Case Histories soundtrack

UPDATE: If you are looking for the songs from Case Histories Series 2 (broadcast in the UK in May/June 2013), click here: Case Histories Soundtrack Series 2.

ORIGINAL POST BELOW:

I love Kate Atkinson's books, partly because she's a good writer and partly because I can't help wondering about the lost sisters. They are the thread in Case Histories but the theme goes back to Behind the Scenes at the Museum, her first novel. And because I also have a lost sister, I wonder.

And I loved the BBC's 'Case Histories' adaptation, even though it falls into the common category of 'not as good as the book'. I've got to confess a lot of it's to do with Jason Isaacs. I never imagined Jackson Brodie as quite so hunky when I read the books... but I'm not complaining.

The other reason for loving the series is the soundtrack. Who could fail to love a programme that highlights work by Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith and Iris DeMent? The music has attracted plenty of comment - so when are the BBC going to release the soundtrack album?

I've searched for a list of the songs but all I can find is on the iPlayer credits. So, before they disappear from view, I've compiled a list as a public service. I intend to investigate further the stuff I hadn't heard before. I recommend you do the same.

Why I'm not celebrating Father's Day

In my gmail bin I have an email inviting me to 'adopt a veg' for Father's Day, an email offering CAMRA Father's Day gift membership, and a third offering 25% off fairtrade ties for... you guessed it.

Spammers don't care what percentage of recipients actually buy their stuff. These totally legitimate organisations, whose messages I am usually happy to receive, don't seem to care what percentage of their recipients don't have fathers to buy presents for.

Or don't want to buy a present.

The Ramones, My Back Pages and why vinyl is better than Spotify

Whenever I go on Facebook the 'top news' at any given time is a whole load of YouTube videos. I wonder if it's my demographic or just the sort of people I know. It might be interesting to see a typical timeline for people of different ages. Babies? Politics? Misspelled incomprehensible stuff?

Sometimes I think that it's all a bit like writing the name of bands on your satchel. We all know we all like the Clash, Mott the Hoople and Bob Dylan so why do we have to tell each other about it?

But sometimes it's nice to be told about something I don't know. Like the link to Spotify of the Ramones doing My Back Pages. (That really ought to be the theme tune to this blog.)

That's what sharing is all about. Or it is now.

Punk's not dead - discuss

I don't watch a lot of television but when I do I like to watch it in company. Which generally means Twitter.

A few weeks ago, BBC4 decided to resurrect Top of the Pops and kicked it off with a themed evening that included a documentary about 1976. It was this in particular that polarised commentators. Generation gap? I expect so.

As we watched the awfulness that was Sailor and Brotherhood of Man, half the viewers said: 'This is why we fought the punk wars'. And the other half said: 'I suppose someone will come on in a minute and say that punk changed everything'.

Let's nail this once and for all.

Actually, it did.

Dream jobs, work-life balance, and other lies

It was great on Friday to have an extra day off work. I could have spent it in front of the telly watching a celebrity wedding. Or in front of Twitter watching people bitch about the celebrity wedding (I was tempted). Instead I took the chance to catch up on some of the things I don't usually have the time and energy to do. And I thought a bit about my working life.

Everyone knows about the hierarchy of needs, right? The idea is that basic needs come first - stuff like food, sleep and sex. Then you get the nice-to-haves like safety, belonging and esteem. And at the top you get self-actualisation.

This theory is supposed to be useful when you manage people. Now, I've never been in a workplace that lays on food or sleep, let alone sex. And I've definitely never been in a workplace that provides self-actualisation. I think I'd feel pretty suspicious if it did.