Posted in Album of the Month, New Albums, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast Episode 48 | Linda Thompson | Proxy Music

Festive Greetings from This Is Not Happening and welcome to our year-end, 2025 wrap-up episode. As always we split the pod into Part 1 and Part 2.Part 1 features our Top 10 favourite albums of 2025. We use a proprietary algorithm to create our list our collective favourite albums, we're talking nascent data-science excellence! Every year it throws up some surprises as our tastes are so different (and in some ways so similar.Part 2 features a festive Spin It or Bin It. We each bring a candidate for track of the year and ask the age old question 'Spin It or Bin It' … will anyone really bin anyone elses Track of the Year? Probably.To retain the tension, I won't share any spoilers here … other than to share a 40 track playlist of some of our favourite 2025 tracks … here.Whatever you do at this time of year, who ever you do it with … have a good one.Please join us in January where we will go back to the usual format of Album of the Month + Spin It or Bin It.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 63 | Our Top 10 Albums of 2025
  2. EP. 62 | Juniper | Joy Crookes
  3. EP.61 | Blood Orange | Essex Honey
  4. EP.60 | Wet Leg | Moisturizer
  5. EP.59 | Little Simz | Lotus

Welcome to Episode 48 of This is Not Happening (TINH).  An Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?

This month, in Part 1, Guy has picked the an album that could not be further from last month’s Charli XCX outing. He’s also picked the best named TINH AOTM ever, Linda Thompson’s Proxy Music.

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is simple … ‘Long Songs’ no explanation of the theme required here apart from Guy’s completely arbitrary suggestion that all tracks had to be over 8 minutes.

Part 1 | Linda Thompson | Proxy Music

English Folk musician legend Linda Thompson has lived enough life for several people. The good, the bad and everything in between. She’s now a 72 year old songwriter force who has sadly lost her super-power to sing … so she’s written songs for other artists to perform. The album is an eclectic collection of songs and collaborators pulled together through the concept of performing through a proxy. The critics love it with a combined Metacritic Score of 86. There’s a lot of love on the pod but not without a few reservations along the way.

  • Listen to the album here.
  • Watch Linda on Jools Holland back in 2011 videos here.
  • Guy references a couple of articles in his introduction and conversation they’re worth a look and can be found here and here.


Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Long Songs.

We love a long song. Even our resident (but absent on this episode) pop being loves a long song. Guy defines a long song as anything over 8 mins, who are we to argue with that kind of logic. So them’s the rules. Who bought what to the table to judge in Spin It or Bin It?

See you on Episode 49 … 

Posted in Album of the Month

March: Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune

Happy March, and after a short but very enjoyable couple a months of classic albums I’m bringing the clock forward by a few years.

Let me introduce you to Dan Mangan and his most recent effort from last year; Oh Fortune.

Dan Mangan was my most listened to artist last year. I don’t particularly remember if I liked this whole album at once or bit by bit. Either way it has become a very old friend that I continually come back to.

For me Dan Mangan isn’t your run of the mill folk singer. What I love about him is that he seems to have a wonderful way of letting you into the honesty and thoughts of his world. I love how he lays little gems of fantastic lyrics throughout his songs that sometimes you have to dig for, but are wonderful and very touching at times when you find them.

If you google him you will find a fair bit of accolade from across the globe and a few interesting documentaries as well… but I encourage you to leave that for now. Just give a bit of time to ‘Oh Fortune’ in the car, on the tube orwhilst you’re knocking about the house.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have brothers and I look forward to your feedback.

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