Chase away the winter blues with my first playlist of 2026 – two and a half hours of eclectic pleasure to warm the cockles of your ears, kicking off with the S.O.S. Band’s and coming to a melancholy close with Mary Margaret O’Hara. In between there’s a few country numbers, a hefty dose of Krautrock deep cuts, some reggae and soul, a couple of protest songs against ICE and Trump, and tributes to those we lost, including two drummers – Sly Dunbar and Kenny Morris – and actress Catherine O’Hara.

Catherine O’Hara played some of the funniest characters on film and TV – and her sister Mary Margaret O’Hara made one of the best debut albums ever recorded.

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TThe Apprentice is, I think, the only reality-adjacent TV show I’ve ever watched. I’m a big fan, largely because of the unrelenting idiocy of (some / most of) the contestants.

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Bruce Springsteen delivers his response to the unfolding disaster in Minneapolis – a powerful riposte to the murderous exploits of ICE.

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Sly Dunbar was one half of the greatest reggae rhythm section in history, alongside the late and equally great Robbie Shakespeare.

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This song is shit. Obviously it’s shit – it’s by Robbie Williams and everything he’s ever done is shit. This is no exception.

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Kenny Morris was a drummer with a unique style, and one of the founding musicians of post-punk in the early days of Siouxsie & The Banshees.

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Post-rock supergroup Pullman return after a 25-year hiatus with a new album and new elements to their sound.

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I know it’s very early in the year, and there are plenty more idiocies to look forward to in 2026, but I have already read what will surely be a contender for Stupidest Phrase to be published in a national newspaper this year.

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Girl-girl-boy Halifax trio The Orielles are constantly reinventing themselves and characteristically return with a new sound on a new album. (more…)