"See you next Tuesday, you is a punk!"

Well, if you haven't already heard, either from me or via Manchizzle, I am currently feeling rather pleased with myself as last night, Yer Mam! was named Best Arts & Culture Blog at the Manchester Blog Awards. Yep, it really did happen. The whole night was a little on the surreal side. Everything started with some very heavy poetry, courtesy of the good people at Verberate!, which was, well, a little on the serious side.

This led to me drinking like a fish with a right old thirst on, which is never a good thing. By the time the actual awards came around, I was starting to get a bit buzzy. We'd been treated to some excellent readings courtesy of Geoff from 43 and The Airport Exile, which I'd enjoyed so much that I completely forgot there were awards being handed out in a bit. Factor in that the Arts & Culture category was the first to be presented and you will realise that I was in no fit mental state to go up and give anything approaching what you would call a 'speech'.

Yer Mam! is announced as the winner and I amble up to where the lovely Kate, from Manchizzle is stood in her position as MC. "Aargh! A microphone!" is all I can think of, but I somehow manage to ask Kate whether I'm supposed to say anything. She gestures towards the mic, so I offer up a simple "Cheers" before retreating back to my seat and nuzzling into the neck of my Beechwood-aged comforter.

If I'd have thought about it, I'd have quoted the title of this song...

Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches (mp3)

But I didn't think of it, so a bit pointless me mentioning it really. A good night was had by all (I think) and I urge you to check out the other winners, who were...

Blog Of The Year: 43
Best Personal Blog: A Free Man In Preston
Best Political Blog: Normblog

Also, take a look at my fellow Arts & Culture nominees, Ready Steady Book and Bitter And Blue, both of whom would probably made more deserving and, indeed, gregarious winners than I did. I promise you, dear readers, that this accolade will not change me, as I'm already hooked on cocaine and strippers. However, if my new-found celebrity status (within the blogosphere) does somehow lead to kinky sex with Lindsay Lohan, then I welcome it.

Anyway, back to business...

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

The Knife - Like A Pen (Rabid)

A tap drips on the floor of a disused warehouse somewhere in Gothenburg. The sound then transforms from the cold-sounding drip-drip-drip into what can only be described as a ping-pong ball bouncing around inside that cube from the film, er, Cube. This is how 'Like A Pen' starts and it's one of the most ominous, brilliantly portentous openings of a song all year. What follows is a fantasticaly dark slab of house-pop that has a playful edge that would sound great on Hallowe'en, which makes it perfectly timed too. Also included are some disappointing remixes and an even darker, tracky demo version of the single that is brilliant in its own way. You can find it over at 20JFG.

I'm not doing the rest of the singles for two reasons; they're a bit of a rum bunch and the United match is on.

More tomorrow in the form of a review of The Lemonheads at the Academy 2 last night. Yes, it was a busy night.

JMx