As an experiment I'm listening to a Spotify XTC compilation to see how much has stuck. A surprisingly large amount, it would appear. Some thoughts, in advance of a more abstract "postconceptions" summary at the end of the month...

I think the thing about an English Talking Heads seems surprisingly prescient. Not that I know much about Talking Heads, indeed they could easily have been one of the bands I chose to dive into. I think it's the combination of what I would coyly call "global rhythms" - the slight Graceland vibe of some of the tracks - combined with the keyboard, dare I say maybe even keytar, combined with the affected vocal style... it's not a bad thing at all, but I wonder how dated Talking Heads albums sound now. Possibly as dated as some of this?

For a band which I think places lyricism at the centre of what they do, I find myself surprisingly bereft of memorable lyrics. Even Nigel and Senses I doubt I could sing any more of than I could previously. Certainly there are no karaoke hits.

Willful is perhaps a word I would use. Determined? AP has clearly decided that whether success was going to come a-knocking or not, he was going to stick to the plan. No tours. Double albums. His own ideas. There is a dignity in that - it's admirable.

And perhaps that's where it lands. Ultimately, there is something about it, pop or not, which isn't quite hooking me in the same way the Prefab Sprout, or Duran Duran, or even Ultravox, grabbed me at the time. I don't know if I could wholeheartedly describe myself now as a fan. But I'm certainly an admirer.