Cate Blanchett gives an Oscar nominated performance as Lydia Tar, an *EGOT winning composer and conductor who is starting to spiral in real time. Written and directed by Todd Field,the film is an intense and claustrophobic study of genius, identity, cancel culture and the corrosive effects of social media. The camera acts effectively as aContinue reading “Film Review : Tar (2022)”
Category Archives: Music
Should’ve Been A Hit: Addis Black Widow- Innocent
There was a period in the mid-nineties when De La Soul’s positive hip hop permeated through to other artists. There was the cheesy but loving (Arrested Development, Dream Warriors’ later era) and the more credible (Jurassic 5). They mined the sunnier side of funk jams and yet the lyrics were still spicy. So it wasContinue reading “Should’ve Been A Hit: Addis Black Widow- Innocent”
Lost In Music : Holy Motors – Hellishly Hot
The recent single from the Estonian indie band is a slinky little minx, with shimmering Cure-esque synth, Eliann Tulve’s typically yearning vocals and twangy guitar. It’s atmospheric and sleepy, but there’s a current of unease, like night sweats. “Hellishly Hot”, indeed. A new album, full of sadness and tarnished dreams, is forthcoming, for warmth throughoutContinue reading “Lost In Music : Holy Motors – Hellishly Hot”
Album Review: Arab Strap- Half-Told Tales
This new album, the ninth from the inimitable Falkirk duo, sees Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton on fire. It’s not often that a band gets a new lease of life later into their career, but then, they’ve always been one to buck trends. Few speak to the creeping malaise as accurately as The Strap. FromContinue reading “Album Review: Arab Strap- Half-Told Tales”
Dolly Forever
Dolly has left us. What can we say that hasn’t already been said? Singer, songwriter, philanthropist, icon, champion of LGBTQI rights, Grammy Award winner, Hollywood Star of Fame winner, actor, theme park creator. 100 million records sold worldwide, endlessly quotable, forever recognised, and not bad for a lil gal who grew up- the fourth childContinue reading “Dolly Forever”
Five Cure Gems
I should really be at The Cure Summer Session show in Edinburgh today, but wondered if they’d live up to how I imagine them. I’ve been into the band since around 1984, so it’d be partially nostalgia. Saying that, the last album is wonderful too. £85 for two bands I’d like to see isn’t reallyContinue reading “Five Cure Gems”
A Perfect Scene
One of my favourite films scenes is in Wim Wenders’ immaculate Wings Of Desire. Crime and the City Solution are playing a gig in Berlin, and the beautiful Marion, played by Solveig Dommartin, dances, freed from her circus job, arms flailing. An angel, Damiel, played by Bruno Ganz , has fallen in love with her.Continue reading “A Perfect Scene”
Kate Bush’s Influences
Pics of Kate Bush: John Carder Bush J W Waterhouse, ‘The Lady of Shallot’. Kate Bush was always upfront in her literary and artistic influences. She essayed The Brontes of course, but also Tennyson, Shakespeare and John William Waterhouse. Her Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic was unique in a time of punk, prog and so on, but theContinue reading “Kate Bush’s Influences”
Overlooked Classic: Dazed and Confused
Richard Linklater had already ensnared me with ‘Slacker’ (more of which,later) but ‘Dazed and Confused ‘, named of course after the Led Zep track, really cemented his storytelling process. Essentially, it’s a simple enough premise: a group of kids are looking for a beer keg party at the end of school. It focuses on theContinue reading “Overlooked Classic: Dazed and Confused”
The Rise of Sofia Isella
We all like Billie Eilish, but more recently Sofia Isella has taken her soft vocals and avant-pop to the next level. She’s gone stratospheric, a young Mexican-American poet making dark pop that references many facets of the culture wars, and I for one am grateful. Her debut, ‘I Am Camera’, is creepy pop. Take thisContinue reading “The Rise of Sofia Isella”
