Every Record Tells A Story
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Arcade Fire – Live At The Roundhouse: Review
THE REFLEKTORS – LIVE AT CAMDEN ROUNDHOUSE 12th NOV 2013 “Costumes or Formal Attire Mandatory” I’ll admit my heart sank just a little when I saw this email from The Reflektors – the secret name that Arcade Fire are touring under to promote their new album. It rather reeked of “organised fun”, “team building off-sites”…
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A Quick Look At The 20th MTV EMA Awards
As if the US version wasn’t wonderful enough, Europe decided it wanted its own MTV Music Awards, and tonight was the 20th such occasion. Happily, it promised to feature much less Justin Timberlake than the US version – always a good thing – after he seemed to rather monopolise the VMAs, only to be upstaged…
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Welcome To Classic Rock Readers!
Welcome to Classic Rock Magazine readers! The exciting news this month (well, for me anyway. I don’t know about you. It’s probably not that exciting for you…) is that I was contacted by Classic Rock Magazine who wanted to run a piece I wrote recently – about sexism in rock. After some deep and heavy…
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Heavy Rockers: Misunderstood Originators Or Blatant Lazy Rip-off Cliché Merchants? Part 2
Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll Part 5 I’m putting heavy rock on trial! Have Your Say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of,…
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Heavy Rockers: Misunderstood Originators Or Blatant Lazy Rip-off Cliché Merchants?
Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll Part 6 I’m putting heavy rock on trial! Have Your Say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of,…
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Video Crimes: Mullets, Masks, Goblins, Silly Trousers and Heavy Rock Videos
Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll Part 6. I’m putting heavy rock on trial! Have your say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of,…
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Alison Moyet – Live At Southend Cliff’s Pavillion
It was something of a homecoming for Alison Moyet last night as the Billericay-born and Basildon-schooled vocalist played nearby Southend to promote her 2013 album The Minutes. The last time I saw Moyet she briefly joined another Essex dweller Wilko Johnson and his band onstage for a joyous encore at the latter’s “farewell” concerts. This…
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Just How Many Rock Bands Used Outside Writers?
Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of, and give you the cases for and against. At the end of each debate, you will have the…
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Panic Spreads As New Arcade Fire Album Rumoured To Be “Not Quite As Good As The Last One”
The music world was reeling last night after rumours spread that the forthcoming album by saviours of French-Canadian-tinged indie rock Arcade Fire might be “Almost, but not quite, as good as the last one”. The shock revelation that Arcade Fire may not have literally sprung fully formed from the loins of Zeus, but actually be…
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The Beatles: “If Brian Hadn’t Come Along They Were About To Break Up”
Two major books on the story of pop music are released this month. They are like buses. Not because you wait for ages and then two come along at once. No, these two resemble buses in size alone. The books I am referring to are Bob Stanley‘s story of modern pop, “Yeah Yeah Yeah” and…
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Paul McCartney Plays Covent Garden. Best. Busker. Ever.
Friday lunchtimes don’t get much better than today’s. If it wasn’t enough stopping the traffic on Hollywood Boulevard and Times Square, Paul McCartney decided to add the woes of London’s traffic wardens by parking his great big lorry outside the Punch and Judy Tavern in Covent Garden today. “This is a change from the sixties…
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Could Heavy Rock Be Just A Teeny-Weeny Bit Sexist?
I’m putting heavy rock on trial! Have your say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of, and give you the cases for and against. At…
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Show Offs: Why Is That Man Standing With His Legs Apart Whilst Overplaying His Guitar?
I’m Putting Rock On Trial! Have your say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock’s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of, and give you the cases for and against. At the…
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Call The Fashion Police: Why Do Rockers All Dress So Badly?
I’m Putting Rock On Trial! Have Your Say! Twenty five years on from the peak of heavy rock‘s commercial popularity in 1988, this series asks why heavy rockers no longer dominate the charts and seeks to highlight the crimes that Heavy Rock is accused of, and give you the cases for and against. At the…
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Is Heavy Rock Guilty Of The Worst Lyrics Ever? The Defence
The Accusation: Heavy Rock lyrics are ridiculous and adolescent In my previous post I set out the case for the prosecution: This post sets out the defence: Do you think heavy rock’s lyrics are bad just because these guys were wearing denim and leather? You can’t judge a book by its cover. Those working class,…
Every record tells a story 