2026 : A KIND OF PREVIEW

Good morning. Good Afternoon, Good Evening, wherever you are around the globe and whatever time of day it happens to be.

Welcome to TVV’s first ‘proper’ posting of 2026, in that the Festive Period series has come to an end, and the two regular series for Saturdays and Sundays have been covered.  A year that will hopefully see the blog celebrate its 20th birthday, and my wee brain is already going into overdrive thinking of ways to mark the occasion, albeit it’s still over nine months away.   Indeed, my wee brain never stops thinking about how best to continue to make this little corner of t’internet a place that folk will want to come and visit on a regular basis, especially given that time is increasingly precious for all of us and there are many other music blogs out there that have better writers with far more nous and knowledge than I’ll ever have……and more worryingly, seem to have way more ideas than me to keep things fresh and inviting; but in saying that, seeing so many other great blogs very much on the go provides inspiration to maintain high standards here (grammar and accurate spelling mistakes aren’t part of those standards!!)

I thought I’d begin the new year by offering up a sort of sneak preview of what lies ahead.

Firstly….a few givens.

Saturdays will continue to be set aside for songs by different Scottish singers and bands, It’s just hit #486, but I reckon I have at least another fifty who haven’t yet featured that will take us through this calendar year.

Sundays will, for the next few months, continue to look at the Edwyn Collins singles, and when that comes to its natural end, I’ll hand the day over to some other long-running act…I’ve already got one in mind, but I’m just as liable to change my mind as the time approaches.

Fridays, every second week, should see postings all the way from Santa Monica.  Fictive Fridays are genuinely special for me as I have no idea, until the email drops in, which direction Jonny is going to take the blog.

The mention of Fictive Fridays does allow me to reiterate that guest postings are key to TVV.  Jonny will have his regular gig, as too will Fraser who has already fired over more offerings for his EPs series. Steve‘s ‘stealing’ series was a real highlight of 2025, every one of his masterpieces managing to educate/inform and entertain in equal measures; he’s quietly promised something fresh for this year, advising that it has so much info it will be likely need to be published in three parts (it’s almost a book he’s proposing!!), and knowing which band he’s looking into, I know it will go down well.

I’m also hopeful that Dirk, having regaled us so fantastically with his 111 singles series over the past three years, will get on board again….he’s certainly thinking about it.  As I’ve repeatedly said, I never turn down any guest postings, so if anyone reading this wants to do the 21st century equivalent of putting pen to paper, then please be my guest.

But what am I going to bring to the party this year? By and large, more of the same.

There are five types of post that will continue to be the workhorse of TVV.  The ‘lucky dips’ across my music collection enable me to share some thoughts on a particular 7″, 12″ or CD single, while I’ll also continue to shine a light on songs that are under two minutes in length, and songs that proved to be a debut release.

The monthly book review is here to stay, although I need to get my act together and start reading a bit more intensely. The older I get, the increasingly difficult I am finding it to get through books the way I used to.  Again, if anyone wishes to offer up guest reviews, I’d be more than happy to take them….and if I get inundated with reviews, then I’ll make sure the series appears more frequently.

The monthly mixtape will continue.   January’s has been delayed, but it’ll be with you before tomorrow.  The ICAs will continue with #400 coming up later this week, which will be followed by a couple of very interesting guest offerings.

Work is well underway on three new series for 2026, all of which will likely last the entire calendar year – one will involve 13 posts, one will have somewhere in the region of 30 posts and the other will be one that may only last a short time, depending on the reaction of the TVV cognoscenti.  The 30 posts series will be launched later this week.  As they say, watch this space.

As ever, thanks for reading.  I think it’s time for a song.

mp3: Frightened Rabbit – Music Now

I still miss Scott Hutchison.  He really was such a talent.

 

 

JC