I was working then on my great unfinished novel

The new Lloyd Cole album, Anti-Depressant, is a joy. Not a word is wasted and the knowing wit and sharp intellect that wooed me as a young chap remain twenty-odd years on. The rhyming of ‘Scarlett Johansson’ and ‘driven to distraction’ is worth the admission price alone but there are lyrical gems galore. Right now, my favourite is, “I said ‘I’m working on my novel’ / She said ‘Neither am I’” – very Lloyd Cole. The tunes are marvellous too and complement the world-weary thoughts of Chairman Cole with a pleasing subtlety. Of course, I had the chance to name my son Lloyd Cole but bottled it. It might have worked.

I made copies of the above album, the last Scritti Politti long-player (the album of the year chez Cole – this Cole, not Lloyd - although you never know) and the gorgeous Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens for C yesterday and with complete foolishness posted the package without any stamps on it. I feel such a chump.