Reverend Jesse Jackson has died. A key figure of the civil rights movement and instrumental in getting Barack Obama to the White House, his upbringing was tough. He was tougher, yet his message was that of peace and unity. A brilliant orator and a great man. There’s a song that I immediately thought of whenContinue reading “A Song For Jesse Jackson”
Category Archives: Lorna Irvine
Lost In Music: Joshua Idehen – Mum Does The Washing
Truly one of the best lyrical jams of the last five years, this sly and surreal piece of spoken word describes our screwed-up times in an eloquent, deadpan way that makes me chuckle every time. I can’t wait for his debut album..The video is also excellent. I’m not a mum, and never will be, butContinue reading “Lost In Music: Joshua Idehen – Mum Does The Washing”
Archive Review : The Punk Singer
Arts:Blog Cinema Review: The Punk Singer Posted by Across the Arts on March 4, 2014, at 8.20am “Girls to the Front!” Lorna Irvine reviews the celebration of music icon Kathleen Hanna. Once upon a time in the early nineties, long before Britney, Beyonce, Miley and Ri-Ri, Bikini Kill, along with Bratmobile, Huggy Bear, Die Cheerleader, Lois and Sleater Kinney, were part ofContinue reading “Archive Review : The Punk Singer”
Disney Villains
Ever since I was a child, I found Snow White and the like pretty insipid. They just seemed to waft around waiting for things to happen, they had little to no agency. Good girls and boys were boring. I liked the villains., or the creepy ones. Cruella DeVil is a style icon, albeit one thatContinue reading “Disney Villains”
Donald Trump Photo Dump
Happy Valentine’s Day,y’all. Some of his finest looks for you to savour in perpetuity… sorry ladies,he’s spoken for. Sorta. Dominick Reuter/Reuters Cartman when he discovers irony. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Making a bigly fist of politics. Carlos Barria/Reuters That time a journalist asked him his opinion about the separation of church and state. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Uncle DonContinue reading “Donald Trump Photo Dump”
Lost In Music: David Bowie – Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Remix)
This is a cut from The Next Day, a remix by James Murphy for DFA featuring the one and only Steve Reich, sampling his ‘Clapping Music’ and a soupcon of Bowie’s ‘Ashes to Ashes’. The clown is faded- the hat may be jaunty, but love is lost.It’s at once a jump forward and a lookContinue reading “Lost In Music: David Bowie – Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Remix)”
Album Review : Maria BC- Marathon
Non-binary, California -based artist Maria BC has a duality to their work. This, their third album, occupies liminal spaces between sleeping and awake states. Their gorgeous ambient sounds can turn from soothing to jarring. It keeps the listener on their toes. Maria BC is a classically trained vocalist, and it shows. Their range is subtleContinue reading “Album Review : Maria BC- Marathon”
30 Years Of Baz Luhrmann’s “Star Cross’d Lovers”
As Valentine’s Day doth approacheth, I take a look at the enduring classic, as reimagined by Australian director Baz Luhrmann. I bloody HATED Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet when I first saw it at the cinema in 1996. I felt that transposing the Shakespeare classic to Venice Beach and bringing in nineties slackers in HawaiianContinue reading “30 Years Of Baz Luhrmann’s “Star Cross’d Lovers””
The Gaulier Effect
Phillippe Gaulier has passed away at the age of 82. The French clown genius who alongside mentor Jacques Lecoq taught Bouffon clowning as well as more traditional technique, was a real trailblazer, teaching to countless actors and performers. Eschewing the more rigid, serious Stanislavsky method which was so beloved by a whole generation of methodContinue reading “The Gaulier Effect”
TV Review: Small Prophets
Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) is a man living life on pause. His girlfriend Clea went missing on Christmas Eve seven years ago, and never returned. He’s unable to move on and stuck in a literal dead end (a suburban Manchester cul-de-sac). Working in a DIY store, where he cracks wise with his one friend KaseyContinue reading “TV Review: Small Prophets”
Hit The North 