I call my doctor, and am subsequently third in the queue. I’m mesmerized by the hold music, reassuring warm piano ostinatos that go on and on till the point of tedium. I imagine it’s the theme to a sitcom. The sitcom is American, as is so often the case. We open on a bunch ofContinue reading “Hold Music”
Tag Archives: Music
A Kathy Acker Playlist
I’ve been reading the great Kathy Acker again, someone whose blunt, unvarnished prose is like steel and concrete. She’s timeless because Americans are, as we are in the UK too, struggling to make ends meet. Her books represent the desperation, the lost love, family stress, romantic disappointments and the defiance of those who slipped throughContinue reading “A Kathy Acker Playlist”
Has Pop (Culture) Eaten Itself?
Have we finally reached saturation point with internet culture? I ask as I stumbled upon The Kiffness (pictured above) the other day, aka. the musician David Scott on YouTube who creates songs based around “singing cat” videos, playing an actual gig, with a proper audience, all of whom were singing along to him, and theContinue reading “Has Pop (Culture) Eaten Itself?”
Overlooked Classic: My Bloody Valentine -You Made Me Realise EP
The swooning gods and goddesses of noise, My Bloody Valentine created this EP in 1987, when bands like Sonic Youth has already laid down the blueprint. Melody and harmony was given a kicking in an alleyway. You Made Me Realise EP is a masterpiece, from artwork to tracks. It’s everything I love about art: melancholic,Continue reading “Overlooked Classic: My Bloody Valentine -You Made Me Realise EP”
Lost In Music: David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes
The best art often frightens me. When I was five, Kate Bush doing ‘Wuthering Heights’ made me think she was a witch. Now I love witches. Two years later, David Bowie freaked me out in ‘Ashes to Ashes’. It wasn’t him, per se, in his little Pierrot clown outfit, It was the strange space ageContinue reading “Lost In Music: David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes”
Bad Cover Versions: Flea and Nick Cave – Wichita Lineman
Oh… dear. I’m beginning to wonder if Nick Cave should give up music altogether, given the mediocre last album and this teaming up with Flea. Yup, actual Flea of RHCP. Together at last, nuts n gum. This cover of the Glen Campbell song is truly insipid. It’s a tremulous dirge, but not in a goodContinue reading “Bad Cover Versions: Flea and Nick Cave – Wichita Lineman”
Laibach: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore
Time was when Slovenian scamps Laibach made music with a stomping boot and a raised eyebrow. Now, they’re leaning so much into irony that they could go full Eurovision. I get it, the worlds going to shit. The problem is, this campy ridiculousness has ceased to be funny. Back in the day, they were perceivedContinue reading “Laibach: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”
Album Review: New German Cinema – Pain Will Polish Me
Nobody makes sad synth- pop quite like British bands. Jessica Weiss’s solo project New German Cinema mine the saddest parts of alt-pop from the last forty years to the present day, and spin it into literate, desolate loveliness. It’s haunting and crepuscular, best enjoyed on trains at nighttime. Weiss’ vocals, like Broadcast’s Trish Keenan andContinue reading “Album Review: New German Cinema – Pain Will Polish Me”
Overlooked Classic : Ben Golomstock- Stories From the Moon
The late composer, DJ and musician Ben Golomstock created an album with some of his friends, and it’s glorious: a melee of Miranda Sex Garden style enchanted rock and the more classical, cinematic side. Having joined Miranda Sex Garden early doors, this album Golomstock co-wrote with his collaboraters can’t help but lean into the gothicContinue reading “Overlooked Classic : Ben Golomstock- Stories From the Moon”
Bad Cover Versions: David Hasselhoff- The Passenger (2021)
Want to know what a midlife crisis sounds like? Look no further. This candy ass version of the Berlin era Iggy Pop classic is like your drunken uncle at karaoke, going, “I’ve still got it, damn it. Don’t I?” It’s like his association with Germany made him believe he could do this song justice. Demonstrably,Continue reading “Bad Cover Versions: David Hasselhoff- The Passenger (2021)”
Hit The North 