50/50 Winner

Following on from its 21st anniversary re-release, I've had Rafi's Revenge by Asian Dub Foundation on repeat the past week or so. It is such a great album and has been one of my favourite albums since it came out. There's a tremendous energy to the songs and Dr Das is a ridiculously good bass player. I have only managed to see them live once when they were supporting Radiohead on their 'Hail to the theif' tour. I'm not usually one for protest songs but the track 'Free Satpal Ram' did well to highlight the injustice experienced by a guy who was jailed for 15 years for an act of self defence.

Do you skip past 'Fitter Happier'?

The worst album I have ever bought was the OCS self-titled debut album. It is atrocious, this is easily the best of a very bad bunch.

If you like mexican food, Mammacita is good. There's also Ziggy's for burgers etc. I haven't been there for a couple of years though.

I've had the new Helado Negro album on repeat the last few days. It's very, very good.

Probably London, although, Amsterdam might be in with a shout, I've heard lots of weed smoking goes on there.

I don't know about the wider British context either, Glasgow does seem to be the odd one out in the respect that serious money has been invested to tackle the issue through education. This is perhaps a model that London should be following.

Knife crime in Scotland has reduced significantly in recent years, I remember when Glasgow was given the title 'Murder Capital of Europe'. Is this reduction in knife crime synonymous with a reduction in cannabis consumption? I think it may have more to do with the Scottish government investing millions on initiatives like No Knives Better Lives and excellent charities like Medics Against Violence.

My captain, Ken Nordine, has died. I think it was a solo shot too. I can't find a British obituary yet but confident there will be one in the next day or so.

You can also try selling on discogs.

The Rovers were 115 years old in 1998, not 125.

Excellent, all the best man. You'll be playing like Hendrix in no time!

Thanks for the information, I've booked the train but it turns out there's a replacement bus service in place all weekend.

We are going to London on Sunday, flying from Edinburgh to Stansted. What's the best way to get from the airport to the Tower Bridge area? According to Google maps, the quickest way is the get a National Express bus from the airport to Mile End then a train from there to Tower Hill. Is this the best way to go? If so, do seats for the bus need to be booked in advance?

The artwork is interesting.

I've pre ordered this collaboration with Aesop Rock and Tobacco which comes out next month.

Just bought tickets to see Free Cake For Every Creature at Broadcast at the end of January (only £. I've been a fan of theirs for a few years and quite surprised they're playing in Scotland.

There's lots of good tutorial videos on YouTube, for example, Justinguitar. Practice for 30 mins to an hour each day and you'll be surprised at the progress made. Your fingertips will hurt to begin with but that will pass.

I'll concede that the first 30 seconds of the song (which is the part featured in the advert) are not bad, it's the remaining 3:30 mins that let it down.

Fair enough, although, you can't be too far off 35 if you remember Babylon Zoo. Anyway, the point still stands, it was an awful song that was only made popular by being featured in an advert for jeans.

Spaceman by Babylon Zoo is not a good song. For the benefit of those under 35 -

Thanks man, I'll check that out.

We've just booked 5 days in New York for the end of next month. It'll be the first time we've been in America and the boys (aged 16 and 13) are really excited about going. I was wondering what the script is with mobile phones, I'm on the 3 network and have used my phone in Europe no bother (no extortionate data charges, my normal monthly allowance just carried over). Is this the case over in the US or is it best to just get a SIM card when we arrive?

I've wanted a 12 string guitar for a while and as it's been five years since I last bought a new guitar (Gretsch hollow body) I have treated myself to this one. I got an Ibanez acoustic as a graduation present in 2004 and it's my go to guitar, this one is a 12 string version so it'll be nice to have them both. I can't wait to play it on Monday, my only concern is that I ordered it online and haven't had the opportunity to try it out. Mrs 50/50 Winner was surprisingly accepting of yet another guitar cluttering up the house.

Did you see a band called Imarhan? I saw a post on Instagram of them and checked out their new album on spotify. The album is awesome and I noticed that they are playing at Broadcast tomorrow night so I got a ticket. If you like Tinariwen, chances are you'll like these guys.