When I was a child there was music which was, whether you liked it or not, inescapable. I have never – and this is not a boast – deliberately or actively listened to a song by Michael Jackson, Madonna, Phil Collins, Duran Duran, Roxette, Take…
There are relatively few times in life when it’s possible to switch off your mind and enter a trance-like state without going out of your way to do so; but sitting in a classroom for a period (or better yet, a double period) of…
“Time, time, time, see what’s become of me…” When The Bangles covered Simon & Garfunkel’s A Hazy Shade of Winter in 1987, the song was 21 years and one month old, now The Bangles’ version (from the underrated – according to me – movie of…
2017, like most years but somehow more so, was filled with unpleasant things, events and people. For me though, one of the more pleasant features of the year was that I made the effort to visit art galleries more often than previously, in particular…
The news that one of your favourite novels is being made into a film or TV show is never straightforwardly pleasurable; yes, there’s an excitement about seeing scenes from the page (and from your own imaginings of them) on screen, but there’s a certain…
Currently working on several more substantial articles, but in the meantime, here’s what I’ve been listening to in the last little while; which quite a lot of actually new music, as it turns out… Julia Kent – Asperities (The Leaf Label, 2015) – a…
Naturally some crossover with last week’s since my attention span isn’t all that horribly tragic… 1. Kristin Hersh – Wyatt At The Coyote Palace (Omnibus Books, 2016) Review here! 2. ThrOes – This Viper Womb (Aesthetic Death, 2016) 2. Black Angel Drifter – Black Angel Drifter (Bastard Recordings, 2016)…
It’s been a while, so without further ado or elucidation, here’s some of what’s on the turntable (and equivalents) at present: Kristin Hersh by Billy O’Connell 1. Kristin Hersh – Wyatt At The Coyote Palace (Omnibus Books, 2016) 2. Jingo de Lunch – Perpetuum Mobile…
By this point, 2016 has started to develop its true character, mainly based on famous people dying and political and religious extremism: halcyon days! Ah well, never mind, I’ve listened to, looked at and read lots of things which passed the time pleasantly and helped…