always be there

a piece of advice I didn't put in here but I really wish to offer: if you see a friend 'posting through' some kind of horrible online pile-on event, reach out privately and say the words 'I love you and please stop posting. let's have a phonecall & see each other in person, shall I pop over?'

UK minister Ian Murray MP talks ticketing reform and grassroots venues levy Ian Murray MP is the UK's minister for creative industries, media and arts, appointed to that position in a September reshuffle.

GenAI music firm Suno raises $250m at $2.45bn valuation Being sued by the music industry's major labels is clearly no barrier to raising money. GenAI music startup Suno has just trousered $250m.

New book-arrival day! Claire North is a WONDERFUL writer. If I ever manage to tear myself away from this keyboard *eyes day's music industry news sadly* I can't wait to get stuck in.

There were bad people on BOTH sides of the cold-blooded, state-sanctioned bone-saw murder, y’say?

I see Elon has hit the ‘promote anti-BBC tweets from rando accounts in push notifications’ button…

Spent this afternoon writing about something I'm fascinated by: the world of micro-dramas – and what they could mean for music. I even came up with some ideas, and a TERRIBLE AI-generated teaser for one of them... musically.com/2025/11/07/m...

Appreciate their principles, but not sure 'We refused to produce Rod Stewart because he's a TORY' is a take that will go down well with readers of an interview in *checks notes* the Daily Telegraph... www.telegraph.co.uk/music/interv...

ChatGPT reaches 800m weekly users and adds Spotify integration OpenAI has reached some significant new milestones with its ChatGPT service. “More than 800 million people use ChatGPT every week, and we process over six billion tokens per minute on the API,” CEO Sam Altman announced at the company’s…

I see Robert Jenrick just finished his speech at the Tory conference with "Let’s take our country back". Entirely accidentally *very* similar to an old BNP slogan, of course 🤔

I don't use my Twitter account any more, but I had to log in to check something. The 'all notifications' column is 90% far-right tweets. Any basic algorithm analysing at my posting/following history would realise that's anathema to my views. 6 Tommy Robinson tweets in the top 30 served up to me...

And perhaps once investigating imaginary terrorist networks is done, they'll get round to tackling the whole 'children getting shot in schools' thing... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

imagine getting qt dunked by ed davey. unrecoverable. you’re furious and he is serenely going down a log flume in bognor regis.

Elon Musk really is quite the human being, eh? Jesus…

The Nigel Farage who wrote this about Charlie Kirk's murder will be furious at the Nigel Farage who made Lucy Connolly a star of the Reform conference

ChatGPT was only pretending to write a book? Wow, it really is human.

@olihawkins.com hello! Came to check if you’re on here, as we’re in the final week of prep for our eldest son going off to university, and I had a happy flashbacks to ‘10 slices of toast and a pint of tea’ late nights :)

Four of YouTube’s top five songs are from KPop Demon Hunters YouTube’s latest weekly music charts reveal the continuing domination of Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters, and the artists involved.

🫠

Hat tip to Leonardo DiCaprio for serving internet comedians the world over with the perfect feed line... www.theguardian.com/film/2025/au...

The Price of Music – the podcast I co-host with Steve Lamacq – is back today after a short hiatus. The relaunch episode sees us chatting about AI band The Velvet Sundown; the big numbers around the Oasis reunion; Deerhoof's Spotify protest and more. Listen here: musically.lnk.to/TPOM

"One love, for the Mother's Pride (£1.19 a loaf, aisle 10...)"

I'm deep down this rabbit-hole with no return...

My girlfriend suggested Oasis tickets for her birthday this year. I lied and said I'd spent my day off trying to get some when I just sat watching movies all day. Why would I want to stand watching some guys standing watching me back, all of us just waiting for it to be over?

He looks like a cormorant about to be cleaned by RSPB volunteers.

@jodythompson.bsky.social TOTP 1978 rerun has brought up so many happy Uncle Bobs memories. Love is in the air!

15 months of dog ownership, and the only command I've managed to successfully teach her is that on a walk, if I sing the chorus to late-90s banger 'Turn Around' by Phats & Small, it's time to turn around and head home 🫠

Woah! The Beta Band have got back together?

It can't be just me who, every time they see this phrase in a password screen, has to sing "I'm the ONNNNNNNNEEEEEE who had your babies...." #Dingdiggidiggidingdingdingdingdiggiding

Swastika t-shirt sparks takedown of Kanye West’s Shopify store Putting swastikas on your merch will end badly. There, we’ve said it. And, honestly, you’d hope that it wouldn’t need to be said. Outside the furthest, nastiest reaches of neo-Nazi music it’s something understood by artists. Alas, not…

IT'S NOT FUNNY it's a serious issue etc but... can't stop laughing imagining how this disruption at my kids' school would have played out. It's absolutely someone's phone emitting a deafening 'BOLLOCKS!' in the middle of maths isn't it...

Sometimes I worry that when I’m using an emoji on my phone, I’m also making that face IRL 😬

Marvelling at the range of involuntary noises “one” finds “oneself” emitting in middle age: *Standing up - dying manatee winched from mineshaft *Sitting down - air escaping from punctured pouffe *Bending over - concussed bison wrestled into sack *Sneezing - final roar of once-proud warrior race

My exciting first purchase of 2025 is a grater with its own pot. Hooted out loud at its desire to send me to a website to get instructions on how to use it…

The UK’s challenges can’t be solved in a single five-year period. Calling it now: Musk pumps millions into Reform; throws the full weight of X’s also behind them to fuel dissatisfaction with progress, and Reform wins our next general election :(

Giving guests freedom of expression doesn't mean you can't question and challenge them if they spout Any Old Shit. Joe Rogan uses this trope too, it seems to be a certain strain of successful podcaster's get-out clause from having to do, well, research. www.theguardian.com/media/2024/d...

I've been sent a 'what are the most popular Christmas trimmings for Brits?' press release, seemingly based on counting search volume. I have questions about this methodology...

Brace yourself for the social media splurge!

I did it! I wrote up my Posting Middle Classes Theory, and tried to explain why I think Threads failed where Bluesky succeeded: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/down-in-th... (free to read)

If you do not know the Beef and Dairy Network podcast already the first 10 minutes of this episode are as good a taster as it gets…

Music Ally held our first Music Marketing Awards last night. I had precisely nothing to do with organising it, which is why it was so well organised and excellent. But GOODNESS am I a bit ‘wan’ today. Concerned I have lost the ability to be out and up past 10.30 without *ramifications*

Katy Perry is officially HOT (not COLD) on supporting grassroots music venues. I like the angle that her first ever UK concert was at the Water Rats too...