Sickly-sweet vocals relentlessly tiptoe towards death by chocolate. But...
Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
French pop starlet Marina Celeste is onto her third studio album following on limited success with Acidulé and Cinéma Enchanté. So here’s presenting The Angel Pop.
The breathy chanteuse has recorded tracks with new wave French collective Nouvelle Vague, including her team effort on the GoGo’s Our Lips Are Sealed with Terry Hall of The Specials; a relationship that is prevalent on the new album with Hall backing her up on three tracks.
Onto the album, and sacré bleu it’s fucking long.
Friday, 30 September 2011
What Would Jesus Drive – Black and Blue
Fantastically intellectual debut that masquerades as a dunce
Published: Friday, January 14, 2011
The brattishness, the scenesterism, the markedly trite lyrics – it’s all a masterful branding exercise but WWJD isn’t selling what they promote, they’re castigating it.
The realisation comes: I’ve been played with, not in a good way, and I feel a trifle dirty.
Published: Friday, January 14, 2011
The brattishness, the scenesterism, the markedly trite lyrics – it’s all a masterful branding exercise but WWJD isn’t selling what they promote, they’re castigating it.
The realisation comes: I’ve been played with, not in a good way, and I feel a trifle dirty.
What made Suede so good?
Rather than the hoodies, bowl cuts, and football tops which donned the Britpack, Suede were made-up, stylised, and robustly avant garde
Published: Thursday, April 14, 2010
When I was growing up I thought Suede were the dog’s bollocks.
That early Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler partnership produced some of the most attractive licks and hooks of a period before Britpop and after grunge, when shoegazing’s introspectiveness was a parallel too tiresome.
But to call Suede post-grunge or reckon it alongside Britpop says more about timeliness and a commercial-versus-artistic faux pas in their moribund circa-naughties phase; it misfires from their raison d’etre.
Suede’s importance is difficult to disseminate for the new generation, so their reunion – inevitably without guitar-playing virtuoso Bernard Butler – will let them crack that themselves.
Back at their roots, greying now obviously, Suede is alma mater to Elastica, were colleagues of Blur, and the launchpad of the aforementioned Butler – producer of commercially gargantuan albums such as Duffy’s 2008 Rockferry and seminal acts like The Libertines.
They were the unsigned outfit touring chic spots in North London with a drum machine before Mike Joyce from The Smiths joined them. One member got sacked and that was Justine Frischmann. Former manager Ricky Gervais did quite well too.
Published: Thursday, April 14, 2010
When I was growing up I thought Suede were the dog’s bollocks.
That early Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler partnership produced some of the most attractive licks and hooks of a period before Britpop and after grunge, when shoegazing’s introspectiveness was a parallel too tiresome.
But to call Suede post-grunge or reckon it alongside Britpop says more about timeliness and a commercial-versus-artistic faux pas in their moribund circa-naughties phase; it misfires from their raison d’etre.
Suede’s importance is difficult to disseminate for the new generation, so their reunion – inevitably without guitar-playing virtuoso Bernard Butler – will let them crack that themselves.
Back at their roots, greying now obviously, Suede is alma mater to Elastica, were colleagues of Blur, and the launchpad of the aforementioned Butler – producer of commercially gargantuan albums such as Duffy’s 2008 Rockferry and seminal acts like The Libertines.
They were the unsigned outfit touring chic spots in North London with a drum machine before Mike Joyce from The Smiths joined them. One member got sacked and that was Justine Frischmann. Former manager Ricky Gervais did quite well too.
Presenting Kettle Egg
Soft-boiled perfection, no pan required
Published: Monday, September 13, 2010
A perfect, zero-maintenance soft boiled egg with beautiful runny yolk that doesn't touch a saucepan?
No need for egg timers or waiting for that pan of water to boil, I advise a method that is so fullproof* your egg and coffee can be ready at the exact same time. Intrigued?
Published: Monday, September 13, 2010
A perfect, zero-maintenance soft boiled egg with beautiful runny yolk that doesn't touch a saucepan?
No need for egg timers or waiting for that pan of water to boil, I advise a method that is so fullproof* your egg and coffee can be ready at the exact same time. Intrigued?
When video games flop
The Getaway (2002, PS2)
Unbelievably hyped up and billed as a suitably violent antidote to compete with the Grant Theft Auto series, The Getaway should have been huge.A massive budget and marketing campaign led this to be one of the most anticipated games to be built in this country, especially considering a successful series of British/ London Gangsta films such as Lock Stock and Snatch had recently achieved worldwide success.
The Freegan Heist - I tag along
It’s late on a Sunday night, I’m informed the best swag is on a Monday but a Sunday seems good rustling too.
I have arranged to meet a group of Glasgow University students (two honours students, two undergrads and myself a Masters graduate) who assembled first on an internet forum, second in a café on nearby hotspot Byres Road, and tonight it’s a pub in the west end of Glasgow where they’re reluctantly paying for a pint or two to settle nerves before the pillaging can start.
Time: 2300 hours. Destination: Marks and Spencer. Mission: to snaffle as much free quality food from the bins as possible before the lights come on and the security dogs rip your hand off; or so I’ve been informed by the disapproving.
The Weirdest Assassination Attempts
Exploding cigars, MI5, Hell's Angels & Jodie Foster
We have just celebrated bonfire night where loads of bright flashing fireworks and loud bangs aim to simulate the way the night sky would have looked had Guy Fawkes and his cohort been successful in assassinating the British hierarchy, monarch and overlords.
We thought we’d pay light homage to the failed assassination attempt with a few choice examples of the weirdest, most mysterious, elaborate and creative means used to dispatch enemies over the years.
We thought we’d pay light homage to the failed assassination attempt with a few choice examples of the weirdest, most mysterious, elaborate and creative means used to dispatch enemies over the years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)