Ben Graham
@bleeding-cheek.bsky.social
Writer & arts journalist in East Sussex. Shindig! The Quietus. Author of A Gathering Of Promises, Scatological Alchemy, Amorphous Albion, Pink Floyd Are Fogbound in Paris, etc. Discordian poet. www.bleedingcheek.wordpress.com https://ko-fi.com/bengraham23
Buff Manilla has left the building.
Bruce Gorrie@bsrg1.bsky.social · 4d agoRIP Gary Dwyer (pictured with Paul Simpson in Liverpool, 1978). The Teardrops were a huge band for me, coming from punk and new wave but with a positive pop sensibility and, especially on 'Wilder', hinting at other influences that nagged at you to be explored.
I've never seen a hummingbird hawk moth before, but saw two close-up while out and about in East Sussex yesterday. Beautiful creatures.
Coming soon from Bleeding Cheek Press: the second book in the American Underground quartet. A novel of 1940s psychedelia.
@bleeding-cheek.bsky.social occasionally of this parish came along to the Piper in St Leonards a couple of weeks ago and gave me this. Krumlin's legacy was well known to me at the time as the disaster festival's disaster festival, but cripes what a read. A How Not To guide par excellence.
New issue of Shindig! out today with another cover story by me. I interviewed lovely Robyn Hitchcock about his new album, punk, psychedelia, family and his "write now, ask questions later" approach to lyrics.
Still disappointed that neither of Roger & Pete's 21st Century comeback albums was called 'Who New'
The year I own the most albums from is the year I was born. I'm not sure if that says more about me or about music (as in, is it a coincidence that i was born in a peak year for the kind of music I like, or am I weirdly drawn to pop/rock that I'm just slightly too young to remember being released?)
Election here a two-horse race between Lib Dems and Reform. Labour may as well not be standing: no leaflets, no posters, no presence at all. Same with Greens. Desultory Tory flyer appeared 2 days ago.
Someone just uploaded this today. More folk-scifi than folk-horror, and featuring the ace Toni Arthur, ladies and gentlemen, Stargazy on Zummerdown in all its Dr Who meets the Archers, faux Shakespearian glory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JPc...
Stargazy on Zummerdown.
YouTube video by Simon Berberian
youtube.com
Q: Which Liverpool post-punk pop band were all sad-eyed former policemen? A: The Teardrop Explods
11 years into being a published author (20 years if you count my first anthologised-by-a-major publisher short story), I've finally signed up for public lending rights. Library-derived riches here I come!
New School Guidance announces: Full bathroom ban. Full PE ban. Full school trip accommodation ban. Trans kids will not go to the bathroom, do PE or go on any school trips. 1/
But will I still be able to enjoy a bit of the old Ludwig Van? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Brain stimulating test makes people 'less selfish'
Scientists have discovered how to make people less selfish - slightly and temporarily - by stimulating two areas of the brain.
bbc.co.uk
I often think about Then Jericho and that Big Area they found.
"Hello, low-income couple in their fifties, you're using less energy than this time last year, but nevertheless you've clearly had the heating on this month. What were you thinking? To teach you a lesson we're increasing your direct debit by £20 a month starting immediately."
Great piece on a favourite TV show. Doesn't hurt that Michael Praed always looks like he's just waiting to take up lead guitar duties for The Mission.
John Bull@garius.bsky.social · 7mo agoSince y'all asked nicely, here's my complete history of Robin of Sherwood. One of the finest TV shows ever made. Hugely influential. Most modern cinematic/TV Robin Hood tropes trace back to it. As Herne would say: "Nothing is forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten." authory.com/JohnBull/Not...
My wife is dead, I am disabled and I have nothing. If you can, please help me and my Charlie cat get back to the UK. Signal boosts would be most appreciated. Thank you. wyrddaze.wordpress.com/2025/12/15/m...
New Year's Eve visit to Pevensey to wander round the castle ruins at sunset. One beer in the Oak & Castle pub. Back home to watch The Quatermass Conclusion on DVD.
Life is long in the short term but short in the long term.
Know anyone who loves dogs & SF? But them DogWorld! A mysterious plague has given dogs (and cats) human language. Inspector Hound, the UK's first canine sleuth, is sniffing out where it came from. And helping run a dog cafe. Available from books.by/attractor and www.amazon.co.uk/DogWorld-Dav...
Not sure why The Omega Factor isn't more celebrated in the annals of weird, paranormal cult television. Watching it for the first time on Talking Pictures TV and it's tightly acted, intriguing, well researched and bloody terrifying.
This year's Yuletide number from Black Tempest is now available, the 4th year we have done this - it's becoming a tradition! All proceeds from this track go to Psych Against Cancer - please give generously. Yuletide Greetings all! weirdbeardrecs.bandcamp.com/track/solsti...
Solstice Fire Black Tempest, by The Weird Beard
track by The Weird Beard
weirdbeardrecs.bandcamp.com
When I'm writing fiction i find it's best to write first, research after. Then rewrite to fit the facts if necessary, but let your imagination and subconscious memory have its head before you start regurgitating big chunks of Wikipedia into your story.
Tax return done, lounge hoovered, christmas cards posted, now listening to The Mission covering glam-rock hits in their 'Metal Gurus' guise on the flip of their wonderfully overblown 1990 single 'Deliverance (Sorcerer's mix), packed with uncleared Excalibur and Kate Bush samples #christmasgothboss
"Eloquence is a rapier. A comedian’s cut and thrust. Words beguile, they deceive, they flaunt, flatter and flounce. They furnish a room with furniture and then whip the carpet from beneath you. At any given moment they can open you up with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel". Coming January 1st.
When Sam Cooke said we should "shake it like a bowl of soup" did he mean that, like a bowl of soup, we shouldn't shake it at all?
Record Store Day is all very well but when is it hardware store day?
