William Ham sent me a disc of his radio show last week

Which show? He's done 3; the early '90s one that Whales and Motherbanger come from, On The Hour which is where Alan Partridge first appeared and the awesome, shattering, not actually that funny but unmissable Blue Jam , which is the downright oddest radio I think I've ever heard. There are also rumours of his pre-national radio days, when he is said to have piped helium into other studios live on air, etc. Most of his TV work is worth tracking down, too.

There's a funny piece with Richard Thompson in this week's New Yorker where the writer follows him through a record store as he picks out 6 albums to buy. But this is the best bit:

"I was at Buckingham Palace. There was a reception for the English music industry, and for some reason I got invited. About five of your favorite royals were circulating about." The Queen was there, and Thompson was introduced. "It was short and sweet. She said, 'Well, tell me, what was Nick Drake really like?' "

Seriously?

"No. She said, 'And what do you do?' I said, 'I’m a singer-songwriter,' because there was a roomful of guitar players— Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck—and I didn’t want to be another guitar player. She said, 'Oh, you do both! At the same time! How wonderful for you.' So I said, 'I hope it’s wonderful for other people as well.' She said, 'Ha ha ha ha.' Then she went, you know, 'Next!' "

Shaggs musical coming to New York: [link]

But this is the best bit

Actually my favorite was, "Whoa! Rat!"

Fresh Air yesterday rebroadcast an interview with Robert Moog. Been hectic here so I missed a lot, but what I caught was pretty good. Especially loved his rendition of "Summertime".

Holy Shit.

Gang of Four is coming to town. With the original lineup.

Especially loved his rendition of "Summertime".

Moog played "Summertime"? Or someone else played it on one of his theremins?

It was a theremin, & I think he played it. He demonstrated some sounds first & played some stuff later on. Work's been a madhouse so even though I relistened later in the day I again missed a lot. But someone played "Summertime" on the theremin, & I think it was the good Dr. in the studio with Terry. Or maybe Professor Plum, in the library, with...

20th Century Boy by T Rex is a freaking GREAT song, and I want to publicly thank Launchcast, the technology which allows me to listen to it while at my desk.

That is all.

It was one of the Blue Jam series, Jim. I can't tell you more than that, but I thought it was painfully hilarious.

20th Century Boy by T Rex is a freaking GREAT song

Very true, that.

The whole archive is here : [link] and well worth the ime to download.