iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 4h

Picked this up earlier in a charity shop. Great stuff, particularly disc 1 which has tracks by The Esquire Five recorded in 1948, featuring Ronnie Scott, & Carlo Krahmer, drummer and co-founder of the Esquire label. My mother worked for Krahmer at Esquire in the mid 60s. #musicsky #jazzsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12h

"Sometimes it's to your advantage for people to think you're crazy" Remembering the High Priest of Bebop, Thelonious Sphere Monk, born OTD 1917 in Rocky Mount, Carolina. #jazzsky #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12h

“There were three men, came out of the West, their fortunes for to try..." The 'John Barleycorn' line up of Traffic - Chris Wood, Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi - get it together in the country, 1970. #musicsky

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Sam @samkarlharrison.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The latest from @benfinlay74.bsky.social at Lion & Unicorn👇

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

"Jo Jones, an elegant, swinging dude, always had a style of his own. When he was with us, you could hear him, feel him — everything was right there." - Count Basie Remembering one of the greatest ever drummers, the impeccable Papa Jo Jones, born OTD 1911 in Chicago. #musicsky #jazzsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

"Those who lack humour are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing." Remembering one the driest wits ever - critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist, Clive James, born on this day 1939 in Kogarah, New South Wales.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"Now it is autumn again; the people are all coming back. The recess of summer is over, when holidays are taken, newspapers shrink, history itself seems momentarily to falter" A timely repost of my Oct 2025 article that celebrates the 50th anniversary of The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury. #booksky

thelionandunicorn.com

The (rest is) History, Man

BEN FINLAY celebrates 50 years of Malcom Bradbury’s satire of fashionable left politics.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"This is a world of short breaths and short distances, more a matter of spinning round in grooves then of taking off into the high blue yonder." Richard Hoggart, 'The Way We Live Now' (1995)

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today I will be mostly working on this:

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"Blues is my life. It's a true feeling that comes from the heart, not something that just comes out of my mouth. Blues is what I love, and blues is what I always do." Remembering the Queen of the Chicago Blues, Koko Taylor, born OTD in 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

'Songs in the Key of Life' turns fifty today. I can't recall a time it wasn't around - it came out when I was just two years old - I can still remember the esteem it was held in by my parents & their friends, but most of all, the album's deep, rich, bassy sound on our 70s stereo. #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

1) Perfect for these early Autumn evenings, 'When the Eagle Flies' (1974). Traffic's last album until Winwood & Capaldi's reunion in 1994 sees an advance into a sophisticated jazz-rock style, propelled by the great Rosko Gee on bass, best evidenced on the standout 'Dream Gerrard'...(below) #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I forgot to mention his birthday yesterday, so here's Michael Gibbs' self-titled 1970 album - top notch Brit jazz, featuring Chris Spedding, Jack Bruce, Tony Oxley, Alan Skidmore, Barbara Thompson, Henry Lowther, John Surman, Ray Warleigh & more. #musicsky #jazzsky

youtube.com

Michael Gibbs ‎– Michael Gibbs (1970)

YouTube video by Pedro Nóbrega

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I paid another visit to the wonderful Crooked Book in downtown Boscombe today and obviously spent too much (again) Modernism edited by Christopher Wilk The Dustbin of History by Greil Marcus London Observed by Doris Lessing What's Left? by Nick Cohen The Rise of Enoch Powell by Paul Foot. #booksky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Remembering British jazz legend Dick Heckstall-Smith, born OTD 1934 in Ludlow, Shropshire. His work with Alexis Korner, the Graham Bond Organisation, Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Colosseum & Big Chief was exemplary, as was his solo material and playing on Jack Bruce's Things We Like. #jazzsky #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Works well on a Thursday night as well..

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Picked up this great book by Nat Hentoff yesterday. Beautifully written recollections, and the chapter on Mingus is fascinating. #jazzsky #musicsky

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Lion & Unicorn @lionunicorn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

66 years ago today, Miles Davis played his first gig in Britain. "Rarely have I witnessed a more impressive concert of jazz," wrote Benny Green. @benfinlay74.bsky.social on that ground-breaking tour. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/05/23/a...

thelionandunicorn.com

Autumn Leaves: Miles in the UK

BEN FINLAY on Miles Davis’s first British tour in 1960.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Very pleased to find this yesterday: The second volume of Lessing's autobiography covers the years 1949 to 1962, from Lessing's arrival in London to the publication of her most famous work of fiction, 'The Golden Notebook', via the Communist Party, bohemianism and the theatre. #booksky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

5) When I was lecturing post war British History, his ideas were extremely important to the course. I often concluded by looking at his 1995 book 'The Way We Live Now' and its critiques of moral decline, education and cultural relativism.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

4) In a long career he was, among other things, a professor of English at Birmingham University, assistant director general of Unesco and vice-chairman of the Arts Council. He founded the highly influential Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham in 1964.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

3) Published in 1957, it was interpreted as lamenting the loss of an authentic working class popular culture in Britain, and denouncing the imposition of a mass culture through advertising, media and Americanisation. .

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

2) Hoggart was brought up in Leeds in a working class family, and was orphaned at the age of eight. His experiences played a part in the thesis of 'The Uses of Literacy', in which he argued the working class deserved better in educational & cultural terms than society provided.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

1) "If you put the most important cultural elements in society into the hands of commercial people who want to make a profit they will bring it down to the lowest common denominator." Remembering an intellectual hero of mine, author and academic Richard Hoggart, born OTD 1918.

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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Liberal England: A podcast on Christopher Hill's The World Turned Upside Down liberalengland.blogspot.com/2026/09/a-po...

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A good day out in my former home of Chichester. Visited some old haunts, and a had a great charity shop haul... Sometimes, life ain't all that bad you know...

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Remembering Brother Ray Charles born OTD 1930 in Albany, Georgia #jazzsky #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Remembering John Coltrane, born OTD 100 years ago in Hamlet, North Carolina and gone far too soon. He left behind some of the deepest, most transcendental music in the universe. #jazzsky #musicsky #coltrane100

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Released OTD 1969, the landmark second album by The Band, also known as 'The Brown Album'. I've lived with this for forty years now and I'll always come back to it - some things never never grow old... #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

New music... We are Priory Park, an acoustic instrumental duo made up of yours truly and ace musician Matt Blakey. Expect some laidback, jazzy melodic guitar music and more. You're welcome. #musicsky

youtube.com

Priory Park Jam 21/09/26

YouTube video by Ben Finlay - The History Man

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

"... for me, one of the best British records, perfect for darkening autumn evenings..." It's definitely turning autumnal, so #nowplaying this classic, which I've written a little bit about: historyman74.substack.com/p/my-favouri... #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

"How long have I been sleeping? How long have I been drifting alone through the night?" Released OTD in 1974, Jackson Browne's classic 'Late For the Sky'. #musicsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

'The Trials of Oz' (1991) - a dramatisation of the 1971 trial in which the editors of the British underground magazine 'Oz' were charged with obscenity - is now up on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-T...

youtube.com

The Trials of Oz (720p) ft. Hugh Grant, Nigel Hawthorne, Leslie Phillips, Alfred Molina

YouTube video by Forgotten British TV

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Mister Mahzel @mistermahzel.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Another excellent survey, Ben. Thank you for sharing your well-informed opinions.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"If privately life was proving difficult, musically 1975 would be somewhat of a peak for Martyn..." The great John Martyn - one of my favourite ever artists - was born OTD in 1948. His underrated 'Sunday's Child' features in my top ten records of 1975. Read here:

thelionandunicorn.com

Top 10: 1975

BEN FINLAY selects the best British albums of 1975. Expect the unexpected.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

'Catch a mood and fly away' Remembering the one and only John Martyn, born on this day in 1948. I'll always remember seeing him at Salisbury City Hall on 20th May 2005 - he and his great band took the place on a trip that night...

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General Witchfinders - The British Horror Podcast and Zine @generalwitch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Missed Penda’s Fen last night? Both David Rudkin’s 1974 film and a new interview with actor Spencer Banks are streaming on BBC iPlayer. Catch up on the film, then listen to our podcast episode tinyurl.com/PendasFen #PendasFen #FolkHorror #PlayForToday #BBCiPlayer

An graphic featuring two BBC iPlayer video thumbnails on a light purple background with bold white text at the bottom. The top thumbnail shows actor Spencer Banks in present day, titled ‘Remembers... Spencer Banks Remembers... Penda’s Fen’. The middle thumbnail shows a scene from Penda’s Fen featuring a person wearing a grotesque gargoyle mask, titled ‘Play for Today: Penda’s Fen’. Large white text underneath reads: ‘PENDA’S FEN and interview with SPENCER BANKS now on iPlayer’.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Happy birthday to one of the greatest British drummers, Barriemore Barlow, who played with Jethro Tull from 1971 to 1980. His superb playing is a highlight of the band's majestic 'Heavy Horses' album, which features in my top ten prog records. Read here: @lionunicorn.bsky.social #musicsky

thelionandunicorn.com

Top 10: Prog rock

Fancy time-signatures, album-length songs and mystical lyrics – BEN FINLAY takes us through the best of prog rock.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

"My rider left upon the midnight flyer, singing like a summer breeze.." - 'Operator' from 'American Beauty' (1970) Remembering Grateful Dead founder member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, born OTD in 1945 and gone far too soon.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

2)...2) always remained my favourite. When studying for my degree I wrote an essay about about Kerouac and New York. Later. Gerald Nicosia (who wrote the best Kerouac biography, 'Memory Babe') visited the University of Chichester & it was an honour to talk him before he signed my copy.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

1) Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road' was published OTD in 1957. I can't quite remember when I first read it, but the first copy I owned (I've had several) was the one pictured, an early 90s edition. It introduced me to a new world - Ginsberg, Burroughs, Gregory Corso - but Jack... #booksky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

"Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life..." Happy birthday to director and film maker Werner Herzog, born September 5 1942. He made two of my favourite ever films: 'Aguirre, Wrath of God' (1972) and 'Fitzcarraldo' (1982). Brilliant. #filmsky

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Yes, really expensive or out of stock. I'm looking further now, as I need to see series 6 as soon as possible!

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I might have to as for some reason season 6 is hard to get hold of at the mo here in the UK

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The Kimono Gallery @roger1952.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Autumn - Kyoto, Japan

Nestled beneath a blazing canopy of Japanese maples (iroha-momiji), a quiet Kyoto sanctuary is enveloped in the fiery crescendo of autumn (kōyō). The composition frames a traditional residence—distinguished by its dark grey ceramic roof tiles (ibushi-gawara) and crisp white plaster walls (shikkuikabe)—partially veiled behind a dense lattice of silver-barked branches and brilliant foliage. Leaves in shades of incandescent crimson, burnt orange, and sunlit ochre cascade down from the upper canopy, contrasted against the deep, evergreen shadows of the surrounding mountain forest. On the flagstone approach (nobe-dan) leading to the shadowed doorway, a lone visitor stands looking upward, wrapped in quiet contemplation beneath the autumn arbor.

This autumnal tableau reflects the deep-rooted cultural tradition of momijigari ("hunting autumn leaves"), a seasonal pilgrimage celebrated in Japan since the Heian period. In Kyoto’s historic districts—such as Sagano, Higashiyama, and Arashiyama—architectural design has long been tailored to honor the natural terrain. Residences and temple sub-complexes utilize low rooflines and natural building materials to yield visually to the surrounding garden and forest. The grey clay tiles and dark timber framing act as a neutral, grounded foundation, allowing the fiery, short-lived transformation of the maples to dominate the visual landscape.

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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Just finished wstching series five last night. Undoubtedly one of the finest television dramas I've ever had the pleasure to watch. Incredible characters, plots, acting, period detail and storylines. Excellent.

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