And we’re almost done Vinyl as well! I hear there is a new showrunner for season 2, Terence Winter leaving shortly in what sound like an unexpected fashion, let’s see what uneven shenanigans they got up to on Sunday. Sorry I’m so late, stomach bug took me oot of the game for a bit. Spoilers after the break!

I’m not going to lie, I’m more excited about this change of showrunner than I should be. I struggle a bit with this show and it needs…something. It’s not cohesive, it’s not compelling, and the excellent music and period set pieces can’t quite carry the whole show, as excellent as they are.

Richie is getting bailed out by his lawyer after a weekend in jail; he’s detoxing hard and it’s not been a great couple of days. They have Richie on tape admitting to killing Buck Rogers, kinda, so he plans to claim self-defense, which it was. Kinda. In the beginning, anyway. Hmmm, he’s being hauled in for a meeting with the cops (who look much better), and since one of them is in the Organized Crime division, I’m assuming Richie is getting two options: rat on Corrado Galasso or prepare for another 30 years of detoxing in the nearest federal facility.

That’s exactly the deal, but no worries, the U.S. Attorney’s office is confident they can get enough information from Richie about Corrado Golasso without compromising himself, but Richie and his lawyer know better. But jail for manslaughter isn’t much better, so…? That there is a rock and a hard place!

Jamie sees a homeless person rifling through clothes left on the sidewalk; hey, that’s HER raggedy on purpose clothes!! I’m guessing her aunt kicked her out, and her screaming at Aunt Bellamy only gets her pushed down the stairs. Jamie’s mother does not mess around.

Richie strolls back in to the office, presumably having chosen to NOT go to jail, let’s see how that works out. There are some growing pains with Maury Gold and his label moving in; Maury needs his own girl. He doesn’t want CeCe. She has an “attitude” but I’m pretty sure he means “afro” given the hand motions. If she wants to make a point, she should do it on her own time and here’s Andrea to bring him some coffee! It’s hers, actually, and it’s Tab, but he’s welcome to it!

Side note: the Tab is in a wee little totally coffee mug that is SO very seventies; you can almost feel the ceramic engravings. It’s the little things; now we all use barrels to get our daily java, or Tab, well, Tab’s illegal now, but you get the point. Vats, not tiny little precious ugly coffee mugs with the dainty handles.

CeCe wants to know what’s going on?? Devon was there last night with the kids. It was his night and she didn’t know what to do. Richie closes the door gently in her face and goes looking for the bug.

Devon is photographing her tabloid photographer friend in the alltogether, and we get a full frontal, which is a refreshing reciprocation of Devon’s complete nudity a few episodes ago. She’s all about the art but he’s all about the money, drooling at the news that there is a roll of undeveloped snapshots of Jimi Hendrix wearing her underwear. And bunches of other rock stars; but that was when she was having private time with friends and she doesn’t want to monetize her friendships just yet, FANKS.

She’s getting uncomfortable, but he says he only wants to talk about her finances so she won’t run out and have to leave… I am distracted because his merkin is on display and without all the rest of the hair on his face, he kinda looks like a young Rob Lowe. He’s a hustler, Devon. He’s hustling, that’s what he DO.

More tiny seventies coffee mugs, Richie and everyone is in an A&R meeting when Maury walks in; no way this guy isn’t looking to scoop all their acts, the paying ones anyway. But no, first he wants for Rondelay Records (his label) and American Century to put out a 50s compilation, which NOBODY wants but Richie is too afraid to say no. Andrea breaks some good news, Hannibal can be back in their roster again; it takes Jackie Jervais months to draw up contracts and Hannibal only went there because of Andrea anyway. That was actually the night that Richie’s marriage died, so I’m pretty sure he remembers that. CeCe runs out crying (she was bouncing on Hannibal) and they put a pin in it, Zak pushing his Gary  / Xavier and Julie wondering where Jamie is? With Nasty Bits, trying to keep a needle out of Kip’s arm.

Jamie is with Kip, true enough, but working more on breakfast than keeping him focused on his career. He picks at her for not ever staying for breakfast before and awww he’s kind of cute when he’s not being an ahole. Like, talking. He’s cute when he’s not talking.

Jorge can’t believe that AC is dumping Indigo (dance band?) instead of Donny Osmond and maybe Clark sees a way through. The current thinking is that dance music people (dancers?) don’t buy music, but maybe Jorge could promote from underground and ehhh I’m talking out my bum. I’ll let the show tell us.

The show is telling us that Richie is having a serious cocaine withdrawal problem. It’s all he can focus on during an upper level meeting in his office with Zak, Joe Corso, Skip and Maury Gold. There’s something hinky with Maury, of course, but we’re not find that out just yet. It’s something to do with Corrado Golasso, of course. He needed Maury’s space for something and CG’s daughter likes Latino men, it’s a long story.

Kip and Jamie roll into the Nasty Bits (I swear, dude, I saw the cassette tape, it said Nasty Bitz, but everything else says Bits, so I’m gonna roll with the idea that Richie changed it when he signed them) photo shoot. There’s a concept, but Kip doesn’t like the constable costume with a powdered wig. He left England to NOT be defined by the crown, mate! Punters, wankers, mingers, he can do this all day! His new guitarist wants to know why it matters? And Kip challenges the guitarist about his own vanity; him with his comb in his back pocket. Long story short (too late!), Kip cutting dude’s hair will be the cover. Since they haven’t given a name and he’s completely unrecognisable with the wig, I’m going to assume the guitarist is Alex (Val Emmitch). Probably-Alex and Jamie have an oddly intimate moment that Andrea notices.

Julie checks in on Richie sleeping on his couch. He has an artist he wants to suggest they grab: Bruce Springsteen. He’s at Columbia, but his records aren’t doing much and Julie figures Bruce has a soulful throwback vibe that makes more sense than say, the Nasty Bits. He’s doubting himself though, he doesn’t get the Bits and hey, he saw Devon the other night. I think that was when she met the smarmy photographer, but he doesn’t mention that.

He does think Richie should try to get Devon back, though, he didn’t do that when his Shirley left and this is SO LIKE BILLIONS LAST WEEK, or maybe it just stands out a bit for me right now. Anyway, he doesn’t know if he wants Shirley back (Richie’s trying to follow along), but what is Maury Fcuking Gold doing here?? They need capital! That’s what he’s doing there and enough! There is no music without money so sometimes they gotta get a little slimy. Or something close to that.

CeCe knocks and asks if she can come in, sitting as Richie says no and looks completely flabbergasted at how little control he has over anything in his life. She cries and it must be about Hannibal. Is she pregnant?

Jamie comes back to get all the dope from the office for the photo shoot, oh, Alex IS Alex, yay! And Andrea is PISSED that Jamie is clearly fcuking the talent. As is CeCe, but I was right, she IS pregnant and leaves when Andrea attacks her for being so stupid. She says a bunch of things that can’t be transcribed, but the upshot is, you can’t do your job as an A&R rep if your mouth is full. And essentially says this:

Oooohh, it’s much more close to home than that; Andrea must have aborted Richie’s baby and she isn’t over it yet. Heather listens carefully as Lester walks in….ooooh shite. I’d forgotten that it was Maury or Corrado Golasso’s goons that destroyed his voicebox. Just then Richie remembers too, seeing Lester’s face. He runs after him, but Lester does not understand. Richie’s lawyer Harlan is on the phone!

Back at the Chelsea, a gorgeous Ingrid is showing off exactly how much of a parent she ISN’T, given her choice to go shopping with Devon’s kiddos AFTER the little girl peed in her dress. Devon has no clue what she’s doing and her divorce fantasy coming true is starting to freak her out.

Richie is visiting Dev at the Chelsea; it doesn’t start so well when he goes to the wrong door and a nekkid man answers. He’s directed two doors down, where he hears Billy grunting and walks in to find…Billy swinging a racket at a bat. I wonder if that’s the same racket Richie and Devon, well, Richie, were using in therapy in The Racket! These two grown men are scurred shitless of a bat and I guess I understand, them both having exactly the type of long luscious locks bats love to fly into. Oh hey, Richie, meet Billy! He’s banging your wife! Richie accidentally hits Billy in the head and just as they’re looking at his bleedy scalp wound Richie figures out who this must be. Billy edges out of the room

In comes Devon, Richie can’t believe she developed and posted the pictures of his destruction of their living room for the kids to see; but you know, they saw it first hand too, Richie. She threatens to block him from seeing the kids again if he stands them up again and it looks to me like a “good” divorce is about as likely as Hell freezing over. Like when you don’t want to go right to the “I will take your Legos if you hit your brother again” immediately, you want to keep that as the biggie, but then the next time they move, it’s all “I won’t let you see the kids!!” and that’s a bit convoluted but I think you get what I mean.

I can’t stop the huge snort when Devon says “Don’t act like this is what I wanted!” when that has been clearly ALL she’s wanted since Day One. She’s been moping around Greenwich since the beginning, mooning over her trips to the city and just DYING to get shut of Richie and that lifestyle. That didn’t happen overnight.

He makes a run at her, but that door is closed. Ingrid will be going to dinner with him and the kids, aww he loves them so much.

Jamie is fixing Alex’s haircut back at Kip’s apartment, no way this won’t get awkward FAST with the vibe between Jamie and Alex. The best I can hope for at this point is an uncomplicated threeway, but really, is there such a thing? Lots of meaningful eyecuddling all around and The Queen of Nasty Bits crawls onto Alex’s bed from Kip’s lap. Aaahhhh more nipple slobbering, so WEIRD in non-prawn work. HBO, right on the cutting edge.

MOAR meetings in Richie’s office, this time with just Zak and Skip; Skip leaving Richie and Zak to moodily contemplate their navels. How do these guys drink and do coke all day and stick around for 18 hours?? Richie is still bummed about his meet with Devon and the kids. Zak tries to write it off as a usual thing, but Devon’s slept with someone else now, and Richie…tried to.

Jorge and Clark are at the underground club again; Jorge wants his DJ friend to listen to Indigo; track 4, the fourth track Clark helpfully explains. The crowd HATES it, they want the funk! At the back, though, you can see people start to dance…it’s going! It’s in with a chance!

Zak and Skip are hanging out in Zak’s office, seriously, what time is it?? How do they have time to do all this? Logistics aside, a casino honcho calls; she’d like Zak the Whale, the Premium Player, to come back to Vegas real soon and spend a night in their VIP suite; she’ll send a private jet and everything! Ohhh any minute he’s gonna realise that’s a pretty big freebie for someone who played Blackjack drunk for $800. Skip says no, Premium Players drop in the neighbourhood of $50k a night, all while rolling a joint, yay multi-tasking! Zak’s starting to wonder…if he figures it out that he mortgaged his house because he felt guilty while Richie blew all that money on the tables…I can’t see how their friendship or business relationship can come back from that. That was some straight up shaaaaadddy shite of Richie, in a long string of shaaadyyyyy shite from Richie.

Richie hands CeCe money for the abortion while Zak stares at him in horror. I think Zak might actually try to kill Richie. He starts with a punch to the nose in the elevator and then more kicks and Richie doesn’t even try to defend himself. He knows he’s broken Zak.

It’s not looking good for Kip at his apartment, waking to find Alex and Jamie wrapped around each other and he on the outside. That was such not a good idea.

A bloody Richie goes to see Devon and he tells her ALL of it; killing Buck, why he was trying to handle it without telling her, because it wasn’t the first time he killed someone (he accidentally killed their friend Ernst) and that’s why he fell off the wagon and he’s really trying. She says…nuffing. So he turns and walks into the night; understanding finally that Devon is not about them.

Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix plays and honestly; remember when music MOVED you?

He goes to the corporate apartment; staring at the picture of his guitar through his TV and listening to the Nasty Bits recording. He decides just then, calling his lawyer: he wants to take the deal.

And we’re out to Stay With Me Baby and nobody’s staying with anyone today; it’s a bloodbath all around. See you next week!