I have certain rituals that I carry out every year around this time. It's how I survive the winter. There are certain television shows I re-watch for comfort in the cold. For instance, December doesn't feel right unless I sit through Christmas With The Joker, my favourite episode of Batman: The Animated Series and The… Continue reading The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
The second best album of 2004 was also the least likely to succeed. It's essentially a lo-fi electronic pop record that sounds like it came from a geek's bedroom. It's simple, effective, but most of all...affecting. Songs of aching hearts and thwarted love sit snugly alongside each other. This is a Cut Copy that isn't… Continue reading Bright Like Neon Love by Cut Copy
The Dead Kennedys. They're the most 'punk' punk band of all time. They represent the highest standard in which all other punk bands should be judged. As a band, as a force, they were political, righteous, and always willing to fight for their beliefs. What a lot of people didn't get (and still don't) is… Continue reading Frankenchrist by Dead Kennedys
The Saturday night time slot on BBC1 has always been traditionally family-oriented. It was where Doctor Who sat snugly for decades. By the 90s, with Doctor Who temporarily rested (except in the New Adventure novels), there was space for something else. Something...glossier. Something American. Superman made sense for Saturday night television. But the Superman TV… Continue reading Lois & Clark, I still love you. Oh yes I do!
Years before Prodigy released their seminal Fat Of The Land, there was Atari Teenage Riot making a racket with their acerbic digital punk. The Future of War, their second album, was the logical conclusion of the futuristic fusion of aggressive guitar riffs and skull-caving beats. Atari Teenage Riot's original incarnation - Alec Empire, Hanin Elias,… Continue reading The Future Of War by Atari Teenage Riot
1986. THATCHER'S BRITAIN. THE FINANCIAL 'BIG BANG' SAW THE RICH GET RICHER. RIOTS ERRUPT IN PRISONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND MICKY SWIFT IS STILL ON THE DOLE! Sooner or Later is something of a lost masterpiece, occupying the back page of 2000AD. But while most writers and artists would struggle to do anything interesting in… Continue reading Sooner Or Later by Peter Milligan & Brendan McCarthy
Some records are defiantly underground. Others are absolutely mainstream. Then there's Goo by Sonic Youth. Though released on a major label (Geffen), it looks and sounds like the work of artists hellbent on confusing the listener. Sonic Youth always had the reputation of confounding expectations; they were serious about what they did but had a… Continue reading Goo by Sonic Youth
