Letters from Rosie 1
Hey J, Tomorrow, i’m going to see Jandek. I’m in the mood to see Jandek, so it’s fortuitous that he’s touring Northern Ireland at the minute. He will hum and kern and i will sit and listen. I’ve been thinking about what you’ve been thinking about – criticism. A few meandering thoughts here and there, Nothing academic, I’m afraid. […]
Spotlight – 25: Pens
Q. How can I resist a description like “Pens are the British girl No Age, but maybe even better” from Jessica Hopper on Twitter? A. I can’t. For now, you can go check out their MySpace page while I figure out a way to embed videos on Blogger. Here you go.
Spotlight – 24: Witch Hats
Where are my home-boys now I need them gathered around me? Where are Stevie Chick, Ben Myers, Steve Gullick, John Robb? Where are my home-girls? Where’s Jennifer Maerz, Kathleen Wilson, Jessica Hopper, Cathi Unsworth? I want to shout this band’s name from the treetops, proclaim in every fetid barroom and unfinished street in the land, […]
One-minute reviews – 6: Kittie, The Very Best, Panther, El Perro Del Mar
Back, due to no demand at all. “The new low in music criticism” (trademark pending). You can be brief. You can be brutal. But can you cut the mustard when there’s only 60 seconds on the clock and you’ve never listened to the album before? Kittie – In The Black Never realised before that listening […]
Spotlight – 23: No Anchor
I’ll be blunt here. These guys praised me, so I thought I’d check their shit out. Seems like I’ve been yearning for a little of this recently. My iTunes has been flickering between Pissed Jeans and Wavves, Crocodiles, recs of the flesh, Melbourne’s Witch Hats (who are Australia’s greatest rock band when The Drones are […]
One-minute reviews – 5: Arctic Monkeys, The Cribs, Talk Normal, Visqueen
Right. Time for some rock. Indie rock, granted – but rock nonetheless. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug They can do anything they want. So they go fairground on our asses. So they run with the rhythms. So they up the oomph. They sneer. They smile. They push the vocals up too high. They forget the golden […]
Spotlight – 22: Town Bike
Um. Oh. Wait a sec… I was going to wholeheartedly recommend this, because every decade needs a new Helen Love, a new Bangs – plus, this bunch match the sheer 60s pop ramalama delight of Ramones to the gorgeously outdated harmonies of Redd Kross or Teenage Fanclub on a song like ‘Hey Hey Ho’ or […]
One-minute reviews – 4: George Pringle, Michael Jackson, Dolores O’Riordan, Tiny Vipers
Hey, listen up. Seriously. I’m open to any and all syndication offers. Could start a whole new water cooler craze. George Pringle – Salon Des Refuses Posh girl discovers her cool uncle’s cache of old Ze and Chicks On Speed records and realises the best way to attract sexual partners is to act cool, disinterested […]
One-minute reviews – 3: Daniel Johnston, Scarce, Soulsavers, Wavves
Well, no one’s slapped a cease-and-desist order on me yet. Indeed, quite the opposite. One fellow was kind enough to remark, “I’ll take the one-minute reviews of a man who loves music (i.e. you) over a lot of critics who love, frankly, themselves. : )” and another, “most accurate Mint Chicks review yet/ever”. I asked […]
One-minute reviews – 2: Taken By Trees, Crocodiles, Heavy Trash, recs of the flesh
I think this series needs to be quite formulaic, with set criteria – like Joe Bob Briggs‘ series of Drive-In Movie Reviews during the 90s. Any suggestions? Taken By Trees – East Of Eden Lady from The Concretes gone solo voyages to remote area in Pakistan to make an album that sounds like lady from […]
