The bit that you skip #111: People in planes – Mayday (M’aidez) When I arrived in Sheffield, the plan was to do a new route PhD. What this entailed was one year of taught MSc, and then full independent research. On the side, I started writing for Forge, the stu…

Life is a minefield of deadlines. You better learn to traverse carefully as soon as possible.
People in planes, take it away.

sloucher.org/2026/04/21/t...

The bit that you skip #110: Afroman – Because I got high Weirdest of things happened to me with this song: I heard it during the closing credits of Jay and Silent Bob strike back and thought nothing of it. A novelty song on a flick that was going to be a…

Since this song is about going on tangents, then this post is about going on a tangent about a certain geeky director.
sloucher.org/2026/04/20/t...

The bit that you skip #109: Iggy Pop – The Passenger There are songs that simply fit too perfectly a time and space in your life. The Chemical Brother’s Star Guitar always plays in my head when I board a train. The Passenger by Iggy Pop, my sec…

Billets, trams, and the trainspotting soundtrack.
sloucher.org/2026/04/19/t...

The bit that you skip #108: Ace of Cups – Afro Blue Getting screwed over by the algorithm is as much of a cliché as getting a surprise keeper from it. It has happened to me so many times, and I’m all for it. I’ll take 30 bad recs for one…

A psychedelic rock band that never got their dues
Ace of cups, afro blue.
sloucher.org/2026/04/18/t...

The bit that you skip #107: Electrelane – The Valleys I have got a brother that lives in the US, and my parents loved him quite a bit. We only met during christmas, but once I got out of uni and started working, my dad saved up money to do at least on…

A tale of magazines, inherited nostalgia, and a farfisa in a Broomhill charity shop.
sloucher.org/2026/04/17/t...

The bit that you skip #106: Trespassers William – Lie in the sound After the fire, sifting through ashes. -Remember how we met? -The 50s throwback burger joint. Jane told me to go with her because she didnae want to be a billy no mates. -Yeah. I was starstruck by …

After the fire, sifting through ashes. Quick short story for y'all.
sloucher.org/2026/04/16/t...

The bit that you skip #105: Mazzy Star – Fade into you Mazzy Star’s Fade into you had that 70s-based imagery that permeated many 90s acts. Go figure, Gen X obsessed with childhood memories of long road trips on petrol-guzzling monstrosities. It r…

Tambourines and nostalgia for a decade we didn't live through. sloucher.org/2026/04/15/t...

The bit that you skip #104: The Stone Roses – Your star will shine The Stone Roses are on that Venn diagram with Creed, Red House Painters, and The Smiths: fantastic musicians, shit person on vocals. You don’t need to be fastidious to find out everything wro…

The minute skill of splitting an artist from their art. The stone roses, your star will shine
sloucher.org/2026/04/14/t...

The bit that you skip #103: The Charlatans – Up at the lake Is there a friendship after a relationship ends? It’s a pickle and I don’t believe there’s a catch all answer. It’s a case per case situation and even when it seems a friend…

Oh boy, it's gonna be a week of talking about relationships?
Nothing dishy, sorry. Not that kinda blog.
sloucher.org/2026/04/14/t...

The bit that you skip #102: Broken Social Scene – Almost Crimes Picture this. It’s a saturday in 2008. You’re unemployed but have some money from odd jobs. You managed to score a ticket for one of the hottest gigs in town. You have no idea of 5 out …

Seen BSS twice in my life. Both times in festivals. Both times they were excellent.
sloucher.org/2026/04/12/t...

With a video directed by William Friedkin (the exorcist, to live and die in LA) this song is simply perfect.

sloucher.org/2026/04/11/t...

A hundred days of daily blogging and I go for the first song I heard on MTV Latino.
sloucher.org/2026/04/10/t...

Yeah, midbudgets disappearing are such a loss

Romeo must die is on. Kinda miss those midbudget popcorn flicks.

Even if you dislike the majority of an artist's catalogue, finding a few great tracks is a joy.
sloucher.org/2026/04/09/t...

The bit that you skip #98: Letting up despite great faults – postcard Supposedly, trends repeat each other every 20 years or so. That value changes, though. I remember the wave of rockabilly acts in the 80s. The 90s had on its first half the 60s and 70s resonating he…

My grandma loved swing bands from the 40s.
We are as far from the 80s as the 80s were from the 40s. Some kid's grandma fave music right now is an 80s band.
sloucher.org/2026/04/08/t...

The bit that you skip #97: Icehouse – Electric Blue All that time before I used MTV latino as a music discovery tool, my only source could be either the radio or whatever my family was listening to. Maybe a song from a movie or tv show, but that was…

Songs that are pop perfection
sloucher.org/2026/04/07/t...

The bit that you skip #96: The Icicle Works – Whisper to a scream (birds fly) There’s an oft-quoted phrase by John Nathan Turner, former producer of Dr Who, used to disqualify fan opinions. “The Memory Cheats”. It can be a little off-putting once you are th…

Songs that you love as a kid and can't find again until way too many decades.
sloucher.org/2026/04/06/t...

The bit that you skip #95: Silversun Pickups – Rusted Wheel I’m a sucker for introspection, and although people tell me I’m too hard on myself, I think the opposite. As the great Ice Cube would say “check yourself before you wreck yourself…

Value your friends.
They are a lifeline.

sloucher.org/2026/04/05/t...

The bit that you skip #94: Veruca Salt – Shutterbug In the summer of ’97, I had an emergency surgery. It was my first time staying at a hospital and it was terrifying. It was a family condition regarding my gall bladder, as both my aunt and my…

Always appreciate a gift, no matter how small. You never know what a person sacrificed to buy it for ya.
sloucher.org/2026/04/04/t...

The bit that you skip #93: Gazelle – At last, friend Many songs tend to remind you of your childhood. Another quantity, perhaps greater, hark back to your teenage days. Then there’s songs that make you think of your early adulthood. The wide ey…

Life after graduation can be strange, and my first job wasn't great but still had a ball. Gazelle is a dreamy band, perfect for that memory.
sloucher.org/2026/04/03/t...

The bit that you skip #92: The Delays – You and me As I’ve mentioned in other posts, once MTV dried out as a source of music discovery, it was up to your own sense of resourcefulness to renew your music repertoire. Blogs, magazines, the odd r…

"You and me were gonna be fine". El pop ochentero perfecto de The Delays, banda que conocí por noiselab records.
sloucher.org/2026/04/02/t...

The bit that you skip #91: Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Mal Bicho If I was a real Johnny Comelately with 80s music, I can’t fathom which expression I could use to express how late I was to latin american music. Although I’ve mentioned Control Machete …

Fuera de los Cri Cri o los pitufos con el padre Abraham, este fue el primer disco en español que escuché completo.
sloucher.org/2026/04/01/t...

The bit that you skip #90: The Offspring – Come out and play (Keep ’em separated) I was late to the punk party. Proper late. I think I evaded the genre as they were always “the bad guys” in the flicks I saw as a kid. I guess just like the Eastern Bloc, those mohawks …

You're under 18 you won't be doing any ti ay ay ay ay ime.
sloucher.org/2026/03/31/t...

The bit that you skip #89: The American Analog Set – The Golden Band “It’s the sound of a living room late at night”. That’s always my quick description of The American Analog Set’s music. Perhaps it’s because their music is alway…

The sound of your childhood living room, revisited.
American analog set. The golden band. Instrumental perfection. sloucher.org/2026/03/30/t...

The bit that you skip #88: Echodrone – Sailing *Names have been changed for the mental health of those involved. Venues keep their names ‘cuz I dunno. It was the coldest February I’ve known so far. Snow usually stopped around mid-ja…

Remember: it's only fiction writing stuff. Nothing is a real memory. Everything is distorted by time. sloucher.org/2026/03/29/t...

The bit that you skip #86: New Radicals – Someday we’ll know Fame can be a real bastard. You get what you give was a mammoth hit for New Radicals, and it wasn’t without its controversy. Marylin Manson famously said he would punch Gregg Alexander, and t…

Some days you find you are not someone's significant other. And that's okay.
New radicals, someday we'll know.
sloucher.org/2026/03/27/t...

The bit that you skip #74: Dust on the breakers – Frontiers A fond memory of my mother was riding shotgun on an old orange (later crimson) Datsun 160J. She only drove when we lived in a small oil worker colony near the refinery in Tula, Hidalgo. Being the s…

Always hug your loved ones. Thanks for everything, mom.
sloucher.org/2026/03/15/t...

The bit that you skip #73: Geggy Tah – Whoever you are I lived in Tula until ’85. It was a workers’ colony in front of the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery. Not the safest of places, I know, but what can ya do? I have fond memories of the place and …

A song for letting people pass. As long as they use their ruddy turning signals before changing lanes.
Geggy Tah, Whoever you are.
sloucher.org/2026/03/14/t...

A lucky song gets you going. A lucky song helps you ask someone out.
What's your lucky song? Mine's hey boy hey girl by the chemical brothers.
sloucher.org/2026/03/13/t...