Earlier this week, I caught up with the new album by Nine Inch Nails, called "Hesitation Marks".  I've liked them for a while and saw that they were playing in Cardiff so decided to find out more about their new stuff.  I bought a CD from Amazon, which is on its way, but one of the nifty things they now do is that you get a instant download as well for your Kindle etc, so I was able to start listening to it right away. 

The single from the album is "Came Back Haunted" - a real stormer.  I immediately identified with the lyrics on this - it seemed appropriate for having cancer, actually.  Here is a link  to the video. 

The rest of the CD is fabulous - and I especially like the fact that like all the best albums, you hear different things each time you listen.  I listened to an audio interview with Trent Reznor where he discussed the genesis of the album and he mentioned a point where he chose deliberately to follow an electronica path rather than a more "rocky" guitar based sound and I love the results. Not really surprising, as I adore Husky Rescue who also have an electronic based sound (but very different) and listening, I was strongly reminded also of one of my favourite albums by David Byrne/Brian Eno, as well as a few Kraftwerk/New Order touches.  As someone who grew up on 80s electronica, this is perfect.  

I came to NIN rather late - having cancer sort of knocked all kinds of cultural stuff out of kilter, and I found I just wasn't interested in a lot of things.  I 've gradually got back to liking stuff and being curious but find that I'm catching up with things that have been out there for years - NIN being a case in point.  As well as the new album, I also bumped into one of their other songs on Youtube, called Closer, and thought I'd share it  too.    Again, apologies if you've known about it for years! It's one of the best musical descriptions I've ever come across of that mindblowing feeling when you turn from being a grown up who votes, recycles and reads the Economist into a lust fuelled tiger whose sole ambition is to have wild animal sex until you have to walk like John Wayne for 48 hours.  

I'm hoping we can go and see them in Cardiff when they play here later in the year, I've suggested Andrew gets me tickets for my birthday.  I think he was a bit surprised when I mentioned it, but I suspect they'll be great live.  

We've also been planning some other stuff for later in the year.  We're booked for a weekend in London in February so are going to see The Duck House - a comedy with the excellent Ben Miller about the MP expenses scandal. 

We're also planning (or starting to) our visit to the Tour de France when it starts in the UK later in the year.  I can't wait! I think we will head for the stage in the SE rather than Yorkshire - easier to get to.  This year's race is going to be a peach (I know, I say this every year) - with both Wiggins and Froome racing, on the SAME team!! Awesome.  As well as that, I'm really excited about the whole Tour circus thing - will be fab to see the parade of sponsor vehicles and all that kind of thing, as well as a view of the peloton in full flight.