January 2012
10 posts
Disco Inferno: An oral history of the British... →
The most underrated band of an entire generation get a five-page article in Pitchfork - that must be almost unheard of, surely? - written by Ned Raggett, who has championed Disco Inferno for as long as I can remember (and selflessly distributed the CD-Rs of the long-deleted five EPS he writes about here, for a decade or so, before they finally received an official re-release). More than just about...
“Without a shadow of doubt Trafalgar Square has to be one of the most crap urban...”
– Will Self: why I hate London’s Trafalgar Square
Soviet ‘Peace with the USA’ posters, 1980s →
Perhaps it was a deliberate but subtle snub - it seems that to celebrate ‘peace with the USA’, the Russians produced childlike, almost amateurish, poster art; a stark contrast to the famed propaganda posters of the Soviet era.
Twitter Has Killed My Social Skills, But I Love It... →
Murdoch and Twitter, sitting in a tree,... →
In short, I think Rupert Murdoch is buying Twitter. And I am never* wrong.
*=occasionally, verging on often, within spitting distance of always.
December 2011
32 posts
WatchRadio 4 Today guest editor Stewart Lee wasn’t keen to suggest a guest for the programme’s traditional Thought for the Day slot. Instead, he offered an Alternative Thought for the Day from writer Alan Moore.
If John Lewis had had any sense when it came to...
The most insufferable Christmas song ever →
“Well, tonight thank God it’s them instead of you…” - frankly, even at the age of 13, when this song was first released, my young teenage self thought that was a dreadfully insensitive line for a festive fundraising song.
“Much ink has been spilled, of course, about the legendary friendships...”
– I knew Christopher Hitchens better than you
Urban Dictionary: Overjaculation →
Peter Hitchens: In Memoriam, my courageous brother... →
I wouldn’t normally suggest anyone reads anything by Peter Hitchens, and especially not in the Daily Mail, but considering their huge disagreements over the years, this tribute is extremely moving without becoming unnecessarily maudlin.
“Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it...”
– Christopher Hitchens
“Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the ‘transcendent’...”
– Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens quotes: the writer's most... →
Christopher Hitchens dies after battle with cancer →
Oh. Damn. We needed the intelligence and critical insight of Christopher Hitchens now more than ever. Instead, by some unfair reasoning, his brother Peter Hitchens continues to exist. If there was a God, I’d be shaking my fist at him right now for such gross unfairness.
Yet another personal songs of 2011 playlist →
See, I know what you all want. You’ve been deluged by people’s Best of 2011 Spotify playlists, and now you want another one. Yes, you do. Don’t deny it. The difference with my playlist is that it’s not only good (an admittedly highly subjective judgement there, but bear with me), but also that there will be a number of points while listening to it when you’ll think...
The sad story of Battersea Power Station: a... →
November 2011
22 posts
WatchBenjamin Shaw: When I Fell Over in the City
(I keep missing music like this until the artists have been around for a couple of years. Clearly I’m going to have to return to reading the music press more religiously. Like it was 1996 or something.)
“Reality is a dirty word for me, I know it isn’t for most people, but I am...”
– Ken Russell, RIP
10 Myths About Introverts →
I found myself nodding with recognition as I read through this list [via Diamond Geezer, who also wrote this brilliant and inventive post about socialising as an introvert]
