2023 Lists…..
Books 2023
#books
Sequoia Nagamatsu – How High We Go In The Dark
Eckhart Tolle – The Power Of Now
Becky Chambers – The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet / A Closed And Common Orbit / Record Of A Spaceborn Few / The Galaxy And The Ground Within
Alastair Reynolds – Revenger / Shadow Captain / Bone Silence
Martin MacInnes – Infinite Ground
Christopher Wylie – Mindf*ck
N. K. Jemisin – The City We Became / The Fifth Season / The Obelisk Gate / The Stone Sky
Frankie Boyle – Meanwhile
Erin Kelly – Watch Her Fall
Mick Herron – Down Cemetery Road / The Last Voice You Hear / Why We Die / Smoke And Mirrors
Alastair Reynolds – Revelation Space / Redemption Ark / Absolution Gap / Inhibitor Phase
William Gibson – Agency
Phill Brown – Are We Still Rolling?
Aiden Turner – The Price You Pay
Simon Clarke and Will Louch – The Key Man
Caroline Kepnes – You Love Me
Alastair Reynolds – Eversion
Katy Brent – How To Kill Men And Get Away with It
Erin Kelly – The Burning Air
Stephen Donaldson – The Last Dark
Stephen Donaldson – The Great God’s War: Seventh Decimate / The War Within / The Killing God
Dan Millman – Way Of The Peaceful Warrior
Dan Abnett- Horus Rising
Graham McNeill – False Gods
Ben Counter – Galaxy In Flames
Aidan Truhen – Seven Demons
Chris Brookmyre – The Cliff House
Ian McDonald – Hopeland
Mark Greaney – The Grey Man / On Target
M. R. Carey – Infinity Gate
Emily Tesh – Some Desperate Glory
Scott Hawkins – The Library At Mount Char
Christopher Paolini – To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars
Douglas Adams and Terry Jones – Starship Titanic
Kim Stanley Robinson – The Ministry For The Future
M.R. Carey – The Girl With All The Gifts / The Boy On The Bridge
Marlon James – Black Leopard Red Wolf
Michael Mann – Heat 2
Ned Beauman – Venomous Lumpsucker
Mick Herron – Nobody Walks / The List / The Drop / The Catch / Reconstruction / Standing By The Wall
Jo Nesbø – Nemesis
Raymond E. Feist – Magician / Silverthorn / Darkness At Sethanon
Adam Grant – Think Again
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Children Of Memory / The Tyrant Philosophers (City Of Last Chances / House Of Open Wounds)
M.R. Carey – The Book Of Koli / The Trials Of Koli
Albums 2023
#music
The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
Beck, Bogert & Appice – Beck, Bogert & Appice
Crosby, Stills And Nash – CSN
David Crosby – Live At Capitol Theatre
CPR – CPR / Just Like Gravity
Rushil & Abi Sampa – Orchestral Qawwali
Riverside – I.D. Entity
Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark
Donald Fagen – The Nightfly / Kamakiriad
Roots Manuva – Bleeds (Deluxe Version) / Run Come Save Me / Awfully Deep / Slime And Reason / 4everevolution
Paul McCartney – I / II / III
The Beatles – 1
dEUS – How To Replace It
Haken – Fauna
Pigsx7 – Kings Of Cowards / Viscerals / Feed The Rats / Land Of Sleeper / Hot Stuff
Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am The Moon
The Cinematic Orchestra – Every Day
Sun Ra – The Heliocentric World Of Sun Ra / Liquidity / The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra / Space Is The Place
Extreme – Saudades De Rock / 3 Sides To Every Story
The Cinematic Orchestra – Live At The Albert Hall
U2 – Songs Of Surrender
Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets / Everyday / Crash
Johannes Schmoelling – 21 / The Zoo Of Tranquility / Wuivend Reit / Iter Meum
PM Dawn – Of The Heart …. / The Bliss Album
Simon And Garfunkel – The Definitive
Donald Fagen – Morph The Cat / Sunken Condos
Susanne Sundfor – Blómi
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry – The Best Of
Robert Palmer – Some People Can Do What They Like
The Black Crowes – By Your Side / Shake Your Money Maker / Three Snakes and One Charm / Before The Frost …Until The Freeze
Murray Head – Nigel Lives
Sparks – No. 1 In Heaven / The Girls Is Crying Into Her Latte / A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip
Arc Angels – Arc Angels
Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains The Same / How The West Was Won
Dr. John – In The Right Place
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Tears For Fears – Elemental / Raoul And The Kings Of Spain
Neil Young – Harvest / Zuma / Rust Never Sleeps
Anohni and the Johnsons – My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
The Who – Who’s Next
Gary Moore – Corridors of Power / After The War / After Hours / Still Got The Blues / Blues For Greeny / Run For Cover
Cardinal Black – January Came Close
Stereo MC’s – Connected
Scott McKeon – Superjam / Live At Masterlink
Aynsley Lister – Along For The Ride
Rush – A Farewell To Kings (40th Anniversary)
Neal Morse – The Dreamer (Joseph pt.1)
The Beloved – Happiness / X
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F # A # / Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven / Luciferian Towers /Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada / Yanqui U.X.O_/ G_d’s Pee At State’s End
The Orb and David Gilmour – Metallic Spheres In Colour
Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
Trevor Rabin – Rio
The Who – Tommy / Quadraphenia
Herbie Hancock – Man-Child / Secrets / Possibilities
The Chemical Brothers – Surrender / Further / Born In The Echoes / No Geography / Come With Us / We Are The Night / For That Beautiful Feeling
XTC – Apple Venus vol 1 / Wasp Star (Apple Venus vol 2) / Mummer / The Big Express
Big Big Train – Ingenious Devices
Wardruna – Kvitravn / Skald
David Longdon – Door One
Peter Gabriel – i/o
John Scofield – Überjam
Blur – The Ballad Of Darren
Hifi Sean and David McAlmont – Happy Ending
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene 7-13
Films 2023
#Films
Tenet
The Bad Guys
Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage
Spider Man – No Way Home
Sing 2
Alan Partridge – Stratagem
Zappa – Live At The Roxy
20feet From Stardom
The Little Things
Page Eight
Extraction
Siberia (didn’t finish)
Operation Fortune : Ruse De Guerre
Training Day
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Crimson Tide
Inside Man
Mission Impossible 1 to 6
Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard
Made You Look – A Story About Fake Art
Awareness
If These Walls Could Sing
Status Quo – Hello Quo
Extraction 2
Luther: The Fallen Sun
Squaring The Circle (The Story Of Hipgnosis)
TV 2023
#TV
Welcome to Wexham
Andor
Succession S3
The White Lotus
Drive To Survive S5
You S3/4
Jack Ryan S3
Lord Of The Rings – The Rings Of Power S1
Swamp Thing
Battlebots
The Muppets Mayhem
Avenue 5
Our Planet 2
Waco – American Apocalypse
The Diplomat
Cunk On Earth
Tour De France – Unchained
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Sixth Commandment
The Recruit
Kaleidoscope
Earth
Succession S4
Deadloch
Poker Face
Good Omens 2
Picard S2/3
Fisk
Top Boy S3/4/5
The Boys S3
Welcome To Wrexham S2
Big Vape
The Inventor (Theranos Documentary)
D.B. Cooper – Where Are You?
Citadel
Planet Earth 3
Brawn : The Impossible Formula 1 Story
The Big Lists of 2021
Albums…
The Killers – Imploding The Mirage
Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect / Flamingo
The Killers – Sam’s Town / Day & Age / Battle Born / Wonderful Wonderful
Grateful Dead – Live Dead / American Beauty / Live In Europe ‘72
Jean Michel Jarre – Welcome To The Other Side
Steven Wilson – The Future Bites
Grateful Dead – Blues For Allah / Go To Nassau / Long Strange Trip OST / Terrapin Station
Steely Dan – Two Against Nature / Everything Must Go
Sting – Mercury Rising / My Songs / 57th & 9th
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Fireside Sessions
Lifesigns – Altitude
The Anchoress – The Art Of Losing
Douglas Adams – THGTTG
Ryuichi Sakamoto – Ancient Future / async / Casa / Cendre / Flumina / Insen / Perpetual / The Revenant OST / Revep / Summvs / Vrioon
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore – Bohren For Beginners / Sunset Mission
Casualties of Cool – Casualties Of Cool
Monolake – Gravity / Hongkong / Interstate / Cinemascope / Gobi. The Desert
Biosphere – Compilation / Departed Glories / Nordheim Transformed / The Petrified Forest
Marconi Union – Distance
R Beny – Echo’s Verse
Loscil – Equivalents / Sketches From New Brighton
Taylor Deupree – Fallen / Somi
Disasterpeace – FEZ / Hyper Light Drifter
Boom Boom Satellites – Joyride / Out Loud
Brian Eno – Music For Installations / Neroli
Sleep Research Facility – Nostromo
Bongwater – The Power Of Pussy
Sonmi451 – Probes And Prisms / The Quiet EP
Miro – Time Keeper / Boku No Sora
Genesis – Wind & Wuthering / And Then There Were Three / Duke / Abacab / Genesis / Invisible Touch
Daniel Lanois – Heavy Sun
Tangerine Dream – Summer In Nagasaki
Jon Anderson – Of Sunhillow (2021 remaster)
Yes – From A Page
Spiritualised – Laser Guided Melodies
Pink Floyd – Live At Knebworth 1990
Jon Anderson – Animation (2021 remaster)
St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home
Julian Cope – Rite
It Bites – The Tall Ships
Sly And The Family Stone – A Whole New Thing / Dance To The Music / Life / Stand / There’s A Riot Going On
The Future Sound Of London – Music From Calendars
Frost – Day and Age
The Cure – The Head On The Door / Kiss me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Mariusz Duda – Claustrophobic Universe
Mr. Bungle – The Night They Came Home
The Grid/Fripp – Leviathan
John Mayer – Sob Rock
Paul Haslinger – Exit Ghost 2
Mordred – The Dark Parade
Fripp/Summers – I Advance Masked
Prince – Welcome 2 America
Big Big Train – Common Ground
The Cure – Disintegration
King Crimson – The Elements Tour Box 2021
The Kite Experiment – Atmospherics
Richard Barber – Under A Spell
TesseracT – Polaris / Errai / Sonder
David Crosby – For Free / Lighthouse / Sky Trails
The Neal Morse Band – Innocence and Danger
Yes – The Quest
Robben Ford – Pure
Fripp/Summers – Bewitched
Iron Maiden – Senjutsu
Steve Hackett – Surrender Of Silence
Trip The Witch – Trip The Witch
Ulrich Schnauss – Destiny Waiving
Counting Crows – Recovering The Satellites
Vangelis – Juno To Jupiter
Billie Ellish – Happier Than Ever
Foo Fighters – Medicine At Midnight
Ariel Posen – Mile End / Headway
Duran Duran – Future Past
Tori Amos – Ocean To Ocean
Tom Bukovac – Plexi Soul
Jon Hopkins – Immunity / Music For Psychedelic Therapy
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raise The Roof
Gojira – Magma / Fortitude
Books
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Cage Of Souls
Misha Glenny – McMafia
John Le Carre – Agent Running In The Field
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Dogs Of War / Bear Head / The Tiger And The Wolf / The Bear And The Serpent / The Hyena And The Hawk
Cixin Liu – The Wandering Earth
Christopher Fowler – Full Dark House
Greg Egan – Diaspora
Blake Crouch – Abandon
Hannah Fry – Hello World
Jasper FForde – The Constant Rabbit
Al Robertson – Crashing Heaven
Jasper FForde – The Big Over Easy / The Fourth Bear
Yan Ge – Strange Beasts Of China
Susanna Clarke – Piranesi
David Baldacci – Hour Game
Christopher Shevlin – The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax / Jonathon Fairfax Must Be Destroyed / The Spy Who Came In From The Bin
Emily St. John Mandel – The Glass Hotel / Last Night In Montreal
Matt Haig – Notes On A Nervous Planet
Chris Beckett – America City
Yuval Harari – 21 Lessons For The 21st Century
Simon Winstanley – Rez Point
Peter May – The Blackhouse / The Lewis Man
Marco Kloos – Aftershocks / Ballistic / Citadel
Emily St. John Mandel – Station Eleven
Chris Power – A Lonely Man
James Clavell – Shōgun
Sue Burke – Semiosis / Interference
Ted Chiang – Exhalation
Jo Nesbo – The Snowman / The Bat
Emma Haughton – The Dark
Terry Pratchett – Hogfather
Adrian Tchaikovsky- :The Doors Of Eden::
Alex Pheby – Mordew
TV
Ozark S3
Tales From The Loop
The Last Dance
Formula 1 – Drive To Survive
The Queen’s Gambit
The Punisher S2
A Perfect Planet
Call My Agent S1
Long Strange Trip
Collateral
Snowpiercer S1
The Mandalorian S2
Brooklyn Nine Nine S6
Spiral S4
Behind Her Eyes
White House Farm
The Serpent
WU Assassins
The Shield
Murder Among The Mormons
Crime Scene – The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel
Bones S9
Justified S1/2/3
This Is A Robbery
Justified S4
Unforgotten S1/2/3/4
For All Mankind S1/2
Lucifer
Good Girls S2
Clarkson’s Farm
This Is Pop
Good Girls S3
Heist
Loki
Jupiter’s Legacy
Untold
The Gone Wrong Show S2
Cocaine Cowboys
Bosch S6
Elementary S6
Turning Point – 9/11 And The War On Terror
Clickbait
Bad Sport
Bosch S7
Money Heist S3/4
American Gods S3
Squid Game
You Are Wanted S2
Lupin
Start Up S1/2/3
Challenger – The Final Flight
The Mind Of Adam Hernandez
The Outsiders
Get Back
McCartney 321
Films
Soul
One Man And His Shoes
Capital In The Twenty First Century
Sneakers
All The President’s Men
The College Admissions Scandal
The Art Of Listening
Twenty Feet From Stardom
Hired Gun
Can’t Stand Losing You
Shazam
The Mauritanian
The Dissident
Argo
The Pedal Movie
Zappa
Arena – The Myths and Mysterious Tapes of Delia Darbyshire
Lego Movie 2
Deadpool
The Trail of the Chicago 7
The Baker
Count Me In
Black Panther
Seaspiracy
The Other One – The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir
Zero Dark Thirty
Schumacher
Summer Of Soul
Prospect
Once Were Brothers – Robbie Robertson and The Band
Joker
Four Hours At The Capital
Elstree 1976
Monsters Of Man
Red Notice
Shang-Chin and The Legend of The Ten Rings
Snatch
Boss Level
The Expendables
14 Peaks
Don’t Look Up
Albums 2020
Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs / The Brothel
Plant And Page – Walking Into Clarksdale
Weather Report – Heavy Weather
Susanne Sundfør – The Silicone Veil
Battles – Juice B Crypts
Steve Hillage – Motivation Radio / Rainbow Dome Musick / Düsseldorf / Open / Live Herald
Tangerine Dream – Recurring Dreams
Little Feat – Waiting For Columbus
Lana Del Rey – Lust For Life / Norman Fucking Rockwell
Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka
Nerina Pallot – The Sound And The Fury / Fires
Michael Landau – Rock Bottom
Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon / Ultraviolence
Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?
Tears For Fears – The Seeds Of Love
Leftfield – Rhythm And Stealth
Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again / Love & Hate
Jenny Hval – The Practice Of Love
Tangerine Dream – Firestarter
NIN – Ghosts V&VI
Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions – Anthology 1961-77
Silas Neptune – Scales Of Tahuti
The Orb – Orbus Terrarum / Orblivion / Aubrey Mixes / Blue Room
Björk – Debut / Post / Homogenic / Vespertine
EOB – Earth
Pearl Jam – Gigaton
Philip Sayce – Spirit Rising
Katatonia – City Burials
The Orb – Abolition Of The Royal Familia
Scott Henderson – People Mover
Koch Marshall Trio – Toby Arrives
Greg Koch – Strats Got Your Tongue / Unrepentant
Bill Withers – Live At Carnegie Hall
Umphrey’s McGee – Anchor Drops (remix) / It’s Not Us
Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac / Tusk / Mirage / Tango In The Night
Lindsey Buckingham – Solo Anthology
Toy Matinee – Toy Matinee
Scott Henderson – Tore Down House
John Martyn – Grace And Danger / One World / Sunday’s Child / Bless The Weather / Glorious Fool
Caravan – Waterloo Lily
Hatfield and The North – Hatfield and The North / The Rotters’ Club
Cardiacs – Heaven Born and Ever Bright
GoGo Penguin – GoGo Penguin
Transit Kings – Living In A Giant Candle Winking At God
The Physics House Band – Metropolis
Nick D’Virgilio – Invisible
Simple Minds – Sons And Fascination – Sister Feelings Call / New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) / Sparkle In The Rain / Once Upon A Time / Street Fighting Years / Empire And Dance
John G. Perry – Sunset Wading
Arvo Part – Tabla Rasa
Heat – Original OST
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Live At Womad 1985
Santana – Amigos
Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home / Highway 61 Revisited / Blonde On Blonde
Haken – Virus
Rick Wakeman – The Red Planet
Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks
All Saints – All Saints
The Pineapple Thief – Versions Of The Truth
King Crimson – Tour Box 2020
Michael Landau – Liquid Quartet Live
Neal Morse – Sola Gratia
The Future Sound Of London – Cascade 2020
The Michael Landau Group – Organic Instrumentals
Gazpacho – Fireworker
Everything Everything – Re-Animator
Kirk Fletcher – My Blues Pathway
Prince – Sign Of The Times (Remastered)
Fish – Weltschmerz
Neal Morse – Testimony 1
System 7 – Field Of Dreams / Golden Section
Neal Morse – Jesus Christ The Exorcist
Tin Machine – Tin Machine / Tin Machine 2
Jakko Jakszyk – Secrets & Lies
John Mayer – Born And Raised
Wobbler – Dwellers Of The Deep
John Mayer – Battle Studies
Opeth – In Cauda Venenum
Mansun – Six
Opeth – Ghost Reveries / Blackwater Park
Tangerine Dream – Hyperborea / White Eagle / Tangram (2020 remasters) / The Sessions III
Neuland – Neuland
Wobbler – Rites At Dawn / Afterglow / From Silence To Somewhere / Hinterland
Vennart – In The Dead, Dead Wood
Lunatic Soul – Through Shaded Woods
Max Richter – Voices
Sanguine Hum – A Trace Of Memory
Kino – Radio Voltaire
Lonely Robot – Under Stars / Feelings Are Good
Jon Anderson – Song of Seven remastered
Busdriver – Perfect Hair
Ozric Tentacles – Space For The Earth
The Police – Every Move You Make (Complete Studio Recordings)
Sigur Rós – Odin’s Raven Magic
John Murphy and Underworld – Sunshine (OST)
Marina Semkina – Sleepwalking
The Amorphous Androgynous and Peter Hamill – We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal
Underworld – Drift Series 1
Films 2020
Get Me Roger Stone
This Is Pop – XTC documentary
Ad Astra
ZZ Top – That Little Ol’ Band From Texas
Spencer Confidential
Star Wars – Rise Of The Skywalker
Pacific Rim – Uprising
Altered Carbon – Resleeved
Fantastic Four
Annihilation
In The Shadow Of The Moon
Overdrive
Midnight Run
Spotlight
The Blues Brothers
The Irishman
Ocean’s 8
Good Night And Good Luck
Contagion
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Righteous Kill
Analyse This
Body Of Lies
The Godfather
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Spy Game
The Gentlemen
Dark Side Of The Sun
Taxi
The Man From UNCLE
American Murder – The Family Next Door
The Social Dilemma
Uncut Gems
The Old Guard
The Dark Tower
Fireball
Deep Web
Books 2020
Neil Peart – Ghost Rider
Tim Maughan – Infinite Detail
Reece Hirsch – Black Nowhere
Mark Manson – The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck
Ben Aaronovitch – Rivers Of London / Moon Over Soho / Whispers Under Ground / Broken Homes / Foxglove Summer / The Hanging Tree / Lies Sleeping
Nick Jones – The Whisper Of Stars
Älexander McCall Smith – The Department Of Sensitive Crimes
Keigo Higashino – Journey Under The Midnight Sun
S.A. Lelchuk – Save Me From Dangerous Men
China Mieville – Perdido Street Station
John M. Harrison – Light
John Higgs – Stranger Than We Can Imagine (Making Sense Of The Twentieth Century)
Marina J Lostetter – Noumenon / Noumenon Infinity
Terry Pratchett – Carpe Jugulum
Stewart Lee – March Of The Lemmings
Jim Al-Khalili – Sunfall
Jeanette Ng – Under The Pendulum Sun
John Highs – The Future Starts Here (Adventures In The Twenty First Century)
Greg Bear – Eon
William Hunter – Sanction
Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall
Dave Hutchinson – The Return Of The Incredible Exploding Man
Dave Hutchinson – Europe In Autumn / Europe At Midnight / Europe In Winter / Europe At Dawn
David Byrne – How Music Works
Jasper Fforde – Shades Of Grey
Philip Pullman – A Book Of Dust 1 (La Belle Sauvage)
Ben Aaronovitch – Face Value
Reece Hirsch – Dark Tomorrow
Peter F Hamilton – Salvation / Salvation Lost
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Children Of Ruin
Caroline Kepnes – You / Hidden Bodies
Temi Oh – Do You Dream Of Terra-Two?
Brandon Sanderson – Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Brandon Sanderson – The Alloy Of Law / Shadows Of Self / Bands Of Mourning
Terry Pratchett – Jingo / Monstrous Regiment
Rob Hart – The Warehouse
Caroline Kepnes – Providence
Joe Abercrombie – A Little Hatred / The Trouble With Peace
TV 2020
How To Get Away With Murder S1
Killing Eve S1
The Art Of Drumming
You, Me and The Apocalypse
::Succession S1/2::
Killing Eve S2
Line Of Duty S5
Years And Years
This Country S3
The Detectorists S3
Hidden S1
Picard S1
Halt And Catch Fire S4
Mr. Robot S4 pt.1
Altered Carbon S2
The Mandalorian S1
Tiger King
DEVS
Vienna Blood S1
Don’t Fuck With Cats
Money Heist S3
Dracula
Modern Family S4
Sons Of Anarchy S1,2
Staged
Treadstone
The Salisbury Poisonings
McMafia
Dirty Money S2
The Expanse S3
Stranger Things 3
The Stranger
When They See Us
Norsemen S3
Hunters
Filthy Rich
The Gift
The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty
Once Upon A Time In Iraq
China – A New World Order
Chernobyl
The Night Of
Gangs Of London S1
Always Sunny In Philadelphia S1
Watchmen
The Backlist S1
Mid Morning Matters S2
The Trip To Spain
The Trip To Greece
The Expanse S4
The Witcher S1
The Night Manager
The Boys S2
Better Call Saul S4
You S2
Cobra Kai S1/2
Utopia (original) S1/2
Utopia (remake)
I May Destroy You
The West Wing S1/2/3/4/5
The Gone Wrong Show
Jessica Jones S3
Criminal: UK
Mr. Robot S4 pt.2
Fear City – New York vs The Mafia
Narcos – Mexico
The Prolectronig Event
As the stars conspired to assure we couldn’t meat in person, we once again vegetabled in the virtual Zoom world.
To wit (to woo) the chosen choices that were chosen as choices were as follow my leader la de da…..
- UT – Centrozoon ‘ Blast’
- MP – Jean Michel Jarre ‘Electronica pt.2’
- FS – Hybrid ‘We Are Fearless’
- PC – Micheal Hoenig ‘Departures From The Northern Wasteland’
Covering a few bases with the base coverings, leanings of a European nature.
Enjoyment, things that went ‘woing’, wibbly bits and spacey shimmers of gloriousness.
PNXIiii – More Short Ones
Like all good Prog PNXI had multiple parts numbered i,ii and iii. Again existing in the ‘new normal’ of the virtual realm, the fun and frivolities started nice and early with Flat Sky’s ground (and system) breaking forays into Voice Changing Software. The Bernard Bresslaw voice was frankly perfect!
Fezzing time produced a crazy statistic – UT first out of the Fez Of Choosing for all three parts of PNXI and I’ve just been informed that that has never happened before! Truly the SCPC mission to boldly go continues apace even under ‘lockdown conditions’.
So here we are then –
UT – Jean Michel Jarre ‘Zoolook’
PC – Kraftwerk ‘Radioactivity’
FS – Nektar ‘ A Tab In The Ocean’
Since it was the final part of PNXI and weirdly all the albums chosen were ‘short’ (38 minutes being the rather surprising norm) we had room for one more……
FS – The Future Sound Of London ‘Cascade’
I’ve gotta say the headphone experience really came into its own this time round as the electronic nature of most of the choices led to some gloriously huge vastnesses and spaced out noises.
Suffice to say it was brought to the table – the bar continues to be raised – long may it continue!
Until next time……..
PNXIii – The Short Ones
It would seem that strange times call for things to get outside of normal (whatever that is). In keeping with this there came to be a second virtual meeting of the SCPC, numbers were reduced due to dimensional instability but the important thing is that it occurred, which concurred with its occurrence. Natch.
3 names went into the Fez Of Choosing and when they appeared they delivered the following….
UT – Everything Everything ‘Arc’
FS – Blackfield ‘Welcome To My DNA’
PC – Kevin Ayers ‘Whatevershebringswesing’
Points to note – UT utterly failed in the pizza department, Flat Sky had all the recorders in the room (small, bigger, biggest) and Cheersie’s kazoo playing needs work.
Without consulting the archive I’d say that none of artists have appeared at a PN before which is nice. The left field doozy provided by Pete Cheers featured some back door Mike as well as some farmyard style instrument abuse of high quality. At some point he’s gonna run out of these hidden gems but so far he keeps them coming!
Also none of the albums were overly long, the longest under 50 minutes and the other two easily fitting on one side of a c90. Is there room for a discussion of quality over quantity?
There has been a part one and a part two to this PNXI, one wonders what will follow next……….
PNXI – The One In The Box
Or was it in the clouds?
Either way in the midst of a country wide lockdown a gathering was had thanks to the wonders of the steam age.
Dressing gowns were worn, Nepalese cultural appropriation occuranced, Cheersie got the wine in and UT made like a kipper, Flat hosted with the mosted and Popey had pudding.
Basses were covered and no left turn unstoned.
Due to the constraints and time factors etc. there was a one album limit imposed ……how can you only choose one album? But one album each we did choose and the order of play was dictated by none other than the Fez Of Choosing. We may have been under lockdown and in less than optimal conditions but we still got the Fez out.
UT – Rush ‘A Show Of Hands’
MP – Jethro Tull ‘Broadsword And The Beast’
FS – Yes ‘Talk’
PC – Rick Wakeman ‘The Six Wives Of Henry VIII’
After that we called time and retired to our beds….
Points to note – quite a ‘modern selection’, Rick being the only ‘classic’ prog on show, and what a show he put on. There’s some proper wig outs on that album that demand further listenings.
Trevor Rabin makes some of the best noises know to man.
Broadsword has some of everything on it.
R.I.P. NP
TV 2019
Pine Gap
You
Deadwind
Luther S5
Hinterland
Bones S8
Seven Seconds
The Innocent Man
Travellers S3
Secret City S1
Power S1
Crimson Guitars – Bob build / 9 hour build
This Time With Alan Partridge
Rick Beato – Why This Song Is Great
The Umbrella Academy
Line Of Duty S3
iZombie S4
Lucifer S4
Bosch S5
Good Omens
American Gods S2
Justified S1
Stitchers S1/2/3
What/If
The Looming Tower
Chasing The Moon
Soundbreaking
Homeland S7
Game Of Thrones S8
Elementary S6
The Boys
Orange Is The New Black S6
Line Of Duty S4
Bojack Horseman S5
The Good Plan S3
Brooklyn 99
Seven Worlds One Planet
Mr. Robot S3
Carnival Row S1
Jack Ryan S2
Hanna
Secret City S2
Mindhunter S2
Star Trek Discovery S2
Unit 42 S1
A Very Secret Service S1
The Bridge S4
Giri/Haji
Films 2019
Birdbox
The Great Wall
Assassin’s Creed
The Cloverfield Paradox
Fyre
Ant Man and Wasp
Mission Impossible – Fallout
Ready Player One
The Incredibles 2
13 Assassins
What We Do In The Shadows
Sicario
Swordfish
The Great Hack
Captain Marvel
Avengers Endgame
Men In Black 2
Men In Black International
Brightburn
Aquaman
Pink Floyd – Live at Pompeii (Director’s Cut)
Gone Baby Gone
The Guard
Into The Spiderverse
Exit through the gift shop
Fahrenheit 11/9
Eric Clapton – Life In 12 bars
Sicario 2
Spider-Man – Far From Home
Venom
The Lego Ninjago Movie
Daniel Lanois Here Is What Is
U2 From The Sky Down
Books 2019
William Gibson – Zero History
Gregory David Roberts – Shantaram
Paolo Bacigalupi – The Doubt Factory / The Water Knife
Robert V.S. Redick – Master Assassins 1
Neal Stephenson – DODO
Hannu Rajaniemi – Summerland
Sheelah Kolhatkar – Black Edge
Barry Eisler – A Clean Kill In Tokyo
Paolo Bacigalupi / Tobias S. Buckell – The Tangled Lands
Matthew Stover – Heroes Die (Caine book 1)
The Blade Of Tyshalle (Caine book 2)
Richard Morgan – Thin Air
Alastair Reynolds – Permafrost
::*Nick Harkaway – Gnomon*::
Annalee Newitz – Autonomous
Nick Harkaway – Angelmaker / Tigerman
Matthew Walker – Why We Sleep
Tom Trott – You Can’t Make Old Friends
Alex White – A Big Ship at The Edge Of The Universe
Chris Beckett – Eden’s Story
Andy Summers – One Train Later
Steve Hogarth – The Invisible Man vol. 1 / vol. 2
Beth Lewis – The Wolf Road
Chris Brookmyre – Places In The Darkness
Graham Edwards – String City (didn’t finish)
Kim Stanley Robinson – Aurora
Terry Pratchett – Maskerade
Chris Brookmyre – Fallen Angel / Want You Gone
Ambrose Parry (C Brookmyre) – The Way Of All Flesh
Jasper Fforde – Early Riser
Keigo Higashino – Malice / Newcomer
Chris Brookmyre – Where The Bodies Are Buried / When The Devil Drives / Flesh Wounds
Charlie N Holmberg – The Paper Magician
Jan Stocklassa – The Man Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson’s Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin)
Terry Pratchett – Soul Music / Interesting Times / Thief Of Time
Haruki Murakami – Hard-boiled Wonderland & The End of the World
Michio Kaku – Parallel Worlds
Terry Pratchett – Reaper Man
Patricia Cornwell – Quantum
Peter Watts – Echopraxia
Alex White – A Bad Deal For The Whole Galaxy
Albums 2019
Massive Attack – Ritual Spirit / The Spoils
Klaus Schulze – Kontinuum
Robert Palmer – Pressure Drop
Tangerine Dream – What A Blast / Miracle Mile / The Sessions 1 / Particles
JMJ – Equinoxe Infinity
Pink Floyd – Meddle / Dark Side Of The Moon / Wish You Were Here / Animals / The Wall / A Momentary Lapse Of Reason – Remasters
Vangelis – Nocturne
Trio Of Doom – Trio Of Doom
Ed Wynne – Shimmer Into Nature
Tangerine Dream – Ocean Waves Collection
Chick Corea – Light As A Feather / Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy / Where Have I Known You Before / No Mystery / My Spanish Heart
Seal – Commitment
Nodens Ictus – Spacelines / Cozmic Key
Ultramarine – Signals Into Space
Carlos Santana / Mahavishnu John McLaughlin – Love Devotion Surrender
Mahavishnu Orchestra – Inner Worlds / Visions Of The Emerald Beyond
Dream Theater – Distance Over Time
Spoon – Telephono / A Series Of Sneaks / Girls Can Tell / Kill The Moonlight / Gimme Fiction / Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga / Transference / They Want My Soul / Hot Thoughts
Yann Tiersen – ALL
Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage
Klaus Schulze – Timbres Of Ice
The Japanese House – Good At Falling
Tim Bowness – Flowers At The Scene / Postcards From The Scene
Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Lost Trident Sessions
Miles Davis – Agharta / Dark Magus / Pangaea
Billy Cobham – A Funky Thide Of Sings
Isildurs Bane & Steve Hogarth – Colours Not Found In Nature
Shakti – John McLaughlin and Shakti Live
Rustin Man – Drift Code / Out Of Season
Neal Morse Band – The Great Adventure
The Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe
The Mute Gods – Atheists And Believers
Tom Morello – The Atlas Underground
The Japanese House – Clean
Steely Dan – Katy Lied / Pretzel Logic / The Royal Scam / Countdown To Ecstasy / Gaucho
Genesis – A Trick Of The Tail
Toto – IV
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Live / Signs
Jon Anderson – 1000 Hands / In The City Of Angels
Peter Gabriel – Rated PG
The Little Unsaid – Fisher King
Jakko M Jakszyk – The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
Adrian Belew – Pop Sided
North Atlantic Oscillation – Grind Show
Centrozoon – Blast / The Cult Of Bibbiboo
Patrick Moraz – The Story Of I
SAND – SAND
Prince – The Gold Experience
Tangerine Dream – Springtime At Nagasaki / Sessions vol 2
Trevor Horn – Reimagines The 80’s
Prince – The Hits / B-sides
Kerry Burrell – Midnight Blue
Doyle Bramhall 2 – Jellycream
Gong – The Universe Also Collapses
Big Big Train – Grand Tour
Dodgy – The Dodgy Album
The Little Unsaid – Atomise / Imagined Hymns and Chaingang Mantras
The Reluctant Rocker – Collider
Caravan – Live 1990
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator / Let Me Get By / Made Up Mind
Siouxsie And The Banshees – Juju / A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
Pierre Moerlen’s Gong – Downwind
The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love
Tangerine Dream – The Bootleg Series vol 3
Philip Glass – The Essential Philip Glass / Koyanisquatsi
Gong – Camembert Electrique / 2032
King Crimson – The Elements Tour Box 2019
George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged
Tangerine Dream – Oedipus Tyrannus
Andy Summers – Tribioluminescence / The Last Dance Of Mr. X / Earth + Sky / Synaesthesia / Metal Dog
The Raconteurs – Helps Us Stranger
John Mayall with Eric Clapton – Blues Breakers
John Mayer – Continuum
Sting – Nothing Like The Sun / The Souls Cages
Khruangbin – Hasta El Cielo
Brian Eno – Apollo deluxe
Frankie Hies To Hollywood – Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Iamthemorning – The Bell
Queensrÿche – Hear In The Now Frontier
DarWin – Origin Of Species
Queensrÿche – The Verdict
Dire Straits – Alchemy / Comminuque / Making Movies / Brothers In Arms / On Every Street / Dire Straits
Rush – Rush / Fly By Night
Mark Knopfler – Local Hero
Black Dub – Black Dub
Elbow – Giants Of All Sizes
GoGo Penguin – Ocean In A Drop
Mike Patton – Corpse Flower
System 7 – Up / Power Of Seven / Café Seven / Point 3 Water Album
Tool – Fear Inoculum
Flying Colors – Third Degree
Marillion – With Friends From The Orchestra
Patrick Watson – Wave
Marillion – Afraid Of Sunlight (Deluxe Edition)
Mark Lettieri – Things Of That Nature
The Bad Plus – Activate Infinity
Bruce Soord – All This Will Be Yours
B.B. King – Live At The Regal
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
Zoe – Scarlet Red and Blue
Santana – Supernatural
No-Man – Love You To Bits
Humble Pie – Eat It
Daniel Lanois – Goodbye To Language
The Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon
Daniel Lanois – Belladonna / Here Is What Is
Pink Floyd – The Later Years
Patrick Moraz & Syrinx – Coexistence
Fripp and Eno – Beyond Even
PNX
The Tenth Prog Night…..
they said it would never happen, they said it should never happen…..
but it did.
The Pre-PNX warm up session
- King Crimson – Meltdown (Live In Mexico City
PNX
- The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love (PC)
- Jean Michel Jarre – Equinoxe Infinity (PC)
- Jon Anderson – 1000 Hands (UT)
- Ozric Tentacles – Pungent Effulgent (FS)
- Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring (UT)
- Riverside – Wasteland (FS)
- Marillion – Marbles (UT)
- Yes – Going For The One (UT)
- Steve Hillage – Green (FS)
- Pierre Moerlen’s Gong – Downwind (PC)
- Opeth – Pale Communion (FS)
- Tangerine Dream – Quantum Gate (PC)
The Post PNX viewing session
- Caravan – Access All Areas (1991 concert)
- Marillion – The Final Straw (making CAS documentary)
- Tangerine Dream – Revolution In Sound (TD doc.)
- ARW – Live At The Apollo
- Peter Gabriel – Back To Front
Thoughts And Reflectionisms
Themes that weren’t themes but actually were themes if you ignored one of the choices.
Peter Cheers’s Left Field Doozy with the hidden smuggle that came with a smuggle.
There’s two pairs, but you can’t tell what they are because only one of each pair has come out so far.
I don’t want my come face in the cloud.
How do you follow that? Oh, with that!
Hmmmmm, I’ll have the Merlot.
Blue T-shirts, with God inscribed in heaven on both sides.
Lots of interconnected oneness flying about, talking about things that would magically appear from the Fez Of Choosing later on in the evening.
Lots of groovy grooves that grooved.
Plenty of Artists that have never appeared in the Fez before alongside some cornerstones of SCPC.
Jon.
Where did Cheers get The Decemberists from?
Flat Sky’s data factualisma.
The increasing ritualisation of Prog Night (I’m looking at you light bulb).
Throw in some roasted veg, pizzas, enough cups of tea to ensure regular trips to the bladderterium, alcohol free beer and the mystery wrap of mouth engunkmentage and you have a beautiful weekend spent enjoying the very best of klang (we learnt the German word sound) and company.
Snetterton is just wiping down the furnishings and I’m very much looking forward to the next one (we keep raising this bar you know) and it goes without saying that the audience were knowledgeable and appreciative.
Well I think we can safely say that that is perfection.
TV 2018
Travellers S2
Dirk Gently S2
Black Mirror S4
That Pedal Show (you tube)
Orange Is The New Black S1,2,3,4,5
The End Of The F*ing World
Altered Carbon S1
Toast Of London
Hard Sun
Star Trek Discovery S1
The Good Place S2
Requiem
Limitless S1
Dark
Bloodline S1,2 (didn’t finish)
Hap and Leonard S1
Homeland S6
Dope S1
Fargo S3
The City and The City
Jessica Jones S2
Lost In Space S1
Fastest Car
Happy
Lucifer S3
The Bridge S1,2,3
That Pedal Show (lots of)
El Misterio Del Tiempo
The Vietnam War
Good Girls S1
Into The Badlands S1,2,3
Reporting Trump’s First Year – The Fourth Estate
The Rain
Santa Clarita Diet S2
Zoo
The Pyramid Code
The Forest
Evil Genius
Bosch S4
Spiral S1,2,3
This Country S1,2
Luke Cage S2
Iron Fist S2
Norsemen S2
Jack Ryan S1
The New Legends Of Monkey
Salvation S1,2
Drug Lords
Ozark S2
The Sinner S1
Daredevil S3
Films 2018
Thor Ragnarok
Valerian and the 1000 planets
The Jungle Book
Icarus
Star Wars – The Force Awakens / The Last Jedi
Mute
This Might Get Loud
Sample This
Kingsmen – The Golden Circle
The Death Of Stalin
Deadpool 2
Black Panther
Avengers – Infinity War
The Sugar Film
American Psycho
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Extinction
Django Unchained
Logan
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version)
The Beyond
Star Trek – Into Darkness
Interstellar
Freefire
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jack Reacher – Never Go Back
Books 2018
Blake Crouch – The Wayward Pines book 1,2,3
Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon – Preacher Book One
Neil Gaiman – Sandman Overture
Umberto Eco – The Prague Cemetery
James Burke – The Knowledge Web
Tom Toner – The Promise Of The Child (Amaranthine Spectrum 1)
Aliette De Bodard – The House Of Shattered Wings
Eoin Colfer – And another thing
Douglas Adams – H2G2
Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens / Homo Deus
Matthew Mather – Cyber storm
Ernest Cline – Armada
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Ironclads
Carl Sagan – The Dragons Of Eden
David Eagleman – The Brain
Raoul Martinez – Creating Freedom
Hugh Howey – Beacon 23
V.E. Schwann – Vicious
Gene Riehl – Quantico Rules
Genevieve Cogman – The Invisible Library (1)
Stephen Donaldson – The King’s Justice
Jeff Noon – A Man Of Shadows
Pete F Hamilton – The Abyss Beyond Dreams / The Night without Stars
Andrew Cherascu – The Vintages / Ayers
Various – 2054
Terry Pratchett – Lords and Ladies / Thief Of Time / The Fifth Elephant
Adam Spencer’s Book Of Numbers
John Guy Collick – Thumb
Andrez Bergen – Who Is Killing The Great Capes Of Heropa?
Ian Sample – Massive (the hunt for the Higgs boson)
Graham Hancock – Magicians Of The Gods
John Higgs – The KLF
David Lagercrantz – The Girl In The Spider’s Web / The Girl That Takes An Eye For An Eye
Simon Winstanley – Boundary (field book 3)
EVA (field book 4)
Phillip Ball – Invisible
Ivy Pochoda – Wonder Valley
Andy Weir – Artemis
Alan Partridge – Nomad
Terry Pratchett – Thud / Unseen Academicals / Snuff / Raising Steam
Keigo Higashino – The Devotion Of Suspect X / Salvation Of A Saint / A Midsummers Equation
William Gibson – Pattern Recognition / Spook Country
Albums 2018
Led Zeppelin – 3 / In Through The Out Door (deluxe editions)
Alex Somers and Sigur Ros – Black Mirror (music from the TV series)
NERD – No One Ever Really Dies
Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno – Finding Shore
Lifesigns – Cardington
Ty Tabor – Alien Beans
Klaus Schulze – Eternal 70th birthday edition
Klaus Schulze and Solar Moon System – Ultimate Docking
Mogwai – Complete Catalog to date
Eno & Harmonium – Tracks and Traces ‘76
Eno & Hyde – Someday World / High Life
Sunn o))) – Black One
Earth – Earth 2
Songhoy Blues – Résistance
Temples – Sun Structures
Various – Deutsche Elektronische Musik
Go Go Penguin – A Humdrum Star
Bark Psychosis – Codename: Dustsucker
DBA – Skyscraper Souls
Daniel Cavanagh – Monochrome
Brian Eno – Sisters
Black Sabbath – vol. 4
Sunn O))) – Kannon
Zombie Picnic – A Suburb Of Earth / Rise Of A New Ideology
Katatonia – Complete Catalog to date
Yes – Fly From Here, Return Trip
Talk Talk – The Party’s Over / It’s My Life
Jonathan Wilson – Rare Birds
Fish – Fellini Nights
Jack White – Boarding House Reach
Sylvian/Fripp – Damage
Caravan – If I Could Do It All Over Again…
Soft Machine – Third / Fourth / Five / Six / Seven
Levitation – Meanwhile Gardens
King Crimson – Live In Vienna
Moby – Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt
Hawkwind – Catalog (24 Albums)
Sigur Ros – Route One
Tangerine Dream – 220 Volt live
Charlotte Hatherley – True Love
Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer
Charlotte Hatherley – Grey Will Fade / The Deep Blue / New Worlds
Doyle Bramhall 2 – Rich Man
Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois – Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois
Nik Bartsch’s Ronin – Awase
A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant
The Fierce And The Dead – The Euphoric
Gazpacho – Soyuz
Tangerine Dream – Plays Tangerine Dream
Marillion – All One In The UK 2018 Bristol
Spock’s Beard – Noise Floor
Lunatic Soul – Under The Fragmented Sky
Klaus Schulze – Silhouettes
Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Marillion – Brave deluxe
Level 42 – Staring At The Sun / A Physical Presence
Brücken Froese – Beginn
Christina Aguilera – Liberation
Jon Hopkins – Singularity
Nine Inch Nails – Add Violence / Not The Actual Events / Bad Witch
Quaeschning & Schnauss – Synthwaves
Doyle Bramhall 2 – Witness
King Crimson – Tour 2018
Hybrid – Light Of The Fearless
All Saints – Testament
Big Big Train – Merchants Of Light
Underworld and Iggy Pop – Teatime Dub Encounters
Robert Reed – Sanctuary I,II,III
Sons Of Apollo – Psychotic Symphony
The Sea Within – The Sea Within
Ultraphonix – Original Human Music
Burial – Truant / Rival Dealer / Street Halo
The Pineapple Thief – Dissolution
DJ food – Kaleidoscope
ARW – Live At The Apollo
Santana – Moonflower / Lotus
Mogwai – Kin (OST)
Steven Page – Heal Thyself 2
Santana – Santana / Caravanserai
Riverside – Wasteland
The KLF – Recovered and Remastered vol.4
Fish – A Parley With Angels
Dire Straits – Love Over Gold
The Future Sound Of London – Archived 9
Ultramarine – Every Man And Woman Is A Star
Black Peaks – All That Divides
Coheed And Cambria – Vaxis Act 1 – The Unheavenly Creatures
The KLF – Space / This Is What The KLF Is About
Geinoh Yamashirogumi – Akira OST / Ecophony Rinne
Shinto Nakamura – Best Of Mix
Susumu Yokota – Grinning Cat / Laputa / Sakura / Symbol
Cliff Martinez – Solaris OST
Autechre – Tri Repetae
Murcof – Utopia / Remembranza / Martes
Biosphere – Cirque / Dropsonde / Man With A Movie Camera / Microgravity / Shenzhou / Substrata
Thomas Koner – Daikan
Sleep Research Facility – Deep Frieze
Thmoas Dvorak – Machinarium Soundtrack
Doyle Bramhall 2 – Shades
St. Vincent – MassEducation
King Crimson – Meltdown (Live in Mexico)
Iamthemorning – Ocean Sounds
John Hackett and Nick Fletcher – Beyond The Stars
Sanguine Hum – Now We Have Power
Haken – Vector
Steven Wilson – Home Invasion (Live at the RAH)
Vennart – To Cure A Blizzard On A Plastic Sea
Eric Clapton – 24 Nights / Layla And Other Love Songs / Unplugged / From The Cradle / 461 Ocean Boulevard / Slowhand
Andy Timmons – Theme From A Perfect Band
Jethro Tull – Warchild / Crest Of A Knave
Toska – Fire By The Silos
Marillion – Clutching At Straws (deluxe)
The Black Crowes – Live
Tangerine Dream – Official Bootleg vol. 2
Kate Bush – Remasters part 1 / The Red Shoes / The Sensual World / Aerial (all 2018 remasters)
Robert Palmer – Addictions Vol 1
The Power Station – The Power Station / Living In Fear
Fish – Sunsets On Empires / Raingods With Zippos
Robert Palmer – Heavy Nova / Riptide
PNIX
Pre-PNIX The Friday Night Get Amongst Itness
This was the first Prog Night to feature both Pre and Post events. Let it not be said that we don’t break fresh ground and continuously push the boundaries of what is and what isn’t, taking into account the what could be but frankly after some discussion actually that’s a no no.
After some delightful sounds courtesy of Daniel Cavanagh’s ‘Monochrome’ (an album that’s more Anathema than an Anathema album?) we munched on suspiciously healthy salad wraps before settling into some serious viewage….
- Marillion – The Making Of Fear. The band discuss how it was made and why. Essential viewing for the fans and a lovely peak behind the curtain.
- Steven Wilson – The Making Of To The Bone. A completely different vibe from SW – gone are the deluxe wood panelled live studio rooms of the last few albums and instead he records in what looks like someone’s house that’s been invaded by a large amount of studio gear, by that I mean swamped, there is the feeling that the structure of the building is being held up by the various amps, pedals, instruments – a proper Aladdin’s cave of goodies – if only you can find the power supply!
- Yes – The Making of Fly From Here. Which is essentially a short film about Trevor Horn. With Steve Howe trying to rewrite history in front of your very eyes…….oh dear.
After that we hit the sack……..
The next morning our brave travellers headed up the cycle path in search of nutritious goodness. They failed to find any but did return with ice cream and who doesn’t love ice cream, Snetterton goes utterly nuts for it as you can imagine.
Having returned from the foraging run the weather demanded that we sit in the sun eating ice cream and trolled Pete Cheers who at this point was crawling across the country in various forms of public transport – train, bus, rickshaw, canoe…
Whilst we prayed for Cheers (#prayforcheers) we fed into our ears the following –
- Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
- Eno & Hyde – Someday World
- Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley
We then retired back to the main room to await the arrival of the one who is in your ears….
He appeared while I dropped the kids off at the pool and thanks to some quick thinking from Flat Sky was able to make me grateful that I had…..and so it began.
PNIX Prog Night Nine – The Rush Special
In the run up to the event there had been talk in hushed tones of the fabled ‘ Fez Completion’. The emptying of the Fez in one sitting – it had never been done, some said it was madness to even consider such a thing – the maths just didn’t add up – no one could take that much Prog in one go – besides there just wasn’t enough time….
HA! and again HA! we laughed in the face of the naysayers and the counting on more than one hand types who said it couldn’t be done…..besides thanks to the early arrival of Cheers we were kicking off at about 1500 – loads of time…..The Fez Of Choosing was filled and away we went……what follows is the order in which the Fez Of Choosing guided our listening….
- Jon &Vangelis – Short Stories (PC)
- Hawkwind – Hall Of The Mountain Grill (PC – Pete Cheers’ Leftfield Doozy)
- Caravan – For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (UT)
- Lonely Robot – Please Come Home (FS)
- Anathema – Weather Systems (FS)
- Rush – Power Windows (UT)
- Roger Waters – Is This The Life We Really Want? (UT)
- Rush – Permanent Waves (PC)
- Big Big Train – English Electric pt.2 (PC)
- Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (FS)
- Robert Fripp and David Sylvian – The First Day (UT)
Now the eagle eyed amongst you will note that that is only 11 albums – however both myself and Flat had put Power Windows in, causing much hilarity and thigh slapping 70% of the time on 3/8ths of the days that fell on 1 of 3 occurrences in 9 out of 12 possible outcomes.
Editors note – during the proceedings The Box Of Wrong was opened and ‘enjoyed’. Those who tasted the pickled plums will not taste pickled plums again.
Flat Sky ensured that Prog Night remains fresh by putting in artists that had never featured on an album based Prog Night before, although they did feature individual tracks as part of the playlist orientated early events (thanks to the Prog Night archives for valuable assistance). Pete Cheers raised his own bar with regards to his Leftfield Doozy choice and I was amazed that I didn’t put any Marillion in…..
The important thing is that we achieved Fez Completion and had filled our ears with astoundingly good sounds. As is the way of the Prog Night. Also the social medias were awash with #PNIX tweets/toots/posts and of course Pete’s Pnix Pics. What else was there to do but to brush ourselves off and head to the sleeping department ready to face the frankly odious task that we had set ourselves for the next morning…….
Post PNIX – The Sunday after the Friday before
The records do not show at what point it was decided that we would ‘revisit’ the last Yes studio album ‘Heaven and Earth’ over breakfast but that is exactly what we did. After a night fraught with disturbing dreams caused by the backwash of what we were about to subject ourselves to we sat huddling hot beverages and munching loudly on toast to try and drown out the true horror that was emanating from the speakers.
Insipid.
Turgid.
I can’t type any more other than to say that it’s only the brilliant Roger Dean artwork and packaging that has stopped the cd being hurled out of a fast-moving car or fed to some particularly angry rodents.
After the hugely offensive item had been removed from the player we settled down to some Squackett just to show what can happen when Squire gets going. We then followed that with some live Fish and played Prog Connections ahoy.
Then seemingly too soon it was time for Flat Sky to venture forth back to the westerly bits of the West Country…. The Cheers and I took advantage of a break in the non raining weather for a brief excursion to get milk and also to follow the SCPC cleansing team to render the main room safe after the toxic filth that had spilled from the speakers earlier.
Warning: DO NOT attempt to repeat the experiment detailed above. Those taking part were highly trained individuals with years of experience. Listening to that kind of shit can damage you for life.
Once we returned we sat down to begin the serious work that is the Post Prog Night experience – here’s what we covered….
- Caravan – If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You
- Soft Machine – Third
- Roxy Music – Live in London 2001 (DVD)
- Hawkwind – Levitation
- JMJ – Sessions 2000
- Snippets of Deep Forrest and Enigma
The Caravan and Soft Machine were prompted by the NEEEEEED to research a bit more around the Canterbury Scene, the Roxy because it’s Roxy and a damn fine slab of Prog/Art/Pop and features castanets. Hawkwind was continuing the direction led by Pete Cheers’ Leftfield Doozy and the rest was prompted by the unveiling of E+A Night – an extravaganza of Electronica and Ambient music which will occupy the space allowing Prog Night Ten (PNX) to occur on the tenth anniversary of Prog Night (lawks).
Following a well deserved trip to the chippy we feasted on the following –
- Yes – Yessongs 1972 film (restored footage)
- Rush – Classic Albums (2112 and Moving Picture)
- Marillion – Childhood Memories (documentary about the writing/recording/touring of Misplaced Childhood)
Yessongs filmed at the Rainbow theatre in London in 1972 is a perfect demonstration of why Heaven and Earth cannot be viewed with anything but utter contempt, this concert film shows Yes at one of their peak moments – Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White absolutely tearing the stage apart with incredible versions of what are now Yes classics. To think that Heaven and Earth deserves to be refered to as a Yes album just
The rest of this ‘discussion’ as been removed due to the rather offensive nature of the language used.
The Rush and Marillion documentaries go pretty deep inside the chosen albums and both offer some lovely little snippets of ‘well I did not know that’. More essential viewing for the hardcore proggers which left us ready retire…..
The next morning Cheers departed and that was the end of that.
PNIX – ‘We dived deep into the seas of Prog and swam like Gods’
Films 2017
John Wick
Jack Reacher
Arq
Jack Ryan
Jaco
The Bourne Legacy
Seven Psychopaths
Lo And Behold
Suicide Squad
Doctor Strange
Arrival
OJ – Made In America
Money Ball
Inglorious Basterds
Oceans 11,12,13
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Passengers
47 Ronin
The Lego Batman Movie
Zootopia
Hell Or High Water
Thank You For Smoking
The Big Short
Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
Ghost In The Shell
Alien Covenant
Baby Driver
Law Abiding Citizen
Spider-Man Homecoming
Bladerunner 2049 (at cinema)
Mission Impossible 5 Rogue Nation
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
Four Rooms
Mindhorn
TV 2017
Halt And Catch Fire S1,2,3
Narcos S1,2
Master Of None S1
The Librarians
The OA
The Sopranos S1
Shooter S1
BackStrom
iZombie S1,2
Elementary S5
Lucifer S2
The Americans S1,2
Santa Clarita Diet
Iron Fist
You Are Wanted
Vikings S4
Mad Men S4,5,6,7
Bojack Horseman S1
Homeland S1,2,3,4,5
Line Of Duty S1,2
Sense8 S1
Life In Pieces S1,2
Detectorists S1,2
Bosch S3
12 Monkeys S1,2
Fargo S1,2
American Gods S1
Westworld S1
The Man In The High Castle S2
Glow S1
Sense8 S2
Comrade Detective
iZombie S3
Ozark S1
Better Call Saul S1,2,3
Znation S1
Bojack Horseman S2,3
Catastrophe S3
Game Of Thrones S7
Preacher S2
The Defenders
Norsemen S1
The Tick S1
Quacks
Bojack Horseman S4
Timeless S1
Upstart Crow S2
House Of Cards S3,4,5
Archer S3,4,5,6,7,8
Killjoys S1
Veep S6
The Good Place S1
Hell On Wheels S1,2,3,4,5
Patriot S1
Stranger Things 2
Mindhunter S1
The Expanse S2
Lucifer S3
Black Sails S1,2,3,4
Robot Wars
Blue Planet 2
Narcos S3
The Americans S3
The Punisher S1
Wormwood
Manhunt – Unabomber
La Casa De Papel
Rick And Morty
Books 2017
Neil Gaiman – The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
Nick Cave – The Death Of Bunny Munro
Richard Kalich – The Central Park Trilogy
Neal Stephenson – The Diamond Age
Simon Winstanley – Field One / Field Two
Stephen Donaldson – The Augur’s Gambit
Justin Depaoli – The Assassin’s Blade Trilogy
Leif Persson – Backstrom 1+2
V.E. Swab – Darker Shade Of Magic (1,2,3)
Ann Leckie – Ancillary Justice / Mercy / Sword
Adrian Barnes – Nod
Nnedi Okrafor – The Book Of Phoenix
B. Catling – The Vorrh
Warren Ellis – Normal
Tricia O’Sullivan – Occupy Me
Ted Chiang – Stories Of Your Life And Others
Pratchett + Baxter – The Long Earth Series
Blake Crouch – Dark Matter
Stephen King – The Dark Tower 1
Ernest Cline – Ready Player One
Chris Brookmyre – Dead Girl Walking / Black Widow
Jon Ronson – So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
David Eagleman – Incognito – The Secret Lives Of The Brain
Richard Kadrey – Sandman Slim
Neil Gaiman – Norse Mythology
Richard Kadrey – Metrophage
K. A. Bedford – Time Machines Repaired While You Wait
Owen Jones – The Establishment
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Children Of Time
Marcus Sakey – Afterlife
Paul Hegarty & Martin Halliwell – Beyond And Before
Adam Rutherford – A Brief History Of Everyone Who Ever Lived
Jared Diamond – Guns, Germs And Steel
Patrick Weekes – The Prophecy Con / The Paladin Caper
Robert Louis Stevenson – Treasure Island
Steve McHugh – The Promise Of Wrath
Unclethang 
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