful song of love and loss. “Hurt” was one hell of a legacy to leave the world, and that video brilliantly splices footage of the younger Cash with the old man he became… but for me this is the way that I will remember Cash. It’s the sound of a man who is at the very end of his life, singing to the dead wife he will soon be joining. Saying it’s intense doesn’t do it justice.

Right to the very end, he was an immense talent.

---

Incidentally, the podcasts are now back online..... recent additions include C, Planet Me, The Ultimate Olympian and my Glastonbury earworms. Go check it out. It's very easy to use, and you can even subscribe through iTunes.

Thanks as always to my Mexican correspondent for these.

Next week, perhaps I'll even have pulled my finger out and got us a Guest Editor for this slot.

Any volunteers?

wear high heels and get a record deal...

Alright.

Earworms it is then. I still haven't got around to writing any kind of FAQs about this, but as no one ever asks me any questions about it, I'll assume that you all know the drill, right?

This week's guest editor is part of the team that write one of the most interesting and comprehensive music blogs that I've seen on t'internet. Always a good source of interesting new music and fantastic covermounts and features (who could forget November's "Songs to Learn and Sing" feature?)

Ladies and gentleworms... without further ado... it is my great pleasure to introduce for your earworming pleasure.....

Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #63 - Simon from Sweeping the Nation

Hello. Despite doing something similar to Earworms on my own blog on a weekly basis, I'm taking this opportunity to share with a wider audience an attempt to, well, explain and put in its rightful place why these songs are the way they are in my world. If you're aware of my work you'll no doubt be expecting a slew of far too wordy over-analysis of schmindie from the ages replete with tiny cult band names dropped as if they're as famous as U2 from someone who appears to have no mental capacity for actual pop music as earworm. And you'd be right. It even features two people I know to be Sweeping The Nation readers, for that added cronyist element. Onwards...

10 Battles - Atlas

All together now: "Eefthawuma eefthawuma eenma saanwidg/Runmmma runmmelr eaargr channa/Eefthawuma eefthawuma eefthawuma eefthawuma/Eenma saanwidg, chunmun gingr". Through a vocal pitch corrector that takes it up to chipmunk level, over avant-jazz breaks, pulsing funk bass, krautrock-goes-glam drums and time signatures all over the place. And they have an eight foot high cymbal as part of the kit.

9 The Pipettes - Magician Man

Can't help thinking they're a better band than as a recording artist - clearly they have that extra something, but at the same time they could be doing much more than how they've ended up. This, for example, a B-side to last summer's Radio 2-colonising single Pull Shapes and by all accounts a huge fan favourite, I suspect largely because backing vocals aside it sounds bugger all like a Pipettes song. Lots of spoken bits too, which is always a winner.

8 The Higsons - I Don't Want To Live With Monkeys

This is the early 80s band Charlie Higson had his entertainment coming of age through, agitpop Talking Headsalikes that did next to nothing commercial-wise despite music press interest. Much of their back catalogue is worthy of investigation if brass-powered high energy prophesising is your bag but this one takes the funk, triples the speed and adds a scat section to the start.

7 The Decemberists - The Sporting Life

It's the Lust For Life drums that make this so earworm memorable, I suspect, but it's the words that seal the deal in terms of it being any good. It's partly a reaction to jealousy, I suspect, Colin Meloy being the sort of wryly literate writer I like to pretend I am.

6 Madness - Shut Up

Like, I suspect, a great number of people approaching or around the 30 mark I grew up with Madness, and after writing an appreciation of their back catalogue in light of their frankly poor recent single I've been continually going back to Divine Madness and the albums box set The Lot, because social consciousness never came in such a jaunty package. This edges out Grey Day as my favourite single for so many little individual moments of greatness, from the "one! two! three!" to Mike Barson's divine piano outro.

5 Jeremy Warmsley - Dirty Blue Jeans

The Art Of Fiction is one of those albums that doesn't get the attention it deserves, perhaps because it's technically similar to other leftfield solo artists who get the rub of the publicity green either through being American (Owen 'Final Fantasy' Pallett) or exotic (Patrick Wolf). Compellingly semi-cryptic storytelling over waves of electronica, violin, jazz piano and complete stylistic ADD - I'm aware this isn't a review slot, it's Earworms Of The Week, but I do tend to gush overtly about this record too often.

4 Kenickie - Come Out 2Nite

At The Club made its way back onto my CD player after a Sweeping The Nation piece about the cult British bands of the mid-90s which got a great reaction, which pleases me as it proves that there's a little bit at the back of people's minds that draws us to what you'd never call guilty pleasures but works on pretty much the same level. This is, was and always will be undeniable, from handclap to feedback a tiny margin under two minutes later, the purest distillation of late teendom before real world responsibility kicks in. Oh, Lauren, why are you throwing yourself away on rot like Transmission?

3 Arcade Fire - Black Mirror

Yeah, just me and everybody else in the world. You really can't deny Neon Bible, especially after a few extra plays when it all really starts making sense. Everyone's mentioned Springsteen in connection with the album but it's far less his windswept Cadillac dreaming than sheer bug-eyed intensity, this just edging out No Cars Go in terms of sheer air-punching bombast. And it's good to have a little portentiousness now and again.

2 Lucky Soul - Ain't Never Been Cool

While the last thing UK indiepop needs on the face of it right now is another band referencing Motown/Spector girl groups, Lucky Soul do it right. Very right. Ain't Never Been Cool is a sneaky call to arms for those disenfranchised by the post-Libertines boyrock brigade. The final chorus build-up to a triumphant shouting from metaphorical rooftops of the title might be a candidate for the pop moment of the year.

1 Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!

And given it's just been announced as their next single this might be pop song of the year, although I've been in love with it since the Cardiff-based septet opened their Myspace account last summer. After a minute's post-rock intro it bursts into technicolour life, brimming with hooks, xylophone-driven melodies, twists, turns, endlessly quotable lyrics and a chorus tailor made for festivals to shout along to. As Gareth Campesinos says right at the end, "we're undeveloped, we're ignorant, we're stupid, but we're happy."

---

Thanks Simon - now that's the kind of list that I'm talking about (although I'm sure you're being more than a little optimistic if you think you're writing to a wider audience over here. Nice thought though, so thanks for that) . It's all very well coming here every week and being reminded of the theme tune to the Kia Ora adverts ('too orangey for crows') and other similar crap that's been slooshing around my head, but from time to time it's nice to listen to a Guest Editor and to stumble across some music I haven't really heard that much about (Arcade Fire aside, obviously, and I think it would be more or less impossible to know Ben and not to have heard of Los Campesinos).

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm very much looking forward to listening to the podcast version of this... which should be available here (thanks as always to Erika for this. If you want to know where Earworms #62 went, then she's the person to ask.....)

Have a good weekend y'all.

Next time: someone else (otherwise you'll get me again)

[Previous Guest Editors: Flash, The Urban Fox, Lord Bargain, Retro-Boy, Statue John, Ben, OLS, Ka, Jenni, Aravis, Yoko, Bee, Charlie, Tom, Di, Spin, The Ultimate Olympian, Damo, Mike, RedOne, The NumNum, Leah, Le Moine Perdu, clm, Michael, Hyde, Adem, Alecya, bytheseashore, adamant, Earworms of the Year 2005, Delrico Bandito, Graham, Lithaborn, Phil, Mark II, Stef, Kaptain Kobold, bedshaped, I have ordinary addictions, TheCatGirlSpeaks, Lord B rides again, Tina, Charlie II, Cody Bones, Poll Star, Jenni II, Martin, Del II, The Eye in the Sky, RussL, Lizzy's Hoax, Ben II, Earworms of the Year 2006, Sarah, Flash II, Erika, Hen, Pynchon, Troubled Diva, Graham II, Cat II, Statue John II]

We don’t care about the young folks…

Evening. The weekend is here and to celebrate this glorious weather, I am about to take myself off to the gym for a swim in the indoor pool. Hurray! (Look, it makes sense to me, alright? My 2 week embargo on wearing my contact lenses ended this afternoon and I plan to celebrate in style. Well, I plan to go for a swim, anyways)

One last task to carry out though.... Earworms, of course.

You surely know the drill by now - blah blah blah....tunes that have floated unbidden across my brain / a Guest Editor's brain in the space of the last seven days....blah blah blah. Everyone knows this already, right? Can I take that as read, or do I maybe need to write some Earworm FAQs and have some sort of permalink thingie? Is that the sort of thing that bloggers do? I'm never quite sure....

Actually, now I think of it, perhaps I shouldn't be mentioning drills at all. This week's Guest Editor has spent rather a lot of time in the dentist's chair over the last few weeks, and I think it's probably something that she doesn't care to be reminded of too often.

Is it secret?

Is it safe?

Anyways. Get to the Earworms man. No one's interested in your blathering.

SO..... without further ado, it is my great pleasure to present for your Earworming pleasure....

Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #60 - Cat from TheCatGirlSpeaks

10) The Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani

I’m not much of a fan of Gwen Stefani’s solo stuff, although I did quite like No Doubt, back in the day. This, however, is an exceptionally catchy little number, despite the fact it sounds like she’s singing about rainwear - “The sweetest cape.”

Clearly, I am listening to too much Radio One at the moment.

9) Superstar Tradesman – The View

I saw The View live earlier this week – you can see the review here - and this track was pretty damn perfect. The support band was quite a different matter, but that’s a story for another day.

8) Cat’s in the Cradle – Ugly Kid Joe

Remember this? I heard it on the radio on the bank holiday Monday where there was some sort of guess the year thing going on. What a ridiculous song. Naturally, despite not having heard it in absolutely ages, I knew every single word.

Oh, and the year? I missed that part, so if you can tell me, I’ll be delighted.

7) Brianstorm - The Arctic Monkeys

I feel certain I should like The Arctic Monkeys, and I don’t doubt the fact that lyrically, they are very clever. But I don’t. Catchy though.

6) Up the Junction – Squeeze

Back to that View gig, I’m afraid. This was the sole cover of the evening and it’s been rattling around my brain ever since.

5) A Life Less Ordinary – Ash

Does anyone know what happened to Ash? Have I just lost the thread along the way? Anyway. I watched the film of the same name on Sunday night and haven’t been able to get this song out of my head since. Actually, forget the song – how hot was Ewan McGregor in this, despite his dodgy haircut?

4) Country Mile – Camera Obscura

Currently being used on the Florence and Fred for Tesco ad, fact fans.

3) (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles – The Proclaimers

I should stress that I’m a bit of a purist here, so this is the original version, not the Comic Relief one. Although I’m certain The Proclaimers are laughing all the way to the bank with that. Or they would be if it wasn’t for charidee. This track reminds me of the end of every wedding I’ve ever been to. Reminiscent of braying along while trying to stop drunken “uncle” Sid from putting his hand on your arse.

2) Yellow – Coldplay

This track will now be forever linked in my head with pain, playing as it was while I was at the dentist’s mercy yesterday.

Frankly, it’s a good job I was never a Coldplay fan.

1) Young Folks – Peter, Bjorn and John

Seldom has a track been used as a background on television quite as much as this one. (Except, of course, every single record from Moby’s Play album.) It crops up absolutely everywhere from adverts to sports programmes, and that whistle-y bit’s just made to be an earworm. That aside, I absolutely love this, and if you’re looking for a new CD to buy, I’d thoroughly recommend this little lot.

---

Thanks Cat. There's sadly nothing *really* disgraceful in there, is there? (no Coldplay jokes please. Do at least try to remember that I like Coldplay. Thanks). Is it really only me who gets plagued by utterly unspeakable earworms ALL THE TIME. I reckon that the podcasts would be greatly enhanced by the theme tune from the Um Bongo adverts or "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins. Perhaps even a comedy bit of Mariah Carey (which I was lucky enough to be earworming only this morning - and it was a really full on warbly one too).

Perhaps that's just me?

Podcasts are available here, and I'm sure this one will be up before long.

OK. pooltime!

Next time: Statue John

[Previous Guest Editors: Flash, The Urban Fox, Lord Bargain, Retro-Boy, Statue John, Ben, OLS, Ka, Jenni, Aravis, Yoko, Bee, Charlie, Tom, Di, Spin, The Ultimate Olympian, Damo, Mike, RedOne, The NumNum, Leah, Le Moine Perdu, clm, Michael, Hyde, Adem, Alecya, bytheseashore, adamant, Earworms of the Year 2005, Delrico Bandito, Graham, Lithaborn, Phil, Mark II, Stef, Kaptain Kobold, bedshaped, I have ordinary addictions, TheCatGirlSpeaks, Lord B rides again, Tina, Charlie II, Cody Bones, Poll Star, Jenni II, Martin, Del II, The Eye in the Sky, RussL, Lizzy's Hoax, Ben II, Earworms of the Year 2006, Sarah, Flash II, Erika, Hen, Pynchon, Troubled Diva, Graham II]

what you waiting...what you waiting...what you waiting... what you waiting...what you waiting for??

---
Erika has been busy, so there are now a whole load of new podcasts ready for download.

Remember that from the site you can also subscribe to the podcast feed through iTunes (it's a link on the right hand side) and then you never need to worry about it again as it will automatically work its way down onto your MP3 player.

How cool is that?

What are you waiting for?

Get them here.

I got my bags packed baby and I'm ready to go....

I've just spent much of the evening packing.

Well, I say that, but as usual I spent most of the timing fretting about what to take and making piles of clothes on the floor in front of the wardrobe. It's C. who actually gets on and does most of the folding up of clothes and the loading of the bags. I'm rather afraid that it was left to me, I would not only take too much, but the stuff that I did take would be rammed rather untidily into a bag.

And I'd certainly still manage to forget something.

Probably my passport.

We're going to be in Ecuador for a little over three weeks, and because we're going to be hiking at altitude for some of that time, there are a quite a lot of bulky items that we need to stow away somehow: sleeping bags, thermarest pads, waterproofs, a down jacket.... they all take up space and leave little room for all the sorts of things that you would normally take on holiday - like pants, socks and t-shirts.

Have I found room for my iPod and speakers? Of course I have.

We haven't completely finished yet, but we've got tomorrow to run through the final checks, so we should be okay. I am a terribly fretful packer though. I will be worrying about whether or not we have everything until the moment that we've checked in the bags at the airport and it's all too late.... and then I won't give two hoots and will relax.

Two more days....

---

The podcasts for Pynchon and Mike have now been added to the Podcast site for your listening pleasure.... do go and check them out. It's a great way to listen to music, and it really couldn't be any simpler. In fact, when you are there, click on the "subscribe with iTunes" button and you'll never need to think about it again - it will just automatically update your iPod. How cool is that?

Thanks to the efforts of Erika, of course.... she slaves tirelessly over that site, you know.

never to be mine, no matter how I try....

I know I say this every week, but is it Friday already? Blimey. What with MOTs, new car paperwork, Post of the Week shortlisting duties, twitter, pub quizzes and a mounting sense of excitement about our forthcoming trip to Ecuador.... the week has flown by. I certainly haven't had any time to do any work anyway. Curse all those wasted, dead hours in the office!

This will be the last earworm slot before I go away, and therefore the last one for more than a month (boo! how will we cope? etc. etc.) Don't worry though - having spent most of my week listening to them on my iPod, I think that the perfect coping strategy would be to go and download the podcasts. A word of warning: you never quite know what's lying in wait for you. As I discovered this morning, Sarah's list contains both "The Lonely Goat Herd" (which is a weapons grade earworm) AND "I Luv You" by the Ordinary Boys, which is just awful. That came onto my car stereo without any warning this morning as I was driving into work. I nearly swerved off the road in my haste to reach the volume switch before anybody realised what I was listening to.

Anyway.

This week's Guest Editor has been blogging for something approaching 100 years, but his (much garlanded) blog remains an absolute delight.

Ladies and Gentleworms, without further ado, it is my very great pleasure to introduce for your earworming pleasure, Nottingham resident and all round éminence grise (in the nicest way possible) of the blogging scene.....

Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #58 - Mike from Troubled Diva

Well, it’s a bit of a weird week for me to be doing this – as my mental jukebox has been almost completely dominated by the songs which I’ve been featuring on my blog as part of a project called Which Decade Is Tops For Pops?. Without wishing to turn this feature into an extended plug for my blog (the very thought!), the purpose of Which Decade? is to compare the Top Ten singles from my birthday week in 1967, 1977, 1987, 1997 and 2007. So for that reason, these earworms are rather more retro-flavoured than they otherwise would have been.

1. Here Comes My Baby – The Tremeloes.

A ridiculously chirpy and catchy slice of 1960s pop, from the band which featured Chesney Hawkes’ dad. The actual lyrics are all about losing your “bird” (let’s get with the 1960s vernacular) to another bloke, but – as with the mighty Steps, thirty-odd years later – no-one in the band seems to have noticed that they’re supposed to be singing a sad song. Quite the reverse, in fact. The rhythm of this track isn’t a million miles removed from “If I Had A Hammer” (Trini Lopez) – and best of all, there is a COWBELL. Cardinal rule of pop: you can’t go far wrong with a cowbell.

2. Male Stripper – Man 2 Man featuring Man Parrish.

“In hot cop drag, in leatherman’s stag, tits and my G-string made my living…” Or at least that’s what I thought they were saying, for years and years – until I actually saw a male stripper in a go-go bar (Washington DC, 1992), and realised that it is the custom, o’er the pond, to shove dollar bills down the performer’s pants. “Tips in my G-string.” Tips. Not tits. How naïve I was. Anyways, this is late period Hi-NRG par excellence - and it still gives me a bit of a “funny” feeling, 20 years on. Hey, I’ve never claimed that my sexuality was sophisticated. Phwoooar! Get kokkart!

3. Shine – Take That.

Much as it pains me to agree with Chris Moyles, you really can sing the “na-na-na-na” outro to “Hey Jude” over the outro to this one. Featuring Little Marky (The Formerly Cute One) on lead vocals, this was always the obvious next single from Take That’s comeback album – and while it doesn’t quite reach the astronomical heights of perfection set by “Patience” (you heard), it’s a nifty enough little wriggler in its own right.

4. The Worrying Kind – The Ark.

Isn’t it exciting that Eurovision is only three months away? No, but isn’t it? But for the real diehards, who follow the national finals from each participating country, the fun has already begun. In Eurovision fan circles, “The Worrying Kind” is already making waves. It’s one of the leading contenders at Melodifestivalen, which is Swedish television’s massively popular version of A Song For Europe/Making Your Mind Up. (The Scandinavians take their Eurovision very seriously indeed, see. Such a civilised part of the world.)

As with so many Eurovision songs, it’s fun to play Spot The Influences. Ooh, there’s “Waterloo!” And a bit of Bowie! And a snatch of Mika! And is that The Sweet? And, yes, that’s definitely more than a hint of “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse, a UK Number One in 1970. So much so, that the original composer is already onto the case. Anyway, who cares? Sheesh. This is uber-camp, mega-catchy, and super-fab, and that’s really all that needs to concern us.

5. Same Jeans – The View.

Yes, it’s basically The Proclaimers covering “Brimful of Asha”. And you’re saying that like it’s a bad thing? Makes me want to go lurching round The Cookie Club on Indie Disco Nite, tanked up on cooking lager and throwing shapes with the youngsters.

6. Eight Day Hell - …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.

Blimey, have the Trail of Dead gone commercial or something? This is a totally uncharacteristic happy shiny bouncy pop tune, which oozes radio friendliness – except, when you check the lyrics, it’s actually nothing of the sort.

“In London we played half an hour a day, for a house full of neds who are wanting us dead. In Glasgow and Leeds we find signs of relief, an escape from our grief with a fistful of E's.”

Blimey, are we that bad, I asked Jason from Ver Dead when interviewing him this week for t’local paper. Turns out that the song was written about a nightmarish tour supporting Audioslave. Which would be enough to drive anyone to DRUGZ, I’m sure…

7. Starz In Their Eyes – Just Jack.

It’s taken me a while to get over the initial “pah, he’s just a Mike Skinner wannabe” reaction – but now the dust has settled, this stands revealed as an absolutely spot-on broadside against contemporary celeb culture. So it’s a well worn target, you say? Doesn’t matter a jot, when the broadside is as compellingly well-constructed as this.

Defining Just Jack moment: when some wag at Nottingham Arena stuck this on the PA system during the interval of The X Factor finalists show, which I was enduring on behalf of t’local paper. Talk about apposite! Not that anybody noticed, of course…

8. Don’t Leave Me This Way – Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes.

If the collective votes of the readers of my blog are to be trusted, this might just be The Greatest Pop Single Ever Made. And who am I to argue? Forget the Communards – forget even Thelma Houston’s rival cover version – this is the original, and the best. Try and find the full length version – it goes on for hours, and it will blow your mind.

9. Freewheel – Duke Special.

Watching him down at The Social on Monday night , this turned out to be the standout track from the dreadlocked-and-eyelinered Irishman’s debut album – even though it’s the least typical of his vaudeville-influenced sound, being more of a nod towards “epic, soaring” Snow Patrol country. It’s also the current single.

10. Jenseits Von Eden – Nino de Angelo.

A huge hit in Germany in 1984, I cannot hope to offer any rational justification for this big-production Schlager ballad – except to say that it’s been on heavy rotation in my mental jukebox for the past 23 years, so it must be doing something right.

“Wenn man für Liebe bezahlen muß, nur um einmal zärtlich zu sein, dann haben wir umsonst gelebt.”

Ach, it gets me there, every time. Coldplay and Snow Patrol please note: this is how you do Deep and Important and Meaningful.

I shall now hand you back to your regular programming. Thanks for the invite, Mister Swiss. I’ve had a blast.

---

Thanks Mike - We've had a blast too. Thanks for playing. As I mentioned, I've spent quite a bit of time this week listening to the other Guest Editor podcasts and I have to say that I am very much looking forward to downloading the podcast version of this! (although there will be an unavoidable delay as the prime creative force behind the podcast site pulls the download together. You can always subscribe through iTunes and then it will magically download itself onto your computer when it's ready...)

If you haven't been taking part in Mike's "Which Decade is Top For Pops?" feature over on Troubled Diva... then what the hell have you been up to? Where else are you going to be able to rank Level 42 above Depeche Mode or to puff out your cheeks and say that you genuinely prefer the Blow Monkeys to the Rolling Stones?

Right. That's it. Earworms Of The Week are now officially closed for business for a month....

Now I'm off for dinner.

L8RS. (God, I'm so anal I can't even say that in jest without getting all anxious about the lack of due punctuational diligence....)

Next Time: I, Brummie (30/3)
Forthcoming Attractions: Samantha (6/4), Cat (13/4)

[Previous Guest Editors: Flash, The Urban Fox, Lord Bargain, Retro-Boy, Statue John, Ben, OLS, Ka, Jenni, Aravis, Yoko, Bee, Charlie, Tom, Di, Spin, The Ultimate Olympian, Damo, Mike, RedOne, The NumNum, Leah, Le Moine Perdu, clm, Michael, Hyde, Adem, Alecya, bytheseashore, adamant, Earworms of the Year 2005, Delrico Bandito, Graham, Lithaborn, Phil, Mark II, Stef, Kaptain Kobold, bedshaped, I have ordinary addictions, TheCatGirlSpeaks, Lord B rides again, Tina, Charlie II, Cody Bones, Poll Star, Jenni II, Martin, Del II, The Eye in the Sky, RussL, Lizzy's Hoax, Ben II, Earworms of the Year 2006, Sarah, Flash II, Erika, Hen, Pynchon]

I was your sorry-ever-after...

Yo.

Is it Friday already? I thought the week after you come back from holiday is supposed to be horrible? This one doesn't appear to have been too bad.

Hmmm. Perhaps that's because:

-> I go to Ecuador in exactly two weeks today
-> because I have been busy faffing about with passports and things, I haven't done a jot of work all week! Hurray (and I got promoted too! Nice one! Same again next week then?)

Anyway. Onto more pressing matters. This week's Guest Editor is an absolutely charming gentleman. He's a scholar, a connoisseur, a raconteur, an aesthete.... basically he's an all round good egg. Who wouldn't want to have someone like that gracing their pages?

...and he asked really nicely too.

Without any further ado then.... Ladies and Gentleworms, it is my great pleasure to introduce for your earworming pleasure....


Earworms of the Week - Guest Editor #57 - Pynchon

Let me tell you how I got to be Earworm Of The Week.

I asked Swiss Toni. He said OK.

Hell, I never said that it was a great story...

So, anybody fancy a Thunderbirds countdown?

Five! (Der...)
Four! (Derr...)
Three! (Derrr...)
Two! (Derrrr...)
One! (Derrrrr...)

Earworms are GO!

10. "They Don't Know" by Kirsty MacColl.

I heard this on Wogan's show this week, but I know it well.

It's a glorious, wonderful pop song. I think it was Kirsty's first single, and was not a hit, but a note-for-note version by the comedienne Tracey Ullman made the UK top 10 in 1983. Kirsty even sang on it. The "Baybee!" bit in the middle was Kirsty. Tracey Ulllman apparently couldn't hit that note.

I saw Kirsty MacColl in 1995 and she played this during the encore. Of course it was brilliant. She explained that the song was an attempt at writing something that could have fitted onto the "Grease" soundtrack and was a bit of a spoof. Doesn't matter. It's a great song.

Kirsty MacColl. What a talent and what a sad loss to music it what when she died.

9. "Because You Are A Woman" by Brett Dennen.

I heard this on the Jonathan Ross show.

Not much to write about here, because I know very little about this guy. I've looked him up and he looks like a ginger haired, male Kelly Osbourne. Don't let that put you off. I like this song a lot. Stripped down, deep and soulful.

There is a clip here.

8. "Roll Away The Stone" by Mott The Hoople.

I was in W. H. Smiths buying a magazine when a song (not this one) came on over the speaker system. I remember thinking to myself, "That's a complete rip off of 'Roll Away The Stone' by Mott The Hoople" and it was. I cannot remember what that song was, but this song has been stuck in my head ever since.

There are some bands that remain in the public consciousness. You know who they are. You probably love some of them. The Floyd, the Stones, the Beatles, Led Zep. Of the newer bands I would even add Oasis and U2 to that list. Most bands don't remain in the public consciousness, for all sorts of reasons. Mott The Hoople are one of those. They recorded a clutch of great songs, had a fantastic charismatic lead singer and then faded away. But I remember them.

There is a clip here.

7. "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse.

I used to really hate Amy Winehouse. I couldn't bear anything I heard from the "Frank" album. I hated her whole gobby, mouthy, hard drinking, tough lady persona. Then I heard "Rehab" and things changed. She was funny! Then I heard this and... I think I'm in love! I've bought the album. An essential purchase for 2007. I'm seeing her in concert next week.

What would you call this? Modern soul? That'll do. Hypnotic backing track, sneery vocals and in the video she looks like she would eat you alive. Fabulous.

There is a clip here.

6. "Two-Way Romeo" by The Bang Bang.

The Bang Bang do not really exist. They are a fictional band who appear in the fictional documentary "Brothers Of The Head" about a showbiz impresario who forms a rock group fronted by a pair of conjoined twins. It's a great and strange and weird film. You should check it out.

Yes, this song is faux punk/new wave/pop and the lyrics are dreadful, but it has drums and guitars and feedback and howley vocals and swearing and you can bounce around the room to it. It's wonderful.

There is a clip here.

5. "Disguises" by The Jam.

One of the pleasures of the shuffle mode on an MP3 player is the way that sometimes a tune will pop up that you have completely forgotten about.

This song is a cover of an obscure Who song, frankly thrown away by the Who, who stuck it on the "Ready Steady Who" EP (along with "Circles" which was also a great track), and also by The Jam who stuck it on the B-side of "Funeral Pyre".

It's a great track. Brilliant drumming and bass by the most underrated rhythm section to come out of British New Wave (Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton), brilliant phased guitar by Paul Weller and a strange kind of dub reggae breakdown right in the middle of the track (something that The Jam should have explored again). It is a truly fantastic track. Probably better than the original by the Who, if I'm honest.

4. "Surrender" by Cheap Trick.

I found myself in front of the TV watching a double bill of "That 70's Show" (it's dreadful - I won't make that mistake again). I was just dozing off when the opening credits of the second episode started. My interest perked up when I realised that the title music was a cover of Big Star's "In The Street" with, at the end, a snatch of what sounded like "Surrender" by Cheap Trick.

Cheap Trick were never very much over here, but I believe they were quite big everywhere else. Strangest looking band in the whole world. Two of the guys looked like they had stepped straight out of the "Spinal Tap", while the other two guys looked like they had stepped out of geek academy. I cannot say that I know very much about them, but I do remember a "Rock Goes To College" show that they appeared on and I thought that they were very good.

There is a clip here.

3. "More More More" by Andrea True Connection.

Andrea True was a (coughs) adult move star, active in the early 70's. The story goes that she was stuck in Jamaica at a time when political upheaval was ravaging the Island and nobody was allowed to leave the country with any money. So, she invested all her money in producing a disco track to generate a master tape that she could take out of the country. This was the track.

I think it's a real classic, which is nothing that the Pynchon ensconced in the punk wars would ever have admitted in 1977. True, Andrea True was only a passable singer, but she does emote quite spectacularly, and the backing track is pure genius. It'll make you want to dance. You might recognise the backing track. The band Len sampled it for their 1999 hit "Steal My Sunshine".

There is a clip here. (Actually, minimise the clip when you play the track, because it is dreadful. Andrea True didn't know how to move or dance. I hope she was a better performer in her proper career.)

2. "Solitary Man" by Neil Diamond.

I bought a best of Neil Diamond compilation for a fiver in Sainsburys. Probably all the Neil Diamond a sane person would ever want and this is one of the standout tracks. Was this Neil Diamond's first single? It might have been. Somebody else can probably confirm that.

There are some songs of which it is impossible to do a bad cover version. Johnny Cash covered this. Chris Isaak covered this. Hell, even Cliff Richard covered this. They were all great versions, but this is the best. All down to wonderful singing, wonderful lyrics and a wonderful tune. Is there anything else?

There is a clip here.

1. "74-75" by The Connells.

This track was once voted #5 in the list of VH1's top 100 greatest one hit wonders of all time. It should have been higher. I found this on You Tube on a random search.

Shiver up the spine time. It's a song dripping with melancholy, regret and sadness. It's also a very, very personal choice at the moment and somebody elses blog is certainly not the venue to go into my feelings about it. Another time, perhaps.

There is a clip here.

Thank you and good night.

---

Thanks JP, a magical selection of carefully chosen aural nuggets indeed. You're a marvel.

The moral of this particular story? If you want to have a(nother) go in this slot, then all you have to do is ask.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to look up where the hell the Passport Office is in Peterborough....

Next Time: Mike fromTroubled Diva (23/2)
Forthcoming Attractions: I, Brummie (30/3), Samantha (6/4)

Download the Earworms of the Week Podcast here (and don't forget that from there you can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes - then it worms its own way onto your iPod every time it updates. Newly uploaded podcasts include Bedshaped, Stef, Alan, Mandy, Bargs and Cat... get them whilst they're hot. I've just been listening to the podcast of Mandy's choices, and I have to say... a seamless shift from "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi into "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns n'Roses? Oooooh. Nice! )

[Previous Guest Editors: Flash, The Urban Fox, Lord Bargain, Retro-Boy, Statue John, Ben, OLS, Ka, Jenni, Aravis, Yoko, Bee, Charlie, Tom, Di, Spin, The Ultimate Olympian, Damo, Mike, RedOne, The NumNum, Leah, Le Moine Perdu, clm, Michael, Hyde, Adem, Alecya, bytheseashore, adamant, Earworms of the Year 2005, Delrico Bandito, Graham, Lithaborn, Phil, Mark II, Stef, Kaptain Kobold, bedshaped, I have ordinary addictions, TheCatGirlSpeaks, Lord B rides again, Tina, Charlie II, Cody Bones, Poll Star, Jenni II, Martin, Del II, The Eye in the Sky, RussL, Lizzy's Hoax, Ben II, Earworms of the Year 2006, Sarah, Flash II, Erika, Hen]

how could we let it slip away?

--
Earworms of the Week

I don't know whether you would call this the short straw or not, but I decided it was time that we took a break from our run of Guest Editors in this slot to let me have a go for a change.

I don't think I can really count as a guest on my own blog, can I?

Ready? Let's go!

10. Bill Conti – Gonna Fly Now (theme from Rocky)

How could I leave this out? I’ve been earworming this now pretty solidly for at least 2 weeks. The highlight this week was when I went out for a run with C. at my mum and dad’s house on Saturday morning. I don’t usually run with C, and she doesn’t usually run as far as the route I take when I’m at home, but when we are staying down there, she’s taken to coming out with me. The route winds through the village, up over the M1 and on into Salcey Forest before looping back around, over the motorway again a little further down and then back home again. It’s about 5 miles in all. As we were approaching the second motorway bridge and crested the little hump, I began to sing this out loud. C. is not a Rocky fan, but she knew immediately what was required: she started shadow boxing as she ran and when she reached the middle of the bridge, she jumped up and down with both her arms up in the air.

We must have looked like right mentalists to anyone driving along the motorway, mind.

9. Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name Of

Another song that popped up when I was out running this week, coinciding with the word that the band are about to reform. There’s nothing quite like a bit of politically motivated, shouty rock music featuring some gloriously effective swearing in it to encourage you to pick your knees up when you’re feeling a bit tired.

8. The View – Same Jeans

I know Mark hates this, but earworm qualification has nothing to do with how great a record is. It’s certainly very catchy, and that’ll do me. I like the way that the accent of the singer and the general jauntiness of the song reminds me vaguely of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

7. Jamie T – Sheila

Jamie T’s album (“Panic Prevention”) finally came out on Monday, and I’ve been listening to it in my car as I drive backwards and forwards to the office. He’s one of those artists who is quite hard to categorise – he’s often compared with The Streets, but I think that’s a lazy description based upon the fact that they both speak / sing about the seamier side of English life. Actually, Jamie T is an altogether different kettle of fish, and I think a far better comparison is with Ian Dury.

Anyway. It’s early days for the album, but I do think that this is just a fantastic record. I’ve been pleased to note that the version on the album is both longer and swearier than the single.

Sheila’s mate Stella, incidentally and if you happen to be listening to this on the podcast, is the beer Stella Artois. I mention this as I believe it caused some shuffleathon confusion in the summer....

6. The Clash - London Calling

This was called to mind both by listening Paul Simonon’s unmistakeable bass playing on the Good, the Bad & The Queen album and because they played it in the pub on Tuesday night during the quiz.

It hardly needs me to point out what a brilliant band this lot were, but this is absolutely my favourite of their records. It just stalks along menacingly and I love it.

5. Panic! At The Disco – I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

Yes, it’s still in my head. I gave up and bought the album in the end. Nothing else on there quite lives up to this though.

I’m so Emo.

This ain’t a scene it’s an arms race.

4. Ben Folds – Rockin’ The Suburbs

Call me a messed up bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions, but I think this beautifully sarcastic attack to be a work of genius (if not the work of a genius)

Sue me.

"Y'all don't know what it's like
Being male, middle-class and white"

3. Simon & Garfunkel – I Am A Rock

I rate Paul Simon (“just step out the back, Jack”) as one of the great lyricists in music (“make a new plan, Stan”), and this song is ample evidence of that (“no need to be coy, Roy”). This is also one of those songs that works really well when you are in the car, because you can bellow along to it.

I think this is the first Simon & Garfunkel track that I ever heard, actually.

2. Nelly Furtado (feat. Chris Martin) – All Good Things (Come To An End).

I adore this song. Lord B, Hen and I spent a number of hours in the car together last weekend. To pass the time, we played the iPod shuffle game: we took it in turns to plug our iPods into the car stereo on random play and tried to guess the songs as they came up. We discovered along the way that out of the 9,000 odd songs on mine, I apparently don’t have a single happy song on there. Hen in particular wanted to kill herself after listening to this one. I love it; it’s just beautifully wistful.

The song was actually written by Chris Martin, and although he doesn’t appear on the official release, you are able to get hold of various versions of him performing the song with Nelly. It’s a great song anyway, but I think that Chris Martin really adds something to it, and the harmonies on the chorus are really nice.

“Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die”

Give me a sick beat man, a sick beat.

Gorgeous song.

1. Chicago – If You Leave Me Now

This originally crept into my head a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to infect Hen’s earworm list. This struck me as just about the most infectious song ever written. Sure enough, it didn’t make Hen’s list, but has sat in my brain ever since. Serves me right really.

My shuffleathon CD from Jenni also arrived this week (more on that in a week or so)… and guess what song was lying in wait for me at track 7?

Oh yes.

“Oooooh oooooh oooh oooh ooooh oooo oooh ooooh ooo ooo
No baby please don’t go”

In fact, it’s been in my head for so long and so insistently now that it’s not so much a guilty pleasure as a way of life….

---

You've enjoyed the list..... now DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST!

Next Time: Pynchon (16/2)
Forthcoming Attractions: Mike fromTroubled Diva (ooooh!), I, Brummie

---

And on that bombshell.... I'm going skiing here next week. Look after yourselves, and I'll be back here next weekend.

Missing you already....

a most peculiar man...

I received an email from my dad today. It arrived just as I was dashing out of the office to go and play football, but I saw the sender's name, and as today was the day when my dad finally had his consultation with the specialist, I thought it was worth pausing for a moment to see what he had to say.

The subject header confused me for a moment -- "Fwd: Your Austrian booking confirmation" -- but then I remembered that when we were down there at the weekend, C. had taken the opportunity to book the some flights for our wedding in Vienna for them. Perhaps this wasn't medical news after all....

I opened up the email:

"Very many thanks C.

Had a good meeting with the surgeon. I have a large cancer of the kidney confined to the organ (Stage 2). A total radical nephrectomy is recommended (removal of kidney plus surrounding tissues). He hopes to have me in hospital within 3 weeks. Week in hospital off work around 4 weeks. Regular follow ups to check for recurrence. Cheque payable to you? Prognosis depends on the histology."

Somehow the email is typical of the man: it was a "good meeting" but he has a "large cancer". He needs a "radical nephrectomy"; he will be having surgery within the next three weeks.

This is big news.

Hell, even Raymond Terrific might agree that this is not just big news, it is massive news. ("Don't desert me boffins!"). And then, on the back of this, and without leaving enough of a gap for anyone to draw breath, nevermind for the ramifications of this news to sink in, he is asking who he should make the cheques for the flights to Vienna payable to.

What?

But wait! We're back onto the cancer again.... his prognosis depends upon the tumour's histology.

Ridiculous, amazing, frustrating man.

Anyway, I spoke this evening. It is cancer, and because it is the size of a mandarin orange, it is classed at stage 2. It is operable - which is good - and in the next few weeks they will admit him and remove his kidney and all of the surrounding tissue. They will then examine the cancer to see how malignant it was. If it is the worst case, then the survival rate after 5 years (if they've got it all) is about 75%. If it's the best case, then the survival rate is over 90%. It's definitely cancer then, but apparently as cancers go, this is about the best news he could have got.

Again, I find it almost impossible to react emotionally to this news because of the calmness with which it was delivered by my father, and because I could hear my mum in the background talking to the dog and seemingly without a care in the world..... This is my dad we're talking about here, and yet I find myself being as rational and matter-of-fact about his health as I am about almost everything else.

It's good news though. Really. It is.

Well, it's as good as it could have been, and that will do for now.

---

In other news, and in a sudden change of subject material, I just wanted to announce that you are now able to subscribe to the Earworms of the Week podcast through iTunes.... (just click on the iTunes logo on the right hand side). That way all of the new podcasts uploaded will be whizzed automatically onto your computer). That struck me as kind of cool.

Out of interest, have any of you been downloading any of these?

I ask partly so that Erika - who has been putting an awful lot of work into this - can get some feedback, but also because she is going to have to delete some of the older ones to make way for the latest batch and wanted me to let you know so you have a chance to download them if you want them.

Get'em whilst you still can, ladies and gentleworms.