Three Record Labels And Some Records

Some people follow singers and bands, but it takes a special kind of obsessive to follow a record label. Small indie record labels were willed into existence as a result of major label complacency; they were a necessary presence, a revitalising shot in the limp arm of a dying, overblown music industry back in the…

I Wanted To Write About Robert Cormier

Some writers defy categorisation. They cannot be filed, stamped, or absorbed. Yes, you may find their books in certain areas of the book shop or the library, but essentially these writers remain difficult to anticipate, their work always surprising and interesting. I'd place Francesca Lia Block, Cory Doctorow, Sam Pink, Kathy Acker, Jason Starr, Jeff…

The Night Nu Metal Died…Or Did It?

Nu-Metal. Everyone hates and disdains it, but for teenagers hooked on S Club 7 or Steps, it was poppy enough to lure them away from the fake smiles and slick dance routines, and loud enough that it appealed to their burgeoning - some might say inevitable - rebellious streak. Just like other genres of music,…

The Best Doctor Who Story In The Universe Ever

Choosing which wire to clip on a ticking bomb is probably much easier than choosing a favourite episode of Doctor Who. There are literally decades worth of stories and episodes to choose from, all those different Doctors and their companions friends. You have the Era you grew up watching (for me The McCoy Era), then…

Years Later, The Craft Continues To Cast A Spell On Me

Decades after being released to mixed reviews and a good showing at the box office, The Craft continues to be revered and relevant, a preciously guarded artefact for an entire generation of teens who have now grown up into adulthood. An argument could - and probably has on a billion other blogs - be made…

Rituals on Halloween

It was when my friend Claire decided to 'check the pizza' for the fifth time in three minutes that I realised she didn't like fictional murderous killer dolls with ginger hair. Horror movies on Halloween have always been part of our annual ritual, though not all of them are to Claire's liking. And her opinion…

Hall Of Fame: Disgraceful by Dubstar

Hall Of Fame is the strand of this blog where I discuss my favourite things. It might be a book, an album, a movie or a video game. The Britpop boom saw nearly every band with a guitar get signed up by a major label. Sometimes these bands were very recognisably Britpop in their appearance…