Simon Ricketts
@simonicity
Ubiquitous planning lawyer. Arts; culture; politics; simonicity blog. Personal views. Not much football because Saints FC.
Kudos to the LP Cafe Watford for a 3rd Sunday afternoon of local acts in the sunshine. More guitars than you could shake a tambourine at. Arranging stuff like this builds a community.
Darn it. 85 pages into The Every. Enjoyable but was starting to get serious deja vu until I checked the Eggers section of my shelves. He writes too many books!
A completely fascinating, disturbing book, accentuated if you think you know modern London, or indeed your offspring. A sad true story & I do hope @praddenkeefe.bsky.social’s journalistic rigour has brought at least some sense of closure to the family.
I eked out this new & essential Simon Reynolds book, stopping after each chapter to listen back to each act. Many familiar but many I had blanked out at the time via tribalism or preconceptions, some justified some not so much. Maybe if you can remember 1984 to 94 you weren’t really there?
What are the chances? I just walked past this for the first time tonight. Ashland Place W1.
Really interesting polemic. For the world to live healthily with artificial intelligence we have to be the head and shoulders of the centaur, served by AI as the body and not vice versa. And as a personal aside, my relationship with this cat has exactly the same tension built into it unfortunately.
🎭 The Divine Comedy tonight in Aylesbury. (Hot Wednesday night rather than rainy Sunday afternoon).
36 years ago yesterday: England going out to West Germany in Italy on penalties, schedule clash with the Stones at Wembley - vibe there crushed. News coming through from Turin via those with transistor radios.
I remember being in an argumentative mood for this episode. It was a hot afternoon, water was spilt… @50shadesofplanning.bsky.social episode 174: Red Hot Planning Chat pod.co/50-shades-of...
Why use an artist when AI can produce birthday card art like this? I’m not surprised the record deck appears to be on fire…
A fascinating book, good vehicle for recounting a lot of specific London history. Ever-changing city.
Another nostalgia night… the B52s, Devo (not pictured but you can visualise I’m sure), Rezillos…
I’m told that Elvis Costello was down there in that pic, together with Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas. From where I was in the RAH they didn’t look a day older to me than circa 1978. Supported by Chris Difford. Between them some of the greatest songs of the late 20th century, well late 70s anyway.
Absence one day will make the heart grow fonder: unfashionable to say it but Paul McCartney’s new album is fresher, more crafted without any pretensions and straight-up normal honest than anyone has a right to expect after more than 6 decades.
Little Simz at Cross The Tracks, Brockwell Park. Also really enjoyed: Joy Crookes; Obongjayar; Bricknasty; Bel Cobain; Lady Wray. On the hottest day of the year or what.
Thanks Nigel Smith for tonight’s gig at the Garage, Islington. On 28 April 1979 younger & provincial versions of the 2 of us first saw Magazine at the Southampton Gaumont (Simple Minds in support). Dave Formula has now recreated those songs with Noko & band. A very special & personal heritage gig. 👌
When you turn up at a dinner and you see that one of your heroes is the after dinner speaker. 🤩