Feb
21
Lily Livered Lille
February 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
It’s become very unfashionable in the MSM in recent times to talk of physical courage or the lack of it. Your typical chin-stroking ((c) Mark Sandell) pundit will dash off a 3,000-word article on the nature of moral cowardice in a jiffy but when it comes to facing up to adversity in the physical sense […]
Feb
15
A Slap from the Censors
February 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Have you ever wondered about the power of words? How about winker? An editor on the BBC forums expressed horror that I had let this evil word slip through while moderating some debates . . .
Feb
6
Radio Lingo
February 6, 2007 | 4 Comments
Want to know what a trisco is? Here’s a list of the weird jargon I’ve encountered so far in the BBC’s World Service. Thanks to Ruth for the idea and I look forward to comparing vocab . . . Read on to enter the strange world of radio lingo:
Sep
28
Harry ‘Buckhead’ MacDougald: The Interview
September 28, 2006 | 6 Comments
For my college studies I decided to try and get a grip on the old-media-shakin’, internet-quakin’ event that was Rathergate. During my research I got help from various members of the place where it all started: Conservative online forum Free Republic. Amongst the various ‘freepers’ I spoke to was the prime instigator himself, Buckhead, aka […]
Sep
14
Die Fantastischen Vier
September 14, 2006 | 3 Comments
Die Fantastischen Vier (aka Fanta 4) pretty much started the German hip-hop scene about 18 years ago in Stuttgart. Rapping in German they steer clear of all the cliches of US ‘gangstas’ such as guns n’ hos. After starting off in the late eighties in what was then West Germany they built up a following […]
Sep
12
Anajo
September 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment
This lot are a three-piece from Augsburg and Nah Bei Mir is an excellent album. Anajo (the name comes from the film ‘Banana Joe’, the title of which was once rendered as ‘ana jo’ by a broken TV) play indie rock with a sense of humour and a carefree spirit that sets them apart from […]
Aug
12
Annett Louisan
August 12, 2006 | 1 Comment
Annett Louisan is a right little tea-leaf but in the nicest possible way. Mixing Chanson with jazz and modern folk this tiny blond songtress is being compared to Vanessa Paradis sausage-side but this is surely only down to her elfin looks. Voicewise she’s got far more in common with the UK’s own folk singer Rosie […]
Jul
24
Superpunk
July 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Superpunk aren’t really a punk band. They hail from Hamburg and have been around for over 10 years now and I doubt you’d ever see a pogoing, self-mutilating, ASBO-case gobbing lager at everyone at any of their gigs. Einmal Superpunk Bitte (100% One Superpunk Please) The nicest punks you’ll ever meet. Ska inspired jangly retro-rock. […]