This Is Not Happening - An Album Of The Month Podcast Guy, Joey, Nolan and David

In Part 1 we explore the new Everything But The Girl album Fuse,  and ask is it worth the 24 year wait? In Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It? The theme this month is new music ... tracks that have been released since Feb 1st 2023.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | EBTG | Fuse

It's Nolan's choice this month and we go with the long awaited / not even expected 12th studio album from Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It's rare that we get to talk about an artist that we all have a significant relationship, but this is a great example. In January we got treated to the track Nothing Left to Loose but the album offers much more. It's got just about every type of EBTG track you can think of and some of their best tracks ever.
Go listen to the album - HereGo watch some videos - HereGo buy some of their stuff - HereSome links that we reference and recommend; 
Pitchfork interview - Click HereBBC Radio 5 Live interview - Click HereEBTG in conversation at Rough Trade - Click HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Music

It's been a few months since we did new music so here we go. There's a definite whiff of summer in the air!
Nolan chose - Amplify by Rodriguez Jr.David chose - Mo Se B'ola Tan by The Estuary 21 Joey chose - Sandrail Silhouette by Avalon Emerson Guy chose - Everybody's Saying That by Girl RayIn order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here ... have a listen. 

*** Enjoy the episode ***
We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we explore the mesmerising (but opinion dividing) 2nd album by Kelela, 'Raven'.   In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?' ... but do we really? The theme this month is our favourite De La Soul tracks ... is anyone really going to bin a De La Soul track?

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Kelela | Raven

It's Joey's choice this month and we're focusing on an intriguing, vibe of an album called Raven by Ethopian-American artist Kelela. It's 15 tracks, over an hour and plays out like a late-90s, early-00's post club mix tape. There's lots of opinions on this album, in the critical sphere they're almost universally (really) positive, the album being on of the best reviewed albums of the year. However, its a 100%, unquestioning love-in on This Is Not Happening.
Go listen to the album - HereGo watch some videos - HereGo buy some of their stuff - HereA few 'Raven' that we highly recommend checking out;
A really interesting review of the album by BPM - Here'Unmistakably Black' interview with Mixmag - HereLive Jimmy Fallen performance of 'Enough for Love' - HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | De La Soul tribute

After the sad passing of Trugoy the Dove, we pay tribute to De La Soul. This is the 1st time that the question 'spin it or bin it' is completely redundant.
Nolan chose - Stakes is HighGuy chose - So No GoDavid chose - Trying PeopleJoey chose - I am I beCheck out our 16 track De La Soul tribute playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here (this is a good one!)
Next Month

In part 1 Nolan brings 'Fuse' by Everything But the Girl as our Album of the Month, in Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it' with new tracks for the last 3 months.
We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/
We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we speak in depth about Young Fathers latest album 'Heavy Heavy' and how it packs such a punch in 32 minutes.  In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?', the theme this month is the curious anomaly that is 'Post Genre'.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Young Fathers | Heavy Heavy

It's Guy's choice this month and we return back to an artist that we spoke about 9 years ago when they released their debut 'Dead'. Across 3 previous releases, Young Fathers have secured near universal critical acclaim, yet little commercial success. Is Heavy Heavy the album that will change this. It looks like it. But that doesn't mean this is a collection of easy listening pop tunes. We discuss what this is, what we love and the live experience.  If you know them enjoy, if you don't dig in!
Go listen to the album - Here Go watch some videos - Here Go buy some of their stuff - HereA few Heavy Heavy things that we highly recommend checking out;
Unmuted Unmastered Podcast - HereLine of Best Fit interview - HereSome live performances - Here and Hereand HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Post Genre

What the hell is post genre? In this discussion we prove that we're really not sure!
Guy chose - Mantra by Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul Nolan Chose - BTSTU by Jai Paul Joey chose - B.O.B. by Outkast David chose - L'Elephant by Tom Tom Club A 16 track Post Genre playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here (this is a good one!)
Next Month

Joey brings Kelela's  'Raven' for Album of the Month and we play 'Spin It or Bin It?' but what will be the theme?
We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/
We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

In Part 1 we speak in depth about Rozi Plain's new album 'Prize'. It's a curious, warming gem of an album that really needs to be talked about. In Part 2 we play 'Spin it or bin it?', the theme this month is Protest Music.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rozi Plain | Prize

David's choice this month is an artist that he has a long relationship with, Rozi Plain. Rozi was new to the rest of us so we were all playing catch up. I can't remember an album that needs to be talked about (in real life, with human beings) as Prize.  You will hear me processing what I actually feel about the album, live, while we discuss it. I think I probably come out of the discussion with a slightly different conclusion to the one that I had at the start. All good albums get better with more attention but this one absolutely demands it.

Please, please, please go and give it a listen. I think most people will find something that they love about this album.
Go listen to the album - Here or HereGo watch some videos - Here or HereGo buy some of Rozi's stuff - HereWe mention a few things that we'd highly recommend checking out, so here are the links;
The James McMahon podcast interview / chat with Rozi - HereSophie Walker's Guardian album review - HerePitchfork album review - HereKonstantinos Papis's interview for Our Culture - HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Protest Music

We all pick a track based on a theme, present the track and ask the simple question, Spin it or Bin it? The theme this month is a simple one 'Protest Music'. There are no limitations or rules this month other than, as always, we try to bring new music or a new context to each other.
Guy chose - 'Take the Power Back' by Rage Against the MachineDavid Chose - 'Ship Building' by Elvis Costello & the AttractionsJoey chose - 'Reagan' by Killer MikeNolan chose - 'Four Women' by Nina SimoneA 16 track Protest Music playlist (4 tracks each) can be found - Here
Next Month

Guy brings Young Fathers 'Heavy Heavy' for Album of the Month and we play 'Spin It or Bin It?' with Post-Genre tracks.
We've been writing a blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/
We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

Our first AOTM episode in 2023 finds us exploring Ab Soul's 'Herbert' in Part 1 and we focus on New Music for 'Spin It or Bin It' in Part 2.

Part 1 | Album of the Month | Ab Soul | Herbert

It's Nolan's choice this month and he's taking us to his spiritual home - Hip Hop with Ab Soul's late 2022 release, 'Herbert'. For once, we're all coming to this artist pretty fresh . Nolan's been banging on about the singles from this album for like 6 months so giving the album some extended love seems a natural choice.

If you've not heard it, we think it's well worth a listen ...


Go listen to the album - HereGo watch some videos - HereGo buy some merch - Here Our discussion focuses on how we'd describe the album, mental health, suicide and how these topics impact the album, the length of the album, the bangers and of course we touch on a few of the clangers too.

We mention a few things that we'd highly recommend checking out, so here are the links;


YouTube interview with Charlamagne Tha God - HereGQ interview - HereJoey's alternative, 10 track playlist that focuses on the bangers - HereGuy's alternative, 11 track playlist that focuses on the narrative - HerePart 2 | Spin It or Bin It | 'New Music' (Nov '22 onwards)

We all pick a tack based on a theme and present to the rest of us to ask the simple question, Spin it or Bin it? The theme this month is a simple one 'New Music'. The only rule is that the track has to be released after November 2022. We chose albums from as far a field as Doncaster and Russia.


David chose - 'Nothing Left to Loose' by Everything But the Girl Nolan chose - 'Like a Heart Won't Beat' by Skinny Pelembe  Joey chose - 'Let's Hold Our Hands Together' by Kito JempereDavid chose - 'Gorilla' by Little SimzNext Month

David is in the hot seat for AOTM and he's bringing Rozi Plain's new album 'Prize' to the table. We're all getting stuck in and seeing how we live with the album for a month or so. In Part 2, 'Spin It or Bin It?' will be a good one too ... the theme next month is Protest Music.


We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/


We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/

It's that time of year again, we dust off David's secret scoring algorithm for the end of year review. This is the one we look forward to and we hope you enjoy it.

This month, in Part 1 we run through our collective, This is Not Happening Top-10 albums. In Part 2 we all introduce our Track of the Year.

Part 1 | 2022 This is Not Happening Top 10 Albums

So, there's for of us. We all independently chose our Top 10 albums. This data is fed into deep learning algorithm that considers all of the knowns and most of the unknowns and create a singular, collective This is Not Happening Top 10. Its a controversial approach but its as fair as we can make it. 

This year only 2 albums were chosen by all 4 of us. Only 3 albums were chosen by 3 of us. However, the Top 10 feels more 'shared' than we've ever done. I think it's a really solid top 10 and we should be proud of it.

Our number one is an absolute belter! We can hold our heads high with this one.
Part 2 | Tracks of the Year

How do you sum up an entire year in one track? Is it even possible? Two, important  questions, to which our answers are; 'with difficulty' and 'yes'. We chose 4 tracks from 4 different genres. There's more than a whiff of melancholy that links our Top tracks but we think is kind of fitting for one of the oddest of years.
Next Month

If we're honest, we're not 100% sure what we'll be reviewing. Every year there are albums released later in the year that we miss or simply don't have the time to get our teeth into. So Nolan will pick one of these albums and we'll all spend the holidays getting stuck into that with our families (if it's vaguely appropriate for very young or very old ears).
We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look - https://thisisnothappening.net/