Best things of the week

Not much posting in the last week or so.  Been a bit busy with work and trying to sell my car.

And I’ve been thinking about how resoundingly negative I seem to have become on this blog.  But there’s a lot to be positive about.  It’s Friday. I’m off to my niece’s wedding tomorrow. And a number of good things have happened this week.

For a start, I found these two albums, both of which are brilliant.

David Rawlings is the recording partner of Gillian Welch. He takes centre stage here, though she’s still very much involved.  I particularly like the idea of an old-school country band called the Dave Rawlings Machine. This album also features my favourite song about a monkey driving a train.

Then there’s this album from the Avett Brothers.  They were responsible for ‘The Weight of Lies’, one of my favourite songs of all time.  This is their first album since joining a major label, Rick Rubin’s wonderful American Recordings.  Pleasingly it sounds pretty much like everything they’ve done before.  About the only difference seems to be that when you record for a major label you can afford a cello.

I also bought these shoes, which may well be the loveliest pair I’ve ever owned. I’m particularly excited that they cost me about 25% of their original retail price.  They’re from Canali.

And lastly, via a perfect piece of mis-typing I discovered a new word yesterday.

Cinenema

A movie that gives you the shits.  Or, as it’s more commonly known, Avatar.