Spilled 5800 words re: reborn top 40, pop-diva precedents, doomed metal, live music dying except in pubs, criticism in critical condition, landslides that aren't, avant-garde continents, wars against expertise, bad news beefs, obedience in advance, what AI has to say & my 150 favorite 2024 albums.

#SeptAudit Day 23 Prefaces, ‘Acqua Marina’ (2025) Digital buy. Found out about it on this very platform, IIRC. Lebanese instrumental music - think: surf rock, Levantine psych, High Llamas, etc. Very pleasant. Vinyl available; under £30 even with tax+shipping. hisstology.bandcamp.com/album/acqua-...

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 8 Pussy Cat, “Dans ce monde fou” (1968) Évelyne Courtois was a member of the first French all-girl band (see below). Going solo, she stood apart from other Yé-yé acts by covering acts like the Small Faces, then writing her own songs, like this. youtu.be/hDs9j0vUBQQ

#SeptAudit Day 22 Derek Austin, ‘Hi-Tech!’ (1979) Library LP on the Impress label (part of the Joseph Weinberger group). All Of The Synths are used to evoke styles from classical to disco + everything between. Another buy from When Spaceships Appear, this one in Jan just before the IRL shop closed.

The twenty-ninth-and-final Lounge Lock-In is now idling in one of Mixcloud’s more remote parking bays @fromefm.bsky.social www.mixcloud.com/FromeFM/29-l...

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 7 Nino Ferrer, “Oh! Hé! Hein! Bon…” (1966) I was going to post the cover version/ parody by standup comic Fernand Raynaud. But it turns out the original is just as weird, if not more youtu.be/25H5Lqz92jM

#SeptAudit Day 21 Kikuo, ‘Kikuo Miku’(2011) Still have the 2023 Bandcamp guide to experimental J-pop as an open tab on my laptop. A link in that piece led me a few months ago to this album, the first of 7 (so far) by Kikuo featuring vocaloid star Hatsune Miko. Out-there pop that’s right up my alley

#NowPlaying #BPHM8285 research Rick James, ‘Cold Blooded’ (1983) Chose this to listen to as it did well in the NME EOY LPs chart (No.15, thirteen places higher than Prince!). Not quite sure why, but there are a couple of social-realist tunes on Side 2 that lift it slightly out of the sexfunk norm.

Here's this morning's disco special show from @fentonsteve.bsky.social to Listen Again www.mixcloud.com/CharityShopC...

How about a Top 40 countdown from the past, everybody? Inspired by what @porpster.bsky.social's been doing with the Billboard charts, I think it's time someone did something similar with the British "hit parade" so let's begin with the chart from the week ending - 23 September 1972! Everybody ready?

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 6 Gillian Hills, “Zou Bisou Bisou” (1961) La belle Mlle. “Eels”, mon Dieu qu'elle est douce youtu.be/O4SCtjcEJKc

Greetings from a *very* rainy Manchester! Join us at 11am tomorrow for @fentonsteve.bsky.social as he takes us to the Disco. Get your deeley boppers and flares on via 96.9fm, allfm.org or fancy DAB 🎸🎷🥁🪇

#SeptAudit Day 20 The Metamorph, ‘Incidentals’ (2025) Self-released CD. A mix of recent studio and live tracks. Couldn’t detect a unifying theme; just very pleasant, atmospheric electronic tunes. Came in one of Gavin @themetamorph.bsky.social’s typically cute homemade packages (sold out now, soz)

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 5 Les Fleurs de Pavot, “Hippies nous voilà” (1968) More Vannier, who produced this together with Bernard Estardy. LFdP were far from being actual hippies; their image was created by Jean-Pierre Rawson, an exploitative effort typical of the era. youtu.be/p5x71tgk-Vc

Young Punctum blog update - it's November 1976, I am finding out more about my own independent tastes in music, and the music here (note: some of the links aren't "music") doesn't confine itself to the one year, OH NO: funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/09/nove...

Dutch late night TV has its take

#SeptAudit Day 19 Correlations, ‘PA-99-N2’ (2023) Floaty synth improvisations using Buchla Easel and Moog. When I bought this album it didn’t have this groovy cover art, but rather a classical sci-fi painting in monochrome (gonna have to re-download it!). There’s a vinyl edition of late too. 🔗⬇️

Charity shop haul from earlier in the week. From a big box of 7s that had recently come in. Had to leave behind some STF records but these mercifully were in decent nick, considering how I found them. 50p each, save Nazareth which was 75p

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 4 Anna St. Clair, “L'Amour à travers et à tort” (1967) Arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, so you know to expect something outside the norm. Wheezing recorders, strummed piano strings, harpsichord… it’s all here. youtu.be/nobxnsZux-A

This week, I saved another Project 3 record from a horrible future in the dollar bins. This time it came with a great stencilled inlay. Wanna hear it? Yes? Check it out today on Hasta Mañana Monsieur! from 3-5 EST, J🌴ngle R🐚🐚m, @wfmu.bsky.social

A short historic Ministry of Supply reel at 6:55pm. 🗑️ YOUR DUSTBIN IS BEATING HITLER (1940) on #TPTV

#SeptAudit Day 18 MIDDEX, ‘In Second Floor and Third Floor Story’ (2023) Bought this LP from Juno last December oops. Hope Kevin will forgive the delay in spinning (I know him, we’ve volunteered at the same place, so hopefully all cool). Spoken word + grainy industrial/electronic soundscapes. 🔗 ⬇️

#ClassicAlbumThursday #BPHM8285 research Kanda Bongo Man, ‘Amour Fou - Ekipé’ (1984) and ‘Malinga - JT’ (1985) Congolese soukous from the Paris-based singer/bandleader. Available on streaming as the first 9 songs on the comp pictured. Diblo Dibala on lead guitar. Magnificent, esp. the ‘84 record.

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 3 Michel Polnareff, “Le roi des fourmis” (1968) He got even better in the 70s IMO but this is a great early blast of Polnareff, the general weirdness only enhanced by the TV staging (see video) youtu.be/rvrHc7MdFwo

#SeptAudit Day 17 Occams Laser, ‘Nine Circles’ / ‘Purgatory’ (both 2016) The first two parts of a trilogy of albums inspired by Dante. Relentlessly driving, darkwave synths and pounding beats abound. It can get a bit samey, but you know what you’re getting with OL and these were PWYL digital buys.

NEW MUSIC! The latest single ‘recur’ by Joe Harvey-Whyte and Paul Cousins is out today! Available wherever you stream, it’s a pearl. open.spotify.com/album/53BPNi...

#Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 2 Christie Laume, “Agathe ou Christie” (1967) Une crise d'identité. ❤️ this very silly song. youtu.be/qb0PSI1VB6g

#SeptAudit Day 16 Various, ‘John Savage’s “Space”’ 2xLP on CTR, preordered last winter, arrived June. Basically a JS radio show in compilation form. He has a knack of assembling disparate tracks on a theme (most literally have ‘space’ in the title) and make you wonder why they didn’t always cohabit

Todays #RetroTech Gramdeck - Reel to Reel Deck that uses your Turntable 1959 Made by Andrew Merryfield Ltd, UK 7.5ips at 78rpm Running at 45 & 33 rpm, resulted in Non Standard Speeds Yours, for just £13 & 12 Schillings, with Easy Payments too - that’s equivalent to about £300 today

Pourquoi pas, hein? #Ye-Ye-Yeah #musicchallenge Day 1 Ronnie Bird, “Chante” (1966) Expect there’ll be plenty of mademoiselles (including from me) but let’s kick off with M. Bird - his interpolation of a Troggs tune? C’est un bangeur youtu.be/bI8lrl6t0UQ

#SeptAudit Day 15 Johan Agebjörn & Mikael Ögren, ‘Dynamic Movements: Music for Exercise & Relaxation’ (2024) A digital buy last September. The subtitle reflects the fact that side 1 is Scando space disco and side 2 blissful ambience. Nice; gonna play again now! agebjorn.bandcamp.com/album/dynami...

#SeptAudit Day 14 Pulselovers/Various - ‘Northern Minimalism 4’ (2025) 2CD collection of remixes of tracks from Northern Minimalism 1-3 (a 7”, a 10” & an LP). Everyone in a stellar cast steps up, but it’s especially noteworthy that there’s a couple from the late Rainer Buchmüller (as Fred Und Luna)

#nowplaying James Last "Jumping Jack Flash - Harper Valley PTA"

#nowplaying Jack Parnell "Trip To Mars"

#nowplaying Franck Pourcel "Days Of Pearly Spencer"

#SeptAudit Day 13 Trying not to include freebies in this series. But must make an exception for this. The result of online digging last #BandcampFriday. Originally released in 1987. Reissued in 2020. Reminds me of Durutti Column, only with piano. Soothing. metronrecords.bandcamp.com/album/resona...

It's Friday, it's 7:30, it's time for YOUNG PUNCTUM! This week's episode takes you back to October 1976. Five weeks worth of hits actually good enough (by and large) not to need any back-up material: funthirty.blogspot.com/2025/09/octo...

Amazing care package from Russian Library received today 📬

Sinneslochen.Inc, ‘Polybius’ Haven’t spun this in a while. Def one of the best LPs of 2022. Released on the late lamented Burning Witches Records. Another label, uSUPER!, emerged from its ashes, specialising in cassette releases in unique packaging. But they ceased activity too at the end of 2023 🙁

out now! libraryoftheoccult.bandcamp.com/album/strega...

#SeptAudit, Day 12 Louis & Bebe Barron, ‘Forbidden Planet’ OST (1956) New arrival! Never owned the entire FP score in any format, so this Sonitron vinyl reissue w/4 page booklet feat. a convo with Bebe was a perfect excuse. I didn’t buy from Radiation Records, despite the sticker (got it from Juno)

Surprise! Stereolab 7s available online now. Fed Up With Your Job / Constant And Uniform Movement Unknown. monorailmusic.com/product/fed-...

Podcast chat with Archie up on the Substack: castlesinspace.substack.com/p/whats-actu... "Where Trees Go To Die" released 12.09.2025

#SeptAudit Day 11 Various, ‘Peace and Plenty’ (2022) A frequent casualty of “buy but then never find time to listen to” syndrome is the epic charity/fundraiser digital comp. Case in point, this from Blackford Hill, tho’ there’s extra incentive here in the form of an accompanying 120-page journal…

#ClassicAlbumThursday Rovi (Piero Umiliani), ‘Storia e Preistoria’ (1972) Composed as a documentary OST then released on the Omicron library music imprint. Varied in style (has ca. 8 diff genre tags on discogs!) but broadly pastoral jazz / ritualistic world music …with synth. A very beautiful LP.

#SeptAudit Day 10 Kid Creole & The Coconuts, “Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places” (Ze/Island LP, 1981) The one with no hits (tho’ you feel at least one song must’ve been big somewhere in the world). Still, fame was just round the corner. Bought this s/h at Umbrella Vinyl in Edinburgh way back in January

#SeptAudit Day 9 Eulipion Corps, ‘Portals’ (2025) I’ve got 4 albums by this California musician. The others date from 2022-3 and the music on this, their latest, has evolved a lot since those, albeit still built from short sequences or drifting ambience. Now to catch up with all the 2024 releases.

#SeptAudit Day 8 Various, ‘Chip Shop Pop: The sound of Denmark Street 1970-1975’ CD on @acerecords.bsky.social compiled by Bob Stanley (of course). The back stories in the commentary in the CD booklet are eye popping. Picked this up at the Ace summer pop-up shop in Chalk Farm about a month ago.

#SeptAudit Day 7 vx/hope, “the hungry will always choose a full belly over a full mind” (2025) Early Cabs meets brutalist techno? Kind of. Good stuff anyway. Released across 2 different formats on Preston Capes (@woodfordhalse.bsky.social), buying either of which gets you the full digital album.