Sagacity ahoy! Richard Hawley talks to The Irish Times: "It takes a lifetime to build up a reputation and just one evening drinking to lose it."
What are you likely to have on the shelf that'll point you in the direction he's taking? Maybe, maybe To the end on Blur's Parklife - add a bucketload of sonorousness, way better vocals (hardly difficult) and genuine sense of style...

(This is just a guess but wouldn't be surprised if RH cherished Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights as much as reallyrather does - 2nd series being edited right now, hurrah!...)

Staying with the Irish Times, reallyrather's eye was caught by an album review which ended, "Like the Pernice Brothers? Then meet their younger brother." Anyone going to see Josh Rouse in the UK soon can catch the artistic sibling in question, as Howie Beck opens the shows. And following the Beck trail will take you to another moody-but-melodic Canadian, Hayden whose National Skyscraper Park surfaced last year - sparse but melodic, bleak but mellow, "the slow guitar-centric Neil Young On The Beach vibe dominates..."

Selling out in the very best sense of the phrase, Cotton Mather 's Borderline gig has a big cross thru it at Ticketweb...

The Be Good Tanyas have added a 'showcase' at Canada House (Trafalgar Sq.) Thurs Feb 28 - no idea who gets to go..