Graeme Harrison

So who wins it ........... it has to be Self Esteem and if you haven't already done it, treat your self to a listen to 'A Complicated Women'

Finally, the wonderfully quirky Melborne band Surprise Chef drew me in and wrung me out live at Pickathon and their latest album 'Superb' is exactly that - a cracker!

Forth up is an album I was waiting for and it didn't disappoint. The incredible musicianship that is Gogo Penguin (also the world's best band name!) gets it's latest outing on 'Necessary Fictions'. Once again, they blow me away.

Third entrant is Self Esteem's amazing masterpeice 'A Complicated Woman'. A real tour de force from the remarkable Rebecca Taylor. The last two are less obvious.....

First is Wolf Alice's sublime 'The Clearing'. This has won many album of the year awards and with good reason. Next up The Beths infectious 'Straight Line was a Lie'. A track from this album made Barack Obama's 2025 playlist and I know exactly why.

So it's time for my version of album of 2025. 3 British, 1 Australian and 1 New Zealand entrants made the top 5 and I'd recommend listening to all them.

Is this the best thing to post when you own Tidal, the music streaming service that is supposed to be the musicians friend in the digital age.....

I’m not sure what the problem is. As a fan of over 50 years, the time since Ferguson has been especially tough. I could say the owners but Ratcliffe has come in and made no difference. Is it a culture of entitlement?

Never Not Nothing - Maximum [Live from The Void] YouTube video by NeverNotNothingVEVO

A bonus recommendation this week. The other exteme from Kali Malone is the maximalist wonder of Never Not Nothing. Here is their track Maximum: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6PQ...

AV industry thought of the week. While the industry is diving down the commoditized, long margin rabbithole of UCC, lift your heads up and think about the experiential side of the industry.......

Music recommendation for this Easter weekend. The hauntingly beautiful, meditative 'All Life Long' by Kali Malone.

As seen in Portland Art Mueseum this weekend

Music industry thought-provoking stat: The pro AV industry is nearly 5 times the size of the music industry.....

Music recommendation of the week, the wonderful 'Paranoia, Angels, True Love' by Christine and the Queens. It will suck you in, wring you out and spit you out the other side (in a really good way)!

Sorry for the gap. Here's a photo that I took this weekend of a girl reading in Fitzroy, Australia

Tokyo, 10 years ago......

My thought-provoking industry comment of the week: PFC - Perfect Fit Content. The thought that someone thinks that music is 'content' should tell you most of what you need to know. Look it up, I hope that it shocks you - it should.... Spotify are the main offenders.

By the way, I don't post Spotify links as I don't like Spotify and their business model and I listen to music on Quobuz or Tidal. Please post your recommendations in return.

By the way, I don't post Spotify links as I don't like Spotify and their business model and I listen to music on Quobuz or Tidal. Please post your recommendations in return.

My music recommendation this week is the wonderful Irish drone folk band Lankum. A good starting point is their 'Live in Dublin' album but for the full experience, try 'Go Dig My Grave' from their 'False Lankum' album.

Also, give me your music recommendations in return!

Here's a lovely photo (not taken by me) of the angel of the north, a huge Antony Gormley sculpture in Gateshead using illuminated drones to create a halo

My morning walk

Music tip: Thea Gilmore, self titled album. Listen especially to 'The Next Time You Win' and 'The Bright Service'. Tell me what you think

Music Tectonics: The Great Bifurcation Debate It's been five years since Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research gave the keynote at the first Music Tectonics Conference. This year we had him, along with Tatiana Cirisano, back to Music Tectonics. Instead...

The bifrucation debate - lean back vs lean forward listening. This is important as we think about streaming and what might come after .... musictectonics.libsyn.com/the-great-bi...

My first Bluesky post. Probably the first of many as I migrate here. Hello to everyone I know. Please let me know that you're here.......