He always struck me as a Scottish version of Tony Wilson, though without Wilson’s luck of occasionally helping create something great. Ego is a useful thing, it can get you through an awful lot of self-doubt. But 16 Years Of Alcohol, Jobson&#82[…]

a born bystander’s deliberate legacy:
Ransome played chess with Lenin (and beat him). As a young geezaesthete in bohemian Chelsea, Ransome hung out with G. K. Chesterton’s brother, as well as future war-poet Edward Thomas. Ransome’[…]

I haf written my first FT essay as such in a while — I suspect some will look at it askance. Attempts to talk about things in a broader scale as well as a specific one, so hopefully who the essay is about won’t annoy, well, most everyone[…]

Christian Marclay at the Barbican
This is a tremendously enjoyable show. There’s lots of work to see, and it’s very varied. Album sleeves painted over, a tuba and trumpet joined at the mouthpiece, photos of things to do with sound, a ludi[…]

(Since some say Placebo is worse than the Cure)
“Absolute shit. The worst. ‘I’m depraved, me’”
Nobody likes Placebo. Except their fans, and nobody is a fan. Except the people who buy the records and show up at the shows, etc[…]

REM of course. And the B52’s. And Pylon I suppose, but REM mostly. I’ve wanted to visit for years. I remember old interviews with the band where they raved about the city. I grew up on REM and I stick by them even now, in their run-out-of[…]

“EX-PO-SI-TI-ON! EX-PO-SI-TI-ON!”
the full title for the 1965 peter cushing/dr who movie shd be dr who and the daleks: WHICH IS BIGGEST IDIOT????!?. The first thing the Doctor says in the Dalek city is “Let’s all go different[…]

Mike’s Pop Pilgrimages
No.2 – Leonard Cohen, Chelsea Hotel, NY
The man on reception seemed a bit put out, but reluctantly conceded we did indeed have a booking. “How did you hear about the hotel?” he asked. I said something th[…]

Mike’s Pop Pilgrimages
No.1 – Nick Drake, Tanworth-in-Arden
I sat on a bench opposite the pub. An elderly lady was sunning herself. “Are you here because of Nick Drake?” she asked. I said I was, um, how did she know? “We[…]

Constantine
This film IS half bad. The second half. Actually the first half isn’t great either. There are some great comic-book visuals (though come on, the slow-down/speed-up thing is tired for everyone now isn’t it?), and for a short wh[…]