Therapy For Me
235 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIf you think getting a bloke in his late 40's to talk about the stuff going on in his head is difficult...you should try getting him to stop.
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Episodes
Sometimes I just have to say your name
July 01, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBW/C 26th June 2023 It turns out the capacity of Headingley is a little over 18,000. Probably a statistic you didn't know that you needed in your life, but it may help a little in terms in context as you listen to this weeks compact episode of TFM. In my third year of University I lived but a few hundred yards from where I found myself sitting last Sunday, so I was able to have a pre-match stroll around the urban village of Headingley and reminisce about all the things that aren't there any...
Soak up the sun
June 24, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBWe toss around the phrase 'where does the time go' without actually giving it any real thought, but we perhaps should. This week has been such a week. I am struggling to believe that I have a son that has reached sixteen, sat his GCSEs and left High School. But he has, and after a pause to regroup over the summer he will be off on his next adventure. It is also coming up two years since we lost Dan, and something very special he was involved in brought, him right back to the forefront of m...
The End
June 17, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBW/C 12th June 2023 That should be it. By all conventional standards we should have seen the back of him. Following a damning verdict from the Privileges Committee, and another week of histrionics and pyschodrama, I am hoping we are not only near the finish line, but actually there. The manner of his exit was totally on-brand, screaming self-pity and blaming everybody but himself. It was as predictable as it was insulting. The hope is that much of what was in the line of fire since 2016 ...
Kiss this thing goodbye
June 10, 2023 08:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBW/C 5th June 2023 Somethings just aren't meant to be. It's a brilliant idea, and the kind of thing I would normally be all over - but for whatever reason there is a part of my psyche that built it up into something that it was never intended to be, and in doing so put a great big block in the road that I struggled to get around. The human mind is a funny old contraption, and mine is no more or less unpredictable than the rest. Our ability to make simple things complicated, and add unfath...
Late in the evening
June 03, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBW/C 29th May 2023 It's a simple little thing that has made my day today. I hadn't actually realised it had made my day, until I found myself reflecting on it and chuckling to myself in that way that catches you completely off guard. I am not going to say anymore at this point, and just invite you to share the experience by clicking here. See what I mean, isn't that just the coolest thing ever. I have mentioned his contribution to the insta-gram-averse before but man this is a whole other ...
Elephant
May 20, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MBW/C 15th May 2022 This song packs a real lyrical punch, it's honest and raw, sparse and powerful and I continue to be moved by its power. There are a few elephants in the content of this weeks TFM, so it gave me a perfect opportunity to share it with you. Stay safe. Elephant - Jason Isbell Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a littl...
24 Frames
May 13, 2023 08:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBW/C 8th May 2023 The one thing I didn't mention this week was the trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It's a corker and it did that thing that The Force Awakens did, in that it took me right back to how I felt when I saw the original all those years ago. I think it is something to do with the music, or maybe it's the kind of grainy look of the footage, or maybe it's just the majestic presence that is Harrison Ford. It matters not what the exac...
King
May 06, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 21 MBW/C 1st May 2023 I am making Risotto for tea. In fact it is about the last thing I said on this weeks episode of TFM so it must be true. And just to confirm it is definitely for tea, because supper is a cheeky biscuit or two whilst watching the telly and dinner is long since in the past. There is a magic moment when you are making risotto and that is point when you add the wine. First up is the frying of the onion, normally in a knob of butter, and once that is softened and golden you are ...
Hang
April 29, 2023 08:00 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBW/C 24th April 2023 The Brew Society figures this week so I thought I would let them have the first crack at describing it in their own words... Opening their doors in February 2018, Nino, Danni and Rich created The Brew Society as a collaboration project which was put together to create a relaxing, indie coffee and beer house within Leeds City Centre that serves speciality, high quality drinks. During the day, The Brew Society serves North Star single origin coffee, roasted locally by th...
All things must pass
April 22, 2023 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBW/C 17th April 2023 In a bit of a rush this morning as Josh & I are trying to make sandwiches, book trains and print off tickets. The reason is we are heading to Wembley to watch the Red and White Wizards (Sheffield United) in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Of course it is a somewhat pointless exercise as we are playing arguably the best team in the world in Manchester City, so we are expecting to get parts of our anatomy handed to us in no uncertain fashion. But supporting your team agai...
Californication
April 17, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBW/C 10th April 2023 When the Red Hot Chill Peppers sang about the dark side of the California they got it pretty square on the head. Of all the lines in the song the one that has always stuck with me is this one... 'Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement' It gets straight to it for me, and it's been buzzing around my head ever since I arrived here. So much to love about this place and yet there will always be something missing. The message is clear, take it ...
Two steps behind.
April 08, 2023 08:00 - 20 minutes - 19.2 MBW/C 3rd April 2023 With the very best of intentions, and working to the boundaries of my abilities, some weeks I am just going to be late. And so it is for this easter episode of TFM. The recording went OK and the QC listen proceeded without a hitch. But due to a Saturday morning School Governors commitment - and the need to get a run in before I set off - the actual publishing and note writing didn't get done. All I can do is apologise and promise to be better in the future. Stay safe...
When two worlds drift apart
April 01, 2023 08:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBW/C 27th March 2022 Not a lot to say to tee up this weeks episode, it's slightly different to normal but you will get the gist as we go along. Maybe I am reading far too much into this and maybe this is merely the normal path of transition to a different way of framing the world. I do think the politics of division has a lot to answer for though. The one upside is that TFM came through again for me this week, doing its thing and helping me make sense of what is rattling through the synaps...
Home again
March 25, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.3 MBW/C 20th March 2023 I was trying to work out how unusual it was for the first day of spring to fall in the same week as the clocks changing to British summertime. The answer is of course ‘not that unusual’ and yet in my head those two events always seem to have a more pronounced gap. What doesn’t help is that this year it seems that winter wants to stubbornly cling on for a bit longer, so even though it will be the thick end of 8pm before it gets dark tomorrow I am not in a position to cu...
Precious sight
March 18, 2023 08:00 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBW/C 13th March 2023 For many years the stadium announcer at Bramall Lane used to open match-day proceedings by welcoming the crowd to the 'oldest professional football stadium' in the world. As it turns out this isn't entirely true, because although professional football has been played there since 1862, they were already kicking a ball about at Field Mill in Mansfield a few months earlier in 1861. It remains though a very special place though, the only place outside of the Oval to have ho...
The Fix
March 11, 2023 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBW/C 6th March 2023 I probably wouldn't have put Richard Hawley together with Elbow if I am being honest, it's not a collaboration that would have been obvious to me. But I am really, really glad it happened. This song is something special, not only because the it is so interesting musically, or so beautiful lyrically, but because the two of them have a real chemistry and their vocal timbres work so well. If you are new to this song I would suggest you start with the original album track, ...
You fill up my senses
March 04, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 21 MBW/C 27th February 2022 For one week only I am going to go with a lyric, rather than the actual song title for the episode name. The explanation for which comes in two parts; Firstly you have to watch this... MOTD FA Cup Introduction (or in better quality here if you are in the UK) And then you have to read this; The Greasy Chip Butty Song Oh and if you missed the game itself you might want to give this a quick glance. #COYRAWW Stay safe. Annies Song - John Denver Tent Boy Therapy ...
Video games
February 25, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBW/C 20th February 2022 I have been literally dashing around all of this week, so everything feels a bit rushed and not quite thought through. As I type it's 05:53 on Saturday morning and I have a pile of stuff to remember before I jump in the car to head to The Guitar Show for the weekend. Of course I am bound to have forgotten something, but as of now I have organised the U10s football fixtures, packed the podcasting gear, remembered my running kit, started thinking about some questions f...
Washing of the water
February 18, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBW/C 13th February 2023 I love this song. And I never really imagined how I would get it into an episode title, but fortunately this week something unfortunate happened and here we are. I am a middling Peter Gabriel fan, I don't go al the way back to the beginning because I was never a Genesis fan, but I equally couldn't imagine a musical world without the songs that formed the seminal So & Us albums. If I had to pick just one, I would pick this. Quite simply sublime. Stay safe. P.S The ...
I just don't know what to do with myself
February 11, 2023 08:00 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBW/C 6th February 2023 I am going to have to use that phrase, that is becoming so well used that is now some form of self-induced irony loop. "we use the term legendary or unique far too often these days, but in the case of xxxxx it really is true" Of course I am going to fall into the same trap, and insert the name of Burt Bacharach into that particular sentiment. Not because I am a huge fan particularly, but because when you thinks about his body of work it just doesn't sound anything ...
How long has this been going on
February 04, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBFive minutes ago I didn't know this song existed. When I decided on the title song for this week, I was thinking of the Paul Carrack penned track (recorded by Ace in 1974) and it was only when I was searching out a link that I discovered this gem by George & Ira Gershwin. Of course there are multiple versions too choose from, and although I am not a card-carrying Van Morrison fan, I do think this is a cracking arrangement. The song was originally included in the musical Funny Face, but aft...
It’s all coming back to me now.
January 28, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBW/C 23rd January 2023 By the time you get 10 minutes into this weeks episode you will realise that I have been fulfilling a bit of an ambition. Of all the things that struck me in those few hours on Tuesday, the one I wasn't expecting was the attitude and approachability of the people that worked there. They were very friendly, and very helpful, and very engaging. I ended up chatting quite a bit (who would have thought it) learning a few snippets of pomp and ceremony along the way. They a...
The War
January 21, 2023 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBW/C 16th January 2022 There is a (welcome) return to rantiness this week, and it probably doesn't take a genius to work out what has got my dander up. I happened to listen to the The Counterweight this week, which is a really great Thea Gilmore album from 2017. The War is the final track of the album proper and begins as a lyric in response to the senseless killing of Labour MP Jo Cox, a few miles down the road from where I am sat. It talks to culture war, and social media and the preoccu...
We don't talk anymore
January 14, 2023 08:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBW/C 9th January 2022 I hadn't even realised it may be birthday week until I started typing the notes. Now you may know that I have a bit of a difficult relationship with the whole idea of my own birthday, but I am fairly relaxed about it as far as TFM is concerned. Of course I can't be 100% sure when the exact date is, and I imagine there will be divided opinion on the matter. Episode 1 was published on the 22nd January 2020, so technically that is the anniversary. But this weeks TFM wi...
It's my party
January 07, 2023 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBW/C 2nd January 2023 Imagine waiting for so long, years and years gripping to the greasy pole and then you moment finally arrives and a group of nutters decide to set about pulling down the decorations and bursting all the balloons. There is of course a much bigger point about a political party in chaos, a deluded faction that want to stoke emotions and sow division, and the spectre of elected representatives worshipping a fallen idol, and a false prophet. On the flip side we can have a s...
Spending my time
December 31, 2022 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MBW/C 26th December 2022 You will have to indulge me a little this week, for a few reasons but primarily because I am being just a weeny bit self-indulgent. I don't know if it's a hangover of lockdown, or a by-product of working from home in a fairly piecemeal fashion, but I seemed to have got into the habit of consuming quite a lot of content on a daily basis. Of course you know that, because I often reference my new favourite thing on TFM - so it seemed fitting to round out the year wit...
I believe in Father Christmas
December 24, 2022 08:00 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBW/C 19th December 2022 Aside from being the greatest story ever written, A Christmas Carol is written not in Chapters but in Staves. This technique was employed by Dickens because it mimicked the traditional structure of Christmas carols, and as such was a bit of in-joke. He continued to play around with structure with his other Christmas writing, the Cricket on the Hearth was divided into 'chirps' and The Chimes was similarly set in 'quarters'. In honour of that fact I have subdivided th...
Baby it's cold outside
December 17, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBOne of the things I happen to bang on about this week is the Christmas Radio Times, a festive perennial as far as TFM is concerned. Now this gets a bit technical, but it concerns the listing dates covered by this epic publication, because this year the first information it carries is the schedules for Christmas Eve - which I found a little odd. In my head I am used to having the schedules for the run-up days, you know what I mean, usually the 19th or 20th onwards. The bit when you are wind...
Shameless
December 10, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBW/C 5th December 2022 I never learn. Clearly that isn't strictly true. In a lot of ways I am on a constant journey of discovery, development and hopefully self-improvement. Indeed TFM is part of that process, and the sheer act of assembling this podcast has positive consequences. But in other ways I never learn. Let me explain. I know I have a particular task to complete in early December every year. I also know that any unseasonably warm weather tends to break around the end of Novembe...
Excitable
December 03, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.3 MBW/C 28th November 2022 I think I am getting a little giddy, a little bit unnecessary you might say. It could have something to do with an early start, a busy day and lots of things to be finishing off before I can get on the road. It could be the start of December, the excitement of the early morning Advent chocolate and the reappearance of the Elves. It could be the lingering bit of head cold I have been manfully trying to push myself through all week. It could be my hormones, I am a...
Fits ya good
November 26, 2022 08:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBW/C 21st November 2022 I am never quite sure if anybody actually reads these notes, I know that as a rule I don't for any of the podcasts I listen to. And it got me to wondering why I try and think of something creative to put in them every week. So this week I am simply going to ask those of you that have read them to let me know in some way (maybe a DM on instagram would work) and if it turns out its actually a handful of you I could try and personalise them a bit more in the future. Bu...
Cover me up
November 19, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBW/C 14th November 2022 Funnily enough the episode title is not a reference to trying to keep warm , without putting the heating on. It's actually a little nod to the gig I went to last night. I don't know a lot about Jason Isbell and I am only just discovering his catalogue, so I went as a bit of a blank page with no real expectations. First up he is terrific, as are his band, and the show was outstanding. There was a particular moment in this song though that resonated with me a a bit of...
Creep
November 12, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.1 MBW/C 7th November 2022 Let's go with a bit of Radiohead this week. I guess the obvious reason for picking them is the fact that Sir Gavin Williamson ('Gavin Gone the Third' as I wrote in my notes as a prompt) dominated the news cycle over last weekend and through the early part of the week. He really does seem a fairly unpleasant character, but then again so does Matt Hancock - a fact that will not be altered by the ingestion of any quantity of jungle-based scrota. And to complete the holy...
Circular ride
November 05, 2022 08:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBW/C 31st October 2022 By the time you have listened to this weeks dense, but compact little offering, the choice of title will be self-evident. The challenge however is that for the first time (if memory serves) I can't share a link to the song, because I can't find one. I first heard the song Circular Ride in Manchester on the 30th November in 2007, one of only three times it was played on that tour. In fact I am listening to that very performance as I type, because it was released as par...
Coming Around Again
October 29, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 17.5 MBW/C 24th October 2022 Most of this weeks content came from two strolls through London, one from Kings Cross to Waterloo in the early afternoon on Tuesday and then the return leg on Wednesday morning. Walking through the capital still retains that wonder for me that it had the very first time I visited as part of a school trip many years ago. Back then it was all about the iconic buildings, and the images that I had only ever seen on the TV. Now it is more about the little things, the se...
Another one bites the dust
October 22, 2022 08:00 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBW/C 17th October 2022 If I hadn't been to Birmingham this week then I wouldn't of thought about Birds Custard. If I hadn't thought about Birds Custard, I would never have discovered that the Birds Custard Factory used to be spread of fifteen acres of land in Digbeth, and that over a 1,000 people used to work there. If I hadn't been researching the Birds Custard Factory, then I wouldn't have found out that it was originally constructed for Sir Alfred Frederick Bird in 1906, and remained ...
In these arms
October 15, 2022 08:00 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBW/C 10th October 2022 When I woke up yesterday morning I didn't expect to be settling on this as an episode title. It was Pfizer this year, which means I have now completed the set (along with AstraZeneca & Moderna) of vaccines I have agreed to in an effort to throw a Ready-Break-like protective glow around myself. No particular side effects this time, other than the obligatory stiff arms (I had my flu jab as well) and a very unsettled night in terms of sleep, which is why I am sat with a...
It's my life
October 08, 2022 08:00 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBW/C 3rd October 2022 How do you feel when you are part of the Anti-Growth Coalition, and you get to Saturday morning with no idea what you are going say in your weekly podcast. Guilt? A sense of failure? Disgust at the fact that you are letting down podcasters everywhere ( not to mention anti-frackers, remainers, university lecturers, lib-dems, environmentalists and anybody who hasn't bought into this right wing, populist nonsense). But what can you do, how can you make the situation rig...
Crash
October 01, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBW/C 26th September 2022 This week proved that we should never take local radio for granted, and recognise that it isn't some second tier form of journalism. It's just journalism. Damn good journalism. Clearly the PM had no clue what she was walking into to at 8am on Wednesday morning, as she undertook a whistle stop round of local BBC station interviews - the first time she had been heard from in four days. Have a listen at some of the highlights. This is what we have been waiting for, p...
In the wee small hours of the morning
September 24, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBW/C 19th September 2022 I am going to mention Only Murders in the Building again this week, and it just dawned on me that I should have called out the performance of Steve Martin. The whole cast is great, even the fairly wooden and monotonic Selena Gomez (a performance which shouldn’t work but seems to fit just fine). But the real star for me is SM. In contrast to the rest of the what is going on around him, it’s a fairly understated turn and although there is a lot of silliness it never...
Almost unreal
September 17, 2022 08:00 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBW/C 12th September 2022 Strange week. As you will hear, I am finding it difficult to process what is going on at the moment. It’s not that I don’t get the tradition and the ceremony, but it just feels so disconnected from whatever passes as the norm. I have probably struggled with this one more than any of the previous episodes of TFM, and I still don’t think I have managed to articulate what I am feeling. If nothing else I remembered to mention Michael Sheen. Stay safe. Almost Unreal ...
Moments in time
September 10, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBW/C 5th September 2022 The world changed on Thursday afternoon, in a way that I have experienced only a handful of times. For me the fall of the Berlin Wall, the release of Mandela, the death of Diana and the 9/11 attacks are probably the only things comporable, and even though we were being prepared for this moment it still came as a shock, and everything paused in that moment. As you will hear I don't have a particular view on the Monarchy, but I was always struck by a person that made ...
Avenues & Alleyways
September 03, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.3 MBW/C 29th August 2022 Tony Christie recorded an album in 2008 called Made in Sheffield. It was produced by the genius pairing that is Richard Hawley & Colin Elliott and it only features music written by songwriters from Sheffield such as Jarvis Cocker, Alex Turner & Philip Oakey as well as RH & TC themselves. I had read a couple of very positive reviews and decided to give it a try, and what a treat it turned out to be. The production is rich, the delivery faultless and the reworking of the...
Gimme Shelter
August 27, 2022 08:00 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBW/C 22nd August 2022 Probably the shortest episode I think I have ever recorded, but as I am in Spain and trying to publish via patchy signal over a personal hotspot it is probably just as well. Thursday was one of this rare days when travel went absolutely according to plan, the initial forecast delay for the car journey resolved itself as we were driving, the airport was a breeze, Ryanair behaved like a normal airline and it took less than a minute to collect the rental car keys. We lef...
Kiss the rain
August 20, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBW/C 15th August 2022 There are umpteen songs with the word ‘rain’ in the title, so making a decision on the episode title this week took a while. Bizarre, because most weeks it’s actually a job to find a song that in some way links to whatever I am blathering about. No Rain by Blind Melon nearly got the nod, Belinda Carlisle could easily have been picked with Summer Rain and you know how much I like The Alarm which makes it very surprising I didn’t go with Rain In The Summertime. But in ...
Summer in the City
August 13, 2022 08:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBW/C 8th August 2022 It goes without saying that the original version by The Lovin' Spoonful released in 1966 is fantastic but I have a real soft spot for a far more obscure version of the song. The Gutter Brothers are a band from London who recorded a cover of the song that was used in the Miami Twice episode of Only Fools and Horses, a Christmas Special from 1991. I just love the punky nature of the arrangement and the energy of the guitar riff to open it. In fact I have just found that ...
Now I'm Here
August 06, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBW/C 1st August 2022 It's a bit of an odd episode this week, in no small part due to being away. I did actually manage to disconnect from the world a bit, and as a result immerse myself in the ebb and flow of South Devon. It's been a long time since I was down these parts, so it was a mix of hazy memory and new experience. It's certainly a unique little slice of the English coastline. Stay safe. Now I'm Here - Queen Teign Bean Teignmouth Pier Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it...
25 Years
July 30, 2022 08:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBW/C 25th July 2022 Okay, okay who have a point, this weeks title is a little too 'on the nose'. I have been racking my brain for songs which included either 'silver', 'rain' or 'umbrella' and nothing really landed. 'You got the Silver' by the Stones nearly made it because I love the sound of Keith's voice. But in the end this song by The Big Dish has always been a fave, so that settled the matter. The view out of the window is one of people dismantling awnings, pulling up pegs and general...
It's the end of the world as we know it
July 23, 2022 08:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBW/C 18th July 2022 The first Robert Harris book I ever read was actually the first work of fiction he wrote, and that was Fatherland. It's possibly still the best work of fiction he has produced but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give the rest of them a go as well. After Fatherland came Enigma, and then I discovered he had written a book about the Hitler Diaries called Selling Hitler which is absolutely terrific. Equally good was his biography of Bernard Ingham, the much feared Press Secr...
Armageddon it.
July 16, 2022 08:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBW/C 11th July 2022 After 3 years of Johnson trying to put a bomb under anything he didn't like the look of (the judiciary, parliament, the constitution, basic human rights, etc, etc) it is quite amusing to see the Tory party content to turn the artillery inwards. And of course, you can rely on a bunch of long haired footie fans from Sheffield to have the perfect musical refrain. I met Joe Elliott (briefly in 1986). He was back in Sheffield to play in a football testimonial for Blades legen...