Listening to the Backlisted on C.S. Lewis. They play a snippet of a wartime BBC talk where, brilliantly, Lewis says that “God has infinity to listen to the split second prayer of a airman in his plane” And I wonder if both that idea, and Lewis’ all-seeing voice, influenced A Matter of Life & Death?

On my journeys to and from work today I listened to the @backlisted.bsky.social episode on Wuthering Heights. Maybe it's time for me to have another bash at it.

Rock Follies won the BAFTA for Best Drama Serial of 1976. The ceremony was held at Wembley Conference Centre on 24th March 1977, hosted by Esther Rantzen and Roger Moore. It passed off without incident FUCK SHIT PISS. Here is an amazing Movietone report on the event. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnDK...

I don’t care how fucking niche this may be, some of the stuff I’ve dug up while researching this essay is gold dust. One of the most satisfyingly in-depth pieces of writing I’ve done for a long time, telling a story that has been hiding in plain sight all this while.

This rather lovely - possibly Polish - blanket/bedspread was bought from Rula Lenska at Chiswick car boot sale, late nineties, I think, and generally lives on the sofa. It's difficult to not wonder what stories it could tell, y'know, if blankets were sentient...

A fascinating read as ever. And that's without touching on the Expanded Rula Lenska/Dennis Waterman Universe.

In 76 and 77, the two series of Rock Follies were watched by 15m viewers, and intersected with punk in several life-imitating-art ways (inc. giving Buzzcocks their name). I explore this topic, and the fascinating career of Julie Covington, across two INVENTORY entries. @backlisted.bsky.social

A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. The first episode of Rock Follies was broadcast 50 years ago today, 24th April 1976. To mark the occasion, I’ve written about the musical career of one of its stars, Julie Covington. www.patreon.com/backlisted

"But what the King's daughters *don't* know is that their inheritances depend on them saying how much they love him. Let's see what happens."

I have started watching the ITV series Will Shakespeare (1978). 1. The whole thing is written in cod-Shakespearean blank verse, c/o John Mortimer. 2. Shakespeare is played by Tim Curry as though the Bard were Tim Curry. It is VERY odd indeed.

Oh Christ, not this again. Read as much as you want or as little as you want, and stop getting your k’s in a t about how other people do it. The end.

Sunday reading x 2, Sunday listening and current audiobook. Why read just one difficult @backlisted.bsky.social book when you could be reading two. I am not sure the PH Newby is providing a break from the Iris Murdoch.

Ignore anyone, from any quarter, who lacks the humility to genuflect before the ungovernable genius of Emily Brontë.

My point: bsky.app/profile/robp...

Too true.

Also, we solved Wuthering Heights back in October so all this chat is completely unnecessary. @backlisted.bsky.social www.backlisted.fm/episodes/251...

Stop telling me what Wuthering Heights is really about. You haven’t got a clue.

As an AUDITORY bonus, there is also a mention of this MES-approved trucker anthem, it being #FallFriday. Nat Stuckey’s Caffein, Nicotine, Benzedrine (“and wish me luck!”) @backlisted.bsky.social youtu.be/LI_45kvhZok?...

AUDITORY - i.e. the audio version of INVENTORY - is available now via www.patreon.com/backlisted. I love making these, they are little shows in their own right, rather than simply readings. This one runs 40 minutes and covers George Jones to Porter Wagoner, via Sammi Smith. @backlisted.bsky.social

A great listen :)

In a salute from one writer to another, in The Song of the Honey Bee (1986) Hughes imagines himself the pilot of a helicopter ‘snatching up’ his prey, a reference to Ferguson’s most notorious creation and a case of intertextual ‘Budgie smuggling’. In this PhD I will

And don't forget, on Friday you can listen to this instalment too, exclusively via www.patreon.com/backlisted. @backlisted.bsky.social

A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon, "y'all". This week: Country and West Kirby, part two. Fabulous records in very weird sleeves, from George Jones, Sammi Smith, Gene Parsons, Linda Martell, Porter Wagoner and more. www.patreon.com/backlisted

And so it continues @backlisted.bsky.social

Mrs Dalloway said she would bring the noise herself.

You know you've made it as an author when no one will properly edit you, and your books are now shit.

#nowreading because @backlisted.bsky.social Was pointed at it often as a child but never did. Perfect accompaniment to knitting

This is a wonderful, useful thread, not least because it begins with Orson Welles’s greatest performance i.e. as himself, interviewed by Alan Yentob for Arena. The ultimate comfort watch IMIO.

Sunday reading and Sunday listening. The music is from an @iammilliam.bsky.social post. I will admit, I am struggling with the book. I will need to listen to the @backlisted.bsky.social episode again.

Oh hurrah! I adored Gaining Ground after reading it after the @backlisted.bsky.social episode ❤️ The reissue means I can buy it for all my friends! 🎉

Enjoyed recording this. It gave a chance to talk about Wodders the Emu on a highbrow arts programme, which a guest agreed was a moment worthy of the Chaplin era. Job done!

Q: What goes on and on and on? A: Richie Unterberger’s new Velvets book. 816 PAGES! Put that spike into my vein. Coming from @omnibuspress.bsky.social in May.

So, to recap: Wednesdays (i.e. music papers day): INVENTORY Fridays (i.e. the weekend starts here): AUDITORY Exclusive to www.patreon.com/backlisted. See you around on the rebound! @backlisted.bsky.social

WE GOT US A LISTENER! The new C&W instalment of INVENTORY is now available on audio via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. From now on, INVENTORY and - yes! - AUDITORY are published weekly to all who subscribe at Locklistener level or above. 🤠 www.patreon.com/backlisted

Totally agree, Rowan Williams’ suggestion that this is ‘An age where we are encouraged to fantasise our way out of trouble’ - was perfectly put

Have listened to the last @backlisted.bsky.social episode, with Rowan Williams discussing C Day Lewis's 'Till We Have Faces". I didn't particularly want to read the book until I heard Williams' answer to Andy's last question. Worth the whole episode for that alone.

'I keep a book in my pocket just in case someone sees I read my book in public places just in case someone sees And they might think "That guy's good at reading. I wonder if he's got a girlfriend."' Give @thejustjoans.bsky.social some money here. thejustjoans.bandcamp.com/album/you-mi...

The discourse around men reading in public seems to have travelled back in time to 2017, where the Just Joans have written and recorded a song about it, entitled Read In Public Places. open.spotify.com/track/5rUese...

Read Elizabeth Taylor's "Angel". Magnificent. As with my experience of her previous novels, it took a chapter or so to get into the style, but once I did I was captivated. Angel's monstrousness and pitiful decline were very cleverly done. Agrees with @backlisted.bsky.social about the writerly 1/4

Up next in preparation for The Last @backlisted.bsky.social Of All* Can’t believe I’ve never got round to this when I’ve read everything else from The Discarded Image to Fern seed & Elephants. *for a while.

No one has ever been more wrong about a book than Dominic Sandbrook is about Absolute Beginners, in Never Had It So Good. And that’s all I have to say.

Really enjoyed talking to @alexvont.bsky.social about the novel. Do have a listen. And if you’d like to hear my thoughts on the film I will also be on Front Row tonight to review it.

WE GOT US A READER! A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. This week: Country and West Kirby, part one. Fabulous LPs by the likes of Liz Anderson, Moe Bandy, Dallas Frazier, Freddie Hart and (of course) Elvis Costello. www.patreon.com/backlisted

Got a short story in this; out now! 2000ad.com/news/the-thi...

This thread about Edge of Darkness and the clever comments made politely by bright and funny people is what I always hope the social media experience will be like, but which happens oh so rarely. You're great. Thank you. Have a biscuit. x

Great stuff from Andy. C&W is always a sensitive subject for Irish people. It's like lederhosen and oompah bands are for Bavarians. So it's good to see someone exploring the landscape with fresh eyes, finding the gems which not even the industrialisation of the genre can completely crush.

Feeling distinctly under the weather today, so RM will have to manage without me. But I've watched two Baskervilles (Cushing and Rathbone) and read another marvellous, thoughtful and funny piece from @iammilliam.bsky.social which has made me feel better. Sign up immediately.

New episode up now. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, with guest Doctor Rowan Williams. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/257...