Therapy For Me

W/C 17th June 2024 So here we are, the longest day. I always find this a bit of a strange one if I am being honest, because technically we are now on the downward slope as far as the light is concerned but I never feel at this point that 'summer' has even got out of first gear. The same can be said of the 21st December, because although that is the point when we see the days start to pull out, we...

W/C 10th June 2024 So the best laid plans and all that. I was up bright and early to record this, because I had to head off to a junior football tournament that we were organising, in fact I may have mentioned it. Anyway I left Mrs. S doing the QC listen and I was hoping to publish it from pitch side. Well that was 8 hours ago, and as you will have worked out I am just getting around to it now. IN...

W/C 3rd June 2024 I got into Bryan Adams before the Reckless album came out. So before Summer of 69, and before Run To You. I had a friend called Steve Nicholson way back in the day, and we used to hang out and listen to music, and one day he put on the cassette of Cuts Like A Knife. Mind blown. Of course the only reason I have thought back to that moment at 06:43 on a Saturday morning, is because...

W/C 27th May 2024 Whilst I am not a particular fan of Boris Johnson (I know, comes as a shock doesn't it...) I have considerably more time for his brother Jo. Not only did he see through the nonsense of Brexit, he also manages to perfectly articulate why tossing out nonsense like 'National Service' and 'Mickey Mouse degrees' is such a backwards step. I caught this clip on twitter and it is one of...

W/C 20th May 2023 Like it or not, some weeks the episode titles do pick themselves. I am trying not to think about the parallels with 1997 too much, but it is getting hard not to at least to believe that if nothing else the outcome will be the same. And if that is going to be the case can we not get there as soon as possible. If you aren't into the political side of TFM then this would definitely...

W/C 13th May 2024 It turns out that I have used Complicated before as an episode title, normally when I realise that I try and find something different - but bearing in mind there are two tie-ins this week, I decided to bend my self-imposed rules slightly. If you are going to fully immerse yourself in my week, then you are going to need to start by navigating to the root cause of the problem which...

W/C 6th May 2024 I love this song, and it is worth the slightly disjointed crowbarring to be able to share it with you this week. TBH I am becoming quite a Tears For Fears fan, they are seriously under-appreciated in the way that say Aha are. Maybe it is something to do with the early pop success that both had, but in both cases there is some serious creative stuff going on. Anyway have a listen a...

W/C 29th April 2024 If you are a regular listener to TFM you will be familiar with my Saturday morning routine, which invariably involves getting out for a run. For the last six months or so my route on a Saturday takes me the six miles to Coffee Boy, a vibrant little spot just on the outskirts of Huddersfield, located in an old Mini showroom. The run takes me about an hour, in which time Mrs S ha...

W/C 22nd April 2024 For what it is worth I think Labour are onto a winner with their policy to bring the trains back under Government control. I appreciate that they will never say it is 're-nationalisation' because somehow that word is considered too politically toxic, but the fact is that many people will look at this as a positive. Whilst I have been a firm advocate of Labour not saying too muc...

W/C 15th April 2024 This one of those songs that I can hear in my head, but no matter how much searching I do I can't find 'the' version that I remember from my youth. I think I had it on a compilation album, actually now that I think about it, it could have been one of the Blues Brother, Soul Sister releases. In fact give me a moment and I will check. (short interlude) Ok so I have checked, and...

W/C 8th April 2024 This is one of those songs where I don't actually know the original. I was introduced it by me by Jimmy Nail(not personally, obvs) as he covered it on his album Tadpoles in a Jar in 1999. It turns out it was written in 1972 by a band called Family, and I am listening to it for the first time as I write this. I have always loved the JN version, because it's a perfect little thing...

W/C 1st April 2024 The New Statesman email has started landing in my inbox and I am not sure why. I can only assume it is something to do with signing up for the Ian Dunt blog that I told you about, but whatever the reason I am quite enjoying it. It seems to be a bit sporadic in terms of its cadence, and I would be lying if I didn't tell you that was triggering my OCD tendencies a little, but gene...

W/C 25th March 2024 It is hard to believe that this song was released when I was 18, and that I first saw Mr Big at Rock City two years later in 1991. I was a bit of a devotee for the first few albums and I still have a huge soft spot for the song Green Tinted Sixties Mind, because it is a perfect slice of hair pop rock. As it turns out they are currently on the road for their Big Finish tour, pla...

W/C 18th March 2024 Why do I leave my podcast notes until Saturday morning, when I know it is going to cause me stress. I like to be out for a run by 07:30, but it’s 07:08 and I still have to drink my tea, get a shower and get dressed. For some reason, even when TFM is in the can in plenty of time, I still put the notes off. And it isn’t like they are ground breaking in terms of content, or indee...

W/C 11th March 2024 Actually I will be running, in about 24 minutes if all goes to plan, when I have finished these notes and got my sh*t together. The reason for the title is that I am stumped for a content-relevant song this week and as I talked about Blair Dunlop last week, and as I talked to Blair Dunlop this week, I thought I would include take his most recent single as my inspiration for epi...

W/C 4th March 2024 We have three Spiderman masks in the house, compared with none this time last week. And these are actual fabric, full head, pull-over kind of masks not the held-on-by-a-piece-of-elastic variety that you recall from your childhood. The reason for this of course is World Book Day and the fact that Jack had a yin to go as the Miles Morales version of Spiderman. And to be fair he lo...

W/C 26th February 2024 After all the kerfuffle involved in getting it actually finished, I think we may frame the London Underground jigsaw with the 200+ white pieces. I appreciate that in the scheme of things we haven't actually shifted the dial in terms of human progress. The methodical placing of multiple pieces until you find one that fits snugly (btw if you could bottle that feeling you would...

W/C 19th February 2024 You may have noticed that my episode titles normally only contain one capital letter, even though in pretty much all cases they are lifted from the title of a song. The reason for this is that, in pretty much all cases, they allude to something I am going to discuss in the podcast proper. At times they are a bit oblique, but that is the intent unless otherwise specified. I h...

W/C 12th February 2024 I am actually going to answer one of my own 'tossed-out' TFM questions, because I have just spent a rather enjoyable half hour in an underground-related-rabbit-hole. Now before you say, where else would a rabbit hole be, I was actually referring to The Underground (capitals included and indeed implied) because I was looking at three-dimensional-cross-section drawings of vari...

W/C 5th February 2024 Another week, another casualty at Nestle. Now don’t get me wrong the Breakaway was a solid biscuit choice, not up there with a Mint Viscount or a Trio (obvs) but definitely in the same bracket as a Club or a Penguin, and clear of a Blue Riband by some distance. I haven't been floored in the same way that I was last year, I mean who can forget where they were when the news of...

W/C 29th January 2024 All the things I want to watch at the moment appear to be on streaming platforms that I don't subscribe to. No sooner have I signed up to Apple TV to watch Ted Lasso (off the charts good) and Slow Horses (Gary Oldman is a legend) I am now being drawn to Paramount Plus. I am quite good at resisting the lure of a new platform, provided you accept that my tipping point is three....

W/C 22nd January 2023 Just three things you need to know about TFM this week; Firstly I am back in California at the NAMM show and that is the excuse as to why this is a little behind schedule, it has been full-on. Secondly the noise outside (that is very, very loud) didn't pick-up as I had hoped on the recording due to the nature of the lapel microphone In was using but trust me it was real and i...

W/C 15th January 2024 I am off to LA next week for the NAMM show, which is back in its usual time slot for the first time since the onset of COVID . And that can mean only one thing…I have completed another full year of recording TFM. Today’s episode marks my first step into season five, and I don’t know about you but I need a moment to let that land. I have been capturing my thoughts on a weekly...

W/C 8th January 2023 I was thinking of a suitable title for this weeks slice of TFM and I haven't been able to get the first line of Vienna out of my head... I have been a BJ fan for as long as I can remember, and I first saw him live on the Bridge Tour in July of 1987 at the NEC in Birmingham. Vienna is one of those songs that was never a single, seems modest in its ambition, but somehow worms it...

W/C 1st January 2024 It appears that most of the people I know are either with cold, or trying to shake off the lingering remains of it. I also know a fair few who have Covid. I started with it on New Years Eve, that distinctive back of the throat feeling that lets you know something is fast approaching and although it's not forced me off track it has slowed me down a little, and given me plenty o...