The Gentlewoman
It's a beautiful looking magazine, for a start. My girlfriend has every issue. I find walking into a newsagent and seeing rows of identical womens magazines incredibly depressing, they stifle ambition and concentrate entirely on gossip, or the size of Kerry Katona's arse. What else is out there? This is!
Jeremy Deller at the Hayward
This retrospective pulled everything together. I love his Orgreave film, and his Brian Epstein plaque, and acid brass, but it wasn't until it was all in one place that I really saw what he's doing (I think). It's all about British people, breaking down their inhibitions, and joining up the dots. Steel bands playing Joy Division. There was a reconstructed caff in the exhibition. Tremendous.

Popular
This is Tom Ewing's blog on which he writes about every number one hit in chronological order. I discovered it around three years ago when he was still in 1975. Now he's up to 1993. Getting into debates about Frankie Laine, Steve 'Silk' Hurley and Lieutenant Pigeon floats my boat. The contributors love a pint too, they don't just hide away in their bedsits. A very fine bunch of people.
The Complete British Hit Parade/Top of the Pops
These CDs are released by Acrobat thanks to the public domain laws, and they are perfect social history documents - every hit, in order. It's history played back in real time, as is BBC4's brave screening of every TOTP at 7.30 on a Thursday (important attention to detail). People moan that it's slooooow, and the same minor hit can appear three times (hello Barry Biggs) but, people, this is what it was like. Parallel pop worlds. The dreariness (John Miles) can be as inspiring as the lightning bolts ("I Feel Love").
The Euston Tap
...and the growth of local London breweries. The rapid decline of the pub is shocking and politically driven - more money for Tesco. So the fightback is on. If I was 21 now, I'd be getting involved in brewing rather than starting a pop group. Though I might have time for both.