The unusual tilt in the Earth’s axis is corrected this week when Jack gets back to whisky and Graham to wine. And like a latter day Joe Cocker,  Jack goes full Rock God by imbibing whisky before, during and after his gig (although where Joe measured it in bottles per performance, Jack takes delicate sips from a hip flask). The morning after, he is reading “How to make a good coffee”.

Graham goes deep into nouns for rooms, and ends up in a sluttery having first visited a boudoir and a growlery (its not what you think…..), and then wheelie gets into a new crime podcast.

Jack has outsourced his book reading to Carole who is getting into an Australian classic from the Nobel-prize winning author Patrick White. Interesting but annoying fact:  his Nobel citation noted that he introduced a “new continent” into literature  - which is such a Northern Hemisphere view - Australia is in fact the oldest continent on Earth, with the longest continuous living culture – nothing new about it.

Tropfest is back (a wonderful short-film festival returning after a few years sojourn), but Tehran gets more improbable, and Boris does over England.  Meanwhile – satisfy your tennis cravings with a three part series “Goolagong” which provides some surprising information about the struggles and determination of a brilliant athlete.

And Shetland is running a new immigration program as series 10 of the murder mystery runs out of victims.

Books:

How to make great coffee

Voss – Patrick White

McCartney Vol 1- Paul McCartney

Movies:

Tropfest winners (Stan)

Streaming/TV:

Goolagong (ABC iView)

This is England (ABC iView, BBC)

Tehran, Series 3

Shetland series 10

Podcasts:

The Case of… The Wheelie Bin Murders (ABC Listen app)

Whisky: Talisker Single Malt (Skye)

Wine: Somerled Mclaren Vale Shiraz, 2021

Jack gently steers Graham through this episode as he finishes  his Aussie Whisky odyssey - it's a big one – 64% proof.

Word of the week is from Jack (or more specifically his Mum) – after rattling through a few Scottish descriptions for a no-hoper, he finally settled on the “drookit”…….

What is white, spectacular, and completely nuts? Discuss.

And something else that is white is a ping pong ball  (well they were in the 1950’s) - Marty Supreme is….well….hectic. But a great watch. Others on the watchlist include “Kangaroo Island” (film)  - brooding family drama set on the gorgeous eponymous island, as well as “The Island”, and the New Zealand “cosy crime” dramedy “The Brokenwood Mysteries”.

Lots more Indy music listened to and Electric Avenue get ready for their next gig (no truth in the rumour that the band cornered the market in tickets to the gig).

Oh, and apparently Paul McCartney is a good singer….

Books: Wuthering Heights and McCartney (ongoing) (we are slow readers!)

Film:

TV/Streaming:

Listening:  Ruth Picker “Song Tailors”

Magma  (band)

The History of Rock in 500 Songs: Pinball Wizard (Pt 1) (podcast)

Empire (Podcast) – 1857 Delhi rebellion (not recommended), and Yalta Conference (recommended)

Lots of music listening this week, although Graham doesn't Shut Up and Listen.

Jack finally finishes Traitors but has a different response to the finale to Graham  (who has largely forgotten it given how long Jack has taken to catch up). Meanwhile Jack tries to inveigle Graham into watching yet another Scottish crime drama, this time on a remote Scottish island (there’s a surprise!) . This is on a recommendation from “Sue from Next Door “(Thanks Sue!). Despite the scepticism it does actually sound interesting, despite Jack’s attempts at Gaelic.  While on the subject of Scotland, we note that the Scots sold their country to England - which created Great Britain - (well England was never going to defeat them in battle).

Music includes Slade (oxymoron anyone?), David Byrne/Talking Heads, Electric Avenue, and local Indie music scene – including Shane Pacey. And we listened to a break down of the Beatles “A Day in the Life”.

Graham is reading Wuthering Heights ahead of going to see it (hope there are no spoilers….), Jack continues with Paul McCartney’s Bio.

Watched: -Tehran  (Apple) (rating: 4/5)

                  -Steal (Apple)  Rating: 4/5)

Music: - Shane Pacey – Cross of the Heart

Books:   -Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

               -McCartney – Paul McCartney

Podcasts – The Secret Life of Books -Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole

                  -Nobody Saw it coming – Marc Fennell, ABC

                  -Empire – William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

                  -Rockonteurs – featuring Don Powell, ex-Slade – Gary Kemp and        Guy Pratt

YouTube: “The song that broke every songwriting rule” (A Day in The lIfe ) - David Hartley

Whisky – Overeem Sherry Cask Single Malt (Tasmania)

Wine -   Gerard Bertrand Cote de Rose,  Shiraz/Cinsault Rose

Graham can't tell his Freds from his Keiths but still loves his Playlunch. Jack is gasping for a Scotch, but enjoyed a great Einaudi gig at the Opera House. Graham has been spending too much time watching various things including Marty Supreme, (at the cinema) and a lot of streaming such as the return of Shrinking (had to press pause before he wet himself) and a new thriller starring Sophie Turner - “Steal”. Jack braves the Sydney Harbour sharks and dives into Desert Island discs, and also Strangers on a Bench (tissues required). And both recall various random facts (and fiction) involving Paul McCartney and his music. For a change of pace Graham questions his own biases after listening to “No-one Dies Here” an amazing podcast about the North Richmond Injecting Room, and ponders the Venn diagram of life that introduced this to him.  But after that sobering interlude, we can all relish Suzie Dent's “most enjoyable” words of 2025 - Binfluencers unite! 

Music:

Paul McCartney – “Ram”

Playlunch – “Keith ” from “Sex Ed” album

Ludovici Einaudi

Movies:  Marty Supreme  (4.5/5)

Streaming:  Steal (Prime) thriller

Shrinking – Apple  (comedy – cry-laughing)

Tehran – Season 2 and 3

Podcasts:

Strangers on a Bench – Episode 47 – Tom Rosenthal

No-One Dies Here  - Michelle Ransom-Hughes

Instagram:  Suzie Dent   - most enjoyable words post

……… Jack still hasn't finished Traitors UK and Graham can barely contain himself. Retreating to less emotional ground Graham and Jack discuss the various dictionaries’ “Word of the Year” – some land well, but “Vibe Coding” (which is two words) is ridiculous (….Collins Dictionary I am looking at you!), and not being 15years old, both are baffled by  Dictionary.com’s  choice of “Six/Seven”.

Meanwhile Jack is reading McCartney (post Beatles) (a gentler time when none of the 2025 words of the year had been invented). Jack dives into The Bay – another crime drama (in which no Scotsman are harmed), but not much else because he has been glued to the Australian Open Tennis (but cannot resist mentioning an obscure Scotsman – a perennial non-winner of the event). Graham hasn't watched the tennis but has watched the Netflix Doco “Ballkids” about the 12-16 year olds who are the true heroes of the AO tennis courts.

Finally, radio (yes, it does still exist) and Triple J’s annual “Top 100” list – 2million people from around the world voted this year, - the number 1 was Olivia Dean (who Jack has spoken of in a previous pod) while Graham mentions the memorable “Keith” from the Aussie group “Playlunch” (I know I said “Fred” but it is actually “Keith” - senior moment).  we discussion  episode of the “What Went Wrong” podcast on the near disaster of a pilot for the Game of Thrones series - it almost didn't happen, and it wasn't because they couldn't capture a real life dragon>

Electric Avenue’s new single “Behind Closed Doors” didn't make the Top 100 cut ........but only because it hadn’t been released!…..but next year……..And you can get it now at http://electricavenue.hearnow.com/

Wine: Artemis Pinot Grigio, NSW Southern Highlands

Whisky: Morris of Rutherglen “Muscat Barrel Single Malt”

Songs: Keith, by Playlunch

             Triple J Hottest 100 – ABC LIsten app

Podcast “What Went Wrong” Game of Thrones episode  (Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer)

               “Sumomainichi” podcast – Dave and Amy

Lightning has taken out Graham’s internet and TV; Jack goes back to the future with vinyl and cassette tapes (remember those?) - who knew how much friction is involved?. Graham gets Traitorous, and both discuss “What You Can Know – Ian McEwan’s new book on a near-future partial apocalypse caused by …. you and I (and don't they hate us for it in the future!). Jack does some Crime (in Scotland of course), Graham gets excited about barely-clad large men (ie its Sumo before you jump to any conclusions). We avoid a debate about which is the best city in the entire Universe (Melbourne or Sydney). Graham looks forward to some Australia Day lamb, and Jack to the Australia Day release of Electric Avenue’s new song “Behind Closed Doors” (it's a good one!).

And a shout out to our listener in Romania…..!!

Music:  Status Quo: Piledriver album  

​Electric Avenue: Behind Closed Doors single (released on 26 Jan)

​Triple J Top 100 (Listen for this on the last weekend in January)

TV/Streaming: The Traitors UK (Channel 10, Australia, BBC UK)

​​Crime (UK) – Britbox

​​Scoop – Netflix

​​Greenland (where-ever)

Books: This Way Up (When Maps Go Wrong) – The Mapmen

​Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York; Andrew Lownie

Drinking: Magarey Lane “Glenroy” Cabernet Sauvignon   (a 97 point wine – get some!)

Classic Gin and Tonic: Husk Distillery  Burnt Orange Ink Gin, Fever Tree Indian Tonic, with home-dried orange garnish (by Graham).

Why is Jan 1st the start of the year? Why wasn't Xmas Day a holiday in Scotland? Why is Graham drinking whisky? Jack has his band (Electric Avenue) but why should everyone also see  "My Brothers Band"? Why did the bus get lost? What is so exciting about books about maps? What were Jack and Graham's New Year resolutions? These and many more questions will probably not be satisfactorily answered but we had fun trying......

Films: "Lost Bus", "Breakdown 1975", "Nuremberg", "My Brother's Band", "Now You See Me"

Books: "What we can know" Ian McEwan; "The Proving Ground" Michael Connolly; "Churchills History of Ungentlemanly Warfare" Giles  Milton; The Great Zoo of China" Matthew Riley

Upcoming Concerts: Electric Avenue @ Mosman Whalers (or is it Mosman Wailers?); Ludovico Einaudi - Sydney; Anna Lapwood, Organist, Sydney and Melbourne

Following their resoundingly successful "Top 3 Xmas Songs" list, Jack and Graham are emboldened to name this year's top 3 podcasts heard, films and TV seen, books read, live performances seen, and places visited.

Graham hasn't quite recovered from forgetting "Adolescence" and leaving it off his "Top 3" altogether, and the only thing they agreed on was "All Her Fault" (Starring Sarah Snook) at #3 on their lists of Streaming/TV shows. Except for that, it is clear they have absolutely nothing in common...... 

Jack's Whisky of the year was Glenkinchie Single Malt, Lowland Scotch, while Graham's best wine was the 2004 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz from Barossa Valley, Sth Australia

Let us know what you agreed or disagreed with by emailing us at [email protected]

Graham goes bananas with the Venn diagrams of life, Jack relives the past with an old friend, gives feint praise to the streaming series Hostage, and wonders if the characters in Down Cemetery Road were just "too too much".  Graham and Jack pull back from the brink of getting too serious when discussing House of Dynamite and moral dilemmas. New podcasts listened to - "What Went Wrong" - a pod about movie disasters (not all were disaster movies), and Desert Island Discs (a venerable radio program now in the world of Pods - only 2000 episodes to binge........). Finally we are doing our best not to be "interesting", but instead to be "intriguing", "fascinating", "absorbing, and "engrossing".

And if you are in Albury, NSW, make sure you have a meal at "Sen" in Olive Street - the best VietNamese food I have had outside of Vietnam.

email us at: [email protected]

It turns out Graham is a bit of a Xmas Grinch, not helped by the fact that Jack sings Xmas songs and sends the audio to friends, so the anticipation is terrible. Top 3 Xmas songs from Jack (actually 4, you'd never guess he was once an accountant...) - (approved by Carol) included Xmas Song - Nat King Cole, Driving Home for Xmas - Chris Rea, Come Home for Xmas - The Eagles, and Its Xmas Time - Status Quo......  while Graham struggled to find 3 but ultimately came through with #3 White Xmas (Irving Berlin/ Bing Crosby), #2 White Wine in the Sun (Tim Minchin) and #1 How to Make Gravy (Paul Kelly).

Jack finished the  Ann Cleves novel "The Killing Stones", while Graham finished The Bookshop" by Penelope Fitzgerald (who only started writing novels when she was in her 60's but ended up writing 23!). Films watched include "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" (the third in that franchise of Robin Hood Illusionists), and "Jay Kelly" (Cooney and Sandler in an unlikely but likeable pairing). Jack got his music rocks off on the "Rockenteurs" podcast, while Graham got some interesting but ultimately useless information about Mick Herron from "The Rest is Entertainment" podcast. Our listeners are liking an earlier recommendation for the "Strangers on a Bench" podcast. Useless fact of the week: People who come from the Orkney Isles (off the coast of Scotland) are called "Orkadians" - very Tolkeinesque.  

Comments, advice and requests can be sent to [email protected]