Music for Sunday

I'm currently filling in this lengthy online form by the German Academic Council in connection with a research evaluation exercise they're putting us through this year.

Yes, that's how I'm spending my Sunday. Good thing the weather's lousy and I have no adventy things to do.

Anyway, in the section entitled "Awards and prizes" I'm asked to list "important" awards and prizes bestowed upon me in the past 5 years . Which made me giggle - a bit - until it made me depressed. But thankfully my otherwise unhealthy associationism kicked in and pulled me out of my slough of despond by reminding me of a line in XTC's "The Mayor of Simpleton": the one about "all those Nobel prizes that I've never won."

Which in turn reminded me just how charming this track is:



And now I'm feeling better.

On condition

Just for the heck of it and because the mood in the household is kind of nervous right now:

Is there balm in Gilead?

Have we told you all lately that over here at Obscene Deserts we're insanely fond of The Mountain Goats?

I reckon it needs reiterating:




I have had, as some of you might guess from the video and my generally sombre tone, a crap week.