He is a rum one, that Quentin Smirhes. Mustard of knitwear, mercurial of mood, you never quite know what to expect from him. He is a little tetchy, sans tea and custard creams, of an afternoon. So we thought a toy jack in the box would be tickety-boo to lift his mood. We were wrong,Continue reading “Quentin Smirhes v the Fisher Price Box”
Tag Archives: Lorna Irvine
The Joy Of Kenneth
Drink up your strawberry Nesquik/Creamola Foam, finish the last crumbs of Findus Crispy Pancakes, peas and oven chips, and make a spirited dash to the wood-panelled TV set. It’s Kenneth time! Not a Kenny, most certainly not a Ken, Kenneth is a benign, smiling presence in a world of doubt. He’s crimplene- lean, a clean,Continue reading “The Joy Of Kenneth”
Victorians and Cats
Being a Goth of a certain vintage, this post was perhaps inevitable. Victorian and Edwardian people really liked dressing up their cats (often stuffed) and sometimes posed them in a variety of wacky domestic situations. For a seemingly buttoned-up generation, they were incredibly strange and morbid. We can only wonder why this trend prevailed. Nowadays,Continue reading “Victorians and Cats”
Album Review: Tindersticks- Past Imperfect-The Best of Tindersticks,92-21
In many ways, Tindersticks have long been a band out of time, oblivious to any prevailing trend. They emerged as Grunge and Britpop were tearing up student dancefloors, and DJs hadn’t quite yet attained superstar status, but club culture was ascending. Their beautifully- crafted melancholy, hugely orchestral and lush, belonged to an era of polishedContinue reading “Album Review: Tindersticks- Past Imperfect-The Best of Tindersticks,92-21”
Everyone Is (Not) A Critic
M’ colleague and friend Gareth K Vile once wrote a brilliant article on the role of the critic, citing the lack of quality, and waspishly gave tips such as “write in full sentences”. You would think that this would be a prerequisite, but as I wrote in our previous blog The Tempo House, the riseContinue reading “Everyone Is (Not) A Critic”
The Great Scottish Diet
Nothing brings a Proustian rush of nostalgia quite like the consumption of sugary Scottish snacks. Tunnocks Tea Cakes are a popular one, after decades, made with either mallow, jam and chocolate, or chocolate and whipped icing sugar, depending on which option you go for. Either way, it’s diabetes on a plate. This goes for ourContinue reading “The Great Scottish Diet”
Some Graffiti in Glasgow
There’s always something inspiring about good graffiti. I like the anonymity and the transience, because it can be painted over at any time. This one was found in Cowcaddens subway in the autumn of last year, and I really like it. It’s somehow not unlike an Expressionist figure, like one of Munch’s willowy women. IContinue reading “Some Graffiti in Glasgow”
Album Review: Bodega – Broken Equipment
NYC’s Bodega have massive expectations from their fanbase for this second studio album, the follow-up to impressive debut Endless Scroll. The band and film makers are an acerbic riot of humour, self-awareness and leftwing politics and musically fall somewhere between the sarcastic indie snarl of Pavement and the insistent house party groove of LCD Soundsystem.Continue reading “Album Review: Bodega – Broken Equipment”
Album Review: Cate Le Bon- Pompeii
Even at her sweetest, Welsh avant-pop artist Cate Le Bon is always wilfully opaque. This, her sixth album, is even murkier than before. There’s nothing as driving here as Mother’s Mother’s Magazines or even Sisters. What there is instead feels like a series of dizzy spells, which seems appropriate for our weird and frightening times.Continue reading “Album Review: Cate Le Bon- Pompeii”
Disney’s Dream Debased: Alice
Few film makers are as incredible as the mighty Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer. Like so many people of my generation, I was first aware of him in the early 90s, when Channel 4 screened his singular adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, abbreviated to simply Alice Alice, created in 1988, was a revelation. Beautiful, disturbingContinue reading “Disney’s Dream Debased: Alice”
Hit The North 