He's not acting...Sean Penn

Good Evening…whats up then? Just time for a quick update tonight but thought it would be nice to say hello. Just watching Sean Penn on the news who is over in Haiti doing what he can – it’s become very easy to see ‘celebrities’ as shallow and selfish but you should tip your cap to someone who could just be sitting in his Beverly Hills mansion but instead is getting his hands dirty at the site of a genuine crisis. Raising awareness about important matters is (I think) a responsibility we all share and if you are ‘famous’ and connected you should shout it out as loud as you can that things need to be changed. I guess I like my actors like I like my musicians – to have a conscience and some ideas, nobody has all the answers but at least ask the bloody questions.

I wanted to touch quickly on the Strummerville event last Friday night for the Shatter The Hotel album launch. When you get time pop over to the Strummerville site to see some more great photos and find the link to hear a podcast of the whole event. Marvellous…almost as good as being there except lacking in Twiglets and a pint of Stella. I hope to get some more inside information from Mark Matthews (Prince Blanco) later this week but I am genuinely thrilled that the project was so warmly received in London. The podcast is a must listen, interviews are mixed alongside the music and you will want to buy the album when you finish listening. You can download it to your i-tunes thingy also if that’s your bag. (ask someone younger…sorry!!). The Trish Whelan interview is priceless as she discusses a lot about Strummerville and how its expanding.

I’ve worked out my Achilles while working on the blog, I can’t write an album review that is succinct to save my life. I just ramble so much that I don’t think I help sell the record though I might convince you that I think the Miner’s Strike was the socio-economic event of the 1980′s – I get off track. However I can say this album review of the aforementioned Shatter The Hotel album from the Lucid Culture blog is well worth a read also.

In other news - Paul Weller will get the NME Godlike genius award this year – (after The Clash of course). While I just simply adored The Jam and The Style Council my continued efforts to enjoy his solo output has not been easy. I know it’s revered and critically loved but beyond Stanley Street (was that the title?) I’ve just not found that groove. Perhaps you did? Either way congratulations to Mr. Weller.

The always enjoyable Huffington Post has a brief story about The Specials today – with the band coming to the States in the Spring I am sure that the US music media (the fragments that remain) will be queuing up for days to speak to Terry Hall for a few minutes. Terry is a fascinating bloke and one of my favourite musicians ever but not easy to interview, he’s also sort of ‘forgot’ much of his time with The Specials – he was just a young man don’t forget.

Back soon ~ Tim