The American artist, best known for Kidrobot, Labbit the smoking rabbit and his wild, colour- saturated poster designs and graphics has unexpectedly passed away on May 6th at 61. If you grew up in the 90s, you’ll likely be familiar with his band poster images and magazine covers, with a plethora of cheeky, devilish characters.Continue reading “Frank Kozik Was Bad-Ass”
Category Archives: Lorna Irvine
Dance Preview: Too Close To The Sun
Photos by Jassy Earl You can always rely on Barrowland Ballet to create work for wee ones and families alike that is fun, playfully imaginative and yet highly multilayered. So it is with their new piece, Too Close To The Sun. Interrogating complex issues around climate change and collective anxiety, through the prism of IcarusContinue reading “Dance Preview: Too Close To The Sun”
‘Modern Life Is Rubbish ‘ is 30!
“We’ve done it”, proclaimed Damon Albarn on one of his many Select magazine covers in 1991. “We’ve killed baggy!” He’d always been a little too drunk on his own chutzpah, that lad. Still, he had a point. While jeans just got bigger and flappier, and a nation of saucer -eyed kids were getting “mad ferContinue reading “‘Modern Life Is Rubbish ‘ is 30!”
Overlooked Classics: Ezra Furman- Day Of The Dog (2013)
What a doozie. Ezra Furman ‘s second studio album after her work with The Harpoons is absolutely sublime. Inspired as much by punk rock as gospel, doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll, the song writing was kicked up several notches into something really special. Fusing her spiritual side with And Maybe God Is A Train, withContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Ezra Furman- Day Of The Dog (2013)”
Disco Pigs: A Twisted Irish Fairytale
Enda Walsh ‘s Disco Pigs as both stage play and film adaptation, the latter directed by Kirsten Sheridan, launched the career of a certain young Cillian Murphy. I’ve seen a pretty underwhelming recent version of the play, to be honest, but the 2001 film is wonderful: a blistering and beautiful concoction, with Murphy as Pig/DarrenContinue reading “Disco Pigs: A Twisted Irish Fairytale”
Album Review: Squrl- Silver Haze
There is mood music, then there’s mood music. Squrl, who are comprised of legendary film director and musician Jim Jarmusch and mega film producer and musician Carter Logan, plus some special guest collaborators, have made an exquisite, shimmering noise here in their first full-length studio album. It’s full of their trademark churning, psychedelic rock swirls,Continue reading “Album Review: Squrl- Silver Haze”
Just Step Sideways: 8 Eyed Spy
Lydia Lunch was never one to stick to a signature sound, so it was hardly surprising to anyone when Teenage Jesus and The Jerks split in the late seventies, and she formed with future composer Pat Irwin and future Nick Cave collaborator Jim Sclavunos, among others, the brilliant 8 Eyed Spy, a swampy, jazzy punkyContinue reading “Just Step Sideways: 8 Eyed Spy”
Woody Allen’s Dialogue Problem
Culture war issues aside, there are many reasons to dislike Woody Allen these days. It’s frustrating, as regardless of his less than healthy attitudes to women and certain ethnic groups (what did Armenian people ever do to him? Seriously?) he made some good films from the seventies -nineties, and did great stand-up in the sixties.Continue reading “Woody Allen’s Dialogue Problem”
Why ‘The Magic Toyshop’ Endures
It’s almost unthinkable nowadays, but Angela Carter wrote about dark themes like violence and sexuality in fairytales, when no-one else dared. She was completely prescient. In these days of binge watching, we’re used to Netflix shows and horror film tropes, where young women dressed as sexy wicked stepmothers offer apples to pouting Snow Whites, andContinue reading “Why ‘The Magic Toyshop’ Endures”
The Mumfordisation of Indie
I call them “Lammo bands” (with no disrespect to Steve Lamacq whatsoever, he’s a nice fella) . You know them, the wholesome side of indie. More Jonas Brothers than Joan As Police Woman, more Marcus Mumford than Mark E Smith, they are ubiquitous. They really are. They’re indie with the edges sanded off, nice folksContinue reading “The Mumfordisation of Indie”
Hit The North 