Mid-eighties Fall were, as ever, a strange proposition, fast becoming a cult band; yet always wilfully on the sidelines, casting caustic barbs at the more banal elements of pop culture. So it was with the ninth album, the brilliant Bend Sinister. It was named after the Nabokov novel. Even the cover points to the kindContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Bend Sinister”
Tag Archives: Pop culture
It Was Never “Just A Phase”
My previous pseudonym before Lorelei was Spoilt Victorian Child. This was when I wrote for my previous blog, The Tempo House. It’s still online, and yes, as with this one, it’s named after classic Fall songs. My wonderful cousin Audrey has a theory that personal style and taste is set in your formative years ofContinue reading “It Was Never “Just A Phase””
Album Review: All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop
Philip King’s compilation of late-seventies – mid-eighties synth pop has a similar, if less political, approach as Adam Curtis: find leftfield, obscure tracks and highlight them, creating a sideways look at pop culture. As the title suggests, there is a DIY, deliberately un-glossy attitude to much of the music on offer. Frankie Goes To HollywoodContinue reading “Album Review: All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop”
Happy 80th Birthday, Debbie Harry!
How’s it possible? How can it be? Angela Trimble, better known as Debbie Harry, turned 80 on the 1st of July. Belated birthday greetings to a true icon, the NYC goddess with sun in her hair, fiery attitude, intelligence and an incredible voice. She has it all, and she’s influenced countless artists. We’re always touchedContinue reading “Happy 80th Birthday, Debbie Harry!”
TV Review: Shifty
Film maker Adam Curtis has many detractors: his naysayers suggest he’s cynical, paranoid, unwatchable, a conspiracy theorist. I think this is all a tad unfair. He simply curates archive footage, patchwork style, adds ideas and weaves it all deftly together, both a satirist and retro-futurist. He lets the viewer go along with his non -linearContinue reading “TV Review: Shifty”
Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche
It ‘s tough at the top, and it’s far from easy being the offspring of a punk legend, either. That’s the overarching theme of Celeste Bell and Paul Sing’s critically acclaimed documentary about X Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene. Narrated by Bell herself, who shares a similarly sleepy, childlike drawl with her late mother, thisContinue reading “Film Review: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche”
Lost In Music: Adam and the Ants- Kings Of the Wild Frontier
Two decades before Meg and Jack, there was only one white stripe that mattered: the warpaint over the nose of Britain’s biggest pop star: Adam Ant. His look was so iconic that kids copied him everywhere: indeed, me and my cousin Audrey, inspired by his style, attempted to emulate said stripe one summer, using tennisContinue reading “Lost In Music: Adam and the Ants- Kings Of the Wild Frontier”
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”
Freelancer’s Blues
It isn’t easy being a freelance arts writer. While I’m fully aware there are worse jobs to have (I previously worked in a call centre, a hotel and in retail, uggghhh) there are a few issues with this bizarre occupation. Firstly, some publications insist that they will pay you, only to renege at the lastContinue reading “Freelancer’s Blues”
Why Series 4 (2022) of Drag Race UK Is My Favourite
Not all drag queens are created alike. RuPaul’s Drag Race was in danger of becoming a little bit safe, until she (legendary queen RuPaul Charles) and the producers (World Of Wonder) sent it to the UK. No judgment, but to me, it felt like our American sisters on their shows were more about looks, glamourContinue reading “Why Series 4 (2022) of Drag Race UK Is My Favourite”
Hit The North 