The inimitable Pierrot costume from ‘Ashes to Ashes video; a Polaroid of the costume from ‘Labyrinth’. It sounds like the set-up to a really bad joke: how many Bowies can you fit into a museum? Happily, the answer is- very many. There were so many Bowies, and so little time to process them all, asContinue reading “Bowie On Tour: V & A,Dundee- A Response”
Category Archives: 2026
This Is Halloween
Few things are cuter than this wonderful song. Enjoy this thin veil betwixt the dead and the living, however you celebrate it. Jack Skellington is a mensch.
Vintage Halloween
Look at these amazing Halloween costumes from the early -mid 19th century. No plastic in sight, and extremely eerie. I’m pretty sure that the second one inspired Angine de Poitrine…
The Pitiful Commodification of Goth
Queen Nephie, subtle as ever, but more covered up here. There’s been a lot of discourse of late of the seemingly ubiquitous commodification of goth. While I can accept that this is par for the course, and has been happening since the teddy boys were appropriated by the media in the 1950s, there’s a horribleContinue reading “The Pitiful Commodification of Goth”
New Release: Orbital featuring Maxine Peake- Mother, Maiden & Crone
It must be October. The Hartnoll brothers are going full pagan techno on our arses, and I’m loving it. This arcane-school banger with witchy mutterings from the actor Maxine Peake throbs with pagan poetry, as Bjork once called it. Hand me the candles and berries. We all come from the goddess.
Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- Pillow Princess
It’s always a good day when there’s a new release from the mighty Anna Secret Poet. ‘Pillow Princess ‘ is her latest album, and as ever, there’s some great songwriting, along with new genres, all delivered with humour, pathos and experimentation. The opener, ‘Everything That Was No Longer Is’ is a melancholic, piano- driven instrumentalContinue reading “Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- Pillow Princess”
Drag Race UK Series 8 – Family Makeover Time
Flesh and Flash crush it in the makeover challenge. What an emotional week. The family makeover is always heartwarming, regardless of the outcome, as it’s lovely seeing the queens reunited with loving family members, but this was a close call, in terms of styles. Naya Thorn and her mum as River Thorn were a realContinue reading “Drag Race UK Series 8 – Family Makeover Time”
A Bad Week And The Antidote
This week was bad. Horrible news, shit weather, and a bad reaction to my medication, meaning I couldn’t cover a dance show which looked beautiful. But then I remembered an image. One to gladden the heart more than kittens, hot buttered toast and hot chocolate, and the music of Alien Sex Fiend. An icon, quickContinue reading “A Bad Week And The Antidote”
Album Review: Current Joys- Rosebud
Current Joys, headed up by Nevada musician Nick Rattigan, are best when they crank up the distortion, but that’s not to say there’s no merit in their sweeter moments too. Rattigan has a way with a bubblegum melody line, which he smears in glitches and crackles. So ‘Rosebud’ is very much about the duality. TheContinue reading “Album Review: Current Joys- Rosebud”
Too Much Nostalgia
Recently, I heard a radio interview with Adam Curtis, the brilliant documentary maker, whose style is that of cross-reference and visual metaphor. Broadly speaking, his intertextuality focuses on politics, lived experience and the way media is consumed. Often, he’s been criticised for a bleak worldview, a tendency to zoom in on all things Orwellian. ButContinue reading “Too Much Nostalgia”