As my best albums of 2026 list has now just hit 100, starting a #mediathread to record new ones. No order, just as they come. All past and future updates available at the lovely Album Whale

furious that "JIVE" doesn't fit into 1-Across

Sorry, gotta go. My ride is here

Sunn O))) gloriously good at Troxy, I think my 6th go-around but first for about a decade due to calendar clashes - still a unique experience

saying "Costa Coffee frappe jaffa cakes" like i'm negotiating to buy han solo's frozen corpse

NEW SHOW: November 13th Father Dionysios Tabakis at @iklectikartlab.bsky.social 2nd ever live show for the Greek Orthodox priest who recently released Paradise Metal on Heat Crimes. Byzantine liturgical chants, drone metal and traditional Mediterranean trance Tickets: link.dice.fm/R0e4e4519621

Archduke v.good at the Royal Court this evening, pitch-black comedy on events leading to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Dramatic staging and lots of contemporary themes, definitely echoes in tone to Rajiv Joseph's earlier "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" royalcourttheatre.com/events/archd...

Visited the garden at Benton End in Suffolk today, amazing work to restore the space and full of maybe the most interestingly coloured poppies I've seen - so varied throughout www.gardenmuseum.org.uk/benton-end/

The continuing heat has led me to Balearic Mandy Smith

Exceptional afternoon concert from Nduduzo Makhathini at Wigmore Hall today, spiritual jazz taking in South African history and community. I'd be happy just to hear him talk for an hour, a warm and thoughtful guy

Really like this but maybe too much for the balmy London heat - equal parts ecstatic/exhausting/thrilling. If it's minimalism, it's maximalist minimalism; bit like Anna Meredith but cramming 20thC American music into it's structures rather than electronic music

If crescendos ye hear, that's post-rock I fear If it all leads to nought, that's slowcore you've caught

Killer list this and what an a joy to discover this Bo Diddley performance. Had no idea he was doing stuff like this. Unreal youtu.be/qfaMoOYEG-M?...

Currently annoying the neighbours with this Chat Pile set from Hellfest 2025 which openly threatens to leave YouTube today, enjoying the unflattering shorts and burnt neck in warm weather representation

This deserves a wide platform

RIP to one of the greats

this one absolutely rips

The obituary section of The Economist is almost always the best thing I read every week, the latest on the Saxophone Colossus is particularly good Sonny Rollins believed that jazz was all there was www.economist.com/obituary/202... 🎁

Most flattering: Gerard Piqué Least flattering: Janet Street-Porter

Been on a Birth (Defects) trip today, very noisy noise-rock but catchy as hell - Lars Gotrich's comparison on BC to the hooks of Bleach-era Nirvana is on point birthdefectsyouth.bandcamp.com/album/deceiv...

Sensational intimate performance this evening from Mouse on Mars at the Barbican's subterranean Pit to launch their new 'Spatial, No Problem' album, felt like both a commemoration and celebration of Lee "Scratch" Perry, expanding upon the record in everyway. Will be up with the best gigs of 2026

Had fun at Sugar this evening down the Clapham Grand (more S.London gigs please!), although maybe not quite as much as fun as seemed to be having on stage, always good to see a band just having a blast. Also nice at 40+change to go to a gig and feel like one of the youngsters in attendance

I've started recording my favourite albums of 2026 here - albumwhale.com/arewenotben/... - 78 down so far but still a bunch I haven't heard yet, good year but aren't they all

Without stating your age, post a movie that was released when you turned 18.

Fantastic show at Kings Place this evening from Cocanha, don't think they have any other UK shows lined up but strong strong recommendation to see live - great energy!

some prime disgustingly hot weather listening

the Kylie doc on Netflix is very watchable indeed, brushes over large sections of her career but supremely involving and moving throughout. her positivity & grace in particular to the press is startling, a total pro. also Michael Hutchence was a very handsome man & Nick Cave is surprisingly funny

Cover of the day

good review of a great album; these guys go hard

Had to nuke Slay the Spire 2 from my Steam library as it was ruining my life so it freed up time to play Forbidden Solitaire - a horror-solitaire game with mid-90s FMV aesthetics and an unnerving meta story throughout. A narratively tight 4 hours but the core game is so good I'd happily play longer

Happened upon Dylan Henner yesterday, particularly like the releases which are just lovely marimba-heavy ambient. Perfect for zoning out too

Enjoyed The Music Is Black at the new and shiny V&A East, well worth the tenner via Art Fund. The audio worked well (you're given some headphones on entry and the music changes as you move around the exhibits) but my millennial ass wished for more focus on Jungle/Grime www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/...

My plucky Qatari team have defied the naysaying pundits and made it through to the Pop World Cup's knockout stage against tournament first-timers Curaçao. A tough game, hopefully Sahera and Mansoor Al-Muhannadi have the steel to overcome the Caribbean's finest to continue the ride

Quite enjoyed the smallish but richly curated Hawai'i exhibition at the British Museum this afternoon - knew very little about the place prior outside of modern history www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/...

Unsure how this 11 minute and somehow even sleazier take of Fun House has less than 1k plays on YT in 8 years

This album is a blast "eight tracks by Yassine Nana and his group, recorded between 1984 and 1989, during a key moment in Mauritania’s musical history...Influenced by reggae, soul and new wave, these songs integrate drum machines, synthesizers and electric guitars into Saharan musical structures"

A Fine Line between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap is currently 99p on Kindle/Kobo - although I had to tap out on the in character bits at the end, for any fans of the original film the making of details are essential

Liking this, languid noisy acid-psych rock from 1992 via Tokyo #nowplaying

Signed up to do the London Marathon #MyWay (where you can do it from home) for this year several months ago - didn't train enough to run it so decided to walk it to not entirely waste the entry fee; 9 hours (walking time) and 58k steps later now completed and South London a little more explored

This probably only appeals to myself but DJ Windows95Man's recent HÖR set is some exceptional mid-90s Rotterdam Gabba/Happy Hardcore/Bouncy Techno - teenage me imbibed this stuff via tape packs, he couldn't have picked a better selection of tracks here

Had this new Las Cruxes album on loop this afternoon, could do with some more focus maybe but the best tracks really fizz my brain

Is that not clearly a noise table?

Van Morrison album covers.

This post-punk/new/no-wave mix from Nabihah Iqbal is a lot of fun, several new discoveries to me

Litvinenko was the cover story

Greatly enjoyed James Acaster's meta tribute act this evening at the "6th form hall" of Bloomsbury Theatre. A tight hour turned into a freewheeling tightrope walking two thanks to a rejected meeting with the director of [REDACTED], the musical cues in Love on the Spectrum and Freddy punching a wall

Thank you to this always excellent column for introducing me to Cruel Force's thrash

they're calling it the horniest millennials have ever been

Fcukers' RA podcast has "late 90s NME cover-mounted CD mixed by Midfield General" energy (complimentary)