Fahrenheit-182

BY JACK WATSON In Fahrenheit-182, Mark Hoppus (bass guitarist for Blink-182, a famous rock band from the 1990s) takes us back to when he grew up in a California desert. Presumably the title is an homage to Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit-451. The book provides an insight into a troubled childhood; how he first met Tom DeLonge and their creation of Blink-182. Then their … Continue reading Fahrenheit-182

Risorgimento

BY MAX WALLER If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” – Tancredi  Pleasantly surprised by the quality of the new television series The Leopard (Netflix), which has had to contend with comparisons to the aristocratic perfection of the original Visconti movie starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale, I am currently musing on 19th-century Italy—specifically the Risorgimento movement … Continue reading Risorgimento

Audio Nostalgia: The Unexpected Return of Cassettes

BY NIALL McCRAE Everyone knows of the vinyl revival, which has steadily grown since the turn of the millennium. Remarkably, cassettes are now making a comeback too, and the biggest interest is in youth. Indie bands are releasing music on tape, sometimes as the only medium offered. In a backlash against the digital world, anything tangible gives a sense of radical resistance to the Great … Continue reading Audio Nostalgia: The Unexpected Return of Cassettes

From Dusseldorf To Albuquerque With No Hats

BY PAUL T HORGAN It may be no exaggeration to state that the most eagerly-awaited music album of 2003 was Kraftwerk’s Tour de France Soundtracks. While other acts may have had larger fanbases, Tour was Kraftwerk’s first album of original music for 17 years. Well, that is not entirely true, the title track had been released as a stand-alone single back in 1983. Tour de … Continue reading From Dusseldorf To Albuquerque With No Hats

Pop Bursts

BY PAUL T HORGAN Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star was not the first single to have a music video made for it; that accolade seems reserved for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. The Buggles’ single was instead the first-ever video played by MTV back when MTV was good. However, music artists had been making promotional films for their singles years before as a way of avoiding … Continue reading Pop Bursts

Mean Streets

BY ANDREW MOODY When a 47 year old, heavily bearded Eminem played his “surprise” performance at the 2020 Academy  awards of his 2003 Oscar winner Lose Yourself (because he bottled it the first time and spent the Oscars in bed addicted to Percodan) it made the famous phrase “you only get one shot” a tad redundant, a thought I’m sure was crossing Martin Scorsese when … Continue reading Mean Streets

Down The System

BY ANDREW MOODY The ongoing desperate protests after the fact against the victorious Conservatives have the same flavour of the anti-EU protests the country has had to suffer for years. Just like Stormzy claiming the UK was racist, when it’s been established the UK is one of the least racist countries on Earth, all Brexiteers are classed as thick and bigoted. Ridiculous. “Why do they … Continue reading Down The System

Treason For No Reason

BY ANDREW MOODY There was a genuine and cunning intelligence behind Punk’s explosion in the mid 1970s and in particular Malcolm McLaren’s brainchild The Sex Pistols. “(He) wanted to provoke the state,” wrote Punk journalist Jon Savage, “in the way the Yippies or the Baeder/Meinhof gang had done.” Guitarist Steve Jones commented years after the fact: “I was a miserable sod deep inside…. It came … Continue reading Treason For No Reason

The Holly Rose Interview

BY ANASTASIA CHOO It’s a warm sunny afternoon and I am sitting in an idyllic converted church chapel in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside in the delightful company of singer and song writer Holly Rose. Holly was the lead singer of platinum selling band Semisane in South Africa in 2004 followed by a successful solo career in the UK and two outstanding album releases.  … Continue reading The Holly Rose Interview