Beth Ditto- who should be praised for having such an eclectic playlist on 6Music – hit a bum note this morning when playing Candy by Ravyn Lenae. It gives me the ick. I don’t mind idiosyncratic voices, obviously. I like Bjork, although her pixie nonsense was often pretty annoying in the nineties. Alison Shaw, ClaireContinue reading “Baby Voices”
Category Archives: Pop culture
“I’ve had a great night… This wasn’t one of them!”
All too often , art critics are dismissed as being malcontents like The Muppets’ Statler and Waldorf, curmudgeonly, jaded old men who find no joy or pleasure in anything. But that’s both unfair and unhelpful. When poring over the music press as a teen, I knew this was what I wanted to do. Some epiphanyContinue reading ““I’ve had a great night… This wasn’t one of them!””
Iggy and The Stooges,1970 TV Broadcast
In 1970, nobody had seen the like of Iggy Pop. A writhing Dionysus, feline, stalking, feral creature, he was, as Iggy himself said, the antithesis of “are you having a good time, ladies and gentlemen”. The Stooges were wild, psychedelic, anti-cliche, unafraid to experiment. This clip from a Cincinnati gig, shows the Igster getting upContinue reading “Iggy and The Stooges,1970 TV Broadcast”
Amy Winehouse: Fifteen Years Gone
It’s hard to believe, but we lost Amy Winehouse just over fifteen years ago. Here’s a wonderful clip of her first appearance on the ‘Jonathan Ross Show’. What sass, talent and humour, and she looked lovely too. She’s so missed.
My Most Overlooked Classic: Les Amants du Pont Neuf
Often, I think this may be my favourite film of all time. It’s between this and ‘Paris,Texas’ because of the way the mood resonates. ‘Wings Of Desire’ is another example. Leos Carax has the reputation for being an opaque, somewhat self-indulgent director. ‘Holy Motors’, for example, is batshit crazy and experimental to almost the pointContinue reading “My Most Overlooked Classic: Les Amants du Pont Neuf”
From Across the Arts Archive: Liz Aggiss-The English Channel
Arts:Blog Festival Review: Liz Aggiss–The English Channel ***** Posted by Across the Arts on August 27, 2015, at 11.27pm Lorna Irvine reviews a production with a woman who’s ‘hilarious and badass’. That Liz Aggiss is not a daily part of the school curriculum, along with free dinners, free speech and any kind of hope whatsoever is aContinue reading “From Across the Arts Archive: Liz Aggiss-The English Channel”
Overlooked Classic: Plan 9 From Outer Space
Ah, pity poor misunderstood Ed Wood Jr. He was a man with a dream, a love of pink angora, and a movie camera. No matter that he barely scraped a storyboard together: in his head IT ALL MADE SENSE. Let’s ignore his dreadful nudie cutie film nonsense and zoom in on his masterwork, For thereContinue reading “Overlooked Classic: Plan 9 From Outer Space”
Every Generic Animated Sitcom
You’ve seen them, broader than Broadway, written by manatees, lacking humanity, and punching down. Alasdair Beckett- King’s parody absolutely nails it. *Cue canned laughter, disproportionate whooping and applause*
It’s All A Bit Rainbow Rhythms
‘Peep Show’ created by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, was always brilliant for capturing the zeitgeist. Now, looking back, it’s an accurate time capsule, and we can remember exactly where we were when Mark and Jez were making total dicks of themselves with their latest unsuitable crush, or ridiculous scheme. One episode, though, remains goldContinue reading “It’s All A Bit Rainbow Rhythms”
Lost In Music: Fini Tribe*
If Pet Shop Boys are perceived as the pop Gilbert and George, then Edinburgh’s Fini Tribe (sometimes written as finitribe) were DADA. Formed in 1982, there were originally six members: Phillip Pinsky, Chris Connelly, Davie Miller ,John Vick, Andy McGregor and Simon McGlynn. Together, they fused post-punk radicalism with strong visual art, samples and beats,Continue reading “Lost In Music: Fini Tribe*”
