I was 17 when the 90s began; 27 when they ended. I remember the decade pretty clearly as a result. Looking back, if I was asked for the two defining pop cultural moments of that ten year stretch, I would nominate the death of Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994 and the airing of the final episode […]
Why Guns N’ Roses are the most overrated band in the history of popular music
The approaching 30th anniversary of Guns N’ Roses 1987 album, “Appetite for Destruction”, and the accompanying fanfare around this event, has pushed me to my limits. I don’t think I have a larger media related pet peeve than the overhyping of the cultural relevance and musical significance of GN’R. I was a teenager in 1987; I remember […]
What I learned from “Love Island” last night
Before yesterday evening, I had never watched “Love Island” before. In fact, the only reason I really knew of its existence was through articles like “Why is Love Island so Tory?” in the New Statesman. But my wife’s younger sister is in town, and she wanted to watch it last night, so there we all […]
Why I now dread what Morrissey will have to say after every horrific event we encounter
I suppose I should have been more prepared. A monumentally horrific terrorist attack occurs in the centre of Manchester, dozens of children murdered – it was very unlikely Morrissey wasn’t going to have something stupid/offensive to say about it. He’s become as reliable as Katie Hopkins in this regard. “In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to […]
The death of rock and roll, part 1,368: The Donald, Foo Fighters first album, and exceeding expectations
On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain died. It was a really weird moment to live through if you were in the right age range group at the time – I was in the perfect place to experience this, at twenty-one, when it took place. There was a great deal of speculation at the time as […]
What would a US-UK free trade deal look like? A “2017” excerpt
The following is a small excerpt from my book, “2017”, available now in digital form and paperback. Is a free trade deal between the US and the UK a genuine possibility? The Tories better hope it is. Because from where we currently stand, I see only two ways out of Brexit not being a very […]
The Left – or what is left of it (a “2017” excerpt)
The following is a small excerpt from my book, “2017”, available now in digital form and paperback. How much is it the fault of the Left that the rise of the New Right has taken place? In some sense, it is entirely the fault of the Left. After the 2008 crash, the Left became bizarrely […]
Review: a Tarantino double bill, “Hateful Eight” and “Deathproof”
I still vividly recall seeing “Pulp Fiction” for the first time in the cinema. I was 21 years old and had walked in there with high expectations; I exited with my head spinning, thinking I’d seen one of the greatest movies of all time. I say this as a preface to make note of the fact that I […]
Here’s my predictions for 2017
Making any predictions for an upcoming year has become a perilous exercise recently. One only has to look at the Tory majority the experts (who people are now sick of as a result, apparently) said was less likely than an asteroid striking the Earth that did indeed take place, or the double punch of Brexit […]
Why 2017 could be even worse than 2016
Now is that portion of every year when people begin writing epitaphs for the twelve-month period that is just about to elapse as well offering predictions for what is directly ahead. Given what transpired in 2016, from Brexit to Trump to everyone with talent seemingly dying, pundits are quicker to see the back of this […]