20 Alan Sparhawk: With Trampled by Turtles

OK, can we first talk about that title? I’ve mostly seen it referred to as being an album called ‘With Trampled by Turtles’ released by your friend and mine Alan Sparhawk. Though I’ve often also seen the album title itself being just called ‘Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles‘. Which is fine. But which artist released this ‘Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles‘ album of which you speak? Why, that would be Alan Sparhawk and also Trampled by Turtles

you’re never too old to post thirst traps

OK, so bear with me here, explain it to me like I’m a four year old child: we’re at the twentieth best album of the year, and you want me to write that it’s Alan Sparhawk and Trumpled by Turtles: ‘Alan Sparhawk With Trampled by Turtles’?? Absolutely not, how much word count do you think they give me for these titles?! Anyway, I like the idea of the very title of the record being that of the supporting artist, it really sells just how central they are to the record’s sound. Trust me, we’re going to have similar issues with the #17 entry #ReaderRetention.

Don’t take your light out of me, Oh my god, please

#28 Alan Sparhawk: White Roses, My God

Grief is a funny old thing, ain’t it?

And I’m talking about real grief here. Yeah, I know that you were really sad when the guy who played Joey on ‘Home Improvement’ died, or whatever, but that’s not the kind of grief I’m talking about. Actual grief isn’t just sadness. I got sad when Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid at the quarter final stage in 2000, but I don’t think you could accurately claim that I went through the grieving process. Yes, Redondo took us so thoroughly apart in that game that I am still suffering from post-traumatic shock, but that’s a separate thing. Real grief is far deeper than that. Your gran dying in 2003 was definitely a solemn moment, but she was 98 years old; hadn’t been able to take a shit since the late 1980’s; had three separate tracheostomies; still smoked 40 fags a day by sticking it one of the holes in her throat; and would angrily complain about you not letting her watch the latest episode of Minder long after that show was canceled in 1994. Also, she was really racist. Like, a proper vintage racist who still used terms from the mid 20th century that everyone else has forgotten, so you never realised how hateful and bigoted she was being every time she called your friend Kai a “spam fritter”. Yeah, it was a bit of a bummer when Granny Edna died, and you definitely called it grief when you managed to fenangle three weeks off work, but, come on, you didn’t really give that much of shit.

Sobhi Hamdan Sobhi Hassouna