podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... "A weird combo of solace and excitement" says @simonreynolds.bsky.social ... as someone who never stopped trying to keep the shoegaze flame alive, it's great to hear all this new stuff about the genre now.

Same on youthful football trips from Oxford @stevequeralt.bsky.social ... I remember seeing Spurs beat Man U 4-0 when I was about 11. Stood on a milk crate. No idea how I got there / how come my parents allowed it (probably didn't know).

"People can expect the ultimate Chapterhouse"... too right, I'm still blown away by how good they were. Great interview too, you're becoming my favourite interviewer...

I'm at quite a specific age, where most of my social circle have grown-up children still living at home / back at home, and the main topic of conversation is what a ridiculous amount of eggs they eat.

@wesleydoylewrites.bsky.social Congratulations on your Record Collector shoegaze feature, really excellent stuff.

"The lab is limited. It’s great, but limited. I need to get out of there. I don’t always know where it would lead, but I need to get out of the lab and try new things. And, and with him, you know, he was, I don’t know if you would say he’s the most villain in history, but certainly high up there."

Latest delivery from @soniccathedral.bsky.social - The Early Years. Loving it so far.

Looking forward to this from @brensweeney.bsky.social ... we don't hear enough about Ultra Vivid Scene

Decent 'History of shoegaze in 50 songs' playlist from Record Collector, which includes a couple that were on my recent mixtape for @steve69.bsky.social open.spotify.com/playlist/0lx...

This week's guest on #stevesmixtapes is psychologist, shoegaze enthusiast and budding music journalist Jon Sutton www.stevesmixtapes.com/mixtape-070-... @jonsutton.bsky.social

...I am particularly pleased that the show description has a link to my 'Me at 18' mixtape, from 1992, which holds up rather well I think.

Just 10 tracks, so I couldn't namecheck everyone I wanted to... but I know I got @stevequeralt.bsky.social @emmaandersonmusic.bsky.social @soniccathedral.bsky.social @slowdiveofficial.bsky.social @weddingpresent.bsky.social @underworldlive.bsky.social in there... Thanks so much Steve for the invite!

Is it only me that gets really annoyed about Chelsea and Man City both wearing blue for the FA Cup final?

Big up the MiniDisc massive 🙌

A cover version of my favourite Peter Wyeth song, which is decent enough but I think mainly proves what an incredible singer/songwriter Wyeth is. youtube.com/watch?v=P-7Z...

Mountaintop Junkshop - 'February soup', live. About noticing the small wonders in the world. youtu.be/wiU4NRqqt7g?...

Mountaintop Junkshop - 'Marine biology' live at Duffy's bar Leicester. Lovely story at the start of this one. If anyone happens to know conservationist and photographer Valerie Taylor, let's get it to her! youtu.be/sk_yqFFOb6A?...

Mountaintop Junkshop - 'We have the same hearts', live at Duffy's Leicester. Proper lighters in the air pop song! youtu.be/olOVSoHh70U?...

Peter Wyeth - 'The first time I lied', live at Duffy's Bar, Leicester youtu.be/iIGi83y66us?...

Gabriel Minnikin and Mountaintop Junkshop, 'May the circle be unbroken', live at Duffy's Bar, Leicester youtu.be/3yRsJLm0lgs?...

Surely if there's one thing we've learned in the last decade it's that if you give the British public a big red "f*** you' button, they will push it. If I was Reform I'd be licking my lips at this by-election. As long as they have a story ready for if they do lose, it's low cost / very big reward.

@peterlatimer6.bsky.social @soniccathedral.bsky.social Have found a solution

It's that time that makes both me and @peterlatimer6.bsky.social wince... time to move some @soniccathedral.bsky.social t-shirts on to the great textiles recycling bin in the car park...

I feel like this episode is stretching the definition of 'garden'

I wondered if this might happen. And it did. The stuff of shoegaze dreams. Thank you Chapterhouse, @soniccathedral.bsky.social @rachelgoswell.bsky.social youtu.be/sTRrhm8j0Rc?...

Chapterhouse - Mesmerise, live in Islington @soniccathedral.bsky.social This one's appropriate because my name's John (nearly) and I was at the gig with someone called Barry (I wasn't). youtube.com/watch?v=GGtc...

Does anyone know of a beginner guitar book for shoegazers? Inspired by Chapterhouse last night I thought I'd have a go at 'Pearl', which in theory seems quite straightforward, and it's sounding absolutely nothing like it at all.

Chapterhouse - Mesmerise, live in Islington @soniccathedral.bsky.social This one's appropriate because my name's John (nearly) and I was at the gig with someone called Barry (I wasn't). youtube.com/watch?v=GGtc...

So @sisterraydavies.bsky.social were immense tonight. My favourite album of the year so far... just two fellas can make a whole lot of beautiful noise.

35 years ago on this very day, I bought Chapterhouse 'Whirlpool', with the free 'Die, Die, Die' 12". Tonight, ably supported by the amazing @sisterraydavies.bsky.social (videos to follow) they went straight into my Top 10 Gigs of All Time. No mean feat. Thanks @soniccathedral.bsky.social!

Glad to get the chance to tell @mikiberenyi.bsky.social that her at Duffy's in Leicester was my gig of 2025...

I wondered if this might happen. And it did. The stuff of shoegaze dreams. Thank you Chapterhouse, @soniccathedral.bsky.social @rachelgoswell.bsky.social youtu.be/sTRrhm8j0Rc?...

See you there!

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... After shootings, there are *always* reports that people there mistook the sound of gunfire for something else. Suggestion: could guns be manufactured with the "this vehicle is reversing" style audio announcement? Could require the addition of speakers I guess...

The greatest three word comedy ever written, and maybe just the greatest three words written, is "She remembered, great!" If you know, you know.

If any of my shoegaze followers fancy Chapterhouse in Leeds on Sunday, there are tickets on Twickets www.twickets.live/event/198313...

Got a signed CD of this, it's great

'Ecstasy of the weak' from @glazyhaze.bsky.social ... Italian shoegaze via my youngest son youtu.be/I-PvBabJ8GQ?...

Nicked from the other place: You can watch your favourite band live, but only five songs. Who/ what would you go for? For an unlikely but *possible* #dreamsetlist I'd go for Mojave 3 doing 'Who do you love?', 'Tomorrow's taken', 'Bluebird of happiness', 'In love with a view', 'Some kinda angel'.

Guitar arrived damaged. Sent it back. Bought this one secondhand. Sounds great - or, would do if I could play it.

Waiting

www.theguardian.com/culture/2026... "I would love for people to still want to read 4,000 words on a new band, and pay for it, but we are not there any more, and haven’t been for quite a long time.”

Criminally, this song was in my library as 'three stars'. After seeing it live last night, it's upgraded to five. youtu.be/RadUfjnnqOE?...

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... I have done one of these allergy/intolerance tests, and had absolutely no idea about any of this...

How about that for 10 CDs of boxset beauty? @cravenfaults.bsky.social @theleaflabel.com

Not only were we promised jetpacks, we used to have Cornish pasties with a dessert end.

Bit of @dearyband.bsky.social spinning in Holt Vinyl Vault

All the signs your wife has Miserable Woman Syndrome, and how to cure her #MaleMentalHealth

I think I now have the world record for 'Guitars owned despite not being able to play the guitar'