The madness of 2020 has not been kind to autocratic or authoritarian leaders, who have been left wanting when it comes to dealing with a crisis that came pretty much out of nowhere, and that they can’t spin themselves out of. That said, all of them are still in power as I write this.
Following on from last week, there’s been lots of warnings of late. Warnings to social distance, warnings to stay at home, warnings about what to do if you’re infected. We’re also – well, were, before the rain came today – hearing announcements in Finsbury Park telling people not to sunbathe or lounge around in the […]
On an average day, I might awaken early, waiting for my alarm to go off. I’ll wait for the kettle to boil, I’ll wait for my work laptop to boot up and load any e-mail that has come in since I last logged in. I’ll wait for the post, I’ll wait until lunchtime. I might […]
Fifty years ago today, three NASA astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins) left the Earth on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, and four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first men to step onto another body beyond Earth – pretty much the crowning moment of what became known as […]
Right then, we’re back in the saddle now, and regular editions of the /transmission podcast will now be released once again – broadly bi-weekly, but that may depend on our commitments around the time! Anyway, this week we get through the letter “j” and start on “k”, with perhaps a couple of contentious artists this […]
Are you ready for a little addition? Maybe some subtraction? Or I can just split the difference with you as we circle around a subject that can get very complex indeed. This is the first part of songs about mathematics, dealing with the “easy” stuff this week, and the really complex stuff next week.
One of my closest, and oldest, friends comes to visit this weekend. We met by chance amid the chaotic Lost Weekend in 2000, and have remained firm friends ever since – and she was even my Best Person at my Wedding two years ago. We’ve had many great times, had nights of sketchy memories, seen […]
Another Friday, another round-up. As always this is a look at upcoming releases, relevant music news and upcoming events and gigs worth spending some of your time at. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’m always on the lookout for more to include.
Another Friday, another round-up. As always this is a look at upcoming releases, relevant music news and upcoming events and gigs worth spending some of your time at. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’m always on the lookout for more to include.
I’ve said it before, but really, I can’t believe I haven’t covered this before. Dancing is such an important companion to music. It can be a joyful release, a form of protest, epoch-changing, style-leading, a celebration, a way of meeting or courting people or even dealing with unimaginable horror. It has changed the world, it […]
As many of my friends and readers will know by now, I’m a dedicated music fan. I’ll happily espouse my views on whatever I’m listening to, what’s new, what’s good, what’s not (the latter more often in person than online!), if there’s a discussion about music generally, I’m happy to be involved. Which is why […]
I toyed with the idea of a post celebrating Europe last summer around the referendum vote, but frankly, I was too damned down about the whole thing to even consider it. Debate has raged, of course, in the press, in person, on social media, just about everywhere, and there is certainly no doubt that the […]
This week, on part three, I turn my attention to the best albums of the year. I seem to say it every year, but really – 2015 has been an extraordinary year for alternative music, you’ve just got to have been looking in the right places to find some of it. Not all of it […]
We are hurtling at what seems like great speed to the end of the year already, and as such this is now the last tracks of the month roundup of 2015 – and yes, it’s a week late. The delay was for a couple of reasons – a chaotic, drunken and messy Whitby for one, […]
I actually started this 80s rundown a couple of years back, but life and other things have rather got in the way. So, a little bit of spare time has allowed me to get this finished. Without further ado, then, let’s get on with it.
During 2011 I saw an awful lot of live sets. At a rough count, around about 125 (including supports and festivals) – and I saw a few bands more than once, in particular Front 242, who I saw four times in four different countries. Like the albums list, a few that might have made it […]
Killing Joke are a band that, to many peoples surprise, I have never managed to see previously. So when the chance to go to this came up, there was no way I was going to miss it (even if it meant missing out on Paradise Lost playing all of Draconian Times across ‘town at The […]
A day earlier than usual, here’s my usual roundup of tracks new and old that I really like right now:
When I first thought about it, this was inspired by a seemingly never-ending parade of bands who seem to have come up with nothing new themselves that I keep hearing.
Following on from the rundown of my top 100 tracks of the decade, it’s now time for my top fifty albums of the decade, which starts today and will be concluded next week (I wanted this done by Whitby and the end of the month).
