Feed - Simon Collison | Journal

The Odyssey 🔗

I watched Interstellar at the cinema and left feeling utterly exhilarated, and I’ve made a point of catching new Christopher Nolan films on the big sc [...]

Kingdom Come, Kingdom Go 🔗

There are some beautiful moments on Michael Cloud Duguay’s Kingdom Come, Kingdom Go album—a document of place, people, and old church organs. I’m marr [...]

The long after 🔗

At the weekend, we walked under the shade of Sherwood Forest and paid our respects to the Major Oak, in the kind of weather that’s hastened its demise [...]

I’m available for new projects 🔗

For over a decade I’ve traded as Obvious Things, a name that’s only appeared on paperwork. Later this year I’ll finally be launching OT properly as a [...]

Paris and Épernay 🔗

Photos from a few days in Paris and a short stay in Épernay: great food and fine fizz, record shop cats, showcase sumo, la Coupe du monde on the TV, a [...]

The Major Oak is dead 🔗

The Major Oak in 2014. Last summer, in response to this press release about the Major Oak’s concerning condition (which we’d just seen first-hand) I f [...]

David Hockney 🔗

David Hockney died last week. We were away, and I’m finally catching up with the tributes. I learned so much from him over the years, most notably abo [...]

Kraftwerk 🔗

The Man-Machine delivers a captivating audio-visual, retro-futurist ode to a connected Europe. Deep techno, joyous melodies, and a touching tribute to [...]

You retreat in time and space 🔗

Heaven and hell. Prophecy and revelation. Longing and love. If you’ve ever found comfort in the uneasy warmth of a Boards of Canada record, you’ll be [...]

Promoted 🔗

Celebrations in Market Square this afternoon. A rare moment of joy for us long-suffering Notts County supporters: outplaying the Beckham-owned Salfor [...]

It’s always been culture 🔗

Culture is the moat. It’s not craft and it’s not aesthetic. It’s always been culture — lived, relational, contextual. The ability to decode what’s hap [...]

Early swifts 🔗

Three soaring above at 7pm today, 30th April—much earlier than usual. Previously: 2025, 9th May (but I’d been away for the preceding week); 2024, 7th; [...]

A week on the moors 🔗

I’ve just spent a week in a beautiful converted barn on the edge of Saddleworth. Nothing restores my positivity quite like being alone on the wild Pen [...]

Happy 15th, Beyond Tellerrand! 🔗

My favourite conference is celebrating its 15th year right now in Düsseldorf. I’ve attended several times, both on my own and with Geri, and it’s an e [...]

England 0-1 Japan 🔗

Arriving just as the sun aligned with the roofline. I’ve been to Wembley Arena many times for gigs, but I’d never been inside the iconic Wembley Stad [...]

Recent gigs and talks 🔗

Torn Sail at Squire PAC; L-R: Jim Baron, Henry Claude, Huw Costin, John Thompson and Jeff Davenport. John Newling at Beam, 19th February. I’ve known r [...]

Return to Tokyo, Part 3 🔗

Days 11 to 15. We celebrated a retirement, caught beans for good fortune, and spent three Perfect Days ticking off favourite places and stores. [...]

Return to Tokyo, Part 2 🔗

Days 6 to 10 brought several trip highlights, including an outstanding café, trippy outdoor bathing in Karuizawa, and a perfect few hours at Sakamoto [...]

Return to Tokyo, Part 1 🔗

I’ve split my summary across three posts, and this roundup details the first five days. Highlights included lots of sumo, a studio session, and gettin [...]

Weird switches 🔗

Another time-consuming but deeply rewarding home repair. I love my 43-year-old Technics SU-Z15 amplifier far too much to replace it, and I’ve no excus [...]

RSS-only: Sakamoto Library 🔗

This is a private post, made available via my RSS feed. There’s no public version and no permalink. Please don’t share anything that follows. The grea [...]

Tokyo music haul 🔗

I’ve just returned from my third trip to Japan — my first in almost eight years. I have some general notes and photos to post when time allows. In the [...]

2025 in music 🔗

Here’s my 22nd annual roundup: sixty short reviews across five categories, plus shows, stats and playlists. It gets more ridiculous every year, but I [...]

Small plates and beautiful bowls 🔗

For this year’s office party (the two of us going for a posh meal), we returned to London’s Session Arts Club, having loved our lunch there in spring. [...]

Akiko Yano & Kosuke Mine 🔗

My signed copy of Iroha Ni Kompeito. I never expected to see Akiko Yano play live, let alone meet her and get an album signed. In case you don’t know, [...]

Radiohead at the O2 🔗

From one of the best seats in the entire arena, I watched my favourite band for the fourth time. Within minutes, I knew this would be my all-time favo [...]

The line and the stream 🔗

...so many things I was taught to rely upon — jobs, industries, institutions, milestones, even seasons — feel like they’re being upended in front of m [...]

Stars of the Lid Forever 🔗

I love Jon Hicks’ new side project, Stars of the Lid Forever. It’s unofficial, but surviving member Adam Wiltzie gave Jon his blessing, and even provi [...]

Mani 🔗

It was a shock to learn that Mani had died suddenly. I’ll be forever grateful that my teens aligned with the rise of The Stone Roses in 1988–90, when [...]

The texture of the work 🔗

I’ve been drawing comfort from the way established artists will typically vanish for a while and suddenly re-appear with a fully-formed new body of wo [...]