h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Pattern? Girly long-haired layabouts?

Do I win £5?

Bushy,

The answer I was expecting was "yep, you listen to a lot of crap bands", or something similar. You got close!

Your listening being...

I listen to anything really V Max ...

Still clinging on to my 'yoof' by having Happy Mondays, Prodigy, KLF sort of stuff on CD in my car but it is Mrs Whack'd who is the real music 'buff'! I'm a complete American (new word for philistine anyone?) when it comes to music!

I know Green Day but that's it.

Am I out of touch?

Ali,

Probably not, they're all American bands and don't get much mainstream coverage here (but Bowling for Soup made an appearance on TOTP a while back).

Bushy,

Mrs Max likes to think she's the music expert, but I know better! (She listens to a load of 60's pop, and it drives me nuts!).

I've got Cheap Trick's eponymous debut album, but after that, nothing (I think I grew out of them <smile&gt.

I do like the Cocteaus. Basically, I'm a sucker for anything with pretensions to even the vaguest of intelligence, no matter how misplaced those pretensions may be. So, from dance (Leftfield, Portishead, Massive Attack, Underworld), through classics (Dylan, early Genesis) to 'serious' pop (Smiths, Gene, Suede, Bernard Butler, Peter Gabriel) to 'light' pop (Yazoo, Housemartins, Marcella Detroit, Everything But The Girl) to '80s (Human League, Heaven 17, OMD), to folky singer songwriters (Billy Bragg, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Joan Osborne, Sophie B Hawkins, Sarah McLachlan) stick a poncey, arty cover on it, come up with some obscure lyrics, and I'm there.

LOL Pat! I'm probably the opposite - I still can't listen to The Damned performing "Smash it up (part 2)) without getting a big grin all over my face. For me, simple is good, by and large! Maybe I never grew up...

BTW - Cheap Trick have released 2 albums just called "Cheap Trick", about 20 years apart and with no tracks in common. Not a lot of people know that!

Got any Hawkwind?

Ha ha! You asked before! I'll concede I like Hurry on Sundown (on Roadhawks ?), and maybe Needlegun (on Choose your masques), but that's about it! Too "dopey" for my tastes.

Anyone like The Bees and My Morning Jacket? Good young bands. Oh - and the wonderful Flaming Lips...

BTW Cheap Trick played the Royal Albert Hall last month

Another quiet day!

Later!

Peter,

Do you know if the version of The Great Beyond being used on the R2 adverts is commercially available?

Isn't it from a Radio 1/2 Steve Lamacq or a TOTP 2 session from (I think) 2001?

It's a bit worrying, Pat, because you share a similar attitude to music to me. A few, in no particular order. Deep breath: Pink Floyd, early Genesis ('The Lamb...' is still an incredible album, imho), Yes, Led Zep; Blue Oyster Cult, Rush, The Peppers, Pearl Jam, Primus, Soundgarden; Gabriel, The Cure, Siouxie, The Fall, Slowdive, The Cocteau Twins, Talking Heads, Eno; Sonic Youth, The Smiths, REM, The Blue Aeroplanes, Radiohead, Supergrass, Suede; Aimee Mann, Paula Cole, Beth Orton, The Corrs; Massive Attack, Portishead, The Orb; Crowded House, James; and I seem to be getting quite 'New Agey' at the moment.

Newer stuff? Er? The Hives and, er, S Club 7.

Omigod: I completely forgot the Blue Aeroplanes, another brilliant Bristol band. Thanks for that Woody. My list wasn't exhaustive, and I've got to dash to nets now, but can I just mention Furniture before I go?

"You must be out of your brilliant mind"

L8r t8rs.

Hmmm, apart from one or two notable exceptions, have you lot ever thought about seeking therapy with regard to your musical tastes? I use the term "musical" loosely.

Ooooooooooooooh!

So what's wrong with S Club 7, Magster?

Alistair, they dropped the 7 a while ago when one of them left but nobody else noticed. As it is, Mr Magster likes "watching" SClub for the same reasons that no doubt you do too...something to do with Rachel Stevens My 8 year old has more refined tastes. His favourite group right now is good old Supertramp from the good ole 70's with The Logical Song currently being played to death. Close second favourite is Madness, followed by UB40 and Bob Marley. Don't blame my CD collection, blame the magster man although I always did love UB40 and Bob Marley.

Magster,

I have never seen the S Club 7 thingy before in my life but I thought I'd drop their name into my list of bands to sound trendy.

I am aware of the 'talents' of Rachel Stevens, yes.

Supertramp are an excellent band. 'Take the Long Way Home' is a fab song as is 'It's Raining Again' (sublime backing vox). I can't fault Madness and Bob Marley either. I'll withhold comments on UB40, although 'One in Ten' is a good song.

Morning/afternoon/evening/whatever

Don't know if I'll be around tomorrow/today/next week/whatever, so here are a couple of horoscopes to help you along.

Sagittarius: Your cruelty to vegetables will backfire on you in an unpleasantly audible fashion.

Virgo: Today you must stop procrastinating and get a life! Or, if not today, then tomorrow. Definitely.

Aquarius: Yes - it IS big and it IS clever. Unfortunately it's not actually legal.


Libra: One day your beauty, wit, charm and intelligence will reap the rewards you truly deserve. Sadly, today is not that day.