Big in Serbia

Now, I'm not really one to self-promote (*reader splutters mouthful of tea down their front and into their lap*), but I was sent a translation of some praise for "Bonjour" from an on-line radio DJ in Serbia that I thought I might share...

Frances plays drums on TFC, Harry is visual artist. One wrote the music, the other lyrics. Together, they recorded an album “Bonjour” which was released in March. It opens with hit “I Feel Like a Record That’s Scratched”, and it describes the very same feeling I felt in life so many times. And the song doesn’t sound any less spectacular than title. There’s also songs about Frank Sinatra on Capri, about Beach Boys’ Mike Love and couple of spoken word tunes. But now I wanna talk about some other song. Their tribute to great director Jean Luc Godard titled “Sympathy For Jean-Luc Godard” date back from the 2014, but I’ve discovered it recently. Since then, I am playing it for more that 10 times a day. And I can’t get enough. What a fucking hit! While I listen to it, I see Anna Karina in white shirt, on the coast of some small town on the south of France, as she’s dangling her legs across the sky while she’s sitting on some isolated bench, feeling sad that summer is passing by. I can se Jean Paul Belmondo as he calmly smokes cigarette next to a broken car, while he’s waiting for a friend to come and pick him up, so the can go back in Paris. I see Jean Seburg in blue-white striped t-shirt, as she’s drinking coffee on some porch, while laughing like crazy about something. I see Brigitte Bardot, as she’s sleeping naked, while open book lays across her breasts. And I also can see all those summers that brought me and took from me all those things that made me the man I am today, with everything I love and hate about myself. This song is reward for thousands of average albums that went through my ears. It’s the needle in the hay. Because of songs like this one I am listening to music. I know that people usually don’t click on links with songs they are not familiar with, but please, make an exception this time. Je n'aime pas monsieur Guy Ritchie His work means nothing to me Je n'aime pas David Cronenberg “Videodrome” just got a minus

Aww. Go buy it.

Meanwhile, providing the music for a primetime ITV quiz show and then following viewers' tweets can be an emotional rollercoaster ride...

In other news - this is a grim, powerful doc that puts first world problems into perspective.

I thought Okja was kind of a hoot. Made me think of the original Willy Wonka film for some reason.

Ozark continues to be great.

I've booked to see the brilliant Armistead Maupin in Edinburgh in October (whoop!)

I am also going to see the great Robert Forster in Monorail in September (wey-hey!)

Oh and I'll be running a block of Songwriting Classes at Glasgow University from the end of Sept - 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. Tell your aspiring songwriter pals.

And finally, Esther...

I am not going to post the link but if you are on twitter and you like creepy ghost stories you might look for the story concerning "Dear David". But if you don't like creepy ghost stories, I wouldn't recommend it.

Right - I need to go and practise my ukulele.