Hey!I don't know about you, but I need some reasons to be cheerful...

I won the prosecution of Paul Weller almost unanimously. Heehee.

Watching David Starkey's Monarchy is one of the greatest pleasures of any evening. History ROCKS.

My Chemical Romance's 'I Don't Love You' bears many striking similarities to Coldplay's 'Yellow'. But this only makes me like it more.

There's a Bank Holiday coming up soon!

Roman's Empire on BBC 2 is very silly and very funny.

Discovering that Camper Van Beethoven released a track for track cover of Fleetwood Mac's two disc masterpiece Tusk LP. It's their White Album, I tell you. Seriously.

Jon Stewart is living breathing proof that America can be saved. The Daily Show's coverage of our Liz's visit to the States was precious.

Scooch walking away from Eurovision with a smile on their faces, and not a bitter or negative word. Who'd have thought pop could have such dignity?

Charlie Brooker's brief appearance on The Culture Show has only heightened my anticipation for the next world conquering series of Screenwipe. Although someone should really get our Lauren back into a studio. She looks like she's going to catch her death standing there on the South Bank.

The new Manic Street Preachers album is really quite wonderful. Fuck off, law of diminishing returns, you're not wanted around here.

And...

Only 3 more days until the weekend and everything's good again.

Are you a fan of Paul Weller?

No?

Neither am I. So what a happy coincidence it is that I was called on by The Art Of Noise to mount a prosecution of this serial offender. Have a good old read and add your opinions to what is currently a landslide in my favour right here.

Yes?

Oh dear. Um. Ah. Well, anyway, I'd best be going, what with the traffic and work tomorrow. Yeah, anyway, yeah, we should get together for a coffee or something. No, no, it's cool, I've got your number. Um. Email? I don't really use computers really... Anyway, so, ah, better scoot. Yeah. Cheers. Yeah. Bye.

How come I can't stop singing these? I wonder...

The Smiths - 'Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before'
Supertramp - 'Breakfast In America'
Lenny Kravitz - 'It Ain't Over Til It's Over'
Toto - 'Africa'
Jeff Buckley - 'Hallelujah'
The Supremes - 'You Keep Me Hanging On'

And don't even get me started on the soft rock car crash that is Mika...

Ah, the humble Britflick. All too long, our native film industry has been original, gritty and cutting edge. And look where it's got us. Nowhere! No, my friends, we have to learn from our cousins in Hollywood: take someone elses idea and make it your own. So, I propose a seachange in our moviemaking priorities, and I'm prepared to lead the way, even if noone else will. It's time we started nicking other people's ideas and remoulded them into Britfilm remakes that would make Disney blush. How's about these for starters?

Alice in Sunderland
Breakfast at Ratners
Grilled Red Tomatoes at the Waverley Services Little Chef
Once Upon A Time In The Westcountry.
The Deer Stalker
West Kilbride Story
Cat on a Cold Slate Roof
Planet of the Canapes
Wogan's Run
Good Morning Chippenham
Who Framed Peter Rabbit
The Hunt For Red Ken

Sorry. If these don't float your boat, you probably won't be too keen on my latest project, Pun Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Any more suggestions?

That moment when you're half listening to something. Something you've not heard before. Something that you didn't choose to listen to yourself. You're in a club, or at someone else's place, or just listening to the radio or watching TV, and the melody, whilst unfamiliar, hooks you in, draws your attention to it, uncontrollably. Unconciously, you follow the texture and curve of the music or vocal or beat or whatever it is about it that you find irresistable. You need to know what it is. You have to have it so you can listen to it over and over again until you know every lyrics, every chord change, every subtle undulation of the music.

The time was sometime after 7pm last night, and the source was Zane Lowe on Radio 1. The tune was DJ Medhi - 'Signature (Thomas Bangalter Remix)'. A mish mashed housey racket ripped up by half of Daft Punk. An utterly gorgeous electronic noise, distorted and twisted and stretched to perfection. But it could just as easily have been any of these...

1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - 'Weapon Of Choice'
2. Biffy Clyro - 'Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies'
3. Lifelike - 'So Electric'
4. Manic Street Preachers - 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough'
5. Bjork - 'Earth Intruders'
6. The Crimea - 'Requiem Aeternum'
7. The White Stripes - 'Icky Thump'
8. LAOS - 'Panda Style'
9. Arctic Monkeys - 'Do Me A Favour'
10. Kings Of Leon - 'On Call'

(This was going to be a negative post about how much reheated tosh there is out there at the moment, but I thought I'd accentuate the positive. And now I'm happy! Wonderful.)