REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL PT. 10: What do King Princess, Ricky Warwick, The Flaming Lips & Sleaford Mods have in common?

Hot Press' old mucker Ricky Warwick beams in from Los Angeles with this awesome version of Warren Zevon's 'Don't Let Us Get Sick'. We warn you now - tears will be shed!

Beaming in from somewhere even sunnier is King Princess who strips down three of the songs from her Cheap Queen album.
"Welcome to the quarantine shed!" she says sitting on a fluffy white chair. "I'm in Hawaii and brought as much gear in the carry-on of my plane ride as possible. Now I have various little toys to play with to bring musical joy. I'm back to just making music in my room."

As desperately sad as his death is, we can't help smiling as we listen to John Prine being all sorts of awesome on 'Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness'. You, sir, were a fucking legend!

Thank you to Johnny Moy for alerting us to this beyond awesome Andrew Weatherall 'Best Of' playlist. My God, he was a genius and far funkier than often given credit for...

This is just so beautiful: https://t.co/zAcso9rfsG

— Johnny Moy (@funboymoy) April 7, 2020

Nerves have been extremely busy lockdown boys with three very fine - and very noisy - singles going up today on Bandcamp. It seems like a million years, but actually around six weeks, since we saw them play a Dublin Sound House blinder with the equally mighty HMLTD. Make sure to show them the rock 'n' roll love.

We've got our shit together and released our first three singles on @Bandcamp finally, if you'd like to help us out in this strange gig-less age, here's a wee link for you!
Love ye ❤🖤https://t.co/vaNzH0oTdU pic.twitter.com/0Nh3lLcuES

— N E R V E S (@nerves_ire) April 8, 2020

If you're thinking this might be the time to write your Ulysses/ To Kill A Mockingbird/ American Psycho/ Da Vinci Code/ PS I Love You - we could be at this all day! - here are some priceless tips from one who definitely knows.

We've teamed up with literary agent Simon Trewin to bring you a series of free, live online video chats, focusing on the the publishing industry, how it works & how you can make your book publisher ready – they are packed full of advice. https://t.co/QRJv7SOnzk pic.twitter.com/zxY6ZrCD6s

— writing.ie (@writing_ie) April 8, 2020

God bless you Tim Burgess and your Twitter listening parties! No offence now to Lovely Eggs, but we're saving our Dot Brew/12 Acres Barrel Aged Imperial Rye for 10pm tonight and the communal celebration of The Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin. Another quality cap will be popped tomorrow at eight when Sleaford Mods virtually hook up with Reverend & The Makers.

Tonight
(UK Time)
9pm @TheLovelyEggs
10pm @theflaminglips pic.twitter.com/gLu7fWX92L

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) April 8, 2020

Reminder for AUSTERITY DOGS listening party, tomorrow at 8pm. This week we’re joined by @Reverend_Makers who's been on board since the early days.

Thanks as ever to @Tim_Burgess the loveliest man in the bizness. ❤️#timstwitterlisteningparty #austeritydogs pic.twitter.com/wSNhYKuzh2

— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) April 8, 2020

Our Thursday night diary has just become even busier with Rufus Wainwright launching a new series of Royal Albert Hall curated lockdown gigs. We've checked the fridge and, yep, we've a special bottle of beer for that too!

Yes! I am proud to announce that I will be the inaugural performance of @RoyalAlbertHall’s brand new #RoyalAlbertHome concert series! My performance will be broadcast for free on https://t.co/F4h8wNpX6k TOMORROW at 8:15PM BST / 12:15PM PST / 3:15PM EST. See you there! 😘✨ pic.twitter.com/tKu3NOBkTa

— Rufus Wainwright (@rufuswainwright) April 8, 2020

We leave you this gloriously sunny Wednesday with a rapidfire 'Best Of...' Emo Phillips, the One-Line Gag Merchant that other One-Line Gag Merchants call the Guv'nor!