One of the "joys"(?) of having children is that I can legitimately watch TOTP now and again; did anyone see the strangulation of "Comfortably Numb" this week? It was total sh**e - who the bloody hell are the scissors sisters? Stereophonics were ok though.

Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man Fan-bloody-tastic - don't mock until you give it a listen as he gives a selection of other people's songs an insight and emotion that really grabs you in a chilled sort of way.

OK, OK - I know when I'm beat and, in future, I promise not to post e-mails late saturday night when I'm @#/? and argumentative!!

Good post, morph - your're making me think when I should be in bed and fast asleep. My perspective is less to do with class war and more to do with dumbing down to a list mentality and a "best of .... ever" attitude. On this point, I think we are as one; however, whilst I fully empathise with your motives for reading Harry Potter and accept LOTR is a good story, I am not advocating superiority by dint of what you read, quite the opposite, in fact. Let's take your Bester book - is it likely to change (or even influence) the way you think about the world you live in? Did you need a poll to get you to read it? is it in the Big Read? Is it BBC-approved? Is it any less a novel for any of the answers to these questions? Did you have to be told, albeit implicitly, by a group of people presented as your literary superiors to read it? Therefore, I still think I have a point about the inherent elitism, combined with concurrent dumbing down, of the Big read as a concept. It's only purpose is to stimulate debate in the mode of "question time" - my concern is that it will be taken as "gospel" rather than an opinion as to what constitutes literature.

Problem is, Morph, that the titles to which you refer are the new middle-class intelligentsia reference points that are intended to show just how smart they are because they get the point to what are actually pointless stories. In addition, we can all be smart at this level; however, the point I am trying to make (badly) is that, whilst the pen is always mightier than the sword, the titles to which you refer are simply anaesthetic - genuine literature changes the world, or the way we think about it - it doesn't reinforce the status quo. Tolkein, whilst a good story-teller, does nothing other than allow people to pretend to think they are clever because they can follow a plot that is basically a fairy tale they read as a child and therefore makes them feel both secure (childhood associations) and smart at the same time. It doesn't change the world and presents the pen as an anaesthetic rather than sword - it is this latter point that makes it worthy of nothing as it changes nothing.

They were voted for by the beeb-watching public (a minority, in case you hadn't noticed). A shortlist was selected after subsequent discussion by a panel presented to the beeb-watching public as suitably wise (and superior) - and then the public who were actually left involved actually voted. I don't mind a vote like this, but resent the implication that it is a reflection of the country at large.

Fair point - maybe I missed the point: The public voted for what was put in front of them, by their literary guardians at the beeb. Regardless, the shortlist bears little resemblance to what most people outside the circles I describe actually read.

The Big read was voted for by a selection of the public who were sufficiently interested but who do not consititute a majority of the reading public in this country. Also, why is it that a panel have been appointed to select the best? And look at who is on that panel!! What relevance do they have to you and I? Hey, but they get a nice little revenue stream from talking about this kind of stuff telling the rest of us what is and is not good literature. I accept your point that at least it is being discussed and has served as a catalyst and that there has been much spouting of crap that has got my goat (in case you hadn't noticed); however, I refute that my assessment of Dickens is laughable - the guy has been revered for writing what is largely tosh IMO in a style that is contemporary but has not aged well (unlike Shakespeare, for example). Also, his analysis of working conditions at the time was, at best, patronising.

The big read is a pile of ##### - it's a great example of the middle class BBC telling us what is good art and what is bad art as if we don't have valid opinions ourselves without "Auntie Beeb" reassuring us that we do actually have something valid to say. Take Dickens (please, somebody, please) one page of pious waffle followed by a page of equally pious story - absolutely clueless on what he is supposedly writing about - utterly overrated unless you happen to be one of those people who think we should all subsidise the theatre and arts for the already privileged few in which case you probably think he has genuine insight - you probably deserve each other. Why not read whatever the hell interests you - because that is the definition of good literature - and not whatever some middle class establishment like the BBC tells you SHOULD interest you? The greatest gift given by this country to the world is literature and don't let anybody (especially bloody arts graduates from Guardian-reading backgrounds who think they are working class and therefore entitles them to tell the rest of the country what is and is not good literature) I'm reasonably read (though not according to the BBC mantra) and would never venture to tell you what to read other than what tickles your fancy. However, literature that sticks in my mind and that I would recommend you have a dip into would include: "The ragged-trousered philanthropists" - reality bites into the sentimentalists concept of working life "Catch 22" "Tin Drum" - bizarre yet with a story to tell "Dracula" - thoroughly enjoyable and compelling I don't know about you but I also enjoy reading Iain Banks, Bill Bryson, George Orwell and others because they assume the reader has thoughts of their own - unlike the BBC, who seem to have set themselves up as our literary guardians without consulting us beforehand!!! There you go, look at the chips on my shoulder I hear you cry. Bloody proud of them I am as well!

Why would Hughes want to come to Ewood when we've just sacked a perfectly good manager who turned round the club in 3 years? He'd probably prefer the Spurs job!!!

Agree with you totally, Zman - best man for the job

That hardly comes as a revelation, does it? Four defeats is not CL material, let's be honest - I see Sky continue to make a news item out of the bleeding obvious as usual.

Any play-off game in the 80's - those who were there should be given life membership Plymouth away '92 - major weekend with what seemed half of Blackburn determined to drink Torquay dry Several dodgy games (and receptions) at Huddersfield Barnsley at home 0-0 mid/late 80's we were lucky to get nil - all of us singing "give us a goal" to lennon's "give peace a chance" as Roevrs embarked on a mighty run of throwing a seemingly impregnable position at the top of Div.2 Three of us surrounded by several dozen Leicester fans in London '92 - I thought we were going to listen to the match in the local A&E! Away at the Den - early 80's - the piano stopped playing when we walked into the pub - not intimidating, more like bloody frightening. 1995 - set off from work in Preston, drove to a meeting in Hampshire (Farnborough), did the meeting, drove to Yeovil for a meeting the next day, booked into the hotel, drove over to Loftus Road, arrived for kick-off, we all panicked, Tim "the pimp" Sherwood stood at the corner flag made out to smoking a "fag" telling us all to chill, Sutton scores, pressure back on merchandise united, job done, drove back to Yeovil, did the meeting next morning, back up to Accy - knackered, but simply a matter of duty. Several people at work questioned my travel arrangements but not too closely. 1992 - midweek game against Notts County - working in Scotland. Contrived business trip in Manchester, hired car, drove over, we lost (2-1?), drove back no flight until next morning - straight to work - "donald ducked". There are probably others, but it's good to read of others mad plans and diversions just to watch 22 men kick a patch of leather around .... and somehow satisfying in this far too serious world of ours.

"Trout Mask Replica" I think I've spent about 20 years trying to get to grips with that one! Strangely enough it was "Trout Mask replica" that got me into Beefheart - utterly inaccessible at first but I gradually got into it's groove. Unfortunately, my wife exhibits signs of extreme mental illness if I play it, so I have to wait until she goes out!! She's a bit the same with hawkwind - another much underrated band who have made some real gems amidst the dross over the years and were often way ahead of their time.

"Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" More of a "Clear Spot" man myself. "Mr Zoot Horn Rollo hit that long looming note & let it float" Clearly an aficionado, Colin - good choice, mate. "Doc at the Radar Station" is (probably) my favourite, though I haven't heard everything yet. Since my last post, I have mostly been listening to ...... "Youth and Young Manhood" by the Kings of Leon - I got this a few weeks ago and am really getting into it now - there's an early ZZ Top feel to it mixed in with a hint of the Strokes - excellent debut, if you ask me!

This week, I have mostly been listening to..... Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk, anyone? A real groundbreaker, if just on the wrong side of insanity for many, but definitely years ahead of it's time.

Everybody should listen to the first Cramps album in five years "Fiends of Dope Island" - it is mindblowing and impossible to pigeon-hole. Their finest work since "Smell of Female".

Uncanny that - I've just dug out "Machine Gun Etiquette" - arguably their finest hour, though I do have an unhealthy liking for "Curtain Call" as well. Proof that they could play as well!

I know it's a blast from the past but I'm listening to Black sabbath "Vol. 4" - they really were a very good band you know.

Tell me more about the Jane's Addiction album as this is a "possible" for next time I have a few quid spare. Is it as they were or more like someone else?

I've had a bit of a splurge recently at the record shop, so thought I'd share it with you all: The Cramps - Fiends of Dope island - if you buy one cd this year, it must be this it is fan-bloody-tastic. Primal R'n'R, energy, attitude - it has the lot!! Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By the Way - the best by this lot for some time and it is growing on me with every listen. Kings of Leon - Youth and young manhood - smart debut worth a listen if you like the Strokes with a more bluesy southern fried USA feel. The White Stripes - Elephant - agree with the earlier posting - instantly grabs the attention but let down by one or two "stocking fillers" towards the end. Led Zeppelin - How the West was won - the ultimate live triple album, especially for part-time Zep fans like me. It makes me realise how good this band were at their peak which as an original punk, takes some admitting - so it must be good!! British Sea Power - The Decline of - an impressive debut which I would recommend to you all as worth a punt. Primal Scream - Extrminator -To complete my collection - I like it anyway!! There you go - all good stuff.

Michael Parkinson on Football Witty Well-written Opinionated Thought-provoking Covers the '50's onwards without being nostalgic and rose-tinted God articles on Best, Charlton, Shearer, Keegan and Barnsley to name but a few. Particularly strong on the incompetence of the FA/Premier League to act as custodians of the national game.

When it all started, I was not at all sure, but when I watched the general outpouring of relief when the Iraqi population actually believed their beloved leader had gone for good, I came to the view that, for perhaps the wrong reasons, the outcome was good for the people of Iraq. Thay can now protest against the US in relative safety, complain about how the country is being governed without beimg horribly tortured and even, in the near future, elect their own government which may or may not be of a Moslem fundamentalist nature. The agony of choice has been returned to the cradle of civilisation - I have no doubt there will be the usual cock-ups on the way, but that's democracy.

You've got me thinking now ........ "Space Ritual" by Hawkwind is pretty awesome - in fact it could well sneak in as my favourite despite not being my normal listening. Once heard, never gorgotten!

Phil, I'd have never got you down as a Ramones man. What about "Mission accomplished ....... but the beat goes on"? That is a pretty good live album and, on a different plane altogether, "No sleep 'til Hammersmith" - both are up there with "It's alive" as classic live albums.