Top Five out of my Inbox

Frankly, it can all get a bit much. I mean, I love sitting here, watching my in-box fill up with press releases: it reminds me that I am fortunate enough to live in a country where the arts are thriving. However, I have to make hard decisions: Black T-Shirt Collection at Tramway tonight, or Philip Jeck at Pulse: Touch 30? In the meantime, here's my latest collection of happenings across Scotland.

The RSNO have just received the Diapason d'Or de l’Année for their recording of Debussy with former musical director Stéphane Denève. 

Before Denève left in May 2012, he had made the orchestra into a veritable machine for Debussy - the conductor has a real love for the composer, and his work is beautifully pitched between modernist brevity and having a good tune. 

Hopefully, he'll come back and conduct a few shows in celebration: if not, the album is entitled Stéphane Denève Conducts Debussy and is on the Chandos label.

Still on the recording tip, Radio Hour favourites A Band Called Quinn are releasing their new album on Monday. Unfortunately, they've decided to launch it at Glasgow Loves Christmas which means I can't invite their singer onto the show and flirt pathetically with her. 

ABCQ have had a busy year: when they are not reinventing the rock gig as a theatrical performance, featuring the legendary Diane Torr as a nasty business man, singer Louise has been recording with Kid Loco or they are off supporting The Beat around Scotland. Having survived the machinations of the music industry - their Biding Time (remix) chronicled the fun they had being twisted into generic glamour fodder - ABCQ have made the jump into performance art, maintaining their smart new wave sound and sly pop sensibility. 

Over on the east coast, Cobweb Theatre Company present A Night of Fairy Tales in The Black Box at Queen Margaret University on the 7th of December. It's hard enough to make the major events these days, and now student companies are plugging into my fascination with dark fantasy and cabaret style theatre. They are including a "wonky, music based adaptation of Peer Gynt" - recently a smash hit for the NTS - and choreography featuring an intoxicating women in red and a snatch from Snow White's post-adventure marital disfunction. Now that pantomime is taking over the theatres, I'm always looking for a hit of more perplexing pleasures.

If I can get to Inverness - which isn't that likely - I wouldn't mind catching Georg-ina Porteous' Over Egging the Pudding. The result of her residency in Berlin, it is described as a durational blancmange demonstration. Failing that, there is someone blowing up lots of black, star-shaped balloons in the Briggait at the moment - I'll go and find out whether it's an exhibition or just a party for Goth children after I finish this.

Closer to home, but looking towards Christmas, the Art School is hosting an outing to SWG3. It is going to take me far too long to write a sensible preview for this - I have to remember that I am trying to empty my in-box and use my blog to make up a working timetable for my non-stop life of art action. It's one of those multi-art events that young people love so much. I'll have to send Eric, I suppose.