Apr
27
Tetchy Twosome Target Trivial Type
April 27, 2009 | 1 Comment
SET BLOW OWN TRUMPET = ON A wonderful piece of radio courtesy of my programme World Update. If you’ve ever looked aghast at the use of Comic Sans and wondered why then here is the place to go. Featuring Vincent Connare himself.
Apr
16
Mamer, Eagle
April 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The production on this album is astounding. If folk music from the western Xinjiang province is not your bag then at least marvel at the rich sound of this Chinese gem. Mamer sings with a warm bassy croak while gentle guitar and lilting dombra fill in the gaps and if at times the morose low-fi […]
Mar
10
Blogging in Tanzania
March 10, 2009 | 1 Comment
Blogging at www.bbcafricaslowdown.com here in Dar es Salaam at the IMF Africa conference and I’ve just had a conversation with a well-known Africa campaigner . . . no names of course:
Feb
25
Scanners, Macbeth, 21st Feb
February 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I remember Louise Wener many moons ago wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Yet Another Female Fronted Band”, I always thought it more a statement of the obvious than the sarcy self-deprecating irony she was going for. I mean focusing the cameras on a strong foxy chick while a bunch of spotty geeks with pencil […]
Jan
24
Little Joy, Dingwalls, 21st Jan
January 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
On paper it must’ve sounded like a great idea: gazillionaire globe straddling rock God teams up with cherubic Portuguese Che Guevara lookalike on the basis that they both kinda like the “same stuff”: a latino vibe straight outta Noo Yawk by way of Brazil. The following review appears in the latest edition of London’s premier […]
Dec
9
Give peace a chance . . . and a syllabus
December 9, 2008 | 1 Comment
The road to peace is often rocky and in the case of the University for Peace literally so. Situated about 20 miles west of Costa Rica’s capital San Jose, the United Nation’s shrine to that most elusive of global ambitions is perched some 800 metres above sea level at the end of a precarious, snaking […]
Oct
30
Rogues, Barfly, 28th October
October 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Ever wondered what happened to the the cast of the Lost Boys? Expensive haircuts, cool shoes and feathery earrings all feature when Rogues hit the stage. Hell, the bassist is called Frog and frontman/guitarist Sam James even looks like Corey Feldman. Welcome to 1987, leave all preconceptions at the door. The following review appears in […]
Sep
29
Broken Records/Story One/Simon & Eliza, Macbeth, 24th September
September 29, 2008 | 2 Comments
I like my electronica old school even if it is fake old school. Simon Mills plays gentle beats reminiscent of Bent’s lilting orchestral twiddling back when Bent were good. Layered on top, and with a crisp clarity that cries ‘look at me’, Eliza Wren Payne sings with the enthusiasm of a young girl who just […]