Last week’s US presidents quiz was a tight run thing, with both Jims joining me on 20/20 at 2:50, creating an historic three-way tie. This week we’re looking at the parenthetical aside, as commonly utilised in 1980s song titles. There…
Aphoristic Album Reviews takes a look at three new releases from women this week. Ingoma, from South African teenager Azana, is a record from July 2020, while Cassandra Jenkin’s An Overview on Phenomenal Nature and Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over…
Queen formed in 1970 in London, originally a hard rock band with shades of progressive rock and metal. They adapted as musical fashions changed; they flirted with disco on 1982’s Hot Space and produced stripped-down, synthesizer-fuelled pop hits on 1984’s…
When Mike Scott formed The Waterboys he was the group’s only member, recording most of their self-titled 1983 debut alone in the studio. Since then, The Waterboys have churned through more than 85 members – Scott believes this is a…
Congratulations to Angie and J. who both scored 75/78 in last week’s music grid quiz. It looks like almost no-one knew Ray J, perhaps most famous for a (non-music) video that he made with Kim Kardashian that helped to launch…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years from 1965-1968, and…
No one scored more than 18/20 in last week’s Double Grammy Winners quiz – congratulations to Eclectic Music Lover and Tony who both reached that mark. This week there’s a delightful music grid to solve: I scored 69/78 (you…
The Gaulish warrior Asterix has been a French institution since he first appeared in 1961’s Asterix the Gaul. He’s accompanied by his inseparable friend Obelix and aided by the druid Getafix’s magic potion that gives superhuman strength. His cunning defends…
Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s Who quiz. I didn’t watch the Grammy ceremony this week, although I read the winners with sceptical interest. This week’s quiz invites you to identify the 20 artists…
We stay in the USA for this week’s new albums. Literate bar-rockers The Hold Steady still have new ideas on their eighth studio album. Tennessee indie artist Julien Baker is back with a third album of introspection, while Paramore’s Hayley…
