A new Sharon Van Etten track, a taster for her new album Are We There, due for release in late May. Her previous album Tramp is one of my favourite albums of the last few years. Van Etten can clearly write great songs, but can also create a mood. It is a kind of nebulous concept, but her songs have this feel that you just don’t hear elsewhere, sort of smoky, monochrome, but also heartfelt. Rough around the edges without just sounding a bit baggy. Read the rest of this entry »
This documentary was broadcast over 20 years ago, yet a lot of it still feels relevant and true. Don DeLillo worked on the documentary alongside the BBC, touching on the themes of a lot of his novels and explores the interplay between the media, public violence and conspiracy. It is fascinating stuff and more imaginative in presentation than your usual author profile. I just wish they had commissioned a whole series.
So, it appears the latest big thing is normcore. I was hoping this would be some sort of music involving the wit and wisdom of Mr Peterson, but sadly not. It turns out it is the latest hipster (I hesitate a little using that word, but you know what I mean) fashion style. While this piece outlines it better than I can, the short explanation is that normcore is a non-style. Rather than trying to stand out, the feature of most fashion trends since I don’t know when, normcore is all about blandness. Influences are ‘tourist clothes’ or early 90s sitcoms or just the functional clothing the wider non-fashionable world wears without a second thought. Read the rest of this entry »
Bill Hicks died twenty years ago today. His death was shocking – for someone so talented and so vital to die so young. It is shocking now to think that happened so long ago. Read the rest of this entry »
I think I’ve reached the age where I have this small group of favourite bands, will listen to whatever they produce, and be happy with that. Read the rest of this entry »
Wait until next year 