One of the minor and miserable themes of my 00s has been the generally vain search for a British indie hype that I could enjoy. I’ve never consciously acknowledged this itch but the fact I once paid money for a CD by The Coral suggests it&#8217[…]

A little over ten years ago I started writing about my Top 100 Singles Of The 90s. Pretty much as soon as I’d finished I started looking forward to writing this feature on Freaky Trigger. In between, this site has – directly or indirectly[…]

Two cheeses from the same maker, both blue, one made with cows milk and the other with goat. They might have everything but the milk in common, but these are very different cheeses. The first is strong and tangy and tasty, the second sent me croaking[…]

Thank You For The Music: The Music of ABBA, Hyde Park
We pick our way through the sea of tartan blankets, picnic baskets, foldable chairs, sensible anoraks and fidgeting eight-year-olds who have each been given a bag of fizzy cola bottles and a glows[…]

I posted a list of my least favourite films of 2008 back in January. Worst films are easy, they stick with you in a certain way that the decisiveness a list based analysis needs can easily be rustled up. Favourite films change through time however, w[…]

From one star reviews upwards, everyone has noticed that Inglorious Basterds, much like its director, is a bit talky. There are moments of action, explosions, and the obligatory Mexican standoff, but here Tarantino runs a Mexican standoff that has to[…]

Clearly the most significant aspect of England’s qualification for next year’s FIFA World Cup is that it allows the nation once again to dream of victory in the Pop World Cup. This tournament, to find the world’s greatest pop nation[…]

The cheese: soft raw goats cheese, made in Co Clare, Ireland
Bought from: Neals Yard Dairy
St Tola comes in big logs, and a slice of about a half-inch thickness makes my lunch. It’s got a soft yellow wrinkled rind, underneath which the cheese i[…]

Jay-Z Meets a Big Issue Seller outside Camden Town Tube
I was informed by email this morning that our good friend Shawn Carter was to play a short notice gig (a week on thursday) at the Roundhouse. Tickets are £50 each and go on sale tomorrow if yo[…]

The Hurt Locker seems almost effortless at getting its many points across. Perhaps because it isn’t really trying. The problem with most of the Iraq war films up to know is they had specific political agendas. War was bad, or war was good, or t[…]