Tom Morello riffs, Primus rhythms, operatic cabaret vocals and the sort of subject matter otherwise found in the pages of Fortean Times, and the darkest corners of YouTube.
Muse were always destined to be a cult band. It probably surprised them more than anyone that this cult would grow to include literally millions of acolytes.
It isn’t “uncool”, just as “undead” isn’t the exact opposite of “dead”.
Nope, the exact opposite of “cool” is “naff”.
I have made a solemn vow to reject coolness and embrace naffness.
I recently wrote about my long-term hunt for a green man incense burner.
In writing this, I Got To Thinking about certain other white whales I’ve pursued over the years.
Urban Dictionary defines a white whale as “something you obsess over to the point that it nearly or completely destroys you.”
Now, I wasn’t exactly obsesses with any of these things. They’re just things I was “on the lookout for” for much longer than was perhaps reasonable. I caught some of these white whales. But some are still out there, waiting to be found.
I saw one for sale once in that shop that sells everything in Liverpool’s Albert Dock. You know the one.
It was a beaut. It had a long root-lined tray to collect the ashes. The green man himself was a large tree stump with a face. You put the incense stick in his mouth, so it looked like he was smoking.
I didn’t buy that beaut. I saw something similar in a new age shop that existed for a short while in Belper. I didn’t buy that one either. And since then a green man incense burner has been my “white whale”. The monomaniacal hunt’s been on.
I just listed some terrific albums of 2018. Now I’m ready to share my 10 favourite albums of the year. And I’ve actually managed to rank them!
And to write about some of my favourite albums of 2018.
