Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in New York City ?

OK, at the request of keris... it's the:

Friday T-shirt Amnesty!

Tell us about the t-shirt you're wearing.

Mine today is black, and has a cartoon cat-face on it. It says "Bad Cat" on the front in small letters, and has claw-marks drawn across the back.

Some things hurt more, much more, than cars and girls

On Fridays this year, we ask...

( What's in the Box? )

Today in The Box, we have:

Prefab Sprout - Protest Songs

Prefab Sprout: English surburban pop, at its best. No, I can't define exactly what I mean by the phrase "suburban pop", though I have a very clear idea. Perhaps something slightly quiet, self-effacing, and singing of terrible heartbreak in such a way that you might not even notice.

I first encountered Prefab Sprout via the delightful From Langley Park to Memphis when I was a teenager. Then I pretty much forgot about them for a decade. But I recently bought The Gunman and Other Stories in a CD sale, and then this album on tape for 50p.

In some ways they're all quite similar-sounding; if you hate this, you'll probably hate the lot. You could clame that they're bland, or dated, or twee, or probably lots of other bad things if you wanted.

But really, give them a chance. They've got some fantastic songs.

Prefab Sprout - Life of Surprises [link expired]

[Poll #1204291]

Useless fact for the day: Wikipedia tells me that the Prefab Sprout are from Witton Gilbert, which isn't very far from where I grew up. I didn't know that. Southerners should take note that Gilbert sounds far more like Giblets than it does like something which would hang out with Sullivan.