December Will Be Magic Again (or the slight return of ITTL?)

...and from out of the darkness, it returned...

Don't get too excited. I'm not back for long. I just have a few things I want to say and then I'll be on my way again. I have to be honest, in my year off from blogging, I haven't missed it one jot. I've actually found it quite liberating not having to think about it, which merely confirms that letting it lay dormant was absolutely the right thing to do. It had become a chore, not something I enjoyed. That also goes for not visiting or commenting on other blogs (though I have secretly dropped in on one of two of them in that time).

So what's prompted a revival of ITtL? Well, there has been some amazing music this year and I wanted to share with you what I've been listening to. I've been preparing some pieces since the autumn as I didn't think I could be arsed to sit down and trot them all out in a week. It also means I don't put pressure on myself and end up hating writing. It also doesn't matter if no one reads it - I'm doing this for me, simply to satisfy an urge, nothing more. But hey, if you are reading, do say hello in the comments. I actually missed you guys.

So I've therefore decided that twice a week up to the New Year I'll share some music and thoughts with you - the music I've been listening to, the records I've bought, the gigs I've been to and one or two other things I think of as I go. After that, I'll probably crawl back under my comfy little rock and hibernate again.

So by way of announcing my underwhelming comeback, I thought I'd post another one... Sleeper released 'The Modern Age', their first record since 1997's 'Pleased To Meet You' this year. It was everything I expected of a Sleeper album: two or three decent songs and quite a bit of below average filler. That pretty much sums up their career. This was by far the highlight of the thing - the comeback single Look At You Now. Nowt different for them but a good choon nonetheless.

I have better stuff lined up, I promise...