The advancement of NotGash music, over Gash music.
"Oh, people reckon I like kinda weird stuff" is my stock answer. But you'll be after some names, so here are some: KLF (honestly, has there ever been a better group than the KLF though, seriously?), Singing Sadie (Aussie showgirl heartbreaker), Al Duvall (banjo genius), The Boredoms (aaaaaaeeeeeeeeiiii!), DJ Scotch Egg (KFC-core!), V/Vm (most memourable gig of my life), Pet Shop Boys (35 quid a ticket for the Sage? Jesus. Still going though), Erasure (not made a decent record in over ten years like; its still twenty less than Iggy Pop), Aphex Twin (early stuff mind, Luke Vibert's acid stuff widdles on the Analord gear from a great height), Arcade Fire (before they turned into Mike and the Mechanics), Maximo Park ("ME!"), Sufjan Stevens (am I the only one who likes the Illinois outtakes album better than the original?), Field Music (more talented than you), d_rradio (if there was any justice in the world, their next album would sell 6.3 billion copies, one for every person on the planet), AIDS Wolf (remarkable live band; singer nearly got her blit out when I caught them), Cathode (the don of north-eastern chambertronica), Mushi Mushi ("like a sledgehammer to the face"), Ultra Shit Inferno (the best shit band I have ever seen), Dressed In Wires (laptop mentalist extrodinaire; somehow has record on sale in HMV for 13 quid), Pulp (Jarvis being responsible for pushing The KLF into second-place for "Best Brit Award Moment"), Camera Obscura (so twee, they poo Haribo), Daft Punk (well, for one glorious album), Schooly D (yeah, white boy, Jay-Z's the best rapper ever, right? Dick.), Mogwai ("I heard they went to Catholic school. Pricks"), Ganja Kru (the S, the U, the P the E the R), The Unit Ama (rural Northumberland shitkickers), Moira Stewart (who just realised they spelt their own name wrong the other week), early 90s old-skool hardcore, mid-90s happy hardcore, late-90s gabber. More to come when I can bothered. Going through a twee phase at the moment; THIS MUST CHANGE.
I have a really short attention span, so getting me to sit through something for ninety minutes is an achievement. I lean towards documentaries and comedy though.
If you don't like Curb Your Enthusiasm, we can never be friends. Really getting into Penn & Teller's 'Bullshit!' at the moment too. Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe also stimulates.
The Manual (How To Have A Number One The Easy Way) by The Timelords; My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry For The Prize - The Creation Records story by David Cavanagh; Rude Kids by Chris Donald
Bill Drummond; Delia Derbyshire.