oh, home entertainment.

Chris's blog is lively and grinning with updates, and it's good reading. I keep getting jolts of realisation that he's in Australia. The updates arrive on his blog easily and organically, in time with my browsing, or so it seems. But when I think about the gulf in time (and weather! grim day today) I get a moment of surprise every time. Either way, you don't need to know Chris to find his site interesting; in actual fact, it's very enjoyable reading - I hope he keeps going. That sounds like I'm urging him not to die, rather than to keep writing. Well, why not? Live, Chris! Live!

Is downloading music really that bad, asks the Guardian. No, it's not.

After a 6music special and a four page spread in Word Magazine, Andy Partridge gets another page of press in (last friday's) The Guardian. He comes across as a very grumpy boy of course, as usual, but then he is a bona fide pop genius so that's well within his rights. I was listening to XTC's wonderful Skylarking the other day on the train home from Newcastle, and it's really the most perfect pastoral pop record, better only perhaps by the later Apple Venus Vol. 1. Anyway, read on for his Rebellious Jukebox thing, or whatever they call it these days.

Arts features Above average Andy

Oh, and this looks like it's got to be interesting... The XTC tribute CD, with all songs by unknown bands, costs under a tenner and contains 138 songs. Some if it is, I read, awful. But that just makes me want to hear it more...

King for a Day - a tribute to XTC

There's a track to download for free here, and it's rubbish :-) But it reminds me of the original, and that's good enough for me! Like I said, pop genius.

(And talking of pop genius, I just bought my copy of Wiley's Wot Do U Call It? Well, it's the best single I've heard in absolutely ages. Years.)