In the good times and with a fair wind it honestly is a fantastic business. Unfortunately since 2019 we've had neither! I've made so many friends though. Might not do it again on balance, but you take your chances and roll the dice! There are people who will absolutely be close friends for life (hanging out weekly, going on holiday, spending christmas together kind of friends) that I'd never have met otherwise. And countless other people that I can just have a chat with, join at a table anywhere or just nod to on the street. But on the other hand, the stress has been unreal. So it's complicated. My overall takeaway is that I think it's a great gig as long as you don't borrow too much money in the first place - that's ultimately what's screwed me, I think. All the other bars around me are struggling too, but I don't think that they're having to find the £5k+ a month just to stay open that I am.
@Dyson ya b*****d, watched first few episodes last night, hooked instantly, I’m off on holiday this afternoon so I was up at 5 this morning trying to get first series watched before setting off. It’s brilliant
And mate, 2nd series is twice as good. Get 'em downloaded then get the playlist on Spotify. I've been finding Van Morrison & The Replacements again. Mint.
That’s a big call considering there’s been Sopranos,Breaking Bad,Boardwalk Empire etc so I will definitely give it a go.
Started this last night, up to episode 5, it’s a bit meh at the minute. The cousin guy is annoying & there seems to be a lot of shouting at eachother but not a lot actually being said, just f*** you! Etc
Sopranos bored me to death barring a few episodes & I reckon Breaking Bad is over rated. Imho etc etc.
I was going to watch it anyway based on your recommendation, but that audio selection is so epic I'll be starting tonight. I'll let you know how I get on!
You're a big REM fan aren't you? Send me some recommendations, I've never invested any effort into them.
My favourite band by some distance. My genuine advice would be to listen to every album, in order. Of the 15 they released, it's my opinion that 12 are complete masterpieces, the other 3 are merely very good. If that sounds like a huge undertaking, you can break it down a bit. Their career can be separated into 3 periods of 5 albums each. Period 1 is their college rock phase, when they were on the indie label IRS. Period 2 is their world domination phase, after they signed to Warner Brothers. It's this period that contains their most famous albums.Period 3 is the phase after the drummer Bill Berry left. Many people have written these albums off, which is extremely short-sighted. Maybe they're not as consistent as earlier works, but the high points are easily on a par with their earlier stuff. In fact Accelerate, their second to last album, is probably my 3rd or 4th favourite album overall. A good introduction would be to choose one album from each period, and go from there. My choice would be: Period 1 - Fables of the Reconstruction; Period 2 - Out of Time; Period 3 - Accelerate. These aren't necessarily my favourites, but they're all very accessible. Failing that, just grab a copy of their retrospective they released when they retired - Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage. That'll give you a snapshot of each album, and give you a good idea of how their music progressed over their career. But if you enjoy that, I really would recommend giving the albums a go. Like any compilation, it barely scratches the surface.
