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My freelance writing can now be found at mikeatkinson.wordpress.com.
Recently: VV Brown, Alabama 3, Just Jack, Phantom Band, Frankmusik, Twilight Sad, Slaid Cleaves, Alesha Dixon, Bellowhead, The Unthanks, Dizzee Rascal.

On Thursday September 17th, I danced on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Click here to watch, and here to listen.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

I have moved.

This is my last post on troubled-diva.com, as hosted by Blogger. From now on, you'll be able to find me at troubleddiva.wordpress.com. See you on the other side.

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Friday, February 05, 2010

I've done of those flavour-of-the-week Formspring jobbies.

So go on: ask me anything, and I'll do my best to reply.

www.formspring.me/miketd

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Friday, January 01, 2010

Singles and tracks of 2009.

As it has been a golden year for singles, I've had to expand my list to a Top 100. The vast majority of these tracks were issued as singles (as evidenced by the accompanying cover art on Spotify). As per usual, I only include favourite album tracks if they somehow took on a separate life of their own, outside the context of their parent albums. (It's a peculiar rule, but it makes sense to me.)

All but twelve of these tracks can be found on this Spotify playlist, in ascending order. What better way to spend the next six and a half hours of your life?

1. The Fear - Lily Allen
2. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa
(Joint winner of my video of the year, along with #23)
3. Remedy - Little Boots
(I danced to this on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square, along with #4, #5 and #12)
4. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta ft Kelly Rowland
5. Just Dance - Lady GaGa ft Colby O'Donis
6. You've Got The Love (Jamie xx re-work ft The xx) - Florence and the Machine
(N.B. Florence's original version is a strong candidate for my most hated single of 2009, and her album was my most regretted purchase of the year. Which just goes to show what you can do with a good remix.)
7. Bonkers - Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden
8. Wild Horses - Susan Boyle
(Oh, you can scoff. But for me, this was the standout vocal performance of the year.)
9. I'm Not Alone - Calvin Harris
10. Baby Can't Stop - Lindstrom & Christabelle
11. Did You See Me Coming? (Unicorn Kid mix) - Pet Shop Boys
12. Bulletproof - La Roux
13. Russian Roulette - Rihanna
14. Aidy's Girl Is A Computer - Darkstar
15. Raindrops - Basement Jaxx
16. Jetstream (Lindstrom remix) - Doves
17. The Howling - The Phantom Band
18. Love Etc. - Pet Shop Boys
19. Crystalised - The xx
20. Day 'N' Nite - Kid Cudi vs Crookers
21. Audacity Of Huge - Simian Mobile Disco
22. Kilometer (Aeroplane 'Italo 84' mix) - Sebastien Tellier
(I spent much of January and February obsessing over Aeroplane remixes, but this was the only one with a 2009 release date.)
23. How To Stay Alive - Gong
(Joint winner of my video of the year, along with #2. Please promise me that you'll watch this in full-screen?)
24. Daniel - Bat For Lashes
25. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift
26. Lion Hat - Unicorn Kid
27. Umbrella Beach - Owl City
28. My Girls - Animal Collective
29. Stillness Is The Move - Dirty Projectors
30. New In Town - Little Boots
31. Tirsdagsjam - Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
(I once mistyped this as Tirdgasjam. Arf arf.)
32. Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub) - Floating Points
33. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
34. This Momentary - Delphic
35. Fireflies - Owl City
(Absolutely baffled by the almost unanimous hipster hate for this one.)
36. Wee Monsters - Unicorn Kid
37. Islands - The xx
38. Folk Song Oblivion - The Phantom Band
39. Omen - The Prodigy
40. Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys
(Oh God, have I become one of those people who lists token Jay-Z tracks in an effort to pretend that he still "keeps up" with hip hop?)
41. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
42. Tic Toc - Permanent Vacation ft Kathy Diamond
43. Runaway - Grum
44. Ready For The Weekend - Calvin Harris
45. Cannibal Resource - Dirty Projectors
46. Pretty Wings - Maxwell
47. Paparazzi - Lady GaGa
48. Basic Space - The xx
49. A Nightingale - Isolee
(B-side of the year, if there is still any residual meaning in the concept.)
50. From Africa To Malaga - JJ
51. Maybe So, Maybe No - Mayer Hawthorne
52. Moto Moindo - Staff Benda Bilili
53. Rushing To Paradise (Walkin' These Streets) - House Of House
54. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
55. Not Fair - Lily Allen
56. If You Ever Get Famous - The Duke & The King
57. These Are My Twisted Words - Radiohead
58. Poker Face - Lady GaGa
59. Hooting & Howling - Wild Beasts
60. Embers - Just Jack
61. Arrogance Ignorance And Greed - Show Of Hands
62. Get Fresh - Kid Sister
63. Young Forever - Jay-Z ft Mr Hudson
64. Kingdom Of Rust - Doves
65. In The Morning - Fuzzy Logik ft Egypt
66. Take Me Back - Tinchy Stryder ft Taio Cruz
67. Lisztomania - Phoenix
68. Let's Go Surfing - Drums
69. Party Hard - Donae'o
70. One Day - The Juan Maclean
71. General - Buraka Som Sistema
72. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones
73. French Navy - Camera Obscura
74. S'il Fallait Le Faire - Patricia Kaas
75. In For The Kill (+ Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) - La Roux
76. Number 1 - Tinchy Stryder ft N-Dubz
77. Make It Better - Anoraak
78. Bad Habits - Maxwell
79. Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
80. We Are The People - Empire Of The Sun
81. Story Of A Heart - Benny Andersson Band
82. Never Leave You - Tinchy Stryder ft Amelle
83. Method Of Modern Love - Saint Etienne
84. 1901 - Phoenix
85. 11th Dimension - Julian Casablancas
86. Love Story - Taylor Swift
87. Hyph Mngo - Joy Orbison
88. Animal - Miike Snow
89. Holiday - Dizzee Rascal
90. For Your Lover Give Some Time - Richard Hawley
91. Halo - Beyonce
92. Run This Town - Jay-Z ft Rihanna & Kanye West
93. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
94. Bad Gyal - Ms Dynamite
95. Fire Burning - Sean Kingston
96. T-Shirt (+ Crazy Cousinz Vocal Remix) - Shontelle
97. It's My Time - Jade Ewen
98. I'll Keep On Loving You - Walter Jones
99. If I Had A Heart - Fever Ray
100. Restless - Buraka Som Sistema

Labels: lists, popmusic, spotify

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Albums of 2009.

Here's a Spotify playlist, containing a sample track from 33 of these albums.

1. Live In London - Leonard Cohen
2. Vertical Ascent - Moritz von Oswald Trio
3. Here's The Tender Coming - The Unthanks
4. Tres Tres Fort - Staff Benda Bilili
5. The xx - The xx
6. Bitte Orca - Dirty Projectors
7. Warm Heart Of Africa - The Very Best
8. II - Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
9. BLACKsummers'night - Maxwell
10. Le Suivant - Smith & Mudd
11. Origin:Orphan - Hidden Cameras
12. Arc Light - Lau
13. Checkmate Savage - The Phantom Band
14. Yesterday And Today - The Field
15. Tarot Sport - Fuck Buttons
16. Merriweather Post Pavillion - Animal Collective
17. Troyka - Troyka
18. La Roux - La Roux
19. The Fame Monster - Lady GaGa
20. My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura
21. The Glare - McAlmont & Nyman
22. The Middle Way - Keaver & Brause
23. Imidiwan: Companions - Tinariwen
24. Two Suns - Bat For Lashes
25. Inspiration Information - Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics
26. 2032 - Gong
27. The Future Will Come - The Juan Maclean
28. Two Dancers - Wild Beasts
29. Vagarosa - CU
30. Ready For The Weekend - Calvin Harris
31. Hands - Little Boots
32. Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast - Cornershop
33. JJ N 2 - JJ
34. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
35. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
36. Party Hard - Donae'o
37. See Mystery Lights - YACHT
38. Real Life Is No Cool - Lindstrom & Christabelle
39. The Glass Bead Game - James Blackshaw
40. It's Not Me, It's You - Lily Allen

Labels: albums, lists, popmusic, spotify

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Gigs of 2009.

Reviews of most of these can be found on my freelance blog.

1. Beyonce
2. Gong
3. Cliff Richard & the Shadows
4. Crystal Stilts, Wet Paint, Manhattan Love Suicides
5. The Unthanks
6. The Specials
7. Neil Young
8. Elbow, The Acorn
9. Gary Numan
10. Lau
11. Late Of The Pier
12. Bat For Lashes, Yeasayer
13. Eurovision Preview Night
14. Lionel Richie
15. Dizzee Rascal
16. Bellowhead, Belshazzar's Feast
17. White Denim
18. David Byrne
19. Telepathe, Times New Viking, Rainbow Arabia, Icy Demons
20. White Lies
21. Unicorn Kid
22. The Nolans
23. La Roux, Heartbeat, Magistrates, The Chapman Family
24. Basement Jaxx
25. Fuck Buttons, Zun Zun Egui
26. Melanie Safka
27. Buzzcocks
28. Rhydian
29. The Phantom Band
30. Slaid Cleaves
31. Ungdomskulen
32. V Festival: Oasis, Lady GaGa, Athlete, Human League, Joe Lean, Miike Snow, Proclaimers, Bjorn Again
33. Glasvegas, Friendly Fires, White Lies, Florence & the Machine
34. Doves
35. Tinchy Stryder
36. Animal Collective
37. Frankmusik
38. VV Brown
39. Easy Star All-Stars
40. Okkervil River, Dawn Landes
41. Portico Quartet, Red, Natalie Duncan
42. The Magic Numbers
43. Alabama 3
44. Keane, Frankmusik
45. La Roux
46. Maximo Park, Bombay Bicycle Club
47. Kaiser Chiefs, Black Kids, Esser
48. Alesha Dixon

Labels: gigs, lists, popmusic

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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cliff Richard and the Shadows - Nottingham Arena.

You know what? That might just have been my gig of the year. And hence a bugger to write about, without defaulting to gush. So I'll write it up tomorrow, once the dust has settled.

The xx, Beyonce and Gong: take heed. The bar has been raised!

Thursday update: I've been a bit poorly today, so this will have to wait a while longer.

Labels: gigs, popmusic

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The September Pledge: two days to go.

I don't know whether anybody else remembers this - I certainly didn't, until I checked the archives last week - but I've actually made one of these "write a blog post every day for a month" pledges before. In September 2006, to be precise: and it was heartening to discover that I made good on the promise.

Tomorrow's final post should be a doddle. Dymbel and I are going to see Cliff Richard and the Shadows at Nottingham Arena, on their fiftieth-anniversary-slash-farewell tour - and as it's a "payer" rather than a guest list job, I shall be released from all professional duties, leaving me free to blog about the gig to you lot instead. By way of preparation, I can strongly recommend this article by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley, which appeared in Guardian Film and Music two Fridays ago. Cliff was long overdue for a fair-minded critical re-evaluation, and I agree with most of the points made.

Now that the summer recess is over, it's good to re-engage with live music. As well as recent gigs from Tinchy Stryder, Fuck Buttons and Ungdomskulen, I had a whale of a time at a wedding reception in the village on Saturday, bopping around to a distinctly superior covers band (sourced by the father of the groom, who played in a chart pop group in the early 1970s). Choosing the right range of songs for an all-ages crowd, and playing them accurately and skilfully, without letting individual egos intrude, is an art all of its own - and the band in question succeeded delightfully in their mission. And although - once again - I tried to rein in those pointy fingers, I have now accepted them as my signature look. Hell, people have expectations! I cannot disappoint!

Earlier today, I conducted a "phoner" with the folk musician Jon Boden, best known for fronting the 11-piece band Bellowhead. It was an amiable and thought-provoking encounter - particularly towards the end of the call, when we got onto the subject of private versus public "ownership" of songs. I'll be bunging it up on the freelance blog in a couple of weeks' time, in advance of Bellowhead's Nottingham show.

That's all that I have for you today. Back tomorrow night, with breathless tales of His Cliffness. Ooh, I'm that stoked!

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Monday, September 28, 2009

My cupboard is bare...

(Photo taken by bourgeoisbee)

...so I'll just quickly fill in with some favourite items from the "recently spotted" section of my sidebar. (If you only read me via RSS, then you may have missed this section - but I've been keeping it regularly updated for a good couple of years now, even when I've not been posting.)

1. Petite Anglaise says "au revoir" to personal blogging for the forseeable future.

2. The Annotated Weekender wreaks its usual pictorial havoc over my Saturday supplement of choice.

3. Freaky Trigger's Vic Fluro dissects "Can't Buy Me Love". (This is part of an extended series of posts on the Beatles Rock Band game, all of which have made me chuckle.)

4. Faustus M.D. witnesses a touching meeting of minds on the New York subway.

5. Vicus Scurra steps out of character, in order to serve up a pungent and on-point rant.

6. Almost everybody on The Singles Jukebox has vastly complimentary things to say about Fuck Buttons (yes, them again).

7. JonnyB offers beginners' tips on keeping chickens.

8. Qwerty Queen writes movingly on the occasion of her 20th wedding anniversary.

9. And finally... Beleaguered Squirrel has an awkward conversation with her 7-year old.

Labels: linkage

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Beyond Limits 2009: sculpture exhibition at Chatsworth House.

Tell you what: let's bury yesterday's dodgy little tale under an avalanche of lovely images (taken by K) from this year's Beyond Limits exhibition at Chatsworth House.

We particularly liked Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden, which involved the freeform placing of several hundred stainless steel balls in one of the ornamental pond. Curiously, the vast majority of said balls opted to clump together on one side of the pond, regimentally lined up in rows. Occasionally, a smaller cluster would attempt to break away from the parent clump, drifting a short distance out into the middle of the pond - only to run out of steam and drift back again. Elsewhere on the pond's perimeter, small groups of renegade balls had drifted into the shallows. Some had become stuck in marshy areas, unable to drift away again. An even smaller number of individual balls had detached themselves entirely from the group, finding their own individual spaces.

Naturally, we decided that the whole piece was a Metaphor For Society, and therefore a Profound Masterpiece.

The exhibition runs until 1st November. Highly recommended, as always.

  
L: Igor Mitoraj: Eros Bendato Screpolatio.
R: Subodh Gupta: Leap of Faith.

Claude Lalanne: Olympe (grande).

Ju Ming: Taichi Series: Pushing Hand.
  
L: Francois-Xavier Lalanne: Carpe (tres grande).
R: Aristide Maillol: L'Harmonie, Premier Etat.

Sol Lewitt: 1 2 3 4 5 (Brescia)

Jedd Novatt: Chaos Mundaka.
  
L: Manolo Valdes: Ariadna 1.
R: Fernando Botero: Dancers.

Henry Moore: Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped.

Bernar Venet: 222.5 Arc x 5.

Antony Gormley: Angel of the North (Life-size Maquette).
  
L: Niki de Saint Phalle: Buddha.
R: Jaume Plensa: Heart of Trees.

Ju Ming: Taichi Series.

Guy Zagursky: Mirror against Mirror.
  
L: Ugo Rondinone: Air gets into everything even nothing.
R: Richard Hudson: Marilyn Monroe.
  
L: Zhan Wang: Artificial Rock #70.
R: Marc Quinn: Archaeology of Desire.
  
L&R: Yayoi Kusama: Narcissus Garden.
  
L: Eric Goulder: The Woman.
R: Sorel Etrog: Mother and Child / George Rickey: Two Lines Up Excentric Twelve Feet.

Labels: art, photography

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Saturday, September 26, 2009

BUZZ. THUMP. MOAN.

Reading of Anna's recent experiences with, ahum, noisy neighbours has reminded me of a grubby but amusing little tale. But before you read mine, you need to scuttle off and read hers first. Over there's the main event; this is just the coat-tail coda.

Off you go, and I'll see you in five.

...

...

...

...

...

OK, everybody back? Then I'll proceed.

Some twenty summers ago, my old friend Stex was renting a ground floor flat near the Trent. He shared a front door with his neighbours: a couple who lived in the flat above. Nice people, and clearly devoted to each other - but therein lay the rub. For, as Stex soon discovered, this couple liked having sex. A lot. Actually, they liked having sex - energetic, prolonged and above all NOISY sex - pretty much all the time, day or night. And, just like Anna, Stex's flat turned out to have walls - and more specifically, ceilings - made out of cardboard. So it wasn't exactly the best of situations.

One Saturday afternoon, Stex heard footsteps on the stairs, a male goodbye from the front door, and a female goodbye from the first floor. Peace at last, he thought, looking forward to a couple of hours of monastic hush.

And then he heard it. A rolling sequence of three distinct sounds.

First, a mechanical buzz. Next, a thump on the floor. Finally, an all-too familiar moaning.

BUZZ. THUMP. MOAN.
BUZZ. THUMP. MOAN.
BUZZ. THUMP. MOAN.

Over and over and over.

Stex's front room was directly below his neighbours' front room. With its centrally positioned sofa: perfect for stretching out and... relaxing. Maybe with one foot on the floor, just for... well, best not to over-think the situation. But surely not? Surely not? Stex had a vivid imagination and a mucky mind - perhaps that's why we got on so well - and so he dismissed all further speculation.

A while later - a long while later - the front door opened. Daddy was back.

"YOU CAN SWITCH IT OFF NOW, I'M HOME!" he bellowed, his voice carrying up the stairs and all round the house.

Abnormal, I'm telling you.

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Friday, September 25, 2009

Guest post: cooking with K.

Having spent most of this evening sourcing and burning a playlist for K's "class of 1977" school reunion, which takes place in Leek tomorrow night (while I attend a wedding in the village, pointy fingers primed for the covers band), I have ceded control of today's blog post to my beloved. Well, it seems like a fair exchange.

So here, as posted on the village blog earlier today, is K's classic, home-tested recipe for chicken stock, Aga-style. Ah, I can still taste it now...

---

I like to make stock overnight in the low oven of the Aga, but I always like to start it off for about 15 minutes in the top oven.

1. Combine all stock ingredients in a large pan and bring to a gentle boil on the boiling plate.

2. Skim and transfer to the top oven.

3. Take a phone call.

4. Go to the pub and marinate gently for several hours.

5. Return home to sleep off the marinade.

6. Breakfast with copious quantities of tea (sugar essential) to wash down maximum permitted dose of paracetamol. Notice how homely the teapot looks sitting on top of the Aga.

7. Use a liberal helping of coping strategies to get through the working day.

8. Return home feeling relieved that the marinade has now mellowed to an acceptable level so that you can actually look forward to making that soothing risotto with the chicken stock you made last night.

.. Ahhhhh, THE CHICKEN STOCK..

9. I suggest you allow the pan to cool for several hours before arranging the charred, desiccated carcass and vegetables in the bin.

10. Garnish with Gin and Tonic.

11. Return to pub for fish and chips.

---

I trust this has been instructive. Oh, and here's that school reunion playlist in full: sourced almost entirely from hits from K's final year in the sixth form, September 1976 to July 1977.

Part One.
Part Two.

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

I have met Gordon!!!

I've just got back from Derby, where I had a lovely time with Sarah, SwissToni and our VERY SPECIAL GUEST Gordon while watching Ungdomskulen rock The Royal. I'd have had an even lovelier time, had I not been suffering the ravages of what seemed on the surface like a perfectly civilised night in the pub on Thursday. Since when did three and a half pints of weak-ish ale, and seven hours of sleep, become such a direct threat to my physical well-being? Then again, the vast majority of my midweek nights out these days are to review gigs, where I stick - almost superstitiously - to my standard quota of two pints of lager. (As someone remarked on ILM the other week, is gig reviewing the last acceptable bastion of drinking on the job?)

Anyhow, it was great to meet Lovely Gordon in the flesh after so many years of online friendship. As I had hoped, the band were very much His Sort Of Thing - heavier than last time, the rest of us thought - and indeed most of us came away with CDs in our pockets. Although I had tried to rein in the pointy-fingered dancing - instead favouring a light percussive fingering on the side of my glass - it was to no avail, as the drummer's first comment to me was "I saw you dancing". Well, where's the shame in that?

Before I go, might I be permitted to alert you to my latest feature for The Guardian's Friday Film and Music section? In the wake of this week's shock Sugababes shenanigans, I've cast my eye over the peculiar phenomenon of groups who continue working, despite containing no members of their original line-ups. It's a bit stats-nerdy, but then so am I. Hope you like it.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

"Pretentious twat."

Such was the verdict of the esteemed Nottingham Evening Post commentariat, shortly after a shortened version of my "emotional journey" piece appeared on its website this morning. (The same piece is in today's print edition, complete with a nice photo taken by K and a bloody awful photo which I don't recall seeing before. I'm all chin! Eww!)

"Bring it on, Philistines", I smirked, eagerly awaiting a torrent of similarly pungent insights throughout the course of the day. But alas, it was not to be. Well, it would have been tricky to insert the usual "Zanu-Labour"/"we pay enough council tax"/"Bottler Brown's broken Britain" rants into a piece about a prancing poof on a plinth, even for the most zealously committed of regular commenters.

All of which gives me a handy excuse to wrap up this bumper month of plinthage with a couple more links. Adrian Sevitz has a cute little video of a bunch of impromptu "fan dancers", paying their own twisted form of homage at the foot of the plinth last Thursday - and my official portrait artist Lucy Pepper (see graphic in top right corner) has immortalis