Proud to make my debut for The Guardian today. Legendary photographer Henry Diltz talked me through some of his unseen photos of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and others. Thanks to Graham Nash for talking to me too. theguardian.com/music/2023/s…

I was on Times Radio last night for Geoff Norcott’s ‘Weekend Recommend’, discussing Alex Gibney’s powerful new doc, Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, Sky’s new marquee drama War, and Colin From Accounts’ sublime third series. (Segment approx 2hrs 35mins in) thetimes.com/radio/show/2026…

What started out as a programme about class ended up as existentialist poetry of the most profound, precious and relatable kind. Thank you to the Upstarts who let us into their lives for all these years. Tonight’s final episode was an extremely fitting, tear-soaked coda. The Up series is not merely worthy of a standing ovation, it’s utterly beyond superlatives. #70Up

On AI, is it any surprise that these tech firms are gambling with our existence when they were left free to steal our data for years on end with utter impunity?

Dolly Parton was proof that style might sustain you for a minute or two, but it’s substance that carries you through a lifetime. Two fingers gleefully turned up to all those who perennially underestimated her.

Dolly not merely defied every expectation pinned upon her by a sexist patriarchy – and with a smile and a wink to boot – but seemed forever young in some ageless way. Her legacy speaks for itself; so too the brilliance of her artistry. But we’re all poorer for her physical absence, aren’t we? She just made the world seem a bit better.

A few months back I sat down with all five members of, well, erm, Five. The boyband opened up on their memories of making it big as we recalled their best, worst, weirdest (etc) gig memories for Ticketmaster’s Stage Times series. It was a fun chat, and it was nice to see that they were still revelling in their fully-fledged reunion a year in… discover.ticketmaster.co.uk/…

Foreign Tongues is an outstanding accomplishment for a bunch of rock and roll lifers in their ninth decade. Vibrant, inspired and bursting with life, it simply has no right being this good. Anyone who tries to convince you that this is a limp or flat offering must have cloth in their ears. Or an agenda. Yes, there are references to past riches. However, they are referenced without descending into second-rate pastiche. And we haven’t always been able to say that, have we? There’s no debate as to whether this is an improvement on Hackney Diamonds. Not only is it far superior, it’s less forced and much more authentic. Remarkable.

The Lemon Twigs were so good at Shepherd’s Bush Empire last night that I’m still thinking about it today. Those brothers can half write some tunes.

This evocative piece will surely resonate with any fellow music obsessives who leaned on music and its journalism as a gateway to a wider world in our pre-social media age. It’s a great read.

The most listenable of indie rock bands, The Strokes, have become utterly unlistenable if those first two tracks from the upcoming album are anything to go by. Yeesh.