Chez Wombat

Let's not forget Hillary was never particularly popular, had an awful lot of baggage and years of history and was up against a rising populism that many were underestimating and was new and energised against an incumbent government that was weak and unconvincing. Kamala's gender (sadly) may well put off voters, but I don't think it's in any way a done deal simply because of that. It really does depend on a myriad of factors.

Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis From the title, I mistook this for a live album, but this is actually the fifth studio album from swinging sixties icon, Dusty Springfield. Recorded initially as the title suggests in American Sound Studio in Memphis in a bid to revitalise her career after signing with Atlantic Records. Overcome by the big American names surrounding her, the recording was a challenge for her and her insecurity and anxiety meant she couldn't perform at her best and she only approved of two picks of the songs selected for her and orchestral arrangements and overdubbing vocals were recorded in New York. Initially, the album sold poorly, stalling her career rather than revitalising it, but has since grown a reputation as a classic of pop and soul and her best work containing one of her signature songs. Only really know the bigger songs by Dusty, but she had an incredible voice and was a massive talent so certainly a name I respect a lot. You can get a sense of the main themes of the album from the first few songs alone, where Dusty's strong, emotional vocals sing over soaring strings, I would usually find these songs a bit cheesy, but her performance really rinses the meaning and makes it her own. It's sad to think she was so nervous, as she really does sound stunning throughout. The most well known song here, Son of a Preacher Man, was not originally intended for her and more geared towards Aretha Franklin, however this was one of just two songs that she herself approved of and I don't think any more needs to be said, it remains an all time classic and a standout of the record, shifting the style and mood to that confident Southern soul sound. Though it may not seem it, there is actually a fair bit of diversity and mood here which she really conveys very well - Don't Want to Hear It is a sad tale of a lover that knows her love is ill-advised yet lives in denial and Breakfast in Bed sounding much more sultry (and contains a classic reply line to her other signature hit). My favourite two are probably The Windmills in Your Mind - a song that only charted in the US and was a version of the Oscar-winning song from The Thomas Crown Affair, it certainly has that dramatic movie flair and it's following song, In The Land of Make Believe has a dreamy feel that is again sold really well. I don't know if there's loads on this album I'll come back to, there's not much variance to the lyrics and lacks the adventurous nature of other music from the time, yet I do admire it a lot as it's a case of letting strong vocals do the work without overdoing it and making the songs your own. These songs may not have been written by her, but you wouldn't know it. 7.5

Honestly, I'm not really worried about a cancellation or Disney potentially dropping it whatever happens as I feel Doctor Who's one of those shows that is so embedded into the cultural consciousness in the UK that it won't ever really go away. It may be rested or even cancelled at some point, but it has such a large devoted fanbase and is that unique show that can reinvent itself completely that it'll be back fresher and reach new audiences every time. It's why I think a lot of 'Doctor Who's in trouble' articles don't really phase me as they've been declining for years. I think a lot of people these days look at the show nostalgically and I don't think there's been a lot of appeal of that kind in this current series, if they are worried about ratings, I wouldn't be surprised if they started to lean into that more and bring back more older villains next time.

Everything I Wanted, Circles and Sunflower were quite far ahead, but also went for Faded, The Hills and (why not) Man's Not Hot x The last three (No Brainer, I Love It and ME!) stand out as particularly bad to me so they got my vote for Worst. The others are just naff or forgettable (or problematic in one case x)

Good to have this confirmed, but I worry if it's too late. Biden should've never been in the running to do a second term and the debate performance confirmed that, Dems should've been prepping someone younger and more popular to take over once his tenure was done. Doing this all now when the circumstances are really in Trump's favour is worrisome. I'm hopeful that Harris can at least turn the narrative around and make it very clear who the older, less suitable candidate for the job is and focus on the swing states, but I worry about her popularity levels on the top of America's usual insitutional racism & sexism. I'm remaining pessimistic, but at least a little bit less than last week.

Love both singles, but especially Wild God, the last part is amazing <3 I've always been meaning to check them out more as the singles I know (Red Right Hand, The Mercy Seat) are wonderful.

Prince and The Revolution – Purple Rain Billie Eilish – Bury a Friend Alan Walker – Faded Galantis – Peanut Butter Jelly The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk – I Feel It Coming For Tomcraft, I guess we could play his other almost hit Brainwashed (Call You) (#43 in the UK)? Don't mind hearing Loneliness again though either x

Some of my minor favourites showing up, enjoy the brass on Angel of Harlem, I'll Go Crazy... was hammered in to me by that Apple advert, but it's a nice song with a sweet video. Window in the Skies is underrated for 21st Century U2, got a great anthemic soundscape and the video is seriously a real triumph with over 100 different musicians either in sync lyrically or musically with the song.

I think the lack of cohesion in a way works in its favour - you get the sense that she was finally allowed to be free, there's clearly been challenges, but it does add to it being an honest piece of work, rather than calculated. -x- Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis Kinda does what it says on the tin here - two of the biggest names in jazz music combined in what would've been an internet-breaking collaboration in the 1950s covering classic standards. They were aided by the Oscar Peterson Quartet and they clearly hit it off as this was the first of three duet albums they'd record together. I reviewed an Ella Fitzgerald album already with her Cole Porter songbook and this chronologically was her next release so I suppose there's no change in her backstory. What I said there still stands really - 'it's very easy to appreciate them as they set the paving for many genres to come over the decade, but they're just so of their time that it's difficult to get much enjoyment out of them unless you're really into that genre or were there at the time.' This one thankfully was not as long as her last one (although still the lengthiest so far at 53 minutes), yet sadly, it felt like it still dragged. Now don't get me wrong, this is a very well put together album, it's wonderfully composed, completely stripped back to allow both of their powerful vocals to soar and it's a good pairing as both have very distinctive and different vocal styles, Ella's impeccable enunciation and tone combined with Louis' smooth and eccentric raspiness yet flow together brilliantly. It's a triumph of composition, some of the highlights (all of these are 20s/30s jazz standards or old musical film themes, I only recognise one, They Can't Take That Away from Me) include Isn't it a Lovely Day and Tenderly's beautiful trumpet solos, the closest the album comes to a light bop in Cheek to Cheek and you hear Ella do an impression of Louis at the end of it which is really cute and gives a wholesome feel to these two incredible admirable figures, who would've been facing a lot of segregation at the time. Yet sadly, there's just not enough variance here to keep me interested - it doesn't help that I know almost none of the songs so can't even get the satisfaction of hearing a good rendition of it or finally putting a name to the standard I sung at primary school, but there's only so long I can hear a different standard with exactly the same arrangement before I start to tire and struggle to distinguish them a bit. There's not even any quirky facts for the songs or lyrics to keep me interested, they've got a hell of a lot less personality than Cole Porter's songbook. Which all in all just makes me a bit bored, which I know isn't the experience for everyone so put this down to me being an uncultured millenial and not being what I look for in music. I will score this above average in recognition for the musical achievements, but will likely never listen again x 6.0

I know Take Me to the Clouds Above isn't really U2, but I had to be honest and it is a great track that stands up to a lot here. Much as I love U2's hits, they have a fair few misses.

The money can also be put into the woefully underfunded Further Education sector, the amount of students with Education Health Care Plans coming out of school rises every year with increasingly complex needs, students whose needs we are just not funded enough to meet. This can help get those that don't have the advantage of wealthy backgrounds get a chance in life. It doesn't matter how you look at it, free schools and colleges are in a dark place. However marginal difference it makes, it's a step in the right direction promoting education for all. Of all the things to pick on Labour about...this?

Turns out I have a perfect option for this on the back burner so confirmed! Do love a bit of a spoken word dance <3

Your thoughts mainly mirrored my own then! Indeed, Only Love Can Break Your Heart was the only one I recognised and I was trying to remember where I knew it from -x- Rihanna - Anti A bit more modern now and to this date, the most recent album by former pop superstar Rihanna. A long drawn out release strategy (in the end, only featuring one of the pre-album single releases) marred by creative difficulties and emotional turmoil, Anti was aptly named as it was in stark contrast to to the commercial radio-friendly pop known from Rihanna at the time, taking a more experimental approach with atmospheric production and dabs in different genres such as dancehall, industrial and trap. Upon release, it was so musically free and unconventional that it initially received fairly mixed reviews though was commercially successful, reaching number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 (though only reached number 7 in the UK), it has over time gained a following as a modern classic and Rihanna's most daring album and one of the many radical pop albums that helped to bring black music stars into the limelight in the mid-2010s. A follow-up is still yet to be released. I've never heard a Rihanna album, I grew up with her at her commercial peak and while she can certainly make a great hit, it doesn't interest me enough for an album so I was interested to see a more personal and less radio-friendly side to her. Of the singles I already knew, I've never been a fan of Work, just always found it annoying although I do admire its revisiting of her Caribbean dancehall roots. Kiss It Better was much better and sounds great on here as a Prince-esque throwback to 80s power pop and sits nicely alongisde Woo on the album with some great guitar work. I knew Anti would be different, but some of these style changes are nonetheless striking to hear from Rihanna and she mainly pulls them off really well. Consideration is a much better presentation of the dancehall/reggae sound that was flirted with in Work, but there's also forays into trap and industrial on the likes of Desperado. Her cover of Tame Impala's New Person, Same Old Mistakes (titled with just the latter clause) was a real surprise, but is a highlight. Keeping the psychedelic synthpop and most of the previous sounds of the original, yet it still feels fresh by coming from a female perspective and it really fits with the immersive soundscape and self-evaluative themes of the album. Though the most wild change of style has to be Love on the Brain, a 50s doo wop inspired song with strings, organ and arpeggio, Etta James and Amy Winehouse are touted as influences and I see why, it seems unthinkable coming from Rihanna, but really works. If there's nitpicks, I've always thought Rihanna's vocals aren't particularly suited to some songs and while that doesn't detract from a lot here, it does make songs relying on heavy vocals like Higher a bit strained, though this is saved by the strong production. This is clearly quite an emotionally conflicted album with some real vulnerabilities showcased in terms of relationships, though in many songs (like LITB above) the arrangements do sometimes hide the darker themes. It's laid bare on the closer Close to You, which works well as a painful love letter to an old flame, yet with an acknowledgement that it had to end, and is stripped down to a piano. The deluxe tracks aren't as interesting, but work OK as club interludes, specifically, Good Night Gotham. I do understand people finding this 'messy' but it does really work overall for me as a deeply personal and creatively free piece of work. It does feel like an album difficult to follow up and a result of being confined to radio friendly dance-pop for too long, so in that sense, I do see how she hasn't yet. Whether it does turn out to be her last album or not, it's worth a listen for a glimpse of a darker side of a pop superstar. 8.5

Damaris was in the PFSC contest I hosted a couple of years ago, and Noche voted for it too! :lol: It's a good song though, it went top 10 there and I think it could have quite good crossover appeal.

I am quite surprised in all honesty, I thought he'd at least do one more tournament, two consecutive Euros finals is certainly a much higher ending point than any past England manager has, but there certainly has been some issues arising that show we're not quite up to the big teams yet so I do commend him for knowing when to stop if he doesn't feel he can fix this. Certainly one that history will be very kind to with that track record. I await the same cycle to start again when England go out at the QFs next tournament or something :kink:

Liberty X for the ultimate bland cover, at least Blue had the drama x

Very promising box office result for this, it had a budget of less than 10 million and has made that back and then some so far, just shows the powers of an intriguing marketing campaign! Incredibly well made film with the cinematography, shot composition and sound design really standing out, I kept focusing on the shots as they revealed so much space and had you on your toes wondering what was coming, yet never ruining it with a cheap jump scare. I agree that I'd call it eerie and creepy rather than really scary, but it was still effective. Monroe and Cage worked really well off each other as polar opposites, similar to Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter which I'm guessing was intentional. The final reveal and expository last act didn't quite land fully for me, but I would still definitely recommend this as a brilliant exercise in atmosphere, Think the most fitting description is The Omen meets Silence of the Lambs if both were produced by A24.

Depressing that Trump's running mate is one that went straight to blaming the Democrats for Trump's shooting (when we didn't even know anything about it, let alone that he's a registered Republican), thus inciting the possibility for more violence. Equally depressing that this pretty much means all of Trump's legal cases are gonna be put on the backburner and probably pardoned by himself. I've already resigned myself to him winning. Roll on November I guess x

Martine McCutcheon first I think. The Way You Move and Homecoming are both great, boo at them already targetted -_-

Gone for Mr Saxobeat, Iris, Euphoria, Sonnentanz, Changes & Budapest for best (Jubel would've been here had it made it too x) Just It's My Party for Worst, I'd forgotten how unpleasant that was x

And life goes on x Congrats to Spain, the best team won and the only team to play interesting, attacking based football throughout so a fitting result. Certainly not a bad game for England and we did what we could, but there was rarely a point we looked dominant and the result reflects the game fairly. Don't think there's necessarily a lot to be upset about, we were just up against a better team that had already gone through France and Germany at home, there definitely needs to be some revision though as we have looked painfully amateur at times and played very boring football. Still, I believe we'll get there eventually, Euro 2028 is a home tournament for the most part so there's hope!

Pleased we've been kinder to the Pogues this time, that to win x

I just can't imagine who thought a pro-feminist song produced by Dr Luke of all people was a good idea, like, really? The video feels overly sexualised and male gaze-oriented as well, which somewhat contradicts the message it's aiming for as well and feels very off in the context of Dr. Luke producing it. Not that I imagine a lot of thought went into it. But even separated from that context, the song is just really basic, not horrible but beyond cliched. Katy herself sounds bored singing this, and I know a lot of her songs have silly lyrics, but she at least injects character and sings them like she meant them. There's none of that here, just utterly throwaway in every sense. I'd believe you if you said this was AI genered. So yeah, great comeback!

I'm torn as I do believe Spain have played the best all tournament and deserve to win, but y'know, they've won twice already this century alone so it would be wonderful if history could be made, even if it's extra time/penalties that gives us a fluke win x I do think we have a solid chance as long as we can build on the progress we made in the Netherlands game, will be crazy looking back at the narrative of this tournament if we do win when it was most likely we'd lose at the round of 16!

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God <3