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Tracey Thorn is a musician and writer, best known as one half of Everything but the Girl. She writes the fortnightly “Off the Record” column for the New Statesman. Her books include Naked at the Albert Hall, Bedsit Disco Queen and, most recently, Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia
I embark on the new Hilary Mantel novel, The Mirror and the Light, and immediately find myself lost in it, grateful to be swirled back through the centuries, to 1536.
To my surprise they each return quite speedily with the news that they will meet me in Soho at 7:30pm.
I spent much of Thursday staring at men.
In new Netflix documentary Miss Americana, we watch Swift’s need to please people build up, both motivating and sometimes crushing her.
You don’t go to Madonna for vulnerability: she is all about self-determination, pleasure and defiance.
My amusement at finding myself soundtracking such a happy day coincided with my becoming hooked on a podcast about unhappy couples.
In December, I retreat back into the past.
Drinking bourbon on stage was one of my highlights of the year. It’s not always books and films and songs – sometimes it’s just moments.
Here’s how I described Grease in my 1978 diary: “My God it was so corny. I was really bored cos’ it was so awful. One nice bloke in it (not John Revolta).”
As if all this emotion isn’t enough, the next day I visit the Anne Frank Museum. The experience is much as I expected, sombre and dispiriting.
