Shows
Therapy For MeCeciliaW/C 18th March 2024Why do I leave my podcast notes until Saturday morning, when I know it is going to cause me stress.I like to be out for a run by 07:30, but it’s 07:08 and I still have to drink my tea, get a shower and get dressed.For some reason, even when TFM is in the can in plenty of time, I still put the notes off. And it isn’t like they are ground breaking in terms of content, or indeed quality.Bonkers. Stay safe.Cecili...
2024-03-2325 minTherapy For MeI wanna be runningW/C 11th March 2024Actually I will be running, in about 24 minutes if all goes to plan, when I have finished these notes and got my sh*t together.The reason for the title is that I am stumped for a content-relevant song this week and as I talked about Blair Dunlop last week, and as I talked to Blair Dunlop this week, I thought I would include take his most recent single as my inspiration for episode title.Not a lot else to tell you, as you will hear, so I am...
2024-03-1616 minTherapy For MeDowntown trainW/C 4th March 2024We have three Spiderman masks in the house, compared with none this time last week.And these are actual fabric, full head, pull-over kind of masks not the held-on-by-a-piece-of-elastic variety that you recall from your childhood. The reason for this of course is World Book Day and the fact that Jack had a yin to go as the Miles Morales version of Spiderman. And to be fair he looked great, the mask is pretty impressive and paired with a black hoodie worn hood-up, joggers and black nike trainers he did indeed...
2024-03-0924 minTherapy For MeHit me baby one more timeW/C 26th February 2024After all the kerfuffle involved in getting it actually finished, I think we may frame the London Underground jigsaw with the 200+ white pieces.I appreciate that in the scheme of things we haven't actually shifted the dial in terms of human progress. The methodical placing of multiple pieces until you find one that fits snugly (btw if you could bottle that feeling you would be onto a winner, because it is delicious...) and then the process of rinse and repeat is not beyond the wit of many. Literally all...
2024-03-0221 minTherapy For MeLittle Shop of HorrorsW/C 19th February 2024You may have noticed that my episode titles normally only contain one capital letter, even though in pretty much all cases they are lifted from the title of a song.The reason for this is that, in pretty much all cases, they allude to something I am going to discuss in the podcast proper. At times they are a bit oblique, but that is the intent unless otherwise specified.I have changed it for this week because, I don't know, it just looked plain wrong and as such was...
2024-02-2421 minTherapy For MeJigsaw puzzleW/C 12th February 2024I am actually going to answer one of my own 'tossed-out' TFM questions, because I have just spent a rather enjoyable half hour in an underground-related-rabbit-hole.Now before you say, where else would a rabbit hole be, I was actually referring to The Underground (capitals included and indeed implied) because I was looking at three-dimensional-cross-section drawings of various tube stations.And they are quite striking, particularly as I hadn't considered the plethora of connecting walkways that are involved, have a look at this one to get the idea. Anyway...
2024-02-1719 minTherapy For MeScience fiction/Double featureW/C 5th February 2024Another week, another casualty at Nestle.Now don’t get me wrong the Breakaway was a solid biscuit choice, not up there with a Mint Viscount or a Trio (obvs) but definitely in the same bracket as a Club or a Penguin, and clear of a Blue Riband by some distance.I haven't been floored in the same way that I was last year, I mean who can forget where they were when the news of the demise of the Caramac came through, but the fact is another part of...
2024-02-1022 minTherapy For MeScenes from an Italian RestaurantW/C 29th January 2024All the things I want to watch at the moment appear to be on streaming platforms that I don't subscribe to. No sooner have I signed up to Apple TV to watch Ted Lasso (off the charts good) and Slow Horses (Gary Oldman is a legend) I am now being drawn to Paramount Plus.I am quite good at resisting the lure of a new platform, provided you accept that my tipping point is three. As soon as I spot three things that I can't get anywhere else, then I am...
2024-02-0318 minTherapy For MePrideW/C 22nd January 2023Just three things you need to know about TFM this week;Firstly I am back in California at the NAMM show and that is the excuse as to why this is a little behind schedule, it has been full-on.Secondly the noise outside (that is very, very loud) didn't pick-up as I had hoped on the recording due to the nature of the lapel microphone In was using but trust me it was real and it was considerable.And thirdly it is a long-un....the longest so...
2024-01-2732 minTherapy For MeHere I go againW/C 15th January 2024I am off to LA next week for the NAMM show, which is back in its usual time slot for the first time since the onset of COVID .And that can mean only one thing…I have completed another full year of recording TFM.Today’s episode marks my first step into season five, and I don’t know about you but I need a moment to let that land. I have been capturing my thoughts on a weekly basis for four years - and by ‘eck what a four yea...
2024-01-2020 minTherapy For MeViennaW/C 8th January 2023I was thinking of a suitable title for this weeks slice of TFM and I haven't been able to get the first line of Vienna out of my head...I have been a BJ fan for as long as I can remember, and I first saw him live on the Bridge Tour in July of 1987 at the NEC in Birmingham. Vienna is one of those songs that was never a single, seems modest in its ambition, but somehow worms its way into your psyche.Whilst the song is a...
2024-01-1319 minTherapy For MeRoll with itW/C 1st January 2024It appears that most of the people I know are either with cold, or trying to shake off the lingering remains of it. I also know a fair few who have Covid.I started with it on New Years Eve, that distinctive back of the throat feeling that lets you know something is fast approaching and although it's not forced me off track it has slowed me down a little, and given me plenty of opportunity to feel a bit sorry for myself.Without it of course I probably...
2024-01-0622 minTherapy For MeRest stopW/C 25th December 2023This weeks chunk of TFM does kinda have the feel of that week between Christmas & New Year about it, I have explained it away as being a bit of a hibernation moment but I guess you could say it is about being slightly disconnected from the grid.Apart from the nonsense about weights and measures I have lost touch with the world a bit this week, not even bothering to get myself worked up about the absurdity of a 49-day-car-crash of a PM putting forward an Honours List.Clearly...
2023-12-3019 minTherapy For MeWrapped up in timeW/C 18th December 2023I wonder if TFM is getting a little stale.It is difficult because of the very nature of this podcast to know if it has become stuck in a bit of a rut, and although there is kind of natural progression inherent in it's DNA it was never a story that had a obvious and unfolding dramatic arc.It still works for me, and I still enjoy sitting down for 20-25 minutes every week and capturing whatever I have collided with that week, so I guess I am thinking...
2023-12-2320 minTherapy For MeDo it againW/C 11th December 2023I just love this song, and the fact I am employing it ironically to emphasise the point that we are going to regroup in January to revisit the parliamentary physcho-drama around the Rwanda Bill, shouldn't deter from it's awesome-ness-ness.It's the Beach Boys sounding exactly like what you think of when you think of the Beach Boys. Absolute classic.Stay safe.Do It Again - The Beach BoysChris Bryant Rwanda Bill InterventionApple ButterTherapy For Me (or...
2023-12-1621 minTherapy For MeBad case of loving you (Doctor, Doctor)W/C 4th December 2023So many links to point you toward this week that there is hardly any space for the actual notes themselves, so I thought I would drop them in as little CTAs along the way.Let's start with the majestic Doctor Who and the incredible episode from last Saturday which is called Wild Blue Yonder you can find here if you leave in the UK. On the subject of the 14th incarnation I am rather taken by the new Sonic but I am resisting it for the time being.The...
2023-12-0926 minTherapy For MeChristmas lightsW/C 28th November 2023I think I have sailed past my 200th episode of TFM without even noticing.I found myself thinking last week that I must be getting close to that milestone so I did a quick search on Captivate and it suggested I have published xx episodes as of last Saturday. Now I need to go back and check properly, just in case that total includes non-episode-proper content (trailers, updates, etc) and that I have in fact actually gone past the double century. But if I have, well ruddy hell...
2023-12-0220 minTherapy For MeHip to be squareW/C 20th November 2023I have been dipping into the Doctor Who content that is all over the BBC iPlayer at the moment, including some of the documentary content and odd episodes and curiosities. Firstly there is a ton of stuff and for even the most casual of Who-vians it's a mighty easy way to idle away a few hours.What I still come back to is how good some of those re-boot episodes actually were. I watched The Girl in the Fireplace again and it is an utterly beguiling and thought-provoking piece of drama...
2023-11-2519 minTherapy For MeBlue MondayW/C 13th November 2023 As an accompaniment to some of what I am about to talk about, I thought I would clarify the whole 'how can a person that hasn't been elected possibly be appointed to the cabinet' position. Well, as with most things concerning the governance of the UK it is down to convention. Technically speaking that could have been me getting out of a car in Downing Street this week, traipsing off to be offered the job of Foreign Secretary, because you don't actually have to be a member of either chamber (which...
2023-11-1824 minTherapy For MeLet's make a night to rememberW/C 6th November 2023On a completely unrelated note to anything that is covered in this week's TFM, Jason & I launched the new season of 9-42 this week.The reason I mention that little aside, is that I have been somewhat overwhelmed by the number of people who (after an eight month lay-off) have chosen to listen to the five and a half minute trailer we put out on Thursday.Podcast listening is something that people do religiously, up until the point when that they don't and so when anything breaks the habit...
2023-11-1118 minTherapy For MeHouseW/C 30th October 2023Two things have come together to make the TFM production process a little less fraught this morning. The first is the fact that I decided to run yesterday, so instead of Thursday-Saturday-Sunday which is my normal routine, I have shaken it up a bit and gone with Thursday-Friday-Sunday.The second is the extra hour that I have gotten from being in mainland Spain, and which I am putting to good use. I can't explain the joy of being able to type these notes in a leisurely fashion - even though the...
2023-11-0423 minTherapy For MeSoak up the sunW/C 23rd October 2023The notes. like this weeks episode, are going to have to be quick.Normally, I would explain in writing but as will become clear I really don't have the time - such is the schedule I have to adhere to this morning.Needless to say I will more than likely be updating you as the week goes on, and as is often the case I will stumble across stuff that intrigues, interests to just plain irritates me to the put that I have to tell you about it.
2023-10-2814 minTherapy For MeI will walk on waterW/C 16th October 2023I always loved this song. It's a bit like another lesser know Marillon song called How Can It Hurt that I also really like. No idea why it landed with me the way it did. It just did.Of course I never thought I would be able to neccesarily use it as a TFM episode title, but I hope when you get to the relevant section of this week's episode it all falls into place.Right I am late for a run, and this episode is already 4 minutes overdue...
2023-10-2122 minTherapy For MeOne weekW/C 9th October 2023Well that all changed rather quick. As you listen to this weeks TFM you will find that I recorded a whole section in order to use 'oops, I did it again' as the title for the episode.It turns I have already used that particular pop-banger it back in May 2022, so that left me scrabbling about looking for another title that would chime with one of this week's topics.Anyway the revised title folds neatly into what I was talking about at the end, which was a bit of...
2023-10-1421 minTherapy For MeCan't take my eyes off youW/C 2nd October 2023**Major Spoiler Alert**For this week's TFM I am going to bang on about the Conservative Party ConferenceThe Tories gathered this week in a disused railway terminus in Manchester for their annual get-together, and I was drawn like a moth to the flame. It was a shambles before they arrived, and it just got more shambolic as the week went on.If you want some kind of gauge to the preposterous-ness of the whole affair, the hottest ticket in town was to listen to Liz Truss...
2023-10-0723 minTherapy For MeShe's electricW/C 25th September 2022I think I may have a verruca. I have never (to my knowledge) been afflicted with one, but it appears that I have one now.I can't actually see it, it is in a rather tricky spot to see on my left heel but Mrs S reckons that's what it is and that I probably picked it up on holiday - apparently they take a while to ripen or something.Anyway it has started to hurt when I walk, so I am going to pop along to the pharmacist...
2023-09-3020 minTherapy For MeTrue coloursI hate waking up late.As a rule I don't set an alarm in a morning, because I am fairly good at managing it with my own internal snooze function. Occasionally if the reason is one that is non-negotiable (those pesky planes or trains that don't seem to want to bend their schedules) I will set an alert, but invariably I wake up 45 minutes before it is due to go off, and bizarrely I end up getting less sleep.All I wanted to do today was write these notes, publish this weeks TFM, have a...
2023-09-2321 minTherapy For MeWarm fuzzy feelingW/C 11th September 2023This track is less than two minutes, but its an absolute belter.It's from an album called All The Pain Money Can Buy, and I bought it in the US whilst on honeymoon in 1998 because the hit single from the album was being played everywhere. As it happened I also picked up Stunt by the Barenaked Ladies for the self-same reason that One Week was also being played wall-to-wall.Both albums are interesting because they sound very little like the singles that made them famous, and whilst this was...
2023-09-1618 minTherapy For MeHotel RoomW/C 4th September 2023There is something about the songs of Richard Hawley that make them perfect as an audio signature for a hotel like the Renaissance at St Pancras.So I am going to take the opportunity to bang on about him again, because I think everybody deserves a bit of RH in there lives and if you haven’t discovered him yet then I commend him to you.As it happens he has announced a career retrospective this week entitled Now Then, and though I haven’t seen the track listing it i...
2023-09-0919 minTherapy For MeFlip the switchW/C 28th August 2023I seem to to recall that back when it was released the Jack the Ripper mini-series was much anticipated because it purported to name the identity of the infamous killer.Much was made of the research that had gone into the production, and the access that was granted to official records and documentation not previously disclosed.Of course in the end it played out like the dramatisation that it clearly was, and any effort that has gone into trying to it give it an air of historical gravitas quickly...
2023-09-0219 minTherapy For MeNo surprisesW/C 21st August 2023As it has turns out, I have spent very little time sat in the garden so far this summer.You may recall that it was one of the things I was really looking forward to around April time, that seasonal improvement in the ambient weather conditions that makes sitting outside such a joy.And yet I was looking out at my soggy cushions this morning, trying to think of the last time I ventured outside with a hot beverage.The end of August tends to leave me...
2023-08-2619 minTherapy For MeHome againW/C 14th August 2023For the first time ever I have not been able to find a video clip of the song I have chosen to be the title for this weeks episode.As you know I try to find something with either a title (or content) that is in someway connected, in all or part, to what I am riffing on. In fact the process of landing on the right song often takes longer than capturing the content itself.This week I dropped on the track very quickly, and a nice opportunity...
2023-08-1918 minTherapy For MeClosing timeW/C 7th August 2023Whilst this track is clearly about a bar, the sentiment chimes with something I am reflecting on in this weeks episode of TFM.Wilko has been a high street constant in my life, and because it had an administrative base close to the town where I grew up, then it always felt like a local success story. As a child I spent a lot of time at the Little Theatre in Retford, my Dad was an active member of this voluntary organisation and when (after years of trying) they...
2023-08-1220 minTherapy For MeTake fiveW/C 31st July 2023There's a lot to like about this part of France. Aside from the things I am going to talk about (and lets not beat about the bush some of them are pretty epic) there is the fact that everywhere I turn there is some seriously cool neckwear, and I have fallen head over heels for a house just down the road.Nothing grand, just a simple single storey affair that is very much in the French style. White stucco walls and sky blue shutters standing, in just the right...
2023-08-0520 minTherapy For MeRain in the summertimeW/C 24th July 2023When I first came to St Gilles Croix-de-Vie in 1990 it was like being introduced to a whole different world. It was the first time I had been abroad (save for a school skiing trip) the first time I had stayed on a Eurocamp and the first time on an overnight ferry crossing.The experience of arriving on a campsite to a fully erected tent, with campbeds and a fridge was a revelation after many soggy trips to the East Coast and the mixture of outdoor swimming pools, warm sunshine...
2023-07-2925 minTherapy For MeWalking by myselfW/C 17th July 2023I have been very fortunate in the fact that whilst I was working for my previous employer I got to visit some fairly prestigious events. Which is how I got to see Gary Moore play at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2010.As a technical sponsor of the event Shure would get access to VIP tickets, and as such I got into the cycle of travelling over for a couple of nights every year to host guests and enjoy what is a very unique event.Gary played superbly that night...
2023-07-2228 minTherapy For MeFix youW/C 10th July 2023I am finding it a little bit hard to believe that I haven't used this episode title song before. but it seems not so I am going to deploy it in the context of my washing machine door.I have always had a soft spot for the song itself, but I now cannot hear it without being taken back to that wonderful episode of Gavin & Stacy when the neighbours Pete & Dawn renew their wedding vows and he chooses these lyrics.It is a lovely example of the kind of...
2023-07-1517 minTherapy For MeWe are youngW/C 3rd July 2023There isn't any really definitive reason why or when the 'High School Prom' arrived in the UK. Most of the returns on the first page of a google search (because in reality when does research actually extend beyond that) seem to coalesce around the notion that it was due to their visibility on American TV shows around the turn of the millennium.I can't really disagree with that as a notion, they weren't a thing when I was growing up, so the closest thing I ever did was a...
2023-07-0821 minTherapy For MeSometimes I just have to say your nameW/C 26th June 2023It turns out the capacity of Headingley is a little over 18,000. Probably a statistic you didn't know that you needed in your life, but it may help a little in terms in context as you listen to this weeks compact episode of TFM.In my third year of University I lived but a few hundred yards from where I found myself sitting last Sunday, so I was able to have a pre-match stroll around the urban village of Headingley and reminisce about all the things that aren't there anymore....
2023-07-0115 minTherapy For MeSoak up the sunWe toss around the phrase 'where does the time go' without actually giving it any real thought, but we perhaps should.This week has been such a week. I am struggling to believe that I have a son that has reached sixteen, sat his GCSEs and left High School. But he has, and after a pause to regroup over the summer he will be off on his next adventure.It is also coming up two years since we lost Dan, and something very special he was involved in brought, him right back to the forefront...
2023-06-2417 minTherapy For MeThe EndW/C 12th June 2023That should be it. By all conventional standards we should have seen the back of him. Following a damning verdict from the Privileges Committee, and another week of histrionics and pyschodrama, I am hoping we are not only near the finish line, but actually there.The manner of his exit was totally on-brand, screaming self-pity and blaming everybody but himself. It was as predictable as it was insulting.The hope is that much of what was in the line of fire since 2016 has been bent rather than...
2023-06-1722 minTherapy For MeKiss this thing goodbyeW/C 5th June 2023Somethings just aren't meant to be. It's a brilliant idea, and the kind of thing I would normally be all over - but for whatever reason there is a part of my psyche that built it up into something that it was never intended to be, and in doing so put a great big block in the road that I struggled to get around.The human mind is a funny old contraption, and mine is no more or less unpredictable than the rest. Our ability to make simple things...
2023-06-1020 minTherapy For MeLate in the eveningW/C 29th May 2023It's a simple little thing that has made my day today. I hadn't actually realised it had made my day, until I found myself reflecting on it and chuckling to myself in that way that catches you completely off guard.I am not going to say anymore at this point, and just invite you to share the experience by clicking here.See what I mean, isn't that just the coolest thing ever. I have mentioned his contribution to the insta-gram-averse before but man this is a whole other level...
2023-06-0322 minTherapy For MeFake Plastic TreesW/C 22nd May 2023All roads lead to Leicester today because I am heading off to the UK Marillion Convention, which in essence means two gigs back-to-back at the De Montfort Hall.Although I have been to a number of the UK gatherings this will be the first time I have actually checked into a hotel to stay over, giving me part of the Saturday and all of the Sunday to soak up the atmos and see who I bump into.And of course it allows me the opportunity to run in a...
2023-05-2726 minTherapy For MeElephantW/C 15th May 2022This song packs a real lyrical punch, it's honest and raw, sparse and powerful and I continue to be moved by its power.There are a few elephants in the content of this weeks TFM, so it gave me a perfect opportunity to share it with you. Stay safe.Elephant - Jason IsbellTherapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the...
2023-05-2021 minTherapy For Me24 FramesW/C 8th May 2023The one thing I didn't mention this week was the trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.It's a corker and it did that thing that The Force Awakens did, in that it took me right back to how I felt when I saw the original all those years ago. I think it is something to do with the music, or maybe it's the kind of grainy look of the footage, or maybe it's just the majestic presence that is Harrison Ford.
2023-05-1326 minTherapy For MeKingW/C 1st May 2023I am making Risotto for tea. In fact it is about the last thing I said on this weeks episode of TFM so it must be true. And just to confirm it is definitely for tea, because supper is a cheeky biscuit or two whilst watching the telly and dinner is long since in the past.There is a magic moment when you are making risotto and that is point when you add the wine. First up is the frying of the onion, normally in a knob of butter, and once...
2023-05-0622 minTherapy For MeHangW/C 24th April 2023The Brew Society figures this week so I thought I would let them have the first crack at describing it in their own words...Opening their doors in February 2018, Nino, Danni and Rich created The Brew Society as a collaboration project which was put together to create a relaxing, indie coffee and beer house within Leeds City Centre that serves speciality, high quality drinks.During the day, The Brew Society serves North Star single origin coffee, roasted locally by the North Star team in Leeds. Later in the day...
2023-04-2919 minTherapy For MeAll things must passW/C 17th April 2023In a bit of a rush this morning as Josh & I are trying to make sandwiches, book trains and print off tickets.The reason is we are heading to Wembley to watch the Red and White Wizards (Sheffield United) in the semi-final of the FA Cup.Of course it is a somewhat pointless exercise as we are playing arguably the best team in the world in Manchester City, so we are expecting to get parts of our anatomy handed to us in no uncertain fashion.But supporting...
2023-04-2226 minTherapy For MeCalifornicationW/C 10th April 2023When the Red Hot Chill Peppers sang about the dark side of the California they got it pretty square on the head. Of all the lines in the song the one that has always stuck with me is this one...'Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement'It gets straight to it for me, and it's been buzzing around my head ever since I arrived here. So much to love about this place and yet there will always be something missing. The message...
2023-04-1722 minTherapy For MeTwo steps behind.W/C 3rd April 2023With the very best of intentions, and working to the boundaries of my abilities, some weeks I am just going to be late.And so it is for this easter episode of TFM. The recording went OK and the QC listen proceeded without a hitch. But due to a Saturday morning School Governors commitment - and the need to get a run in before I set off - the actual publishing and note writing didn't get done.All I can do is apologise and promise to be...
2023-04-0820 minTherapy For MeWhen two worlds drift apartW/C 27th March 2022Not a lot to say to tee up this weeks episode, it's slightly different to normal but you will get the gist as we go along.Maybe I am reading far too much into this and maybe this is merely the normal path of transition to a different way of framing the world. I do think the politics of division has a lot to answer for though.The one upside is that TFM came through again for me this week, doing its thing and helping me make sense of...
2023-04-0120 minTherapy For MeHome againW/C 20th March 2023I was trying to work out how unusual it was for the first day of spring to fall in the same week as the clocks changing to British summertime.The answer is of course ‘not that unusual’ and yet in my head those two events always seem to have a more pronounced gap.What doesn’t help is that this year it seems that winter wants to stubbornly cling on for a bit longer, so even though it will be the thick end of 8pm before it gets dark tomorr...
2023-03-2522 minTherapy For MePrecious sightW/C 13th March 2023For many years the stadium announcer at Bramall Lane used to open match-day proceedings by welcoming the crowd to the 'oldest professional football stadium' in the world. As it turns out this isn't entirely true, because although professional football has been played there since 1862, they were already kicking a ball about at Field Mill in Mansfield a few months earlier in 1861.It remains though a very special place though, the only place outside of the Oval to have hosted an FA cup final and the England team for both competitive football...
2023-03-1824 minTherapy For MeThe FixW/C 6th March 2023I probably wouldn't have put Richard Hawley together with Elbow if I am being honest, it's not a collaboration that would have been obvious to me. But I am really, really glad it happened.This song is something special, not only because the it is so interesting musically, or so beautiful lyrically, but because the two of them have a real chemistry and their vocal timbres work so well.If you are new to this song I would suggest you start with the original album track, and then watch...
2023-03-1126 minTherapy For MeYou fill up my sensesW/C 27th February 2022For one week only I am going to go with a lyric, rather than the actual song title for the episode name. The explanation for which comes in two parts;Firstly you have to watch this...MOTD FA Cup Introduction (or in better quality here if you are in the UK)And then you have to read this;The Greasy Chip Butty SongOh and if you missed the game itself you might want to give this a quick glance.#COYRAWW
2023-03-0422 minTherapy For MeVideo gamesW/C 20th February 2022I have been literally dashing around all of this week, so everything feels a bit rushed and not quite thought through. As I type it's 05:53 on Saturday morning and I have a pile of stuff to remember before I jump in the car to head to The Guitar Show for the weekend.Of course I am bound to have forgotten something, but as of now I have organised the U10s football fixtures, packed the podcasting gear, remembered my running kit, started thinking about some questions for Luke (that will make...
2023-02-2521 minTherapy For MeWashing of the waterW/C 13th February 2023I love this song. And I never really imagined how I would get it into an episode title, but fortunately this week something unfortunate happened and here we are.I am a middling Peter Gabriel fan, I don't go al the way back to the beginning because I was never a Genesis fan, but I equally couldn't imagine a musical world without the songs that formed the seminal So & Us albums.If I had to pick just one, I would pick this. Quite simply sublime.Stay safe.
2023-02-1821 minTherapy For MeI just don't know what to do with myselfW/C 6th February 2023I am going to have to use that phrase, that is becoming so well used that is now some form of self-induced irony loop."we use the term legendary or unique far too often these days, but in the case of xxxxx it really is true" Of course I am going to fall into the same trap, and insert the name of Burt Bacharach into that particular sentiment. Not because I am a huge fan particularly, but because when you thinks about his body of work it just doesn't...
2023-02-1123 minTherapy For MeHow long has this been going onFive minutes ago I didn't know this song existed. When I decided on the title song for this week, I was thinking of the Paul Carrack penned track (recorded by Ace in 1974) and it was only when I was searching out a link that I discovered this gem by George & Ira Gershwin.Of course there are multiple versions too choose from, and although I am not a card-carrying Van Morrison fan, I do think this is a cracking arrangement.The song was originally included in the musical Funny Face, but after some jiggery-pokery-publisher-interference it was...
2023-02-0422 minTherapy For MeIt’s all coming back to me now.W/C 23rd January 2023By the time you get 10 minutes into this weeks episode you will realise that I have been fulfilling a bit of an ambition.Of all the things that struck me in those few hours on Tuesday, the one I wasn't expecting was the attitude and approachability of the people that worked there. They were very friendly, and very helpful, and very engaging. I ended up chatting quite a bit (who would have thought it) learning a few snippets of pomp and ceremony along the way.They all had the...
2023-01-2822 minTherapy For MeThe WarW/C 16th January 2022There is a (welcome) return to rantiness this week, and it probably doesn't take a genius to work out what has got my dander up.I happened to listen to the The Counterweight this week, which is a really great Thea Gilmore album from 2017. The War is the final track of the album proper and begins as a lyric in response to the senseless killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, a few miles down the road from where I am sat.It talks to culture war, and social media...
2023-01-2122 minTherapy For MeWe don't talk anymoreW/C 9th January 2022I hadn't even realised it may be birthday week until I started typing the notes. Now you may know that I have a bit of a difficult relationship with the whole idea of my own birthday, but I am fairly relaxed about it as far as TFM is concerned.Of course I can't be 100% sure when the exact date is, and I imagine there will be divided opinion on the matter. Episode 1 was published on the 22nd January 2020, so technically that is the anniversary. But this weeks TFM will...
2023-01-1420 minTherapy For MeIt's my partyW/C 2nd January 2023Imagine waiting for so long, years and years gripping to the greasy pole and then you moment finally arrives and a group of nutters decide to set about pulling down the decorations and bursting all the balloons.There is of course a much bigger point about a political party in chaos, a deluded faction that want to stoke emotions and sow division, and the spectre of elected representatives worshipping a fallen idol, and a false prophet.On the flip side we can have a slice of something 80s-tastic...
2023-01-0721 minTherapy For MeSpending my timeW/C 26th December 2022You will have to indulge me a little this week, for a few reasons but primarily because I am being just a weeny bit self-indulgent. I don't know if it's a hangover of lockdown, or a by-product of working from home in a fairly piecemeal fashion, but I seemed to have got into the habit of consuming quite a lot of content on a daily basis. Of course you know that, because I often reference my new favourite thing on TFM - so it seemed fitting to round out...
2022-12-3126 minTherapy For MeI believe in Father ChristmasW/C 19th December 2022Aside from being the greatest story ever written, A Christmas Carol is written not in Chapters but in Staves.This technique was employed by Dickens because it mimicked the traditional structure of Christmas carols, and as such was a bit of in-joke. He continued to play around with structure with his other Christmas writing, the Cricket on the Hearth was divided into 'chirps' and The Chimes was similarly set in 'quarters'.In honour of that fact I have subdivided this festive edition of TFM into staves, each separated by...
2022-12-2414 minTherapy For MeBaby it's cold outsideOne of the things I happen to bang on about this week is the Christmas Radio Times, a festive perennial as far as TFM is concerned.Now this gets a bit technical, but it concerns the listing dates covered by this epic publication, because this year the first information it carries is the schedules for Christmas Eve - which I found a little odd.In my head I am used to having the schedules for the run-up days, you know what I mean, usually the 19th or 20th onwards. The bit when you are winding...
2022-12-1721 minTherapy For MeShamelessW/C 5th December 2022I never learn.Clearly that isn't strictly true. In a lot of ways I am on a constant journey of discovery, development and hopefully self-improvement. Indeed TFM is part of that process, and the sheer act of assembling this podcast has positive consequences.But in other ways I never learn. Let me explain.I know I have a particular task to complete in early December every year.I also know that any unseasonably warm weather tends to break around the end of November, as the first of the...
2022-12-1021 minTherapy For MeExcitableW/C 28th November 2022I think I am getting a little giddy, a little bit unnecessary you might say.It could have something to do with an early start, a busy day and lots of things to be finishing off before I can get on the road. It could be the start of December, the excitement of the early morning Advent chocolate and the reappearance of the Elves. It could be the lingering bit of head cold I have been manfully trying to push myself through all week.It...
2022-12-0321 minTherapy For MeFits ya goodW/C 21st November 2022I am never quite sure if anybody actually reads these notes, I know that as a rule I don't for any of the podcasts I listen to. And it got me to wondering why I try and think of something creative to put in them every week.So this week I am simply going to ask those of you that have read them to let me know in some way (maybe a DM on instagram would work) and if it turns out its actually a handful of you I could try...
2022-11-2617 minTherapy For MeCover me upW/C 14th November 2022Funnily enough the episode title is not a reference to trying to keep warm , without putting the heating on.It's actually a little nod to the gig I went to last night. I don't know a lot about Jason Isbell and I am only just discovering his catalogue, so I went as a bit of a blank page with no real expectations.First up he is terrific, as are his band, and the show was outstanding. There was a particular moment in this song though that resonated with me...
2022-11-1921 minTherapy For MeCreepW/C 7th November 2022Let's go with a bit of Radiohead this week.I guess the obvious reason for picking them is the fact that Sir Gavin Williamson ('Gavin Gone the Third' as I wrote in my notes as a prompt) dominated the news cycle over last weekend and through the early part of the week. He really does seem a fairly unpleasant character, but then again so does Matt Hancock - a fact that will not be altered by the ingestion of any quantity of jungle-based scrota.And to complete the holy...
2022-11-1222 minTherapy For MeCircular rideW/C 31st October 2022By the time you have listened to this weeks dense, but compact little offering, the choice of title will be self-evident. The challenge however is that for the first time (if memory serves) I can't share a link to the song, because I can't find one.I first heard the song Circular Ride in Manchester on the 30th November in 2007, one of only three times it was played on that tour. In fact I am listening to that very performance as I type, because it was released as part of a...
2022-11-0515 minTherapy For MeComing Around AgainW/C 24th October 2022Most of this weeks content came from two strolls through London, one from Kings Cross to Waterloo in the early afternoon on Tuesday and then the return leg on Wednesday morning. Walking through the capital still retains that wonder for me that it had the very first time I visited as part of a school trip many years ago. Back then it was all about the iconic buildings, and the images that I had only ever seen on the TV. Now it is more about the little things, the...
2022-10-2919 minTherapy For MeAnother one bites the dustW/C 17th October 2022If I hadn't been to Birmingham this week then I wouldn't of thought about Birds Custard. If I hadn't thought about Birds Custard, I would never have discovered that the Birds Custard Factory used to be spread of fifteen acres of land in Digbeth, and that over a 1,000 people used to work there. If I hadn't been researching the Birds Custard Factory, then I wouldn't have found out that it was originally constructed for Sir Alfred Frederick Bird in 1906, and remained there until the company moved to Banbury in 1964
2022-10-2223 minTherapy For MeIn these armsW/C 10th October 2022When I woke up yesterday morning I didn't expect to be settling on this as an episode title.It was Pfizer this year, which means I have now completed the set (along with AstraZeneca & Moderna) of vaccines I have agreed to in an effort to throw a Ready-Break-like protective glow around myself.No particular side effects this time, other than the obligatory stiff arms (I had my flu jab as well) and a very unsettled night in terms of sleep, which is why I am sat with a mug...
2022-10-1518 minTherapy For MeIt's my lifeW/C 3rd October 2022How do you feel when you are part of the Anti-Growth Coalition, and you get to Saturday morning with no idea what you are going say in your weekly podcast. Guilt? A sense of failure? Disgust at the fact that you are letting down podcasters everywhere ( not to mention anti-frackers, remainers, university lecturers, lib-dems, environmentalists and anybody who hasn't bought into this right wing, populist nonsense).But what can you do, how can you make the situation right and restore a sense of balance and perspective.Junior...
2022-10-0829 minTherapy For MeCrashW/C 26th September 2022This week proved that we should never take local radio for granted, and recognise that it isn't some second tier form of journalism. It's just journalism. Damn good journalism.Clearly the PM had no clue what she was walking into to at 8am on Wednesday morning, as she undertook a whistle stop round of local BBC station interviews - the first time she had been heard from in four days.Have a listen at some of the highlights.This is what we have been waiting for, proper...
2022-10-0119 minTherapy For MeIn the wee small hours of the morningW/C 19th September 2022I am going to mention Only Murders in the Building again this week, and it just dawned on me that I should have called out the performance of Steve Martin.The whole cast is great, even the fairly wooden and monotonic Selena Gomez (a performance which shouldn’t work but seems to fit just fine). But the real star for me is SM. In contrast to the rest of the what is going on around him, it’s a fairly understated turn and although there is a lot of sill...
2022-09-2422 minTherapy For MeAlmost unrealW/C 12th September 2022Strange week.As you will hear, I am finding it difficult to process what is going on at the moment. It’s not that I don’t get the tradition and the ceremony, but it just feels so disconnected from whatever passes as the norm.I have probably struggled with this one more than any of the previous episodes of TFM, and I still don’t think I have managed to articulate what I am feeling.If nothing else I remembered to mention Michael Sheen.Stay s...
2022-09-1720 minTherapy For MeMoments in timeW/C 5th September 2022The world changed on Thursday afternoon, in a way that I have experienced only a handful of times.For me the fall of the Berlin Wall, the release of Mandela, the death of Diana and the 9/11 attacks are probably the only things comporable, and even though we were being prepared for this moment it still came as a shock, and everything paused in that moment.As you will hear I don't have a particular view on the Monarchy, but I was always struck by a person that made such...
2022-09-1022 minTherapy For MeAvenues & AlleywaysW/C 29th August 2022Tony Christie recorded an album in 2008 called Made in Sheffield. It was produced by the genius pairing that is Richard Hawley & Colin Elliott and it only features music written by songwriters from Sheffield such as Jarvis Cocker, Alex Turner & Philip Oakey as well as RH & TC themselves.I had read a couple of very positive reviews and decided to give it a try, and what a treat it turned out to be. The production is rich, the delivery faultless and the reworking of the songs inspired.So, think badly...
2022-09-0322 minTherapy For MeGimme ShelterW/C 22nd August 2022Probably the shortest episode I think I have ever recorded, but as I am in Spain and trying to publish via patchy signal over a personal hotspot it is probably just as well.Thursday was one of this rare days when travel went absolutely according to plan, the initial forecast delay for the car journey resolved itself as we were driving, the airport was a breeze, Ryanair behaved like a normal airline and it took less than a minute to collect the rental car keys.We left home at 9...
2022-08-2717 minTherapy For MeKiss the rainW/C 15th August 2022There are umpteen songs with the word ‘rain’ in the title, so making a decision on the episode title this week took a while. Bizarre, because most weeks it’s actually a job to find a song that in some way links to whatever I am blathering about.No Rain by Blind Melon nearly got the nod, Belinda Carlisle could easily have been picked with Summer Rain and you know how much I like The Alarm which makes it very surprising I didn’t go with Rain In The Summertime. But in...
2022-08-2021 minTherapy For MeSummer in the CityW/C 8th August 2022It goes without saying that the original version by The Lovin' Spoonful released in 1966 is fantastic but I have a real soft spot for a far more obscure version of the song.The Gutter Brothers are a band from London who recorded a cover of the song that was used in the Miami Twice episode of Only Fools and Horses, a Christmas Special from 1991. I just love the punky nature of the arrangement and the energy of the guitar riff to open it.In fact I have just found...
2022-08-1328 minTherapy For MeNow I'm HereW/C 1st August 2022It's a bit of an odd episode this week, in no small part due to being away. I did actually manage to disconnect from the world a bit, and as a result immerse myself in the ebb and flow of South Devon.It's been a long time since I was down these parts, so it was a mix of hazy memory and new experience. It's certainly a unique little slice of the English coastline.Stay safe.Now I'm Here - QueenTeign Bean...
2022-08-0622 minTherapy For Me25 YearsW/C 25th July 2022Okay, okay who have a point, this weeks title is a little too 'on the nose'.I have been racking my brain for songs which included either 'silver', 'rain' or 'umbrella' and nothing really landed. 'You got the Silver' by the Stones nearly made it because I love the sound of Keith's voice. But in the end this song by The Big Dish has always been a fave, so that settled the matter.The view out of the window is one of people dismantling awnings, pulling up pegs and...
2022-07-3023 minTherapy For MeIt's the end of the world as we know itW/C 18th July 2022The first Robert Harris book I ever read was actually the first work of fiction he wrote, and that was Fatherland. It's possibly still the best work of fiction he has produced but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give the rest of them a go as well.After Fatherland came Enigma, and then I discovered he had written a book about the Hitler Diaries called Selling Hitler which is absolutely terrific. Equally good was his biography of Bernard Ingham, the much feared Press Secretary under Margaret Thatcher.Come to...
2022-07-2320 minTherapy For MeArmageddon it.W/C 11th July 2022After 3 years of Johnson trying to put a bomb under anything he didn't like the look of (the judiciary, parliament, the constitution, basic human rights, etc, etc) it is quite amusing to see the Tory party content to turn the artillery inwards. And of course, you can rely on a bunch of long haired footie fans from Sheffield to have the perfect musical refrain.I met Joe Elliott (briefly in 1986). He was back in Sheffield to play in a football testimonial for Blades legend Tony Currie, and he was stood a...
2022-07-1622 minTherapy For MeAll cried outW/C 4th July 2022It's been quite the week.Yorkshire Tea bid Tina farewellArmando TweetLord McDonald interview on R4 TodayIncredible Call on James O'Brien LBCAndrew Marr reacts to Sunak Resignation LBCTroy Hawke at WaitroseAndrew Marr with a handy summary of Wednesday 6th JulyB&M have got Jan's backChris Loder & Steve BrayMP Chris Philp skewered by Benny Hill themeAll Cried OutStay safe.
2022-07-0929 minTherapy For MeNo small thingW/C 27th June 2022Of course when I made a note on Monday that I was absolutely going to mention Troy Hawke this week as my new favourite thing, I most definitely felt ahead of the curve.Fast forward to Saturday morning and the purple-quilted, waxed moustached charmer is literally everywhere. So much so that he even popped up on This Morning to chat with Holly & Phil on Wednesday.Oh well, the cutting edge will have to wait for another week.Stay safe.No Small Thing - Tears for...
2022-07-0216 minTherapy For MeLong DayW/C 20th June 2022There is something really therapeutic about marking out football pitches.So when I found myself on a huge expanse of playing field at 5am on Friday morning, ready to measure, mark and line ten mini soccer pitches I wasn't that perturbed at the turn of events.I will admit the first one was a bit of a chore, but that was mostly down to ensuring that the measurements were correct, and that I was going to have enough pitch left to accommodate all of the pitches required....
2022-06-2522 minTherapy For MeArgueW/C 13th June 2022They literally just want everything to be an argument. Throw enough bile and get level-headed people angry and annoyed, and then just label different sides of the debate in an effort to entrench the split.As far as the beleaguered government is concerned wedge week has been a great success, the Rwandan Policy, the NI protocol and as a cherry on the cake the European Courts of Human Rights. All in the news, and all over the Daily Mail. All of them framed as an affront to democracy, all...
2022-06-1822 minTherapy For MeConfidence ManW/C 6th June 2022Another week, another confidence vote.But let's not dwell too much on that, in fact I promise I will get it our of my system early doors (so to speak). Arguably the toxicity around the PM is nothing in comparison to that reserved for those that go 'double brown' as far as socks & sandals are concerned. Or maybe not, we might be in the process of letting all of that slide.And if that doesn't do it for you then maybe a new slice of Star Wars...
2022-06-1120 minTherapy For MeBe here nowW/C 30th May 2022Five days, five different locations and hopefully enough in the audio and the imagery to give you some kind of an insight into my time in Spain.Where I was struggling a bit was in finding a suitable song to link in as a title. In the absence of anything better (or indeed any form of inspiration) the title track from the third Oasis album will have to suffice.Actually I have always liked that album, even if that puts me in a fairly small club.Stay...
2022-06-0426 minTherapy For MeBlue turns to grey.W/C 23rd May 2022I am quite pleased with this as a title.I first heard this song on a documentary about the Stones called 25x5 which was made to coincide with the release of the Steel Wheels album in 1989.It's well worth a watch particularly for the bits when they are working on the arrangement of the song Mixed Emotions in the rehearsal studio.Anyway I remember hearing a snippet of the song in the background, and then discovering that (none other than) Cliff Richard had also covered it.
2022-05-2822 minTherapy For MeRaindrops keep falling on my head.W/C 16th May 2022I didn't know this cover version of the Hal David & Burt Bacharach song existed until literally a couple of minutes ago. I have also been a 'kind-of' fan of the Manics, by which I mean there are a handful of tracks I really like and I am very taken by him as a frontman...but I can't say I am a card-carrying fanThis version was their contribution to the "Help" album, a charity album from 1995 that raised money for the WarChild charity. The recording was the first piece of work...
2022-05-2124 minTherapy For MeOops!...I did it again.W/C 7th February 2022I have been binge-watching the later Terminator movies, and I have no idea why. Before the start of this week I had only ever seen the original and the sequel, both of which I had enjoyed but I can't say I was a card-carrying, T-shirt-wearing kind of a fan.I stumbled across the third instalment, watched that and then for reasons unknown had to track down the rest and watch them over the course of the last week.Intellectually, spiritually & philosophically I can't tell you that they have moved...
2022-05-1421 minTherapy For MeTrap the spark.W/C 2nd May 2022I thought it was time for one of my single-topic episodes this week, because (and you won't be surprised by this) I had a bit to say about the results of the Local Elections.Of course it's all shoot from the hip stuff, so you will need to take it with a bit of a health warning and unsurprisingly its also just a teeny bit biased.Oh well what's the point of having your own podcast if you can't twist unfolding events into a story that brings you a...
2022-05-0724 minTherapy For MeDon't let your chance go by.W/C 25th April 2022Seeing Neil Morrissey yesterday has reminded me how much I used to enjoy a particular episode of Bob the Builder. It was a feature-length episode from 2001 called a Christmas To Remember and it featured (amongst others) Elton John, Chris Evans and Noddy Holder.It became a bit of a Christmas staple long before the kids came along, and tbh has always been appreciated more by me than either of my offspring. So even though Neil was looking a little grumpy when he walked past me yesterday, and certainly not...
2022-04-3023 min