There’s a lot of anger about at the moment, and perhaps rightly so. Frustration at the seemingly never-ending restrictions, the false hope from politicians, the double-standards, the desire for a “normal” life again that sometimes feels like it’s in reach before being snatched away again. Oh yes, life back in Lockdown again really fucking sucks, […]
This week concludes a short series on Winning and Losing – a subject that’s been sat on the backburner here at /amodelofcontrol.com for over three years (I originally asked for suggestions on the subject back in January 2017). /Tuesday Ten/423/Everyone Must Win /Tuesday Ten/Playlists /Playlists/Spotify /Playlists/YouTube /Tuesday Ten/Winning and Losing /282/Poker Face /421/Follow the Leader […]
Completing the process of wrapping up the last decade before it disappears too far into the rearview mirror, this is the last part of the best tracks of the 2010s. This has been an interesting, and memory-laden trip doing this list. I’ve dredged up a few memories, reconnected with a few songs I’d not heard […]
Some statistics for my gig-going in 2019. I went to 53 shows (each festival is counted by number of days – so Infest is three days, so counts for three shows), and saw 150 live sets. I saw 140 unique bands, eight of them more than once, at 37 venues, and my wife saw 46 […]
Welcome to the amodelofcontrol.com review of 2019, which begins this week. Over this and the next three Tuesdays, I’ll be rounding up the best music of the year in various categories. In coming weeks there will be the best tracks, the best albums, and the best gigs.
This has been an unusual one, that I’ve tried to write a few times and shelved. Sometimes you have inspiration, sometimes…you don’t. So I left it for a few months, and returned to it last week to pick up the thread again, and this time? It worked out, so here are ten songs about spying […]
It’s Friday, therefore time for the usual amodelofcontrol.com round-up of new music coming your way this week and soon, as well as a look at the events and gigs in the future, and finally nods to any other notable news that affects artists and music that I cover here.
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.
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 […]
Some statistics: over 2017, I saw 114 live sets, across 45 days-worth of events (I count festivals by the day, so Infest covers three days-worth of events). Remarkably, by the way, my wife Daisy saw 18 days-worth of the 45 with me (perhaps a larger number than usual!).
Welcome to the amodelofcontrol.com review of 2017, which begins this week. Over this and the next three Tuesdays, I’ll be rounding up the best music of the year in various categories. In coming weeks there will be the best tracks, the best albums, and the best gigs.
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 […]
After last year’s exhausting run of gigs, 2013 was even crazier. I saw 66 days of gigs – seeing nearly 160 live sets in the process, in three countries, six different cities and and including three festivals. What was interesting, though, was that maybe I hit saturation point this year. While there were a handful […]
Part four of my 2013 rundown – and this was a difficult list to do. Very difficult. And for the first time in a number of years, it took until the last week to finally decide once and for all on the top five in particular.
2013 has been a really, really strong year for music.
2013 has been a mightily odd year for music. While we’ve seen, for better or worse, no end of bands returning after long breaks, reforming or just keeping on going – with a seeming lack of new bands in certain areas – it has been quite astounding just how good many of those returns have […]
So…I’ve looked at the best gigs, live venues, and gigs at the London Astoria, bands at Infest, bands I’ve *not* seen live…but I’ve never had a look at live albums, somehow, as my girlfriend pointed out last week.
The last month has been a really busy one, and despite attending a number of gigs in that period, I’ve not had the chance to get my thoughts on online for most of them so far. So – as I’m never going to be able to catch up if I don’t do this – here, […]
Six By Seven made one hell of a splash when they first appeared over fifteen years ago, the music press in the UK making them something like the “great white hope” of guitar music of the time. That they never became huge is not a tale of style over substance, but more one of a […]
This week is inspired by the usual annual marketing blitz that is Valentines Day, and in particular this article about valentines day compilation albums. So, here are ten songs you are unlikely to hear on such a compilation: all of these songs are about love in one way or another, just maybe not the “conventional” […]
