Photo: Ian Harrison I can still remember the first time I saw the divine Kate Bush,after all this time. I was only little, she was performing on Top Of the Pops, and she both fascinated and terrified me, singing Wuthering Heights. I thought she was possibly a witch. Now I know she is. Her wideContinue reading “Kate Bush Is Our Goth Big Sister”
Category Archives: Pop culture
Kidcore: The Aesthetic That Refuses To Grow Up
A clearly delighted model. Maybe we do become a facsimile of what we once were in our youth, but Helena Bonham -Carter, who frequently makes the “worst dressed” lists in style magazines, remains a style icon to me, a goth in the punky Victorian mode, or what came to be known as “steampunk”. I likeContinue reading “Kidcore: The Aesthetic That Refuses To Grow Up”
Scream If You Love Nosferatu
Lily-Rose Depp in Nosferatu. Everyone- audiences and critics alike – seemed to adore Robert Eggers’ recent version of Nosferatu, but I must confess it left me bored. It looks beautiful, with a painterly touch homaging the German Expressionism of the 1922 F W Murnau classic. But it feels reductive, style over substance with little newContinue reading “Scream If You Love Nosferatu”
Music As Vitamin D
When the morning sun hurts too much after bouts of menopausal insomnia, and it’s hard to crawl out of bed, there’s one tune that will give me that much-needed shot of vitamin D. It’s got a bounce like Tigger, but scratches with its sharp talons. It’s from the era of Britpop but was deemed “shoegazing”.Continue reading “Music As Vitamin D”
Film Review: Maisie
There’s a certain kind of Drag on the UK that doesn’t involve death drops and pole dancing. Instead, it falls within the pantomime, vaudeville theatre and cabaret tradition: think singing the songs from A Chorus Line, rather than lip syncing to Lady Gaga. Lee Cooper ‘s warm and low-key film offers the exemplar of thisContinue reading “Film Review: Maisie”
Film Review: A Complete Unknown
Another year, another music biopic about a problematic genius. James Mangold has of course got previous with Walk The Line. A Complete Unknown isn’t much of a departure from the Johnny Cash film, as it’s also a good character study. Here, the truculent rebel is one Bob Dylan, right at the start of his career.Continue reading “Film Review: A Complete Unknown”
Film Review: The Public Image Is Rotten (2017)
Director Tarrbert Fiiller’s documentary on Public Image Ltd. is downbeat, insightful and strangely touching, poking at the open wounds involved when working alongside the inimitable John Lydon. With rare access to interviews with the imp himself, plus ex-band members like Keith Levene, Allan Dias and Martin Atkins, it’s more intimate and candid than your average,Continue reading “Film Review: The Public Image Is Rotten (2017)”
Goodbye Glesga… For a bit.
Glasgow is a glorious city, full of contrasts: it’s the “Dear Green Place”; yet struggles with violence and gangland beefs. It’s modern, yet can be reactionary as hell. People can be wonderful, and I lived there over two decades. The buzz, bands, dance and theatre on my doorstep and the multiculturalism were glorious. However, theContinue reading “Goodbye Glesga… For a bit.”
I Like Anti-Musicals
Poor old Joker: Folie a Deux. Todd Phillips ‘ sequel absolutely TANKED last year, because nobody wanted to see a musical that depressing. I’ve only got round to watching it myself, as I’m not the biggest admirer of Lady Gaga. But guess what? I loved it. For me, it succeeds as an anti -musical, becauseContinue reading “I Like Anti-Musicals”
TV Review: Video Nasty
This dark comedy drama series arrives at an interesting time, in the wake of eighties nostalgia franchises like ‘Stranger Things’ and more recently Tim Burton’s underwhelming sequel, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’. Written by Hugh Travers and directed by Christopher Smith and Megan K Fox, it’s steeped in the pop culture of that decade, right down to MaryContinue reading “TV Review: Video Nasty”
Hit The North 