Happy 71st birthday to reggae legend Johnny Clarke. Here's his wonderful cover version of Delano Stewart's Dance With Me. Backed by The Aggrovators, this flyers version from 1975 swings with exuberance... youtu.be/0DvB5K3ySD4?... #reggae #reggaesky #vinylsky #vinyl #musicsky

Timeline cleanse.

In case anyone's wondering, "The Flame" samples this piece of garage-mod-punk marvellousness very heavily. #totp youtu.be/OeNRw-Xagx8?...

Not simply because I'm desperately broke again, but also because it's a fabulous record that not enough people have bought, so for the 1st time in ages, if you've not got a copy of my Somethin' Else 7" (or the non-physical version), then grab it from here rongorongorongo.bandcamp.com/album/someth...

Snaw is bluffertin’ the toun, Gurly wunds are roustin’ roun’, Peety fowk in broken shoon This winter nicht… —Helen Burness Cruickshank (1886–1975), “Song of Pity for Refugees” published in Collected Poems (Reprographia, 1971) #Scots #poem #poetry

Here's the accaompanying thing I wrote about the EKO Computerhythm, if you missed it a while back rentparty.substack.com/p/chapter-3-...

Trappistes Rochefort, Triple Extra... and The Three Judges in Partick. #BskyBeer

The crown spire of the 1898 Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church in Glasgow standing above the main arch of the Belmont Street Bridge as seen from the Kelvin Walkway. #glasgow #architecture #church #architecturephotography #bridge

“The calendar in Unthank is based on sunlight, but only administrators use it. The majority have forgotten the sun…” Unthank – a nightmarish fantasy mirror-Glasgow from Alasdair Gray’s LANARK – is explored in this episode of Five Imaginary Scottish Places #BookWormSat www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

Happy 100th Big George! I’ll be celebrating here for the next week but let’s start with one his greatest scores, Strawberry Fields Forever, which we re-recorded by following the Beatles’ original rhythm track so it’s as faithful as possible. youtu.be/UrO-s7gh0-c?...

Dirty Harry is one of my favourite reggae instrumentals. It was produced by Glen Brown and features Richard Hall and Tommy McCook on saxophones. When playing this 7" I'm always wary of the heavy bass drop on 17 secs... 💣💥 youtu.be/fP6YwkYDO08?... #reggae #reggaesky #vinylsky #vinyl #musicsky

A Victorian glasshouse in Tollcross Park in the East End of Glasgow. It's thought to have been built around 1858, which would make it the oldest of the city's five historic winter gardens. #glasgow #wintergardens #glasshouse #architecture #tollcross

I’ve just taken delivery of this rather smashing proof copy of my next book: How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside. I’ll be heading off on a UK tour with the book this autumn. A full list of where I’ll be this year is here: brianbilston.com/events/ Hope to see some of you later in the year.

This’ll never not be a source of great wonderment and joy

Of course it's a bootleg. Not sure if I prefer this or Try A Little Sunshine. Never have been able to decide. Now That's What I Call Psychedelia Vol 1 I had a booter CD in the 90s and everyone I played it to said it was a modern release.

You know. As much as I love The Teardrops and Bunnymen, the real game changers were of course Jesus & Mary Chain. One of the greatest bands to have ever existed.

US 60s pop dynamite

Well inside my all time top 100 singles of all time are The Dentists with the magnificent psychedelic pop beauty Strawberries Are Growing In My Garden (And It's Wintertime)

I'm a C86 kid. I grew up with Creation Records. I still love the records. Like this one by The Loft

Not many people would pick this out as a favourite. The glorious Colours Of Darkness by The Young Idea. Pretty much defines 1967. It's on the flip side of With A Little Help From My Friends and you will find a copy for 50p.

NEXT!! Duvel Moortgat Brewery (which was founded in 1871 in Breendonk, Belgium) Duval Citra IPA, 9.5% abv. Absolutely smashing beer, highly recommended, however, due to its abv, not to be fucked with. #Bskybeer

Genius noise Cabaret Voltaire So good my wife bought me the tshirt

NEXT! Broughton Brewery, Main Street, Broughton, Scottish Borders. "Old Jock" Scotch Ale 6.7% abv. #Bskybeer

Riding high inside my top 100 singles of all-time is an Australian number one hit single from 1969. Russell Morris "The Real Thing". Even Kylie covered it. I have the Australian issue and the US issue but never seen the UK one.

For 30 odd years I had a Cope Bootleg LP where he covered this Pete Wylie song and I was totally enamored with it. But I just couldn't ever find a copy of it in the wild. @jaynemoobs.bsky.social sent me a copy to save the day. wah heat! "Better Scream" Love it

Why have I only just realised that the brief "I do renounce them" dialogue at the end of Julian Copes manic garage-punkabilly classic The Bloody Assizes is a sample from The Godfather. Only been listening to this track for about 35 years. Never mind m.youtube.com/watch?v=NULliNf9Gog

The Lonely Spy, penned by Bill Drummond and Dave Balfe. One of thee great singles of the era

Happy New Year! Today I'm remembering the great singer Freddie McKay who was born on New Year's Day in 1947. This is an all-time favourite 7". It features Augustus Pablo on melodica and is a beautiful and uplifting tune... youtu.be/h4griHMJG2A?... #reggae #reggaesky #vinylsky #vinyl #musicsky

Sent the dreaded email last week - TEATLES is no more. I do have a few copies of TEATLES 5 and a pile of the Beatles and Tea mini zine. If yr skint you can just pay postage.

Next year is the 25th anniversary of my first book, NEW YORK IS NOW!: THE NEW WAVE OF FREE JAZZ. Perhaps an indie or university press would like to publish an updated edition, so I can take out the bad parts and add supplemental material?

Let's float on, no matter what!

Happy New Year, beautiful Beatles community! x youtu.be/w6EeAZy91-s?...

41 nostalgic photos capture high-rise life in Scotland, from the 60s to the noughties share.google/4Ad1u2NX1ueF...

A 2025 obsession that continues into 2026 is the great films on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social with Edward Woodward starring in super-rare British supernatural chiller The Appointment at 9.55pm tonight, Jan 1st. I reviewed this on blu-ray here. #TPTV #TPTVsubtitles film-authority.com/2022/07/12/t...

Ne'er's Day morning, 1826, from the Northern Looking Glass. Those who celebrated well last night may be grateful that nobody's currently playing the bagpipes in your vicinity.

Let’s hope its a good one. Without any fear.

💥 youtu.be/ODDVCOQbGVQ?...

The word is that I’ve a 'movie' out shortly. It's true. My 2022 theatre show The Beatles / Evolver:62 was filmed, and selections from that + new material shot in Liverpool and London comprise a feature that'll be streaming from Feb 2026. More details to follow, sample here vimeo.com/1023543808?f...

Working feverishly on my Fave Jazz of 2025 list to get it out the door tomorrow. It's a great day to sign up for my little newsletter if you haven't yet. 🙃 motherslug.substack.com

December 29th is the feast day of minor Scottish saint, Onan, who, despite his name, isn't the patron saint of anything in particular... #OldWeirdScotland

🏆BESTSELLERS OF THE YEAR 2025 🏆 Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan’s latest LP is our most popular release of the year. Check out which other vinyl delights have been going down a treat this year below. www.normanrecords.com/features/bes...

Doesn't matter if it's snowing or the world is on fire -- it's always time to discuss The Son of Satan!

Rico Rodriguez plays a wonderful trombone solo in this uptempo blues. It was likely named after the times Rico would spend up in the Wareika Hills in the late 1950s, playing music with Count Ossie and his drummers... youtu.be/xlNSGGo3bFk?... #reggae #reggaesky #vinylsky #vinyl #musicsky #ska

Forty-one-years ago, aged 18, I used most of my first pay cheque to buy my first picture - a huge maritime screenprint -from Roger. www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/2572895...

Framed one of my Christmas presents. #MakeBritainSkankAgain

A gem of a find on the Internet Archive! My childhood library's Index Catalogue from 1909 📚🐦🌳🔔🐟 I was interested to see the hygiene notes therein having watched someone slurping their way through a library book on the train during covid 😷

Happy birthday to Jeff Lynne (78), frontman of the Idle Race, and Michael Nesmith (RIP), leader of the First National Band. 🎂

What we got up to in twenty twenty five... the-modernist.org/blogs/news-1...