There is nothing special to mark this track out from any other slow PSB track (ie – Chris Lowe had let the drum machine go down the pub). It marks the end of the Actually album like any other piece of introspective Neil Tennant nonsense. And I […]

Turn the fish up?smash the dish up
While there are bands like the Charlatans who falsely seek to underplay their dubious talents with an ironic name, there are those who try the other tactic of needlessly bigging-up their meagre musical resources. […]

I ALSO HATE NO MAN
In nineties Britain (which can be distinguished from eightees Britain largely through the proliferation of royal indiscretion) everything from the past was made new again. The fact that most people’s conception of the past do[…]

FOR NO MAN
Sometimes my vitriol (not My Vitriol – their time is coming) combined with this damn cough lets me miss the obvious. So as a final word on Tom Waits I shall bring up exhibit E : “In The Neighbourhood”. Its a song from Ses[…]

TOM WAITS
Rawwwrrr, rawwwrrr, rawwwrrrr.
Your beloved Tanya has come down with a bit of something, faithful readers.
Oh, you thought I was impersonating Tom Waits? No, heavens forbid. Sure, the man has a voice that sounds like the result of gargling[…]

THIS IS SEEE-REEEEY-USS
Yahoo! suggests I should address the Celine question. Now I will admit that Dion isn’t much cop, indeed would happily concede that the very existence of Celine Dion invalidates all prior achievements of human civilisatio[…]

IHM LYRIC WATCH: I ROCK THE HOUSE WITH THE POWER OF A BEE
“I move with the strength and speed of ants” – Ghost Face Killa, “Wu Bangers 101”
Sorry, I must have misunderstood, I thought rap boasts were meant to present the[…]

THE CHARLATANS – BAGGY OF SHITE
Or – for our American cousins – The Charlatans UK, because for some unknown reason there is another band out there who thought that having a name which suggested they were only superficially any good […]

DMX
“What’s My Name?” asks DMX, a curious question since the only thing he raps about is his bloody name. Can it really be that he doesn’t know? A trend of some concern in rap music, this use of songs as 3-minute business card[…]

HEY BOY ? HEY GIRL
Do you think The Chemical Brothers were surprised by their success (I certainly was). Are they squirreling away their millions in case the whole world turns round and notices that these particular dance emperors have no clothes on […]