Nov 08, 2005: The Burial At Thebes (Sophocles’ Antigone translated by Seamus Heaney), Nottingham Playhouse.

Classical Greek drama in contemporary relevance Shockah! Heaney's unstuffy new translation strikes all the right notes, and the deceptively simple staging looks great when viewed from the Circle. A tightly staged production, with almost every movement choreographed with precision; even the folds on each actor's robes somehow complement each other. It's only short - not much more than an hour and a quarter, no interval - but this serves to heighten the sense of concentration, from players and audience alike. Proper drama, proper acting, proper art. For once. Highly recommended, particularly if (like me) you've not been to the Playhouse in a while and need your confidence restoring.

Nov 06, 2005: Steak & Chips, The Cottage.

In which, under K's expert tutelage, Mike actually cooks a proper meal for once in his life Shockah! One of the undoubted highlights of the critically acclaimed Doing At Least One Thing Each Week Which Breaks Through Mike's Comfort Zone season, the results were little short of spectacular: succulent steak (medium rare), crisp chips (washed, drained, dried, deep fried once, drained, deep fried twice), with peas and baked tomatoes forming a simple yet effective accompaniment. Can't cook? WILL cook! (Repeated this Sunday, 19:00.)

Nov 05, 2005: Someone You May Have Heard Of's Bonfire Party, three or four villages away, Derbyshire.

Last year, the assembled mix of political/media types (there were a lot of fearfully earnest, distressingly handsome young men in black sweaters and tight jeans, up from London for the weekend) and stout-hearted county folk (flat caps, rosy cheeks, sensible outdoor clothing in clashing colours) burnt an effigy of Robert Kilroy-Silk; this year, inevitably, it was the turn of George Galloway. Who, it has to be said, went down fighting. As the winds gathered force around him, so the great man's flames (burning with a violent orange to match his permatanned skin) veered ever more dangerously sideways and up-field, towards the merrily jeering throng. A few minutes later, the transubstantiation from bonfire to flame-thrower now complete, the effigy was spitting hot fireballs above the heads of the rapidly retreating guests, and sending showers of sparks flying all over them, as they cowered in a huddle near the top fence. Standing safely below and behind, K and I could almost hear his self-righteous roar above the crackling timbers. "Yer lily-livered lickspittle popinjays, I'll take the lot of yer down with me!"

Way back in the mists of time, when I was an eager-to-please and obsessively completist young blogger with an exciting and fast-moving sidebar (oh, we all had them!), I made a habit of providing brief descriptions of the albums in my we listen chart, which would pop up as mouseover text for each individual link.

After Firefox came along, with its pleasure-denying limit on the maximum number of characters for mouseover text, the fun ceased. (Also, to be honest, the code was a right old faff to maintain. So I'm not complaining or anything.)

However, if I were still providing these "pithy capsule reviewlets", as I skittishly dubbed them, then they might have looked something like this.



1 (2) Tender Buttons Broadcast
Although initially abrasive/austere/unyielding, repeated listens (and a superb live show) have revealed an unexpected inclusive warmth buried at its heart. Sparse, fractured space-age-gone-wonky pop songs, as picked up by a dodgy shortwave radio from a parallel universe.

2 (5) Supernature Goldfrapp
Starts off as pure electro-glam pop, but it's by no means not all pop. Mingling the best elements of the first two albums, Goldfrapp are finally ready for the mainstream; and I for one respect their all-too-rare lack of unseemly haste.

3 (6) Held on the Tips of Fingers Polar Bear
Energetic yet tightly focussed drummer-led contemporary jazz, scored rather than improvised, discreetly innovative.

4 (-) Feels Animal Collective
The first half is as gleefully bull-in-a-china-shop bonkers as their previous Sung Tongs; the second half is quieter, dronier, more expansive, and (in the nicest possible way) vaguely prog.

5 (10) Coles Corner Richard Hawley
Old-fashioned orchestrated balladry (Roy Orbison & The Bad Seeds?) with a lugubrious, tender-hearted sentimentality; texturally fantastic, even when the songs wear a little thin towards the end.



6 (29) The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers
Having largely left me cold for months (they promised me warm California sunshine, not dour indie-lite Camden drizzle), something is finally clicking. Maybe it's the sheer class of the songcraft, as it emerges, shaking its mane, from that woolly heap in the corner.

7 (3) Chavez Ravine Ry Cooder
Its first half affectionately celebrates the vibrancy of a long-vanished Los Angeles community, now buried by bulldozers; its second half is an extended elegy for it. Both halves are equally ravishing.

8 (8) Ceasefire Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim
North Sudanese veteran meets South Sudanese rebel rapper, in the name of national unity. Initially disappointing (I'm so over African hip-hop), but this is now slowly sneaking up on me.

9 (13) Noah's Ark Cocorosie
Sorry, got to say "fractured" again. Like a faulty musical box from a Victorian penny dreadful, as exhumed by a pair of New York arthouse Wyrd Sisters. Features Antony from the Johnsons, if that's any indication.

10 (7) The Rough Guide to Franco Franco
You can't have a serious African music collection without a bit of Franco for historical perspective, you know. Them's the rules.



11 (9) You Could Have It So Much Better Franz Ferdinand
It's all a bit routine, isn't it? But not without its charms. Then again, I'm biased (sigh).

12 (28) In the Heart of the Moon Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
Despite being more than a tad Incidental Music In New Age Gift Shop, these improvised guitar/kora noodlings are beginning to find their place - even if that place is mostly in the background, over a nice piece of chicken, with puy lentils and an agreeable tangy reduction.

13 (1) Orientation Thione Seck
Recorded in Dakar, Paris, Cairo and Bombay over several years, this ambitious spiritual cousin to Youssou N'Dour's Egypt is nothing short of a masterpiece. Best heard loud, through bloody good speakers.

14 (22) Clor Clor
Herky-jerky-quirky power-pop, of the Futureheads/early-XTC variety. I'm seeing them in a couple of weeks, supporting Sons & Daughters.

15 (-) Without You Masters of Persian Music
A perfect atmosphere-enhancer for the Monday morning drive back to Nottingham, as dawn breaks over Carsington Water and the dark silhouettes of the geese rise over us in airborne shoals. You wouldn't think it, would you?



16 (16) Stars Of CCTV Hard-Fi
Ee, there's hope for the younger generation after all. All across the land, fortysomething dads with Jam and Specials albums in the attic are beaming with approval as they pass their sons' bedroom doors. And why not.

17 (-) Come & Get It Rachel Stevens
Frisky, intricate, sophisticated electro-pop, all but wasted on dull FHM-babe cipher.

18 (11) Kitty Jay Seth Lakeman
Foxy twentysomething dude from Dartmoor breathes fresh new life into boring old folk Sensation! Recorded in bedroom! Mercury nominated! (See also Spiers & Boden.)

19 (18) Legends of East Africa Orchestra Makassy
Twenty years old, still sounds marvellous, contains first African track I ever bought (Mambo Bado).

20 (25) Ruby Blue Roisin Murphy
Her out of Moloko, as produced by Matthew Herbert. Some have slagged this off for being a bit Smooth Jazz Wine Bar, but I beg to differ.



21 (17) Crying at Teatime Alfie
Just as I finally get round to buying one of their albums, they go and split up on me, due to "lack of interest". Bah. Lightweights. They'll be wanting a living wage next.

22 (4) Dimanche à Bamako Amadou & Mariam
Proper pop stars in France, where Manu Chao's production influences must have helped nudge them into the mainstream. Sure it's Crossover, but "authenticity" has always been overrated. Unquestionably the soundtrack to our Summer, and still on light rotation even now.

23 (19) The Understanding Röyksopp
It hasn't made the same waves as its rather more stylistically unified predecessor, but there's plenty of goodness here none the less.

24 (12) Humming By The Flowered Vine Laura Cantrell
I wouldn't normally go for this sort of thing, but she was great live, like Nanci Griffith before she went Cheesy Showbiz; 14th Street is especially lovely.

25 (21) A Certain Trigger Maxïmo Park
"Solid" guitar band, who have hooked me in a way that so many of their 2005 contemporaries have failed to do. (Hello Bloc Party!) There's nothing wrong with "solid", you know. Same goes for the Doves, if you must know.

Jeepers, you guys! On launching the "Post of the Week" wheeze last Monday, I was certainly hoping for at least a modest amount of reader participation... but never in my wildest dreams did I expect for us to end up with 18 nominated posts by Saturday morning. Not that I'm complaining; you came up with some stunners, both from names which are already familiar to me, and from blogs which I've never heard of before.

We had below-stairs revelations from transatlantic liners in the early 20th century. We had exposed genitals on the London Underground. We had flirtatious glances over the organic vegetables (the latter two posts combined into one, for the purposes of voting). We had mythical beasts and holy grails, patently shit strippers and questionable intimate hygiene. We had bewildered kiddies at the door, and dizzy Miss Lizzies on the tube.

Over here, a token straight man attends a Eurovision party. Over there, a single man tries to assess whether or not the grass is greener on his side of the relationship divide. And way over yonder, a good-natured orgy in the middle of an industrial estate makes for the first blog post ever to give me the horn, good and proper. (But then, I lead a sheltered life.) Oh, and there was something which I think was about boats, only having read it three times I'm still not quite sure. (Anyone?)

And then there was Anna from little.red.boat, who earnt herself no less than three nominations. (I'd say "record breaking", if it didn't feel a little previous.) Which did we like best? The bossy crisp packet, the sneaky hour-thieving bastards, or the lovingly "prepared" birthday meal? Or would we all feel differently, thus fatally splitting the little.red.boat vote?

As it turned out, my fellow judges (Karen and asta) and I all plumped decisively for the birthday meal post, making it a clear runner-up to...

this too: When last we met.

A worthy winner indeed. Here's what one of the judges said about it:And here's what another judge said:Now, who's going to tell the author? After such a moving, intensely personal piece of writing, I scarcely like to bounce into her comments box, whooping and shrieking and waving my hands. ("CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE A WINNER!!! MIKE AT TROUBLED DIVA IS GOING TO LINK TO YOU ON THE TOP OF HIS BLOG FOR THE WHOLE OF THE NEXT WEEK! THINK OF THE TRAFFIC! ISN'T IT FABULOUS?!!")

No, methinks not. But Jean, if you do find your way here, then your post was much appreciated by all three of us, and hopefully by quite a few more besides.

Right then. On with the nominations for Week Two. The rules of engagement are here, and this week's judges are Clair and Pam. Nominations in the comments box please, and all nominees will be appended to this post as they appear.