Following on from last year’s Boybands Forever documentary, produced by Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, comes the sister companion Girlbands Forever. And it’s equally as fascinating, yet pretty flawed. Suga(babes) and Spice (Girls) is all very nice, but of course, as with the previous three part series, the reality was anything but. As before, ex-bandContinue reading “TV Review: Girlbands Forever”
Tag Archives: Nineties
Vintage Film Review: Welcome To The Dollhouse
Todd Solondz’s debut feature film from 1995 is still the most painfully accurate depiction of school brutality I’ve seen: the usual parental advice of ‘just ignore them and they’ll go away” never works, simply because bullying is a ritual, and relentless in its targets. So it is for the main character here and target ofContinue reading “Vintage Film Review: Welcome To The Dollhouse”
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”
The Peel Sessions: Radial Spangle
Radial Spangle never got their dues. The band, who originally formed as a trio, from Oklahoma, made music that was forever pitched somewhere between the dreamy distraction of shoegazing and waywardnes of neo-psychedelia. Such was the early nineties, and they were, after all, friends with Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips. The session they recorded forContinue reading “The Peel Sessions: Radial Spangle”
TV Review: Boybands Forever
“Fame, fame, fatal fame”, The Smiths once sang, “It can play hideous tricks on the brain”. They weren’t wrong- fame can indeed be a poisoned chalice. Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang’s excellent three -part documentary series about the boyband phenomenon of the nineties and early noughties explores the highs; lows, scandals, meltdowns and exploitation bubblingContinue reading “TV Review: Boybands Forever”
Lost In Music: Pearl Jam- Black
It’s funny how music can evoke one thing at a particular point in your life, then take on an entirely different meaning later on. Pearl Jam’s epic song Black does that for me. In the early nineties, my best friend B moved near Seattle from Scotland and got a job as an au pair. SheContinue reading “Lost In Music: Pearl Jam- Black”
Overlooked Classics: Cibo Matto-Viva!La Woman
Cibo Matto never got their dues, I think. The Japanese -American duo, who recently reformed, made one of my favourite nineties albums with the debut, Viva! La Woman.. I think humour is often dismissed in music, and there is a lot of humour here, but it’s simply brilliant avant – pop. For a pair obsessedContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Cibo Matto-Viva!La Woman”
Overlooked Classics: Bomb The Bass- Clear
British hip hop took a while to ignite. But Tim Simenon, aka Bomb The Bass,had been doing his own singular thing production wise since the eighties, but the third album Clear felt like a step up from his poppier efforts. Released in the mid nineties, it’s at times more akin to a more oddball PublicContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Bomb The Bass- Clear”
Overlooked Classics: How Do You Want Me?
When is a sitcom not a sitcom? When it’s a comedy drama. How Do You Want Me? (1998-9) written by Simon Nye, is a sad, droll slice of life programme that seems to have been forgotten about, in spite of the wonderful cast and writing. Dylan Moran is Ian, an Irish comic who’s left LondonContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: How Do You Want Me?”
Overlooked Classics: Pulp- This Is Hardcore
Perhaps “overlooked” is a stretch- it was a huge critical and commercial success – but I reckon that Pulp’s sixth album is often forgotten in lieu of previous album ‘Different Class’. I prefer ‘This Is Hardcore’. Released in 1998, it wasn’t an album fans expected to hear. A sombre affair, it was the sound ofContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Pulp- This Is Hardcore”
Hit The North 