I worship and adore the true and living God, who created all things

Yesterday was the feast day of St Alban, and today the Albantide pilgrimage. St Albans has been a site of pilgrimage since at least the sixth century, but despite having lived here for 13 years, today was the first time that we've joined the pilgrimage. It was led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who celebrated the Solemn Eucharist at lunchtime (which we missed), and then preached at Evensong. It was a humbling occasion. The Abbey was overflowing (literally) with pilgrims from St Albans, Hertfordshire, and far, far, further afield. We arrived fairly late (5 minutes later, and, like friends of ours, we would not have had a seat). This meant that, although we were in a part of the church where the service was relayed to us by video, we were sat behind the shrine - which naturally lead us to consider all those who have worshipped God in this place for the past 15 centuries. And Archbishop Tutu's sermon was wonderful. Of course the numbers this year were swelled by those of us who wanted to hear, and for our children to hear, one of the true prophetic voices of our age. I hope the sermon will be put on the web - it deserves a wide audience. But in a week when the Anglican church (which has always been my spiritual home) seems closer to the brink of schism than ever, his call for tolerance, and his acknowledgment of the power of goodness in the face of evil seemed very timely. And we both recognised that we are in the right place, and that this is home. Whatever may happen in the coming months, this city is our home, and it would be painful to leave it behind.

in the midst of death we are in life

Now I know that at least one of this blog's readership has seen the last two episodes of The Sopranos, I feel free to talk about it (I've been holding this in for the last fortnight). If you don't want to know the score, look away now.

The further I get from the final episode, the more inspired the ending seems. Of course the ending took me by surprise – but then a final episode written and directed by David Chase was never going to be predictable. But I did have a moment when I thought the torrent must have failed right at the end. After the previous week's episode, being continually on edge as to who was going to die, and how (Phil's death was great, brutal and funny). The fact that it didn't all end neatly. What did Agent Harris mean - "Damn, we're gonna win this thing!" - were the Feds behind everything that has happened in this season? Or had he just become to closely involved? The scene at Satriales with Paulie sunbathing while the cat watched him, the dinner at Bobby's funeral straight out of the Godfather, the look on Carmella's face when Tony started talking to Anthony Jr's therapist, the sight of Uncle Junior at the end. All classic Sopranos.
Some great one liners:

JANICE "I'm afraid I have bad news. Bobby's dead"
UNCLE JUNIOR "Ambassador Hotel."

I love the subtle hint that the mafia shot Bobby Kennedy.

PAULIE "In the midst of death, we are in life. Heh? Or is it the other way around?"
MEADOW "I think it's the other way around."
PAULIE "Either version, you're halfway up the ass."

Anyone who thinks this isn't the end is very much deluded. Chase wants us to remain thinking through all the possibilities - and believe me, I've read some pretty wild theories in the last fortnight (doesn't the fact that I'm still obsessing over it, two weeks on, just say how perfect it is?). And besides, with Bobby, Chris and Phil dead, and Silvio in a coma, who's going to be in a film?

It may have struggled - particularly during seasons 4-5 - and the first half of season 6 was just weird. But it's still the best thing to have been on TV in the 21st century. Great article on the final episode here.



It seems somehow appropriate that we're off to see Alabama 3 in a fortnight. Tom, Jim and I were big fans of A3 long before they became synonymous with the Sopranos. Now is the time that we get right and repent.

you never knew the teenage me and you wouldn't believe the things you didn't see

Continuing my Everything But The Girl obsession. Robert Elms' "What's All The Fuss About" slot this lunchtime featured an hour long interview with Ben Watt, and some great music. Ended with the gorgeous DJ Jazzy Jeff remix of Mirrorball from the Adapt or Die remixes album. Worth catching on listen again; here's the link on the BBC London site.

kick those white mice and baboons out

Getting to the middle of the year; time to take stock and think what sort of year its' been so far. A quick squint at itunes suggests that I've added about 30 albums released in 2007 to my collection. And not many duff ones to be honest.

Top 3 to date
Grinderman: One of my favourite Nick Cave albums. Raucous, urgent - the sound of a man raging against his own mortality. And I disagree with Tom; I think the cover is great - as was the discussion on the AV club review as to what the monkey is doing.

LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver I find it very hard to think this will be topped as my album of the year. James Murphy is on top of his game - very much like Bright Eyes or Sufjan Stevens over the last couple of years. It will surely feature highly in many of the Sherwood OCC end of year compilations; there's not a weak song on the album. The Franz Ferdinand/Erol Alkan version of All My Friends on the single is well worth a listen. Also try the unofficial sounds like silver remix.

Malcolm Middleton: A Brighter Beat. In a year when I've been listening to a lot of Scots miserablism (Mogwai, Arab Strap, Sister Vanilla), this is the pick. A pop album for people who hate pop music? Maybe. It's dour stuff - maybe a little less dark than Into the Woods - but any album with song titles like We're All Going To Die, Death Love Depression Love Death and Fuck It I Love You isn't going to be a barrel of laughs.

Also enjoyed: The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Bright Eyes: Cassadaga, Tracey Thorn: Out of the Woods

Two recent purchases I'm not yet sure about - Digitalism: Idealism. I like the Digitalism in Cairo re-edit of The Cure's Fire in Cairo, although it's taking a while for the album to grow on me. The White Stripes: Icky Thump. The title track and Little Cream Soda are classic White Stripes, but as a whole the album hasn't yet grabbed me in the same way White Blood Cells and Elephant did.

Biggest Disappointments:
Fairport's Sense of Occasion. With the exception of a good cover of XTC's Love on a Farmboy's Wages, this is Fairport doing it by numbers. A far better momento of their 40 years is the Live at the BBC boxed set, which, whilst not universally strong, reminds you what a great band they were at their Swarbrick, Denny, Thompson et al peak.

Royksopp: Back to Mine. I've bought some good compilations this year - Hot Chip' s DJ Kicks, In the Mind of Nitin Sawhney, Nouvelle Vague's Late Night Tales, Mark Ronson's Version. But this is cheesy and badly mixed.

Best Live Downloads:
Spiritualized Acoustic Mainlines at Manchester - here and here
Mogwai at Grunspan

The "how did I not get into this band before" discovery:
Stereolab. They're influenced by Kraftwerk, Krautrock and Bacharach. They've got Moog synths and female vocals often in French. Honestly, how has this band passed me by?

ladies and gentlemen, Mogwai

Ah, the beauty of the internet. Tom's comment about seeing the Delgados last week led me to thinking about which current bands I really should try to see live or else regret it. Mogwai and the White Stripes were the two that came to mind. After reflecting that it was unfortunate Mogwai's gig at Somerset House had already sold out, and having seen how much the tickets were going for on ebay, I put the thought to one side. Still, Somerset House - great venue - so I decided to see what other acts I could see in their Summer series. And happy, happy, joy, joy - there were still Mogwai tickets available. So I'm off with Tom - who has promised to drown in their back catalogue over the next month - and Jim. I'm really looking forward to it. Malcolm Middleton supporting, and the gig will be in surround sound. So I expect the loud bit in Like Herod to blow my socks off. I might have to invest in some earplugs (spot the old bugger whose hearing is beginning to go...).

turn it up! bring tha noize!

I picked up some smart speakers for my iPod in Tesco of all places yesterday - JBL OnStage 2 - for less than £50 (50% off rrp). Good sound and they take up very little space on my desk. They have a mini jack connection too, so I've got the PC plugged into them as well. It might seem trivial, but since I switched to a 2 monitor setup at work last month, I've been bugged by all the sound coming from the right side of my desk. Now I've got stereo right in front of me. If I have to make a criticism, it would be that they only run on mains power. But since I bought them for my desk, I'm not going to complain. Now I'll shut my door and put on some Mogwai.

for the self assured I have no cure

I'm looking forward to Emma Pollock's first solo album - though I'm hoping that the combination of a quirky driving video and repetitive piano line in the single doesn't signal a tribute to Coldplay.

The other track avalable on her website - Limbs - is more reminiscent of the criminally underrated Delgados.

in my imagination there is no complication

A few days off last week, and in the abscence of decent weather, we headed down to the V&A for the Kylie exhibition, on loan from the Arts Centre in Melbourne (highly recommended website, but not Firefox friendly).
We all enjoyed it a lot. I've had a thing about Kylie since her Neighbours days (I still remember her first episode), not just during her Deconstruction period - though Confide in Me and her collaboration with Nick Cave are obvious highlights.
The exhibition was really well put together; the main room held most of the costumes - from the white dress of I Should Be So Lucky, through the gold lame hot pants and white denim shorts of Spinning Around, to the white hooded dress and purple dress of Can't Get You Out Of My Head - arguably the first iconic single of the 21st Century. This also had a timeline along one wall - made up of cd covers and photographs. Cara was entranced by the other wall - incorporating a floor to ceiling video screen. Raya's thing is live performance, so she was more fascinated by the stage costumes from last years' tour which were in a seperate room.
A good exhibition from the fashion perspective, an interesting study into the development of an icon. And - hurrah for publically funded arts (and sponsorship from Evian) - a free day out in London.