This Is Not Happening - An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 47 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 2, Joey has picked the most obvious choice for 4 middle aged dads, Brat by Charli XCX. It is impossible to ignore the critical response for this album so we all dive headfirst into the first Charli album that any of us has experienced. And it's a belter ... but I am pretty sure it will also divide opinion. This month, in Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is simple ... 'New Music' (tracks released since 01.05.24. However, one of us picked a 49 year old track. Take a listen to hear him justify this decision. Part 1 | Charli XCX | Brat With a whopping 95% score on Metacritic, this album has had a massive impact from critics right across the music press's broad spectrum of publications. It's 15 tracks with an average length well under 3 minutes. And it has some serious weight behind a savage combo of pure pop punches. But there is WAY WAY more to it that sugar-coated pop prettiness as we get stuck right into. hereherethis podcastlisten to this onethis great article Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks Every 3 months (or so) we pick to do 'New Tracks' which we define as being released 2-3 months before our podcast record date (01.05.24). We've got 4 interesting tracks this month. We've got two very different female sole artist indie tracks, one undeniable piece of piano driven, laid back housey, post-club loveliness and of course something French from David. 'Le Sud (Latin Version)''Method Actor' 'God gave me feet for dancing' 'My Name on a T-Shirt' See you on Episode 47 ... We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 45 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, David bravely returns to the scene a previous crime on our podcast. He brings the second St. Vincent album to a group of people who historically have not reacted well to St. Vincent. Wow. How might this one go? In all seriousness, this is a very different experience to 'Daddy's Home' and a really good chat about the good, the not so good and our collective love of Pop Reggae. This month, in Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is 'Crying in Aldi' or 'music that makes you cry'. As the theme suggests, things got pretty emotional. Part 1 | St. Vincent | All Born Screaming I think the full continuum of emotions or lack of emotions is expressed in this review. David brings unconditional love for St. Vincent plus a thinly veiled threat that his wife might tell us off again if we say mean things. The rest of bring various thoughts and ideas to the table that range from the inquisitive to the annoyed. here.here, here.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Crying in Aldi' The most 'in' of 'in jokes' is that Joey often cries to sad songs while doing the big shop in Aldi. He's been banned from 3 stores now and is considering to switching to Lidl. In support of our brother, we've all been researching which songs make us cry and testing them out in various big-box supermarket chains. 'Already Dead' 'Basket' 'Magnificent''My Girls' See you on Episode 47 ... where 4 old guys talk about Charlie XCX. What could go wrong? We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 45 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we dive right into the deep-end of 'Only God Was Above Us' the new album from TINH favourite (at least 3 of us) Vampire Weekend. This month we're in the capable hands of Nolan who has introduces the album and guides us through some key questions and an interesting conversation. In Part 2 we play Spin it or Bin It with songs that are all. 'a little bit country'. Part 1 | Vampire Weekend | Only God Was Above Us My god Vampire Weekend can write a song! And this album really proves that. We answer (or at least attempt to answer) some big questions - is this best Vampire Weekend album? How do you pick a favourite track when they're all so good and do such different things. here.here. ... herehere.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'A little bit country' Country is massive in 2024 ... and Guy hates it. So, what other theme could we choose? The clue is in the title, the tracks only have to be 'a little bit country'. 4 Track playlist of our chosen tracks is here. 'Bittersweet, TN''Candle' 'One of these days' 'Cant Let Go'See you on Episode 46! We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 44 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we wrestle with the 2nd album from Yard Act titled 'Where's My Utopia?'. This month we're in the capable hands of Guy who has been a Yard Act fan for some time, choosing their debut album as his Album of the Year in 2022. 66.6% of the team agree with him but 33.3% of the team has found the album more of a struggle. Part 1 | Yard Act | Where's My Utopia? Yard act are an interesting proposition, they are perhaps the most knowingly Northern band since Oasis. They seem to be everywhere and it's tough to find someone who doesn't like them. They are very clearly 'Post Punk' but their definition of what this means has changed somewhat with this album. We ask the standard quesiton, what did you expect and what did you get plus questions about here.here.here.here.herehereherePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Spoken Word' Given the AOTM is Yard Act, we chose to look at our favourite Spoken Word tracks. And 3 of us actually chose a Spoken Word track ... one of us chose something else but let's leave that and let us know if you agree with me that it was not Spoken Word. Our chosen 4 tracks can be found on a play list here. In order to chose a track we each shortlist 4 tracks each, a combined 16 track playlist can be found here. 'SpottieOttieDopalicious'''The Revolution will not be Televised' 'Loosing My Edge' 'O Superman'See you on Episode 44! We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 43 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we embrace the truly beautiful, hynotic new album by Helado Negro, called 'Phasor'. Joey (that's me) is running 'tings this month, at least one of the crew loves this album but the other two ... I'm not so sure. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'New Music' where we all chose a track from the last 2 months and ask the others 'Spin It or Bin It'? Part 1 | Helado Negro | Phasor This is right up my street. It's calming, beautiful, intriguing little gem of an album. It's instantly accessible and a rewarding listen but it is also a gift that keeps on giving. There is a surprsing complexity to the album if you want there to be. But the big questions is 'what on earth do we call it?' Guy suggests 'Cosmic Pop' and I think he's right. herehere.herehere.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'New Music (Jan, Feb, March '24) The theme is nice and simple and always a fun one - new music. Pick a track, any track from the past 2-3 months. Our chosen 4 tracks can be found on a play list here. In order to chose a track we each shortlist 4 tracks each, a combined 16 track playlist can be found here. 'AA Bouquet for your 180 Face' 'Spare me the decision' 'Right Back At It' 'Invulnerable' We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 42 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we get stuck right into Integrated Tech Solutions by Aesop Rock. Nolan and I (Joey) think this is one of 2023's underrated albums and definitely a hidden hip hop gem. David is missing this month so we only have to convince Guy! In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'Technology' where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others 'Spin It or Bin It'. Part 1 | Aesop Rock | Integrated Tech Solutions. This one's special (in my opinion). Nolan has always tried to sell Aesop Rock to me but there's so much music and so little time that I never quite got it. That changed in the Autumn when Mindful Solutionism, the lead single from this album dropped. I chose it as a Spin It or Bin It track and won that month. There's another 17 tracks on this album. It's dense, intelligent, socially conciuous, amusing, moving and thought provoking hip hop. Get stuck in if you haven't already. herehereherehere.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'Technology' Taking inspiration from the album of the month, a really interesting theme of 'technology'. Interpretation was wide open on this one. Our chosen 4 tracks can be found on a play list here. In order to chose a track we each shortlist 4 tracks each, a combined 16 track playlist can be found here. 'Robots' 'Windpower' 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1' '(nothing but) Flowers' *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 41 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we go deep with Lana Del Ray for the first time on TINH. LDR is one of the industry major players: few move units or split opinions like her. Find out what we think. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'A Song for January' where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others 'Spin It or Bin It'. Part 1 | Lana Del Rey | Did you know there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. This is album no.9 for LDR and its a whopper. It's got a lot to say and says it across 16 tracks. There are common LDR tropes and new twists on what you might expect. We think it contains some of the best music released in 2023 but is it all good? Can a 78 minute be brilliant from start to finish? herehereherehere.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'A song for January' Well, that was an odd Episode of Spin It or Bin It! The usual structure goes to the wall this month and it all gets a bit loose. Nolan get's the hump, Joey gets all serious but thankfully David and Guy clean up the mess and no blood was spilled. 'Let me calm down' 'Vamos A Andar''Cocktail Chez Madmoiselle (remix)' 'Utopia' *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 40 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where we usually review an album in depth and play something called 'Spin It or Bin It' ... but not this month. We're celebrating our big 4-0 in style. It's end of year review time. We select our top 10 albums of 2023 and each pick our Track of 2023. Part 1 - 2023 Top 10 Albums We all independently picked our top 10s. We run those choices through a series of deep learning models commonly known as 'Algo Dave' and we create a mathematically generated combined Top 10. We made our selections and recorded this pod WAAAAAY ahead of any body else's lists coming out so we are not influenced by the mainstream musical media (which is why our list looks SO different to everyone else's). We're super proud of our 10 and chuffed to bits that our No.1 is an album that we all love and one that we've loved since the start of the year. No recency bias here my friends. Part 2- 2023 Tracks of the Year We each select a track of the year. Simple as that. We explain why it's our track of 2023 and have a little critique of each others choices. *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 39 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, in Part 1, we get stuck in TINH favourite, Sufjan Steven's latest release 'Javelin'. Wow. Is there a lot to talk about. I hope we do it justice. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'Unconventional Love Songs' where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others 'Spin It or Bin It'. Part 1 | Sufjan Stevens | Javelin It's David's choice this month and a record 3rd time that we've reviewed an album by the same artist. On one hand this Sufjan doing Sufjan things ... and then on the other, it's a heart breaking, gut punch of an album that takes you to beautifully uncomfortable places. It's genuinely spectacular. herehereherehereherePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Unconventional Love Songs Who are we to judge what 'conventional' means, what 'love' means ... what a 'song' is? The interpretation of 'unconventional love songs' was left wide open this month. We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here. 'The Night' 'Ms Fat Booty' 'Chateau Lobby #4 (for 2 virgins)''Where Dreams go to Die' *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 38 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, we get stuck in Noname's latest release 'Sundial' in Part 1. It's a short album but there's a lot to talk about. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is 'New Music' where we all chose a track released since 1st August 2023 and present it for judgement. Part 1 | Noname | Sundial It's Nolan's choice this month and he's chosen the new album from Noname, 'Sundial'. It's an interesting, uncompromising album with a challenging cover from an unapologetic, controversial artist. It's only 30 mins long but packs a big punch and brings a lot to the party! herehere here here Here are some links to check out if you want a little more background herehere Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks It's a simple theme this month. New Music. We all chose tracks that have been released since August 1st 2023. We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question 'spin it or bin it?' We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here. listen here.listen here.listen here.listen here.*** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 37 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, we get pretty emotional about Julie Byrne's latest album 'The Greater Wings' in Part 1. In Part 2, Spin it or Bin it theme is 'no human sounds'. All will be explained ... Part 1 | Julie Byrne | The Greater Wings It's Joey's choice this month and for the 2nd time in This is Not Happening history he chooses a beautiful album by Julie Byrne. We're in the indie-folk-ambience hinterlands from a stylist perspective. From an emotional perspective we're right at the intersection of beauty, grief, loss, hope and reflection. We talk about what this album is, how there's more than one way to experience it, our favourite tracks and what it means to us. hereherehereHere are a few links for some background; Metacritic pagehere KEXP PodcastsPart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'No Human Sounds' This one was way harder than it sounded at first. The theme this month is 'No Human Sounds'. We started with no vocals, then decided no human sounds at all, then we added that it couldn't be 'dance music'. Joey suggested we define 'dance music', he got laughed at ... then we got into an argument about all of Guys choices being dance music. We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question 'spin it or bin it?' Vision of Self Time is the EnemyTransitionsSpeed of Life In order to select our tracks we shortlist 4 each and create a 16 track playlist that can be found here. *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Welcome to Episode 36 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or Bin it'. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question 'Spin It or Bin It'? This month, we get stuck right into Creep Show's 'Yawning Abyss' in Part 1 and in Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It with the theme 'Super-Producers'. Part 1 | Album of the Month | Creep Show's 'Yawning Abyss' It's Guy's choice this month and he choses a bleak little oddity by Creep Show called Yawning Abyss. Creep Show are a 'Super Group' of John Grant, Phil Winter (Tuung), Stephen Mallinder (Caberet Volataire) and Ben 'Benge' Edwards (Prolific Producer). This is their 2nd album as a collective and they channel the dark, the dystopian and the hopeless across 9 tracks and 40-ish minutes of music. There are elements of each individuals previous work but there is distinctive sound that the band capture themselves. here herehereHere are few links to provide a little background. here here.here.herePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It? | Super-Producers What is a Super-Producer? It turns out we all have a different definition, no surprises there I guess! But collectively we kind of agree that a Super-Producer is (i) successful (ii) prolific (iii) has had a significant impact on music (iv) spans numerous artists and perhaps genres. 'I never loved a man' b'Gamma Ray' 'NY State of Mind' 'Weird Fish / Arpeggi'In order to select our tracks we shortlist 4 each and create a 16 track playlist that can be found here. *** Enjoy the Episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

This month we're doing things a little differently. In this episode we are celebrating Hip Hop's 50th Birthday by each choosing our favourite Hip Hop album. We're not choosing 'the best' or 'the most important' we're choosing our personal favourites. We take it in turns to introduce our favourite album and discuss what everyone else thinks. Listen Here - 16 track playlist, 4 tracks each from our 4 favourite Hip Hop albums. Nolan's Favourite Hip Hop Album | ATLiens by Outkast Straight out of the blocks is our resident Hip Hop expert Nolan's with his selection, Outkast's 2nd album, 1996's ATLiens. read it here.here.-here.Joey's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Buhloone Mind State by De La Soul Choosing a classic TINH album from the past, Joey counters with his favourite, going back 3 years and selecting De La Soul's 3rd album, release 30 years ago in 1993, Buhloone Mind State. read it here.here.here.David's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Reachin' by Digable Planets This one was a real pleasure to be re-introduced too. We're staying in 1993 with David's selection Reachin' by Digable Planets. The 'most-David' Hip Hop album evs. read it here.here.here.Guy's Favourite Hip Hop Album | Renaissance by Q Tip After some deliberation, Guy chose an album that divided opinions at the time but has aged very well and is a lovely choice by Guy. 2008's Renaissance by Q Tip. read it here.here.here.So, these are our 4 favourite Hip Hop albums of all time. What do you think? Do you know these albums? What are your favourites? Hit us up, let us kno We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we get to grips with the enchanting 'Wait Til I Get Over' by Durand Jones. We talk all things soul and share our opinions. In Part 2 we play a one-off version of Spin It or Bin It that we're calling 'Love/Hate'. We each pick a track that we love but we think the others will hate. Part 1 | Album of the Month | Durand Jones | Wait Til I Get Over It's David's choice this month and he's chosen an album by and artist that none of us have any history with or knowledge of. The album is very much a soul album in every way that you could possibly define that word. If you want it to be, it's a very easy to listen to soul album that fits nicely into the sun we've been enjoying. But it's also a deeply personal and emotionally moving album if you go a little deeper. HereHereHereSome links that we reference and recommend; Click HereClick HereClick HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Love/Hate So. This is a new one. We all pick a track that we love and will defend to the hilt ... but that we think the other 3 of us will hate. It sounds easy, but it's actually not. B.Y.O.B by System of a DownCome all Ye by Fairport ConventionArmy by Ben Folds FiveI'm still trying by Matthew FowlerHere's a handy playlist of the 4 chosen Love/Hate tracks In order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here ... have a listen ... but approach with caution, this makes no sense whatsoever! *** Enjoy the episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we explore the new Everything But The Girl album Fuse, and ask is it worth the 24 year wait? In Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It? The theme this month is new music ... tracks that have been released since Feb 1st 2023. Part 1 | Album of the Month | EBTG | Fuse It's Nolan's choice this month and we go with the long awaited / not even expected 12th studio album from Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It's rare that we get to talk about an artist that we all have a significant relationship, but this is a great example. In January we got treated to the track Nothing Left to Loose but the album offers much more. It's got just about every type of EBTG track you can think of and some of their best tracks ever. HereHereHereSome links that we reference and recommend; Click HereClick HereClick HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Music It's been a few months since we did new music so here we go. There's a definite whiff of summer in the air! Amplify by Rodriguez Jr.Mo Se B'ola Tan by The Estuary 21 Sandrail Silhouette by Avalon Emerson Everybody's Saying That by Girl RayIn order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here ... have a listen. *** Enjoy the episode *** We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we explore the mesmerising (but opinion dividing) 2nd album by Kelela, 'Raven'. In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?' ... but do we really? The theme this month is our favourite De La Soul tracks ... is anyone really going to bin a De La Soul track? Part 1 | Album of the Month | Kelela | Raven It's Joey's choice this month and we're focusing on an intriguing, vibe of an album called Raven by Ethopian-American artist Kelela. It's 15 tracks, over an hour and plays out like a late-90s, early-00's post club mix tape. There's lots of opinions on this album, in the critical sphere they're almost universally (really) positive, the album being on of the best reviewed albums of the year. However, its a 100%, unquestioning love-in on This Is Not Happening. HereHereHereA few 'Raven' that we highly recommend checking out; Here HereHerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | De La Soul tribute After the sad passing of Trugoy the Dove, we pay tribute to De La Soul. This is the 1st time that the question 'spin it or bin it' is completely redundant. Stakes is HighSo No GoTrying PeopleI am I beCheck out our 16 track De La Soul tribute playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here (this is a good one!) Next Month In part 1 Nolan brings 'Fuse' by Everything But the Girl as our Album of the Month, in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it' with new tracks for the last 3 months. We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we speak in depth about Young Fathers latest album 'Heavy Heavy' and how it packs such a punch in 32 minutes. In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?', the theme this month is the curious anomaly that is 'Post Genre'. Part 1 | Album of the Month | Young Fathers | Heavy Heavy It's Guy's choice this month and we return back to an artist that we spoke about 9 years ago when they released their debut 'Dead'. Across 3 previous releases, Young Fathers have secured near universal critical acclaim, yet little commercial success. Is Heavy Heavy the album that will change this. It looks like it. But that doesn't mean this is a collection of easy listening pop tunes. We discuss what this is, what we love and the live experience. If you know them enjoy, if you don't dig in! Here Here HereA few Heavy Heavy things that we highly recommend checking out; Here HereHereHereHerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Post Genre What the hell is post genre? In this discussion we prove that we're really not sure! MantraBTSTUB.O.B. L'ElephantA 16 track Post Genre playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here (this is a good one!) Next Month Joey brings Kelela's 'Raven' for Album of the Month and we play 'Spin It or Bin It?' but what will be the theme? We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we speak in depth about Rozi Plain's new album 'Prize'. It's a curious, warming gem of an album that really needs to be talked about. In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?', the theme this month is Protest Music. Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rozi Plain | Prize David's choice this month is an artist that he has a long relationship with, Rozi Plain. Rozi was new to the rest of us so we were all playing catch up. I can't remember an album that needs to be talked about (in real life, with human beings) as Prize. You will hear me processing what I actually feel about the album, live, while we discuss it. I think I probably come out of the discussion with a slightly different conclusion to the one that I had at the start. All good albums get better with more attention but this one absolutely demands it. Please, please, please go and give it a listen. I think most people will find something that they love about this album. Here HereHere HereHereWe mention a few things that we'd highly recommend checking out, so here are the links; Here HereHereHerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Protest Music We all pick a track based on a theme, present the track and ask the simple question, Spin it or Bin it? The theme this month is a simple one 'Protest Music'. There are no limitations or rules this month other than, as always, we try to bring new music or a new context to each other. 'Take the Power Back' 'Ship Building' 'Reagan' 'Four Women' A 16 track Protest Music playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here Next Month Guy brings Young Fathers 'Heavy Heavy' for Album of the Month and we play 'Spin It or Bin It?' with Post-Genre tracks. We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Our first AOTM episode in 2023 finds us exploring Ab Soul's 'Herbert' in Part 1 and we focus on New Music for 'Spin It or Bin It' in Part 2. Part 1 | Album of the Month | Ab Soul | Herbert It's Nolan's choice this month and he's taking us to his spiritual home - Hip Hop with Ab Soul's late 2022 release, 'Herbert'. For once, we're all coming to this artist pretty fresh . Nolan's been banging on about the singles from this album for like 6 months so giving the album some extended love seems a natural choice. If you've not heard it, we think it's well worth a listen ... HereHereHere Our discussion focuses on how we'd describe the album, mental health, suicide and how these topics impact the album, the length of the album, the bangers and of course we touch on a few of the clangers too. We mention a few things that we'd highly recommend checking out, so here are the links; Here HereHereHerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'New Music' (Nov '22 onwards) We all pick a tack based on a theme and present to the rest of us to ask the simple question, Spin it or Bin it? The theme this month is a simple one 'New Music'. The only rule is that the track has to be released after November 2022. We chose albums from as far a field as Doncaster and Russia. 'Nothing Left to Loose' by Everything But the Girl 'Like a Heart Won't Beat' by Skinny Pelembe 'Let's Hold Our Hands Together' by Kito Jempere'Gorilla' by Little SimzNext Month David is in the hot seat for AOTM and he's bringing Rozi Plain's new album 'Prize' to the table. We're all getting stuck in and seeing how we live with the album for a month or so. In Part 2, 'Spin It or Bin It?' will be a good one too ... the theme next month is Protest Music. We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/ We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

It's that time of year again, we dust off David's secret scoring algorithm for the end of year review. This is the one we look forward to and we hope you enjoy it. This month, in Part 1 we run through our collective, This is Not Happening Top-10 albums. In Part 2 we all introduce our Track of the Year. Part 1 | 2022 This is Not Happening Top 10 Albums So, there's for of us. We all independently chose our Top 10 albums. This data is fed into deep learning algorithm that considers all of the knowns and most of the unknowns and create a singular, collective This is Not Happening Top 10. Its a controversial approach but its as fair as we can make it. This year only 2 albums were chosen by all 4 of us. Only 3 albums were chosen by 3 of us. However, the Top 10 feels more 'shared' than we've ever done. I think it's a really solid top 10 and we should be proud of it. Our number one is an absolute belter! We can hold our heads high with this one. Part 2 | Tracks of the Year How do you sum up an entire year in one track? Is it even possible? Two, important questions, to which our answers are; 'with difficulty' and 'yes'. We chose 4 tracks from 4 different genres. There's more than a whiff of melancholy that links our Top tracks but we think is kind of fitting for one of the oddest of years. Next Month If we're honest, we're not 100% sure what we'll be reviewing. Every year there are albums released later in the year that we miss or simply don't have the time to get our teeth into. So Nolan will pick one of these albums and we'll all spend the holidays getting stuck into that with our families (if it's vaguely appropriate for very young or very old ears). We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/